Unicom

The article Why Twins Crash [Safety Analysis, March] calls attention to our industrys continued insistence on attempting to analyze the hazards of flight with one eye blind. Im referring to the inexplicable failure to institute a simple method of determining the number of hours we actually fly each year.

For some time I have been attempting, without success, to advance an idea (someone else had) whose time is long overdue. Were mechanics required to send in a post card after each annual inspection detailing the make and model of the airplane and its hours flown, anyone else with an interest would have accurate data on the number of hours flown by each type of aircraft in the fleet.

Welcome to the new world, where freedoms are lost on a moments notice through vague Notams, backed by a fleet of fighter jets. Thats something I would expect to read in a political editorial, not in a safety magazine. Who is the enemy here? What are you trying to say?

Ive been a reader of Aviation Safety for several years and have found it a worthy publication. I have even recommended it to many of my pilot friends. However, I found the article You Cant Fly There! [Risk Management, December] totally out of line. I gave myself a cooling-off period, but a day later Im still as livid as I was when I read it.

Im an experienced general aviation pilot and an active CFI. However,…

I have some comments on Nailing The Needles [Instrument Check, November]. I am a CFII and already made copies of your article for my students, as I think the information may clarify some things to them or at least bring up questions (both will be good).

Id like to add what I consider another major component of an ILS (or any approach): the winds aloft and on the ground. These are taken too lightly prior to starting an approach, but Ill stick to an ILS since that was the subject. Winds aloft provide a lot of information, including preferred altitudes, freezing levels, potential areas of turbulence and an idea of how you will be correcting for the wind.

The enroute portion of the fl…

Ive noticed the syndrome of name-dropping sneaking into your articles lately. I was reminded of it again in Flying in Ice [Weather Tactics, October]. The article led with Indy racer Tony Bettenhausen going down in his Baron 58, but his name is mentioned only in that opening line; for the next three pages he is referred to only as the pilot.

One can only presume he is mentioned merely to hook the reader – a pretty cheap practice for a serious publication. Do readers really need such prompting?

Isnt accident investigation supposed to be about what went wrong, not who went wrong?

I can only imagine the articles I must have overlooked during the past year:

* Autorotations…