"In researching stalls and spins, it was clear to me that neither old technology nor training has been entirely successful in banishing the stall and spin from being a significant factor in fatal accidents," says AOPA Air Safety Foundation Executive Director Bruce Landsberg (see " Spinning In," page 85). "Here, you'll see how Cirrus, Lancair, and the FAA, using NASA technology, worked to make their new generation aircraft spin resistant. At least one pilot managed to get past new wing design and all training caveats, which means pilot-in-command responsibility still reigns supreme when it comes to safety of flight. Will the new technology ultimately work? We'll see."
"Pilots need to know about the law that affects their flying," says John Yodice, general counsel of AOPA. "Over the years, I have come to learn that pilots enjoy real-life stories that illustrate the law and legal developments that pilots need to know about. And they particularly like the slant that a fellow pilot who is a lawyer brings to these stories and his explanation of the law." This month (see " Pilot Counsel: Alcohol and Flying," page 115), Yodice tells the story of a pilot who got into trouble with the FAA because he taxied an aircraft after having had a few beers and reviews the Federal Aviation Regulations that were applied. Yodice is an experienced instrument rated commercial pilot and flight instructor, with airplane single-engine land and sea, airplane multiengine land, and rotorcraft-helicopter ratings. He owns a Cessna T310 that he uses in his law practice, and a Piper J3 Cub he flies just for fun.
Luscombes have a special appeal. Maybe it's the image of polished silver amongst the doped-wing crowd when the first model arrived on the scene in the 1940s. Maybe it's the challenge of touching down with zero drift, slipping into a perfect three-point landing on a breezy day. Whatever the appeal is, Associate Editor Julie K. Boatman knows what it isn't. "When we finally got everyone together for the photo shoot [for " Budget Buys: Silvaire Spark," page 62], six inches of snow had fallen across the area. And the airport we chose — York, Pennsylvania — just happened to be the coldest spot anywhere in the mid-Atlantic region by at least 10 degrees." The Luscombe has a heater in theory, but "it does barely more than heat the pilot's ankles," says Boatman. She admits she was envious of aircraft owner Garrett Nievin's down booties by the end of the flight.
"I've lived in the Midwest and East Coast all my life, so my decision to move to Colorado nine months ago gave me new flying challenges and adventures," says Colleen Back, author of " A Western Adventure," page 78. "The United States has a bounty of natural beauty, but many pilots don't fly much outside their home base to enjoy it. So, I was intrigued to hear about Parkwest Air Tours when I was contemplating the move to Colorado. Here was a small company based in a small city in western Colorado that runs all-inclusive vacations for pilots to enjoy the national parks in a new way. Pilots from around the country and the world sign up and see incredible things from the cockpit and the ground, and make friends doing it. Wow! How cool is that?" Back invites readers to share their flying experiences with her. She can be reached at [email protected].
Visit the AOPA Pilot Web site ( www.aopa.org/pilot/) for links to this month's issue, back issues, calendar of events, and information on the AOPA Centennial of Flight Sweepstakes.
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