Reader Mail

Winter Flying Just a quick note to say I really enjoyed Paul’s recent article on winter flying. Having just returned from the frozen wasteland of Hoth or Iowa. Whatever they are calling it these days, I could appreciate his sentiment. I was supposed to be painting an airplane here in NC, where it blessedly says […]

Drones Cause Newark Ground Stop For what it’s worth, I am a retired air traffic controller, non-current (as of three years ago) private pilot, and very active drone operator. I find it ironic that when a human being is accused of being a mass murderer, the press gives them the benefit of the doubt by […]

How To Land An Airplane On The Freeway Video I enjoy your videos. Just watched the one on landing on roads. Have you thought of doing one on fields? Corn, wheat, potatoes, hay, plowed, harvested…fields are tricky. Henry Gaudreau I love the humor in these edu-torials. XD Something that every pilot should always have at […]

Remembering Herb Kelleher Just wanted to say thank you for publishing Myron Nelson’s beautifully crafted remembrance of the late Herb Kelleher. It was spot on. I was privileged to oversee the induction ceremony of Herb in 2008 (along with Sean Tucker and two others), while serving as Executive Director of the National Aviation Hall of […]

Archaic Flight Procedures I learned to fly in the 70s and have been flying my own airplane since then. At that time, I didn’t think the private pilot flight training was overly difficult. Over the past 40 years since getting my license I have been upgrading the equipment in my plane primarily to make flight […]

Drones Close Gatwick Regarding your question, we don’t have enough accurate information. There are conflicting reports. There were two or more drones. Or there were no drones. But what surprises me is that any airport, especially an important hub like Gatwick, would be surprised by a drone incursion and not already have a plan of […]

Are Towered Airports Safer? Overall, I consider towered airports to be safer. However, that is due mainly to the fact that they provide order to traffic procedures that does not always exist at nontowered fields. Plus, they normally handle larger aircraft with more experienced pilots who are accustomed to following directions from controllers. In my […]

Fuel Strainer Lottery A significant omission from Jeff Parnau’s very interesting article is the Decathlon’s fourth fuel drain point under the rear fuselage aft of the rear seat that is easily overlooked. It is there because the gascolator is not the lowest point in the fuel system when the aircraft is parked. The plumbing to […]

Southwest 737 Overruns Runway I was once taught (by my friend who turns 50 today), don’t think ‘how could they,’ think what got them to that place. That is how accident reports make you a better pilot. The first just makes you dismiss the incident. The report places weather at 1m vis, 1300 ovc, wind […]

Who’s Afraid Of A Dead ASI? I could hear the pending screams as I was reading the article. I’m confident the self-appointed expert safety nazis are whipping themselves into a frenzy…I anticipate the storm is already bursting on the phone and email receptionists. (Well, maybe not on the phone. It’s easier to express offense and […]