AVmail: Jul. 10, 2006

Reader mail this week about FSS, alternate landing surfaces, flying fish (seaplanes) out of water and more.

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Lockheed FSS Needs Help!

Re: the article in the June 29 AVweb, “Lockheed wants your feedback” …I’ve been trying to register/logon for several days without success. “Registration is never activated, no email confirmation sent, etc.”I’ve noticed a significant decline in FSS service since Lockheed took over. In almost 50 years of flying I can count on one hand the number of IFR flight plans lost by FSS … and Lockheed has lost 3 in the past two weeks … all resulting in a real hassle having to re-file in the air while IFR — once with a flight of three aircraft!Rich Sugden


14-Year Old Flies Intercontinental In Heli

From your July 3 edition:

“A 14-year-old Inglewood, Calif., boy is said to be the youngest African-American person to fly an international round trip in a helicopter.”

What exactly does race have to do with an aviation news article?? Are you going to track the youngest Asian-American, the youngest European-American, the youngest Mexican-American? Ridiculous. Let’s keep race out of your reporting, it has no bearing on a person’s aviation skills. My congratulations to a brave, highly skilled, 14-year old American for his intercontinental heli flight.Terry Smith

AVweb Replies:

Actually, we wouldn’t have mentioned it at all except that three of the four records he was said to have set were for people of African-American descent. Have a look at the AP story on which we based our account.

Russ Niles
NewsWriter

QOTW: Alternate Landing Surfaces

Your Question of the Week about landing on alternate surfaces was structured to produce misleading results (QOTW, Jul. 6). How about those of us who have landed on many or all of the other surfaces than paved runways? Having to choose just one results in your survey getting a distorted picture. I’ve landed on all of the surfaces except a dry-lake bed, and no emergencies were involved.You also left out a frozen lake or river, a sandy beach and a gravel bar. Lots of people land on those too.Bob Falconer


I have landed on all of the surfaces mentioned, including the “proverbial other.” I’m a power pilot and (of course) a glider pilot. If you fly cross-country in gliders (like I have for the past 30+ years), you will have the opportunity to land on a variety of surfaces, sooner or later. I have landed power planes on grass, dirt and water (float plane).James L Hamilton


One Plane, Now With Context

Regarding “One Plane, Taken Slightly Out of Context” in the Picture of the Week (POTW, Jul. 6):The CH701 belongs to me and operates out of Nea Kios Harbor in Argolida, Greece. Due to a major harbor reconstruction, we at Argos Aeroclub use the road for about 100 meters in order to have access to the nearby water. When the works are completed, we will be using a new ramp made especially for our aeroclub. In the meantime we taxi to the road. The picture was taken from a mobile phone by Yiannis Kyriakidis, a member of Argos Aeroclub.Kostas Rossidis


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