AVmail: Dec. 25, 2006

Editorial Staff

Monday, December 25, 2006 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Readers heavily criticized Latin American air traffic control systems in the 1970s as corrupt, inadequate, and dangerous, contrasting them with the superior U.S. system while noting that these poor systems still charged significant fees.
A letter expressed concern that if Goldman Sachs acquires Raytheon Aircraft, operations might be moved to a low-wage country, driven by a focus on maximizing investment returns rather than aircraft manufacturing.
A pilot noted using NACO paper charts for IFR navigation out of financial necessity, despite having different preferences if not constrained by cost.

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It’s A Jungle Down There

Mr. Deakin is too kind (Pelican’s Perch, Dec. 10).My comments regarding the Latin American ATC system during the ’70s would be unprintable. I filed instruments only when I absolutely had to because the system was so corrupt and inadequate it scared the bejesus out of me. There were a lot of wrecks but the only ones that made the news were the ones involving major air carriers.Merv Gragg

Amen, bro! Excellent article! The U.S. has the best ATC system in the world. One thing, though — these countries that have their broken-down and non-existent ATC and communication system always manage to send you an immediate and costly invoice for their services!John Davis

Sale of Raytheon Aircraft

I have a dreadful feeling that if Goldman Sachs buys Raytheon Aircraft (AVwebFlash, Dec. 11) the entire operation will be shipped to China or some other low-wage country. Goldman Sachs isn’t interested in building airplanes; they run investments for wealthy hedge-fund participants whose only interests are large-percentage return on investment.Larry Simmer

IFR Charts

My answer to this week’s Question of the Week (Dec. 21) reflects what I’d prefer to use. What I really use is different; since it’s coming out of my pocket and I’m not independently wealthy, I actually use NACO paper charts.William Mills

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