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To the Editor.
—With the number of our colleagues who are private pilots and the dubious reputation of "professionals" as recreational pilots, I think it is appropriate to share a personal mishap with others so that they can avoid my recent flight plight.After a year and a half of uneventful flying and "greased" landings in my Beechcraft Sierra, I found myself starting to bounce into my favorite landing strips about a month ago. One perfect Saturday morning, I went out to refine my landing technique, and on the eighth go-around I bounced in, ballooned, and came down nose first; the plane was totaled, but I fortunately walked away from it with only my pride damaged.The following morning, flying with an instructor, I set up the identical sequence of events that would have led to a similar outcome. When starting my round-out to touch down, the instructor advised me