retire@40
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2004
- Messages
- 2,670
I understand being frugal and making your own airplane with cloth-wrapped wings if you can't afford a plane but really want to fly, but this guy was worth $18 billion. I think he could have splurged on the best plane on the market.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/27/national/main704642.shtml
One of the country's richest men, John Walton, died Monday when his homemade aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from the Jackson Hole Airport in Wyoming just after noon.
Walton, 58, the son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton and a member of the company's board, was piloting a lightweight, homemade aircraft. It crashed near the airport in Grand Teton National Park, the company said.
In March, Forbes Magazine listed Walton as No. 11 on its list of the world's richest people, with a net worth of $18.2 billion, tied with his brother Jim Walton. In 2004, Forbes listed Walton, along with his two brothers, a sister and mother as the fourth wealthiest people in the United States.
The crash occurred at approximately 12:20 p.m., according to Wyoming news sources, and the cause has not yet been determined. Walton, 58, was the aircraft's sole occupant.
The plane is an experimental class of aircraft, the National Park Service told the Casper Star-Tribune. It had a light, gas-powered engine and an aluminum frame, with wings rapped in cloth, making them similar to boat sales. It probably weighed less than 500 pounds.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/27/national/main704642.shtml
One of the country's richest men, John Walton, died Monday when his homemade aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from the Jackson Hole Airport in Wyoming just after noon.
Walton, 58, the son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton and a member of the company's board, was piloting a lightweight, homemade aircraft. It crashed near the airport in Grand Teton National Park, the company said.
In March, Forbes Magazine listed Walton as No. 11 on its list of the world's richest people, with a net worth of $18.2 billion, tied with his brother Jim Walton. In 2004, Forbes listed Walton, along with his two brothers, a sister and mother as the fourth wealthiest people in the United States.
The crash occurred at approximately 12:20 p.m., according to Wyoming news sources, and the cause has not yet been determined. Walton, 58, was the aircraft's sole occupant.
The plane is an experimental class of aircraft, the National Park Service told the Casper Star-Tribune. It had a light, gas-powered engine and an aluminum frame, with wings rapped in cloth, making them similar to boat sales. It probably weighed less than 500 pounds.
