AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 14

LETTERS
different. The most important action a taildragger
pilot learns is to keep the stick/yoke held back
throughout the landing rollout.
Holding the yoke back is something every
tricycle pilot needs to ingrain in their landing
technique. It reduces wear on the nose wheel
and shimmy dampeners and provides better
braking. Every taildragger pilot learns this, sometimes
the hard way, but some lessons are better
learned that way. Next time you are at your local
airport, watch the movement of the horizontal
stabilizer of a tricycle gear airplane upon landing
the moment the nose wheel touches the runway.
I'll bet dollars to donuts the stabilizer flops down
four out of five times. Tricycle pilots forget to fly
the airplane all the way to the hangar.
Congratulations to your son, Tony, for
embracing the challenges and rewards of learning
to fly. Blue skies and tailwinds to both of you.
Mike DiLuigi
Mars Hill, North Carolina
Star Struck
I look forward to Julie Summers Walker's writing
each month, and as usual, I thoroughly
enjoyed her article ( " Star Struck, " October 2024
AOPA Pilot). I look forward to flying in and staying
there someday, but there is no way I will take
up Vilchez's offer of using the firepit with a grill
cover " so you can cook yourself. " Just sayin'.
Jerry Russell
Costa Mesa, California
Julie Summers Walker almost discovered heaven.
You needed to turn left out of the airport, not
right. The Lajitas Golf Resort should be your next
destination. Next trip, you and Rebecca Boone
grab your significant others and head back. While
the boys play golf, you two can enjoy a spa day.
That afternoon, book the shooting tour of the Old
West town-it's live fire with Colt 45s, shotguns,
and Winchester rifles. Dinner in the lodge is outstanding.
Day two gives time to tour Terlingua
and the surrounding area. Book the horse ride out
to the evening cookout for an experience Rebecca
will never be able to capture on film. I had never
understood the Milky Way until that night. Don't
worry, they trailer the horses back and drive you
back in a van. Hit the bar and watch Rangers baseball.
We are Cardinals fans and had to leave, as we
were grossly outnumbered. Sitting out by our fire
pit, looking out over Mexico was very special. You
touched the best part of Texas.
Fred Greene
Shenandoah, Texas
14
AOPA PILOT / December 2024
Hangar Talk /
" When I was invited to visit the Orange County Sheriff's Department for
a ride-along, I didn't really know what to expect, " says Content Producer
Niki Britton who flew with the Orange County Sheriff Department's
Helicopter Air Support Unit (see " SoCal Rescue Ops " on p. 66). " I have
been on several ride-alongs with my local fire department, but an aerial
ride-along with law enforcement was a new experience for me. After
our passenger briefing, the AOPA crew and I piled into the backseat of
the department's AStar. I was seated between Video Producer Jamal
Warner and AOPA Senior Photographer David Tulis, who both were
instructed on how to secure themselves to the floor anchors so they
could open their doors in flight to take photos without fear of falling
out. I had an incredible 360-degree view of all the happenings within
the AStar, watching the pilots work together as they positioned and
repositioned us to get the perfect shot, and the hard work happening
beside me as my team captured the images to tell the unit's story. "
Safety in Numbers
Thanks so much for the great article ( " Safety in
Numbers, " August 2024 AOPA Pilot) on multiengine
flying. The Twin Comanche accident at
Winston-Salem was especially troubling for me,
as my pilot profile is exactly the same as the pilot
of the accident airplane. I have not only reread
the article but have studied it.
Charles Allen
Puryear, Tennessee
American Flyers is 85
I greatly enjoyed your article about American
Flyers ( " American Flyers is 85, " June 2024
AOPA Pilot). I started flying with them in
1973 when they were still Aviation Training
Enterprises. I received my commercial,
instrument, CFI, and CFII with them. All the
instructors were very professional and helpful,
and I even logged many hours in an early
Frasca simulator. Compared
to today's simulators it was
Stone Age, but it was great
for the time.
John Brownell
Evanston, Illinois
Erratum
Fairchild Aircraft Co. Chief
Pilot Richard A. Henson's
name was misspelled in
" Homecoming, " September
2024 AOPA Pilot. We regret
the error.
Send your letters to pilot@
aopa.org. Letters may be
edited for length and space.
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024

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