Search Results for: Lear 45

Battery Maintenance
With reference to Its Not A River In Egypt (Learning Experiences, January 2006), I do not agree with the crews judgment to fly the airplane with a known problem. The Barons batteries were in such a low state of charge they would not crank the engines.

External power should never be used when the internal battery power isnt sufficient to start the engine(s). Dead batteries require three to four hours to recharge fully from the aircraft generating system. Therefore they are not considered airworthy in a discharged state.

Batteries that have enough power to crank and start the engine(s) will generally recharge to a reasonable state of charge prior t…

Getting a vector to the final approach course is the norm at most airports, not the exception. But there are still a few things you need to know.

Thunderstorm accidents are almost always fatal. What can we learn from pilots who failed to give them a wide enough berth?

Flying VFR at night can be very safe and enjoyable, but not when youre in the mountains.

Most agree that its a good idea to lower the landing gear before landing. But how early? And when should it be raised?

December 1, 2005, Raymond, Miss.
Piper PA-30
At 1357 Central time, the airplane was destroyed on impact with terrain following a loss of control during takeoff from Runway 30 at the William John Bell Airport, (M16). The Instrument-rated Commercial pilot and his two passengers were fatally injured. The flight was intended as a ferry flight to have required maintenance performed. Visual conditions prevailed. All aircraft components of the 1964-vintage airplane were original equipment on the aircraft since new and showed a total time according to the logbooks of 5123 hours. Several witnesses reported hearing abnormal engine sounds during the takeoff. At approximately 100 feet…

It was a warm summer Saturday, the kind of day thats perfect for putting in some time on the airplane. This would also be a great chance to wash the bird, which had collected some dust from sitting and some bugs from flying. Besides, what could be a better way to cool off than spraying an airplane with someone elses water?

After an hour or so of scrubbing and rubbing, most of the bugs were off and all the dust had been washed away. I wiped down the windows, inside and out, and started securing the airplane and the hose I had used.

Thats when I noticed the chamois cloth I use on my cars to dry them after a wash job. Standing back and looking at the plane, I could see the beaded-up w…

“What’s the deal on this next strip?” I look at the marked page in my “Fly Idaho” backcountry flight guide. “Orogrande,” I answer. “Elevation 4405. Runway is either one or one-nine, 2900 feet long. Notes say ‘New tree growth on sides of runway limit usable width to 50 feet.’” I glance out the window at […]

November 1, 2005, Daytona Beach, Fla.
Cessna 172S
At about 1136 Eastern time, a Cessna 172S experienced a hard landing at the Daytona Beach International Airport. Visual conditions prevailed. The airplane was substantially damaged and the Student pilot was not injured. The pilot stated that he did not apply adequate back pressure to the control yoke during the landing flare, and because of this, I bounced very roughly. He further stated that he executed a go-around after the hard landing, flew another traffic pattern and landed without further incident. Postflight examination of the airplane revealed damage to the firewall.

November 2, 2005, Sparks, Nev.
Schleic…