Aviation Safety

Pilots have been complaining about FAA regulations (and those of its predecessor agencies) since the first aviation rules were issued in the 1920s. A lot of that complaining stems from the aviation media constantly bombarding us with horror stories of over-regulation and how its killing general aviation. The reality is very different, at least for pilot certification under FAR Part 61 and flight operations under Part 91.

Theres really no question that maintaining radio and radar contact with ATC significantly adds to flight safety, whether youre IFR or VFR, and whether youre going somewhere or just boring holes. But its vitally important to remember that when your communications are lost, airplanes fly on physics discovered by Bernouli, not on communications pioneered by Marconi.

The first years and hours I spent aloft werent really loggable toward an FAA pilot certificate. Thats because I was doing it from a hang glider, jumping off the side of a mountain, wearing a helmet and strapped to a wing. I was the landing gear. It was more of a sport than a form of transportation, but that early exposure to flight taught some lessons that were easily transferred to powered airplanes. I went on to earn my private and an instrument rating, and have flown some interesting airplanes along the way.

First, its important to distinguish between fees an airport may levy and those of the FBO use of its facilities. Airports often levy their own fees but depend on the FBO to collect them. To pilots, this can be a distinction without a difference, and the FBO can come off as the bad guy. Meanwhile, pilots need to know before they land how much they should expect to pay for the privilege of using the airports and FBOs facilities, especially if its a single-FBO monopoly. They also should have the option of paying a minimal fee for minimal service. So, two things should happen, in my view.

I found the article on BasicMed (BasicMed Takes Effect, May 2017) very interesting. Im a big promoter of BasicMed and of AMEs doing BasicMed exams. I fully realize the article was written prior to the FAA issuing its final checklist (Form 8700-2), but allow me to share some observations.

The subject of fees charged by airports and FBOs recently cam under industry scrutiny. Airports and FBOs naturally need revenue, but operators need value in proportion to the costs and better information on them, in order to make informed decisions. I wanted to offer a couple of thoughts.

While on the base leg for his private grass airstrip, the pilot noticed he was high, so he added flaps to increase his descent rate. On final, the airspeed was a little fast and during the landing, he flared the airplane a little high. After touchdown, the pilot applied the brakes, but the airplane did not respond, so he applied a little more brake. The airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted, sustaining substantial damage to both wings and the empennage. The pilot reported he should have performed a go-around instead of attempting to salvage the landing.

The number 3 cylinder exhaust pushrod broke, due to a valve stuck in the closed position. The valve was not stuck at the time of the investigation. No marks were seen on the top of the piston as viewed through a borescope. The lifter came apart as a result of the broken push rod but appears to have been operating properly prior to the event.

Over the last couple of decades, theres been a growing realization within aviations training and safety arenas about situational awareness. The conversation generally involves ways to enhance situational awareness in the cockpit and often concentrates on technological solutions, like moving maps, or displaying real-time traffic and weather. The presumption is that greater situational awareness is better and that all of us have at least some measure of this characteristic.

As a pilot who spent the majority of his time landing on the kind of runways described by Mike Hart in his article, Off The Beaten Path, in June 2015s issue of Aviation Safety, I will testify to the fun of landing at such places. Most pilots will spend their time on surfaces free of undulations, slope and aircraft damaging debris, so it was good to be reminded of how the surface interacts with my flying.