Search Results for: maintaining your airplane

The FAAs BasicMed alternative to a traditional medical certificate is an attractive option for many pilots, especially those of us who are now senior citizens. However, we should recognize that medical issues are not the only factors affecting our ability to fly as we get older. Even in the absence of pathology, age alters our cognitive processes: how we recognize and interpret situations, decide on courses of actions, manage our workload, remember crucial information and skillfully execute our plans. We may joke about our senior moments, but many of us wonder if our ability to continue flying skillfully and safely is being undermined.

Shortly after getting my Cessna 340, one afternoon I was flying an ILS into Modesto, CA, where wed found a temporary home for our airplane. Id recently achieved the heady milestone of 1000 hours total time and a whopping 100 hours of multi-engine time. Plus, Id just gotten all my Is (CFI, CFII, MEI), so, of course, I was truly a great pilot. Id then gotten my initial training (ground and sim) in the 340, finished off with 25 hours with an experienced Twin Cessna instructor pilot. Humility wasnt in my self-image that afternoon. By evening, it had returned with a vengeance.

Our freedom to fly is a gift. The FAA provides pilots with reasonable rules and regulations, and a lot of discretion to determine the proper course of action. Sometimes the rules are not applicable in all circumstances, or for all pilots and aircraft, so what may seem to be perfectly legal isnt safe, and vice versa. In other words, pilots also are given the freedom to be stupid.

While most of us probably feel fortunate to be able to fly any kind of general aviation aircraft, most of us also have fantasies about owning and flying more expensive machines, including jets. A small number of us achieve that goal and obtain certification to operate small jets single-pilot. But the safety record of these operations is mixed. Some recent accidents point to gaps in the training and checking associated with single-pilot type ratings.

I am pretty much all in with all the latest wizbangs-syn vis, AOA, MFD, ADS-B In etc. in my V-35B, plus of course the great PFD. All this works perfectly with my legacy autopilot and it will take me wherever I want.I too discovered that I was really getting sloppy with my hand flying in challenging conditions and resolved to make letting George fly the exception. Sometimes we split the route where I fly out George flies back. I like flying the airplane and becoming more aware of all that I have on display in front of me, but it does take more effort and concentration.

The approach and landing phase should be conducted in accordance with whatever specific procedure is being practiced: normal, engine-out, short/soft-field, high density altitude. Simply because youre not planning to slow down and exit the runway doesnt mean you should do anything different on the approach and landing. After all, the reason youre doing touch-and-goes is to practice, and you cant engage in valuable practice if you dont simulate realistic conditions and procedures.

One of my favorite jokes about the airline pilot profession involves a mother who brings her wide-eyed, grade-school-age son into the cockpit for a visit. After the awestruck boy is given his tour, the mother asks her son if he would like to be an airline pilot when he grows up. The captain interjects and […]

I’m sitting on a remote dry lake bed in Utah, having a fabulous catered lunch consisting of a variety of scrumptious fresh berries, sandwiches and cookies. It’s as far from the hustle and bustle as you can get. The faintest wind gust is audible, and each step I take on the fine-grained sediment creates a […]

The weather was great last week, but it’s morel season so I was searching in a beautiful woods on Doc Terrell’s property in Highland County, Ohio. One of the few reasons to sacrifice a good flying day is to hunt the magical sponge mushrooms that peek up every year in spring. There are people who […]

Many of us recognize one of the ingredients to making our flying less risky and safer is good maintenance. At the same time, sometimes we give little thought to ways to make aircraft maintenance itself less risky and safer. The fact is the typical private-pilot-or-better performing preventive maintenance under FAR 43, Annex A doesnt pay enough attention to safety while working on aircraft. Some professionals dont either.