I just read your article on low cruise speed on an O-320 powered 172 (What causes engines to develop less-than-rated power? June 17 issue). I’ve been flying over 30 years (5,000-plus hours) and have rarely found a plane that does book numbers. They will, however, do closer to the book if the power is set […]
Opinion
Lindbergh’s secret
As an avid champion of Charles Lindbergh, I was quick to notice a serious error in Larry Bledsoe’s very good article in the June 17 issue about my personal hero. His many firsts and revolutionary records in aviation are without a doubt enough to place him in the “inner sanctum” of any aviation enthusiast, but […]
To save our airports
We are losing an average of two airports a month in the United States, according to the most believable numbers, while substantial growth of general aviation is being predicted for the next 10 years. General Aviation News wants you to get involved in stopping — indeed, reversing — that disturbing loss rate. We should be […]
Get your medical back after a heart attack
I was interested in the article on getting your medical back after a heart attack (The Doctor is In, June 17 issue). On Feb. 10,1978, at the age of 44, I had a myocardial infarction. I had triple by-pass surgery on June 1, 1978. In checking with the FAA at that time to get my […]
It is worth it to recover a P-38?
Your article concerning the exploration of the remains of the B-29 on the bottom of the lake (Interest grows in B-29 at bottom of Lake Mead, June 17 issue) was of particular interest to me since back in the summer of 1945 I was involved in RTU gunnery training in P-38s out of Santa Rosa, […]
Flying at 14
Come on Meg! Are you so focused on flying planes that you’ve completely forgotten about gliders, ultralights and lighter-than-air aircraft (Teaching the next generation, June 17 issue)? A 14 year old can solo these. Perhaps you truly believe that if you don’t have a stack of radios to twiddle with, you’re not really flying? The average pilot acquires more […]
A different view
Dave Sclair’s editorial concerning the Cessna 150 violation of the DC ADIZ (Lost pilots hurt us all, June 3 issue) implies that the pilot is a real criminal and should be punished to the maximum. AOPA claims that this thinking has been the popular response they have received also. Well, I have a different view. I […]
More tolerance for human foibles needed
In the June 3, 2005, issue, both Dave Sclair (Lost pilots hurt us all, Page 14) and Charles Spence (How did two Cessna 150 pilots cause worldwide hysteria?, Page 11) apparently don’t know that a Cessna 150 is a single pilot aircraft. Although a “student pilot” was also aboard the aircraft that violated the ADIZ […]
The Navy’s Curtiss Hawks
By PETER M. BOWERS. The first Curtiss Hawks for the U.S. Navy were nine F6C-1s, direct equivalents of the Army P-1s, and were delivered late in 1925. The designation meant a fighter model (F), the sixth ordered from Curtiss. The –1 identified the initial configuration. These were used mostly by the U.S. Marines from shore […]