From: utzoo!decvax!cca!LRH@MIT-MC@sri-unix Newsgroups: net.aviation Title: Re: re WSJ articles Article-I.D.: sri-unix.2487 Posted: Fri Aug 6 00:39:22 1982 Received: Sun Aug 8 07:21:09 1982 From: "Lyman R. Hazelton, Jr."And by the way, most of the pilots that I have met care and are very aware of the "rest of the universe". Your generalizations seem to me to be based on what you think pilots are like... it sure doesn't sound like you have had much contact with them. Finally, if you want to experience real non-square patterns and really see what the world of flying has to offer in the way of a challenge to a good pilot, try going into DCA at around 18:00 on a Friday evening. I'd like to see your square patterns there, and you better be warned about things like wake turbulance by yourself, because the controllers won't have the time to tell you about it. But if you do screw up, they will take the time to either envite you up for a chat if you manage to land, or send you to another airport (and that with a very few words, too.) I've seen this happen more than once. I agree that pilots could be trained much better than they are to handle unusual and demanding situations, and I have known a few who were. But I doubt that the way they fly patterns would tell you of that fact.