AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2021 - 14

LETTERS
flying in the flight levels, so I
may not be privy to the customs
and traditions of the backcountry. I fail to see that what this
pilot did was so dangerous; but
I do think you made the correct
decision not to approach the
individual about his flying.
David W. Naumann
AOPA 365353
Northport, Alabama

Shhhh...

Loved Barry Schiff's article on
the sterile cockpit concept. It
particularly applies to my career
as a hot air balloon pilot. I share
my " cockpit " balloon basket
shoulder-to-shoulder with
excited camera-carrying, cellphone-using passengers. I brief
them about their role as safety
observers-particularly regarding the hard-to-see power lines.
My instructions to them are to
keep their eyes open, but when
spotting what they think is an
impending disaster, tap me on
the shoulder and point. Do not
shout!
Ben Burbridge
AOPA 951446
Jacksonville, Florida

Personal eVTOL
on the cusp

HANGAR TALK

I enjoyed the eVTOL piece. I
hope AOPA will continue to
cover any future developments

as they happen. It speaks to a
certain vitality in aviation that
has been lacking for a while now
in the traditional stick-and-rudder world. Covering both areas
is fine by me.
Barry Randall
AOPA 972657
St. Paul, Minnesota

With all respect, the title should
be What were they thinking? More money than brains.
These are nothing but amateur contraptions; nothing is on
the cusp. There are maybe one
or two in the right direction,
but what about that Star Warslooking racer design? Seriously,
an air cycle? LOL. Not even
close to the cusp of anything-
please retitle that article, it's an
embarrassment.
John McPherson
AOPA 10339821
Dripping Springs, Texas

Precise flying

Many thanks to Tom Horne
for his great " gouge " idea
for exploiting an HSI ( " On
Instruments " ). I read the article at breakfast, went straight
out to the airport, and tried
it out in my Trio Pro Pilotequipped, Garmin GPSMAP
196-guided Sonex Onex. Yes,
I know, it sounds silly to be
using this trick in a Onex, but

it is mildly unstable in roll, has
limited forward/downward
visibility, and therefore has to
be constantly managed via the
compass or HSI display to stay
on course and fly cross-country. The Trio is very basic so left
to its own devices it makes a
pretty aggressive course intercept, which is not very efficient.
Having this " gouge " to either
hand-fly or dial steer to get on
track efficiently and stay there
is welcome news.
William Crowl
AOPA 1789433
Wilton, California

For the Record

I hope you and other pilots are
as upset about the enforcement state of affairs at the FAA
as I am ( " What's in the Mail? "
September 2020). In this day
and age it is beyond ludicrous
the FAA doesn't provide for
phone message and/or email
message in their notifications
to revoke an airman's certificate.
They must surely recognize that
these are the most commonly
used methods of communication. I feel sure that there have
been occasions when the notified pilot had no idea of what
the FAA was about to hit that
pilot with. Pilots do travel outside the United States for two

" When it comes to photo platforms, few are better than the tail gunner position in the B-25 Mitchell-and more specifically, Larry Kelley's
B-25J Panchito, " says Senior Photographer CHRIS ROSE. " When the invitation for me and AOPA videographer Josh Cochran to use Panchito to
capture the aircraft participating in the Arsenal of Democracy flyover
in Washington, D.C., I couldn't say yes fast enough. Forty-five minutes
after takeoff, with a flock of warbirds on our tail ready for their closeup, we were given the signal to move to the tail position. Josh went first
and moved to the sling seat, and I went after, belly-crawling down the
tail until I was under him. Josh is over 6 feet tall and had to lower the
sling to fit-and by fit, I mean sit on my back. So, I found myself 2,500
feet over Northern Virginia, hanging out of the back of a B-25 bomber,
nose to nose with more than a dozen of the most significant historic
aircraft in the world, and my coworker sitting on top of me. I couldn't
have felt luckier. " See " THE BEST FLYOVER YOU NEVER SAW, " page 72.

14 | AOPA PILOT January 2021

or more weeks at a time. It is
frightening to think of missing a
10-day deadline. I'd like to know
what AOPA is doing to see that
email/phone messaging is added
to the FAA's method of notifying
pilots of enforcement action.
Susan M. Simmons
AOPA 1542755
Marathon, Florida

Jared Allen responds: Although
sending time-critical legal documents via email seems like an
obvious thing to do-especially
given how often pilots travel-I
anticipate an uphill battle. Many
courts around the country are
still wrestling with email's role
in serving legal documents on
unsuspecting individuals, citing due process concerns. So, the
path of least resistance may be to
have the FAA send a " courtesy "
notice via email, but have deadlines continue to be set by proof
of the " official " mailings.
I'm looking for an opportunity
to raise this with the Government
Accountability Office, which often
asks for AOPA's input on aviation-related audits it conducts.
We welcome your comments.
Send letters to Editor, AOPA
Pilot, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701 or pilot@
aopa.org. Letters may be
edited for length and style.

AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2021