Letters

Cirrus sticks

I loved " The Next Generation" (November 1996 Pilot). The Cirrus SR20 seems to be well thought out and very efficient.

I have one problem with the design — it would drive a left-handed person nuts! I normally fly with my left hand, switching to the right when jotting ATIS, clearances, etc. That would be a bit difficult with the side stick, as would flying from the right seat. Have lefties been considered in the design process?

Michael Dennin AOPA 1224913
St. Petersburg, Florida

After reading "Letters" in the November 1996 Pilot, about the pricing of new Cessna 172s, I read your article about the Cirrus SR20. It struck me that the SR20 had many of the improvements that would seem to be expected, given the time since the 172 was marketed, while the new 172 did not — modern materials, performance, and cockpit and cabin design. I began to envision the day I might be able to fly an SR20 and, studying the article, I noted the unique side stick controller. As I mentally sat myself in the SR20, I noticed that my writing hand (left) was my only option for side stick control. If I ever wanted to keep a pen and a controller at hand, I would have to write with my "wrong" hand. Disappointed, I wondered if all pilots were right-handed; well, probably not. (All aeronautical engineers? I hope not.)

While I am generally impressed with the SR20, I have to acknowledge the time-proven design of the old (and new) 172. No one can get everything right the first time, and the implications of that are probably why things don't change very quickly in aircraft design. I know that I can scratch out notes with my "wrong" hand, though I worry that it would wind up being a "contributing factor." I value innovation, but I have to wonder what else went unnoticed.

Joseph Jones AOPA 1221716
Gig Harbor, Washington

Don't try this at home

It was refreshing to read Alton K. Marsh's " A Continuous Near-Miss" (November 1996 Pilot), although he may have missed one of the driving aspects that cause a civilian pilot to pursue formation flying: It is way fun. When trained by experienced pilots, the satisfaction of conquering one's initial concern is unbelievable. Formation builds precision flying skills you did not know you had in you — or would not have bothered to develop otherwise. It is the most fun a pilot operating a Normal category aircraft can have.

Of particular interest was Peter A. Bedell's accompanying "Know When to Say When." He mentions formation flight with dissimilar aircraft. As a practitioner of this fine art of insanity, I can wholeheartedly agree that it is not for the novice. The group I fly with operates a Cessna 172, Cessna 140, Luscombe 8A/E, and a Zlin 242. Our typical flights consist of flower drops for veterans' ceremonies, town parades, and patriotic events. The discipline required to operate such dissimilar aircraft in close proximity is attained only by hard practice — lots of it. By the end of a session you are sweaty, exhausted, and physically drained — but it would take a bulldozer to wipe the smile off your face.

Scott Powers AOPA 715036
Pottstown, Pennsylvania

In the late 1950s Bob Hoover was sent by North American to F-100 bases to demonstrate, with some truly spectacular maneuvers, the Super Saber's capabilities. At that time, the F-100's accident rate was above the norm — whatever the norm is.

Attempting to instill confidence in the F-100, Hoover would take off and, with his gear still extended, do a roll off the far end of the runway. It was absolutely unbelievable. You could hear the crowd, mostly young jocks, gasp in awe. He showed that the F-100 was a safe aircraft to fly.

Describing Hoover as a highly experienced pilot is like calling Einstein a highly experienced mathematician. Hoover knew the F-100 intimately, and many of us suspect that he was on minimum fuel when he took off.

It wasn't very long after Hoover's demonstration that there would be a fatal crash — a pilot trying to equal or even surpass what they had witnessed Hoover do. And, it may be so with "A Continuous Near-Miss," about the 10-hour course on formation flying. Some readers might think to themselves, "Hey, I can do that. I'll call my buddy. We'll brief and do it. It'll be a challenge and fun."

My suggestion for those pilots who aspire to fly formation is for them to visualize that the pilot on your wing, just a few feet away from your ailerons, has on the nose of his aircraft a buzz saw that can tear into your wing just like a weed eater chopping up a piece of newspaper, shredding it to bits.

Formation flying should remain in the domain of the military. There are several reasons military pilots fly formation; one is as a second set of eyes to "check six" behind each other for enemy aircraft.

