Search Results for: Cessna 172

Many pilots think running out of fuel is in the same category of a gear-up landing: It can never happen to them, until it does. While there may be several good reasons for landing with the gear still stowed, we can think of only two for running out of fuel. One of them involves fuel starvation-theres fuel aboard, but it cant get to the engine. In our view, the only time this excuse holds water is when it involves some kind of mechanical event-the fuel selector breaks off in the pilots hand between detents, for example, or a transfer pump fails. The only other legitimate excuse for running out of gas is when the weather caves and theres literally no place to land within our dwindling range. And thats rare enough we couldnt find any recent examples, although they may be out there.

The right aileron was binding during aerobatic maneuvers. Investigation revealed the clearance between the aileron and the aileron bay rib was approximately 1/16 inch. Per American Champion, it should be inch. The inboard aileron bay rib appeared to have bowed due to fabric shrinkage, causing the interference. The aileron rib fabric was opened and the rib was relocated outboard 3/16 inch. Per the manufacturer, aileron balancing was not required. The aileron was reinstalled, with the clearance and operation satisfactory.

Each month, Flying answers questions about the new Sport Pilot/Light Sport Aircraft rule with assistance from the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), the authority on the opportunities available within the category commonly known as “Sport Pilot”: Q: Would it be possible to build/rebuild a V-22 homebuilt to meet the Light Sport Aircraft maximum weight of 1,430 […]

During a scheduled inspection, the wire bundle mount (p/n S2606-2) holding the flap motor wire harness was found detached from the rib in the right wing, allowing the wire bundle to chafe into the inspection panel support on the wing. The wire bundle had two wires which were chafed completely through the insulation, allowing contact with the inspection panel support. Inspecting these mounts and replacing them as needed is recommended.

Some pilots are, by nature, worriers. They worry about fuel, about engine failures, about hazardous weather, about midair collisions. Bluntly, pilots worry about things that can kill them. But do they worry about the right things? In other words, does the risk framework that most of us construct in our personal aviation universe reflect the reality of the serious killers in aircraft accidents? Our guess is that it does not, unless pilots are out there really sweating about stalls, spins and controlled flight into terrain. And even if the pilot population is wide awake about these hazards, it could do a better job of avoiding them. Stalls and CFIT (controlled flight into terrain) pop up as the two biggies in fatal accidents in general aviation to a degree that, frankly, startles us.

Hooper Bay, Alaska, might not be quite the end of the earth but, as the saying goes, you can probably see it from there. It’s a tiny town halfway up the western Alaskan coast, north of the Aleutian Islands, and the 1,200 people who live there actually can see Russia from their back doors. In […]

One hundred seventy-seven flight hours from now, the engines on our 1980 Piper Cheyenne will reach TBO. That’s about 13 months away, given our average yearly flying. This milestone has precipitated all sorts of careful calculations in my house. Should we pay to overhaul the engines? Why put that much money into an ancient airframe? […]

The University of North Dakota’s Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences will take delivery of six more Cessna 172 Skyhawks next month. That makes 44 new Cessnas UND will have received within 18 months. The UND Skyhawks will come equipped with the Garmin G1000 avionics suite. UND operates a fleet of 116 aircraft, including eight helicopters. […]

I like to record the History Channel on my DVR and then play back the shows while I am working out, something I call “learn while you burn.” Many of the shows I record relate to my work teaching error prevention, and I am always looking for examples I can use in my training. A […]

I was at the tail end of three months of training for my CFI reinstatement check ride. My instructor Kevin and I were flying into a deepening Pacific Northwest twilight as we descended westbound over Lake Washington toward Boeing Field/King County International Airport (BFI). We began maneuvering to enter right traffic for Runway 31R in […]