After several months of instruction, my CFI answered the smell of kerosene and landed a job flying jets. I was almost finished with my training and had to find another instructor. I flew with this instructor for a grand total of one lesson, and then he left for another FBO.
I was pleasantly surprised to receive a call from the FBO's director of flight training to reassure me that my training would continue and to recommend another instructor. I completed all of the requisite training and preparation and passed the checkride. What a feeling! Soon after, that instructor followed the first to a corporate flying job.
I have to say that each of those individuals is a credit to aviation. I learned something from each of them, and I feel that I am a better pilot because of their dedication to their professions. I cannot blame them in the least for choosing to leave their jobs at the school where I was training to better themselves or improve their situations.
As for the FBO, there will always be lessons canceled because of bad weather, broken airplanes, illness, or any other imaginable reason. You just have to adjust.
I think it is up to the individual to be responsible for the quality of his or her training. Maybe instead of assigning blame and finger pointing, we should apply the adage, "If it is to be, it is up to me."
As for me, I am nearing the practical test for the instrument rating with the help of a newly certificated CFII who loves flying and brings great enthusiasm to each lesson.
I hope all those readers who have been wondering what it would be like to learn to fly will get off the couch and take an introductory flight. Is it worth it? I can guarantee you that the effort is never more handsomely rewarded than by breaking out of an overcast to an azure-blue sky and a carpet of pure white clouds below on a dreary Saturday morning. It is worth it!
Richard Weaver
Greenbrier, Arkansas
Why We Don't File
I'd like to comment on your story on filing a VFR flight plan ("To File or Not to File," March 2000). The value of filing a VFR flight plan is indisputable, yet many pilots are discouraged from doing so because if you forget to close your plan, you could end up having to pay the cost of a search party, which can be a staggering amount.
Let's face it, most of us suffer from the occasional memory lapse. In most European countries, the tower closes the flight plan automatically for arriving aircraft. If they did so here, many more pilots, including myself, would file a plan for every trip.
Jakob Funkenstein
Via the Internet
Flying As You Age
I read the March 2000 issue of AOPA Flight Training with considerable interest. This issue taps the broadest population in flight training because it addresses an issue that affects all of us-aging. Whether you are celebrating your 100th birthday and seeking flight training like Ralph Lang Charles interviewed in this issue ("Flying at the Centennial") or you are a seasoned flight instructor, we are all in the same boat.
If we are fortunate to live long enough, we will all experience changes in our sensory capability, particularly our vision. In "Flying After 70," Willard Sharpe proposes certain strategies that older pilots might incorporate into each flight that may improve safety and efficiency. It is encouraging to see that there is a proactive interest being addressed in the flight-training component of our aviation experience.
It is also important to understand that it is crucial for each pilot to have a comprehensive eye health exam. The data from such an exam may be used to tailor the specific capability of that pilot to his or her flying needs. Sharpe specifically mentions glasses and contact lenses; however, these devices are made more efficient for pilot needs if they are prescribed to focus at the wide range of distances necessary for safe flying. There are also considerations for the optimal tint and coating of aviator glasses that may improve safety and visual capabilities of pilots.
A combination of good compensating strategies and optimal vision leads to improvement in target-detection performance and reaction time. The responsibility of each pilot still lies with his or her ability to see and avoid other aircraft. We can optimize safety and collision avoidance by incorporating these strategies into our flight training of pilots who are 40 and older, as well as all making an effort to have a good, comprehensive eye exam to extend our visual capability and our longevity as pilots.
Thank you for making this a point of emphasis in your publication and for acknowledging the wonderful people like Charles who set a standard for all of us to shoot for - a centennial of flying in the new century.
William A. Monaco, O.D., CFII
Alexandria, Virginia
Tell Someone Where You Are
"VFR Flight Plans: Why You Should File" (March 2000) by Robert Snow was an outstanding article. It served to highlight the extreme importance of letting someone know when and where you are flying.
I could never understand why pilots would want to keep such a secret. The more people who know what you're up to in this sense, the better off you will be.
Whenever I fly over hostile terrain, whether it be water, sparsely populated areas, or mountains, you can bet that folks will know where I am and what I am up to thanks to VFR advisories (flight following) and, of course, the all-important VFR flight plan. Together, these tools will go a long way in keeping me around to fly again, should the unfortunate occur. Incidentally, the flight plan is a great backup when you hear the words "unable advisories."
Snow's article spoke volumes to this eternally important matter, and every conscientious pilot should heed the advice. Use these resources! We owe it to ourselves, our passengers, and loved ones.
Anthony C. Lorenti
New Haven, Connecticut
Segmented Checklists And Service
Kudos to Ralph Butcher for his article on segmented checklists ("Segmented Checklists," March 2000). That was one of the most interesting (and most useful) articles I've read recently. I really liked the concept of "chunking" the checklists into steps or phases. Very handy. Thanks for the good idea.
Amy Laboda's article on being earnest was also a keeper ("The Importance of Being Earnest," March 2000). She is right on the money with her observation that "when customers cannot get service, it does not matter how new your airplanes are or how wonderful your facilities may be." She is absolutely correct that success is founded on good people.Thanks for the interesting article.
I share my issues of Flight Training with several kids who want to learn the art of aviation. Hopefully, the good advice contained in this article will also be noted.
John Townsley
Via the Internet
Vertigo Or Spatial Disorientation?
I enjoyed Ralph Butcher's article "Good Insurance For All Pilots" in the December 1999 issue. However, I must disagree with Butcher's definition of vertigo.
In his article, Butcher stated that many instructors, in order to have their students practice and understand unusual attitudes, subject them to vertigo, which is "a false impression of airplane movement caused by misleading sensations of motion and/or vision." In fact, this defines spatial disorientation, which is an incorrect mental image of your position, attitude, or movement in relation to what is actually happening to the airplane.
Vertigo, by contrast, is a physical disorder. It occurs in the inner ear which will give you a sensation that you are spinning and could incapacitate the pilot.
Jorge Reyes
Republic of Panama
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