Page 6 - TNTApril2018

Airmail
Veterans Airlift Command
I devour Twin & Turbine each month and thank you for the fine publication. I’m also an active member of MMOPA and fly a P46T (jetPROP). Reading about your Angle Flight missions reminded me of many of my Veterans Airlift Command missions. In case you are not aware, VAC provides free air transportation to post 9/11 wounded warriors and their families for medical
and other compassionate reasons. The organization was founded by Walt Fricke (himself a wounded veteran of Viet Nam) and is a 95 percent financially efficient 501(C)3.
Take a peek at www.veteransairlift.org. To date we have flown in excess of 20,000 passengers. Walt does not count missions, as numbers are not an organizational goal; warriors are. Your article about Angel Flight made me
think you may want to have the staff research and write about VAC at some future date. It’s a great cause, great people and great story!
Chuck Fulton
KPRC (Prescott, AZ)
Editor Dianne White responds:
Thank you, Chuck for a great reminder about the excellent work that VAC and its volunteers perform. T & T is a long- time supporter of VAC, and we regularly provide advertising space for the orga- nization to communicate their cause. I highly recommend that owners of T & T- type aircraft check out VAC. The reward is unmeasurable.
From One Control Freak to Another
I faithfully read Kevin Dingman’s column, but I have to admit that “Control Freaks” (February 2018) has to be far and away one of the best. Not only have I scanned it and put it in its proper folder, face up, carefully left aligned with the others, I then sent it to many of my friends who clearly will recognize me.
Really appreciate your writing. Always informative.
Vince Latona
(Still a pilot carefully pushing a TBM around the sky)
Breaking In New Cylinders
Read with interest Kevin Ware’s article about trouble with ECI cylinders on Ram engines. About 15 years ago I was operating a 310 with new Ram engines with ECI cylinders. I also was scrupulous about power changes and avoiding shock cooling. Cracked one clean off (held in place by the exhaust manifold) at 150 hours over mountainous terrain headed to Sedona. Launching from that airport to properly break in the green replacement was attention grabbing.
When my wife asked why I didn’t hire “some young pilot” to do the break-in, I said I needed to know the procedure was fully followed. At 200 hours I cracked a different one clean off. About that time a range of ECI cylinders was recalled for improper hardening. Ram covered all new cylinders and the labor
AOPA Insurance #1 1/2 page island
AOPA Insurance #1
4 • TWIN & TURBINE
April 2018