Letters from our February 2017 issue

I just received my February AOPA Pilot and, as always, I read Barry Schiff’s column (“Proficient Pilot: Too Much of a Good Thing”) first. In my opinion, this piece about useful and less-than-useful mnemonics is GREAT: Good, Relevant, Enlightening, Applicable, and True! (Yes, I know that is not a mnemonic, as it is not a list of things to remember—I just wanted to play with the words a bit.) Said another way, I certainly do agree with histhoughts about both the helpful use and the over-use of this memory tool. 

Jerry Tobias
AOPA 1039255
Omaha, Nebraska

In my younger days as an A–7 pilot in the Ohio Air National Guard, I was often overwhelmed by the acronyms and mnemonics I was expected to use. Having never excelled at spelling, I spent more mental effort on figuring out what all those letters stood for than actually completing the task.

After a very successful checkride in the simulator, my instructor complimented my procedures and he asked which mnemonic I used. I quickly answered, “LACASWNTO.” He went to the chalkboard and spelled it out and admitted that he had not heard of that one before. He then asked what it stood for and I answered, “Look Around the Cockpit And See What Needs Turned On.” I then explained that before each change in flight phase, I thought my way around the cockpit picturing each system from left to right and then making adjustments whenever needed, only looking at the actual system when necessary. This technique served me well, and I still use it in light aircraft.

Greg Hitchens
AOPA 859876
Newark, Ohio

I agree with Barry Schiff regarding the proliferation of mnemonics. I’m sure birds don’t keep any mnemonics in their tiny brains, and they fly perfectly. Ronald Fong, AOPA 1616370, Castro Valley, CaliforniaShopping for a ride

My recommendation for an aircraft (“Ownership: An Airplane for Every Mission”) would be the Piper Dakota: 235 horsepower, six cylinder, non-retract. Piper’s answer to Cessna’s 182. Can haul anything, 1,000-fpm climb, 72-gallon capacity, 67 usable. Relatively fast. Great airplane that was not mentioned in your article like the 182. The Dakota always seems to be forgotten. They were built from 1979 through 1994. The 1979 was the only year there was an option for either the O-540 Lycoming or the turbocharged Continental.

Rory Elston
AOPA 4706142
Angels Camp, California

Unofficially fantastic

Thanks for the article “Pilot Products: On the Receiving End.” Despite Ian J. Twombly noting, “Open Flight FlightBox is not officially supported in ForeFlight,” it works great! Almost anyone can assemble it in half an hour with its great manual and video instructions. I suggest the remote antennas and a Bad Elf Pro GPS for ForeFlight. Use a high-quality USB power supply to power it from the cigarette lighter such as the one Marv Golden sells; the cheap ones will not maintain contact due to vibrations.

I’ve been using it since June with ForeFlight and it sure shows where the heavy rains from thunderstorms are. While I’ve been flying with a Strikefinder for around 27 years, I now find the FlightBox weather necessary for summer flying in the South.

Its traffic depiction is helpful too, especially since I just got Stratus ADS-B Out.

Bob Toxen
AOPA 889274
Duluth, Georgia

ADS-B rebates

Twice I’ve had my Garmin GTX 345 pass in the air and fail on the ground—because I am taxiing normally (“ADS-B: Passing the Test”). My install shop said they are dealing with this continuously and Garmin says the remedy is to taxi ridiculously slowly. The FAA passed me when I did so at a Class C field but then failed me when I returned to my home field, where I taxied normally. This is a scam! I’m done with it after two flights. I know several local pilots who need to upgrade, but give the rebate “incentive” no thought at all. I did, and now regret it. They can keep their money.

In all fairness, in response to a blistering (and probably too harsh) email I wrote to the FAA, they did respond very civilly and with understanding. This is probably frustrating for them, too.

Doug Myers
AOPA 7216976
Laurel, Montana

Dogfight

I recently read your point-counterpoint discussion of simulators (“Dogfight: Simulators”). Is it in fact a point-counterpoint designed to make people think and consider the differences (it does that well), or is it for fun, or does it represent your actual beliefs on the subject?

I have been flying a Pilatus PC–12 for 16 years and have been to simulator training 19 times. At SimCom it is not a motion sim, and I did that 17 of the 19 times. The one at Flight Safety is a full-motion Level D, and I have done that twice. For me it is essential to train in this type of environment. It is the only way to do things that would otherwise compromise the airplane or the people.

Due to the single-engine design of the PC–12 we practice over and over engine failures with turns back to the airport. A maneuver that was in the past highly discouraged—and yet several pilots trained in this manner have made this turn back and lived to tell the tale.

I was just curious as this one seemed to be way out there in terms of being believable. Nice work on it no matter what, I enjoy the series.

Stewart G. McMillan
AOPA 969727
Valparaiso, Indiana

Skylark fuel

In the last paragraph of “Budget Buy: Affordable Time Builder,” Alton K. Marsh makes the statement, “He carries 52 gallons, only 43 of that usable because the fuel ports are in the center of the tank.” I owned a beautiful 1960 Cessna 175 for 10 years and put more than 1,000 hours in it. This gives me a little basis to correct his statement.

The statement is partially correct: 52 gallons (26 a side), of which 43 is usable in all flight attitudes (per the owner’s manual, because a 1960 Cessna certified under CAR 3 doesn’t have a POH). Because it’s written as such in the owner’s manual, you can’t use that fuel for IFR planning purposes, some may argue VFR as well. In later Cessna aircraft they changed the wording to “level flight attitude” for unusable fuel.

And “the fuel ports are in the center of the tank” is false. The ports are on the bottom inboard edge of the tank, just like in the 172. The problem comes from not port placement but from tank shape.

The 175 uses the same tanks as a 172 equipped with long-range tanks (or I should say the 172 LR tanks are from the 175), They’re “L” shaped with the L (five-gallon) extension on the forward outboard part of the tank. In a standard-rate turn the fuel moves out to this extension on the low wing (inside the turn) away from the pickup.

I could drain my tanks down to a coffee cup’s worth of fuel in level flight. I did this more than once to empty a tank for various maintenance tasks. With a fuel flow monitor and a bit of planning, I’d burn most of that five gallons out of one tank without concerns.

Pat Elliott
AOPA 1273068
North Bend, Oregon

Errata

The article “Vertical Thinking” (February 2017 AOPA Pilot) states, “FAR 61.109 requires a night cross-country flight with more than 100 nautical miles between airports.” That is incorrect. The night flying requirements contained in FAR 61.109, (a) (2) (I) require “one cross-country flight of over 100 miles total distance:”

The instructor may have believed that a distance of at least 100 miles between airports was required, causing him to change his plans, but the article should have pointed out that this was an additional error on his part and should have stated the correct requirement. This point may have also been overlooked in the NTSB report that the article was based upon.

Terrance J. Godar
AOPA 664084
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

A caption in the article “Higher Education” (March 2017 AOPA Pilot) incorrectly stated that the Desolation Wilderness area contains 20,000-foot peaks. The area has peaks that reach nearly 10,000 feet.

AOPA Pilot regrets the errors.