Letters

Saluting the Tri-Pacer

I salute your choice of a Piper Tri-Pacer as this year's sweepstakes airplane (" Timeless Tri-Pacer: Finding Our Candidate," February Pilot). I know this to be one tough and versatile bird, and one of the few practical four-seaters that is readily obtainable to the average Joe or Joan. Paul Hamer and I recently flew a restored 1952 Tri-Pacer from the United States to Argentina and back. After my experiences in a Tri-Pacer, I can assure you that my name is in the AOPA hat for this one!

Kevin Naser AOPA 1235120
Omaha, Nebraska

This time I think that AOPA has hit right on the mark with the Tri-Pacer restoration project. As a Boeing flight test engineer, I have a number of friends who are pilots, and we are all concerned about the high cost of general aviation. We all speculated that if one of us did win a brand-new Cessna 172 from a previous sweepstakes, we would have to sell it to pay the taxes and then buy a more affordable four-seater (like a Tri-Pacer) and use the extra money for operating expenses.

I'm fortunate enough to own a 50-year-old Cessna 120, but the $255 per month that I pay for hangar rent alone is enough to scare most of my friends away from airplane ownership. Nonetheless, classic airplanes at reasonable prices are the surest way to get the average person flying again. Keep up the good work.

Tim Bischof AOPA 990197
Leonardtown, Maryland

The choice of a Tri-Pacer for this year's AOPA giveaway makes a lot of sense, particularly when $10,000 in cash is added. As you must know, winners have to pay taxes on the value of the airplane they win. This alone would force many winners to sell their new airplanes to satisfy the tax obligations that winning creates. With the Tri-Pacer, its fun value is so high that no winner would sell it. The Tri-Pacer is a great, realistic choice for a sweepstakes airplane, and I hope that it is the first of a continuing trend.

Richard Vallens AOPA 320596
Irvine, California

I was quite excited to read that you will be giving away a Tri-Pacer. Indeed, this is an airplane that the average individual can afford to fly, and even today is an important link to the survival of general aviation. Do the aviation community a favor and devote as many magazine articles to this project as you have to previous sweepstakes aircraft. If general aviation is to flourish, we need both new airplanes and an awareness of capable, affordable airplanes like the Piper Pacer and Tri-Pacer. These are aircraft that can be restored to better-than-new condition for less than the price of a new Chevrolet Suburban — a vehicle which, based on sales figures, seems to be within the budget of most middle-class Americans.

Tom Eggert AOPA 960527
Wichita, Kansas

Look elsewhere for savings

I just read with alarm that once again the Clinton administration is going to lead an assault on the safety of U.S. aviation (" AOPA Action," February Pilot). As a professional (military) aviator and GA aircraft owner, I fear what will happen to the safety of all of us with this approach.

I fly virtually every cross-country flight in my Cessna Skylane with the security of an IFR flight plan, regardless of weather conditions. If I have to pay fees for that added measure of security, I will likely measure the weather conditions first and then opt for more cost-effective filing methods. Depending on the level of costs, won't many pilots decide to not file at all? The national air traffic system will lose all control and sight of the air traffic in this nation.

If the administration is interested in cutting the cost of government and cutting the cost of the FAA in particular, it should look at the bureaucracy that exists within the agency. Hundreds of millions of dollars could be saved by some very basic reorganization and reengineering that would not pose a threat to aviation safety.

John V. Chenevey AOPA 1181790
Lusby, Maryland

Low-cost peace of mind

After reading about Dr. Frayser's surviving his encounter with carbon monoxide poisoning (" Pilot Briefing," February Pilot), I'd like to say that I'm glad he suffered only minor injuries and that no one else was hurt or killed.

I'd also like to offer a suggestion. While an autopilot is very nice, Dr. Frayser should consider investing in a carbon monoxide detector. They retail for less than $12. If one had been installed in his Piper Comanche, perhaps it might have helped to prevent the accident in the first place.

Mitchell Ross AOPA 1295430
Ledyard, Connecticut

All the wrong places?

I suggest that Marguerite O'Riorden (" Letters," February Pilot) and others like her are looking in the wrong places for the ladies who love the sky. I am a civilian pilot and a military aircrew member with more than 2,500 flying hours (civilian and military), including more than 500 hours that is direct combat support time. Perhaps I have that "adventure gene" she wrote about. I have traveled all over the world in more than 10 years of military service, and I have been able to find other women pilots — both military and civilian — everywhere I have been.

Right now, I am on a remote tour of duty in Iceland. In spite of the weather conditions here, I have still managed to hook up with several other women pilots. Most of them are Icelandic civilians.

