Letters

Sweet smell of new

The March issue's cover photo received many oohs and ahhs from my classmates at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's flight school. Looking also at the increased number of student pilots, I begin to wonder how many of them (especially of the younger generation) will soon become proficient in the operation of systems before they become proficient in the theory of flight — if they ever do.

I already know of too many young people who can easily program GPS receivers but do not understand why an airplane spins. If flight management systems could be installed in small airplanes, I'm sure they would have those, too. In fact, one student here, upon learning that civilian GPS was to be temporarily inaccessible in the Florida area recently, asked, "Can we still fly?"

I found it ironic that a separate article about looking outside the aircraft to avoid a collision appeared in the same month's issue. Spending that much head-down time, especially with new students, is analogous to walking forward while looking at your feet.

Adam Kohne AOPA 1350125
Daytona Beach, Florida

In " Sweet Smell of New: Starting Line" (March Pilot), you got the Grumman aircraft designators somewhat wrong. You say that TLM is producing an aircraft based on the AG-5B and state that it is the Grumman American Tiger, when in fact it was the American General Tiger. The AA-5B was the Grumman American Tiger. You then go on to state that the AA-5B is the Cheetah. This is also incorrect. The AA-5A was the Cheetah.

Considering the fact that the Lycoming O-320 for the Cheetah and the O-360 for the Tiger are virtually the same price, I have serious doubts that TLM can sell these aircraft at the prices that they have stated. They are great aircraft, but they are not worth $214,000. But then again, none of the new aircraft are worth what the manufacturers are charging for them. We put up with a lot less in creature comforts in aircraft, doing without options that we take for granted in our automobiles. When was the last time you seriously considered an automobile that didn't have an air conditioner?

Mike Shelley AOPA 1219603
Sugarland, Texas

Airport kids

I got choked up when I read " Airport Kids" (March Pilot), especially right after I had seen the movie October Sky. I was a quiet airport kid wannabe in the 1960s but never had the support from my family, teachers, or friends to drive my passion for airplanes. Aviation remained a mysterious aspiration until I was old enough to drive myself to the airport to take flying lessons, supported only by my part-time job at the corner gas station.

We as adults are to blame for the dying breed of airport kids, as well as our children's failure to pursue other interests that they may have. This has seemed to coincide with our families' becoming more self-centered and perverted, with family values and morals steadily declining, even advocated by our nation's leaders. Is it any wonder?

There is a lot of quality that lies dormant in most kids just waiting to be cultivated. It is our duty as parents and adult leaders to listen to our kids and provide encouragement and the support that they need to achieve their dreams. Both my sons soloed on their sixteenth birthdays, and one is now a 19-year-old CFII with 1,700 hours' total time. I must say that the most rewarding and gratifying times of my life were teaching young people how to fly, taking them on trips in my own aircraft, or just talking airplanes with them.

The future of aviation lies in the hands of our youth. Let's stimulate their enthusiasm and self-esteem. Start with your own kids.

C. Stephen Koch AOPA 1144334
Louisville, Kentucky

Rallying around Hawthorne

I read, with some alarm, the article in " AOPA Action" (of the February Pilot) that there is a move on to close Hawthorne Municipal Airport (HHR).

In addition to all the usual reasons that it is a shame to close any airport, there is one more unique aspect to Hawthorne as a general aviation airport. Without HHR, there will no longer be an affordable way to use a small aircraft to connect with air carriers at Los Angeles International Airport because of a combination of landing fees, exorbitant tiedown fees, and a generally unwelcome atmosphere for small general aviation airplanes there.

I sincerely hope that this doesn't happen, but I can see how the City of Hawthorne couldn't care less about this factor in comparison to the projected millions to be gained by closing the airport.

Dale Schmidt AOPA 688094
Vista, California

Traffic tips

Dan Namowitz (" Looking for Traffic," March Pilot) has some sound advice for collision avoidance at uncontrolled airports, but he omits one essential element in radio transmissions.

I was taught to say the name of the airport at the beginning and at the end of every transmission. Since many airports share the same few frequencies, and often the same runway numbers, the radio can get quite busy and confusing.

