Tommy Shane Steiner, a mostly retired country singer, has been flying and landing his private helicopter at an Austin shopping center to "ward off" people who he said were breaking into businesses.

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[–] 170 points 2 years ago (7 children)

Steiner told KXAN that he likes to commute to work in a helicopter, a sentiment he has shared on Instagram as well.

“Austin traffic is bad, so I’m doing my part to make it a little better by not being in it. #ecowarrior,” he said in a post of a video of him flying over downtown Austin.

Ok, so he's also a moron. In case anyone was wondering.

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  • [–] 76 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    So... A guy who hasn't done any work in years, did something kinda cool 20 years ago, loves Alex Jones, and says that the helicopter he uses to assault and endanger the homeless to defend a business while calling himself a hero to the middle class? Fetch me my fancy bib, it's time to eat the rich.

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  • [–] 46 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I really hope the FAA pulls his license over this shit. His daddy owns the helicopter so this is just some entitled asshole, who I hope gets to sit in traffic with the rest of us soon.

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  • [–] 31 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    "Austin traffic is bad, so I'm doing my part to make it a little better by not being in it. #ecowarrior,"

    His lack of self-awareness is far worse than Austin traffic.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I guess you can count the non-moronic country singers on one hand, after a bad accident with a saw.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    Let's do this.

    • Dolly Parton

    I think I nailed it. Any others?

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  • [+] -19 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    Technically he's right, since traffic is caused by cars. (the snowflake doesn't blame itself for the avalanche)

    But he's still a fucking idiot.

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  • [–] 13 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I think they're referring to the #ecowarrior hashtag. I'm sure the original was supposed to be a tongue in cheek dig at the #fuckcars crowd but it's definitely wrong that a local helicopter ride is better for greenhouse gas emissions than one car in normal traffic

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  • [–] 48 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    That dude hasn't sung in 20+ years. Is it really true to say he's still a somewhat active singer if he hasn't been carried by a label or toured in multiple decades?

    He's a Texan who found a worse way to travel than an oversized pickup truck.

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  • [–] -1 points 2 years ago* (2 children)

    Technically, it said he still occasionally sings at the family restaurant.

    Idk. So I look it up, cause it sounds ridiculous, and it says that Jet fuel produces an average of 21.1 pounds of CO2 per gallon and aviation gas 18.4, while fuel for cars is 19.6 and that (not the greatest source but) helicopters and airplanes use the same type of fuel he might not actually be wrong about saving emissions, considering Austin traffic nowadays...but im no expert, and it's still a jackass thing to do, not to mention pretty dangerous, no matter how much the police block off the parking lot.

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  • [–] 24 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    helicopters use vastly more fuel than cars. and they always will.

    This is one of the reason that "flying cars" never actually catch on- it's horribly inefficient and most people can't afford the fuel, never mind all the other associated maintenance costs.

    the amount of fuel being consumed by a helicopter depends greatly on it's engine- piston engines like the bell 47 and Robinson r22 are 15 and 8, respectively. But turbine engines? the bell 206 jet ranger will use about 30+ (don't get me started on the military birds- the black hawks are like 180, and go down hill from there.)

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    I am not defending this dumbass, but how much fuel are you using if you go directly back and forth compared to a car which has to take a variety of different directions to get there? It still is bad regardless as helicopters use avgas, which is leaded.

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  • [–] 9 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    So, it kind of depends on fight paths and highways, and traffic in general. But if you're talking about a ten minute flight, at (the low side) of 30 gallons per hour on a turbine helicopter, compared to the high-side of 5 gallons per hour in an suv (10mpg@50 mph), you'd have to be stuck in traffic for more than an hour to justify on fuel.

    if he really was concerned about the enviroment and not just being snarky... public transit is the way to go.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    You basically need the majority of the fuel to counter gravity, which with land vehicles is done by the road.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    Ah yes, gravity. That small detail which has been keeping people down for generations. How could I forget it?

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  • [–] 40 points 2 years ago

    Ironically his one hit song is about having compassion for a homeless person...

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  • [–] 29 points 2 years ago

    Does this guy want to lose his pilot license?...because that's how you lose your pilot license.

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  • [–] 9 points 2 years ago

    "Keep Austin weird" Not like that.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago* (2 children)

    Dude looks like a mutant scientific master race experiment made by some yuppy.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago