X	"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."             - Albert Einstein

Dear Pilots and Aviation Enthusiasts:      

Bob's Top 10 List for 2008

This is that time of year where we resolve to change our life.  It's also a time when we recognize that another year has past and that we have one less to live.  For many of us pilots, this is a scary thought!

The year 2007 filled us all with doom and gloom about general aviation.  Scandalous fuel prices, user fees, and ever-increasing regulation.  Our local media captured expanding market shares by hyping our daily fatal wrecks and exploiting our many stupid pilot tricks.

So, let's all do something specific in 2008 to turn things around.  To this end, I put together Bob's Top Ten List of things each of us can do aviation-wise in the coming year.  Items on this list appear in no particular order of importance or significance.  I'll leave that up to you.  The important thing is that we consider each item and do something about it.

Here's the list . . .

1. New Pilot Rating or Endorsement:  Instrument, commercial, ATP, tail-wheel, or seaplane. The pursuit and/or completion of that next pilot rating or endorsement will make us more proficient pilots!

2. Aircraft Checkout:  There has been a revolution in new cockpit technology.  Let's see what is out there by getting checked out in a late model, glass cockpit aircraft.

3. Skill Enhancement:  Pick your greatest piloting weakness and master it.  Crosswind landings, operating in low IFR, partial panel work, stalls and unusual attitudes, and short field landings go with the territory.  Become comfortable with each.

4. Visit an ATC Facility:  ATC is the second or third member of the cockpit crew.  Know what they can do for us!  Call your nearest tower, TRACON, or Center and schedule a visit.  They welcome pilot guests!

5. Take a Trip: Ever flown yourself to the Bahamas, or to New York City, or over the Rockies, to Alaska, or Martha's Vineyard?  Put a pin somewhere on the map and fly there this year.  Don't let fuel prices discourage you.  We only go around once!

6. Sun 'n Fun or Oshkosh:  There is no better way to juice up your aviation excitement than to fly into Sun 'n Fun or AirVenture in Oshkosh.  You'll discover your greatest disappointment was that you did not take this trip in years past.

7. Acquire or Upgrade Your Airplane:  You've rented long enough.  It's time to bite the bullet and acquire your own airplane.  For you airplane owners, spring for that upgrade in your avionics package or dress up your airplane with a new interior or paint job.

8. Mentor a Young Person:  Kids today hang around shopping malls.  Find one and give him or her an airplane ride.  You might just give birth to a future pilot!

9. Become more weather Savvy:  Weather is our number one risk factor.  Become a junior meteorologist by reading everything you can on weather.

10. Join AOPA and EAA:  Frequent OTA readers know that I occasionally rag on our membership organizations, but they do offer valuable services to GA pilots.  Most importantly, they work very hard to protect our freedom to fly.

Unlike owning guns or speaking freely, the privilege to fly is not addressed in our Bill of Rights.  It is a freedom that can easily be taken from us by our all-knowing, wisdom-filled law makers in Washington, DC.  Our best defense is a strong, thriving, and safe GA industry. 

Specifically targeting each item on the above list is an excellent way to make 2008 a wonderful year for general aviation.

Happy New Year!

Bob Miller, ATP, CFII
rjma@rjma.com
716-864-8100

 
 

Airframe Icing . . . Very Serious Business!

We all know that airframe icing does two things to our airplanes.  First, it changes the aerodynamic characteristics of the airplane, specifically lift.    Second, it adds considerable weight and drag to the airplane.

First, lift . . .

A quick reference to the graph below illustrates the relationship between angle-of-attack and lift.  The red line shows that a wing carrying ice will stall at less than one-half the angle-of-attack that an ice-free wing will stall.  This is because of adverse affect of wing icing on lift.

Translating this graph to the real world of flight, this means that we may sense  little aerodynamic effect from minimal airframe icing in straight and level cruise flight. 

Once we start slowing and turning for the approach to landing, however, we could be in for a giant surprise! 

As we  slow and begin our turn, our angle-of-attack increases.  Reference to the accompanying chart illustrates that a wing carrying ice stalls at a much lower angle-of-attack than a "clean" wing.

