Hacker News Reader

Ah, the subset of stunt pilots will run a MUCH higher risk profile. That would explain a lot.

but many of them were stunt pilots

Lincoln Beachey thought it was a dream to go up to heaven in a flying machine The machine broke down and down he fell thought he'd go to heaven but he went to Lincoln Beachey thought it was a dream ...

RIP Lincoln Beachey, drowned in SF Bay 1915

[0] http://www.radiolab.org/story/159748-loop-loop/

That reminds me of something I heard once- "there are old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there are no old bold pilots."

And then, there's Jurgis Kairys[1] doing things like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWaSgofuD6g at 60.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurgis_Kairys

This would have been key information in your original statement for sure.