Flying in America
Chip Wright is absolutely, completely, positively right in his essay " Flying in America" (July Pilot). You, the American pilot, should realize what the aviation world is really like in other parts of the world. I live and fly in Europe.
We have fuel prices of $9 a U.S. gallon! And rising! We have to pay at most airports for every landing. Even touch and goes. We have user fees even if you fly VFR. We may expect to pay user fees for the ATC (air traffic control) system even if we don't use it at all. There are two required medicals, one for the professionals and one for the "others." In Spain an ultralight (equivalent to a U.S. light sport airplane) pilot with 60-plus hours has to pass two medicals every six months plus a renewal of his license. And that price tag is no joke. Some public airports ask for the same landing fee as a minimum takeoff weight (TOW) of 25 tons even for a 1,500-pound aircraft! "Sorry, sir, but that is the bottom price," they'll say. "Oh, by the way, we also added the approach fee...and the value-added tax." With all the problems you have in the United States and the sometimes-unbelievable acts against aviation (such as the destruction of Meigs Field), realize that your world is heaven compared to ours, where one gets a feeling of hostility and sometimes bellicose spirit toward aviation in general and general aviation in particular. If we did not have our AOPAs here — grouped together in the IAOPA — things would be unimaginably, irreversibly worse. Be vigilant and fight against the evil in your home aviation environment, so that what already has happened here never happens in America. Enjoy your flying. Really, enjoy it.
L'Estartit, Spain
I'm sure that Chip Wright was well meaning when he wrote his article and that he is a patriot. I'm also sure he loves this country as much as I. Of late, there's been too much jingoistic flag-waving to suit me; hence, my response. If I were to title his tome, it would have been "America, Love It or Leave It: Archie Bunker Is Alive and Well." Please don't wave the American flag in my face. I'm a first-generation American so I understand the sacrifices immigrants make to get here. Many of us Americans who criticize this nation do so out of love, not hate. You see, America isn't only a geographical location, it is an idea and an ideal. Our founding fathers proffered a new idea — that a nation of free people could govern itself without a monarch. Our nation is a work in progress. We do not wish to be compared to Third World nations or even other industrialized nations. We wish to be compared to a standard measuring how close we are to the ideal. We do not wish to compare ourselves to nations where, as Wright says in his last sentence, "not only does the opportunity to pay the high prices not exist, but also the opportunity to complain does not exist." Of course, we are lucky and blessed. If not for the grace of God and an accident of birth, we could be in Darfur, Bosnia, or Iraq. I respectfully request that you stick to what you know best, and that's aviation.
Highland, New York
Eclipse 500 debuts
Thank you, Tom Haines, for your wonderful article on the Eclipse 500 (" Exclusive First Look: Eclipse 500 Debuts," July Pilot). You have a great talent for uncovering the story behind the story. You are correct — the result is the Eclipse 500, but the story is Vern Raburn. What a treat it is to see a man with a vision persevere until the job is done and blame no one for the speed bumps along the way. Raburn isn't just building an airplane but a complete travel system buttressed by safety. I noticed with pleasure that his solution to the risk associated with flying a very-high-performance aircraft is a finely tuned training program. His commitment is so great that if you can't pass the training you can't buy the product. That is the proper answer. I suppose we should expect nothing less from Raburn, for this isn't his first rodeo. Keep up the good work and whenever you have spare ink please use it to plug Raburn. He is one of a very few American heroes of industry.
Longwood, Florida
Babe Krinock
As an old liaison pilot, I really enjoyed reading the article about pilot Babe Krinock (" Pilots: Babe Krinock," July Pilot). I just wanted to point out what I believe to be a typographical error. The article refers to a Stinson L-6, when in reality the Stinson was an L-5 Sentinal. The L-6 was the military designation given to the Interstate Cadet.
Brookeland, Texas
Midlevel mayhem
Bruce Landsberg's article " Safety Pilot Landmark Accidents: Midlevel Mayhem" (July Pilot) addresses many important issues, particularly considering the upcoming age of the very light jets. From the mid-1980s through the early 1990s, the primary multiengine trainer used by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Daytona Beach campus was the Cessna T303 Crusader. These aircraft were turbocharged and had internal oxygen systems, weather radar, dual flight instruments, flight directors, and two-axis autopilots. We incorporated one cross-country that gave the students the opportunity to operate in the low flight levels, usually between FL190 and FL230. The issue of convective-avoidance procedures was a critical portion of this course. As Landsberg accurately pointed out, the ability to just land at the nearest airport was a far more difficult option when flying nearly four miles above the Earth versus 3,000 feet agl. We followed these common-sense rules: When planning a cross-country near organized weather, avoid a high-altitude flight between noon and 9 p.m. local time; use a minimum 20-mile avoidance rule from a Level 3 or stronger area of precipitation; and always leave yourself an out — including a 180-degree turn. Also, if landing was your only way out, the extension of the landing gear and partial flaps allowed a 2,000-fpm descent, which meant the surface was never more than 10 minutes away. In more than 10 years of operating 10 Crusaders, we never had a thunderstorm-related accident.
Daytona Beach, Florida
Errata
In " The Lowdown on Slow Down" (August Pilot), the aircraft was referred to as a Twin Comanche; the airplane is a Comanche 400, a single-engine aircraft. Pilot regrets the error.
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