Search Results for: maintaining your airplane

The pilot reported for work as scheduled at 2 a.m. for a Part 135 light cargo flight, flying a Piper Lance from Burbank, Calif., to Phoenix, Ariz. He arrived at Phoenix and managed to get about five hours of sleep, waking at about noon local time.

On the next leg of the flight – the return to Burbank – he took off at 20:55 local. Several hours later, while maintaining a constant altitude, heading and airspeed, he collided with a mountain near Palm Springs -about 10 nautical miles south of his usual course. The investigators could find no evidence that indicated that the pilot had attempted to avoid the collision.

Investigators could find no mechanical reasons for the crash. After exam…

Editors Note: The December 2000 issue featured a discussion of the planning and decision factors necessary for a safe takeoff. Here, well look at gauging and using the proper technique.

Takeoff is the moment of truth when the pilot is called upon to apply his or her aeronautical knowledge and exhibit the right flying skills. The skill level of a pilot depends on recency of experience, practice and the performance standards of the pilot or instructor. In short, knowing what to do is not adequate if you are unable to perform properly.

Determining your aircrafts takeoff performance is the intellectual side of the start to your flight. The other side is deciding what typ…

In March 1997, our unit was going through recurrent ground school and reassembling from the lunchtime break when the former chief pilot walked in with a pale face and grimly announced to the room, Hey guys, the factory just had an accident. They were taking pictures and collided. They lost both aircraft and everyone on board.

The news hit us in the stomach. We all looked at each other with dismay. The aircraft collided during a photo shoot. Given the beauty of the DC-3s turboprop conversion, I could hardly blame them for wanting to take some airborne promotional pictures.

Witnesses saw the aircraft at approximately 500 feet to 700 feet agl flying close together headed north. The D…

Many pilots consider takeoff to be almost a no-brainer. Point the airplane down the runway and advance the power. A little footwork keeps the prop pointed in the right direction, then lift the nose.

Yet from an operational viewpoint, takeoff has proven to be one of the most critical phases of flight. NTSB accident statistics from 1998 – the latest available at this writing – show that general aviation airplanes of less than 12,500 pounds operated non-commercially suffered 262 takeoff accidents, 35 of which were fatal. That year, like each year in the five previous years, general aviation pilots averaged about 22 total and 3 fatal takeoff accidents per month, with no improvement as time p…

An engine failure on takeoff will take you by surprise, so be spring-loaded for action.

Pilots who fly IFR – especially single-pilot IFR – love to debate the merits of George. Not as in Bush, but as in that electronic servant who will fly your airplane any time you want.

Some advocate handing over the manipulation duties as soon as the gear is up on all flights, and letting George have it all the way to short final. Others consider the autopilot a necessary evil, to be used only when absolutely necessary – and turned off as soon as possible. To some its a savior, to others a crutch for the weak. Whats the truth?

To my eye, a crutch that can fail for those who lack skill, a snake waiting to bite those who misuse it, and a tool that can help the pilot who uses it effect…

Without a doubt, human brains are the fastest and most versatile computers in the world. Thats especially true when the humans in question are pilots, but when it comes to repetitive tasks such as monitoring the progress of a flight on instruments, pilots can learn a thing or two watching silicon-based computers operate.

Once a digital computer has been programmed to perform certain operations, it just keeps on cranking through it until told to do something else. It repeats what it does, over and over and over. The same way. Every time. Because of this, computers are ideally suited for repetitive tasks that need to be done consistently, uniformly and flawlessly.

In an effort to lear…

The twin 350 hp engines were droning smoothly in the background, sending a pleasant tickle through the soles of my feet. From where I sat behind the panel, everything looked good.

The moving map on the GPS showed we were right on course, with an ETA of about 90 minutes. The on-board radar showed light rain ahead, but no thunderstorms or other nastiness. We had plenty of fuel on board, with the tanks reading nearly half full each. The autopilot was engaged and held our course through the occasional light chop.

Outside, visibility through a murky low was about 50 feet, but we cruised along smartly because, hey, there was nothing to hit. While the poor visibility was making my passengers…

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…

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…