The Importance of a good Tie Down.

A few years ago I got a call from a good friend who owned a nice Cessna 150. He called to tell me that the airplane had been destroyed during a severe summer thunderstorm. The 150 was flipped upside down and came to rest on a Piper Seneca.

When he went to the airport to inspect the damage he has glad to see that the tiedown ropes were still attached to the airplane and that it was the rope that was provided by the airport that had failed. He figured that that would make the insurance claim a little easier to deal with.

Over the years while walking around GA ramps and I have seen a lot of different ways pilots have tied down their airplanes, some good and some not so good. I have also been told by many people what they consider the right and wrong way to tiedown and secure an airplane kept outside. The FAA has an Advisory Circular on the topic, Tiedown Sense AC 20-35C . This AC is a little dated but still has some great tips on the proper way of securing an airplane kept outside. It is worth taking a look at.

My friend now has a nice Cessna 150 Aerobat and has learned not to take the condition of the tiedown ropes for granted.

Aviation on Twitter

It seems like everyone is now on twitter and there are quite a few people who post mostly aviation related items. Here is a list of some of my favorites.

GirlsWithWings: She is the founder of Girls With Wings, a volunteer organization using women in aviation role models to inspire girls to reach their full potential. She is currently participating and an Air Race helping promote women in aviation.

AirPigz: He posts information on a wide variety of aviation topics. You can also go to his blog and see some great videos on building an RV and download his podcasts.

Jetwhine: Rob Mark has some of the best post on twitter. He is an award winning aviation journalist, pilot, professional speaker, and blogger. His blog jetwhine.com is worth following as well.

Pilotstore: They post items regarding aviation news as well as info and links to new aviation products.

You may also want to see if your local airport is out there. My home airport will tweet on things happening around that airport to help keep users up to date.

With twitter you can be as active as you like. Some of us post several things daily but a lot of people just log on to see what others are posting without posting items themselves. You can be as active or as passive on there as you like.

Updated Aviation Weather Services AC00-45F

The FAA has just made some changes to the Aviation Weather Services AC00-45F, Changes 2. The changes are mostly some small additions and a couple of items deleted. It looks like the FAA is going to make a third change in August so it would be good to wait until then to pick up an updated printed copy. It is great to see the FAA doing a much better job of keeping their handbooks up to date and relevant. I hope to spend some time with the new Risk Management Handbook this weekend and will post my thoughts on that early next week.

Be Kool with a Kool Scoop

If you fly a low wing airplane and are sweating like crazy while on the ground you need a Kool Scoop. This is a simple device that attaches to the left window and brings in a large volume of air into the cockpit to keep you cool. Pilotstore.com has the Kool Scoop on sale now for 10% off. Take a look at them at Pilotstore.com!

Resource for Temporary Flight Restrictions

Here is a link to the FAA list of TFRs. http://tfr.faa.gov/tfr2/list.jsp It is always a good idea to check for TFRs before even a local flight.

Should we are should we not?

On Thursday afternoon a friend and I decided to take a quick flight after work. As we talked about where to go we thought about either a Chicago lake front tour or a flight to Racine, WI. I mentioned that I had never landed at Midway Airport and suggested we fly along the lake front and then do a landing at Midway.

We were very hesitant to fly there, we thought about have difficult that it might be. The busy airspace, the controllers, and the Airliners intimidated us. We almost changed our minds but figured that we should fly down the lake front and if we decided not to land at Midway we could just go a little further south and go around them and then head back home the DuPage.

Before the flight we made sure that we had the proper charts and made notes of all of the Frequencies that we would need. We took off and headed to the lake front. First we called up Chicago Executive Airport and transitioned their airspace and then headed south. As we approached Montrose Harbor we listened to ATIS and then called up Midway Tower. The gave us a transponder code and told us to expect Runway 31R. We lined up on a right base and were soon cleared for a touch and go. The landing and take off were very uneventful and we were give a heading to fly after take off, just like any other controlled airport, go figure. On the flight back to DuPage we talked about how easy that that flight was. We had almost talked ourselves out of this flight because we were intimidated by the large airport. But we did a little bit of planning and to was no big deal.

