NICE SHOTS BILL

Excellent photos by an excellent pilot. Bill has ancestors who were pioneers in the Julian area - The Harritt family.

6,000' MSL, not AGL.

Dear Reader staff: Please restore the "preview" function. Thanks

I did not feel that MSL (mean sea level) nor AGL (above ground level) were necessary altitude details for the general public. Pilots would certainly know the altitude over Julian, and a non-pilot doesn't give a hoot, just likes the pretty pictures. Enjoy!

I presumed that the author would find the note a worthwhile "teaching moment," but apparently I erred. With respect to journalistic standards, the piece mentioned that the photo was taken, as some readers might interpret it. "from 6,000 feet." My observation was that the photo could lead the author's readers into confusion about what Julian would look like from that distance. Apparently, the author also disagrees from his perch 'way above me. I continue to believe, however, that some readers might be interested to know how far above the ground (Julian) the picture was taken from, something that we still do not know. To save the author considerable trouble and further irritation, I have taken the liberty to calculate the approximate distance from Julian (1,765 feet), assuming, of course, that the aircraft's altimeter was properly set and/or that there were no errors in the GPS. I disagree that "the general public" or "non-pilot" "doesn't give a hoot" or "just likes the pretty pictures." I won't say the reader has been con-descended, but it does appear that the author considers himself to be flying high above the rest of us. And I am grateful for his generosity in sharing the pix with us commoners.