Aviation Safety

A student of mine was one week from taking (and passing) his private check ride in a Cessna 152. He was doing solo practice at a nearby uncontrolled airport. On one circuit, he reported turning from crosswind to downwind for runway 32 when a Malibu announced it was on a right 45 to enter the downwind for the same runway.

The student spotted the Malibu, told the other pilot he had them in sight, and said he would follow the faster Malibu. The Malibu pilot acknowledged and entered a wide downwind leg. An airplane on base for the same runway announced it was on base.

Just before the airplane on base turned final, the Malibu turned base and then quickly turned final. The other airplane on…

Up until last week, I was one of the most anti-cell phone pilots around. I always thought cell phones were worthless because the reception was never consistent. It seemed as though the more cell phones and pagers a person had, the more difficult it was to reach them. More importantly, cellular phone use in flight has always been a no-no. Last week, I was in a situation that completely changed my mind.

I was flying some people to Philadelphia International Airport in their Piper Chieftain. Everything about the flight was going as planned; it was a sunny VFR day, the previous legs of the trip had gone flawlessly and air traffic was at a minimum. A few miles from the airport, my co-pilot…

It was probably the most embarrassing experience I ever had as a CFI, and a good lesson I learned.

I had just sold my 1980 B55 Baron to a real pilot. He was an 8,000-hour, on-call charter pilot, current in G3s, G4s, Citations and Lears who wanted his own toy. Part of the deal, however, was that I had to teach him how to fly the Baron.

Is he kidding me, I wondered? My 1,500 hours are confined to this Baron, a Duchess and a smattering of hours in small Cessnas and Pipers. What could I possibly teach him? So, I laughed when he made that part of the deal and said, Sure, but you know more about flying than Ill ever know. Perhaps, he answered. I could teach you to fly the G4, but y…

I was planning to take a friend on a short sightseeing trip in a Citabria.

We werent planning aerobatics, so we skipped the parachutes. I calculated how much fuel we could handle given our weights. After fueling and preflight, my friend climbed into the back of the little taildragger and I climbed into the front. I started the engine and got the ATIS from the radio. When I called Ground for a taxi clearance, nothing. No sidetone, no carrier, no transmission.

We shut down the Citabria and hauled the Lance out of the hangar. Not as much fun for sightseeing, but even a disappointing day of flying is better than a good day at work.

As soon as I opened the door of the Lance, I felt lik…

I just didnt have time.

Yeah, that was it. I didnt have time in the last few weeks to go practice any approaches or any of the maneuvers research shows could save my life someday – including go-arounds and aborted takeoffs.

OK, well there were a few days when I putzed around the house, not really doing anything constructive. And I did watch a few football games that I really had no interest in.

So maybe I did have time. But the weather was too nasty.

Um, except for those few days when I went outside, drew in a deep breath of the crisp air and thought, What a fabulous day!

Lets see, what other excuses might I have come up with? Didnt have the money to fly because of holid…

At AOPA Expo 2000 in Long Beach, Calif., the organization announced a great benefit that will doubtlessly save many pilots from disaster.

Unfortunately, it will probably lead some pilots into trouble they might not otherwise have.

Beginning next month, AOPA members will be able to download current NOS instrument approach charts for free. Print em, store em on your Palm Pilot or display them on your laptop.

This is a good thing, because it will stop many pilots from flying with outdated (or nonexistent) charts. Show me an infrequent IFR pilot and Ill show you someone without a subscription who tries to run down to the pilot shop before making a trip. Strike one excuse.

The acc…

The following information is derived from the FAAs Service Difficulty Reports and Aviation Maintenance Alerts.

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The FAA has issued a reminder to pilots operating aircraft equipped with carburetors that gascolator problems are common and generally result in engine failure in flight.

Gascolator inspection during preflight can easily detect and prevent the most common gascolator problems.

The gascolator contains a fuel filter screen and a sediment bowl that serves as a water separator. Usually a gascolator has a wire bail holding a glass or metal bowl in place. There are three primary gascolator malfunctions, each of which can lead to a loss of power due to interruption…

The following information is derived from the FAAs Service Difficulty Reports and Aviation Maintenance Alerts. Click here to view “Airworthiness Directives.”

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Mechanics participating in the FAAs Service Difficulty Reporting Program have filed a number of reports that aircraft are still flying with improper seat belts.The belts, manufactured by Indiana Mills and Manufacturing, are subject to an AD issued in 1979 because they failed to meet specifications outlined by the technical standards order governing seat belts. Although the AD required the seat belts to be removed within 120 days of the effective date of the AD, mechanics are…

The following information is derived from the FAAs Service Difficulty Reports and Aviation Maintenance Alerts. Click here to view “Airworthiness Directives.”

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Several years ago, Cessna designed, manufactured and approved an engine oil filter adapter for use on Continental engines installed on the companys aircraft. The oil filter adapter was made available through the Cessna parts distribution system and was installed on various other aircraft using TCM engines via FAA field approval.

In 1996, the FAA issued AD 96-12-22, which addressed the possibility of the adapter becoming loose and/or separating from the accessory case and…

Great job! Thanks for stereotyping all young CFIs as unprofessional, lazy and undedicated [Editors Log, November]. I work on a community college instructor staff and can assure you that all of us have worked very hard to reach and maintain a high professional standard. I guarantee that you would never catch any of us with our headset tap-tap-tapping against the right side window.

I would also like to point out that your implication that any older experienced pilot can teach the CFI a couple of new tricks is exactly the opposite from what I normally see when flying with the average non-professional airman. Most of them have a hard time remembering how to perform a stall correctly (to…