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When the Sport Pilot/Light Sport Aircraft rule was implemented in 2004, one of its many benefits was the creation of a new repairman certificate: Experimental Light Sport Aircraft (ELSA) repairman with an inspection rating and Special Light Sport Aircraft (SLSA) repairman with a maintenance rating. These ratings authorize owners, maintainers, and pilots of Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) to perform certain inspection and maintenance functions. As with any aviation privilege, exercising the privileges of these ratings means accepting responsibility for doing the job correctly. That, in turn, means ensuring that you have the knowledge, skills, and equipment you need for the task.

To help you determine your readiness for this responsibility, the FAA has developed a Personal Minimums Checklist for Maintenance. Already widely used in the maintenance community, this checklist can be a great resource to those with LSA repairman certificates. Here are the things you’ll want to address before you start any given inspection or maintenance task:

 

Have I had the proper training?

Inspection Rating Training Requirements: Prior to applying for a repairman certificate with an inspection rating, the owner/pilot of an ELSA must complete a 16-hour training course in the same class of aircraft for which you seek inspection privileges.

 

Maintenance Rating Training Requirements: Prior to applying for a repairman certificate with a maintenance rating, an individual owner/pilot must complete the required training for a specific class of light-sport aircraft. The length of training varies with the class of aircraft for which you seek maintenance privileges. Also the repairman needs to check the manufacturer’s requirements for additional task specific training.

 

Do I have the knowledge to perform the task?

Training is the necessary starting point, but you must also have knowledge and understanding of the task. For example, do you understand the manufacturer’s instructions as set out in the maintenance manuals? Here’s a real-life example. In some gyrocopters, there is a requirement for the cables to be reversed. If you don’t have sufficient knowledge and understanding, you might install the cables incorrectly.

 

Have I performed the task previously?

Experience counts too, and, in fact, it is required. A repairman must demonstrate the ability to do the work correctly or perform the task under the direct supervision of an appropriately certificated, trained, rated, and experienced mechanic or repairman, before he or she can approve any ELSA or SLSA aircraft or part for return to service.

 

Have I researched the regulations to ensure compliance?

You will want to review Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) parts 1, 21, 39, 43, 45, 65, 91, as well as industry-developed ASTM International consensus standards on topics, including, but not limited to, continued airworthiness requirements and inspection practices/ techniques.

 

Am I mentally prepared to perform the task?

With today’s fast-paced lifestyle, fatigue affects everyone’s mental preparation to at least some degree. Recognizing fatigue is a key to ensuring you are prepared to do the work. Since fatigue is cumulative, you can mitigate the level of risk by simply getting some sleep—including naps. If naps are not in your  schedule, know your limitations. Have someone check your work. Use a task checklist to ensure that you haven’t missed anything. Accept your limitations, and do critical work only when you are mentally and physically refreshed.

 

Am I physically prepared to perform the task?

Whether it is strength, flexibility, or vision, make sure you’re physically prepared for the task. In my early years as a maintenance technician, I had no problem occupying a small aircraft compartment, and I could easily read numbers on electric wires. Things are different today. I can’t get into a small compartment, and there is no way I can read those numbers without a magnifying glass.

 

Have I taken the proper safety precautions?

Make safety precautions a high priority, and don’t put yourself in the position of saying “if only…” If only I had worn safety glasses, I would not have a metal sliver in my eye. If only I hadn’t propped the airplane while it was parked on ice, I would not be asking you to sign my cast. If only I had bought a fire extinguisher, I would not be paying off the loan for a pile of molten metal.

 

Do I have the necessary technical data?

Always refer to appropriate maintenance manuals, inspection schedules, technical data, etc., while carrying out your maintenance tasks. No matter what, never rely on “…but I’ve done it a thousand times” to justify or replace current technical data. Always refer to the chapter dealing with standard maintenance procedures for a particular type of aircraft, engine, propeller, etc. Technical data should be readily accessible to your work area. Manuals that you don’t read are of no value.

 

Do I have the proper tools and equipment to perform the task?

Maintenance of Light Sport Aircraft requires a variety of basic tools. These include many common items that you may already have, such as a drill, a tape measure, files, and wrenches. Other tools might include a reamer for cleaning paint out of holes. Specialized tools are normally listed in the aircraft’s maintenance manual. Good tool safety practices require that you establish controls to account for tools. These may include shadow boards, foam cutouts in your toolbox, and a checklist.