Since stall speed naturally increases in a bank, we could be in for the surprise of our life when slowing and turning onto the final approach course while carrying ice!

Second, drag . . .

As illustrated in the adjacent chart (right), induced drag increases dramatically when there is ice on the wing.

In real flight, as we slow the airplane for landing, the resultant increased angle-of-attack to maintain altitude produces a very steep increase in the coefficient of drag.  This, in turn, requires an even greater angle-of-attack to maintain lift.

This "multiplier effect" of increasing drag brought about by increasing angle-of-attack can produce a sudden, unexpected stall.  If this occurs in uncoordinated flight, a spin is likely to result!

Stall/spin Awareness Deficiency

Unfortunately, there are far too many flight schools and independent flight instructors that abhor meaningful stall training (because they were taught by CFIs who abhorred stall/spin training), particularly power-on, cross-control and accelerated stalls.  Thus, when accumulating ice, many hapless pilots are totally unaware of the resultant stall/spin risks to which they are exposed.

Regardless of how we interpret the rules governing flight into weather conducive to icing, we will, at some time in our flying careers, come face-to-face with airframe icing. 

We can, of course, follow the advice of our well-intended but naive' CFIIs and flight schools and plan to avoid icing conditions at all costs.  To do this, we can give up the notion of filing an IFR flight plan north of the Mason-Dixon Line any time from November 1st through April 30th! 

If we can live with that restriction, then icing is not likely to ever be a problem for us.

Special icing alert for glass composite drivers!!

There is good news/bad new regarding the newer glass composite aircraft including the Cirrus and the Columbia 400.   The good news, of course, is that these aircraft are FAST!  Their slick, streamlined wings slice through the air like a hot knife in warm butter.

The bad news, however, can be very bad.  We do not yet have a lot of experience operating these glass composite aircraft in icing conditions. Tragically, there have already been a number of fatal accidents in these aircraft when icing was a factor.

Given the high performance capability of these aircraft, operating in or near icing conditions, even with anti-icing equipment such as TKS, is an unnecessary risk that proficient pilots should avoid.

For more information on the legality of flying in icing conditions, click HERE.

Ice is Not Nice!

If we're going to be flying in the northern climates from October through April, it's important that we learn everything we can about icing.  To this end, former National Weather Service Meteorologist, Scott Dennstaedt and Ben Bernstein put together an excellent video describing the meteorology of icing.

Click HERE to view this video!

[Thanks to OTA reader, Mark Croce of Buffalo, NY for sharing this with us.]

Can it be VFR and IFR at the same time?

It was a dark, moonless night.  There were no street or house lights surrounding this rural airport.  Henry was not instrument rated nor had he ever been taken inside the clouds during his primary training. 

The FSS specialist assured Henry that the weather was VFR, so he boarded his wife and two young children into his rented Piper Warrior for the trip back home from Grandma's house in the country.

Henry taxied onto the narrow runway.  The only thing he could see out the window were the twinkling runway edge lights.  Within seconds, those lights were only a blur as Henry and his family climbed up into the dark skies above.

Suddenly, all outside references were gone.  The featureless ground quickly turned into an amorphous blob of black nothingness. There were no moon or stars above to indicate up from down.  Henry just entered the real world of IMC flight.

Henry instantly recalled his CFI's stern warnings about always remaining VFR.  His CFI had reinforced his warning by never taking Henry into real IFR conditions and, instead, had him wear a flimsy view limiting device or sat him behind a desktop simulator to satisfy the required 3 hours of instrument training for his private pilot certificate.  His instructor's mistaken belief was that if he takes his primary students into IFR conditions, they will feel "empowered" to go there on their own!

Henry was now alone at the controls for the very first time in a frighteningly strange environment.  Henry didn't realize at the time that he and his wife and two young children had less than 45 seconds to live.  That's the average life expectancy for a VFR-only pilot in IFR conditions.

Yes, Henry, VFR and IFR conditions can co-exist!

Let's look a little deeper into Henry's primary pilot training.  His home airport was Big City Municipal located in the heart of Class C airspace. 

His minimally required three hours of night flight, including his required night cross-country flight, never went beyond the vast urban sprawl surrounding his home airport. 

