Talk:Mile high club

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^{Reviewed version: November 20, 2007}

1 dubious paragraph moved over here
2 Mile High Caterpillars
3 Club
4 MileHighClub.com
5 Unsourced stuff
6 Unfriendly Revert
7 Flight simulators
8 Photograph?
9 GA
10 Earth Orbit?

[edit] dubious paragraph moved over here

Likewise, there is no evidence that Sperry created, used, or was aware of the term "Mile High Club", so associating his name with 'founding' the MHC can be considered an urban legend.

The reason I am not comfortable with this paragraph in the article page is that it is pretty much "beating a dead horse", also IMHO bordering on original research. Nowhere else it says that he created, used, or was aware of the term. When aviators (and others; see the milehighclub site) call him the "founding member" they relate to the fact that he is apparently the first aviator ever engaging in this kind of activities while piloting an airplane. BACbKA 19:25, 26 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Hi BACbKA, I think your point about beating a dead horse is well founded. On the other hand I want to explain that the conclusion he never used the term was arrived at by searching through articles on the MHC, and was not original research. (I know you used the qualifier "borderline") I do think the whole section on Perry (including the semi-rebuttal) could stand improvement. Please tell me what you think about this version:

The first and founding member of the MHC is generally considered to be Lawrence Sperry, inventor of the autopilot. In November of 1916 he reportedly was engaged in sexual activity with a woman while he was flying in his Curtiss flying boat over Babylon, New York, when they crashed into the water. His status as founder of the club is a retrospective honor derived from the fact that he is the first person reported to have engaged in aerial sexual activity, and from his association with the development of the autopilot at Sperry Corporation. It is not a literal honor since they crashed from an altitude of only 500 feet, and since the term "Mile High Club" was not in use at the time.

I think this is a better explanation of Perry and his accomplishment. It blends in better with the other part of the article, and removes the "dubious claim" phrase which didn't seem like good wording. Johntex 20:30, 26 Jan 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Mile High Caterpillars

I'm wondering if anyone has ever, in one flight, qualified for both the Mile High Club and the Caterpillar Club. Now THERE would be something to tell your grandchildren about. Lou Sander 21:04, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

The caterpillar club is for folks who have made an emergency bailout. The two activities seem pretty unrelated. I do know of a couple who had sex while strapped together both in freefall and under canopy, but I'm not sure that's what you mean. Rklawton 18:30, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Club

Isn't there a club for pilot who have died trying to meet the qualifications for the Mile High club? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Smith Jones (talk • contribs).

Yes, but the meetings are too ghoulish to be popular. Paul Beardsell 08:33, 30 September 2006 (UTC)

<smile> Smith Jones has since located the Darwin Awards. AvB ÷ talk 16:12, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] MileHighClub.com

I notice this website has been added and removed a few times, so I thought I'd create a discussion about it here. Rklawton 01:45, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

Pros:

It helps demonstrate the term exists Rklawton 01:45, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

But so would a Google search Rklawton 01:45, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
It contains additional information/verification about the "club" and membership Rklawton 01:45, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

Cons:

It's a commercial site so it might count as SPAM Rklawton 01:45, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm the one who put it in this time. (I didn't know it had been in before.) It didn't seem very commercial to me -- mostly just stuff about the club, humorous stories, etc., with one page that sells a few souvenirs. Since there aren't any other references in the article, I thought it would be a good addition. Lou Sander 03:28, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

If sites with any commercial character could not be referenced we wouldn't have many external references. Keep the link. Paul Beardsell 18:46, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

My main concern with listing that site is that it could be misinterpreted. I don't want anyone to get the impression that this commercial site is somehow the creator of this concept or the sponsor of some sort of official club. They have no more and no less right to sell some merchandise around the idea of having sex in the air as anyone else does. There are other businesses that attempt to make money off the concept. If we list just one, then we are playing favorites. List them all, and we have an ugly list of links. How would we objectively decide which ones to list and which ones to ommitt?

