Search Results for: Lear 45

Lindbergh did it alone in 33 hours, though that was eastbound. I did it 81 years later westbound, in a brand-new turboprop airplane, guided by an experienced transoceanic ferry pilot. It took four days. The experience was remarkable in very many ways; some were impressive technical aspects, others were extraordinary observations that are best categorized […]

On the afternoon of March 3, 2000, a helicopter operated by a Miami television station crashed in a suburban neighborhood, killing the pilot and the photographer who was with him. According to early press reports, a witness on the ground had seen the tail rotor “snap off” as the helicopter performed some sort of maneuver. […]

Scud running is the technique of flying very low to stay out of crummy weather. It was taught during flight training and regularly practiced for the first several decades of flight when, initially, instrument flight was not an option and, later, only a small proportion of airplanes had instruments. It was most successful in relatively flat territory and almost suicidal in any sort of mountainous terrain. The first professional pilots in the U.S. were airmail pilots. To avoid weather, they often flew but a few feet above the planet. Even in daytime, the accident rate was not pretty, especially in the Alleghenies and Rockies. Trying to fly without the benefit of good instrumentation (and training in how to use it) or radio navaids meant that foul weather flying was lethal. Nevertheless, particularly in the mid-section of the country, scud running could be practiced so long as the visibility wasnt too bad (fog and snow were killers) because a pilot could motor along 30 feet above a road knowing he was above the power lines and that broadcast antennas were located in the towns. All radio was AM, not limited to line of sight. For economy, the towers were put up on or beside the broadcast stations, not out in the country. In the late 20s, Henry Fords airline running between his auto manufacturing plants boasted on the order of a 95 percent on-schedule record, simply because the pilots could fly incredibly low and not have to worry about hitting anything.

The standard missed approach is designed around a 200 ft/nm climb gradient. The minimum rate of climb youll need to maintain this gradient depends on groundspeed. For pilots of most IFR airplanes, these climb rates are easily achievable, but if your airplane is heavy, the density altitude is high, or youre laboring with reduced engine power you may have to decide before ever beginning an approach near minimums if youll have the climb capability to miss the approach if needed. In fact, the minimums for many approaches, especially in hilly or mountainous terrain, are driven not by obstacle clearance requirements for the approach inbound to the airport, but the requirements for terrain or obstacle clearance for the missed approach. If there are towers or hills under the missed approach segment you may not be permitted to descend as low prior to the missed approach point as you would be allowed to otherwise. At the minimum 200 foot per nautical mile climb rate (below), youll be two miles from the point you initiate climb before youre 400 feet above your lowest altitude. Theres a lot going on in the first two miles (the first 400 feet) when trying to climb out from a gray hole close to the unseen ground, so you need to properly manage this transition time to safely begin the missed.

As I was hefting two humongous boxes of maintenance records into the 180, I found myself thinking about the draconian FAA rules for operating a DC-3, the outta-sight fuel prices, the cost of round engines, spare parts, insurance, a hangar and maintenance. And I said to myself, out loud, “Martha, do we really want to […]

Three years ago I wrote about an accident involving a pilot who became impatient waiting for a stratus layer to lift, and went out looking for a break (or its ambiguous cousin, a “thin spot”) through which he could climb to VFR on top. That accident took place in Los Angeles, and I described the […]

The Piaggio P.180 Avanti II is one of the most unusual, even exotic, looking airplanes in production today. When you look at the airplane and wonder “why did they do that,” the answer is always the same — to fly the biggest cabin the fastest for the least fuel. Efficiency drove every decision Piaggio engineers […]

At about 0245 Eastern time, the airplane was substantially damaged when it collided with the ground short of the runway. Night instrument conditions prevailed. The airline transport pilot and two passengers were killed. One of the passengers was being flown to a hospital in preparation for an organ transplant. According to an employee at an FBO, the pilot contacted him via radio between 0200 and 0300 and asked about the weather. The employee replied that the visibility was low due to fog, and he could not see the terminal lights from the FBO. According to the FAA, ATC cleared the flight for an ILS approach to Runway 29 at about 0240; the control tower was closed.

Self-service avgas at my home airport is now $5.65 a gallon. And it promises to go higher with the next delivery from the fuel supplier. Suddenly, the cost of fuel is a much larger portion of my operating costs. I’ve been running lean of peak so the Lycoming IO-360 in my Cessna Cardinal runs at […]

Four of us were invited to a friend’s house in Northern California, a 10-hour drive from Los Angeles. “Could we all go up in your plane?” Carl asked. Two hours and 15 minutes sounded a lot better. I had to say no. What was the problem? My homebuilt, Melmoth 2, is a four-seater. It was […]