I just read your editorial (“Assuming The Position,” October) about “position and hold,” which is now “line up and wait,” which I last heard in fourth grade. It reminded me of when I first began flying in May 1981. In Riverside County, Calif., I learned of a vortac named March; not the month, the air force base. Its still there. A great big you-cant-miss-it vortac everyone knows 288
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I just read your editorial ("Assuming The Position," October) about "position and hold," which is now "line up and wait," which I last heard in fourth grade. It reminded me of when I first began flying in May 1981. In Riverside County, Calif., I learned of a vortac named March; not the month, the air force base. Its still there. A great big you-cant-miss-it vortac everyone knows about, next to March Air Force Base. I hadnt been flying long when the FAA renamed the vortac, in its eminent wisdom, to Homeland. I pondered: Why in the world would the FAA-which obviously had way too much time on its hands-rename the Vortac from a well-known feature, March Air Force Base, to an obscure name, Homeland? No one knew.
Key Takeaways:
- The article features letters discussing the FAA's naming conventions, with one criticizing an arbitrary VORTAC name change and another advocating for aligning U.S. aviation with international (ICAO) standards for global cooperation, despite resistance to change.
- A key challenge in pilot training is identified as the difficulty in mandating essential simulator training for emergency decision-making, due to independent instructors prioritizing loggable flight hours over unloggable but vital lessons.
- Clarifications are provided regarding aviation maintenance regulations, specifically the common misconception around "pitot/static checks," detailing that FARs primarily require static pressure system and transponder tests, not pitot system tests.
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