If we just want to prove the concept exists, then let's add links to news articles. I am adding one USA Today reference right now. Johntex\^talk 02:11, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

I reworked the external links as references. I think this looks more scholarly and avoids giving the appearance that we are supporting one particular commercial site. I also added the new reference from USA Today. Please let me know what you think. Johntex\^talk 02:20, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

I very much like the reworking of the links as references, but I don't much like relegating MileHighClub.com to the role of a souvenir shop. The site has a pretty good amount of info about the "club," and a pretty small amount of material about souvenirs. So far, the best explanation I've seen about the MHC, and the most authoritative and inclusive reference, is MileHighClub.com. (They also sell souvenirs, just as do most universities, professional athletic teams, national parks, etc.) Lou Sander 03:01, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

Good point - I will rework that part. Plese feel free to change it again or comment back. Thanks! Johntex\^talk 15:24, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Unsourced stuff

One editor suggested seeking consensus before removing unsourced information. That sounds reasonable. Rklawton 02:37, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Delete - unsourced stuff per policy. It's been here long enough, and it's time to get it sourced or deleted. Rklawton 02:37, 6 January 2007 (UTC)
Mark specific problematic phrases - with {{fact}} as per policy. Policy does not require all unsourced statements to be removed. This is a fairly short article yet it has 5 distinct in-line sources. Please hit the random article button a few times. How many articles do you hit with no in-line sources at all? How many featured articles contain at least some statements that are not specifically sourced? For instance - Ahmose I - today's featured article contains several sentences with no source:

"There was no distinct break in the line of the royal family between the 17th and 18th dynasties."

"The Thera eruption in the Aegean has been implicated by some scholars as the source of this damage, but similar claims are common in the propaganda of other pharaohs, to show them overcoming the powers of darkness. Due to the lack of evidence, no definitive conclusion can be reached."

"Although the pyramid interior has not been explored since 1902, work in 2006 uncovered portions of a massive mudbrick construction ramp built against its face."

etc.

Deleting all unsourced information is far too harsh a remedy. Johntex\^talk 03:41, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Unfriendly Revert

Sorry, I had intended to revert the large chunks that Cyberanth had removed, and seem to have reverted other stuff by mistake. My apologies, I'll try to be more careful in the future. Atom 18:46, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

No problem Atom. We've all made that mistake before, I'm sure. No harm done and thanks for your message. Johntex\^talk 19:02, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Flight simulators

Would you qualify for the club if you got laid in a flight simulator? Yeah, it's not REAL, but it would be a LOT harder to do. Lou Sander 16:48, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

It would have to be simulated sex. - AbstractClass 20:19, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

...no shit. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.108.73.47 (talk) 09:12, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Photograph?

There is a template on this page requesting a photograph.

Can anyone think of a non-prurient photograph that would be appropriate for this page, or would improve the article in any meaningful way? It's an amusing request but I think it should be removed if no one can suggest a photograph that would be helpful here. Tim Pierce 23:29, 4 August 2007 (UTC)

I think the request is probably a joke. I have no problem with removing the template. Johntex\^talk 02:08, 5 August 2007 (UTC)

If you really MUST have an image, this one would do:

Official Hot Air Balloon of the Mile High Club (Tethered flights do not qualify participants for membership in the Club)

Lou Sander 03:30, 5 August 2007 (UTC)

I have removed the template. What is a reader supposed to gain from a photo on this article? "Oh, that's what you mean by have sex on an airplane!" I think the article can do without. — Swpb^talk|edits 15:46, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] GA

Quickfail article lacks enough in-line citation. It has next to no chance of passing as is. Article smacks of WP:OR and lack any images whatsoever. -- SECisek (talk) 22:55, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

I was under the impression that images were only recommended, not required. If you can name a type of image that should be in this article I'll add it, but I didn't want to just add photos of planes to make it look pretty. Vicarious (talk) 23:07, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

True about images, I would work on sourcing the OR-ish statements, since that is what will fail the article. -- SECisek (talk) 23:13, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Earth Orbit?

Has it ever been done in space? 65.100.0.172 (talk) 22:32, 26 February 2008 (UTC)