Your reference to the T3 airplanes scrapped by the Air Force caught my attention (Decisions, decisions, Touch & Go, Oct. 6).
Some years ago, I became involved in the issue of the Air Force’s problem with “uncommanded engine stoppages.” I can assure you, the engine was not the problem. Nor was the proficiency of the pilots killed while flying the Slingsby T3A.
Six months of investigation made it clear that the airplane was deficient in form and function and the Air Force’s response was agonizingly slow, at best.
While I would agree that scrapping the airplane is a shame and a waste of resource, so was the $10 million spent on trying to fix the 110 airplanes grounded by the Air Force.
I’m certain that some will remember the airplane with a measure of reverence and bravado, but I know some who would rather see the relic buried — and the sooner, the better.
PAUL A. BREVARD
Port Orange, Fla.