The lights on the ground always provided Henry with instant spatial awareness.  He was right at home both day and night!  Henry enjoyed flying at night.  But he had never lost sight of the lights on the ground.

Had Henry's night training taken him from his home airport to those rural areas where street and house lights no longer dotted the terrain, he would have been better prepared to say "no" to this night takeoff.  He would have understood that without nature's celestial lighting he would, in fact, be launching into IFR conditions.

Solution . . .

VFR-only pilots flying at night must be prepared to deal with a sudden loss of horizon over featureless, rural terrain caused by the absence of ground lights below and star or moonlight above.  This requires basic instrument flying skills that should have been acquired during their primary training.

If these skills are missing, find a qualified CFII and develop them or . . . don't fly at night unless the stars and moon are shining bright!

Landing - The Most Frequent Accident Scenario

Take a look at the four accidents depicted in the table below.  Do you see anything in common among the four? 

Yep . . . wind was listed as a probable cause in each.  What you do not see in this table is that all four wind related accidents occurred on the same day: September 20, 2007!

Location	Aircraft Type	NTSB Probable Cause Findings
Hartsel, CO	Aerostar S81A	The pilot's inability to maintain the proper descent rate. A factor contributing to the accident was the unfavorable wind conditions.
Santa Rosa, NM	Cessna 182P	The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing. A contributing factor was the crosswind.
Glenwood Springs, CO	Cessna 182Q	The pilot's failure to go around when it became apparent that he could not land and stop the airplane on the remaining runway. Factors contributing to the accident were the tailwind and the gusts.
Yulee, FL	Cessna 190	The pilot's failure to maintain directional control while landing. A factor in this accident was the crosswind condition.

No, there was nothing unusual about weather over North America on September 20, 2007.  In truth, these same wind-related landing accidents occur just about every day!  These are, in fact, the most common of all non-fatal accidents.  They also are one of the leading contributors to our excessively high aircraft insurance rates.

Then there was another . . .

Then, just this past December 1st, the pilot of a Cirrus SR22 lost directional control on landing roll-out at Hendersonville Airport, Hendersonville, North Carolina.  Fortunately, there were no injuries but the 1/2 million dollar aircraft was destroyed by a post-crash fire. 

According to the NTSB preliminary accident report, the pilot stated he was on the landing roll-out when a gust of wind caused the left wing to come up. He said that he applied left aileron and there was no response. The airplane started turning to the right. He lost directional control of the airplane and it came to a stop on the runway.      

Witness Statement: I observed the airplane on final approach and everything appeared to be normal.  I then heard an increase in engine power and looked up at the arriving airplane. The airplane was about two feet above the runway "flailing." The airplane rose to an altitude of less than ten feet, and appeared to be banking and yawing out of control. The right wing looked as if it hit the ground.  The airplane went off the runway, hit an embankment, and went back on the runway coming to a complete stop.

Why do landing accidents persist?

Answer in two words:  Defective or incomplete instruction!  Our chronic landing accident rate provides solid evidence that new pilots are being turned loose into the national airspace system with little or no crosswind landing training.

Many flight schools actually shut down flight training when winds across the airport are moving at 12 to 14 knots . . .  regardless of direction!  One reason is because crosswind proficiency is not likely to be addressed in the private pilot checkride. 

Note: Wonder why aircraft insurance rates are soaring?

Solution:  

There is not much we can do to alter the training practices of flight schools and CFIs.  We can, however, inoculate ourselves (and our students) against landing upsets caused by winds.  The most effective way to do this is to call upon an experienced, wind-savvy instructor and go out and practice cross-wind landings and takeoffs.  The more we do, the better and safer we will become!

Flight Training . . . wouldn't it be nice if?

Wouldn't it be nice if there was a flight school or other flight training resource available to us that offered all of the following elements? 

1. Real World Training Scenarios: 

This would be a place where there were no practice area exercises nor repetitive flight operations at the local airport only.  Instead, training would be conducted during cross-country flights through the national airspace system to distant airports.  Specialty training would include day-long flights into and through the some of the busiest airspace in the world.

