Unicom

Taking towers out of FAAs hands constitutes a step in the wrong direction

I am writing today regarding the Notam Mania article [Airmanship, September] that discussed flight restrictions. The Bureau of Land Management has been the only government agency to graphically plot all TFRs since July 2001 – and still is the only one doing it. See http://airspace.blm.gov.

The key word here is ALL. Duats, the prototype FAA website and the NTAP FAA page at do not map all TFRs. As a matter of fact they can leave a large volume unmapped. The AOPA site refers you to ours to get information on wildfires.

The Duats system is nice, but still does not plot all the TFRs. It leaves out the stadiums and the nuclear facilities…

Your July article Fat and Happy touches a subject aviation writers dont dare discuss publicly but is a fact of flying life. I have been flying for 27 years, logging 2,000-plus hours. I own a Cessna Turbo 206 and a Ram Series VII Cessna 414A.

I have always followed the POH when it comes to loading an airplane and very seldom overload. On those occasions when I have done it, I follow this personal strict criteria:

1) Never go beyond 1 percent, a maximum of 2 percent, which in the case of the 414 is around 70 to 140 pounds, which will be burned in the first 30 minutes.

2) Never exceed aft cg limits.

3) Never exceed zero fuel weight.

4) Never even consider the possibility of u…

It would seem The Perfect Landing article [Stick & Rudder, June] contains less than perfect information.

The author emphasizes that the pilot execute a 180-degree standard rate turn, roll out on final and land the airplane. According the sidebar figures his airplane descends at 750 feet per minute, which would give you 80 seconds of flight time. A standard rate, 180 degree turn requires 60 seconds; so if you time 25 seconds outbound, youd be on the ground five seconds before you roll out on final.

A closer look at the formulas derivation reveals that it is predicated on turning 180 degrees in 30 seconds, or double the standard rate turn. There is obviously a disconnect here, bu…

I just finished reading my May issue and I had two questions.

In Burn, Baby, Burn it says the average daily consumption rate of automotive gas in 1999 was around 360 million gallons. Is that in the U.S. alone, or worldwide? Its a statistic Id like to quote to (non-aviation) friends, but I want to get it right.

In Roll your own O2 System on page 5, when you mount the O2 tank in the baggage compartment, doesnt that require an STC or form 337, at least? I have seen the FAA declare an aircraft unairworthy because it had a non-STCd panel mount for a portable GPS, and this seems like a bigger modification to me. It affects the aircraft weight and balance and empty weight, at the ve…

The nuances of special VFR are extreme, and sometimes the controllers are baffled, too

I am not surprised at the results from the various tests conducted in Rescue Heroes? [Instrument Check, March]. All of the shortcomings reported are exactly what an experienced communications technician would expect.

A handheld transceiver has very limited transmit power. Most of them use a different method of stating transmit power, stating peak envelope power rather than carrier power as used by panel mounted transmitters. That means there is approximately 1 watt of carrier for a hand-held rated at 5 watts – a substantial reduction in transmit range compared to your No. 1 com.

Even more telling is the hand-held antenna system efficiency compared to a real antenna mounted on…

I read your article, Simple Stack IFR [Instrument Check, February], with great interest.

Although I have been flying for more than 35 years, I have never gotten my IFR rating. I am working on it, and right now with real incentive. Seems we are running out of insurance carriers who are willing to underwrite a non-IFR pilot flying a complex, high-performance single. The couple that are left are surcharging for the lack of the IFR rating.

My partner has his IFR rating, but has not had a proficiency check for years. The latest pre-policy data sheet sent by our insurance broker is, for the first time, asking the date of each pilots instrument currency. So the encouragement is there.

U…

The article Alternate Realities [Airmanship, January] left out probably the most important and least understood criteria for alternate airport selection. Mr. Veillette starts out talking about the ceiling and visibility requirement of 600 and 2 for precision approach and 800 and 2 for non-precision approach equipped airports, and goes on to say that there is more to it than that. Unfortunately, he then goes on to only explain half of the remaining equation – the most important and most overlooked part.

In the authors explanation he is referring to the government charts, not Jeppesen. The government charts use the A in the triangle to define IFR Alternate Minimums. First, you must c…

Thanks, Ibolds, for the article on emergency pilot instruction [Reality Check, November]. Ill recommend it to my wife.

However, I protest the male bashing that seems to not only be in vogue, but promulgated by Mrs. Ibold in I Ride in Back.

…I wanted a woman instructor, so I wouldnt punch him for speaking to me like I was an idiot.

What Mrs. Ibold seems to need is a sensitive, thoughtful CFI, not necessarily one with XX chromosomes. Instruction should as a matter of course include awareness of what the student needs to hear, and encouragement is vital. As for punching out the instructor, why does she feel thats a legitimate thing to say? Its very insulting.

…(after g…