Search Results for: Ercoupe

I rented a Cessna 182RG from a local flight school in Houston to fly a couple of buddies down to Scholes Field in Galveston one night. The weather was perfect, with no wind to speak of and the visibility was about 3,000 miles. Temperature was about 55 degrees. There was not a cloud in the sky and no moon. In short, they were the kind of flight conditions every pilot would love to fly in – especially to view the skyline of a large city like Houston.

I departed David Wayne Hooks about 9:30 p.m. for the 20 or 25 minute flight. The flight down was really terrific with all the city lights. We passed just north of the large downtown buildings through what is known as the I-10 corridor (an are…

The following briefs were selected from the 173 preliminary reports filed with the NTSB in May 2000. 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 1, Kotzebue, Alaska
Piper Super Cub
At about 06:30 Alaska daylight time, a ski-equipped Piper PA-18 collided with snow-covered terrain 33.5 miles west-northwest of Kotzebue. The pilot, who held an expired student pilot certificate, was killed. Passing villagers found the airplane inverted about one mile east of the coast near Cape…

The following briefs were selected from the 233 preliminary reports filed with the NTSB in July 2000. 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, July.”

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July 1, Spanish Fork, Utah
Diamond Katana C-1
At 13:29 mountain time, a Diamond 20C-1 lost its propeller in flight near Spanish Fork, Utah. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The pilot said that he was on a local flight and returning to Provo, Utah, when the propeller separated from the airplane. The airplane was at 9,500 fee…

To most pilots, the airplanes propeller is something routinely taken for granted. Oh sure, preflight may include running a hand over the blades in some pretended attempt to look for something. But many people dont have much of a clue as to what theyre looking for – maybe nicks or leading edge surface roughness from sand or water erosion.

Controllable-pitch props generally have some kind of flight time or calendar TBO, such as requiring an overhaul after 1,200 hours or five years, whichever comes first. Check the logbooks of most older airplanes, and you may find this to be the most commonly ignored manufacturer recommendation for Part 91 airplanes.

Some misguided owners, in an eff…

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.