AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2022 - 16

LETTERS
Remembering
the 'Hun'
Readers reflect on a
Vietnam-era fighter
Julie Summers Walker captured the aura
and beauty of an incredible fighter perfectly
( " Romancing the 'Hun,' " January 2022 AOPA
Pilot). May I suggest a look again at the photo
just inside the cover, on the bottom of page one,
and ask John Morrissey to tell you about the 100
missions, F-105, North Vietnam cloth patch he's
wearing on his left shoulder? Trust me, few fighter
pilots, other than Misty Forward Air Controllers,
are worthy to even stand in his shadow. Legends
in their time, flying another incredible jet, revered
by fighter pilots everywhere.
Joe Rybicki / AOPA 809163
Hayesville, North Carolina
What a great tribute to the first of the " Century
Fighters " and those magnificent men who flew
them. The F-100 was one of the first Revell model
kits that I put together in the late 1950s and it was
the first combat aircraft that I saw in Vietnam
when I came " in country " at Bien Hoa Air Force
Base. I never got to meet any of those guys, but I
and my fellow Army aviators who flew the AH-1G
Cobra attack helicopter felt a certain camaraderie
with them. There were many times when we
" Snake Drivers " would find ourselves working
alongside those " Hun Drivers " when the ground
troops had their backs against the wall and
needed all the " down in the dirt " close air support
that they could get. I vividly remember one
day when I looked down and watched as these
two camouflaged Super Sabres ripped across the
treetops and laid their " High Drags " right in the
bad guy's front door. They were that good.
Ron Walters / AOPA 1498115
Savannah, Georgia
Training for health
Thank you, Thomas B. Haines, for your article
" Waypoints: Training for Health " in the January
2022 issue of AOPA Pilot.
I read with interest the approach insurance
companies are taking toward pilots who reach
their seventieth birthdays sometimes resulting
in the end of their flying exploits.
I am 69 years old, got my certificate in 1987,
flew my Archer for $100 hamburgers until 1992,
16
AOPA PILOT / March 2022
58
AOPA PILOT / January 2022
/ NORTH AMER ICAN F-100 SUPER SABRE /
ROMANCING
the'HUN'
BY JULIE SUMMERS WALKER
A legendary aircraft from
which heroes were made
It is 1968 and I am 10 years old. My beautiful cousin,
Cynthia Gay, has brought home yet another handsome
young man in uniform, on his way to Vietnam. He is
such a romantic fi gure; I cannot take my eyes off him or
keep from holding his hand. Years later the memory of
that young man stays with me. There is, as they say, just
something about a man in uniform.
ILLUSTRATION BY MELANIE JUDD
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE FIZER
Moment of bliss /
I wanted to thank Richard
AOPA PILOT / January 2022
59
and then became consumed with my growing
medical practice that took me out of the cockpit
even to this day. Retiring on January 1, I am thinking
not of walking away but starting up again!
It's reassuring to know that the data on us
oldsters supports us remaining in the air to
enjoy this wonderful pursuit and freedom.
Allan M. Haggar / AOPA 936331
Westmont, Illinois
European invasion
Let me call your attention to a few factors
playing a key role in this wave of sleek LSAs
coming from Europe ( " European Invasion " and
" Eurovision, " January 2022 AOPA Pilot).
One, the airplanes mentioned come not from
Europe as we U.S. people understand it to be but
from previously Soviet-dominated countries.
Two, the countries have a strong education
system, and are biased toward engineering, mathematics,
physics, and now computer software.
Three, all these countries have a highly educated,
skilled, low labor-cost work force.
Four, a long-term view of business still
prevails. They are not constrained by the nextquarter
syndrome that afflicts our U.S. business
model. They play, just like the Japanese and
Chinese, for the long term.
Five, all these companies were funded by the
European Union contrasting, once again, with
our business model here in the United States.
It seems to me that the United States' apparent
lack of competitiveness/creativity boils down
to a flawed educational model and " instant gratification "
attitude instilled in our youth by our
society. However, I believe that our creativity as
a nation is still there, just waiting to be tapped
through constructive regulation-or deregulation.
Miguel Azevedo / AOPA 1395008
Trion, Georgia
Send your comments to pilot@aopa.org.
Letters may be edited for length and style.
McSpadden so very much
for the incredibly moving
and poignant article he
wrote in the January
2022 issue of AOPA
Pilot- " Safety Spotlight:
Moment of Bliss. " This piece
brought tears to my eyes.
He truly did an amazing
job capturing the humbling
glory of GA flight.
I am a new student pilot
with 20 hours logged and
just days ago received a
solo endorsement from my
CFI. I found aviation later
in life-in my mid-40s. I'm
never more at peace, more
focused, more centered,
or more joyous than when
I'm flying. It's a wonderful
experience and gift to fly.
I also want to thank
McSpadden for the
incredible influence he has
across GA. I hear him on
the monthly AOPA There I
Was... podcast, see him on
PilotWorkshops' VFR safety
scenarios, read his column
in AOPA Pilot, and more.
Thank you so very much for
giving so much of yourself
to the rest of us. It is deeply
appreciated, and it makes
an incredible difference to
us all.
Tom Mennella /
AOPA 11323815
Longmeadow,
Massachusetts
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2022
