AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2011 - 6

HANGARTALK
Visit us at www.aopa.org/pilot The story behind the story Regular readers may have picked up on the fact that Managing Editor Julie Summers Walker is not a certificated pilot. (“Hey, I have 65 hours of instruction!”) Originally a white-knuckle flier and still a big baby in turbulence, Walker has, however, fallen in love with general aviation and is a great copilot—as long as the weather is perfect. So to volunteer to fly in a helicopter for our story on the heliports in New York was another routine assignment—not! (“GA Serves America: Above New York,” page 50). But, she’s a convert. “It was gusting 29 knots and I thought ‘Oh, boy, here we go,’ but a helicopter has an incredibly smooth ride and I loved it, especially that slow elevator-like takeoff, bird’s-eye view, and gentle touchdown landing,” she says, sending a special shout-out to Eastern Regional Helicopter Council Chairman Jeffrey Smith who held her sweaty little hand until the fear subsided and the joy of the flight took over. Contributor Barry Schiff was 7 years old when World War II ended. Like others growing up in that era, he was enthralled by the romanticism and mystique of the pilots, fighters, and bombers who helped America win the war. “We couldn’t build model airplanes fast enough,” he says. “When Japan surrendered, the most popular model quickly became the B–29. Mine was a solid-wood Strombecker that came to life with sanding, gluing, painting, and decals. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would ever fly a real one.” He believes that “The Lady Has a History” (page 64) is one of his most significant articles written for AOPA Pilot. Schiff also examines the B–29’s role during the bombing of Japan in his monthly column “Proficient Pilot: Dropping the Bomb,” on page 28. Contributor Rick Durden exchanged telephone calls with his friend Stan Musick for more than a year as Musick searched for the right airplane for his family. After settling on an Aerostar 601P with a number of topof-the line retrofits, including the latest Garmin G600 with a primary flight display and multifunction display replacing the aging six-pack, he invited Durden to fly the updated airborne hot rod (“Family Rocket,” page 74). After doing the review flight, Durden, who has more than 7,000 hours in some 200 types of airplanes, reports that he had never flown anything quite like the pressurized Aerostar with its combination of performance, handling, and slightly eccentric systems. He says he came to understand why the Aerostar has been enduringly popular and how the Garmin retrofit added tremendous utility to an already capable airplane. When Associate Editor Jill W. Tallman joined AOPA’s publications division in 1999, she had never been inside a small airplane. “My first flight was in a Cessna 172,” she says. “I sat in the right seat and had to fight not to dig my fingernails into the glareshield.” Proofreading the magazine column “Never Again” did not inspire her to want to learn to fly, but when she joined the Flight Training team, everything changed. She became a private pilot in 2002, got an instrument rating in 2009, and purchased a Piper Cherokee 140 in December 2010 (“Renter No More,” page 85). “Learning to fly has absolutely changed my life,” she says. “I get to do and see things that most people don’t experience. And I don’t take it for granted.”
publisher
associate publisher/ editor in chief editor at large managing editor technical editor senior editors associate editors editorial and production assistant administrative assistant contributors

Craig L. Fuller
Thomas B. Haines Thomas A. Horne Julie Summers Walker Mike Collins Dave Hirschman Alton K. Marsh Jill W. Tallman Ian J. Twombly Sylvia Horne Miriam E. Stoner Peter A. Bedell Kathy Dondzila Mark Kimberling Bruce Landsberg Rod Machado Barry Schiff Phil Scott Mark R. Twombly John S. Yodice Michael E. Kline Jill C. Benton Elizabeth Z. Jones Adrienne R. Rosone Chris Delisio Mike Fizer Chris Rose Carol Dodds Brenda D. Ridgley Liz Tarver

design director art director art director contributing designer digital media specialist senior photographer photographer advertising director advertising production manager advertising sales and marketing manager

advertising administrator Donna Stoner advertising representative

The Orison B. Curpier Co., Inc.
East: Central, International: South Central, West:

732-946-0130 607-547-2591 214-789-6094

AOPA Pilot editorial 301-695-2350 Advertising information/production 301-695-2368 Facsimile 301-695-2180 E-mail AOPA Pilot pilot@aopa.org Address changes www.aopa.org/coa-form.html
All manuscripts and contributions should be accompanied by stamped, addressed return envelopes. Reasonable care will be taken in handling manuscripts, but the magazine assumes no responsibility for material submitted. Copyright 2011, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. All rights reserved. No part of this monthly publication may be reproduced or translated, stored in a database or retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other means, except as expressly permitted by the publisher; requests should be directed to the editor. To have the latest general aviation and AOPA news delivered to your desktop, subscribe to AOPA ePilot, a free e-mail newsletter. As a subscriber you will receive weekly issues of ePilot as well as special editions when information vital to your flying is available. To learn more about AOPA ePilot, view a sample issue, or subscribe, visit AOPA Online (www.aopa.org/ members/epilot.html).

Member Assistance 800-872-2672

PRINTED IN THE USA
AOPA PILOT •

6 • SEPTEMBER 2011

http://www.aopa.org/pilot http://www.aopa.org/coa-form.html http://www.aopa.org/members/epilot.html http://www.aopa.org/members/epilot.html

AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2011