This would be a place where instrument students were not relegated to cozy flight simulators in dark closets with coffee drinking instructors playing in a "make-believe" IFR world.  Instead, instrument training would be conducted in actual IFR weather wherever and whenever possible.

2. Advanced Maneuvers Training:

This would also be a place where flight training would not be cancelled when gusty winds kick up.  It would be a place where we could safely practice crosswind takeoffs and landings, aggressive cross-control and accelerated stalls, spiral descents,  and unusual attitude recoveries.  

3. Battle-hardened, Experienced Flight Instructors:

This would be a place where each flight instructor was a dedicated professional who was not just building time for that airline job or who was not a freshly minted pilot himself.   Instead, each CFI would have thousands of hours of "in the system" piloting experience, who truly enjoyed teaching, and who was dedicated to making the flight training experience meaningful and enjoyable!

Note:  If YOU are a CFII who fits this mold, you reside in WNY, and you would like to earn $50 or $60 or more per hour for sharing your experiences with new students and pilots seeking primary and advanced training, send me an email at rjma@rjma.com and tell me about yourself.

4. Late Model Garmin G1000 (Glass Cockpit) Equipped Training Aircraft:

At this place, we would train with the same generation avionics as today's corporate and airline fleet.  Uplink weather, terrain and traffic collision avoidance, autopilots, and leather seats make learning to fly and advancing through the ratings fun!  Each training aircraft is equipped with glass cockpit technology.

5. Intensive/Concentrated Training:

This would be a place where we could spend an entire day or, perhaps, a week or more in concentrated flight training to obtain our rating or finish up a rating in minimal time. 

6. Affordability:

Training costs at this place would be surprisingly affordable with aircraft rental rates just a few dollars higher than what other flight schools charge for their legacy, round dial airplanes.  Imagine renting a 2005 Garmin G1000-equipped C-172 with uplink weather, terrain avoidance, traffic collision alert, XM music, autopilot, and leather seats for just $125/hour wet!

7. Insurance:

Lastly, it would be a place where the training aircraft are fully insured with a $1,000 deductible.  This deductible is far below the $20,000 to $25,000 deductible in force at some other flight schools.

I have spent a great deal of time writing in OTA about the weaknesses in today's flight training system and have recently decided to do something about it.  To this end, I recently put together what I hope to be an ideal flight training program based at the Buffalo-Lancaster Regional Airport (KBQR).  This flight training program fulfills each of the seven elements described above.

Located just 6 miles east of the Buffalo/Niagara International Airport (BUF), Bob Miller Flight Training, Inc. offers personalized instruction geared to the unique interests and needs of each of its clients. 

Come spend several hours, a day, or even a week with us.  Learn to fly, or dust off those rusty edges, or earn a new rating.  The experience will be worth it! 

You can learn more about Bob Miller Flight Training, Inc. by clicking HERE.   If you or somebody you know would like to train in a program like this, please contact Bob Miller at rjma@rjma.com or call 716-864-8100. 

Remember, too, that this growing flight school is looking for a few more EXPERIENCED flight instructors who have REAL WORLD flying experience, who are not just building hours for that airline job, and who would like to earn $50 to $60 per hour.  If you or somebody you know meets these requirements, contact Bob Miller at rjma@rjma.com or call 716-864-8100. 

Weather ahead - will ATC keep you clear of it??

The NTSB has been coming down hard recently on ATC for not alerting pilots of dangerous weather ahead.  But is that really their job?  When their scopes are full of airplanes and images of precipitation, do they have time to steer us all around the boomers?

IFR Magazine published an article on this important safety topic in its January, 2008 issue.  You can find it by clicking HERE.

Guest Editorial

This is a recently added OTA section that will appear from time to time.  In it will be placed valuable perspectives shared by OTA readers that can help us all to achieve a better understanding of our world of flight.

If you have something pertinent to say about the safety of flight and you would like to have it read by pilots around the world, please send it in. If we publish it, you will receive your very own "official" OTA coffee cup!

This month's editorial is written by Max Trescott, author of Max Trescott's G1000 Handbook.  Max talks of the importance of doing something serious about reducing our chronic general aviation fatal accident rate.  Click HERE to read.

