Search Results for: Lear 45

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…

Assessing your skills and your judgment are crucial, particularly when the weather refuses to cooperate

Aspen, Telluride, Hayden, Jackson, Sun Valley, Missoula, Ketchikan, Juneau.

These beautiful locations have some of the most treacherous instrument approaches found anywhere in the United States for one simple reason: big mountains. It will be many months before the NTSB issues its final report on the fatal accident of the Gulfstream that crashed during its final approach into Aspen on March 29, and the preliminary report it issued shortly after the crash contained less information than the local newspaper.

To state that the instrument approaches into these locations are tricky is an understatement. As a former EMS and fire-fighting pilot operating into all of these airports, I can te…

Any cloud connected to a severe thunderstorm carries the threat of violence. – AC 00-6A

One of the dangerous myths of aviation is that of the all-weather general aviation airplane. And while its true that modern technology has done wonders in making flying more reliable and safer, its important to remember that Mother Nature always has the last word. Heres an important case in point.

This mishap involved a turbocharged Piper Saratoga that broke up in flight in the vicious winds found in and around severe thunderstorms. The pilot was attempting to find his way through a band of thunderstorms, which extended from northeast to southwest over central New Mexico. Two cells ne…

Aviation is full of mysteries. Perhaps rooted in reality, they take on an almost mythical air about them. Pilots know they are true, without being able to justify that position and without really knowing where that knowledge came from.

The downwind turn, operating lean of peak and flying on the step have all been part of that aviation lore – and in fact may be so still for some pilots.

The fact is that many pilots treat their airplanes like its a complex remote control for a big screen TV. They know only enough about its operation to meet their anticipated daily needs. Instead of studying the book on the airplane and engine, they put their effort into learning to fly instrument a…

I never should have learned this lesson because I never should have made the flight. Mother Nature decided to demonstrate several of her most unnerving weather phenomena.

We were planning a flight from Los Alamos, N.M., to Amana, Iowa, for a weekend fly-in. We expected wind over the entire area of the flight for most of the planned weekend. Because of the length of the flight, we planned to leave Thursday so as to be rested when the festivities began.

The Los Alamos airport is at an elevation of 7,150 feet and is a one way airport. Takeoff is to the east and landing to the west, regardless of wind. As we drove to the airport from about 30 miles west of Los Alamos, the wind was causin…

Malibu loses engine on takeoff and the pilot hightails it to the runway, only to come up short on altitude and airspeed.

The following briefs were selected from the 176 preliminary reports filed with the NTSB in May 2002. 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, Baltimore, Md.
Beech 400A
At 1653 eastern time, a Beechjet 400A overran the runway during landing at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. The two pilots and four passengers were not injured. The captain was making the landing and did not hear the flight cleared for a visual approach. As the copilot began programming the…

Troubling words from a pilots mouth: Uh, where were we?

A friend assures me that he has developed a sure-fire method to duck out of jury duty. When the defense poses the first voir dire question, merely reply: Well, the police wouldnt have arrested him if he wasnt guilty.

If the judge doesnt threaten contempt, the defense attorney will immediately conclude that no one could possibly be that dumb. On the other hand, on the off chance that someone could, using up a challenge is cheap insurance. Next juror, please.

The irony of this absurdity is that in such life-and-death matters as jury trials, were spring-loaded to doubt the governments pronouncements. Yet as pilots, most of us react in the opposite way when confronted with ATC clear…