AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2014 - 10

LETTERS

FROM OUR JULY 2014 ISSUE

Yellow Marvel
Dave Hirschman and Mike Fizer's story on a Super Cub restoration made
more than a few readers nostalgic-and envious.
Many thanks for the great article in this month's AOPA Pilot.
The nostalgia was indeed
palpable and almost strong
enough to taste. While my dad
was working on his CFI, back
in the 1940s, much of his flight
time was done in the Super
Cub at our local sod field airport. The back seat was wide
enough for two kids, 6 and 8
years old, to ride with him. We
got lots of time that way. Your
work brought back many memories. Thanks also for the great
photos.
M.E. Simpson
AOPA 411019
Lawton, Oklahoma

I very much enjoyed your
article on Roger and Darin
Meggers. One part of the story
that got left out was what great
folks they are. I had the opportunity to meet them in July of
2011 when I fell out of the sky
over Baker, Montana, with
a serious oil pressure problem in the right engine of my
Grumman Widgeon. We were
headed to Oshkosh.
We pulled up in front of the
Baker Air Service hangar and
were greeted by Roger. He
dropped what he was doing
and went to work on getting
us to AirVenture. When Darin
came in from a charter he, too,
pitched in. In fairly short order
they had us on our way. Their
quick response was more than
we could reasonably expect.
In how many other places
would this have happened so
quickly?
Tom and Julie Young
AOPA 970321
Battle Ground, Washington
10 | AOPA PILOT September 2014

| CRAFTSMANSHIP |

Yellow

marvel
Father and son restore the original Super Cub

PILOTS FIND BREATHTAKING BEAUTY in the curve of a propeller, the shape of a wing, even

the thoughtful interface of a piece of avionics. But who makes this stuff and, in some
cases, keeps it beautiful for decades? Our occasional Craftsmanship series explores the
people who create-and re-create-these things for us. -Tom Haines

B Y D AV E H I R S C H M A N
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE FIZER
58 | AOPA PILOT July 2014

WORKING IN A CONFINED, hard-to-reach space deep inside a Super Cub fuselage,
A SPLINTERED OLD PROP
Darin Meggers lifts up his head to ask for a piece of tape. His father, Roger Meggers,
provided a template for
anticipating the request, has already brought a roll from the far side of their tidy
re-creating forgotten details
shop. He tears off a stub and hands it to Darin.
on Roger and Darin Meggers'
original Super Cub.
Here on the wind-swept, rolling plains of extreme eastern Montana, an area
known for its vast grasslands, oil, and dinosaur fossils, this father-and-son team at Baker Air Service has restored dozens of
Piper Super Cubs to as-new or better-than-new condition. Their masterpiece is
VIDEO EXTRA
an astonishingly accurate restoration of a 1950 Super Cub, the very ﬁrst manuSee the father and son
factured in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. That airplane, N5410H, returned to the
team at work on the
Super Cub.
skies in 2012.
www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 59

and falls, and then a combat
rejoin for the traditional break
over the Kissimmee airport
to land.
I have been in awe of Lee
Lauderback for years, with
his consummate skill in the
Mustang. I was impressed with
Marsh's abilities to handle and
cope with the shrouded scenario
he was mandated to contend
with. I am glad he had a good
experience, even if, as he said,
the IP's focused more on fun.

"Thanks for your article on the original
Fred Benenati
AOPA 12116860
Super Cub restoration. It was all great, but
Norman, Oklahoma
I especially enjoyed the description of your
flight in the airplane. You made me feel like Who's seeing whom?
I was right there with you. I've only had my This is a timely and important
article covering areas of ADS-B,
PPL for a year now, and I was 62 years old which we will all be involved in
when I finally got it. One of my first flights as the next couple of years ("P&E:
Technology"). This applies to
a teenager long ago was in a Cub taking off aircraft owners, renters, and
club operators.
from a neighbor's pasture."
Regina Coker
AOPA 7123990
Ridgeland, Mississippi

Unusual attitude
training

serendipitously ended up flying formation in the two Crazy
I read with interest (and envy) Horses. My instructor pilot (IP)
Al Marsh's article on unusual was John Posson, and my brother
attitude flying at Stallion 51 John's IP was Eric Huppert. It
("P&E: Technique"). I liked was one hour of the most amazhis disclaimer about flying in ing flight I will probably ever
the L-39 and P-51 on the same have. We did an unscripted low
day-that we didn't. How about approach to the 82nd Airborne
this: I flew formation with my troops at Avon Park, and then
twin brother in the two Crazy separated to do aerobatics,
including aileron rolls, barrel
Horses-and he didn't.
I took my twin brother John rolls, loops, chandelles, flight
(a retired Air Force pilot) and we at critically low airspeed, stalls

Although this article covered several questions that we
all have concerning ADS-B In,
hopefully, you will cover a few
ADS-B Out options, which is
the 2020 FAA mandate. I'm
even now considering a portable option for the ADS-B In
because the screen view of traffic and weather may be better
than what can be displayed on
the built-in GPS receiver screen.
What I'd like to know is
what's now available for the
required ADS-B Out and if we
should go ADS-B Out only, so
that we have more options than
the combination ADS-B Out/In
equipment. There seem to be
so many choices, and what we
need is a table or chart listing

http://www.aopa.org/pilot

AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2014

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