Next time you fly try and do something a little different, try a new airport, go to a controlled field if that is something you normally do not do. Just go out and be safe and have some fun.

Next time I will talk about the benefits of not being afraid to talk to controllers.

The Front

I often use www.aviationweather.gov but had never noticed a link at the bottom of the page. It is for an aviation weather newsletter called The Front. The Front is provided to enhance aviation safety by increasing the pilot's knowledge of weather systems and processes, and National Weather Services products and services.

Become a fan of Pilotstore.com

If you are on Facebook you can become a fan of www.pilotstore.com. Just search for www.pilotstore.com in the box on the upper right hand corner and become a fan. They will be posting new products and specials there from time to time. Go by and take a look and become a fan.

New FAA Handbooks coming in April

The FAA has released two new handbooks. One is dedicated to advanced avionics and the other is related to risk management. I have seen the digital versions of these books and the appear to be very well done. The FAA has been using industry experts to write the newer handbooks and they are a lot more readable than those of the past. I will post a link to the new books as soon as they are available.

Pilotstore.com on Twitter

You can now follow Pilotstore.com on Twitter. See them at http://twitter.com/Pilotstore

Nuts and Bolts

Nuts and Bolts Newsletters are 6 to 9 page newsletters written by mechanics for mechanics. They include articles on accidents, human factors, and a ask the feds section. Even if you are not an aircraft mechanic there is still a lot of great information in these newsletters. Check them out at Nuts and Bolts Newsletters.

New Pilots Handbook Of Aeronautical Knowledge

The FAA's Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge has just been updated to include information on Glass Cockpit aircraft. This 2008 edition reflects the latest aviation industry procedures, equipment, techniques and regulations. It is a key reference for all the information necessary to operate an aircraft and for passing the FAA Knowledge Exam and Practical Test (checkride). Newly illustrated with hundreds of full-color drawings and photographs! Softcover, 8.25"x10.75", 470 pages.

Cool Aviation Pics

I have recently discovered a web site named www.airport-data.com. It is a site where you can look at airport and aircraft pictures as well as post your own.

They have thousands of pictures and you can search them by airport code, N number, city, aircraft type and several other criteria.

http://www.airport-data.com

Updated FAA Instrument Flying Handbook

The FAA has updated the Instrument Flying Handbook recently.

This new edition features information applicable to both conventional steam-gauge instrumentation as well as glass cockpits found in technically advanced aircraft (TAA). The new information is well separated from the traditional discussions of the "6-pack" and covers flight support systems (AHRS and ADC), pictorial displays, flihgt management systems (FMS), primary flight display (PFD) and multi-function display (MFD), synthetic vision, advanced technology systems such as ADS, and safey systems such as traffic advisory systems. Also incorporated are FAA/Industry Training Standards (FITS) tenets such as single-pilot resource management, scenario-based training, and learner-centered grading. Hazard identification, as well as task management, automation management, and risk management supplement the human factors discussion. The chapters on attitude instrument flying and basic flight maneuvers are split into separate sections dedicated to analog instrumentation and electronic flight displays. The chapter on emergency operations has been expanded to include the failures applicable to operating a TAA.

This edition also includes an instrument training syllabus and a clearence shorthand appendix.

Check it out at http://www.pilotstore.com/

RV Out The Window

Here is a good picture that a friend took over the weekend.

Cool Things Out My Window

Yesterday we heard an unusual turbine sound pass by our hanger; we went outside a got to see a Fouga Magister taxi by. This is a two seat French Trainer built from 1950 until the late 1960’s. According to http://www.warbirdalley.com/ there are at least 40 currently registered to owner in the States.

Here is some more info from Warbird Alley.

Specifications (CM-170):

Engines: Two 882-pound thrust Turbomeca Marbore IIA turbojets

Weight: Empty 4,740 lbs., Max Takeoff 7,055 lbs.

Wing Span: 39ft. 10in. including tip tanks

Length: 33ft. 0in.

