Letters from our July 2017 issue

As a current Mooney Mite owner and former single-seat fighter pilot, I agree with Dave Hirschman that flying a “purity of purpose” aircraft provides a feeling of accomplishment, pilot pride, and joy that is unique to solo-seat aircraft flight.

Yes, of course, there is also much joy in sharing the airplane and adventure with others who can appreciate the gift of not being Earthbound, but given a choice on a bright Saturday afternoon.

Cliff Tatum
AOPA 942878
Redondo Beach, California

My perspectives are usually somewhat...different. So, consider aircraft as a sort of transducer. Microphones transduce audible sound into electrical signals. And speakers transduce electrical signals into audible sound. Similarly, aircraft transduce humans into creatures of flight.

Consider further that there are no two-place birds.

My compliments to Dave Hirschman’s able interlocutor. He argued ably but I had the sense that his heart might not have been fully in it.

Merel R. O’Rourke
AOPA 5771047
Grangeville, Idaho

Customer service

Interesting subject that hits home with my recent experience in Lexington, Kentucky (“Waypoints: The Customer Experience”). Last week while visiting my young grand-babies who live near the “big” airport, I noticed a Diamond aircraft that appeared to be on a training mission. That looks interesting, I thought to myself. Think I’ll see if I can fly a couple of hours dual just for fun, or maybe a flight review. A couple of clicks on the smartphone and I was chatting with someone at the FBO. “I’ll take your information and one of our instructors will call you right back.” Still waiting, more than 10 days later. Think I will call them again? Think they will get the $300-plus I was anxious to spend at their facility?

Danny Boster
AOPA 320640
Grayson, Kentucky

We are truly blessed to have the freedom of flight we enjoy in the United States. Thanks for shining the light on Ukraine (“Flying in Ukraine”) as a reminder of just how fortunate we are and the importance of continuing our legislative initiatives to protect it.
    —Jim Hamilton, AOPA 155576, Columbia, South CarolinaIf it works

I thoroughly enjoyed Dave Hirschman’s article “Technique: Preference or Procedure”—and I loved the artwork. It reminded me of a good friend and sort of “mentor” pilot. About 1973 (I was 18), I started flying with him in his old Bonanza A35. This man had flown C–47s and C–60s in World War II, and was a very capable pilot. My first IFR trip with him in the left seat was an eye opener.

We were in hard IFR from Mena, Arkansas, to Dallas, planning a quick turnaround. He took off, and I immediately became aware of his right index finger. He had a habit of tapping the horizon, airspeed, altimeter, et cetera—going back to the horizon about every other tap. It nearly drove me nuts—but, given my limited experience (and age), and his impressive flying résumé, I didn’t ask about it for a very long time. But he hand-flew that old Bonanza to ATP standards all the way to Dallas and back (no auto-pilot on board). He explained his logic to me, and it didn’t stay with me, but it worked for him.

Years later I was talking to him about flying twins. The old “dead foot, dead engine” was confusing to me—at a time I didn’t need to be confused. He told me, “Don’t think about that—just match the throttles to your feet.” Son-of-a-gun, no more confusion in identifying the offending engine.

Two lessons Hirschman’s article reminded me of: 1) If it works, don’t fix it; and 2) Some habits are worth keeping. (And, we don’t all have to do it exactly the same—keep what works for you.)

Bob Stringer
AOPA 1404816
Duncanville, Texas

As a fan of Barry Schiff, I always read his articles. I especially enjoyed this month’s topic (“Proficient Pilot: Decisions, Decisions”) as it’s something I always cover with my students when we discuss aeronautical decision making. My version of “Could you defend your choice” is, “What would other pilots say when they read the NTSB report about this?”—Jerry Plante, AOPA 3391582, Bourne, MassachusettsFees chase away

I’ve been flying into Rancho Murieta, California (RIU), over 40 years for fun, fuel, friends and events. This week I was reminded of the cost cancer infecting general aviation with Rancho’s newly implemented $25 landing fee for small singles. General aviation is not about sterilized transportation. It’s about brotherhood and the beauty of freedom. That brings people to small airports. Fees chase away the beauty…and the biz.

John Tillison
AOPA 573954
Sacramento, CA

Hangar Talk

Senior Photographer Chris Rose has flown on hundreds of air-to-air photo shoots, but the challenge of photographing the Spirit of St. Louis replica in the skies over the Hudson River Valley of New York was unique (“Doing the Lindy Hop,” page 50). Not only was Rose photographing a subject airplane that had no radios, but Ken Cassens, the pilot in the Spirit, had no forward visibility. Rose was in a historic aircraft himself—a New Standard biplane—also with no communication, just hand signals and yelling back and forth to pilot Clay Hammond. “It was backwards from the way it usually works,” Rose says. “The photo plane had to move around the subject plane. In a typical air-to-air, the subject plane pilot always has his eyes on the photo platform, but [Cassens is] peering out a side window just to see me.” Prior to the shoot, Rose researched other photos of the replica but could find none. “It’s such an iconic aircraft, now I understand why—it was tricky and it may be the most difficult aircraft I’ve ever photographed,” he says. “But the New Standard was a surprisingly good platform to shoot from.”