Know Your Approach Lighting Systems!

Arguably, the most demanding portion of any instrument approach occurs in the one or two seconds at or near published minimums that we shift from radio or electronic navigation to outside visual queues.  It is at this instant that we decide whether to continue down on the approach or apply power and fly the missed approach procedure.

Very often, the first thing we see outside the window at decision height (DH) or at the missed approach point (MAP) is the runway approach lighting system (ALS).  Obviously, if we know what that ALS looks like ahead of time, the better prepared we will be to complete the approach and land.

The illustration below depicts the most common types of ALSs in use today.  We should be familiar with each system and should know, of course, which system is in place at any runway we are using.  

A word about daytime use of approach lighting systems

My good friend and pilot mentor, Louie Nalbone, DPE from Dunkirk, NY, openly admits that any pilot coming to him for an instrument checkride who fails to activate a pilot controlled lighting system, either night or DAY, may be asked to return at some future date to complete the test.

Louie's purpose, of course, is to emphasize the importance of getting those approach lights on whenever descending in IFR conditions, especially during the day when finding the runway can be more difficult than at night!

Donations help to spread the word!

If you found Over the Airwaves helpful to you personally and/or beneficial to general aviation and would like to support its continued publication, please consider making a donation to the effort.  

Simply click on the button below to access a secure link through which PayPal, credit card, and personal check donations can be made.

Personal Checks:  

If you prefer to send a personal check, you can do so by making it payable to "Over the Airwaves" and mail it to:

Bob Miller
124 Delaware Street
Tonawanda, NY 14150

Your donations are used exclusively in the preparation, advancement, and promotion of Over the Airwaves to and for pilots all over the globe. 
 

Instrument Scan and Cross-Check in Glass Cockpit Aircraft

Anyone who has piloted a glass cockpit-equipped aircraft can attest to the benefits of having all critical flight data displayed in one central location.   They can also attest to the confusion that easily results from having too much data.  In times of stress, this abundance of data can easily overwhelm the non-proficient instrument pilot.

Looking at the Garmin 1000 Primary Flight Display (PFD) above, can you pick out the indicated  altitude, airspeed, heading, and flight attitude in less than a second or two?  You should be able to do so with ease.

Developing an effective instrument scan with the G1000 or Avidyne equipped airplane takes just a few minutes to develop, but like conventional round gauges, it should be practiced often.  Find your favorite safety pilot or CFII and climb into the clag.   Secure a block altitude IFR clearance and practice maneuvering on the gauges.  Do some steep turns, unusual attitude recoveries, and partial panel work using only the back-up instruments.  In time, it will become second nature!

With all due respect to PCATDs and view limiting devices to simulate IFR conditions, the ONLY way we will ever become comfortable on the gauges is from lots of actual IFR flying.
 

What they don't teach primary flight students - but should!

For those of you with high speed Internet access, click on the link below and allow a couple minutes for this remarkable video to load.   If we could impart the landing skills illustrated in this video to primary flight students, our accident rate would tumble.

Okay, so new pilots should not be flying in the weather depicted in this video . . . but, because of the vagaries of predicted weather, they sometimes do . . . and with nasty consequences!

Click HERE.

Thanks to C.B. Goldacker, Col, USAF (Ret), Davenport, FL for sharing this video with us!

Descending by the Numbers

Given the technology aboard many of today's GA aircraft, there is little excuse for not "nailing" every non-precision instrument approach. 

All we need to know is the vertical descent angle (VDA) as published on the profile view of the instrument approach chart and our ground speed, either estimated or as displayed on the panel.

A quick reference to a sample instrument approach plate profile view below depicts a 2.97 degree VDA.

Another quick reference to the Rate of Descent Table printed at the back of NACO instrument approach plates enable us to match the VDA with our ground speed.  Once done, we know the proper descent rate we need to achieve to produce a stabilized approach to the runway.

A word about stabilized versus "dive and drive" descents on non-precision approaches . . .

There are two schools of thought regarding the type of descent profile we should use when slithering down through the clag on a non-precision instrument approach.  One school prefers the "stabilized" approach, as described above.

