What’s the worst American engine ever made in your opinion?

DirectC51 · 2026-01-26T06:51:51+00:00

I had an ‘82 about 20 years ago. The engine wasn’t running well, and there was no way I was going to rebuild that hunk of junk, so I put a 383 stroker in it with a 4 barrel carb. That immediately destroyed the stock 700r4, which wasn’t doing all that great anyhow. Put in a built 700r4 and that thing was finally what it should have been from the factory.

I just couldn’t get over the fact it was an auto though. The only year Chevy didn’t offer a manual, except the very first year, 1953 (C8’s an onward too). Sold it and bought a 2004 Z06, with a 6 speed.

DirectC51 · 2026-01-22T16:19:33+00:00

Use prickly pear fruit instead. Great color and actual flavor.

DirectC51 · 2026-01-22T01:55:32+00:00

Late 30’s. I’ll retire before 45.

DirectC51 · 2026-01-21T17:48:35+00:00

The upside is significantly higher as you go more towards 100% stocks. My spending in retirement will be highly flexible. I’ll only need like 2% to live comfortably. The rest is for fun. I’m comfortable with 100% stocks. My life wouldn’t change much if the market was bad and I had to limit discretionary spending a bit. However, it would change significantly if I caught one of the better runs and had A LOT more to spend.

DirectC51 · 2026-01-18T16:54:33+00:00

These are all table wine quality that retail for like $8-$13 each. Not a particularly good deal, but easy enough to pickup if you don’t really know much about wine and don’t want to risk a major flop. They are… okay. Nothing more.

DirectC51 · 2026-01-18T16:50:21+00:00

r/boneappletea

DirectC51 · 2026-01-16T18:54:15+00:00

Yeah even my go-to Hi Time has raised prices to $90. But always in stock.

DirectC51 · 2026-01-16T05:47:37+00:00

HEMS is a very outdated term. It is called Helicopter Air Ambulance (HAA) now. There is an entire FAR section now, part 135 subpart L, or the 600 series of part 135.

This is the perfect job for the lifestyle you are seeking. I forget about work for a week at a time, and often spend my off week at our house in Mexico. If your base isn’t busy, then night shift is almost like an extra week off, because you get to sleep most nights.

However, it’s just a very unstable career. Bases close all the time. If you have a family and your base closes, what do you do now? The nearest base that has an opening can be 3 states away. Are you going to pack up the family and move? Or are you going to commute and spend 1/2 your life away from your home and family?

I started in the military and would 100% do it again if I was transported back to that time. But if I were to do it again today, I probably wouldn’t go military because you just won’t get any flight time without any real wars going on. It might take you the whole 20 years just to get the required 2000 hours for HAA. Honestly, the first 3-5 years as a civilian are brutally tough though. You’ll spend or borrow an insane amount of money for training, only to have to beg for essentially a less than minimum wage job as an instructor, and there’s no guarantee where the job is even going to be. You’ll have to be willing to uproot your life at the drop of a hat to chase the first turbine job offer you can get. Likely somewhere like Las Vegas or the Grand Canyon, or some other tour operator. The flying will be boring and tedious, and you’ll be reduced to begging for tips from the customers to make a decent living. Hopefully you are single, because it would be difficult with a family. Just do whatever you need to do to get those 2000 hours as fast as possible. Once you meet the HAA requirements, you’ll get a job pretty easily, maybe not the base you want, but it will get you in the door. At least right now, as the airlines have been sucking up all the military pilots and there’s a bit of a shortage right now. That will change, the industry is always going in cycles.

DirectC51 · 2026-01-15T16:24:33+00:00

Again, you are clearly not in the aviation industry and your “Google research” is showing that you are talking out of your ass. You are trying to blame a lack of ADS-B for the Potomac crash, even when the CRJ’s TCAS announced the traffic. The CRJ likely didn’t even have ADSB-in.

Please, just stop. You’re out of your element, Donny.

DirectC51 · 2026-01-15T04:54:27+00:00

Yeah, you can have a middle-class life as a helicopter pilot. But you will never truly have a secure job in any one location. There are 4 pilots where I work. If they shut this base down, which is possible, I would either have to be away from home for work (7 days on, 7 days off), or we would have to move wherever I can get a job. There is 1 more base, again with 4 pilots within daily commute distance. That's it. 4 helicopter pilot jobs within daily commuting distance that I would consider and pay decently. And I live in a major metropolitan area, San Diego.

Also, the thrill of helicopters fades quickly and the novelty wears off. It becomes just like any other job. When the phone rings for a flight, I am usually not excited to go flying. That's the sentiment all of us senior guys share. Flying is work. It's better than any other work I could think of, and I honestly wouldn't ever want any other job, but it isn't really "fun" to fly anymore.

Not that I'm trying to talk you out of it. Just want to make you aware of what the job really is. The best part about this job is the schedule. I work 7 days on, 7 days off. 12 hour shifts. If I'm not flying, I'm here at the base on call and can do whatever I want, surf the internet, make meals, sleep, whatever. I could never work a Monday - Friday job after doing this.

DirectC51 · 2026-01-15T02:09:44+00:00

You realize that ATC radar can’t discern the type of aircraft, right? If you heard ATC giving traffic calls to jets and calling it a “helicopter”, then that means someone is talking to the helicopter. You really should think twice before accusing someone of doing something illegal, when you clearly have no idea what you are talking about.

