Sticking with it
Finally living the dream
Thanks Heather Baldwin Jones for the work and writing of “Preflight: Kramer vs. Kramer.” I thought I was reading about my “twin” brother.
After a long career in construction my desire to fly was awakened by helicopters flying over the top of my house all day. I learned that a flight school was directly across the river from me at Portland-Troutdale Airport in Oregon.
I started my first lesson at 66 years old. I often said, “If I don’t buy I won’t fly,” meaning that after I got my certificate, I knew myself well enough to know I would probably not schedule to rent and pay the high price of renting a helicopter to keep flying. I also knew that it would make each lesson much cheaper to simply fly my own helicopter. So I bought an R44 Raven II. I built a helipad last summer and then a hangar on our five acres (much like Jim wants to fly a STOL off of his property). Even though I have a couple of solo endorsements I don’t yet have my certificate. I am the oldest beginning flight student my school has ever had and I think I am also the slowest student. Fortunately, since I was about 8 years old I have been fascinated by helicopters and like Kramer, I stop and look up at every helicopter I hear, so I am confident I will keep going to get my certificate.
Steve Zimmerman
Camas, Washington
Back to basics
Even for a guy like me with advanced ratings and plenty of flying time in lots of airplanes, your Flight Training magazine is a worthwhile read. Experienced pilots get killed breaking the basic rules, and that journal keeps one focused on flying skills and safety, which is where I need to be.
Stephen Power
Vacaville, California
Brain freeze
An illustration in the May 2018 Flight Training Final Exam shows a snowman holding a runway sign marked “23–4.” What’s wrong with this picture? Runways are named for their magnetic orientation, so Runway 23 would be oriented at approximately 230 degrees. The other end of the runway, of course, would be 180 degrees from that, or Runway 5. Flight Training regrets the error.
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