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In his letter, Terry Adams seems to decry a pilot's claim for medical benefits from one Federal Agency while not revealing his medical condition to the FAA, accusing that the pilot "lies" on his FAA paperwork with the result that he endangered others.
Terry Adams is wrong. The FAA had erred in prohibiting the unreported condition and the medications used to treat it, and subsequently reversed themselves and approved both.
While I don't condone the pilot's failure to report, I think the pilot ultimately proved correct. It appears Mr. Adams is disturbed that another pilot was able to save his career from wrong-headed bureaucrats.
George Horn
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This is the state of our insane judicial system. In the story "Pilot Wins Appeal Over Health Record Disclosure," this "disabled" pilot blatantly lies multiple times on his pilot's certificate renewal paperwork so he can get what he wants, flying illegally, possibly jeopardizing innocent lives while he is taking medications.
But, when he is caught, he sues on a claim that his privacy was violated. To one federal agency, he discloses his HIV condition so that he can milk money from SSA for being disabled; to the FAA, he lies that he is perfectly healthy so he can fly.
Once you disclose info to a government agency, where is privacy? After shopping his lawsuit to enough courts, he finds one that awards him money from the government for a violation of privacy.
Terry Adams
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After reading nine or 10 blogs referencing the intentional crash into some IRS offices in Austin, I noticed comments ranging from the advocacy of more restrictions on general aviation to an outright ban on GA.
The only relief here is the fact that Joseph Stack did not steal the Cherokee but was the owner.
All pilots and others involved in general aviation need to be proactive in this matter. Be polite, but to the point, pointing out that there is no way to prejudge when any individual is going off the deep end and will take his plane, car, or truck and commit mayhem.
There undoubtedly will be many calls from our lawmakers and others to further hobble general aviation well beyond what is reasonable.
Ray Laughinghouse
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Letter of the Week: The Best Airline Pilots Want to Be Airline Pilots
After 37 years of flying for major airlines, including 15+ years doing line indoctrination, I have some observations on the issue of airline pilot training. The best pilots want to be pilots. They are not there for the money or ego boost. A pilot who has varied experience brings more to the job at the beginning and adapts more easily to changing circumstances.
...
Low-time pilots with a good background are often better candidates than high-time pilots who are full of themselves, embittered, or set in their ways. You have to want the job, and it is not for everyone. Training cannot overcome [the] lack of the indefinable mix of art and science that constitutes flying.
Brian Hope
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To celebrate the Centennial of Licensed Women Pilots and Women's Day, women pilots from around the world will attempt to set a worldwide flying record: the most women pilots introducing a woman to flying in one single day, March 8, as well as within one single week, from March 6 to March 12.
To participate, women pilots must hold a pilot's license, be current, fly an aircraft certified for the carriage of passengers, and register free of charge at CentennialOfWomenPilots.com to be counted.
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Mireille Goyer
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As a freelance writer and photographer, I am increasingly dismayed over FBOs who forbid me to take pictures that reveal N-numbers of aircraft on their ramps. They tell me there are concerns with security. On most occasions when the aircraft pilot is within earshot, verbal permission from that person is enough to bypass the FBO's rule not to show N-numbers, but often the pilots and aircraft managers forbid it as well.
I find this recent restriction alarmingly intrusive in not allowing me to position myself to reveal the beauty of the bird in view. Since anyone with a camera and good memory or note paper and pen can learn details of most any registered aircraft in the U.S. with a few clicks on the Internet, I wonder why such restrictions are imposed, and I wonder how I can convince pilots, owners, and managers to permit photographers, especially those experienced and known to key local administrators, to take pictures of aircraft from any angle at all. Reader feedback is welcome.
Job Conger
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Letter of the Week: Non-Military Navigation Alternative Needed
The battle for common sense to prevail regarding the retention of LORAN-C is apparently drawing to a close, and the result appears to be the near-sighted, uneducated and inexperienced people who are making these decisions are controlling aspects of what we, in the aviation and maritime communities, need as a viable non-military backup to a navigation system.
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Stoney Truett
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I had the opportunity to fly my GA aircraft with three passengers from Key West to Grand Cayman for the holidays this past December. I had completed the eAPIS tutorial six months ago and felt more than a little intimidated by it. I was reading this week's issue of AVwebFlash and noticed an article indicating a commercial firm would now do the work for you for $99 a year as well as customs declarations.
I confess that until I actually did the online eAPIS for the real thing, I might have considered the fee. Now I can honestly say it was very easy, intuitive, and it saved everything to complete at another time, just the way I'd left it. I had completed both the departure and arrival manifests before I left the country and had CBP approval literally within several minutes of submitting them. Pleasantly, the agents did not want the old 1380 arrival form and said eAPIS had replaced it. I was also told that they plan to upgrade it soon so that you will be able to store recurring passengers and trip manifests for future use. All in all, it was an unexpectedly pleasant experience.
Bruce Elliott
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Unfortunately, I don't think most pilots would be able to react to a stall/spin situation. Most pilots I talk with fear spins and spin training. Some are actually reluctant to do stalls. Thus they don't have the opportunity to experience a spin until they inadvertently enter one, at which time it is too late.
It's difficult to find an instructor today who will teach spin recovery from an actual spin, as many instructors have not experienced an actual spin. A pilot flying light aircraft today would benefit themselves and their families by taking spin recovery training from actual spins from a qualified instructor.
Pat Bartlett
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Letter of the Week: Flight Service Closures Will Hurt
I'm a flight service specialist at St. Petersburg, Florida and am directly involved in day-to-day operations. In your article, [Lockheed Martin spokeswoman] Jan Gottfredsen claims that because of a "13% reduction in call volume, combined with efficiencies gained with a new communications network," there will be a seamless transition. I must question this contention.
Currently, Kankakee, Lansing, Nashville, and St. Petersburg answer collectively up to 2,500 calls per day. The traffic of the Eastern Service Area flight service stations exceeds that of the other two service areas. These four facilities are dedicated entirely to briefing pilots. The 3 "hub" facilities conduct all of the inflight (radio) functions, flight data and NoTAM functions. Typically, in the Eastern Service Area Hub, only a half dozen or so people are briefing; the rest are required to perform inflight, flight data and NoTAMs for the eastern United States. Admittedly, Lockheed is massaging the staffing schedule to compensate for the loss of briefers, but where are the additional people coming from?
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Rob Stultz PIE AFSS
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