AircraftOwner Online

OK, I've decided to put an autopilot in my Cessna 182.  There are a few units to choose from but I am thinking of an S-TEC ( which has been purchased Cobham).  The System 50 seems like a good choice.

I am curious if anyone out there has an opinion of this system or can propose another.  I will keep you posted on the progress of this project.

Greg

It can be a real strain to get a heavy airplane up the incline that seems to lead into most hangers and over that annoying lip right where the hanger meets the apron or ground. The laws of physics tell us that it takes more force to push a heavy object uphill, but for some reason the amount of muscle effort required to maneuver a heavy aircraft over that tiny elevated bump at the edge of the hanger seems worthy of Hercules or the Hulk. In that 1/2 inch to an inch of pavement differential lies tremendous potential risk for injury.

Anyone who has used resistance training to build up his abs knows that muscles strain harder against resistance. When the airplane wheel bumps up against that lip at the edge of the hanger, it creates resistance. Generally, when pushing or pulling a heavy object, the greatest effort is required to overcome inertia and put that object in motion. However, the resistance created when a wheel impacts an obstacle requires similar excess effort to overcome the resistance to forward movement created by the obstacle. The body's muscles are forced to work harder which can result in painful muscle strain. The risk increases as FBO workers perform this operation again and again, day after day.

The same type of problem can occur at small grass and dirt airstrips where airplanes must be manually maneuvered across bumpy fields. Each step across the field can require unanticipated fluctuations in muscle exertion as you push and pull airplanes over small bumps caused by weather or frost upheaval.

Lindy's AircraftCaddys are ergonomically designed to eliminate muscle strain caused by pushing or pulling heavy aircraft over uneven surfaces, up inclines and over annoying bumps at hanger entrances. Lindy's aircraft tractors andaircraft tugs allow you to maneuver airplanes up to 35,000 pounds with ease. Visit the Lindbergh Aircraft Tug Co. website for more info.

People call or email me questions all the time but once in a while, just the question raises irritation levels.

    Recently, I received a question from a pilot about advancing age and the ability to fly. He had been chided by a “younger” pilot that he was too old to fly. Then last week, I fielded a complaint from an older pilot which stated that his insurance company was making him get a first class medical every year to keep his insurance.

    Age and flying is not a new subject. The FAA has looked at this many times debating the “age 60 rule” for airline pilots finally raising the age limit to 65 a year and half ago. During the “investigation,” the FAA commission a study by an Ivy League medical school for several million dollars to see what the effects of age had on the ability to fly. The only answer from the study was that as pilots get older, they generally get more medical problems. I could have told them that for a couple of beers at Oshkosh !

    Just last month, the AeroSpace Medical Association published an article that showed no difference in accident rates in commuter aircraft related to the age of the pilot. If nothing else, think about experience. Sullenberger landed in the Hudson at age 57 and Al Haynes was forced by the age 60 rule (at that time) to retire six months after he saved 184 people in a Sioux City corn field.

    Yes, pilots do have more medical problems as they get older. They also may not have the same quick reflexes they did as a newly minted private pilot. But they have something that those young pilots do not have—experience and maturity—qualities which are much more valuable in the cockpit.

    When it comes down to accident statistics, pilot error is far and away the most common cause of accidents and most of these tend to be “mental” errors. How much more needs to be said about judgment when the two most common causes of accidents are running out of gas and flying into IMC without qualifications?

    It is as hard to assess a pilot’s ability to make sound judgments as it is to assess their medical status. The main purpose of the medical certification exam is to “predict” the possibility of sudden incapacitation while flying. Physicians cannot do that well under any circumstances and especially with flight medicals. For instance, the medical form does not have any mention of smoking, family history, or cholesterol levels. The only issue for obesity is whether the abdomen is so big it gets in the way of the yoke. In fact, the word obesity is not even in the Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners.

    “A brief description of any comment-worthy personal characteristics as well as

height, weight… and other findings of consequence must be provided” is the only mention in the Guide of weight and there are no criteria or limitations beyond this mention. So what does the insurance company required first class medical standard do? Well, for the most part, it creates expense and hassles and does little else. The most significant safety factors for airlines pilots are the duplication of personnel in the cockpit, not the medical. The only different criteria in an otherwise non special issuance third and first class medical is vision criteria (20/20 required for 1st) and the annual resting EKG over 40.

    A resting EKG is not predictive of sudden incapacitation. I once had a conversation with Dr. Jon Jordan, the previous Federal Air Surgeon, who agreed that the resting EKG did nothing but stated “no one has the guts to stop it.” What is predictive of heart disease is a stress EKG (treadmill) or even better, a nuclear stress test. Since both these tests are expensive and time consuming, the chances of their being used for medical criteria are nil.

    So what is the bottom line? There are pilots out there who are 50 who should not be flying and there are those who are 75 who can grease a tail dragger on the runway effortlessly. Mature and experienced pilots generally choose to alter their flying as they see their ability wane such as discontinuing hard IFR or changing to lower performance aircraft. I wish younger pilots judged their capabilities as honestly.

    What may be more important evaluation criteria if used properly is the biannual review. How many instructors say to a pilot after a review, “Joe Pilot, you really need to work with an instructor to sharpen you skills or quit flying” regardless of their age. Not many. I just had an instructor tell me after what was supposed to be a ten minute check out that I needed a few more hours of touch and go’s in a conventional gear aircraft I was unfamiliar with before setting off on a 13 leg cross country stopping at unfamiliar airports. What made me do those extra couple of hours was not my self deceived mental age of 25 but the maturity of 30 plus years of flying.

