Kimberly Sailor, ATP/CFI
Via the Internet
To Call Or Not To Call
As aviators, we recognize that ATC communications follow a certain protocol. Good situational awareness dictates that we usually know what the controller is going to say before we even hear the words in our headsets, but we still keep our ears open for the unexpected.
Air traffic controllers most likely do the same thing. However, they can become inundated with tasks that may not allow them to catch every transmission a pilot makes. Controllers working radar make handoffs and pointouts with other sectors, coordinate traffic between adjacent facilities on the infamous landline, and receive information from other controllers regarding special operations, runway changes, new weather, etc. The point is that just because you don't hear the controller transmitting on the frequency does not mean that he or she is not busy.
A cold call to ATC consisting of just your call sign will alert the controller that you want his attention. Alternatively, giving all the information at once will most likely lead to the controller asking you to repeat your call sign and request. Cold calls to controllers are good in situations such as initial call up for VFR flight following, when you have a specific request, or when you need information that a controller may have to research in order to answer. Warm calls have their place, but it's good airmanship to give a head's up to a controller. Besides, when was the last time you received a full IFR reroute without a forewarning from the controller?
Paul Petraglia
Jacksonville, Florida
The Upside Of Changing Instructors
There's another side to the need to change flight instructors story. I belong to the group of landing impaired students. (I blame it on 40 odd years of driving before I tried the skies.)
It took four instructors and more hours than I'm willing to own up to get me on the ground safely. All the instructors I've flown with are a great bunch-every one of them taught me a lot (not necessarily related to the actual landing). They all have different approaches, priorities, experience, etc.
So maybe there was a downside, due to the lack of continuity, but there was also an upside. I think I've learned a lot more than if I had only one instructor. Maybe I'd have had to look to refueling in the air and skip the landing part! I think we can all benefit from flying with other pilots, instructors or not, if we keep an open mind.
Barb Miller
Via the Internet
Some Airline Pilots Can Fly Little Airplanes
Whoa! I didn't say that. In October's AOPA Flight Training, a line in my intro to the "Instructor Report" read, "And if you think airline pilots can handle little airplanes, think again. Most flight instructors quickly learn? just because pilots can fly one airplane, that doesn't mean they can fly them all." Unbeknownst to me, an editorial modification changed this line. The original line read, "And just in case you think 747-qualified airline pilots can handle little airplanes, you better think again. In their first year of teaching, most flight instructors learn... just because pilots can fly one airplane, that doesn't mean they can fly them all." My phraseology referenced the specific group of airline pilots (like the one in Dan Namowitz's article) who believe that the ability to fly big planes automatically qualifies them to fly small ones, too. No general reference was intended.
Rod Machado
Size Doesn't Matter
I would like to commend Ralph Butcher on his excellent article "Size Doesn't Matter" (September 1999). I learned to fly in 1981 during my senior year of high school. I also had my moments of glory in a 1947 Aeronca 7AC Champ. My real interest was in general aviation and antique aircraft, yet I went to a top-rated (and priced) aviation college to be an airline pilot. My logic was that I could fly for a living and be able to afford the biplane of my dreams.
Due to some changes in my priorities and the realization that my 20/400 vision would disqualify me from most airline interviews, I left the college very discouraged with no degree or additional ratings.
Now as a pastor (remember those changing priorities) with a 14-year gap in my logbook, I got my flight review and medical refreshed last January. What a thrill to find out that those flying skills were still there, and flying small airplanes was all the fun I remembered it to be!
I know that there is a big push to get new people into flying, which is great, but there are a lot of us "retreads" out there just waiting for a little encouragement to get back into the air!
Eric A. Krahmer
Santa Maria, California
Sometimes Instructors Should Move On
Everyone seems to be knocking the CFI situation of marking time until the big break comes along, and I would like to add my version since it is completely opposite from any I have seen yet. You see, I am thankful my CFI got his big opportunity and moved on, or I would not have my certificate today.
I have been an instructor of one thing or another for most of my adult life and believe I would qualify as an expert witness on the subject since I have taught many instructors many subjects. I realize there may be a problem going from being an instructor to being an instructee, but there never was any conflict in this area for me because I understand that different instructors have different styles.
My CFI's method was to demonstrate his expertise and skill at the controls, but there it ended because he had never mastered the art of imparting this knowledge to someone else. My problems stemmed from being criticized for trying to learn too much and for even wanting a copy of the up-coming lesson.
I will not go into the perceived shortcomings of the instruction-from not being permitted to use the radio even after explaining that I was a communications specialist, to being ordered to keep my feet off the rudder pedals, not to mention not being briefed on the purpose and necessity of using the trim tabs. I still remember those early attempts trying to climb out after takeoff without trim, and imagine trying to land an airplane without using the rudder and not being shown how to let an airplane level itself. I would never have made it without John and Martha King and Gleim.
I soloed on my seventy-fifth birthday. That first landing may not have been a work of art, but I did walk away so it was a good one. I was in no hurry to leave training, but I did get my certificate shortly after my seventy-sixth birthday thanks to my new instructor's patience and my perseverance.
So, students, be thankful if you can find an instructor you can relate to. Learn the basic principles from books and convince yourself that you are going to be a better-trained pilot by having more than one viewpoint on the subject. I have learned something different from every instructor, pilot, and even student that I have flown with, and I am thankful for that variety of experiences.
Marion B. Johnson
Via the Internet
Distinguishing Between TRSA And Class C
In your September issue in "Legends," you discuss National Security Areas. Your description of the NSA is accurate. However, the NSA you describe in Augusta, Georgia, over the Savannah River nuclear power plant does not lie near or under Class C airspace. The airspace you describe is the Augusta TRSA, not a Class C. The only controlled airspace in the TRSA is the Class D over the Augusta Bush Field Airport. Thus, you are incorrect in stating that pilots need to obtain clearance to transition the area. Participation in a TRSA is strictly voluntary for radar services.
Richard C. Freeman, CFI/ATP
Via the Internet
Safety And The Instrument Rating
I'd like to make a few comments on the VFR/IFR safety debate, and I hope a few CFIs will take note. The fact is that a lot of pilots will not get an instrument rating. While training for my private license I was taught not to get into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), but more importantly I was taught how to survive if I did.
My CFI purposely put me in clouds, heavy fog, and over water at night. Teaching a student in visual conditions while under the hood is too controlled. Putting a student in IMC will teach him to stay calm, use the instruments only, and to use his head. For a newly rated private pilot, accidentally flying into IMC for the first time and feeling panicked is not a good time to try to remember what the CFI told you while you were back at the FBO. Explain it but also show the student what it's like to be in actual IMC. It might save a life one day.
Kevin Gilbert
New Orleans, Louisiana
Enter A Ground Reference Maneuver Which Way?
I strongly suggest remedial training for the art director and the editor who let the illustration in the story on S-turns ("As Easy as Crossing the Road," October 1999) get into print.
The picture in question does an outstanding job of illustrating the misconception Robert Rossier mentions at the beginning of the article. Unfortunately, students (and others) who see the picture first may not realize that it directly contradicts the words in the article, and may believe that it depicts the proper way to fly an S-turn. As Rossier correctly states in the article, the steepest banks are flown just before and just after crossing the road with the wind, and the shallowest are just before and just after crossing the road into the wind.
Having spent more hours than I care to recall in the last 27 years correcting commercial and CFI students who were trying to fly the maneuver the way your illustrations depict, I sincerely hope this is only one of many communications you receive on this subject.
Larry A. Hendrickson, CFI/ATP
Via the Internet
