I have often marveled at the illustrations that John Borra does for my articles. Some topics have obvious possibilities, but others don't seem to lend themselves to an illustration. In fact, more than once I have sent my article in wondering what on earth John would come up with, and every time I have been amazed at how creative and appropriate his illustration was. It turns out that illustrations are not John's only talent.
Earlier this year John sent me some limericks he had written about aviation safety. As I read through them I realized that they represented a summary of many of the articles I have written for Flying over the past 14 years. Since a few humorous and poetic words can sometimes be much more effective at getting the point across than many lines of text, I decided to share his "Pleasant Limericks to Dwell Upon" with Flying's readers. The limericks are copyrighted by John, so if you would like permission to use them, please contact him at cumulus@eaglecom.net.
Every flight starts with a preflight. In August 1996 I wrote about the importance of carefully checking the full range of control movement ("Check Your Controls"). The following month I emphasized the importance of a final walk around the airplane, particularly if there has been a delay in your departure ("Final Check"). In many cases of items missed during a preflight, the pilot was in a big hurry to get going ("Slow Down!", January 1996). John summed it all up very nicely in five simple lines:
Long checklists were not to the taste
Of a pilot with no time to waste.
On climb-out he found
His ailerons bound
By a lock overlooked in his haste.
Poor preflight planning or a general lack of understanding lead to accidents every year when pilots take off in a heavily loaded airplane at a high elevation airport in hot weather. In "Déjà Vu" (March 2005), I extolled the value of using Microsoft Flight Simulator to experience the effect John talks about in his next limerick from the safety of your own home:
When ambient air is too warm,
Poor climb rates are always the norm.
No pilot can win
When the air is too thin
And airplanes refuse to perform.
John points out that the effects of high density altitude are made even worse by the gusty wind conditions often prevalent during the summer months:
When it's gusty and virga is near,
Prepare for a nasty wind shear.
For if gauges unwind,
You may otherwise find
A quick end to your flying career.
Once safely in the air, there are numerous ways pilots manage to get themselves into trouble. One of the most common involves a non-instrument rated pilot continuing into instrument conditions. In April 1993 I examined "Straying Outside the Rules," and then in February 2000 I started a series of five articles on the importance of "Turning Back." Here is how John described the typical result of continuing on into worsening conditions if you are not instrument rated:
In thickening clouds he was caught,
Though his skill on the gauges was naught.
The spiral, he found,
Led straight to the ground
And the proverbial farm that he'd bought.
Continued>>>
