Letters

Mnemonics

I enjoyed Phil Scott's article on mnemonics (" Head Work," April Pilot). As I am down to my last half-gram of brain tissue and can never remember where I put the checklists, mnemonics are a necessary feature of flying.

We in Nebraska enjoy a few advantages unknown in some parts of our nation. First, the state is quite flat. When (that is, if) we arrive anywhere close to our destination, all we have to do is turn off some of those things in front of us, relax with a book, and hop out when the bumping stops.

Another advantage is our section lines. When the state was laid out, the surveyors of the day hadn't yet figured out how to map the wiggly lines enjoyed in some of our more benighted states and made them all square and on a one-mile grid (except where some smart-aleck who knew spherical trigonometry confused it). Most of the roads follow these lines, which makes navigation a simple chore. To remind us of this fact, we have our own mnemonic: 1-Mile-Lines-On-Sections (Theoretically), or, 1'M LOST.

Bill Lainson AOPA 603149
Omaha, Nebraska

"Head Work" brought to mind a mnemonic that I used both during training in a Piper Tomahawk and later on in my acquired Cessna 182.

Part of a prelanding checklist always includes fuel. I developed the mnemonic 4-F (yes, like the old military draft designation) to jog my memory. In the Piper, which has a fuel pump, 4F stood for Full fuel (correct tank), Full rich (mixture), Fuel pump (turn on electric pump), and Full pressure (check pressure gauge).

When I bought my 182, I adapted it to: Full fuel (both tanks), Full rich (mixture), Full prop (high rpm), Full heat (carb heat). Somehow with all this alliteration, it also reminds me to consider flaps.

Roland Melanson AOPA 1258886
Wantage, New Jersey

A variation on GUMP that we used in the T-6 during Air Force pilot training in the 1950s was GRUMPS, for Gas, Radios, Undercarriage, Mixture, Props, Straps. For a pretakeoff check we used CIGarettes For The Poor Russian Soldiers — Controls, Instruments, Gas, Flaps, Trim, Prop, Radios, Straps.

I don't think any of us knew what a mnemonic was. Sounds like a disease. Anything that helped us to remember a procedure was referred to as a gouge.

Gus Tuit AOPA 617464
Greenbank, Washington

Additional mnemonics submitted by readers can be found on AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org/pilot/mnemonics.html) — Ed.

The final nail in GA's coffin

Two times while reading April's AOPA Pilot I was alarmed by the same shocking thought — a GA pilot's worst nightmare — that under government suppression, our coveted activity will become as regulated and expensive as it is in Europe and other nations.

When faced with the possibility that we one day must pay for IFR or VFR flight plans (" Letters," April Pilot), John Chenevey asks, "Won't many pilots decide not to file at all?" In " AOPA Action" the results of Phil Boyer's survey of pilots at the Northwest Aviation Trade Show revealed that 98 percent would not file a VFR flight plan if the cost was $20. But there's another chilling side effect. Surely this compromises safety. In addition to the FAA's collecting less revenue because of fewer pilots using the service, there will probably be a rise in the accident rate. Both of these considerations will prompt the government to require that flight plans be filed, VFR and IFR, and that ATC services be used. This will assure that it gets its money. It will also be the final nail in the coffin of general aviation as we know it.

Mark Yokers AOPA 996851
Hamilton, Ohio

Moving experience

I was deeply moved by Mark Twombly's " Pilotage: Between Airplanes" (April Pilot). Having been a Cessna 150 owner for about eight years, I know the feeling of showing affection to your machine after successfully returning to earth safely after one more glorious flight. One never loses the urge to hope that an airplane you once flew is still giving someone else enjoyment. Do airplanes have souls, or are they just inanimate objects? Perhaps they carry the hopes and dreams of all departed aviators. I know that they are more than just sheet metal. Thank you, Mark, for letting me know that I'm not alone.

Joseph Rene DuPont AOPA 603024
Gillette, New Jersey

A matter of honor

I very much enjoyed "License to Learn: A Matter of Honor" (April Pilot), by Rod Machado. What he said was true. Without meeting him, I know that I would ride with him any time.

Thirty-five years ago, I left the Air Force for an airline career. Some 22,000 hours later, I — and also my airline captain wife — am retired. Now, I share with my wife and stepson the fun of flying a private Piper Navajo Chieftain for a local college.

Machado wrote very well the points I try to make with my stepson. It's a matter of pride to me that I retired without hurting anyone or scraping any paint. I had the benefit of great bosses and teachers who stressed that, while I had to know how to handle an emergency, what I was really paid for was knowing and heeding what not to do.

Not everyone has a sane boss or an understanding family. That's where the honor he spoke of comes in. Set the limits and stick to them. Who will know if you cheat and get away with it? You will. If you don't get away with it, we'll all know.

