Flight Forum

Reading the article "Smooth Sailing" in the August 2006 issue reminded me of an old adage my sergeant major taught me in Junior ROTC: "It's better to have and not need, than need and not have." It doesn't occur to me often, as I'm sure it doesn't to many students, that if I have to ditch that airplane somewhere, it's likely going to be somewhere away from civilization. That's just the way Captain Murphy plans it. Budd Davisson's article really sums up the way to prepare for anything and take what you might need, even if you don't think you'll need it.

As usual, your articles give us students things to ponder as we complete our early flight time in the cockpit, but it makes me wonder how many experienced pilots get so comfortable in their abilities that they forget the most basic part of flight training: what to do if you have to ditch.
Paul Vallerand
Nashua, New Hampshire

Avoid ipecac

I read with interest Dr. Paul Gahlinger's article "Avoiding Airsickness" in the September 2006 issue. So far, I've been lucky in that airsickness has only been a problem when I was in the back seat of an L39 Albatross jet during aerobatic maneuvers. My wife is not so lucky (which limits the times that she will fly with me).

Most of the article matched my own medical knowledge of the field, but when Dr. Gahlinger got to herbal remedies, I admit that most of his knowledge exceeds mine. I did, however, note a couple of significant errors. In the list of herbal remedies was "ipecac." That set off a major alarm! I have been an emergency physician for 25 years, and I can remember when we used syrup of ipecac for treatment of overdoses (to empty the stomach of its contents). One of the reasons we abandoned it was research done at the University of New Mexico that showed that it causes intractable vomiting in some patients. Doesn't sound like a good way to prevent airsickness! I should also mention that "nux vomica" is an older but similar product.
Martin J. Boyd, M.D.
Las Cruces, New Mexico

Communication ease comes with experience

I found the article about flight following ("Aviation Speak: Flight Following," September 2006) interesting but there was something I did not like. That "something" was that you should feel "comfortable" talking to ATC. Is it all right for student pilots to get flight following on their cross-country flights? I know the answer is yes, so why is it always stressed in articles, training videos, classes, et cetera, that you should not be nervous, never stutter, or never make a mistake communicating?

In my early flying I had mic fright as bad as anyone. I got over it when I realized that ATC is there to serve me, not the other way around. They are not going to shoot you out of the sky if you make a communications mistake. If they talk too fast, then feel free to tell them to slow down and repeat. It was when I realized these things that I started to feel comfortable talking to ATC.

You cannot tell beginning pilots to be comfortable. That is something they will acquire after some experience, and that experience will include some mistakes-no doubt about it.
Rick Nowack
San Jose, California