Tabla de contenidos para March 2023 en Flying

HAWAI‘I IS KNOWN for its exotic scenery, especially the volcanos. During the recent eruption of Mauna Loa, the Hawai‘i Wing of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) helped the U.S. Geological Survey scientists keep track of the lava flows. The volcano, located on the Big Island of Hawai‘i, erupted on November 28 and pumped out lava through mid-December. A temporary flight restriction was put in place, and some of the only aircraft permitted within the TFR were those flown by the Civil Air Patrol. The flights carried volcanologists and CAP photographers over the Mauna Loa summit and Northeast Rift Zone. The USGS monitors lava flows with regard to possible danger to downslope communities. The pilots generally fly in Cessna 172s and 182s to conduct the missions. Images collected assist the USGS…

GENESYS AEROSYSTEMS (formerly S-TEC) entered the autoflight arena in 2014 with its HeliSAS two-axis VFR autopilot and stability augmentation system for light rotorcraft on the AS350 as well as the EC 130, followed by the Bell 206B/L and 407, and the Robinson R44 and R66. A three-axis option is available for the Bell 505. The company has delivered more than 1,000 units to date. The HeliSAS incorporates the ability to track heading and nav functions (VOR, LOC, GPS), with course intercept capability, and manage forward speed, vertical speed, and altitude. With units weighing less than 15 pounds, the HeliSAS also features an auto-recovery mode to return the helicopter to a neutral attitude when the pilot loses situational awareness. And according to the company, its system has also allowed pilots with…

What’s the most significant weather threat for summertime flying? Here’s a hint: it’s not thunderstorms. Sure, it’s vital that pilots flying any type of aircraft exercise extreme caution when flying near a thunderstorm. Certainly, any pilot who tangles with a thunderstorm might pay the ultimate price. But it doesn’t take a supercell thunderstorm to ruin your day. So, given how many general aviation pilots nowadays rely on datalink weather for avoidance, we need to modify the training narrative and move away from a discussion of thunderstorms to a discussion of convection. Avoid thunderstorms. This stark statement that has been thrown at pilots over the last century portends danger and seems like a reasonably cut-and-dried messsage. This is understandable, although it misses the mark, and it's not the most complete message…

BOSTON, 8 A.M.: I button my uniform jacket, don a neon safety vest, and step outside the jet bridge into a roaring gale. Most captains do the walkaround on the first officer’s flying legs at my airline, and it’s John’s turn to fly, so, per tradition, I brave the howling wind and pouring rain. By the time I reach the Boeing 737’s tail, I am soaked to the skin. I turn to inspect the tail skid and am nearly swept off my feet by a fierce gust that has every bit of 50 knots in it. I am reminded of the time I rode out Tropical Storm Isaias aboard Windbird. This day has the same evil intensity to it. Twenty-four hours ago, I awoke to a much gentler morning, sun-kissed…

WOULD YOU PAY thousands of dollars for a class and invest hundreds of hours if you didn’t know what material was going to be covered, or when the quizzes and tests were, and what was considered a passing grade? Most people wouldn’t, yet every day hundreds of people essentially do this when they show up for flight training and it is conducted without the benefit of a syllabus. Is a syllabus required for flight training? The FAA does not mandate the use of a syllabus under Part 61. However, under Part 141, pilot schools are required to use a structured training program that includes a syllabus. The elements and knowledge requirements of Parts 61 and 141 are identical—the experience requirements are slightly different, however, as a private pilot applicant who…

A FRIEND BOUGHT ME an old aeronautical chart he found in a map store. Dated August 16, 1953, it covers roughly the same area as the current Los Angeles VFR terminal area chart. In the lower margin are the words: “PRICE 25 CENTS.” You got more square miles for your money then than you do today, even taking inflation into account. The scene depicted on the chart is at once familiar and strange. Many small airports have vanished; runway diagrams of some larger ones have changed. There are only three VORs: Long Beach, Ontario, and Palmdale. The airways are 10 statute miles wide—the FAA did not go nautical until the mid-1960s—and they are defined by what look like localizers. They aren’t localizers, however; they’re the beams of four-course ranges. At…

