AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2015 - 12

LETTERS
as it is close to being done.
Thank you for a great article
and thank you, my coworkers,
for what you do and will continue to do.

Controlling the

situation

How ATC worked together in the aftermath of the Chicago Center fire

Fans on Twitter

B y d av e h i r s c h m a n

HANGAR TALK

Eric O. Jakimier
AOPA 6395888
Dallas, Texas

12 | AOPA PILOT March 2015

i l l u s t r at i o n B y a l e x w i l l i a m s o n

the radar

In the basement of the Chicago Air Route Air Traffic Control Center
in Aurora, Illinois, shortly after 5 a.m. on September 26, investigators say
Brian Howard-a contract employee-severed the main lines of the vast
communications network that underpins some of the world's busiest
and most complex airspace, set fire to the electronics, and then slashed
his own wrists and neck. He also posted a suicide note on social media.
Howard would survive, but the technological heart of the Chicago

"The February @AOPA PILOT
magazine for the iPad is available.
It's gonna be a good day." @TC_737Pilot
the receipt without looking at
it until the end of the month
when other bills are due).
I recently bought a T182T
and flew her on a maiden crosscountry to meet my original
flight instructor for lunch. My
high-performance checkout
and some maintenance flights
had emptied the tanks so I
filled up during lunch. I don't
normally look at the receipt
when I fill up my car, but the
almost $600 for the airplane
caught my eye! Yowza!
Where I am based, they
seem to be under the impression that eight bucks a gallon
is fair, so I flew to a nearby
field for the next fill-up,
including extended-range
tanks. I shoved that receipt
right in my pocket. It works.

Without warning,
scopes went dark and the radio frequencies all fell silent.

air traffic control system was dealt a fatal blow.

74 | AOPA PILOT January 2015

Controlling the
situation
VIDEO ExTrA Fly
along with us.

light sport aircraft

A
serious
sirius
A new Light Sport from TL Ultralight goes to (flight) school
So why call the SiriuS light Sport aircraft from TL Ultralight in the Czech Republic a "serious Sirius," other
than the play on words? Because it is a serious airplane in terms of capabilities. The one you see with this article
has been sold to the Air Associates flight school near St. Louis. Chief Flight Instructor Scott Thompson thinks it
will appeal not only to students, but to renters-because it's fast, and can handle a crosswind like a "real" airplane.
Properly equipped, it can even be flown in instrument weather by a pilot with an instrument rating.

B y a lt o n k . m a r s h
PhotograPhy By mike fizer and chris rose

50 | AOPA PILOT January 2015

www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 75

www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 51

Serious Sirius

Thanks for the report on the
Sirius LSA and wonderful
cover shot. For years I have
been urging AOPA to support
the movement with better coverage. It is the future of GA.
This fell on deaf ears with our
previous president, in my experience. I'm confident Mr. Baker
is receptive. I look forward to
meeting him. As a 45-year aircraft owner and member, I
look forward to future LSA
coverage.
Robert Viscio
AOPA 419037
Wolfeboro, New Hampshire

Air traffic controllers, by
occupational force of habit,
intentionally try to say it all
in as few words as possible. I
therefore say, "You nailed it."
Dave Hirschman's article on
the Chicago Center fire was
spot on. It will be one of the
greatest highlights of my 30
years of work in the air traffic
control business to have played
a small part in that effort. In
support of Aaron Merrick's
sentiment-"I have never been
so proud to be a controller"-I
will say that I have never been
prouder of the men and women
with whom I share my profession. On any given day they are
fantastic, but when faced with
what seems impossible, they
will truly amaze. I am very
grateful to have been a part of
what, for me, will likely be one
of the very last major events
in a great and fulfilling career

Shawn Simms
AOPA 3808633
Smithtown, New York

Whoops!
In "This Month in Aviation,"
February 2015 AOPA Pilot,
we reported that John Glenn
orbited the moon on February
20, 1962. We were out of this
world on that one-the honorable Mr. Glenn orbited the
Earth. Also, Apollo 14 landed
on the moon in 1971, not 1977.
The air-to-air photographs
of the Stemme S10-VT that
accompanied "Power Sailing"
(November 2014 AOPA Pilot)
were taken by Christina
Scheunemann and provided
courtesy of the German publication fliegermagazin.
Pilot regrets the errors.
We welcome your comments.
Editor, AOPA Pilot, 421 Aviation
Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701
or email (pilot@aopa.org). Letters may be edited for length
and style before publication.

As magazine editors we receive a lot of friend
requests on Facebook and other social media sites from our readers and fellow pilots-
knowing full well that we'll never meet most
of them in person, says Technical Editor
MIKE COLLINS. When Larry Welk, owner of
Angel City Air (see "GOOD MORNING, LOS
ANGELES," page 58), told Collins he would be
flying with veteran L.A. news helicopter
pilot Derek Bell, the name was immediately
familiar. It turns out that Bell had friended Collins on Facebook when he was flying
around the world with Mike Laver in his
Mitsubishi MU-2 ("Around the World in 25
Days," December 2013 AOPA Pilot). "Not only
did I get to meet Bell, but we spent two days
flying above the L.A. freeways in an AStar,"
Collins says. "In the best social media tradition, I snapped this selfie during cooldown
after a morning news cruise."

http://www.aopa.org/pilot http://www.aopa.org/pilot

AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2015