 

Do I have the resources available to perform the task?

Before you start, ensure that you have the resources needed to complete the work. First, establish a list of general resources needed (consumables) such as oil, anti-freeze, safety wire, restraints, wire ties, small plastic bags for capturing small pieces, etc. Once you have all the general resources at hand, review the task and identify any additional special resources needed to complete the work. Not having all your resources available wastes time, and it also introduces risk when you have to stop a process for lack of proper resources. Using the Maintenance “Personal Minimums” Checklist will help you to more confidently answer the question, “Are you ready or not?”

Be safe, and have fun!!

 

Martin Bailey is an Aviation Safety Inspector with Flight Standards Service’s General Aviation and Avionics Branch.

Aviations Dirty Little Secret-
By Michael Leighton

Last week, I watched as an RV-6, one of the most popular homebuilts ever designed, crashed on takeoff from my home field. The engine quit at an estimated altitude of just over 200 feet AGL, and the aircraft spun into the lake at the end of the runway. The pilot, a well liked and experience aviator, did not survive. That was the second fatal accident and the third serious accident of an experimential aircraft based at my little airport since the beginning of the year.
The dirty little seceret of general aviation is that experimental aircraft have a disporportionately higer fatal accident rate then the rest of the G.A. fleet. Further, they display a disproportiionately higher percentage of accidents attirbuted to mechnical failure, 28% , with more than 9% attributed to "unknown" causes. These are not my numbers, they are published by the EAA. AOPA publishes the NALL report, another telling document that echos these findings. NTSB's accident file database carries detailed accounts of many of these accidents.
The insurance companies are keenly aware of this. The F.A.A. has recently announced a study due to concern about handling characterisitics of homebuilt aircraft ( read experimental aircraft).  What no one has asked, or answered is why?
Are the handling qualities really the issue? Or is it the nature of the homebuilt aircraft? More emphysis on construction, less on flight?
While I have flown many types of homebuilts, and even owned one, I am not in that world. I want to hear from those who are.
Is this a flight training issue or an aircraft design issue?

When we think about panels on aircraft, most pilots want to talk about the latest addition to the instrument panel. Instrument panels are important, and it’s a lot of fun to show off the gadgetry. But, just as the traffic you don’t see is the airplane you have to worry about, the panels you don’t see are the ones that can bite the complacent pilot.

 

I’m talking about access panels—those nondescript and unassuming little doors that hide the working parts of your airplane. These include the round, oblong, or square access panels that mechanics use to peek, poke, and prod inside an airplane during maintenance. On general aviation airplanes, sheet metal or machine screws typically hold these panels in place. Snap latches, such as the flush Hartwell-type latch, often secure the engine-access panels. On larger aircraft, the panels may be held in place by quick disconnect fasteners or other specialized types of hardware, such as Dzus or camlock fasteners.

 

A Proper Preflight…

What’s the big deal with access panels? One issue is ensuring their security. Pilots routinely open certain access panels during the preflight inspection to check important systems on the airplane. A typical access panel used by pilots is one designed for checking and servicing engine systems. For example, access panels must be opened in order to check the oil level or drain the gascolator. These panels must also be carefully and completely secured by closing the access door and ensuring the latch mechanism is fully engaged.

 

One of the many things you should have learned about preflight inspection is how to determine that the latches have engaged. Typically, cues, such as a distinctive clicking sound, tell you that the latch has engaged and is locked. Still, don’t move to the next preflight item until you have double-checked and verified the security of any access panel door that you have opened.

 

…Prevents Problems during Flight!

If you think that a loose or missing access panel is minor, consider these examples.

-A corporate jet returned to the airport shortly after takeoff with the crew reporting a loud banging noise emanating from the tail area. After landing, an inspection revealed that one of the pilots had not properly secured the forward latch on the fueling panel during preflight. When sufficient airflow got under the half-latched panel door it blew open and began banging in the air stream—creating a loud noise and damage to those parts of the airplane it had “attacked.” It took about $7,000 and a day of down time to get the aircraft back in service.