AS A NEWLY MINTED U.S. Army aviator and UH-60 Black Hawk pilot, being based in the Republic of Korea in 1988 was an ideal first assignment. The cost of living was low, the people were friendly, and the food was great. And then there was the flying. There were few rules in Korea, and as young lieutenants and warrant officers we took advantage and “aired out” our UH-60s often. The rules were simple. Don’t fly into the prohibited area of the capital, Seoul, aptly named P-73. Don’t fly into the Korean president’s TFR. As with the U.S., these were likely to pop up unannounced, or sometimes even move. And don’t ever, ever, stray north of the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone), into the People’s Republic of Korea, also known as North Korea.…

Do you remember your first flight lesson? Philip Preston of Machesney Park, Illinois, certainly does. He remembers it every time he goes out to his hangar and sees the fully restored 1946 Aeronca Champ sitting there—it's the very same aircraft he made his first flight in as an anxious 12-year-old in 1968. "My dad took me and my brother David—who was 13 at the time—to the airport for a flight lesson. My brother went first, then I went. I sat in the front, no headset. I had never been in an airplane and it was overwhelming the senses, [with] the hand-propping noise and vibration and the fabric. It was totally otherworldly and exhilarating and frightening." Both the Preston boys were interested in aviation, but, as Philip points out, they did…

When the early morning sun crests over the high plains, it lights up the headquarters of Pilatus Business Aircraft, Ltd., which sits near the Rocky Mountain foothills in the northwest Denver suburb of Broomfield, Colorado. Located at the approach end of Runways 12R/L at the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (KBJC), the modern aircraft facility finishes and delivers the Pilatus PC-12 turboprop and PC-24 Super Versatile Jet, manufactured by Swiss airplane maker Pilatus Aircraft, to North and South American customers. The roots of Pilatus Business Aircraft, also known as PilBAL, sprouted with the help of Chris Finnoff, a longtime turboprop sales guru who founded Turbo West Aviation, and sold various types of aircraft before turning his focus on the Pilatus PC-12. The first PC-12 was brought to the U.S. in 1994—the…

MY FIRST CAR was a 1978 Chevy Malibu. It was 1989, and I remember thinking I’d never need another car. I put a set of Goodyear Eagle GT+4 tires on the car (in this case, both the cheapest performance upgrade I could afford, as well as lipstick on a pig) and lived my best life. It didn’t last. I wanted more. Performance mostly, but also curb appeal. I discovered the direct correlation between the type of car one drove and the type of women one could attract. The 280Z was next, and again I thought, ‘This is all I’ll ever need.’ One great summer together and the Datsun’s issues came to the fore. A duffel bag of them. I wanted something reliable. Something new. And so in 1992, I begged…

WITH THE LIGHT quickly fading on the eve of the winter solstice, I increased my pace of applying liquid wax to the last few sections underneath the right wing. The creeper wheels clacked over the concrete floor. As I wiped the microfiber cloth across the aluminum surface, an unfamiliar pickup truck slowly rolled into view and parked next to the row of T-hangars opposite me. The truck movement seemed hesitant, and the driver remained in the cab. A gate card is required for entrance, so I wasn’t overly concerned about security issues. That said, I thought it best to make a friendly inquiry. The driver, a young man in his early 30s, was picking up his uncle, who had just purchased a Mooney Ovation (M20R) and was en route from…

FLYING HAS HAD an affection for rotorcraft since the days of Popular Aviation. In March 1931, we imagined a very early VTOL traversing the city facilitating aerial work—actually the brainchild of Wilbur G. Nelson of Pueblo, Colorado: “The ‘aerocar,’ as this design has been named, has no wings nor propellers, but has two sets of revolving planes from which the cabin is suspended. The air fliver weighs only 450 pounds, travels 50 miles on a gallon of gasoline, will reach a maximum speed of 100 miles per hour.” Contrast this with the hardworking Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane flown by Cal Fire in Summer 2016. Photographer Leonardo Correa Luna reports: “Cal Fire has a significant base at Columbia (O22), and it’s one of my favorite camping spots. I saw it and ran…