~ BB ~

(Article Written by Charles morgenstien as posted by Aircraftowner Online:)

In many transactions, a broker, an attorney, or one of the parties, handles all of the details of transferring title from the Seller to the Buyer, and having the Buyer register the aircraft. In those transactions, the parties who did not participate directly are relying strictly upon the competence and integrity of the people they have chosen to close the transaction for them. In most cases, since it is a relatively straightforward process, there is not a problem. But, for those of you who haven’t actually taken the time to understand what is happening, it is my hope that, by reading this article, you will avoid being one of the unlucky ones who runs into a problem when you sell or buy your aircraft.

    There are at least two basic aspects to every sale: transferring title to the aircraft, and registering the aircraft. Further refinements, particularly a discussion of the International Registry, are beyond the scope of
this article.

    All that is required to transfer title is an FAA Form Bill of Sale, properly executed by the Seller, and a $5.00 fee for recording the Bill of Sale. Assuming  that everything is proper with the Bill of Sale, once it has been recorded in Oklahoma City , the world will know that the Seller no longer owns the aircraft and the Buyer now owns it. 

    All that is required to register an aircraft on the Civil Aircraft Registry is a properly-completed FAA Application for Registration signed by the Buyer. Assuming everything is proper, the Aircraft will be able to fly within the United States for the first 90 days after the sale (until the permanent registration card arrives), and the Buyer will appear on the official record as the Registrant of the Aircraft.

    In general, the Bill of Sale is exchanged for the purchase price for the aircraft. The Buyer gives the Seller the money, and the Seller gives the Buyer the Bill of Sale. The Buyer then applies for registration of the new aircraft, usually by sending in his brand new Bill of Sale and his Application for Registration, along with the check for $5.00. Simple, right? What could possibly go wrong?

    Suppose the Seller tells the Buyer that the Seller has sent, or will send, the Bill of Sale to the FAA to save the Buyer the trouble, but never really does? If that happens, the Buyer has lost his money, but never gets good title to the aircraft. He also doesn’t get his registration to the aircraft within 90 days, as he expected to. Theoretically, the Seller could continue to sell the aircraft again and again to multiple buyers using the same scheme.

    Suppose the Buyer tells the Seller that he will send in the Bill of Sale, but doesn’t do it? As far as the FAA, the rest of the World, and every Plaintiff’s lawyer in the world knows, the Seller still owns the aircraft and is still the registrant. If the Buyer is not eligible to register the aircraft in the United States , he can fly the aircraft all over the world using the Seller’s registration. If the Buyer commits a crime with the aircraft, or violates an FAA Regulation using the aircraft, or hurts someone with the aircraft, the FAA, the Police, the FBI, Customs, Interpol and all of those Plaintiff’s attorneys will be knocking on the Seller’s door – not the Buyers’.

    In a prior article, I mentioned using an escrow agent in Oklahoma City . This is one way to make sure that the documents actually get recorded properly and that the money does not get distributed until the documents are where they are supposed to be. But, if you decide not to use an escrow agent, there are still some things you can do to avoid problems.

     First, insist that you see all the documents being sent to Oklahoma City . Verify the address to which the documents are being sent and get the tracking number or certified mail number of the delivery service being used.

    Second, check the FAA Aircraft Registry web site: registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry. It takes the FAA about two to three weeks in most cases to have the change of ownership show up on the web site, so don’t panic if the transfer doesn’t show up right away. But, if it has been more than a month, you need to start making inquiries as to what has happened. If there are problems with the documents that have been submitted, the FAA will send them back to the individual that sent the document to them. If the problem is not with a document that YOU submitted, you will not know about the problem unless the other party tells you about it. Particularly if there were any hard feelings between the parties at the time of the closing, the other party may not be anxious to tell you what is happening.

         If you are the Buyer and you haven’t received your hard card registration within two months, you should definitely be asking questions of the Civil Registry in Oklahoma City .

          If all else fails, you can hire a title company in Oklahoma City that will search the records, including the “suspense file” for the aircraft, and can get you copies of all of the correspondence relating to the transaction – for a fee.

      A little diligence, and a basic understanding of the importance of the closing documents can save a lot of heartache and expense down the road.

~ Charles Morgenstein

Despite current problems, European commercial aircraft builder Airbus predicted a rising global market for the airline industry over the next 20 years. Reported in the Wall Street Journal online, the French-based aeronautic manufacturer predicted demand for 25,000 new aircraft worth $3.1 trillion over the next two decades, an annual passenger traffic growth rate of 4.9%. The world's biggestaircraft manufacturer, Airbus expects airline manufacturing growth to come from emerging economies,airline expansion,discount carriers and replacement of aging airplanes.

As WSJ points out, the new prediction represents a 2.9% increase over the 24,300 planes/$2.8 trillion market prediction Airbus made just 19 months ago in February 2008. That's good news for the aviation industry. If airline manufacturers are starting to see light at the end of the recession's bleak, black tunnel, an industry turnaround can’t be too far off in the future. Don't look for blue skies yet though. Airbus expects the current passenger traffic retraction (pegged at 2% in 2009) to continue through the end of this year before a gradual expansion (Airbus predicts 4.6%) begins in 2010. Of course, for the first couple of years we'll just be climbing back up to previous norms. But in the long term, airline travel and the myriad businesses and people it supports is expected to recover and prosper.

Airbus expects even greater and faster growth in airline cargo traffic as businesses ramp back up to fill restocking orders and meet increasing customer demand, particularly in developing countries. Airbus predicts 5.2% average annual growth in cargo traffic over the next 20 years requiring 3,440 additional air freighters. While most of these freighters are expected to be passenger jet conversions, a need for 850 new aircraft is predicted.

Airbus' predictions mean a lot of airplanes are going to need to be pushed around hangers and airports in the future. Lindy's aircraft tugs and aircraft tractorswill ensure that you're ready to meet the challenges of the future.