Flying must be a religion because:
- Deep in the bowels of preparing for the IFR knowledge test seems like purgatory sometimes.
- I do things for flying that I refuse to do for almost anything and anyone else.
- Only a select few are admitted to the fraternity, kind of like the 144,000 mentioned in the Book of Revelations.
- Flying home on a long cross-country as a starry sky eventually replaces a gorgeous sunset and cities shine like jewels seems so heavenly.
- The beauty of the Earth often seems nothing less than divine as seen from above.
- And finally and most telling of all:
- Every time you turn around, it requires yet another donation of time, sacrifice, and usually money.
Vern Martin
Alliance, Ohio
I immediately shared this article with my wife after reading it, and she knew Brown was talking about me! She and I just returned to California from visiting family in Indiana in our Mooney. The experiences and sights we enjoyed were ones we could never have via any other means. Religious or addicted, we know we can never go back to how life was before flying. Thanks for the article.
Dan Robertson
Mountain View, California
Where have all the taildraggers gone?
I enjoyed "Stick-and-Rudder School" in the July 2005 issue. As a 400-hour Cessna driver, just last month I got my tailwheel endorsement in a Piper J-3 Cub. I agree with everything Jill Tallman said.
However, the article failed to mention a very important fact: It's hard as heck to find a taildragger to learn in! There are lots of qualified instructors, but they usually don't have a suitable plane they can or will use. There are lots of tailwheel airplanes, but their owners rarely want them to be used as trainers. I have never seen a taildragger training ad in AOPA Flight Training.
After a lot of search, I found an operation with a very good instructor, two J-3 Cubs, and a Maule in western Washington state. The going rate was $130 per hour for the airplane plus $60 per hour for the instructor--steep, but worth it to me. I also got to experience spins and, of course, spin recovery.
Mike White
Kennewick, Washington
Tailwheel training isn't as prevalent as it once was, thanks to a number of factors--including the cost of insurance. And while it can require some digging to find a tailwheel instructor, they're out there. Try the searchable flight school database at AOPA Flight Training Online; be sure to look for the training key "TW" on the Flight School Search Results page. Or, try the Aviation Forums in the members-only section of AOPA Online to get some recommendations from other pilots.--Ed.
ROLE call for a memory aid
"Legal Briefing: VFR Cruising altitudes" (July 2005 AOPA Flight Training) gives this memory aid: "East is odd, but west is so much odder as to be even (and then add 500 feet)." Wow! That's even worse than some of the cryptic word-type reminders (such as WEEO).
I have one for you that I created two years ago as a student. Every instructor I have given this to is now using it with his or her students.
ROLE: Right Odd Left Even
Of course, you have to note that "Right" means the right side of the compass rose, but that ain't too difficult. Could anything be simpler?
A. Kevin Carbone
Bluemont, Virginia
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