AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2024 - 16

LETTERS
One of the things I find influential in my
own decision-making is knowing what the
best professionals in a particular field do for
themselves. So, for example, when a majority
of leading cardiac surgeons personally chose to
take statins or an aviation professional reveals
the techniques, airspeeds, and altitudes they
chose to fly their own aircraft and why, I take
notice. Please keep the applied experience
instruction and the insight into personal flying
habits/decisions (and the math) coming!
Demetri Capetanopoulos
Upper Arlington, Ohio
Risk Management
Barry Schiff's article " Risk Management "
(November 2023 AOPA Pilot) was an excellent
analysis of how we do and how we should
evaluate risk in our aviation and personal life.
One way to mitigate risk is simply through
" backup. " Children in day camps are told to
do everything with a partner. In scuba diving
we have a secondary regulator on our buoyancy
control device and dive under the " buddy
system. " In aviation we have dual radios and
navigation systems, and even handheld radios.
But it is impossible to alleviate all risk.
Once the wheels leave the runway, the only
way we survive is through the skills we've
acquired.
And once we've landed, we can't wait to get
" backup. " One exception: My wife tells me it is
not acceptable to have a " backup " in marriage!
Bob Paszczyk
Tinley Park, Illinois
What Makes a Good PIC
I liked Natalie Bingham Hoover's article
" What Makes A Good PIC " (November 2023
AOPA Pilot). She made some very good points.
However, I feel differently about techniques
and advice. I've been an instructor or evaluator
since 1979 in the U.S. Air Force, the airlines,
in warbirds, and now in business jets.
My chief pilot is also very experienced
with airline and simulator experience. There
are sometimes more than one way to perform a
particular maneuver and usually there's a best
way. As an example, stabilized approaches
are enhanced by minimizing throttle movement.
I teach to use a particular throttle
position and configure at specific points during
the approach prior to the glidepath or final
descent. It works very well. My SIC is free to
do what he/she wants but at least they get to
16
AOPA PILOT / January 2024
Hangar Talk /
AOPA Pilot contributor Barry Schiff says that the closest he ever
came to an airplane dedicated for use as Air Force One was when
he was privileged to spend time in and then write a feature article
about SAM 27000. This is the military designation for a Boeing
707 that had been used as Air Force One and now is on permanent
display at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley,
California. " Sitting on the flight deck of this historic aircraft, " Schiff
says, " made me wonder what it would be like to actually fly an
airplane with the president of the United States on board. " That
never happened, of course. Some years later, however, he heard
that the Commemorative Air Force had become custodian of an
airworthy Aero Commander 560A that served as Air Force One
during the Eisenhower administration. It was used primarily to
transport Ike back and forth between the White House and his
farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Schiff contacted the CAF to
determine if it would be possible for him to fly and then write about
what has come to be known as " the smallest Air Force One. " His
story, " Ike's Bird, " begins on p. 50.
see an effective technique when I'm flying. My
other issue is about giving advice. Many times
an SIC doesn't know what they don't know. As I
deal with changing situations, i.e., weather, services,
malfunctions, et cetera, I try to verbalize
my decision-making process so they can learn
what factors need to be considered. We've sent
a few SICs to the airlines and each of them has
communicated back to us that what we taught
them made the transition easier.
Richard Hess
Cartersville, Georgia
Test Pilot
The Convair F2Y Sea Dart was also equipped
with water skis, perhaps the only supersonic
seaplane ( " Test Pilot, " November 2023 AOPA
Pilot). One sits (or at least,
used to sit) in front of the San
Diego Aviation Museum. My
father told me about hearing
its testing in San Diego Bay in
the early 1950s while he was
assigned to Marine Corps
Recruit Depot.
Matt Person
Denton, Nebraska
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 - January 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2024