-An Australian-registered amphibious aircraft lost an access panel on one of the floats during flight. The access panel struck the right horizontal stabilizer, causing considerable damage and leading to control issues. Specifically, the airflow across the open access hole caused vibration of the hydraulic lines, which failed and caused loss of hydraulic fluid. One result was partial loss of the landing gear extension system.

 

-A single-engine Cessna aircraft returned to the airport after the pilot complained of a “buzzing noise” that started above 60 knots. An inspection revealed an underside horizontal-stabilizer access panel had only one screw holding it. Once the air flow became sufficient, the panel began vibrating against the stabilizer structure, which caused the “buzzing.” A new panel and some touchup paint got the airplane back in airworthy condition. The mechanic had to pay the bill since he had not properly secured the panel after maintenance.

 

-An accident was barely avoided on a training aircraft after a mechanic opened the access panel on the underside of the wing to perform a check and left it open while briefly returning to the hangar. A student pilot was scheduled to use the airplane for his next training flight. Thankfully, though, he found the open access panel during his preflight inspection and asked why it was open.

 

Lessons to Learn

Any good preflight must include a thorough inspection of all access panels. Check for loose or missing hardware, condition of the panels, and, most importantly, security of the panel. Make sure that you check the underside of the fuselage, wings, and stabilizers. Address any concern before starting the engine.

A final caution: Never assume that simply securing an open panel will take care of the issue. As in the case of the student pilot described above, you need to find out if any maintenance tasks are incomplete. An open panel may indicate that a mechanic started maintenance on the aircraft. Loss of an access panel may be minor in comparison to taking off in an aircraft with incomplete maintenance tasks.

 

Barry Ballenger is an aerospace engineer with the FAA Small Airplane Directorate in Kansas City, Missouri. He also holds an A&P with Inspection Authorization and is a private pilot.

 

The Federal Aviation Administration’s Civil Aerospace Medical Institute in Oklahoma City offers a dynamic  course to help pilots understand physiological and psychological stresses of flight. The one day course is a must for anyone who flies higher than 10,000 feet but is valuable for all pilots.

    The course covers the common physiologic problems of flight as well as some of the uncommon ones like decompression sickness. Probably the most important part of the course is the experience in the altitude (hypobaric) chamber which cannot be easily duplicated in an aircraft.

    Pilots understand that training and recurrent training is important. Understanding physiologic issues is difficult without experiencing them and then periodically, revisiting the subject for new developments and reminders about how serious these problems may be.

    Spatial disorientation is one area that many pilots last felt on a spinning ride at a playground many years in the past. Adults tend to think that it takes that kind of force and velocity to create spatial disorientation because they have not felt the sensation in an aircraft.

    The FAA demonstrates that the initiators of do not require major forces using equipment like a Barany chair, a Vertigon, a GYRO, or a Virtual Reality Spatial Disorientation Demonstrator. This is the type of training that might have saved the life of John Kennedy Jr. and many other pilots­both high and low time.

    The use and abuse of oxygen and oxygen equipment is covered in the course as well as how to use a pulse oximeter. Understanding why the FAA recommends oxygen as low as 5,000 feet at night is covered as well as high altitude hypoxia in the chamber.

    The chamber experience is certainly dramatic. Pilots are taken to as high as 25,000 feet in the chamber and asked to remove their oxygen. They are then asked to do some simple math problems or other simple tasks. Watching the video of pilots going really stupid is entertaining and educational. The video is used to show this behavior because the hypoxic victim cannot recall how dumb they were.

    Rapid decompression from 8,000 to 18,000 feet is another demonstration that cannot be duplicated in an aircraft. Just knowing what that feels like and knowing what to expect is a real eye opener.

    Every pilot should go through a personal physiologic and psychological check list prior to each flight. The FAA uses the acronym “I M SAFE”. The acronym stands for Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, and Emotion. Let’s go through this simple check list.

    Illness may seem straight forward but there are many pilots who took off with their stuffy noise from the spring hay fever season who suffered incapacitation pain when they could not clear their ears on decent. The stuffy nose did not appear to be important on the ground but aviation presents many unique factors to illness.

    Medications can definitely be a problem. No pilot should fly when starting new medications since every drug can cause side effects regardless of the labeling. Of particular concern are psychoactive medications. A psychoactive medication ranges from psychological drugs like anti anxiety agents to simple antihistamines over the counter. Any drug that can affect the brain, whether it is sedating or alerting, can pose problems in the cockpit. Altitude may also increase side effects of medications.