IFR and lower ceilings with reduced visibility will be common through much of the period across central and southern AR terminals. Northern AR terminals are more likely to remain VFR… National Weather Service Area Forecast ON DECEMBER 3, 2021, two pilots—call them Jack and Ken—left Clarksville, Arkansas, in a Piper Cherokee 235. They flew south to Louisiana, where Jack, who operated an airframe repair shop in Clarksville, picked up a Cessna 182 that had suffered some sheet metal damage in a hurricane. They then flew the two airplanes to Minden, Louisiana, where they stopped for food and fuel before continuing to Clarksville, 175 miles to the north. Ken, the Cherokee pilot, had checked the weather and considered it “very sketchy.” Neither pilot had an instrument rating. But Jack said they…

The Airbus AS350 series includes some of the most robust light single-engine turbine aircraft on the market. Their power and maneuverability give them outstanding performance no matter the task—making the model the industry’s true multi-mission workhorse. Wide use of composite materials gives the AS350 a high power-to-weight ratio and enables it to have a spacious, open cabin with high visibility from the cockpit. Thoughtful design through its history and Airbus’ engineering experience now mean the helicopter is easy to maintain and fly, which contributes to the AS350’s excellent safety track record throughout its five decades in service. At Rainbow Helicopters, we selected the AS350 B2 to comprise a part of our fleet because it is a great fit for the Hawaiian tour market. The helicopter’s power means we can fly…

As we’re walking out to the 1996 Eurocopter AS350 B2 perched on the pad outside Garmin AT’s offices in Salem, Oregon, I naturally head for the right seat. Because to my fixed-wing pilot brain, that’s where the observer sits, the co-pilot. And as one with only a handful of hours in rotorcraft in total, that’s what I guess I had expected to do on this demo flight—my introduction to Garmin’s GFC 600H for the AStar. So when Garmin flight test engineer—and experienced rotorcraft instructor—Jack Loflin gestures me into the right seat, I don’t hesitate. Then I do. He’s putting me on. Is this wise? But as it turns out, I’m not only ready for my first AS350 lesson, I am going to have the best assistant I could possibly have.…

A recent flight into Sedona Airport (KSEZ) marked the end of an exceedingly long chapter in my life as a pilot. I felt a soothing, unexpected sense of closure as soon as the Cessna 182’s tires chirped against the asphalt, and I realize now that I might owe John King a thank-you note. A little more than a decade ago, around the time I decided to resume flight training after a 25-year lapse, I was perusing instructional videos online, probably seeking confirmation that my decision made sense. I came across a clip from King Schools in which John is in his Mooney, talking about the payoffs of earning a pilot certificate. As he chats, he flies the traffic pattern at Sedona, lands, parks, and steps out onto the wing. The…

NAVDATA, AMERICAS, download/transfer to device. The little blue line shoots across the screen. In less than two minutes, all current navigational information for an entire hemisphere has found its way into a tiny USB sticking rudely out of my wife’s MacBook Air. My ten-year-old laptop is too old for this maneuver, so I borrow Cathy’s. Without much thought, and even more quickly, “Obstacles” information for this cycle will also load. Later today, I will drive to the airport with the two USBs and plug them into the Avidyne IFD550s that grace the panel in our Cessna Citation CJ1. I will sit in the left seat, turn on the battery master and avionics switches and survey the glory before me. The USBs automatically prompt the boxes to ask for my permission…

I WISH EVERY PILOT could find someone who not only encourages but profoundly affects his or her early years in the air, someone who is there for a lifetime of flying and who you will never forget. Not an instructor or mentor, but just another pilot who encourages you to embrace and enjoy the glorious fun and not-so-serious side of flying. And I hope you’re lucky enough that it’s a person as colorful and kind, as funny and intelligent, as quirky, competent, unique, and loyal as my friend, Tom. Tom was one of the ‘60s and ‘70s “South Line crowd,” mostly young guys, but actually pilots of all ages. They had no problem accepting and welcoming kindred spirits in “the Franke girls” (my sister and me). Most owned little airplanes…