Reader Mail

FSS vs. DUATS Too many problems with this one (Question of the Week, Jul. 12). Since DUAT/DUATS are due to be eliminated, with Lockheed-Martin (LM) taking over those functions, asking if FSS should be shut down in favor of DUATS really makes no sense. Any such service provided by LM would be a highly questionable […]

NATCA Pushing For Carr? It looks like NATCA is organizing a little bit of support for their former president (Question of the Week, Jun. 21). If he can get everyone a 30% increase in my paycheck, I’ll change my vote …Bill Lukens The FSS Mess Copies of this article (The Pilot’s Lounge, Jun. 18) should […]

Regional Airline Hiring A comment on regional hiring (Question of the Week, Jun. 13): You get what you pay for.Over the past 20 years the system has been its own worst enemy. Why would a person invest $50,000 to $75,000 or more to get all the ratings and experience it takes, plus the cost of […]

Flight Service Stations I must be the only person in the country not affected by the FSS problems (AVWebFlash, Jun. 13). I’ve been using DUATS since its inception because it gave me the one thing FSS never could seem to provide: just the facts, M’am, just the facts. All I ever wanted was the weather […]

Flight Service Stations I have been a pilot weather briefer for almost 20 years — four years in Missoula, Mont., and the last 15 here in McMinnville, Oreg. I take pride in the experience and knowledge-base I have gained over the span and in the fact that I can convey to pilots what they need […]

Radar Argentina is not the only place where the radar is not working (AVwebFlash, May 20). I spent three months flying helicopters offshore in Trinidad in close proximity to Piarco, the international airport. Lots of helicopters and airliners with everyone making position reports in various forms of English with varying degrees of accuracy. A disaster […]

AFSS Consolidation Just got back from flying this afternoon and I’m convinced that Lockheed-Martin (LM) has screwed up the FSS consolidation (Question of the Week, May 3).My [airplane] just got out of annual so I left work a little early to do my own test flight out of Manassas, Va., (in the ADIZ). I called […]

Doctors in Bonanzas Will we never hear the last of the Doctors/Bonanzas myth (Short Final, Apr. 29)?When the FAA finally set about testing the Bonanza more thoroughly, they found that the v-tails were prone to structural damage. Essentially, the tails had been failing due to high-speed twisting forces through a fault in the basic design. […]

Question of the Week: A Toyota Airplane? AVweb wrote (QOTW, Apr. 18): Now that Honda is firmly committed to the general aviation market, it stands to reason that arch-rival Toyota will follow. Which GA market segment would you like to see Toyota enter? One potential answer should be: “None.” Why? If you examine the Japanese […]

Nav Canada User Fees Your story is incomplete (AVwebFlash, Apr. 15). While there will be a 3% rate decrease, two other fees come into place for small aircraft at the same time (Mar. 1, 2008). A daily departure fee of $10 at seven airports, to a maximum of $1200 per year, will increase fees significantly […]