Letters

Been there, done that

Did you write the April issue of AOPA Pilot just for me? Start with the Waco biplane (" Centennial of Flight Sweepstakes: What if You Won the Waco?"). What would I do if I won it? I don't think I would have any trouble flying it. I have about 300 hours in Stearmans, and my favorite of the seven airplanes I have owned is a big Waco ZGC-7, a biplane with a cabin that held five people and all the baggage you could want. I flew it coast to coast three times. Also, the first airplane I got really close to was a Waco UPF-7 at Columbia, Missouri. I was about nine years old. Now I guess I would keep it until the tax man vetoed that possibility.

One of the " Test Pilot" questions concerned the Douglas DC-5. I flew one of those once. Well, actually I sat in the copilot seat and held onto the wheel. I had about 60 hours then, all in 65-horsepower Taylorcraft. I was hitchhiking from Alameda, California, to Chicago, and this DC-5 was taking a spare engine to the Army airfield at Gila Bend, Arizona, then on to Fort Worth, so I accepted the invitation to go along.

Then there was " Celestial Navigation." I've never done a star fix from an airplane and the mention of Gary LaPook navigating to the Azores in a Cessna 172 just doesn't seem possible. I was chief navigator for a squadron of destroyers for three years, chugging around the Pacific. I've fooled around with a bubble octant and it's not easy to use.

Steve Ells' cross-country trip sounds like a couple of mine (" The Tortoise and the Hare, Round 2"). He went from El Paso, Texas, to Lafayette, Louisiana, and I've done that, only I went in the other direction. My logbook says it was on June 6, 1950, in the Waco, took seven hours, helped by a very unusually strong tail wind from the east, and used up just about all of my 98 gallons of gas.

And finally, carrier operations (" Safety Pilot: Leading Edge"). I didn't check the log, but I think it is 90 carrier landings and three catapult shots — one of each at night, and I don't ever want to do another of either one. This was a straight-deck carrier, of course; there was no go-around. When the LSO [landing signals officer] said "cut" it was a wire or the barrier. No "ball" to help out, either.

John Mahon AOPA 1000062
Boynton Beach, Florida

What if you won?

I am amazed by members' comments that they would sell the Waco UPF-7 if they won it (" Centennial of Flight Sweepstakes: What if You Won the Waco?" April Pilot). I have wanted one of these since I was a kid and would take a second job to pay off the IRS if I was lucky enough to win. How could they desire money over a Waco rebuilt by Roy Redman?

Terry Berg AOPA 1107470
Berkeley, Illinois

As a taildragger maniac with the love of going upside down occasionally, you can bet I'd be happy to make Uncle Sam a trade if I win the Waco — my sales tax on the Waco for the use of his federally assisted airports across the country to land it on for the rest of my life!

Mark Tyrrell AOPA 4427948
Joplin, Missouri

Speed is king

One speed mod that deserves real consideration is to increase the aircraft's fuel capacity (" Speed is King," April Pilot). Tip tanks are an obvious way to do that. While additional fuel doesn't increase the aircraft's airspeed, it nonetheless reduces trip times by eliminating fuel stops. (On shorter trips, of course, the extra fuel often makes no difference.) And that's what most pilots are actually looking for in their quest for speed: shorter trip times. Writing in AOPA Pilot a few years ago, an author said tip tanks "transform" older Beechcraft Bonanzas into very capable cross-country machines. They certainly do.

Mike Truffer AOPA 747316
DeLand, Florida

Julie K. Boatman's article "Speed is King" was helpful. It seems that no matter how fast our plane flies, we wish for another 5 knots — or 20. While the article was about absolute speed, sometimes speed is gained by increasing efficiency. She mentioned the speed gained by flying at full throttle, leaned to best power. I have found that in my plane, a Cessna 182, on a long cross-country I can gain speed by flying more efficiently. Usually, I climb to an altitude at which I can fly at full throttle at 65-percent power or less, say 8,000 feet msl or above. Then I lean to 25 degrees rich of peak EGT [exhaust gas temperature]. This results in only a 2-or 3-percent decrease in speed, while decreasing my fuel burn by 10 percent or so. The result is that on a long trip I can pass up a fuel stop that would otherwise be required, yielding a better point-to-point airspeed.

