Julie Summers Walker captured the aura and beauty of an incredible fighter perfectly (“Romancing the ‘Hun,’” January 2022 AOPA Pilot). May I suggest a look again at the photo just inside the cover, on the bottom of page one, and ask John Morrissey to tell you about the 100 missions, F–105, North Vietnam cloth patch he’s wearing on his left shoulder? Trust me, few fighter pilots, other than Misty Forward Air Controllers, are worthy to even stand in his shadow. Legends in their time, flying another incredible jet, revered by fighter pilots everywhere.
Joe Rybicki / AOPA 809163
Hayesville, North Carolina
What a great tribute to the first of the “Century Fighters” and those magnificent men who flew them. The F–100 was one of the first Revell model kits that I put together in the late 1950s and it was the first combat aircraft that I saw in Vietnam when I came “in country” at Bien Hoa Air Force Base. I never got to meet any of those guys, but I and my fellow Army aviators who flew the AH–1G Cobra attack helicopter felt a certain camaraderie with them. There were many times when we “Snake Drivers” would find ourselves working alongside those “Hun Drivers” when the ground troops had their backs against the wall and needed all the “down in the dirt” close air support that they could get. I vividly remember one day when I looked down and watched as these two camouflaged Super Sabres ripped across the treetops and laid their “High Drags” right in the bad guy’s front door. They were that good.
Ron Walters / AOPA 1498115
Savannah, Georgia
Training for health
Thank you, Thomas B. Haines, for your article “Waypoints: Training for Health” in the January 2022 issue of AOPA Pilot.
I read with interest the approach insurance companies are taking toward pilots who reach their seventieth birthdays sometimes resulting in the end of their flying exploits.
I am 69 years old, got my certificate in 1987, flew my Archer for $100 hamburgers until 1992, and then became consumed with my growing medical practice that took me out of the cockpit even to this day. Retiring on January 1, I am thinking not of walking away but starting up again!
It’s reassuring to know that the data on us oldsters supports us remaining in the air to enjoy this wonderful pursuit and freedom.
Allan M. Haggar / AOPA 936331
Westmont, Illinois
European invasion
Let me call your attention to a few factors playing a key role in this wave of sleek LSAs coming from Europe (“European Invasion” and “Eurovision,” January 2022 AOPA Pilot).
One, the airplanes mentioned come not from Europe as we U.S. people understand it to be but from previously Soviet-dominated countries.
Two, the countries have a strong education system, and are biased toward engineering, mathematics, physics, and now computer software.
Three, all these countries have a highly educated, skilled, low labor-cost work force.
Four, a long-term view of business still prevails. They are not constrained by the next-quarter syndrome that afflicts our U.S. business model. They play, just like the Japanese and Chinese, for the long term.
Five, all these companies were funded by the European Union contrasting, once again, with our business model here in the United States.
It seems to me that the United States’ apparent lack of competitiveness/creativity boils down to a flawed educational model and “instant gratification” attitude instilled in our youth by our society. However, I believe that our creativity as a nation is still there, just waiting to be tapped through constructive regulation—or deregulation.
Miguel Azevedo / AOPA 1395008
Trion, Georgia
Moment of bliss
I wanted to thank Richard McSpadden so very much for the incredibly moving and poignant article he wrote in the January 2022 issue of AOPA Pilot—“Safety Spotlight: Moment of Bliss.” This piece brought tears to my eyes. He truly did an amazing job capturing the humbling glory of GA flight.
I am a new student pilot with 20 hours logged and just days ago received a solo endorsement from my CFI. I found aviation later in life—in my mid-40s. I’m never more at peace, more focused, more centered, or more joyous than when I’m flying. It’s a wonderful experience and gift to fly.
I also want to thank McSpadden for the incredible influence he has across GA. I hear him on the monthly AOPA There I Was… podcast, see him on PilotWorkshops’ VFR safety scenarios, read his column in AOPA Pilot, and more.
Thank you so very much for giving so much of yourself to the rest of us. It is deeply appreciated, and it makes an incredible difference to us all.
Tom Mennella / AOPA 11323815
Longmeadow, Massachusetts
Send your comments to [email protected]. Letters may be edited for length and style.
Hangar Talk
“This magical photo flight was only possible because of John McKenna,” said AOPA Pilot Editor at Large Dave Hirschman. “He guided us through the mountain passes he knows so well in his Cessna 185, pointed out terrain features and wildlife for us, and made the entire experience an absolute thrill.” Hirschman and AOPA Senior Photographer David Tulis followed McKenna in an Aviat A–1C Husky provided by AOPA member Mark Dunkerly for “The Mountains Are Calling,” p. 50. The outside air temperature was well below freezing on the frigid morning they overflew Yellowstone, and Tulis’s hands quickly became numb from holding the metal camera in the 100-knot slipstream beside the airplane’s open left window. “The Husky’s got an unbelievably good heater,” Tulis said. “When my hands got too cold, I’d put them next to the heater for a minute or two to let them thaw out.” We hope you’ll agree the timeless photos and video Tulis recorded during their two-hour flight was well worth any temporary discomfort.
“If I had a nickel for every vineyard I have shot,” joked Senior Photographer Chris Rose at Mari Vineyards in Traverse City, Michigan, during the photo shoot for “True Blue Happiness,” p. 60, in October. Michigan is surprisingly known for its wine region, especially on the Old Mission Peninsula outside Traverse City. But it was Rose who chose the vineyard we featured because of his affection for the television series The Curse of Oak Island, whose star owns Mari Vineyards. The show is about a millionaire who is searching for treasure on an island in Nova Scotia. He’s to date found nothing—it’s been nine years—but the vineyard is a thriving venture started with proceeds from the show. And about that hat: Rose received compliments throughout the trip from men who would stop and say that’s a great hat.
How did Senior Photographer David Tulis and Senior Editor Jill W. Tallman wind up at a biker hotel in Alpine, Texas? “Our trip to the Big Bend region of Texas was a series of moving targets right up to the day we actually departed Maryland,” said Tallman, pictured here between Tulis (left) and local pilot Mark Morrison. “We missed our flight to Texas, and then in Texas we arrived too late to get a rental car and had to spend an extra night in Odessa/Midland. This messed up all our other travel arrangements.” But with travel frustrations come unexpected surprises. Tulis discovered Big Bend Biker Hotel in Alpine, and since he owns a Honda Valkyrie and a Suzuki V Strom, he was intrigued. “I had envisioned Hell’s Angels types hanging around, but it is a lovely lodge-style place with indoor parking for motorcycles—and the bikes we saw during our stay were high end,” said Tallman. “I’d stay there again in a heartbeat.” (See “Take a Giant Step,” p. 70.)
“I didn’t think I would ever want to leave,” said Senior Features Editor Julie Summers Walker of hanging out in pilot Gerald Herbert’s hangar at Port of South Louisiana Executive Regional Airport (APS) in Reserve outside New Orleans. The sleepy airport and the comfy couches in Herbert’s hangar were in such stark contrast to the chaotic, bustling opulence of the city that the description “big easy” seemed more apropos to this setting than NOLA itself (see “Ease On Down,” p. 80). “Unfortunately, the other sound at the airport was of dump trucks hauling debris from the destruction caused by Hurricane Ida,” said Walker. Even months after the devastating storm, the New Orleans area is still struggling to recover. Plan your trip soon—the resilience and hospitality of the people of New Orleans has not wavered. The red carpet may be frayed and tattered but it’s still out and the food is as good as advertised.
