Learning to fly.

• Author: Smith, David M.
• Position: Letters

In his recent column, Charles Peters ("Tilting at Windmills," September) took a couple of uninformed swipes at private pilots. He says we receive "gentler" treatment from "Congress and the FAA." Gentler than what? Private pilot training is bootcamp compared with training for private drivers and private boaters. We are also required to submit to biennial flight reviews with a qualified instructor, and many of us get booted out of the cockpit due to medical conditions that would not affect the privileges of the driver of a 700-hp speed boat on a public lake. Mr. Peters apparently believes that private pilots as a group are cavalier toward aviation risks. I suppose there are a few jerks in every...