Search Results for: Cessna 172

Engine start should be such a simple thing. Why then do so many pilots scramble to get the prop turning?

Your July article Fat and Happy touches a subject aviation writers dont dare discuss publicly but is a fact of flying life. I have been flying for 27 years, logging 2,000-plus hours. I own a Cessna Turbo 206 and a Ram Series VII Cessna 414A.

I have always followed the POH when it comes to loading an airplane and very seldom overload. On those occasions when I have done it, I follow this personal strict criteria:

1) Never go beyond 1 percent, a maximum of 2 percent, which in the case of the 414 is around 70 to 140 pounds, which will be burned in the first 30 minutes.

2) Never exceed aft cg limits.

3) Never exceed zero fuel weight.

4) Never even consider the possibility of u…

Airlines take the switch to a new airplane type very seriously, but GA pilots tend to miss the importance.

My Jeppesen Private Pilot Manual tells student pilots that radio communication is very serious stuff. “When speaking on the radio,” the good book says, “it is important to speak in a professional manner. Radio transmissions should be as brief as possible to help avoid frequency congestion. Incorrect radio procedures can compromise your safety and the […]

It wasn’t a big deal. Shortly before Judith and I were slated to leave for a trip (possible only with our own airplane) to a reunion of college friends in Wyoming, a stop to help with haying at the Flying A Ranch in South Dakota and a week at AirVenture in Oshkosh, I fell off […]

Here I sit in the right seat of a fine old 172, inside the marker on an ILS approach, my first ever instrument student refusing to correct for the wind. I watch the localizer needle drift off and feel myself twisting my entire upper body to force it back to center. Should I tell him […]

On the morning of a late fall day in 2000, a Utah rancher took up two passengers in his Cessna 175 to search for stray cattle. It was part of the fall roundup, an “annual event looked upon with anticipation by many.” After spotting a few head, they flew toward a bluff where several cowboys […]

I thought I would send you a note of something that really could have ruined my day.

I had asked a friend to go flying with me one evening. The sunsets here in North Dakota are fantastic and I thought she might really enjoy seeing them from a different perspective. I had already pre-flighted the airplane when she called and said she would be late. I told her I would take-off and do some landing drills while I awaited her arrival.

We have a small non-towered airport and I explained that when she arrived that she should park next to my vehicle on the ramp and keep her headlights on and I would then taxi to her and pick her up.

When she arrived I landed and taxied to her, facing the…

While it may not have the sex appeal of politics or religion, oil analysis will spark some lively debate if you put together a group of pilots or mechanics. Some people shrug it off as an expensive exercise in futility that tells little about the inner secrets of engine wear. Others swear to their engines health if they get good sample results and get ready to shoot it if they dont.

In fact, the true value of analysis is somewhere in the middle. It cant tell you how long your engine is going to live and its far from a sure-fire way to predict catastrophic failure. On the other hand, experienced eyes can spot wear trends that can catch minor problems before they turn into big ones. Whe…

Something about flying a twin grabs your attention. Sitting up high, a fistful of throttles, clear one, turning one – it all adds up to a feeling of power and control.

Thats appropriate, of course, because power and control are the big issues in learning to fly a light twin. Its not a matter of having power and control, its that you can lose them very quickly when something goes wrong. Flying a light twin isnt for everyone, and its not a panacea that takes all the risk out of flying. But with proper instruction, flying a twin is, in some ways, as good as it gets.

Are Two Better Than One?
The biggest myth of light twins is that they are inherently safer than singles…