Letters

Fathers and sons and airplanes

I had to write to you because two articles, one each in the June and July issues of AOPA Pilot, struck real close to home for me. My father and I had a very close relationship and our closest bond was our love of flying. He built an open cockpit Acro Sport II biplane, and always told me that he was building it for me. On May 18, 2003, he died of cancer in Columbus, Ohio, a little less than one year after he and I were able to combine enough hours in the airplane to have it fully test flown through the phase one tests of its Experimental Operating Limitations.

When I arrived home in Colorado after the funeral, the first thing I saw was the June edition of AOPA Pilot magazine, and the first article I read was Steven B. Wallace's " Fathers and Sons and Airplanes." It brought back all of the wonderful memories of flying with my dad when I was a young boy, and the way I learned to navigate and control pitch and roll during the many hours of stick time that he gave me when we were on our way to pick up $100 hamburgers (probably more like $50 in those days).

As the only active pilot in my family (my mother has a pilot's certificate, but has not exercised its privileges for many years), my dad made sure that his will provided for my inheritance of his Acro Sport. Therefore in between receiving the June and July issues of Pilot magazine, I have been planning a 1,021-nm cross-country trip to move the airplane from Ohio to my home in Colorado. Amazingly, I get the July issue of your magazine and you have a great article on cross-country flight in an open cockpit airplane by Alton K. Marsh.

Even though your article is about the sweepstakes Waco and is titled " Waco Travel Tips," it is equally applicable to cross-country flight in any open cockpit airplane. After reading the article I feel a little better about my planning.

If I did not know any better, I would swear that my dad was working through the two authors and allowing them through their writing to let me know that he was OK in his new place and that things will all work out with my new airplane. The articles gave me comfort, and I want to make sure that the authors know how their writing affected this reader in a very positive way.

Arturo G. Hernandez AOPA 1279825
Westminster, Colorado

Ignition switches

You have to be a real old timer to know the answer to the magneto switch question in the " Test Pilot" column in the July issue of AOPA Pilot. When you select the right mag, you are closing a switch that grounds out the left mag, leaving only the right one operating. The wire from the left mag goes to a contact on the left side of the switch that connects it to a ground when "R" is selected on the face. The exact reverse happens on the right side when "L" is selected.

John E. Jenista AOPA 1000097
Fort Worth, Texas

It was most important that the mechanic hooking up the wires for the ignition get them correct. Therefore, looking from the back, Left on left and Right on right was the best logic. The fact that the mirror image showed on the front was not a problem as the pilot had the label to look at on the key side, so it did not make as much difference to him or her. Good or bad, this is the best answer I have found.

Dale Schonmeyer AOPA 244869
Buford, Georgia

Tried and true

I enjoyed reading your article on the Wright Flyer engine that appeared in the July Pilot (" Airframe & Powerplant: Tried and True"). But as a private pilot and metallurgist, I have to correct your use of the term occlusions in reference to the VAR process for improving the cleanliness of steel. Actually, we refer to impurity particles in metals as inclusions. Also, VAR is not a pouring process, but rather a casting process in which a consumable electrode of the desired alloy is progressively melted and re-solidified in the presence of a vacuum. During VAR, impurity elements can be volatilized and removed by the vacuum system.

Keith Taylor AOPA 982055
International Steel Group, Inc.
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

The view from seat 25F

We appreciate the fact that you have written an article referencing flying in Baja (Mexico). (" Waypoints: The View from Seat 25F" July Pilot). However, your article seems to be somewhat dated. Within the past two years, there have been many major positive changes regarding flying in Mexico. These changes include the ability to get a multi-entrance authorization for an aircraft, the opening of all international airports for the arrival of both piston and turbine aircraft, the ability to change passengers from aircraft to aircraft, and the ability to license airstrips for five years. These changes are in part from the action of the Baja Bush Pilots who have been actively lobbying the Mexican government. However you are indeed correct when you talk about the beauty and freedom of flying Baja (and mainland Mexico). I most politely point out that because of the lack of current information, most of our general aviation community is missing one of the last and great opportunities of fun and freedom of flight — that of crossing the border and flying down into Mexico and Central America.

Jack McCormick AOPA 948513
Chandler, Arizona

McCormick is president of the Baja Bush Pilots.

Standard of training

I concur with Bruce Landberg's July article, " Safety Pilot: Standard of Training." The differences between GPS navigation systems made by different manufacturers for light aircraft sometimes make it difficult to transition from one type to another because of the unique methods of operation and phraseology used by each. (And this is not always limited to them, even with the airliners I have flown, as differences in software versions can present the same problems.) As for Landberg's observations on legacy units, may I make a suggestion on how I have been able to address this with my students? In many cases these units had ground training cases (power supplies) that permitted them to be programmed and flown. This allows me to teach these units in the controlled environment of the classroom versus the airplane. If these ground units are not available, one should obtain one (often available on the used avionics market) if transitioning to an airplane with a new nav system. The time and avgas saved will quickly pay back the owner, as well as permit the pilot to practice new procedures comfortably on the ground.

Scott Grillo AOPA 829214
Trumbull, Connecticut

Super storms

Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed Thomas A. Horne's article about thunderstorms (" Wx Watch: Super Storms," July Pilot). I am a CFI and have been teaching in the Tampa Bay, Florida, area since the mid 1970s and thunderstorms are a way of life here. You offer especially good advice on avoidance. Storms do build rather suddenly and they can indeed be nasty. Such storms also generate almost 300 tornadoes a year. Fortunately I've never been hit by one. Horne's article about traffic patterns (" Flying Final," July) is also worth the reading. I fly the pattern as close as practicable to the way you describe but a good review is always worth our time.

Don Lindsay AOPA 1165157
Oldsmar, Florida

I read Thomas A. Horne's article last evening in Pilot, and learned a great deal about the super storms of the Great Plains. It never ceases to amaze me how Pilot magazine, and Horne in particular, can keep coming up with such fresh and pertinent stories. I rejoice that in an industry that often moves at a glacial pace, that Pilot never rests on its laurels. Stay out of the storms this summer!

Bill Trimble AOPA 883379
Washington, D.C.

Flying Final

I was right with Thomas A. Horne in " Flying Final" (July 2003) until the last paragraph where he wrote, "...once you're within a wingspan's altitude of the runway elevation it's time to kick out the crab or slip." If you are flying the slip properly your longitudinal axis will be aligned with the runway. All that you need to do is round out keeping the slip necessary to keep lined up with the centerline. This allows for a truly stabilized approach to touchdown. Touchdown will be on the up wind gear first without any side load caused by drift which is always a possibility if you are not right on when you kick out the crab in a crab approach. This is the main benefit of the slip over the crab approach. I have flown the wing low or slip approach in everything from light singles to Mach 2 fighters for more than 4,000 hrs without any problem. One foreign air force I flew Mach 2 fighters with taught the crab approach but it was so hard to judge precisely. They would quit flying when the scuffing of the tires from drift allowed only two landings per tire, usually about 15 to 18 knots crosswind. I used the slip approach and had no problem landing at the published crosswind limit of 25 kt without causing more than normal tire wear. In addition, when using the crab method the A/C had a tendency to compress the downwind oleo more than the upwind oleo so as to leave the up wind wing high into the wind making directional control more of a challenge whereas the wing low landing left the upwind wing lower if not level making ground control easier and more comfortable.

Al Ruth AOPA 01080171
Colorado Springs CO 80920

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.