AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 16

LETTERS
their landing lights on. As a
result, I had seen them miles
away with plenty of time to
recognize a potential conflict.
I think a lot of pilots have,
like me, grown weary of buying
another landing light bulb and
have switched to LEDs. LEDs
have much less current draw
and a much longer expected
life. I guess turning them on
around airports, where most
midairs occur, would be a compromise. I would have to add it
to my descent checklist as otherwise I would forget. Thanks
for the great article. Hopefully
it will make some folks think a
bit and maybe even save some
lives!

" Several years ago, Dave and I crossed the country in a
Waco YMF-5D, ferrying it from Maryland to an AOPA
Summit convention in Long Beach, California, " says
Senior Photographer Chris Rose (on the ground at left).
" Trust me, I remember every detail of that airplane after
four days of flying pretty much nonstop. " That biplane
is featured in Editor at Large DAVE HIRSCHMAN'S ode
to Moab, Utah ( " HIGH DESERT SPLENDOR, " on p. 68). And it is also pictured in another
Destinations story in this issue on flying Cape Cod. " We walked into the Stick and Rudder
Aero Tours' hangar at Chatham Airport and I said to owner Kyle Takakjian, 'I know that
Waco.' Sure enough, it was the same one I flew in across the country in 2010 and the one
pictured over Moab for this issue. "
" Ever since my husband, two sons, and the cat
left Cape Cod in what felt like an Irish goodbye,
I've wondered what it would have been like had
we stayed, " says JULIE SUMMERS WALKER. " In 1984
we opened a surf shop, Cinnamon Rainbows at
the Orleans Rotary. For many successful years we
had busy summers and eventually three stores-
the original, one near Nauset Beach, and another
in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire (which is still
there). The reasons for leaving lost in the years. Time flew by and I have been a writer with
AOPA for more years than a surf shop owner. Because of COVID-19, Senior Photographer
Chris Rose and I drove to Massachusetts, where I expected to be an expert tour guide.
Things change. Chris looked at me, exasperated, and said, 'You really used to live here?'
as I got us lost on small roads to nowhere. On a windswept beach at Wellfleet I burst into
tears. Nothing looked the same and it was even more beautiful than I remembered. " See
" NATURAL WONDER, " p. 58.

Dane Smith
AOPA 1367378
Saneca, South Carolina

Human ballast

16 | AOPA PILOT March 2021

" Even after having spent a few years living and going
to school in Florida, my relationship with the Keys, that
chain of islands at the far southern end of the state, was
pretty much nonexistent. They seemed a world away,
which they are in more ways than one, " says Senior
Content Producer IAN J. TWOMBLY. " My first trip there
was a quick weekend jaunt for some diving; a second
was for a stop at customs flying GA up from Cuba; and finally, to meet an aircraft owner
who trailers his Kitfox for a story we ran in our Destinations issue a few years ago. Each
time I've loved the restaurants, the people, and-most of all-the feeling of being in the
islands without needing a passport. " See " NO PASSPORT REQUIRED, " p. 50.

HANGAR TALK

In the January AOPA Pilot
yet another article reminded
all pilots of the tragic consequences of risk-ignoring flying
( " Guest Editorial: Aftermath " ).
Once again we learn: Do something stupid, you may die and
take others with you.
To my disappointment, a
few pages later the " Human
Ballast " article regales
readers with stories of a " mission-oriented " grandfather who
repeatedly violated basic safety
rules, risking his life and the life
of anyone who happened to be
with him. Each story could
easily have been the opening
sentence in an " aftermath "
report. " Witness reported an
aircraft spiraling at high speed
out of the base of a thunderstorm " or " a young woman was
killed attempting to ride the
tail of a moving aircraft, the
distraught pilot reported the
woman was his daughter. "
The author is fortunate he
wouldn't have to raise his hand

" Choosing Chicago as a destination was
cheating, " says AOPA Vice President of
Publications and Editor KOLLIN STAGNITO.
" I've lived in Chicago since I was 10 and
have eaten thousands of Chicago-style hot
dogs and pizzas. My first flight lesson was
at Chicago Executive Airport [PWK] when
it was still called Palwaukee Airport, and in
1991 I purchased a well-loved Cessna 150 to fly back and forth to work between Palwaukee
and DeKalb Airport [DKB]. I still marvel at the Chicago skyline on every flight, but I barely
notice the heavy jets flying into O'Hare anymore. " See " CITY WITH A VIEW, " p. 76.

AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021

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