AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2022 - 20

LETTERS
versus what I'd experienced in the thicker air
over Warrenton Soaring Center in Warrenton,
Virginia, back in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
In that thin air above Black Forest, entering an
aggravated stall left me suddenly hanging in the
straps, looking up at the Earth as the aircraft
turned turtle. It was fun, so we did it again, but
the lesson stuck with me.
Emory Tate / AOPA 7172640
McDaniel, Maryland
Catherine Cavagnaro's excellent article in which
she describes stalling while inverted near the
top of a loop exactly mirrors my own experience
of learning empirically in a Waco Great Lakes
that an airfoil can indeed be stalled at any attitude.
At the time I was embarrassed that it took
me a moment to recognize why the airplane's
controls were unresponsive and the dive had
developed a distinct sideways lean. Fortunately,
simply releasing the controls allowed the airflow
to reattach and a relatively decent final quarter
loop. The salutary embarrassment, however, has
never detached from me. I trust it never will.
Michael Hart / AOPA 9992003
Tucson, Arizona
Pilots: Charlie Hammonds
Nice article on Charlie Hammonds ( " Pilots: A
Life Well Lived in Aviation, " August 2022 AOPA
Pilot). He is a fantastic person and instructor.
You may appreciate how great an instructor he
is with this short story:
One day after some stall instruction in the
T-6, one stall turned into a violent falling leaf,
scaring both of us. We called it a day. His parting
words to me as we drove off were to go home
to my wife and enjoy the night. Nine months
later and on the same day, Charlie and I were
presented with baby girls. Now is that a great
instructor or what?
J.W. " Corkey " Fornof / AOPA 1368539
Frisco, Texas
Dogfight: To helmet
or not to helmet
Both Dave Hirschman and Ian Twombly are
misinformed about the safety and availability
of a lightweight, inexpensive, extensively
impact-tested, comfortable aviation helmet
( " Dogfight: To Helmet or Not to Helmet,
That is the Question, " July 2022 AOPA
Pilot). Helmets save lives. I spent a U.S. Air
Force career developing life support systems
for advanced tactical fighter pilots; I'm
20
AOPA PILOT / October 2022
Hangar Talk /
Although she's been writing for AOPA since 1998, never have her
children and their friends commented so much on her travel. " When I
posted a photo of me with Ronnie and Bruce, my feed blew up, " said
Julie Summers Walker. " All the kids said, 'Your mom met the Swamp
People!' " The popular reality TV show on The History Channel features
Ronnie Adams and Bruce Mitchell who took Walker, photographer Chris
Rose, and videographer Josh Cochran for a swamp boat tour of Happiness
Bayou after the AOPA crew flew in with Southern Seaplane Inc. " I was
embarrassed to say I did not know who these guys were, " said Walker.
" But my own band of followers clued me in. " Learn how you could take
a tour with Southern Seaplane and Ronnie and Bruce in " Fisherman's
Paradise, " which begins on p. 50.
an aerospace medical researcher and graduated
from the Uniformed Services School
of Medicine and U.S. Air Force School of
Aerospace Medicine; and am also a trained
accident investigator graduating from the
University of Southern California and U.S. Air
Force Aircraft Mishap Investigation courses.
Many aircraft accidents are survivable if
head impact protection is provided. Even a
brief moment of unconsciousness will drown
a partially submerged seaplane pilot. Helmets
not only provide impact protection, they help
attenuate sun with visors and attenuate aircraft
noise with their construction, and can be modified
to carry an emergency flashlight or night
vision device if you could afford one.
There is an extensively tested (both military
and civilian) commercial, off-the-shelf helmet
supplied to U.S. Special Forces by company Team
Wendy that has been adapted by Sky Cowboy to
accept all modern aviation ANR headsets. This
can be purchased as a fully assembled helmet
with ANR headset or DIY to accept your headset.
I've been wearing mine
for the past four years in hot,
humid Florida with lowlevel
seaplane operations in a
loud IO-390 Super Cub. It is
comfortable, keeps sun glare
down, and helps attenuate the
noise in a rag-wing aircraft. I
wear it performing aerobatics
and when renting a 172. I
don't leave home without it.
Robert G. Elves /
AOPA 939995
Melbourne, Florida
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 - October 2022

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