Search Results for: maintaining your airplane

Although some recreational fliers ground themselves during the dingy winter months, most pilots continue to rely on their airplanes even when the mercury dips and the gray skies move in. And theres no reason not to, as long as you take into account the icy grip winter weather can have on everything it touches.

Planning for defensive flying in winter conditions begins on the ground. For VFR flight, youll need to plan to stay clear of clouds by a reasonable distance and be alert for signs of carb ice. For the pilots who are going to go IFR, things get more complicated. Watching The Weather Channel just isnt enough.

Preflight planning has to be thorough and thoughtful. Consider the rou…

They are leviathans sleeping on the tarmac. Towering amphibious floatplanes, boasting adventures of which their landlubbing cousins only dream. Nearby, small flying boats, engines mounted oddly above the fuselage, ponder remote lakes brimming with bass. If youre pondering whether to take the aqua plunge, the next question is floats or boats?

Flying boats, or hull designs, splash down on their bellies and have small floats, or sponsons, under each wing for stability on the water. Floatplanes are common aircraft that sit atop two pontoons. Which you choose will depend upon your anticipated missions and your budget. The decision may also have a substantial impact on your future safety.<...

The pilot reported for work as scheduled at 2 a.m. for a Part 135 light cargo flight, flying a Piper Lance from Burbank, Calif., to Phoenix, Ariz. He arrived at Phoenix and managed to get about five hours of sleep, waking at about noon local time.

On the next leg of the flight – the return to Burbank – he took off at 20:55 local. Several hours later, while maintaining a constant altitude, heading and airspeed, he collided with a mountain near Palm Springs -about 10 nautical miles south of his usual course. The investigators could find no evidence that indicated that the pilot had attempted to avoid the collision.

Investigators could find no mechanical reasons for the crash. After exam…

Editors Note: The December 2000 issue featured a discussion of the planning and decision factors necessary for a safe takeoff. Here, well look at gauging and using the proper technique.

Takeoff is the moment of truth when the pilot is called upon to apply his or her aeronautical knowledge and exhibit the right flying skills. The skill level of a pilot depends on recency of experience, practice and the performance standards of the pilot or instructor. In short, knowing what to do is not adequate if you are unable to perform properly.

Determining your aircrafts takeoff performance is the intellectual side of the start to your flight. The other side is deciding what typ…

In March 1997, our unit was going through recurrent ground school and reassembling from the lunchtime break when the former chief pilot walked in with a pale face and grimly announced to the room, Hey guys, the factory just had an accident. They were taking pictures and collided. They lost both aircraft and everyone on board.

The news hit us in the stomach. We all looked at each other with dismay. The aircraft collided during a photo shoot. Given the beauty of the DC-3s turboprop conversion, I could hardly blame them for wanting to take some airborne promotional pictures.

Witnesses saw the aircraft at approximately 500 feet to 700 feet agl flying close together headed north. The D…

Many pilots consider takeoff to be almost a no-brainer. Point the airplane down the runway and advance the power. A little footwork keeps the prop pointed in the right direction, then lift the nose.

Yet from an operational viewpoint, takeoff has proven to be one of the most critical phases of flight. NTSB accident statistics from 1998 – the latest available at this writing – show that general aviation airplanes of less than 12,500 pounds operated non-commercially suffered 262 takeoff accidents, 35 of which were fatal. That year, like each year in the five previous years, general aviation pilots averaged about 22 total and 3 fatal takeoff accidents per month, with no improvement as time p…

An engine failure on takeoff will take you by surprise, so be spring-loaded for action.

Pilots who fly IFR – especially single-pilot IFR – love to debate the merits of George. Not as in Bush, but as in that electronic servant who will fly your airplane any time you want.

Some advocate handing over the manipulation duties as soon as the gear is up on all flights, and letting George have it all the way to short final. Others consider the autopilot a necessary evil, to be used only when absolutely necessary – and turned off as soon as possible. To some its a savior, to others a crutch for the weak. Whats the truth?

To my eye, a crutch that can fail for those who lack skill, a snake waiting to bite those who misuse it, and a tool that can help the pilot who uses it effect…

Without a doubt, human brains are the fastest and most versatile computers in the world. Thats especially true when the humans in question are pilots, but when it comes to repetitive tasks such as monitoring the progress of a flight on instruments, pilots can learn a thing or two watching silicon-based computers operate.

Once a digital computer has been programmed to perform certain operations, it just keeps on cranking through it until told to do something else. It repeats what it does, over and over and over. The same way. Every time. Because of this, computers are ideally suited for repetitive tasks that need to be done consistently, uniformly and flawlessly.

In an effort to lear…

The twin 350 hp engines were droning smoothly in the background, sending a pleasant tickle through the soles of my feet. From where I sat behind the panel, everything looked good.

The moving map on the GPS showed we were right on course, with an ETA of about 90 minutes. The on-board radar showed light rain ahead, but no thunderstorms or other nastiness. We had plenty of fuel on board, with the tanks reading nearly half full each. The autopilot was engaged and held our course through the occasional light chop.

Outside, visibility through a murky low was about 50 feet, but we cruised along smartly because, hey, there was nothing to hit. While the poor visibility was making my passengers…