AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2017 - 14

LETTERS

In the past, I've regarded AOPA
Pilot as a bit drier than other
aviation publications I frequent. If the November issue
is a good indication, not so any
longer; I devoured it cover to
cover. I loved Ken Scott's article on the Monocoach ("The
Last Unicorn") as an aﬁcionado
of antiques. I connected with
the round-the-world article by
Tom Haines ("Spirit of Aviation
Around the World") to Adrian
Eichhorn's wonderful talk at
the Prescott AOPA Fly-In. This
month's best feature, though, was
the set of stories developed by
Alyssa Miller on the F-100 ("One
More Time"). Dean Cutshall
deserves enormous accolade for
giving those gentlemen another
opportunity to ﬂy the Hun in his
breathtaking North American
masterpiece, and it was both
somber and a great privilege to
read their stories. Very well done.
Jim Densmore
AOPA 701868
Colorado Springs, Colorado

Around the world
Tom Haines' column and his
feature on Adrian Eichhorn's
around-the-world Bonanza
journey ("Spirit of Aviation
Around the World") reinforced
my appreciation for GA ﬂying
in the United States.
After leaving the United
States, Mr. Eichhorn got
slammed with arbitrary and
punitive fees only softened by
the local pilots' warm reception
and eagerness to hear about ﬂying in the States. Haines quotes
Eichhorn, "It seems the more
difficult it is to ﬂy, the more passionate the pilots become." Few
of them can pass muster with
the restrictive regulations, or
afford the charges for landings
14 | AOPA PILOT January 2017

and takeoffs, handling, weather
and navigation services, and
fees slapped on for "parking
and lighting." Eichhorn warns
that skipping out or challenging
authority could land you in jail.
In August, I toured Scotland's
urban and scenic countryside by
car. I enjoyed plenty of nice VFR
weather. Like all pilots, I looked
up each time I heard something
ﬂy over. In those two weeks, only
twice did I see anything resembling GA aircraft.
Let's not take our freedom
to ﬂy for granted. Having served
in my state legislature, I know
lawmakers are always on the
lookout for revenue sources.
Carmine Mowbray
AOPA 3352584
Polson, Montana

Candidate rundown
Thanks for the article on the
2016 presidential candidates'
responses on general aviation.
You mentioned that Libertarian
candidate Gary Johnson has a
private pilot ASEL and balloon rating-no questionnaire
was sent to him? Isn't the
Libertarian Party candidate
on all 50 state ballots and the
District of Columbia?
Michael Weidhaas
AOPA 5850719
St. Louis, Missouri

HANGAR TALK

Flying the Hun

Nice job of providing a free
political ad for the Democratic
candidate. I had hoped that
AOPA would not endorse
candidates.
George Hill
AOPA 1020089
Diamondhead, Mississippi

AOPA's practice is to send questionnaires only to the two major
party candidates. The association goes to great lengths
to provide equal treatment.
However, the Donald Trump
campaign chose not to respond
to multiple attempts to contact
the candidate. AOPA does not
endorse presidential candidates
-Ed.

The right path
Thanks for Mike Collins' article
on choosing the best pathway
for meeting the ADS-B Out
mandate. However, may I
suggest that the first question should not be "do I have a
WAAS GPS" but rather whether
I need ADS-B Out in the first
place. For example, in Maine
if you ﬂy below 10,000 feet msl
and don't fly through the two
Class Cs (Portland and Bangor),
there is no need for ADS-B
Out. Southeast and Central
Florida-a different story.

Of course, there are only two
endpoints for ADS-B Out-a
Mode S extended squitter transponder or a Universal Access
Transceiver-both requiring
WAAS GPS position and barometric inputs. An additional
question would be, "Do I want a
panel-mount display for ADS-B
In (TIS-B and FIS-B)?" If no,
then this issue is irrelevant and
considering portable ADS-B
In options simply confuses the
issue surrounding the mandate.
Luca F. Bencini-Tibo
AOPA 384103
Weston, Florida

Erratum
The gear section in the
November 2016 AOPA Pilot
indicated private pilot Victoria
Neuville uses ForeFlight but is
switching to the app Garmin
Pilot because it talks to the
Garmin aera 796. Garmin
Pilot does not talk to the 796.
Also, Neuville has never used
ForeFlight. AOPA Pilot regrets
the error.
We welcome your comments.
Editor, AOPA Pilot, 421 Aviation
Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701
or email (pilot@aopa.org). Letters may be edited for length
and style before publication.

Being invited to a U.S. Air Force base to receive
training in a military aircraft has got to be a major
thrill for any civilian pilot. So it was when longtime contributor BARRY SCHIFF and AOPA Senior
Photographer MIKE FIZER were escorted onto Little
Rock Air Force Base for two days of in-ﬂight and
simulator experience in the iconic Lockheed Martin
C-130H Hercules. Schiff says, however, "that
mingling with and getting to know Air National
Guard pilots and personnel was as much a privilege
as being afforded the opportunity to learn a little
about ﬂying the Herk." ("GETTING THE JOB
DONE," p. 50.) He adds that "Mike and I are always impressed by the dedication,
professionalism, and esprit de corps of our servicemen and women. Although it is
gratifying to list another exotic airplane in my logbook, being assured anew that the
liberty and security of our country is in capable hands is even more so."

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2017