    Stress can have significant impact flight safety. Regional airline pilots has claimed, rightly so, that they jobs are harder than the big iron pilots due to all the takeoffs and landings in a day at uncontrolled airports with marginal weather reporting equipment. This is the kind of stress that leads to mistakes­most not so serious but some are tragically fatal. This same kind of stress can affect general aviation pilots. Getting up early for business trips with returns late on the same day is a classic example of stress for a GA pilot.

    Alcohol is generally an obvious problem for piloting an aircraft. What also has to be considered is the effect of residual alcohol from the night before and/or a hangover on pilot performance. Also, a hangover will increase the risk of motion sickness, spatial disorientation, and cognitive mistakes.

    Fatigue goes hand in hand with stress. It can be a real problem on long flights as well as cause real impairment as the work load increases.

    Emotion is a factor that frequently gets overlooked. Going out and doing touch and goes may not be the best way to shake off the anger generated by your teenage kids. The effect of emotions on the thought process and the ability to perform complex task is significant.

            More information on the CAMI course can be found at http://www.faa.gov/pilots/training/airman_education/aerospace_physiology/index.cfm. Courses are also given as several military facilities around the country.

LNH to LNA in an LSA           

            It was an interesting opportunity. I could fly from Palm Beach to Lancaster Pennsylvania in a late model Pilatus PC-12 and then ferry a Light Sport Aircraft back to Florida. Best of all, it was for a good cause. The local high school had developed an aerospace program in conjunction with Embry Riddle and someone had donated this LSA to them. All they needed to do was go pick it up. I got the call.

            I will be honest, I have virtually no experience with LSA’s. I have been to the LSA show in Sebring every year since it began, but I have yet to see an aircraft that truly excited me. I was hoping to get a chance to fly the Cessna Sky Catcher this year. Piper has just announced it would be branding the Sport Cruiser, a Czech built LSA as their LSA offering. Then I got this call. I figured by the time I got back from Pennsylvania, I’d know everything I wanted to know about the world of LSA’s.

            So off I went. Wheels up on the massive PC-12 and a climb to 23,000 feet took less than 18 minutes. I hand flew the plane through 18,000 feet before reluctantly punching on the autopilot. The PC-12 is a wonderful airplane to hand fly on instruments and I wanted to enjoy every minute. If you think the Swiss know how to build a watch, you should see what they do with an airplane.

            We honked along at just under 300 knots burning 50 gph of Jet –A, at cruise. The XM radio was playing softly through the headsets, as we sipped coffee and ate peanuts. It doesn’t get any better than this. The PC-12 is specifically designed to be flown single pilot and the level of automation makes it easy. Three and a half hours later it was over. Weather wasn’t a factor in the flight at all. The winter winds worked with us instead of against us and about the only concession we had to make was Flight Level 230 vs. Flight Level 280 and that was because of turbulence. This is single engine turbine transportation at its finest.

            I climbed down the air stair door of the PC-12 onto the ramp at the Lancaster Pa. airport and walked over to the little LSA. Clearly this would be the smallest aircraft I had ever flown. Even though the wing span was longer than the little Grumman AA1C I had learned in, it has a gross weight that is 300 lbs lower. Further, I am 30 lbs heaver then I was when I earned my private pilot certificate, more than half my life ago.  

            The Evektor Sport Star looks a lot like the Sport Cruiser that Piper is adopting. They are both built in Czech Republic so I am not surprised. Low wing, bubble canopy, all metal and both powered by a Rotax 912, 100 h.p. engine.

            The people at Adventure Flight, the operation that had the LSA I was to pick up were very forthcoming about flying the little plane all the way to Florida. They have several of them on the line and teach in them every day. They answered all of my questions and even sent their Chief Pilot out to “check me out” in the airplane.

            The first thing I noticed when reading the flight manual was the sensitivity to weight. With full fuel, 31.5 gallons, I could only carry 222 lbs of pilot and passengers. I opted to wait to fuel the airplane until after the check out.

