Hangar Talk

"When Cirrus added a Tornado Alley Turbonormalizer (TAT) system to the SR22 options list, it not only continued to improve its brand by increasing performance, it legitimized lean-of-peak (LOP) mixture settings," says AOPA Pilot Associate Editor Steven W. Ells (see " Cirrus SR22 Turbo: Fly Higher and Faster," page 60). "When TAT re-introduced LOP theory a decade ago, it was surprised to find pilot opinion firmly against LOP operations. Cirrus jumped that hurdle by simply telling pilots of TAT-equipped SR22s to pull the mixture to 17.5 gph. Cirrus didn't enter the debate; they said just do it."

Rick Durden has been flying and writing about a wide variety of tailwheel airplanes for many years. He admits to a passion for the big, piston-powered airplanes that were built during World War II. One of his favorites is the high-powered SNJ/AT-6/Harvard, the advanced trainer developed to put fledgling Army and Navy pilots into the fighters that swept the skies in Europe and the Pacific. Durden puts readers in the cockpit of Catch 22, a former Reno racing North American SNJ with expert fighter instructor Stan Musick in the back seat (see " Taming the Beast," page 66).

"First it was a line of storms that made me divert to Tupelo, where Elvis was born and grew up," says AOPA Pilot Editor at Large Tom Horne. "So, yeah, I did the tourist thing while waiting for the weather to pass." (See " Postcards: Elvis Lives On — In Tupelo," page 79.) "Then I had to stop in Memphis for some radio work, so yeah, I did go to Graceland while they worked on my airplane," Horne says. "I saw The King's airplanes and cars, and saw the estate, too. Signature Flight Service lent me a car, so it was easy to drive down there." But that's as far as Horne's Elvis fix went. "I want it known that I did not stay at Heartbreak Hotel. It was a Marriott, I think. But there was a velvet Elvis on the lobby wall."

"Reserve a comfy space in your flight bag for your new airport directory, because you will want to have the most up-to-date airport and FBO listings at your fingertips," says AOPA Pilot Senior Editor Machteld A. Smith (see " AOPA's Airport Directory 2007-2008: An Old Friend Returns" page 91). "It is really satisfying to see this latest print edition come together. The directory's journey begins with tons of raw airport and FBO data blended with thousands of airport diagrams and hundreds of display ads. Once this mélange reaches the printer, words and images get inked, and a perfectly bound and trimmed guide is ready to hop into your flight bag."