Dwane Koppler AOPA 450816
Springfield, Missouri

AOPA in Iraq

As an aspiring commercial pilot, it was a shot in the arm reading " Airline Aspirations" (March Pilot). I am a senior chief in the U.S. Navy currently deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I am an instrument-rated pilot who has put his commercial training on hold because of the war but hope to be busily building commercial hours once I retire from service in a year. This article and those like it help to keep us focused on just how hard the road ahead is, but we know that the ability to have a job doing something you love is still to be found beyond the military. (The picture was taken during a spare moment in the port of Um Qasr, Iraq.)

Scott Greathouse AOPA 2606422
San Diego, California

FAA enforcement

Steven Zaboji's suggestion that requesting a standard briefing somehow would have protected him from enforcement action is incorrect (" FAA Enforcement," April Pilot). I learned differently in January 2002 when I violated P-40 during a long cross-country, despite multiple briefings prior to departure. My standard briefing did not include information regarding the enhanced area surrounding P-40, probably because the briefing covered a 700-mile distance. In his report prepared for the FAA, the investigator concluded that I probably did not receive the notam, despite reasonable effort, and recommended recurrent training only. The FAA attorney, who is not a pilot, suspended my certificate for 30 days. Unlike Zaboji, I filed a NASA incident report the day of the incident. I provided a copy of my NASA report to the investigator thinking that it would bolster my position. I'm convinced this information was used against,me. I decided to challenge the suspension.

Contrary to the leniency afforded Zaboji, the FAA refused to negotiate a settlement, which meant time and expense preparing my defense. In denying my re.quest for dismissal, the FAA attorney said only that the notam was published and that it was my responsibility to get it — standard briefing or not. My lawyer, a former FAA attorney, believed my chance of winning at trial was good but cautioned me that outcomes often seem arbitrary and are largely dependent on the judge you draw — hardly reassuring. Then came the news: The judge in a pretrial hearing instructed the FAA to make a settlement proposal. It wasn't the dismissal I was hoping for: a finding of no violation and a civil fine of $1,100. While accepting the offer seemed an admission of guilt, incurring more dollars in legal expenses and risking an unfavorable judgment unnerved me. Worst of all, the settlement offer stipulated that I could not use the NASA form to avoid paying the penalty.

While I'm happy Zaboji dodged a bullet, it seems unfair and arbitrary how differently the FAA chooses to prosecute two individuals for the same violation.

Tommy Frist III AOPA 3809904
Nashville, Tennessee

Pushing safety's buttons

After reading Thomas Haines' article " Waypoints: Pushing Safety's Buttons" (April Pilot) I was struck by the fact that no mention was made of the most obvious and inexpensive safety device of all: the little red light that comes on when the vacuum pump fails.

I have experienced several vacuum pump failures in 5,000 hours of flying. The insidious nature of the failure is striking. It is so slow that it would be imperceptible if you were not paying close attention to all of the instruments at the time of the failure. I have a backup vacuum pump and the red warning light. You will notice immediately when the pump fails if you have this light. I can't understand why such a simple device is not required for IFR flights.

David Alger AOPA 356960
Leander, Texas

Leading edge

Bruce Landsberg's article in the April issue of Pilot (" Safety Pilot: Leading Edge") was informative, entertaining, and well written. We noticed one small error that needs correction. Landsberg referred to U.S. Navy LSOs as "landing system operators." The correct title is "landing signals officer." I know because, as the LSOs for Carrier Airwing Seven, my counterpart and I have been "waving" behind the ship for over a decade.

G. Merle Perry AOPA 4604416
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Robert Wedertz AOPA 1344116
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Erratum

The article titled " Airframe & Powerplant: Charge It!" in the April issue of Pilot misstated some basic electrical laws. For instance, the author wrote that "voltage is inversely proportional to resistance." Ohm's law states that voltage equals current times resistance (V=IR). The author also states, "As we turn on more circuits each circuit's resistance is added to the bus." Turning on more circuits increases the current flow, which causes a voltage drop in the circuit. The voltage regulator senses the drop and adjusts the field voltage in order to maintain the bus voltage. Pilot regrets the errors.

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 number on all correspondence, including e-mail. Letters will be edited for length and style.