            It took me longer to figure out the Rotax engine then the airplane. I had never flown an airplane that had one before. It started easily and idled smoothly. The fact that it is water cooled requires you to wait a while for it to warm up before you do your run up. The run up is conventional, testing the ignitions, and carburetor heat just like you would in a Lycoming or Continental engine. What is different is the fact that the engine is running at approximately twice the prop speed. We did the run up at 4,000 rpm. I was not impressed with the brakes at all. My instructor told me that this is a common problem with this design and that they were retrofitting their entire fleet with Matco brakes to correct the problem.

            This aircraft uses electric pitch trim. There is no manual system installed. In fact, everything on the plane is electric. The turn coordinator, artificial horizon and directional gyro are all electric. The aircraft features an auxiliary alternator to make sure there is enough juice to run everything. There is no amp or volt meter on the airplane, but the alternators have warning lights if they fail.

            Taxiing onto runway 31 at Lancaster I advanced the throttle and rotated at 45 knots as I was instructed. The control pressures struck me immediately as very light. It felt more like a Pitts Special then a training aircraft. The little LSA climbed well in the cold winter air, even with two of us on board. The aircraft takes off with 15 degrees of flaps. This particular aircraft featured the electric flaps vs. the stock (manual) Johnson bar. (Yet another electric accessory). 4000 rpm in level flight gives you flap speed, and deploying 15 degrees of flaps in level flight yielded 65 knots. I flew the first landing to touchdown with 15 degrees of flaps. The wind was pretty much right down the runway and we touched down and took off again in less than 1,000 feet. The wind is a big concern. In the flight manual it indicates a crosswind limit of just 12 mph, or 10 knots. That’s not much. The second landing happened with 30 degrees of flaps. Over the fence at 55 indicated felt better than the first landing. I was told not to use the full 50 degrees of flaps. I didn’t get a good answer as to why but I figured someone else already explored that issue so I stuck with what I knew. The third landing was a full stop. That was it. I was “checked out”.

            I had the tanks topped to their full 31.5 gallon capacity and loaded my flight and overnight bag into the compartment directly behind the seats. There was nothing left to do but go, so I taxied out on my first leg to Suffolk Executive, just south of Norfolk Va. I figured it would take three hours at the 85 knot normal cruise speed.

            Immediately I discovered that the compass was off by as much as 30 degrees on certain headings and the D.G. precessed continuously. Fortunately the plane had a Garmin 430 in it and I was smart enough to bring a current data card. Give me a Garmin 430 and I can take you anywhere. It had been a long time since I did a strictly VFR cross country of this magnitude. The aircraft is not IFR certified so you can’t even file.  Around the massive D.C.ADIZ, over the Chesapeake Bay and into Suffolk Executive took three hours exactly. I was able to fly at 3,500 feet and then 4,500 feet crossing the water. By the time I got to Suffolk, I had figured out the airplane.

            Unfortunately you can’t trim the thing to be totally hands off. You can get close with the electric trim then you must fine tune it with the throttle. But the control pressures are so light that you can cup the stick in your hand and use fingertip pressure to stay on heading and altitude. The electric trim switches are on the top of the stick and it is all too easy to accidentally push one or the other causing the aircraft to jerk in the direction of the trim.

            Cabin temperature changed dramatically with the suns exposure because of the large bubble canopy. There is cabin heat and it worked well enough. But when ever the sun came out from behind a cloud I’d have to open a vent window or I would begin to cook. The little vent windows increase cabin noise significantly.

            Suffolk Executive features self serve auto gas. I did not know that when I selected it as my stopping point but since the aircraft is approved to run on Mogas and I had been informed that it actually liked auto fuel, I took the opportunity to fill the tanks. 11.7 gallons is all it took, no kidding. That translated to 3.9 gallons per hour at the 4800 rpm factory recommended cruise power setting. Well I thought, if it’s all about economy, that is hard to beat.

            My next stop was Myrtle Beach. I use MYR because if you have to get stuck somewhere, it’s good to get stuck where there is an abundance of nice hotel rooms and good restaurants. Two hours and forty five minutes later I was on the ground at Myrtle Beach. I was beat and my butt was sore. The seats in the plane were not designed for 6 hours of continuous use. It had been a long day, and it was getting dark. I did not trust the plane well enough to fly it the remaining 400 nm. in the dark although it is approved for night VFR flight. I called it a day.