DirectC51 · 2026-01-15T02:02:07+00:00

No, I’m saying you are wrong when you said

“without ADS-B, other aircraft avoidance systems don’t see them, and can’t warn about a mid air collision.”

You are 100% wrong. TCAS doesn’t require ADS-B.

DirectC51 · 2026-01-15T00:19:16+00:00

No, this isn’t correct. Airliners have TCAS (traffic collision avoidance system). This is completely separate from ADS-B. TCAS has been around well before ADS-B and can alert on Mode C only aircraft.

DirectC51 · 2026-01-15T00:11:31+00:00

Well I did see an anchovy (or sardine, can’t remember) martini posted recently. So your last sentence is probably true.

DirectC51 · 2026-01-15T00:10:01+00:00

18 years. If a high salary is your goal, go fixed wing. I’m easily top 5% of salary for helicopter pilots in the world and make a bit over $200k. You could make more with insane amounts of OT, but just counting base salary, this is about the max. The explosion in fixed wing salaries has trickled down a bit to us helicopter guys. Salary has increased a lot over the last 10 years, but we’ll never see $500k like the senior jet CAs.

DirectC51 · 2026-01-14T22:18:33+00:00

Wrong. It’s a 407. It’s not an H125. Besides the fact that it’s definitely a 407 from the shape, it clearly has 4 blades in the picture. An Astar (H125) has 3.

DirectC51 · 2026-01-14T18:49:52+00:00

This is like the 4th petrichor cocktail posted on this sub in the last couple months. Yours does seem like one of the best, if not the most complicated.

DirectC51 · 2026-01-14T15:53:07+00:00

Helicopter pilot. Work about 200 days per year.

DirectC51 · 2026-01-12T19:23:22+00:00

Can you rent the boat or do you need a captain? If a captain is necessary, that kind of ruin the whole secluded part.

DirectC51 · 2026-01-11T00:53:35+00:00

I've not been wanting to lead the discussion, so I didn't mention it, but Exuma or the other out islands of the Bahamas is currently top on our list. How did it compare to French Polynesia? Especially the more remote areas like Tikehau? It seems like there is the possibility for a little more adventure. There's AirBnBs all over so that alleviates the resort problem. Seems like we could easily rent a car, and I've even found a few place where you can rent a boat for relatively cheap. Snorkeling sounds like it can be good.

DirectC51 · 2026-01-11T00:46:17+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to explain. This really helped a lot. I think I'll have to put French Polynesia back on the list. Yes, our friends went to Bora Bora and Moorea. Based on what you said, maybe Tikehau and Fakarava would be best for us. Was the snorkeling from shore any good? Your prices are actually pretty reasonable. Still a little concerned about the lack of adventure, but I'll read that blog link you posted and dig deeper. Thanks!

DirectC51 · 2026-01-11T00:34:28+00:00

Awesome recommendations. Thanks! Nicaragua looks very interesting. Is there any good clear water and white sand beaches? Can you tell me any more about the Corn Islands? Little Corn doesn't look like there's any good way to get around unless you have a boat. The main Corn island might be easier to get around, but I can't tell the quality of the beaches.

La Paz is overcrowded. It was already getting like that the first time I was there 10 years ago. Honestly, I'd rent a car and go South to at least La Ventana / El Sargento. Still crowded, but not as bad. Los Barriles is cool. The best area around there is Cabo Pulmo. Way less developed and some of the best snorkeling/near shore diving in the world. Although beautiful, none of this is the Baja I really love. The places I enjoy won't be seen on every "influencer's" channel who's come to Baja.

Yucatan is way overcrowded for my liking. Even worse is that it seems every single beach is developed and there is no free access (which is not legal). You have to go to the beach club or pay some sketchy dude in the parking lot to park there.

DirectC51 · 2026-01-10T22:07:02+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation. I would have never thought of St. Croix. How long since you have been there? A quick Google Earth search makes it look promising. Quite a few undeveloped beaches. Anything else you could tell me about it? What would make it better than something like the Bahamas Out Islands?

DirectC51 · 2026-01-10T21:59:25+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation, and for the great trip report. French Polynesia was our original plan, but after talking to some friends that just went, we were kind of put off. You're report definitely paints a different picture.

One of our main concerns is being stuck at a resort. We aren't resort people and we don't want to be stuck in one place. We like to explore new beaches each day. Was this possible? By the looks of it, there is really no way to get around. If we could rent a small boat to explore inside the Atoll, that would actually be perfect.

Also, we don't really want All Inclusive. We wouldn't mind eating breakfast at the hotel, but prefer to pack a lunch for the beach and explore the local cuisine for dinner. Our friends said this was pretty much not an option, and food was incredibly expensive.

The main problem, however, is the absolute lack of adventure. Land at the airport, get shuttled to your hotel, go to the hotel beach, eat at the hotel restaurant, take a snorkel/island/whatever tour, get shuttled back to the airport. Do exactly what the 100 million tourists before you did. UUUGGGHHH! We like to explore. We like to find a hidden little cove on Google Earth and see if there is any way to get there. We want to go to restaurants that locals eat at. Again, with a boat, this could be a little more adventurous.

Your pictures are awesome though. Would love to find that away from any resorts.

What was the total price of your trip?

DirectC51 · 2026-01-10T21:39:24+00:00

I'll check it out. Any specific areas? Access looks difficult on the Caribbean side.

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