Jerry L. Farquhar AOPA 1258173
Lighthouse Point, Florida

Missed approaches

" Instrument Insights: Missed Approaches and Holding" by Marc Cook (April Pilot) was much needed and very informative. I would like to add a point or two based on actual experience on missed approaches and as a flight instructor.

The missed approach, like the VFR go-around, requires the sudden change from letting down, to a very positive climb back up into the soup. Like the go-around, there are some very definite "first things first." This is much easier if the airplane and the pilot are set up for the go-around. This leaves power and attitude to add, and in the case of the miss, the "climb to" and "turn to" and "fly to" have to be already in the brain, because at 200 feet you don't have time to look down at the approach plate and say, "Let's see now, what was the missed approach?"

I will always remember a missed approach I did at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, when the last weather report said "1,000 overcast and 10." Piece of cake, right? At DH and everything white, and not ready with the missed approach, I did a reverse spiral to back on top, and I guarantee you I knew the missed approach procedure on the next approach.

Don R. Owen AOPA 670562
Vernal, Utah

Re-covering the Timeless Tri-Pacer

Bravo on a fine overview of fabric re-covering and the restoration process of the Tri-Pacer (" Timeless Tri-Pacer: Airframe Arrangements," April Pilot). It never ceases to amaze me how so many people younger than 45 years old or so, pilots and nonpilots alike, don't consider tube-and-fabric airplanes to be "real airplanes." Being a great fan of the older airplanes, I frequently draw odd looks from the flying club pilots and instructors that I work with when I wax eloquent about the joys of a restoration project. It is good to see the process being discussed in a widely read, progressive magazine, especially in an issue that includes the "Turbine Pilot" section. I look forward to reading about the progress of the project, which, I am sure, will be finished before the Taylorcraft that I am working on is completed.

Steve Green AOPA 1058039
Lakewood, Colorado

Mark Cook's Tri-Pacer article and, more specifically, " Airframe and Powerplant: Fabric Familiar" (April Pilot) were mostly on track, other than the misleading text regarding fabric coatings. As an A&P mechanic, I've been involved in building and restoring fabric-covered aircraft for 25 years. True, the Polyfiber system, developed by Ray Stits in the 1960s, is a fine product. However, Cook's statement "Vinyl-based covering systems have essentially replaced more conventional cellulose-based coatings like nitrate/butyrate dope" is far from fact. The "highly flammable dope" scare tactic keeps rearing its ugly head to persuade the unknowing.

The Randolph nitrate/butyrate dope system is used not only by many professional restorers and homebuilders, but also original equipment manufacturers such as Aviat (makers of the Pitts and Husky); Bellanca (Super Viking); and, of course, all Pipers from day one through the mid-1980s. Polyfiber4 has never been used by a manufacturer on a production aircraft. The Randolph dope system has and still is.

Roger Lehnert AOPA 816032
Avondale, Pennsylvania

Pilatus' PC-12

I have read every AOPA Pilot and Flying article ever published on the Pilatus PC-12, and I have to say that your April report (" Flexible Flyer") was the finest, most accurate that I have ever read. Thomas Horne covered details in an easy-reading manner that no one has ever done before.

Patrick Puckett AOPA 1232582
Las Vegas, Nevada

I was very puzzled by your description of the power settings on the PC-12 in the April issue of AOPA Pilot. Twice you referenced the torque setting in units of pounds per square inch. However, psi is a unit of pressure, not torque. Would you please clarify your description?

David T. Lee AOPA 909797
Dublin, Ohio

Pilatus chose to measure power in terms of oil pressure in the propeller gearbox, hence the psi measurements on the gauge and performance tables. Torque is the traditional means of setting power in turboprops. This is a measurement of the twisting force on the propeller shaft. The psi measurement is, if unconventional, just as accurate as the others — Ed.

Playing with wing sweep

Boeing was already playing around with 707 as a model number for its new jet when Boeing President Bill Allen arbitrarily changed the model number to 367-80 (" Letters," April Pilot). Boeing was already well into the 400 series of model numbers and decided to start the jet transports with a new series, the 700s (500 and 600 were reserved for missiles, pilotless aircraft, etc.).

More important is that you have now modified the wing of the 707 to a 45-degree sweep from the 35-degree that Boeing gave it. Even with the 35-degree sweep, it required a fulltime yaw damper (rudder autopilot) to handle Dutch roll tendencies. With 45 degrees of sweep, it would have been something else.

Thomas W. Tinkler AOPA 023570
California, Maryland

Barry Schiff's original response to Steven Carkeek's letter in the April issue did not contain the statement that the Boeing 707 had a 45-degree wing sweep. One of Pilot's editors succumbed to the longstanding myth that the sine and cosine (of a wing sweep 10 degrees too large) were responsible for the naming of the 707 — Ed.

Erratum

Because of a typographical error, Boire Field in Nashua, New Hampshire, was misspelled in " Pilots: Ed Carlson" (May Pilot).

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.