            Mother Nature put on a winter show the next day and I was stuck. I had plenty of time to reflect on the flight. Obviously, this airplane was not designed to fly half way across the country. No, it was designed to be an economical fair weather flyer, a lower cost alternative to a certified aircraft. At more than $100,000 a copy, you cannot call it cheap, and is limited in its ability to carry. You can carry fuel or passengers but not both at the same time. That’s not such a big deal since the fuel burn is so minimal there is no need to tanker a lot of fuel.  It is not comfortable for pilots taller than 6’1” or more than about 210 lbs, I don’t care what the brochure says. The construction is what I would call “delicate” especially the canopy components. I do not see how these aircraft will stand up to the rigors of flight school use. In 22 years as an instructor and a mechanic I have seen all kinds of abuse by students on training aircraft. To me, that question speaks directly to economic viability.

            The flight manual is not what most pilots are used to but it pretty informative. Because these aircraft are not certified aircraft, maintenance procedures and log entries are different from certified aircraft.

            The Rotax engine did not give me a lick of trouble. It started easily, ran smoothly and never gave me cause to question it. I understand that this engine comes in a certified version and an uncertified version. The aircraft I flew had the uncertified version in it. I am not clear on the differences, but I think it is fair to say that more pilots would accept the Rotax as a “real” aircraft engine if the certified version was installed. According to the flight manual it runs happily on 100 LL or premium auto fuel though additional oil changes are required for use on straight 100 LL. I know that Cessna did extensive market research on the Rotax engine while developing the Sky Catcher and they opted to go with the Continental O-200D even thought it cost more. What that tells me is the Rotax has a ways to go before it gains the acceptance of the mainstream aviation community.

            I had to wait a week before the weather allowed me to finish the trip. Winter winds reduced my ground speed to less than 50 knots and the leg home from Myrtle Beach took nearly 7 hours.

            So, what did I think of the LSA experience? To be honest, it was fun to fly, but not very practical. In my opinion, it was more suited for an experience pilot then for a novice. I’m not sure how these aircraft will stand up to flight school duty. In my opinion the Rotax engine is going to be an issue for acceptance from the existing pilot pool, while newcomers to aviation probably won’t care. The LSA movement is in its infancy. I believe that when Piper, Cessna and Cirrus get behind it, it may gain momentum.

            It was fun to compare the same trip (in opposite directions), from opposite ends of the single engine aircraft spectrum. I'm not ready to pass judgement on the LSA for flight training thing just yet. I'd love to hear from anyone with any experience on the subject.

 

            I’ve been a flight instructor for a long time. Some aspects of flying are easy to teach because the student is keenly interested in the subject material while others are not. Next to judgment, weather is perhaps the hardest subject to teach. When you start talking about Radar Summary Charts and Center Weather Advisories, you can literally watch the students eyes glaze over. Back in the day, (this is going to date me), you could walk into a Flight Service Station with your student and a weather briefer would pull out the actual chart and explain to the fledging aviator how it worked and why it mattered. But that is all ancient history.  In fact, the only place you can actually see a Radar Summary Chart these days is on a written exam.

You are basically left to self briefing from information derived from a source like DUAT or talking with a Flight Service representative who is likely not a meteorologist. This reality left me searching for a better way to teach weather briefings.

            Then I came across this book. Preflight Weather Analysis Made Easy, by Jerry Miller. The only place you can get it is from Find-it Fast Books in Montoursville,, PA. Go to /www.finditfastbooks.com

 

            The secret to this book is the format. What Jerry did was take all the complexities of weather forecasting and broke it down into segments. He created a page format that is as similar as possible that explains each type of chart or weather report. He diagrams each type of chart like you might diagram an approach plate.  He even addresses the most commonly made mistakes and highlights the “gotcha ya’s” that

most of us learned by accident.

            There is an extensive section on WSR-88D Doppler weather radar, which is a commonly used tool. He explains how it works, and what the difference is between base reflectivity and composite reflectivity is as well as the limitation of the system.  

            The section on Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts, commonly called TAF’s and Aviation Routine weather reports, which we call METARS is very detailed. To illustrate the common mistake, he discusses the METAR code “TSNO”. This code is commonly mistaken to mean no thunderstorms, but actually means thunderstorm information not available.

