AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - December 2011 - 6

HANGARTALK
Visit us at www.aopa.org/pilot The story behind the story American Champion’s Scout has caught up to its more-powerful competition with the option for a 210-horsepower engine (“Power Scout,” page 44), allowing the tailwheel bush plane to operate at higher altitudes and use shorter strips. A few things have changed since the article was written last summer. For one, the new engine has won FAA certification for use on the Scout. Also, Senior Editor Al Marsh mentions that a diesel engine is coming for the Scout—it looks like that has been delayed to late winter or spring of 2012. Another issue mentioned in the article is whether American Champion engineer Jody Bradt is ever going to get a vacation. He worked long days to make sure the Scout with its new engine was ready for AirVenture 2011. We are happy to report that Bradt did get that vacation in August, enjoying Montana and Idaho and spending six days boating on the Selway River. However, he’s already back at work preparing for the arrival of the long-awaited Delta Hawk diesel engine. The East Coast isn’t the first place you think of when it comes to backcountry flying, but even in a region where paved runways are plentiful, the AOPA 2012 Sweepstakes “Tougher Than a Tornado” Husky still shines (“Tougher Than a Tornado Husky: The Maine Event,” page 60). An autumn flying/camping trip to a grass airstrip in rural Maine shows some of the airplane’s best attributes of range, carrying capacity, and the freedom to easily escape dense urban centers. “Our campsite in Maine was just two hours by Husky from downtown Manhattan,” says Senior Editor Dave Hirschman, who was accompanied by AOPA photographer Chris Rose, videographer Bob Knill, pilot Mark Evans, and AOPA President Craig Fuller flying his own 1998 Husky A–1A. “Whether the Tornado Husky’s eventual winner lives in a big city or out in the country, the fun and adventure he or she can have in this airplane are limitless.” The accident in “Safety Pilot Landmark Accident: Owatonna Overshoot” (page 74) illustrates the chain theory that no one thing necessarily leads to trouble, says AOPA Foundation President Bruce Landsberg. “There are subtleties that show how dangerous distraction and complacency can be: Downwind landings—especially on wet runways—are a recipe for disaster, even though the wind may be relatively light and within the allowable book figures of the flight manual,” he says. “You may also want to take the maximum-performance numbers published in the POH with a grain of salt. Add in some possible fatigue and a lack of cockpit discipline and, in this case, what should have been a nonevent or a minor mishap resulted in eight fatalities.” When Technical Editor Mike Collins read about Matt and Tina Quy’s 1944 Boeing PT–13 Stearman—and the biplane’s final journey across the country to become a centerpiece at the Smithsonian’s new National Museum of African American History and Culture, scheduled to open in Washington, D.C., in 2015—he noticed that the Spirit of Tuskegee would visit Moton Field (“Honoring the Tuskegee Airmen,” page 68). The Tuskegee Airmen received their primary flight training from the Army Air Corps during World War II at the airport, now a GA facility in Tuskegee, Alabama. “I realized that a photo of Quy flying above the iconic Moton Field hangars was essential to the story,” Collins said. “I could feel the history as I squeezed the shutter that steamy August morning.” The photo accompanies Collins’ additional story, “Fly Outs: Visiting Moton Field,” on page 106.
AOPA PILOT •

publisher
associate publisher/ editor in chief editor at large managing editor technical editor senior editors associate editors editorial and production assistant administrative assistant contributors

Craig L. Fuller
Thomas B. Haines Thomas A. Horne Julie Summers Walker Mike Collins Dave Hirschman Alton K. Marsh Jill W. Tallman Ian J. Twombly Sylvia Horne Miriam E. Stoner Peter A. Bedell Kathy Dondzila Mark Kimberling Bruce Landsberg Rod Machado Barry Schiff John S. Yodice Michael E. Kline Jill C. Benton Elizabeth Z. Jones Adrienne R. Rosone Chris Delisio Mike Fizer Chris Rose Carol Dodds Brenda D. Ridgley Liz Tarver Michael Wilcox

design director art director art director contributing designer digital media specialist senior photographer photographer advertising director advertising production manager advertising sales and marketing manager online advertising manager

advertising coordinator Donna Stoner advertising representative

The Orison B. Curpier Co., Inc.
East: Central, International: South Central, West:

AOPA Pilot editorial 301-695-2350 Advertising information/production 301-695-2368 Facsimile 301-695-2180 E-mail AOPA Pilot pilot@aopa.org Address changes www.aopa.org/coa-form.html
All manuscripts and contributions should be accompanied by stamped, addressed return envelopes. Reasonable care will be taken in handling manuscripts, but the magazine assumes no responsibility for material submitted. Copyright 2011, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. All rights reserved. No part of this monthly publication may be reproduced or translated, stored in a database or retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other means, except as expressly permitted by the publisher; requests should be directed to the editor. To have the latest general aviation and AOPA news delivered to your desktop, subscribe to AOPA ePilot, a free e-mail newsletter. As a subscriber you will receive weekly issues of ePilot as well as special editions when information vital to your flying is available. To learn more about AOPA ePilot, view a sample issue, or subscribe, visit AOPA Online (www.aopa.org/members/ epilot.html).

Member Assistance 800-872-2672

732-946-0130 607-547-2591 214-789-6094

PRINTED IN THE USA

6 • DECEMBER 2011

http://www.aopa.org/pilot http://www.aopa.org/coa-form.html http://www.aopa.org/members/epilot.html http://www.aopa.org/members/epilot.html

AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - December 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - December 2011