Being a female pilot does not have to be "a lonely achievement." Let me provide a couple of vectors: the Civil Air Patrol and The Ninety-Nines, the international organization of women pilots. There are plenty of women who love to fly — you just have to look in the right places to find us.

Barbara M. Omstead AOPA 708562
Keflavik, Iceland

Unlike Marguerite O'Riorden, I've yet to see awkward silence from women when I've mentioned my enjoyment of flying; they're thrilled by the idea and want to go up. Maybe her attitudes about females are exuded in her teaching, or maybe she's not understanding enough of students' needs for solving problems in goal-reaching. Instructors must always remember that students usually rise to the expectations of their instructors, whether the expectations are positive or negative.

Rosalie White AOPA 1130285
New Britain, Connecticut

Dream world?

I have just finished reading the February Pilot. As a loyal reader for eight years, I have come to the conclusion that AOPA, as the main proponent and guardian of general aviation, is living in a dream world.

Alton Marsh's article " The Potato Head Factory," on the new Maule aircraft, is a prime example. He writes about the strong appeal the aircraft has "for the light of wallet and the value seekers." I would like to know who he is talking about. I don't know of a single pilot who considers spending $155,000 for what is essentially a tube-and-fabric aircraft based on 1940s technology as a value.

Why doesn't AOPA concentrate its efforts on convincing aircraft manufacturers to once again start building aircraft that are affordable to the common, everyday pilot? If all we have to look forward to is general aviation aircraft that can be afforded by the wealthy and well-to-do, then let us all admit that general aviation is truly dead.

Feliberto Tua AOPA 1064910
Altamonte Springs, Florida

The $155,000 aircraft was listed as being one of Maule's most expensive models and includes an autopilot and GPS, which were not available in the 1940s — Ed.

Reality check

Concerning the item on Phoenix Tower controllers (" Pilot Briefing," February Pilot), it sounds as though these controllers need a reality check. It did not sound as if their concern was for safety, but was concern for how much work they have to do. I am a flight instructor at Centennial Airport in Englewood, Colorado, and I can't imagine a busier airport. The controllers here are great — even at times when they are saturated with all kinds of traffic, they still manage to be professional and kind. It sounds to me as if the Phoenix controllers need to take a lesson from some of the pros at my airport.

Sean Leonard AOPA 1212997
Englewood, Colorado

Your blurb about controllers wanting GA out of Phoenix's Sky Harbor International is unfair to those controllers who don't feel that way. I fly my Bellanca into Sky Harbor a couple times a month, and I have always found the controllers to be friendly and accommodating.

Jim Parrish AOPA 936782
Terrell, Texas

Simulated currency

" Instrument Insights: Is Currency Any Easier?" (February Pilot) was a helpful and informative guide to the revised regulations regarding IFR currency. Can you still use a simulator, such as the ATC 610-series trainer, for currency? If so, how much can be done here?

Mark Cozzetta AOPA 886066
Concord, California

Yes, you can use an FAA-approved trainer such as the ATC 610. Check with the school or operator of the simulator to see whether it is approved — Ed.

Rolling out inverted

Barry Schiff's answer to Question 9 (" Test Pilot," February Pilot) is incorrect. Rolling out of the inverted turn described in this question would require application of right aileron and left rudder, the control pressures denoted in answer (c). Proper correction of adverse aileron yaw requires rudder opposite to applied aileron (from the pilot's point of view). I realize that, looking at the airplane from the rear, the rudder would move to the right. If the airplane is inverted the pilot would have applied left pedal.

Rick Hermann AOPA 710423
Radford, Virginia

Barry Schiff responds: Inverted flight has always had a dizzying effect on me, and just thinking about inverted turns apparently had a similar effect. I sometimes get so tricky in creating the quiz that I wind up tricking myself, as happened in this case — Ed.

707 is 367 ^th

February's " Test Pilot" indicates that the Boeing 707 was given that name because it was the 707th design by Boeing. I think that the 707 was closer to 367-80, the design designation that was used by Boeing through the development and certification process — the 367 prefix originating from the C-97/Stratocruiser series of aircraft. I believe that the 300 series of design block numbers goes all the way back to the B-29. The prototype 367-80 carried the N number N70700 and displayed the model name, 707, on its vertical stabilizer.

Steven Carkeek AOPA 862151
Kent, Washington

Schiff responds: My original information came from a presumably reputable book, but Boeing advises me that the 707 is indeed the company's 367th design. It was assigned the model 707 simply "because it is memorable and easy to say." Memorable to the engineers, perhaps, because the sine and cosine of the model's 45-degree wing sweep is 0.707 — Ed.

We welcome your comments. Address your letters to: Editor, AOPA Pilot, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701. Send e-mail to [email protected]. Include your full name, address, and AOPA member number on all correspondence, including e-mail. Letters will be edited for style and length.