Martin Tony Weissgarber AOPA 1293295
San Antonio, Texas

Mobil antagonists

" Airframe and Powerplant: Grading Mobil's AV-1 Settlement" (November 1996 Pilot) appears to be based solely on the interim report by counsel for the plaintiffs — a dubious source. No wonder the article is biased against Mobil.

The IO-520 in my Bonanza was a victim of Mobil AV-1. The rate of oil consumption became intolerable, requiring a top overhaul. Mobil was highly responsive and professional in dealing with my situation. They offered a fair and reasonable sharing of my costs and sent me a check before any class-action suit was filed.

The plaintiffs' counsel sent me a copy of their filing, which included two pages about my Bonanza, claiming, among other things, that my life had been in danger. Their facts were mostly wrong. And, I am certain that the sludge that had accumulated in my piston rings in no way threatened my life or damaged the bottom end of the engine. I wrote to the plaintiffs' counsel at the time, protesting their inaccurate portrayal of my situation and explaining that I would refuse to cooperate or participate in their bogus lawsuit.

Class-action lawsuits of this type have the objective of enriching the lawyers and law firms that file them. They damage the industry and many fine companies. We all end up paying for these settlements; much of this payment ends up in the plaintiffs' lawyers' pockets. I'm sorry to see AOPA Pilot publish an article that legitimizes this type of legalized extortion.

Michael A. Malcolm AOPA 969617
Woodside, California

Powering through the slump

I am one of thousands (tens of thousands?) that received, and sometimes endured, 50 or 60 hours of primary flight training and then allowed a career and business to interfere: another flying dropout. Thomas B. Haines' column on his wife Brenda's "landings slump" (" Waypoints: Family Affair," November 1996 Pilot) brought back memories from too long ago.

I consider myself an expert in "landing slumps," since in addition to this I had "takeoff slump," "stall slump," "night landing slump," and "recovery from spin slump." Here's what my instructor did for landings:

On the longest runway that we could find, I was instructed to lift off but not climb out. Just fly the runway at one or two feet. I didn't know it, but the landing attitude picture was being burned into the brain.

Later, entering the pattern, I was instructed to fly final right to the runway but not to touch down. Bingo, the psychological pressure to land was gone. And, of course, I was now good at flying the runway. Naturally, I was soon asking to pull off the throttle and land.

I encourage Brenda to stay with it. And thank you for sharing her frustration. It was the memory jolt needed to get this over-40 (closer to 50) dropout back in the air.

I finally have a New Year's resolution that I'll enjoy keeping.

John D. (Jack) Palmer AOPA 1073501
Homestead, Florida

Davis' departure

Audie Davis, one of aviation's truest and best friends, recently retired as manager of the FAA's Aeromedical Certification Division in Oklahoma City (" Pilot Briefing," November 1996 Pilot). Most of us know Dr. Davis only by his printed signature on our medical certificates. A few of us — myself included — experienced the horror of seeing it on denial letters as well.

But few pilots know how hard Audie Davis worked to enable every reasonably qualified person to get back into the air again — safely. I personally know of many certificates that would not have been issued at all were it not for Davis' personal attention and consideration. He willingly devoted much of his time to helping individual pilots, even to the extent of inviting them to call him directly or meet with him in person.

He did all of this in the face of FAA budget cuts and staff reductions, and still managed a workload of 2,000 new applications each day. For all its faults, it is a wonder the aeromedical certification system works as well as it does; for that, Audie Davis should get the credit, and our thanks.

George Bullwinkel AOPA 791994
Chicago, Illinois

Touche

What a shame it was to read how successful aviation plaintiffs' attorney Arthur Wolk was injured after a precautionary landing in his Grumman jet (" Pilot Briefing," November 1996 Pilot). I wonder which parts of NX72WP were less than 18 years old.

Jon P. Bradrick AOPA 01136005
Westlake, Ohio

Errata

The new Clay County Regional Airport in Missouri does not have an ILS approach as reported in " Pilot Briefing" (November 1996 Pilot). The airport does have NDB and GPS overlay approaches.

Operating hours of the American Helicopter Museum and Education Center in West Chester, Pennsylvania, were incorrectly reported (" Pilot Briefing," November 1996 Pilot). The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday; it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

We welcome your comments. Address your letters to: Editor, AOPA Pilot, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701. You must include your full name, address, and AOPA number on all correspondence, including E-mail. Letters will be edited for style and length.