Height: 9ft. 2in.

Performance:

Maximum Speed: 444 mph

Ceiling: 36,090 ft.

Range: 575 miles

Armament (Optional):

Two 7.5-mm (0.295-inch) or 7.62-mm (0.3-inch) machine guns in nose, plus underwing hardpoints for rockets, bombs or Nord AS.11 missiles.

Number Built: 918

Barrington Irving's World Flight Adventure

Barrington Irving has taken off on his around the world flight. If he is successful he will be the youngest person and the first African American to fly solo around the world.

You can check out his progress on http://experienceaviation.org/default.asp.

When he was a teenager he met an American Airline pilot who took time to talk to him about aviation. Barrington was hooked and has gone on to do some great things to share his love for aviation with others. He founded a nonprofit organization called Experience Aviation to encourage youth to pursue a career in aviation.

FAA to Propose Pilot Retirement Age Change

The FAA is finally considering changing the age 60 rule for Part 121 operations, here is the press release from www.faa.gov.

Washington Headquarters Press Release
For Immediate Release

Release No. AOC 03-07January 30, 2007Contact: Alison Duquette Phone: (202) 267-3883
FAA to Propose Pilot Retirement Age Change

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Marion C. Blakey today announced that the FAA will propose to raise the mandatory retirement age for U.S. commercial pilots from 60 to 65. Speaking before pilots and aviation experts at the National Press Club, Blakey said that the agency plans to propose adopting the new International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standard that allows one pilot to be up to age 65 provided the other pilot is under age 60.

The FAA plans to issue a formal Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) later this year and will publish a final rule after careful consideration of all public comments, as required by law.
“A pilot’s experience counts — it’s an added margin of safety,” said Blakey. “Foreign airlines have demonstrated that experienced pilots in good health can fly beyond age 60 without compromising safety.”

On September 27, 2006, Administrator Blakey established a group of airline, labor and medical experts to recommend whether the United States should adopt the new ICAO standard and determine what actions would be necessary if the FAA were to change its rule. The Age 60 Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) did not reach a consensus recommendation but did provide detailed insight and analysis that will be helpful as the FAA develops a rule.
Since 1959, the FAA has required that all U.S. pilots stop flying commercial airplanes at age 60. In November 2006, ICAO, the United Nations’ aviation organization, increased the upper age limit for pilots to age 65, provided that the other pilot is under age 60.

The November 29, 2006 Age 60 ARC report, appendices, and public comments are available online at http://dms.dot.gov, docket number 26139

NASCAR gets the Lead Out

It looks like General Aviation is going to be about the last group on earth to us leaded gasoline. The other big user of leaded gas, NASCAR, will begin using unleaded fuel at the end of February. Most piston airplanes use 100 octane low lead fuel commonly called 100LL or Avgas.

As less and less leaded gas is being produced the price should continue to rise. It seems that there will be a point when manufactures will not longer see it profitable to produce Avgas because of the small demand compared to other fuels. It seems now is the time to be looking for and testing alternatives to 100LL.

There is one group that has been testing an alternative fuel for some time now. They are developing an Aviation Grade Ethanol fuel. They have already flown a couple of thousand hours with out problems. Take a look at their website for more information, http://www.age85.org/index.htm.

The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) has been working on alternate fuels for years as well. Because of the work done by the EAA the Federal Aviation Administration has approved unleaded auto gas to be used in many different types of engines. You can see more information on this at http://www.aviationfuel.org.

This is a great start. However the major problem with both of these fuels alternatives is that you can not get them at most airports. Most people who use auto gas have to bring it to the airport themselves which is a big hassle. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for avgas and its alternatives.

Pilot Publications

I recently watched a 10 DVD set from Pilot Publications. They have taken a lot of non copyrighted aviation videos that were put together by the FAA and AOPA and assembled them into a great set.

The presentation on the DVD’s is not the best quality because they have been taken from older formats. However, the information is great and for only $34 for almost nine hours of instruction is a great deal. There website is http://www.pilotpublications.com/.

They have several other items available for sell. Check them out!