AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018 - 16

LETTERS
conceived and built in Dayton,
Ohio. The only connection North
Carolina had to the airplane was
supplying some real estate for its
flights. And yes, I too was conceived and built in Dayton, Ohio.
Dan Kiser
AOPA 6575454
Columbus, Ohio

The Waco is an OK nomination
for Michigan; however, I would
submit a few others. First,
the Ford Tri-Motor built in
Dearborn; the B-24 built by the
thousands at Willow Run; and
my personal favorite, the incomparable, stunningly beautiful
Meyers 200, built in Tecumseh.
Besides, the Weaver Airplane
Company started in Ohio. And,
you know how we Michiganders
feel about all things Ohio.
John Bowden
AOPA 9128570
Augusta, Michigan

If California were to have a state
aircraft, it absolutely should be
the Douglas DC-3 and not the
Lockheed SR-71. A group of us
tried many years ago to interest
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
in a state airplane, but we were
obviously unsuccessful.
Barry Schiff
AOPA 7440502
Camarillo, California

HANGAR TALK

I agree that Mr. Pitts did a lot
for the aerobatic arena with

his designs, but my suggestion for Florida's state airplane
would be the Piper Cherokee.
Thousands have been built in
our state, and I would guess
that three out of five pilots who
learned to fly here soloed in a
PA-28 Cherokee series.
Dwayne R. Waters
AOPA 4313119
Merritt Island, Florida

Making a difference

Richard McSpadden's article respecting the value of
instruction ("Safety Spotlight:
Something's Not Quite Right")
really hit home with me.
As a zero-flight-time cadet
going through primary flight
training in the Royal Canadian
Air Force over 30 years ago, I
had a similar experience. On
the ropes before the Initial
Clearhood Test, I was given two
extra duals with a fresh instructor. He would decide if I would
go on the checkride or pack my
bags and go home.
What a difference! The new
instructor was the polar opposite of the one who sent me for
extra training. The new guy was
calm, communicated with me
very well, quickly identified and
fixed the areas where I was having difficulty, and sent me on my
checkride.I passed and went on
to a rewarding career in military

and civilian aviation. Half of my
coursemates were not so lucky.
Of the 36 who started, 18 graduated with RCAF wings.
I still attribute my career
and good fortune in large part to
Capt. Chris Hurley, who without question saved me from
the fate of so many others.
Thank you, Chris, wherever you
are-and thank you, Richard, for
reminding me why I am where I
am today.
Spike Kavalench
AOPA 9781402
Langley, British Columbia,
Canada

Getting it done

It's a shame more people are
not seeing the millennial generation with as open a mind as
Thomas B. Haines obviously
does ("Waypoints: Kids These
Days"). I'm 43, only six or seven
years older than the oldest millennials, but on the outside for
sure, and I see great involvement
from the 20- and 30-something crowd; you just need to
know where to look. Although
I'm very new at it myself, take
some time searching through
Instagram and you'll see a very
large millennial presence in
aviation. From GA pilots loving
their Cessna 150s to helicopter pilots posting photos from
all over the world, professional

"I think this is the first assignment where
we had two different photographers
because of weight and balance issues,"
said Technical Editor JILL W. TALLMAN.
Senior Photographer Mike Fizer met Cloud
Nine Rescue Flights President Ted DuPuis
in Missouri for the first leg of the trip,
and he took photos of the puppies to be
picked up in Texas ("FORTY AT A TIME," p.
72). Tallman flew commercial to Houston
to ride along for the remainder of the trip. There wasn't room for Fizer to come along, but
fortunately AOPA member James Aronovsky was waiting in Carlsbad, California, to document the flight when the Cessna 414 arrived bearing 40 puppies.

16 | AOPA PILOT April 2018

aerobatics performers, airline
pilots, off-airport lovers and
Alaska bush-pilots, business
owners, and students all trying
to scratch that itch. If you stop
and look around, the millennials
are getting it done in the air and
having crazy fun doing it.
Jason Anderson
AOPA 4011298
O'Fallon, Illinois

Airport memories

I read with great interest
"Shannon's Rebirth." I'm originally from Fredericksburg,
Virginia. As a 16-year-old,
I learned to fly at Shannon
Airport. I did this also while
working there as an airport
lineboy. I spent many hours in
the museum dusting Sidney
Shannon's airplane collection.
There was a person not
mentioned in the article that I
wanted to share. His name was
Chalmers Dettinger, although
everyone who knew him called
him "Shorty."
He worked at Shannon as
a flight instructor. When I first
met Shorty, I was that 16-yearold airport lineboy. He offered
to teach me to fly for free. He
told me that he had done the
same for other lineboys and
if I wanted to learn, he would
help. He gave me a gift I can
never repay. I now make my
living as an airline captain and
it's because of him. He passed
away many years ago. But when
I think of Shannon Airport, I
think of Shorty.
Drew Middleton
AOPA 925839
Crestwood, Kentucky

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.

AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2018