I can't pass up this chance to mention how incredibly helpful Shane has been to me. Like a lot of people, I could not understand some of the crazy taunts that he would blurt out in the MA. He seemed like a complete ego hungry self centered person to me. When he first helped me, I was just another wandering target to shoot at, no different than a discarded aluminum can on the side of the road, just waiting for the inevitable bullet holes. Why should Shane treat me any differently than the people he was mercelessly harrassing on the open channel in the MA? Well, having fallen to his guns too many times I ventured to ask him for some advice, and he was happy to interrupt his latest string of taunts, and switch over to the DA with me.
In the DA, we flew sortie after sortie in different planes with the same result over and over, yet he never tired or gave any hint he was running out of ideas to help me. I have never had someone so patient, helpful and determined, to spend time like this with me in AH. He was truly a most helpful instructor, and it was a complete shock to me that there would be even an ounce of interest in helping me to improve my skills. After several pounds of determined interest, we finally parted ways. However, I followed this up a couple of times in the DA when I caught him there helping someone else. He was always friendly and helpfull.
Somehow, I viewed his taunts in the MA a bit differently after this. They seemed more humerous and amusing than they did before. I am not sure if it excuses all of the comments he has ever made in the MA, but it does for me. Thanks Shane.
