Search Results for: Cessna 172

I enjoyed reading the article Spinning a Tangled Web by John Lowery [Airmanship, April], however, some of his references to the T-37 spin characteristics and recovery procedures are incorrect. I have over 3000 hours instructor pilot time in the Tweet and Johns interpretation of the spin procedure is one of the little things that frustrated a lot of us IPs in Undergraduate Pilot Training.

Instructor training offered some real student interpretation challenges also, especially from instructor candidates coming from Century series aircraft. The T-37 spin recovery procedure calls for Throttles idle, rudder and ailerons neutral, stick – abruptly apply full AFT and hold, determine d…

I learned some lessons recently about what it really means to be pilot-in-command, crew resource management, takeoff planning and personal minimums. I hold a commercial helicopter rating with private ASEL privileges and an instrument rating (obtained seven months ago). Total time is about 230 hours, with eight hours in actual IMC.

It was a typical winter day in the South, 48 degrees with a forecast of 1800 overcast, with temporary periods of 400-800 broken. It seemed like a good day to schedule some dual in actual IMC to maintain my IFR currency. Arriving at the airport, the temporary lower ceilings seemed a little more persistent than the forecast would indicate. On the non-precision…

Its crucial to learn the right habits from your very first flights because they form the foundation of your skills for the rest of your flying career.

When the proverbial fertilizer hits the fan, people tend to revert to their earliest patterns of responses. The problem is, sometimes thats not the right response.

During a badly bounced landing for example, the pilot has very little altitude and airspeed to use in trying to execute a go around or other recovery. In most aircraft, a go-around requires bringing the nose up to about 5 degrees above the horizon and adding full power.

Thats apparently what the crew of a Twin Otter tried to do after a bounced landing. This tale isnt…

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

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The FAA has issued a safety recommendation regarding a batch of O rings manufactured by Parker and distributed by Valtec because the rings may swell excessively when coming into contact with avgas. The problem first came to light after the fuel selector valve on a Cessna 180 was rebuilt and the engine then suffered fuel starvation. The O ring had enlarged to twice its original size. The O rings in question bear a part number of MS29513-112, a package date of 06/01 and a lot number of 60002401. The manufacturer concluded that the lot was made from the wrong materi…

Driving the airplane to and from the runway is a piece of cake, right? Not for the dozens who prang something each year.

So there you are, sitting in your airplane, gazing dreamily at the new GPS, MFD, and autopilot on which youve just spent almost as much as you originally paid for the plane. Now youre faced with an IFR approach-certified GPS interconnected to a two-axis autopilot with ILS coupling and a moving map the size of a portable TV screen.

Maybe youre about to check out in a brand-new C-172 or Piper Archer with a whole pile of ultra-modern avionics, and all the FBOs other airplanes have a pair of Narco MK 12s or King KX-175s. You cant even find the on-off switch, much less tune the comm radio. How do you learn to use all that stuff?

If its your airplane, you might call your friendly loca…

Among the most avoidable mishaps are those caused by fuel exhaustion. Most of them seem inexcusable, yet virtually every pilot has flirted with this danger at one time or another.

You may pass up refueling at a major metropolitan airport because of the price. Or youre in a hurry and rationalize that you can make it with good leaning or tail winds – especially if youve made the same trip before. If the winds are not as forecast or your leaning is a bit off, you could be in for trouble. Ditto if you fail to recheck the weather en route and arrive to find it below minimums.

According to the AOPA Air Safety Foundations Nall Report there were 95 accidents due to fuel exhaustion in 1998…

At a recent international symposium on aviation human factors, one of the interesting sessions described an FAA study attempting to answer what traits might predict accident prone pilots.

A number of large aviation organizations – airframe manufacturers, airlines, pilot organizations and the NASA Ames human factors directorate – sent representatives to engage in what turned out to be a lively and interesting discussion. In the study, more than 4,000 pilots were asked to answer various questions about their background, training and attitudes. Among those who answered the survey, about half had experienced an official accident. The survey was structured to obtain a fairly representative s…

The following briefs were selected from the 170 preliminary reports filed with the NTSB in May 2001. Statements in quotes were taken directly from the NTSB documents. The information is subject to change as the investigations are completed.

Click here to view “Accident Totals, May.”

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May 01, The Woodlands, Texas
Mitsubishi MU-2B
At approximately 12:41 central time, a Mitsubishi MU-2B-40 crashed after an uncontrolled descent near The Woodlands, killing the pilot and passenger. VMC prevailed but scattered thunderstorms were reported in the vicinity of the departure airport. Witnesses reported hearing an engine…

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

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The FAA has issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin that warns of possible AD action requiring gyro backups for IFR flight.

The SAIB cautions pilots to conduct a condition check of the vacuum or pressure system prior to each IFR flight.

Last falls crash of a Cessna 335 carrying Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan prompted a review of service difficulty reports of vacuum system components. In the past 27 years, mechanics have filed 2,003 reports – 18 in the 12 months prior to the bulletin.

Parker Hannifin (Airborne) has acknowledged a potential late…