AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2020 - 14

LETTERS

LETTERS FROM OUR JANUARY 2020 ISSUE

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Readers respond to Barry Schiff's suggestion to highlight logbooks with autographs
of those we meet along the way
After reading Barry Schiff's column in the January 2020 AOPA
Pilot ("Proficient Pilot: Name
Dropping") I thought I would
drop you a short note about
what I thought of the content:
ironic. I've read a number of
Schiff 's articles since becoming a member of AOPA in early
1972 but this one struck me. 
Schiff mentions how it
would be a "great idea" to have
gotten autographs from some
passengers. After what he has
done for aviation; the hours he
has logged; the types of aircraft
he has flown; the research, articles, awards, et cetera, I believe
it should be the other way
around. Actors' autographs?
Someone pretending to do
something while he has actually done it? Barry Schiff has
been fortunate enough to meet
some of the greatest aviators in
history-and why not, he is one
of them. He does not need their
autograph, but I wonder if they
are sorry they didn't get his?
Myles Elsing
AOPA 460133
Corona Del Mar, California

Heartwarming

I just read Natalie Bingham
Hoover's "Flying Lessons
from an 8-Year-Old" in AOPA

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GIVING BACK

in the New Year are my favorite
non-cross-country flights.

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WHERE THE WEATHER

BEGINS
A look inside the Aviation Weather Center
B Y W. S C OT T O L S E N
I L LU S T R AT I O N B Y A L E X W I L L I A M S O N
P H OTO G R A P H Y B Y T H E A U T H O R

IMAGINE

a normal flying day.
We wake up, check the local METAR,
and check the METARs and TAFs
at our destination and along the route.
We smile if the sky is clear,
groan if there are bumps,
sigh if the weather is miserable.

72 | AOPA PILOT January 2020

aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 73

Aviation weather is complex. Reading about it
can be mind numbing. W. Scott Olsen's piece,
"Where the Weather Begins," was a delightful
exception. It was a lucid, enjoyable read.
Tom Witkin
AOPA 597133
Sudbury, Massachusetts

Pilot. What a great piece! I am
not a parent (not nearly brave
enough...) but reading of her
day with Ellie and the lovely
lessons learned lifted my spirits and warmed my heart. I
imagine you will get a number
of letters like this one-we all
need reminders of what's really
important. I got a few of those

Have you equipped with ADS-B?
Yes
No
Not needed for my type of flying

74%
19%
7%

Aviation eBrief poll
Read more in "ADS-B: Veiled Threat," p. 97.

14 | AOPA PILOT March 2020

7%

19%

74%

reminders myself over the past
year but the "booster shot" was
most welcome, especially in this
super-busy season.
Susan K. Parson
AOPA 1110029
Fountain Hills, Arizona

Winging it

I, too, take a New Year's Day
flight every year the weather
allows ("Waypoints: Winging
in the New Year"). Based at
Truckee, California, I sometimes
have a bit of weather to contend
with but, far more often than not,
have been blessed with bluebird days. Having come to flying
rather late at age 50, over the
past 15 years those flights to ring

H. Randolph Holder
AOPA 5628506
Incline Village, Nevada

In the know

Just a quick note to let you know
how much I enjoy Mike Collins'
articles.
Keeping us informed on all of
the issues regarding ADS-B and
other issues is extremely helpful. 
His work is very much appreciated by a number of pilots I
know.
I feel like his topics keep us
current on what's happening in
aviation.
Craig Najjar
AOPA 1041215
Norwood, Massachusetts

Nonstandard

It is important to clarify that
the "certificated" Autogyro
models Jill W. Tallman mentioned in the January AOPA
Pilot article "All-Around
Winner" are not in the usual
standard airworthiness category familiar to most
fixed-wing pilots. They are
"certified" only in the rarely
used and restrictive primary
category. Primary category aircraft can be sold in assembled
form (not as a kit) but are prohibited from carrying persons
or property for compensation
or hire by FAR 91.325(a), and
don't undergo the engineering
scrutiny that more familiar aircraft must face. 
No gyroplane with the simple teetering rotor system of
those in your article has ever
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2020

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