            If this book wasn’t good enough, he also publishes a separate book on METARS and TAF’s and another on NOTAM’s, Notices to Airmen. Jerry sent these to me as well. Ever wonder what FZRANO means in a metar? How about DRDU?  Well, they are in there, along with hundreds of other little snippets of information that will separate you from the pack when it comes to reading encoded weather.

            If you are the self taught type, then you will love these books. You don’t need an instructor to explain it to you. If you are an instructor, you want this book because it makes a difficult job easier.

            If you do read it, let me know what you think.

I fly alot. Last year, I flew colse to 800 hours. The crummy economy has put a damper on the number of hours I will fly this year. There are less students at the flight school and the owners of the planes I manage are flying less to keep the costs down. I have found myself driving some trips Iwould normally fly just so I dont have to spend money on a rental car.
But proficency knows none of this. So how does the serious pilot keep his or her head in  he game when the economics of actual flight are against them?
I have been reccomending the F.A.A.'s FAAST TEAM website and their updated WINGS program, and A.O.P.A.'s Aviation Safety Foundation's on line tutorial programs.
Both of these organizations have brought on line training up to the level that we used to pay for just a few years ago, and for all intents and purposes, it is free. Of course, you have to join AOPA if your not a member.
There is a tremendous selction of subject material ranging from SFAR training for the D.C. ADIZ and the newly implimented Hudson River Corridor proceedures to more esoteric subjects like IFR chart review, Multi Engine Safety and dealing with airframe ice. It is an inexpensive way to learn new things, review subject material you havent looked at in a while and explore areas of knowledge you have no experience at all with.
I would like to hear from anyone who has used any of these services and what you think of them.
Further, I'd like to hear how you are keeping your head in the aviation game.
Michael Leighton
http://web.mac.com/mkleighton

I was at AOPA's summit last week. to tell the truth, the attendance was a little dissapointing. Technology in the cockpit is still the big focus. One of the On Line Fourms that they held- right in the middle of the show floor- was on the subject of technolgically advanced cockpits, vs. accidents associated with having the advanced technology in the cockpit. Sound familiar? The discussion was right on the mark. AOPA's safety foundation has identified the same trends that those of us who are out flying as instructors are seeing every day. You have to LOVE the technology. When I started flying, ( in 1980) the hottest movie of the summer was Alien. In that flick, Segourney Weeaver lands a spaceship on a far away planet using a landing system that has her flying through a series of rectangles on a CRT that is displaying the surface of the planet. Does that sound remarkably like the Hiway int he Sky on the new Garmin G1000 systems? It's taken 29 years for sience fiction to become reality, but now we have it on our GA airplanes. Some of the new systems have FMS like keyboards that reduce knob twisting for route inputing and radio frequecy selction is automatic. But all of this comes at a cost. Not just in dollars but in complexity. I flew today with a gentlmen who owns a brand new Mooney Acclaim Type S. He told me he always flys an approach with the autopiolt coupled, never ever by hand. When I asked him what he would do if the technology failed he said it hadn't yet. When I asked if he did any training with the aircraft in a "Black Tube" configuration, that is a PFD and an MFD failure, he said he hadn't but was planning to learn to use the "stand by" instruments.
So I want to know. How many pilots are flying glass panels and are you triaining regularly for the posssiblility of a technology failure?  If you are an instructor, tell me what you are doing to teach your students what to do when the lights go out.

Michael Leighton

Recently I read a story in one of the many aviation safety magazines I subscribe to. The story was about a pilot who tried to fly through weather using only uplinked next -rad weather radar. The flight did not end well for the pilot who lost control of the plane when he flew into a thunderstorm.
This is an example of technology in the cockpit that can kill you if you do not understand how it works. Dont get me wrong; I am a HUGE fan of uplink weather in the cockpit, but I understand that the next-rad radar images it displays is no less than 6 minutes old. Even a slow aircraft will 12 miles in six minutes. I would never consider penetrating a line of weather without on board weather radar.

How many of you are using uplinked weather services while flying now? How are you using it? What are your experiences using it? How many of you want it but don't want to pay for it? What if the service was free? Would you be willing to pay to install the requisite equipment in the aircraft in order to use it?  Where am I going with this? ADB-S.

Let me hear from you!

M.Leighton

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FLYING LESSONS uses the past week’s aircraft mishap reports to consider what might have contributed to accidents, so you can make better decisions if you face similar circumstances.