Letters

I too, like Brian Sheets, have less than a “warm welcome” for the Sport Pilot certificate. I believe that when you have three government agencies, DOT, OMB and the FAA, very seldom does anything good come of it. Sport Pilot is an example of government at its finest. Take something simple and make it complicated. […]

In the past you ran a number of letters covering questions on the four-cylinder, two-cycle engine used on the target drone aircraft used by the military around the end of World War II. Igor Bensen designed and sold plans for a gyrocopter using the engine in pusher configuration. Enclosed is a picture of just such […]

The Nov. 26th edition of GAN is the second containing a comment/complaint about President Bush shutting down airspace by imposing a TFR. FYI: It is the Secret Service’s job to inform the TSA of the president’s movements and also their job by law to protect him. TFRs are imposed by the TSA, not the White […]

I agree with Michael Gleason’s letter (How Stupid!) in a previous issue. I lived on the Gulf Coast four years, in Key West, Fla., for about two years, and in the Jacksonville, Fla., area more than 15 years. Due to the “possibility” of a hurricane hitting the area, I flew our airplane out of Key […]

My reaction to the letter from Brian Sheets in the Dec. 10 issue (Sport Pilot: A disaster waiting to happen): Before anyone can take the knowledge test or the practical test for a sport class pilot certificate, they must receive logbook endorsements from an authorized instructor. No authorized instructor is required to make that logbook […]

In response to Mr. Sheets’ concerns for “under trained” fixed wing pilots operating in the Sport Pilot category flooding the sky, I must reply, “Chill Out!” The Sport Pilot program is a nice reprieve from an already overregulated industry. Mr. Sheets has already noted how “pilots with many hours” end up NTSB statistics. I recall reading insurance […]

I would like to respond to Brian Sheets’ comments on sport pilot flight time. If you take out the flight time required for a private license, which includes three hours instrument, three hours night time and the cross-country requirements, you are back to the flight time for sport pilot. The aircraft, such as Cubs and […]

I must agree with Brian Sheets of Beaverton, Ore., with regard to a “Disaster waiting to happen” (Letters to the Editor, Dec 10, 2004). I believe that creating two new pilot designations with lower standards and less training, “sport” and “recreational” pilots, was a mistake. In order to make flying available to persons who don’t […]

I just finished reading “Avoiding GPS traps,” in Mark Grady’s December column. I thought that your article and advice were right on the money. In my opinion, the greatest danger with GPS navigation is that most pilots don’t read the manuals that come with their GPS systems. I have several friends and acquaintances who are […]