Front of the line
I, too, was checked out as a towplane pilot at Dillingham Field, in the same Cessna L-19 that Barry Schiff flew (" The Front of the Line," December 1996 Pilot). At the time — back in 1974 — it belonged to the Civil Air Patrol and I was a young captain assigned as an aircraft mainenance officer at Wheeler Air Force Base, Hawaii. We had 12 O-2As in our outfit.
Nev Neven, who was the guru of the CAP glider program and a man of few words, gave me some sage advice before I started my checkout as a glider towplane pilot: "Tom, remember this — the glider pilot didn't really come out to fly the glider; he came out to kill the towplane pilot! As soon as you get the power in on takeoff, get your hand on the tow release and don't let go until you have plenty of altitude."
I never forgot this advice, and it saved my skin — and the Bird Dog — a couple of times over the next 3 years and 200 hours of towing.
Tom Schad AOPA 715874
Gainesville, Texas
In his very interesting article, Schiff makes the statement, "Yes, unmanned gliders have been towed aloft." What does the tow pilot do in such a situation?
Arnold Eulert AOPA 043407
Wichita, Kansas
Barry Schiff responds: In such a case, the towplane pilot probably would have to release the glider — Ed.
Lessons from dry ice
William K. Kershner's article (" Dropping Objects," December 1996 Pilot) had my wife and me in stitches. Anecdotes about lessons learned the hard way are the most meaningful tutorials, and when no one is hurt and the stories can be told with humor, they are a real treat. Keep them coming! One more scenario regarding dry ice from the heavens comes to mind: What would the authorities — arriving on the scene hours later — make of a victim done in by contusions from an empty burlap sack?
Timothy Lundin AOPA 1247753
Omaha, Nebraska
I acquired my private pilot certificate in July 1947 at Outlaw Field in Clarksville, Tennessee. Bill Kershner was propping, fueling, and washing airplanes there at that time. I think he received his private pilot certificate that same year. Soon after I received my private, I started working on my commercial certificate. Of course, I tried aerobatics every chance I got. One day I was doing lousy loops and rolls; I gave up and came in. Soon after, Kershner took the same Meyers OTW up, and I watched with envy as he did several near-perfect rolls.
Several years after my Outlaw Field days I discovered the Kershner publications and have used them and sold them to students. The humor that he includes in his work brought back memories of his wit as a teenager. For instance, one day Mr. Piper of Piper Aircraft flew in. After he left Kershner said, "You know, he is just a private pilot." After a grin he said, "Oh, I mean, he's a private pilot, isn't he?"
Omer S. Murphy AOPA 492511
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Flying's true cost
Thanks so much for Richard Bassotti's " The True Cost of Flying" (December 1996 Pilot). I am a student pilot with 12 hours under my belt. I, too, started later in life (33), a professional who considers himself to be a quick learner and who should have picked up the mental side of flying faster than I have. Since starting lessons, my wife, my family, and I have noticed a change in personality that favors a more cautious and thoughtful person — just what's needed behind the yoke. Slowly I've begun to adapt to the many needs of flight and absorb my instructors' cautions and recommendations. Truly this has been for the best, yet I've never seen it ad-dressed in any publication until now. Many thanks for remembering us low-timers.
William Tomlinson AOPA 1308084
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Debating databases
Congratulations, Barry Schiff — you've hit upon the solution to crowded runways, complicated airspace, and all the other modern problems of aviation (" Proficient Pilot: Database Debate," December 1996 Pilot). The FAA says that an expired GPS database renders an aircraft unairworthy under FAR 91.103. If there is a newer database available than the one carried aloft, then the pilot does not have all the available information. Following that same logic, not having any database would also be illegal. If old contains less information than current, then none has even less information. Therefore, it must be illegal to fly without a GPS that can decipher the database. Guess what? In one fell swoop the FAA has just grounded almost every airliner.
Phil Hodge AOPA 969732
Spring City, Tennessee
I am surprised at the suggestion that GPSs with obsolete databases are OK. Is an ELT with an old battery OK? That does not affect the flight of the airplane. Database updates to GPS receivers should be required by airworthiness directive. The cost of the GPS should include lifetime database updates.
I think the FAA should maintain a database that can be downloaded anytime, and the manufacturers should provide a conversion program to put the data into the format their boxes need. The FAA is not requiring GPSs, so if you choose to buy one, keep it up to date or remove it. The rules are real simple — the pilot is in charge, he must ensure that the airplane is safe, and he must have current flight information.
Bill Van Fleet AOPA 993214
Wilbraham, Massachusetts
During my term as president of the American Bonanza Society, I was the one who wrote the letter to FAA Aviation News regarding the chart currency question that Barry Schiff addressed. But Schiff did not address the language of the FAA's own Advisory Circular 20-138.
