The new normal

I just received and opened the latest AOPA Pilot with the new format and immediately read Thomas B. Haines’ column (“Waypoints: The New Normal,” August 2021). You asked for comments so here goes: looks great, fresh and modern, well-done! Many of us do in fact embrace change and this is exceptional. And very amused by the “old enough to re member what an NDB is” comment and I am. Lifetime reader of AOPA Pilot, which goes back a ways.

Keep up the good work.

Tom Debrey / AOPA 4552061
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

In response to Tom Haines’ August 2021 article, first thanks for retaining the style and size of font. As for the cover, I really prefer the one featuring the LSA, but really doesn’t matter that much to me.

I do have a complaint about the color stripes found in the articles, especially the vertical stripes. The horizontal one in titles is OK as you are only focused there momentarily. However, these 83-year-old eyes find the green stripe on p. 39 terribly disconcerting—too much contrast. The yellow stripe on p. 20, while not necessary, is a softer color and easier to focus on the total line of print.

Gary Ervin / AOPA 1665396
Modesto, California

I like the magazine’s new look. Great design, concept very contemporary. So glad you didn’t diminish font size. Very readable—good job!

Bruce Cannedy / AOPA 727742
Texarkana, Texas

I just read Thomas B. Haines’ article, “The New Normal.” I chuckled when I read the comment about his stir-crazy wife going on a painting frenzy during the pandemic, but that it was all OK since she won’t read the column.

Change is good! I noticed the new look and layout as soon as I took the August issue out of the mailbox. As a longtime video producer, I know the trepidation when debuting a new look and I think you nailed it. I was immediately excited to see the clean lines and new title treatment.
I like that you went bold instead of tinkering around the edges. Thanks for thinking progressively about GA and for giving us a fresh look to the same great content we all count on every month. Congratulations! —Wade Walton / AOPA 1343698, Downingtown, PennsylvaniaHaines mentioned every magazine redesign causes a number of people to react to the change—usually in a negative fashion. That reminded me of my freshman year at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette when my psychology professor told us that the number one cause of stress in humans is change. Yet I’ve learned that you cannot have growth without change.

I’m a lifetime AOPA member, but let’s be honest, the vast majority of Americans have no idea what AOPA is or what it means because they aren’t pilots. But everyone knows what a pilot is. For this reason, I like how “PILOT” boldly spans the magazine’s cover. Any casual passerby at the bookstore will immediately know what our magazine contains—stories about courageous people who fly airplanes to satisfy their desire for adventure, technology, and friendship.

I applaud AOPA’s efforts to stay creative, innovative, and flexible. Best wishes for continued success and growth.

P.S: If you really want to ruffle some feathers, tell our members that it’s time to look at refreshing the AOPA logo.

Tucker Axum / AOPA 4076685
Palm Springs, California

Rotorhead

Loved Ian J. Twombly’s article in the August AOPA Pilot (“Rotorhead”). I fell in love with flying helos after many years of professional and general aviation fixed-wing flying. Everything Twombly said is spot on, and helicopter flying is more fun than most any other flying I have ever done. I have noticed that in the GA community, helos don’t get a lot of attention.

In his “What It Takes” sidebar, I wish he had mentioned using a Part 141 school as an alternative to the private pilot add-on. This is the route I took. The hours required are less than Part 61, and I found the required phase checks to be invaluable for learning.

The big downside of course is the cost of flying helos, which is why I built my own—a Mosquito.

Dick Campbell / AOPA 10281174
Hewitt, Texas

Nice job on the helicopter article in the August issue. Just right. —Ken Pyatt  / AOPA 638262, Dallas, TexasPilots

I enjoyed reading Ian J. Twombly’s profile of remarkable Daniel Sazhin (“Pilots,” August 2021 AOPA Pilot). I have gotten to know him over the past few years and the profile is an accurate characterization. I have a hunch he’ll appear again in a future AOPA Pilot.

Edward Hindman / AOPA 2125502
Wurtsboro, New York

Errata

“For the Record: Digging Up the Past” (September 2021 AOPA Pilot) incorrectly identified the form used to request a copy of a medical certification file. It is 8065-2.

“Savvy Maintenance: Misfueled!” (July 2021 AOPA Pilot) stated that Jet A and the 100LL will separate like oil and water if the contaminated fuel is allowed to sit for hours. Oil and water don’t mix because of the polarity of the bonds, not a difference in weight. Jet fuel and avgas will mix.

AOPA Pilot regrets the errors.

We welcome your comments! Send letters to Editor, AOPA Pilot, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701 or pilot@aopa.org. Letters may be edited for length and style.

Hangar Talk

No one rises to a challenge quite like AOPA videographer Paul Harrop. “We received an email from the owner of the property where we would be photographing and filming our story on metal-detecting,” said Senior Features Editor Julie Summers Walker. “He said it was black fly season so to be prepared.” Harrop fashioned himself a fly-catcher hat from materials purchased at a hobby store, hoping the flies would aim high for his artificial flowers. “We all laughed, but Paul was unabashed,” Walker said. Did the black flies leave him alone? Yes, for the most part, but more judicious application of sunscreen would have prevented the red neck this Oklahoma boy ended up with. Read our AOPA Media staff’s adventures in “The Thrill of the Find,” which begins on p. 64.