AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2013 - 14

LETTERS
On Monday I was looking
to see when the new Disney
movie Planes was going to be
coming out. Then on Tuesday
I dropped off my three-yearold son at daycare then flew my
recently purchased airplane
over to Leaders Clear Lake
Airport (8Y6) to have a little
work done on it. I talked to Bob,
Kurt, and Chase for a bit and
then when Kurt started to work
on my airplane Chase showed
me the article in AOPA Pilot
and that Leaders was an inspiration for the film. I thought
that was wonderful; if it were
not for Bob Leaders I probably
would not have my certificate
today. He has helped countless
people in aviation. I thought
your article was great (“Truth in
Animation”) and really hit home
to me that someone else realized what a great spot Leaders is
and it is no surprise to me that it
became an inspiration to someone else. 
Jim Finn
AOPA 6925166
Princeton, Minnesota

Pilots: Fran Bera

Thanks for taking the time to
write about this wonderful
woman. She has remained one
of my life’s heroes since she gave
me my twin engine checkride at
Long Beach. This woman put
me at such ease that I performed
probably better than I ever have.
There was something about
her. Maybe it was her seasoned
confidence with undeniable
authority that immediately
puts us young inexperienced
pilots at ease. Whatever it was
she definitely had it. I passed
her scrutiny; that is, until the
last few seconds prior to touchdown. My airspeed was right on
the money during my final but at
five feet above the runway I was
slightly off center soliciting her
to politely comment,  “Rudder,
14 | AOPA PILOT October 2013

10 great
airplane movies
With the release of Disney’s
Planes, Time magazine
compiled its list of 10 great
airplane movies.
HELL’S ANGELS
AIRPORT
THE GREAT WALDO
PEPPER
AIRPLANE!
TOP GUN
FEARLESS
THE AVIATOR
UNITED 93
AMELIA
FLIGHT
What movie did Time forget?
Email us with your favorite
(pilot@aopa.org).

fueling, my wife called, my cell
phone was attached to my belt
and, of course, I answered the
call. After the call, fueling was
complete and off I went.  An
hour or so later I arrived in
Meridian just ahead of a thunderstorm, shut down at the FBO,
and asked the line guys to place
10 gallons in each wing. After
fueling it started raining and the
line guy walked into the FBO to
inquire who owned the 182 he
had just fueled. Imagine my
surprise when he announced
(in the company of Air Force
cadets detained by the storm),
that one of my umbrella caps
was missing! I rushed out with
duct tape to save the fuel from
rain contamination. I will never
fuel, flightplan, preflight, or taxi
with my cell phone on again.

aircraft.” The reference was
made because the Mercury
program put men into space
45 years before Mike Melvill.
It seems to me that both efforts
were pioneering, but you cannot compare the two.
The Mercury Program was
implemented by the government at a cost of billions of
tax dollars. The SpaceShipOne
program was funded voluntarily, mostly by Paul Allen, the
Microsoft co-founder, at a fraction of the cost. If the Mercury
program had the same financial constraints as the private
effort, it would not have happened. Let’s give credit where
credit is due. Burt Rutan, Mike
Melvill, and the team at Scaled
Composites did something pioneering and incredible.

Letters

We welcome your comments.

L.C. Carmichael
AOPA 4713745
Muscle Shoals, Alabama

rudder.” She signed me off that
day. I was 24 at that time. In
my opinion, few moments in
life come close to the exhilaration one feels when obtaining
an additional aviation rating and
the twin rating is probably one
of the most exciting; right up
there with one’s first solo.
Mike Musso
AOPA 1388387
Oceanside, California

Proficient Pilot

I enjoyed Barry Schiff’s recent
column, “Interruption of
Routine.” A couple of years ago
I planned a flight from my home
base to Meridian, Mississippi,
to pick up a relative who had
been visiting friends.  The
hot, humid August day served
up its usual round of afternoon pop-up thunderstorms
along my route. After checking
and re-checking the weather
I determined I had a viable
window and could launch.  I
decided to place a little more
fuel on board just in case. While

I felt compelled to respond
to the August “Letters” section in which SpaceShipOne
was referred to as “just a copycat” and “not a pioneering

Jim Schrader
AOPA 5578192
Plain City, Ohio

Editor, AOPA Pilot, 421 Aviation
Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701
or email (pilot@aopa.org). Letters may be edited for length
and style before publication.

HANGAR TALK

Truth in animation

DAVE HIRSCHMAN

JILL W. TALLMAN says if

had wanted to go to
Alaska since he was 10
years old reading Field
& Stream and dreaming
of catching a Chinook
salmon. The opportunity
finally came along when
Luke Lysen at The Flight
Academy made
it possible. Hirschman
and Photographer Chris
Rose joined the Cirrus
pilot training firm on its
annual summer trek in

the teens who came to
Arlington, Washington, to
build two Experimental
airplanes represent a fraction of their generation,
the future looks promising (“YOUNG BLOOD,”
page 74). “These were the
most focused kids you
can imagine. They worked
nonstop. When they
didn’t have a specific task,
they went to help their
team mates. Any industry
would be lucky to get
them. I’m hoping they’ll
stick with aviation.”

”JOURNEY TO THE LAND
OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN”

(page 62).
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2013