The other school suggests a "dive and drive" approach where we quickly descend to the next lower altitude fix that is depicted on the approach plate.  The advantage of the "dive and drive" method is that it gets us down below freezing clouds in less time than the "stabilized" method.

Rather than recommending one school of thought over the other, the best method depends upon weather conditions.  The "stabilized" approach is better when ice is not a factor.  The "dive and drive" method can get us down through ice conditions more quickly, presuming we find above freezing or clear air below.

Aero-News.Net Features OTA in Podcasts

"Emergency GPS Descents is the latest in a series of podcasts I have been doing with Aero-News.Net's Paul Plack. 

You can hear, or download for later listening, these 15 minute interviews and any of the previously conducted podcasts by clicking on the titles below:

Podcast Titles [Click on desired titles - several minutes required to download.] * Wind Awareness * Go / No-go Decisions * Emergency GPS Descents * Listener E-mails on Ice Training * Training for Icing * Icing Season is here! * Engine Priming: * Autopilot Reliance * Propeller Fatigue * FSS Privatization * "16 Hour Rule" * In-Flight Emergencies * No Hands Flying * Bonanzas to LaGuardia * IFR to VFR and GPS Direct * Passion for Flight * Stabilized Approaches * Teachable Moments * ATC Services * Live from Oshkosh '07 * Windshear * Diversions * Density Altitude * Thunderstorms * Stress and Pilot Performance * Light Sport Pilot Program

By the way, Aero-News.Net is a FREE daily online publication that is packed with aviation related news.  It is the first thing I read every morning.  You can log on to Aero-News.Net and subscribe for your free subscription by clicking HERE.

Join the New Age of General Aviation!

Let's face it, GA has gone glass!  In fact, it's difficult to find any new aircraft, from airliners, to biz jets, and all the way down to light sport, coming out of the factories today with conventional round gauges.  It's all glass!

Future professional pilots should take note of this important fact. The sooner you can become comfortable with this new technology, the better prepared you will be to take command of 21st century aircraft.

It's worth the time to explore your local flight training community to find glass cockpit-equipped aircraft to train in.  Here in Western New York, we're fortunate to have two such sources.  One is Dunkirk Aviation Sales and Service (KDKK) in Dunkirk, NY and the other is at at the Lancaster, NY Airport (KBQR).

Helpful Sponsors

 

As in all weather flying, the golden rule is to “Leave yourself an out." -- Michael Lenz, FAA Flight Standards Service, General Aviation and Commercial Division

 

We GA pilots tend to be control freaks.  We like the ability to come and go as we please.  Other than taking clearances from ATC, we do not like being told where, when, and how to go.  That's why we choose to fly our own airplanes rather than taking the airlines.

But having control comes with responsibility.  This responsibility includes, of course, designing a safe, fool-proof plan every time we launch.  It requires that we make proper go/no go decisions.  It says that we develop the routing, evaluate the weather, and do the fuel planning. 

There is one more thing that every proficient pilot does.  We give ourselves an "out," a "plan B," or a "backdoor" for every stage of flight.   Having a safe place to go when things do not unfold as planned is the central key to a long life as a pilot. 

Our "backdoors" include a suitable off-airport landing site should we lose power on takeoff.  They also include having quickly accessible warmer air or VFR should we encounter airframe icing.  It's carrying floatation or survival gear when flying over open water or hostile terrain.  Heck, it could be as simple as carrying a functioning flashlight when flying at night. 

Curiously, such contingency planning can be fun.  It's the kind of thing we do on the drive to the airport.  Asking ourselves a lot of "what if" questions typically begins the process.  "What if" the battery is dead?   "What if" the ceiling and visibility lowers?  "What if" my passenger tosses his cookies in the climb?

There are endless "what if" type questions we should be asking ourselves prior to and during every flight.  Make a game out of it.  How many such questions can we come up with?  Then ask ourself, is there any aspect of my planned flight where I do not have an "out?"  Night takeoffs over cold water is one that I dread.   There are others, of course.

The key to a long life as a pilot is to have an "out" for every possible contingency!

 

Bob Miller, ATP, CFII
rjma@rjma.com
716-864-8100