AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2014 - 16

LETTERS

"I have to take exception to your contention
that installing new ELTs is either easy or
quick. It certainly cannot be done-at least
not properly-in just an hour. Simply reading and understanding Step 1 will take at least
that long."

I read between the lines. Also,
the references Dave chose surprised me. Neither the Pilatus
Porter nor the Helio Courier
was first in its field. Neither of
the airplanes had been manufactured in huge numbers. Both
were commercial, several-seat
airplanes with full-blown certification and well beyond the
reach of the average guy. One
could have found historical
STOL performance a long time
ago with the Fieseler Storch.
In today's kit-built world,
the proven design of the Zenith
CH701 has been available for
interested builders for decades
now. Its STOL performance is
equal to or better than that of
the SuperSTOL. There may be
THEN: 1960

Low-cost
lightplanes
A situation could develop,
very similar to the one which
the motor car makers found
themselves in and are now
trying desperately to rectify.
To keep a crop of flyers coming off the grass roots every
year, those lightplanes better
be kept available. The people
turn to something else when
they are priced out of what
they are doing.
Morgan R. Gilbert
AOPA 165068
Yakima, Washington
16 | AOPA PILOT May 2014

more out there which I do not
recall right away.
It would be nice (and I
would consider it fair) if you
would extend the scope of
your article in a follow-up that
shows what STOL really can
mean today. Just look at those
airplanes that have a price tag
(no concepts, or one-of-a-kind).
Eckard Glaser
AOPA 1034208
Gerbrunn, Germany

'Benign neglect'
The article about Venice Airport
really brought back memories of when I was hired as the
full-time airport manager at
Frederick Municipal Airport in
Frederick, Maryland. Prior to
my becoming manager, the airport was managed by the FBO
and very little attention was
paid by the local community.
When word went out that
the city had hired a full-time
manager, my phone rang
nonstop. Citizens called complaining about noise. I knew
it was important to get to
the problem without delay. I
held meetings with the various neighborhood groups and
made a list of complaints. I listened and they appreciated it.
I held meetings with citizens
and pilots together-which was
a brave move because I wasn't

Army Air Corps training base
and growing active GA airport
needs to remain in perpetuity
and it will, thanks to VASI.

Charlie Abell
AOPA 1170795
Frederick, Maryland

Dave Marion AOPA 1199885, Burlington, North Carolina

sure I would live through
them. But persistence paid off
and with time they began to
understand and respect one
another. The end result was the
development of the Frederick
Municipal Airport Noise
Abatement Program. The program was very successful.

Like Ian Twombly, I, too, was a
reasonably experienced fixedwing pilot who took the plunge
and got my helicopter rating two years ago. Since then
I've had the opportunity to
fly a number of small helicopters, and with that experience
I have to take umbrage with
Ian's statement, "The R22 is to
helicopters what the Cessna
172 is to airplanes." While both
aircraft share similar levels
of market penetration, that's
about where the similarities
end.
The 172 is a robust machine
that is easy to fly and considered by many to be the ideal
trainer. The R22 is not. In fact,
it is among the most difficult
helicopters to fly-so much
so that the FAA had to issue a
SFAR establishing minimum
training and experience levels.
No other helicopter requires
this. I don't think Cessna would
say the same about the 172.
I would encourage Ian to log
a couple hours in an Enstrom,
Schweizer, or Bell. I think it
will give him a drastically different opinion of the R22.

THEN: 1989

Saving airports
It is better to be in a "circle
of friends" than to face the
extinction at the center of a
hostile circle of neighbors.
Raymond Sessions
AOPA 404374
Lake City, Florida

Thanks so much for spotlighting the new lease on
life that Venice Aviation
Society Inc. (VASI) supporters garnered for the airport
at Venice, Florida. We fly our
Mooney 2000 Ovation to
Venice and take advantage of
Venice's two 5,000-foot runways, GPS approach, sufficient
tiedowns-even during the
busy winter season-a maintenance facility, an avionics shop,
and new precision approach
path indicators.
Runway 5 is our usual landing runway because of the
prevailing winds. The FBO is
most accommodating and the
on-site restaurant is a delight.
Taxi service even at irregular
hours is available.
AOPA honored Venice's VASI
by recognizing them for what
they accomplished and VASI is
a national model for saving GA
airports and overcoming community criticism. This historic

Les and Kathy Megyeri
AOPA 486399
Washington, D.C.

Ian's helicopter
adventures

Dennis Martin
AOPA 5859651
Oconto, Wisconsin
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.
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2014