More than once I have been in the traffic pattern at an uncontrolled airport and heard someone announce a position similar to my own, but with no airport name at the end. Having missed the beginning of the transmission, I don't know whether that aircraft is directly under me or 50 miles away.

Jerry Shedd AOPA 998463
Woodbury, New York

Dan Namowitz's article was beautifully written, accurate, and scary as hell. There is not a pilot alive who hasn't seen many a near miss and thought, "Gee, where the hell did he come from?" As the skies become more crowded, there will obviously be more near misses and, of course, more tragedies.

Isn't it amazing in this day and age, when technology has solved the problem of midair collisions, that this technology has not been made available to the flying public? Oh, sure, we have horribly expensive and outmoded radar-based TCAS and Ryan's valiant effort to use transponders to identify traffic, but the one system that really works has been left sitting on the shelf.

ADS-B, automatic dependent surveillance broadcast, was successfully test flown (and patented) way back in 1990. This GPS-based system automatically locates all nearby traffic; determines its altitude, track, and speed; calculates any potential collision; and warns the pilots. It is simple, efficient, and amazingly inexpensive — approximately $3,000 to $6,000 (compared with TCAS at $200,000).

Why is it not available now? Inertia, bureaucracy, and vested interest. Obviously, ADS-B is the answer to a pilot's (and insurance company's) prayers. It will surely come, but only when enough pilots demand it. Let's hope that day is sooner rather than later.

Bob Welti AOPA 1081886
Salt Lake City, Utah

A last word on touch and goes

As a student pilot who has performed many touch and goes, both dual and solo, I would like to disagree with the two readers who suggested that students not perform touch and goes while flying solo (" Letters," March Pilot).

It has been my experience that touch and goes teach the importance and technique of being ready to abort a landing at any moment. With correct training, this maneuver is no more difficult than any other basic flying maneuver. It is an essential skill that needs to be practiced and perfected at the student level.

I would like to encourage instructors to continue to teach touch and goes and, when comfortable with a student's skill, allow them to practice the maneuver on their own.

Norm Rosene AOPA 1235434
Chico, California

Solving a landing-gear problem

I have had my share of landing-gear problems, so it was with great interest that I read Marc E. Cook's " Airframe and Powerplant: Ground Control" (March Pilot).

A Cessna 170 that I owned was just about impossible to handle during takeoff runs, landing, and even taxiing until a proper wheel alignment was performed. Bonanza gear does take time and effort to crank down, as I found out more than once.

I owned a Bellanca Super Viking that was giving me gear problems. After having it in the shop to ensure proper operation, I made a trip from Syracuse, New York, to the Bahamas. After the fourth landing on this trip, in Clearwater, Florida, the nose gear decided to retract. Some fun.

This brings me to the point I wish to make about Cook's article. Nowhere do I find mention of proper location and spacing of micro limit switches in a retractable-gear airplane. Improper adjustment of these switches in my Super Viking ruined my vacation, cost many thousands of dollars, and left me without my business travel machine for 45 days. I hope this knowledge will help someone else.

Humbert L. Gressani AOPA 143638
Naples, Florida

If two is good, three's better

If Mark R. Twombly thinks bifocals are great (" Pilotage: The Effects of Aging," March Pilot), he should try trifocals. They address all three different focuses in the cockpit: up close for charts, intermediate for the instrument panel, and distant for outside the cockpit.

John Koonsman AOPA 389015
Dallas, Texas

Service bulletin snafu

I was very interested in your article, " A Hard Decision to Top" (March Pilot), and I'd like to read both Continental service bulletins M84-15 and M89-9.

You wrote that they could be read on the AOPA Web site, but I couldn't find those documents. Could you help me to locate them?

Henry Legrande AOPA 1337363
Rixensart, Belgium

Oops ... ahem, yes, about those service bulletins. AOPA has been in negotiations for some time to make many service bulletins available in the members-only area of AOPA Online, but no service bulletins are currently available on the Web site. Unfortunately, our announcement has proved to be premature. Pilot regrets any inconvenience caused by the error — Ed.

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