Girl with No Arms pilots plane

December 5, 2008 9:31 AM

A woman with no arms has conquered flyingIt's not all sensible, though. As she says at the end, she literally has her life in her "own feet." Flying a plane never looked so comfortable.
posted by jwakawaka (22 comments total)

That's Incredible!
posted by kuujjuarapik at 9:37 AM on December 5, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I just flew in from New York and boy are my. . . (oh, wait, that doesn't apply here).
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 9:42 AM on December 5, 2008

Q: What do you call a woman with no arms in the pilot's chair?

A: Ma'am.
posted by DU at 9:49 AM on December 5, 2008

Quite a feet.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 10:02 AM on December 5, 2008

Flying by the feet of her.. eh, forget it.
posted by ChickenringNYC at 10:06 AM on December 5, 2008

You've really got to hand it to her.
posted by Floydd at 10:11 AM on December 5, 2008

damned you Floydd! DAAAMN YOUUUU! Damn you for defeeting me!
posted by Severian at 10:12 AM on December 5, 2008

An Ercoupe is the perfect airyplane for her to fly; no rudder pedals to deal with!
posted by drhydro at 10:14 AM on December 5, 2008

It's amazing the feets people can accomplish when they put their sole into it.
posted by ZaneJ. at 10:24 AM on December 5, 2008

I just flew in from Seattle, and boy are my arms missing.
posted by Sys Rq at 10:30 AM on December 5, 2008 [4 favorites has favorites]

Making fun of people with disabilities is unacceptable! I'm putting my foot dow... whoops.
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:31 AM on December 5, 2008

If God had intended man to fly airplanes, he would have given them arms.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 10:41 AM on December 5, 2008

Seriously though, hands and feet are fairly interchangeable should you find yourself lacking either set. Alvin Law is a lot better with his feet than I am with my hands.
posted by Sys Rq at 10:45 AM on December 5, 2008

This has reaffirmed my faith in MeFi, thanks!
posted by fixedgear at 11:19 AM on December 5, 2008

The photographer had duck, she was only flying two feet above the ground.
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 11:21 AM on December 5, 2008

But how does she smell?
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:42 AM on December 5, 2008

Wait...
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:42 AM on December 5, 2008

I just flew in from St. Louis, and boy are these jokes tired.
posted by saul wright at 12:50 PM on December 5, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Tired, but 'armless.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 1:06 PM on December 5, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

my favourite bit is the decision to include the essential clarification beneath her name:

"has no arms."
posted by 6am at 1:12 PM on December 5, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

As drhydro points out, she is flying an Ercoupe, which is the only small airplane that does not have rudder pedals. The rudder is inter-connected with the ailerons on the control yoke so a single control handles ailerons, rudder and elevators. She apparently sits cross legged, steering with the right foot and controlling the throttle on her right with the left foot. The Ercoupe also has a single brake pedal that controls brakes for both wheels instead of using rudder pedals. The Ercoupe is an old plane, designed in the 1930's to be easy to fly by non-professional pilots. It is virtually impossible to spin and very difficult to stall due to the rudder/aileron connection and the limited elevator movement. Bravo for her.
posted by JackFlash at 1:30 PM on December 5, 2008

I saw a lady on TV, she was born without arms. That’s sad, but then they said, “Lola does not know the meaning of the word ‘can’t’.” That, to me, is even worse in a way. Not only is she missing arms, but she doesn’t understand simple contractions. It’s easy, Lola - you just take two words, put them together, take out the middle letters, put in a comma, and you raise it up!

R.I.P, Mitch.
posted by Perplexer at 2:07 PM on December 5, 2008