Aviation Safety

Its that time of year again in the Northern Hemisphere, when in-flight icing can be a threat. Depending on where you are and where youre going, icing may be a rare possibility during the upcoming season. It also can be a sure thing. Evaluating the possibility of in-flight icing is part of the equation-its potential impact is another. A pilot might completely overlook icings impact on other aircraft systems, including the powerplant(s). Carburetor icing should be a topic familiar to most pilots, but induction system icing can be an afterthought. And while there are systems we can activate to minimize icings impact on the induction system, we must remember they exist and know how to activate them.

With an off-the-shelf microcomputer, a USB-based software-defined radio and a WiFi dongle, plus some free Linux-based software and a battery, pilots who don’t want to shell out a lot of cash to get a taste of ADS-B In’s traffic and weather information now have a lower-cost option. To see if there was anything to all […]

Every month, Aviation Safety publishes aircraft accident reports in order to give our readers the broadest perspective on aviation and the risks it involves. Our goal is to pass along a message of caution and safety as much as one of thrill and freedom. That’s why we think you should hear about recent mishaps from around the country. Here are some gathered from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The area forecast is being eliminated. The old, familiar, text-based weather product, coded as FA, will be discontinued by the National Weather Service (NWS) sometime during 2016. The upcoming change applies to the six area forecasts covering the Continental U.S., plus the single product for Hawaii. Area forecasts for Alaska, the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico will be unaffected, at least for now.After a public comment period begun in 2014, the FAA and NWS determined the FA resulted in a broad forecast of limited value. The NWS said it provides equivalent information through a number of better alternatives, including more-modern digital and graphical forecasts, observations, and communications capabilities.

Cracks in your aircraft’s cylinders will lead to problems in-flight. Somewhat fortunately, your engine will alert you with roughness, and you will have time to land. But your cylinders are crucial – keep them clean and sturdy, or expect malfunction. Here are some recent FAA Service Difficulty Reports that highlight the issue.

Readers give their feedback on past Aviation Safety stories. A pilot breaks down the aerodynamics of loading extra weight in the aft of your aircraft. The auothors of The Limits of Expertise send their love, and the subjectivity of student experience is called into question. Find your center of gravity with this insightful commentary from our valued subscribers.

At about 0930 Mountain time, the airplane was destroyed during a forced landing and subsequent post-impact fire after experiencing a total loss of engine power in cruise flight. The solo private pilot was not injured. Visual conditions prevailed.

In my experience, one characteristic most pilots share is an individualistic, self-sufficient attitude. Typically, we revel in learning the skills required to fly an aircraft well and embrace the challenges it presents. We also usually dont stop with aviation alone, often engaging in other activities designed to challenge us mentally, physically or both. Examples might include skydiving, motorcycling, running marathons and the like.

All instruments in your panel lie some of the time. Some of them lie all the time. Even if you have a glass panel that eliminates things like compass turning errors, and its connected to an air-data computer so it always know the true airspeed, your back-up systems likely are steam gauges, the old-fashioned, mechanical kind. Thats the bad news.

The question of what constitutes flying a loggable instrument approach procedure (IAP) often comes up during both hangar-flying sessions and check rides. The commonly accepted definition has been something like the aircraft flies over an initial approach fix (IAF) and departs the final approach fix (FAF) inbound to the airport in actual or simulated IMC and breaks out somewhere before reaching the missed approach point (MAP), decision height (DH) or decision altitude (DA). Its not all that simple, of course, especially once simulators and view-limiting devices get involved. To help clarify the answers, the FAA recently published official guidance.