Hangar Talk

Is your AOPA membership current? Associate Editor Jill W. Tallman hopes it is—otherwise, how will you be eligible to win the 2010 Fun to Fly Sweepstakes Remos GX? “We’ve had a blast flying the Remos and getting to know some of the players in the light sport aircraft arena—but it’s almost time to hand over the keys to the new owner,” says Tallman (“ Fun to Fly Sweepstakes: Girl On the Go”). The Remos will be making a few more appearances between now and AOPA Aviation Summit 2010. Then it’s off to the West Coast for the sweepstakes presentation at our annual convention November 11 through 13 in Long Beach, California. Tallman says she’s looking forward to that extra-long cross-country. “Whoever wins the Remos will be getting a great little airplane.”

“Many well-known warbirds have reputations based as much or more on one particular mission they performed than on all of their other accomplishments,” says contributor Barry Schiff. “Mention the Boeing B–29 Superfortress, for example, and many pilots immediately conjure thoughts of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan to help end World War II.” Schiff says that “a similar mention of the North American B–25 Mitchell immediately brings to mind the daring and imaginative Doolittle Raid on Tokyo on April 18, 1942.” This is why Schiff interweaves operational facets of that raid with his report on flying a beautifully restored B–25, Pacific Prowler (“ North American B–25 Mitchell: Pride of WWII”). Furthermore, he encourages readers to treat themselves to two wonderful books about America’s first assault on the Japanese homeland, Jimmy Doolittle’s autobiography, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, and Ted W. Lawson’s classic work, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.

“The image of GA is never more tarnished than when an aircraft spirals into a house with fatalities on the ground,” laments AOPA Foundation President Bruce Landsberg. In this month’s “ Safety Pilot Landmark Accidents: A Deadly Invincibility,” the accident gathered considerable media attention because of the nature of the mishap—three members of a vacationing family were killed when the aircraft hit their beach house. “Pilots should recognize that their desire to complete a trip may have a far higher cost than they ever expected,” admonishes Landsberg, who heads the important fundraising arm of the association—AFI, which is dedicated to safety, improving the perception of GA, and growing the pilot population.

The high quality and lasting benefits of realistic flight simulators have been shown over and over in airline, military, and corporate flying—but general aviation had been largely excluded until Redbird Flight Simulations invented low-cost, full-motion simulators for GA (“ Sim-ple Solution”). “It’s hard to overstate the positive impact this entirely new category of flight simulation can bring to GA,” says Senior Editor Dave Hirschman. “Everything from the abysmal student success rate, to raising the quality and reducing the cost of flight training, can be helped through broad access to this powerful teaching tool. This type of simulation can enhance the flight training experience for students and instructors—and the rest of GA stands to benefit.”