AC 20-138 is very specific about the requirement for a current database in a database unit that is used for instrument approaches. However, it does not use such specific language regarding en route and terminal use of a database unit, but rather states that the information must be verifiable — i.e., a current paper chart or other information must be used to verify the correctness of the data to be used in the flight. I believe a reasonable person, and that already causes some exclusions, would assume that if something is specifically required by the language used in one instance, the same language would be used if it were to be specifically required in another instance. Lacking that language of specificity, the "something" — in this case, a current database — would not be required and the question of airworthiness becomes even more inane.
Even the FAA did not refer to AC 20-138 in its response to my letter in FAA Aviation News. Curious, eh?
Barrie Hiern AOPA 276620
Rome, Georgia
Kansas on my mind
Mark Twombly's " Pilotage: What's Going on in Oakley?" (December 1996 Pilot) hit a responsive chord with us. We discovered the beauty of western Kansas about the same time he did, only the airport we landed at was Abilene instead of Oakley. As we shut down our Archer, the fixed base operator crawled out from under an airplane he was working on and welcomed us with a big smile and advice on motels and restaurants and a map to the Eisenhower Museum and Library. He not only managed the airport, serviced the airplanes, and provided keys to the courtesy car; he was also the ag pilot, mechanic, and flight instructor.
Early the following morning he was there to see us off and answer questions on the milo crop edging the runway. It happened to be red milo nearly ready to harvest, but nearby there was a white milo field (actually green) that made a nice contrast. We lifted into the calm early morning air and wondered at the beauty of neat fields stretching to the horizon in all directions. It took us a while to identify the most notable landmarks; they dotted the land every few miles and turned out to be grain elevators.
We've been fascinated for a long time by farms and the varied patterns they make as seen from the mountaintop height of a small airplane. Combine that with small, friendly airports and you have general aviation at its best.
Leah C. Atwater AOPA 867048
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Another Grand Canyon perspective
How unfortunate that Thomas Haines presented such a one-sided viewpoint of issues regarding Grand Canyon airspace (" Waypoints: A Grand Experience," October 1996 Pilot). He seems to have only garnered the opinion of Dan Anderson, a well-paid lobbyist who represents tour operators who will profit significantly from no further restriction of their industry. Any opposing viewpoint was merely dismissed as coming from "environmental extremists."
Hardly an extremist, I am an AOPA member, a private pilot, and aircraft owner who has flown over the Grand Canyon and who does not want to see general aviation further restricted from this activity. I do, however, favor restrictions of the air tour industry.
The proposed rulemaking has become necessary because the ever-expanding number of air tours has so severely impacted the experience of visitors who choose to view Grand Canyon from the ground. With the Canyon's astoundingly low natural ambient sound levels, the noise footprint of a helicopter on a 20-minute tour can travel 16 miles into the most remote sections of the park, intruding upon visitors who seek the solitude of a wilderness experience.
The Grand Canyon is a popular place, the crown jewel of our national park system; it must be protected from those who would profit from its exploitation. Virtually every other form of visitation to the Canyon is limited, including backcountry hiking permits — not only to protect the resource, but to protect the visitor experience. Only air tours are exempt from this limitation. With more than 100,000 flights per year, these operators are fighting like mad to continue the unbridled growth they have enjoyed for the past decade, during which time the number of flights has more than tripled. We ask only for reasonable limits on the number of tour flights and the routes flown.
Clearly, general aviation is not causing the noise problem in Grand Canyon, yet private pilots are being penalized because of the air tour industry's impacts. Air tours have preferred routes, with significantly louder tour helicopters being allowed to fly thousands of feet below general aviation airplanes, which have been forced to the upper limits of their service ceilings. AOPA's opposition to the proposed restrictions to general aviation is justified; opposing the effort to protect Grand Canyon's resources from the air tour industry is just simply unreasonable.
Jeri Ledbetter, AOPA 1278924
Flagstaff, Arizona
Ledbetter is president of the Grand Canyon River Guides — Ed.
Errata
Incorrect stall speeds for the new Cessna 172R were listed in " First New 172: A Tradition Continues" (December 1996 Pilot ). According to Cessna, the clean stall is at 51 knots; with flaps down, it is 47 knots.
Erroneous fuel requirements were provided in an item on the Boeing Business Jet ("Pilot Briefing," January Pilot). The aircraft will require 11,170 gallons of fuel to complete a 6,200-nm trip — Ed.
We welcome your comments. Address your letters to: Editor, AOPA Pilot, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701. Include your full name, address, and AOPA number on all correspondence, including e-mail. Letters will be edited for style and length.
