AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2017 - 14

LETTERS

Gary Hess
AOPA 6073746
Aliso Viejo, California

I wholeheartedly agree with
Bruce Landsberg's recommendation for the use of more
simulation in flight training. All
my type ratings were done in
the aircraft except the Boeing
767, which was done entirely in
the simulator. My first time with
hands on the aircraft flight controls was on a passenger flight
from St. Louis to LaGuardia
under the supervision of a line
check airman.
Knowing that the B-767
simulator time was valuable
for flying maneuvers, not doing
checklists and starting engines
that are done on the ground,
I learned the checklists, flow
patterns, and engine start procedures in the Cockpit Procedures
Trainer. My 767 instructor pilot
and I went through instructor
pilot training together on the
Convair 880 many years before
my 767 transition. We completed the two-hour simulator
syllabus with time to spare, so I
had a chance to do several takeoffs and landings under various
conditions. This was not only
fun, it was a valuable confidence
builder.
14 | AOPA PILOT February 2017

Landsberg hit the training nail on the head. Cockpit
procedure trainers and simulators are valuable time-saving
and money-saving devices that
should be used to the full extent
in flight training.
Jerry Lawler
AOPA 238200
Palos Heights, Illinois

STEM in schools

I read with interest the article "You Can Fly" describing
efforts to start flying clubs and
especially to encourage science,
technology, engineering, and
math (STEM) aviation courses
in high school. High school
education in America is now
about 50 years behind Europe
because it does not fit to the
training needs of society. In the
1960s we removed vocational
training from the high school
curriculum, moved some of it to
college, converted universities
from an academic to a business
model, and told the public that
to be successful, a college education was needed.
The result is high school
graduates only qualified to flip
hamburgers, massive unemployment among inner city
youth who cannot afford college-and a third more students

HANGAR TALK

present of an hour of dual in a
Cessna 172. I was able to fly the
entire flight, including the landing, after 40 years of being out
of the cockpit. I realize that the
flight simulator I use is not as
sophisticated as the ones used
at flight schools, but I feel that
using the simulator during the
intervening years helped maintain my skills.
By the way, I have since
become active again and am
thoroughly enjoying flying the
"real thing."

in college than should be, who
run up a huge debt while learning what should have been
taught in high school. The
skills needed for certain types
of engineers, electronic and
medical technicians, computer programmers, bankers,
nurses, accountants, dental
assistants, "real" mechanics, et
cetera, should be taught in high
school, just as they are in many
European countries. Students
are much happier to learn math,
physics, and chemistry if it is
part of a vocational curriculum.
J.E. Butler
AOPA 928058
Iowa City, Iowa

Rebate rules

I read "Navigating the FAA
Rebate" by Mike Collins with
a sense of curiosity. My curiosity was satisfied when I learned
that my impression of the FAA
rebate for ADS-B installation
was shared by others, in particular Joe Goodin. He described it
accurately as "next to useless."
I installed a Garmin GTX 345
1090-MHz ES transponder in my
Cirrus SR22. I then accessed the
FAA website, which detailed the
criteria that must be met to be
eligible for the rebate. I found
it ridiculously cumbersome and

restrictive. But then again, this is
the FAA and I expected no less.
Kudos to those few who
can actually navigate the maze
of requirements and get a check
from the FAA. For me personally, my time is worth more than
the $500 I would receive. And
by the way, the $500 is taxable.
Kenneth Cahall
AOPA 1055912
Show Low, Arizona

Clarification

In the December issue of AOPA
Pilot, "Answers for Pilots: Head
to the Islands" said a special validation is required for
Experimental aircraft that fly to
the Bahamas. The standardized
validation form is available on
AOPA's website (www.aopa.org
/go-fly/destinations/internationaltravel/bahamas). No prior authorization is required. Further,
Light Sport Aircraft and pilots
that meet the driver's license
standard are welcome in the
Bahamas. Learn more online
(www.bahamas.com/flying).
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.

"Mike and I had some preconceived notions before
we arrived in Idaho," says Senior Features Editor
JULIE SUMMERS WALKER of her and Senior Photographer Mike Fizer's story "FIELDS OF GOLD" on page 58.
"First, I thought it would be a lot warmer-shorts and
a T-shirt were not appropriate for autumn in Idaho; it
was 30 degrees each morning-and both Mike and I
believed the drone we'd be seeing would be a quadcopter. When Robert Blair [pictured] showed us the
eBee Ag drone, Mike and I were in shock. Its birdlike looks would make it hard to photograph, and it
just didn't jibe with our vision of a 'drone.'" The pair
learned a lot about drone technology and how having pilot skills benefits the operators from pilot Robby Schoepflin. "Oh, and birds are surprised at this drone, too," says
Walker. "Large predatory birds such as hawks often attack the drone as it flies over the
fields." The drone that Schoepflin nicknamed Goldfinch has the scars to prove it.

http://www.aopa.org/go-fly/destinations/international-travel/bahamas http://www.aopa.org/go-fly/destinations/international-travel/bahamas http://www.aopa.org/go-fly/destinations/international-travel/bahamas http://www.bahamas.com/flying

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