Monday, January 6, 2014

#26: January 6, 2014

WingsOfun.com Newsletter #26 (January 6, 2014)

WELCOME PILOTS


We hope 2014 is off to a great start for you. After a little break, we are back to producing more of your favorite videos and articles. Great news! WingsOfun has been invited to speak at the Sebring (Florida) Light Sport Expo (http://www.sport-aviation-expo.com/, January 16-19, 2014. Yours truly will be presenting the popular “Operations at Non-Towered Airports for Recreational Pilots” during the weekend portion of the event (details below).

FAA Announces its six UAS test sites for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operations across the United States (http://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/uas/infographic/). Sadly, my home state of North Carolina didn’t make the cut, but according to Kyle Snyder, Director NextGen Air Transportation (NGAT), in a recent newsletter stated, “Although including the Gull Rock Test Site (Hyde County, North Carolina) among the national test sites would have been the icing on the cake, we are still committed to the mission of making our state a leader in this emerging industry.”

Subscriber Don Peters shared a great story about the Aviation Career Expo at the TIMCO Invitational basketball tournament that took place last month in Greensboro, N.C.. The heavy aircraft maintenance repair station TIMCO sponsored the local basketball tournament that included a unique opportunity for attendees to learn more about careers in aviation. To help with the effort members of the aviation community, local aviation colleges and businesses set-up display booths to educate visitors. I commend the organizers of the event for taking two seemingly unrelated topics and making it an opportunity for super aviation marketing. This reminds me a lot of the marketing campaign of the Scion automobile company that sponsored several local community basketball events to target young buyers. The next time your community has a festival or celebration be sure to include an element of aviation.

~TC Freeman
Chief Executive Aviation Ambassador (CEAA)


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Your opportunity to continue the dialog is on FaceBook:


 
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PILOT SAFETY MINUTE VIDEO #26 ~ COCKPIT RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

 
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NEW AUDIO PRESENTATION AVAILABLE:

OPERATIONS AT NON-TOWERED AIRPORTS FOR RECREATIONAL PILOTS

(Roll-Out Special $1.99)

With the issue of sequestration, the shut-down of many Air Traffic Control Towers is a possibility. Regardless, it is important to know how to safely and efficiently operate at Non-Towered Airports. In this audio book TC Freeman discusses; straight in approaches, dealing with aircraft on extended downwind and traffic pattern entries.


(Run time: 34 minutes)

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WHAT PILOTS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ADS-B (Part I)

BY TC FREEMAN

There have been a lot of questions regarding the future and capabilities of the Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) system. The reason for requiring aircraft to have a minimum of ADS-B “out” units installed by the year 2020 is to allow aircraft to be seen as a “blip,” in a broader sense known as Traffic Information Service Broadcast (TIS-B), on aircraft equipped with the appropriate digital display. The bigger picture of ADS-B is NextGen, the FAA’s strategic plan to modernize the air traffic control system. NextGen promises more efficient and cost effective operations through reduced vertical separation (putting more aircraft in less space), better remote area radar-like coverage, available in-cockpit weather and lower cost through a transition from ground based navigation facilities. Can recreational pilots benefit from ADS-B? The answer is yes and no, but let us cover some of the details first.

2020 is the year by which aircraft owners are required to have a minimum standard of ADS-B “out” units installed in their aircraft. This means that the unit will only broadcast “out” information regarding about aircraft altitude (displacement) and direction of flight information  (and Air Traffic Control) to aircraft with the appropriate display.

The downside of ADS-B for the multitude of cost-conscience pilots flying basic instrument equipped aircraft (those without a Wide Area Augmentation GPS or mode S transponder with extended squitter) is that the “out” units come at a cost (while no such approved unit exists at this time - to be discussed in a future article) with no real benefit to the pilot. I suppose one could say a benefit would be that fully equipped ADS-B aircraft and Air Traffic Control (ATC) would have this information. However, this depends on the vigilance of the folks using the information appropriately. The FAA states, “Under the rule, ADS-B Out performance will be required to operate in:


  1. Class A, B, and C.
  2. Class E airspace within the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia at and above 10,000 feet MSL, excluding the airspace at and below 2,500 feet above the surface.
  3. Class E airspace at and above 3,000 feet MSL over the Gulf of Mexico from the coastline of the United States out to 12 nautical miles.
  4. Around those airports identified in 14 CFR part 91, Appendix D.
The ADS-B Out rule does not apply in the airspace defined in items 1 and 2 above for any aircraft that was not originally certificated with an electrical system or that has not subsequently been certified with such a system installed, including balloons and gliders.”

It’s interesting to note that aircraft “not originally certified with an electrical system” is off the hook so to speak. Otherwise, if you are comfortable with being relegated to flying below 2,500 AGL, in Class G and some E airspace, then those with electrical systems are good to go.

Proposed installation of only ADS-B “out” units reminds me of a story one of my Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) instructors told me regarding customer perception of aircraft engine maintenance. When a customer brought an aircraft to his shop for complex engine work there was a policy that all engines be painted prior to delivery back to the customer. Why? Think of the customer that pays big money for engine work but picks up the same crusty old looking aircraft he or she dropped off a week prior. Now imagine that same customer walking out to the recently worked on aircraft to see an open cowling containing an engine with bright shiny new paint. It makes the customer feel like something has been done to the aircraft and with great care. The customer almost thinks he or she is flying away with a new aircraft engine, not simply throwing money away into a money pit. I can see how an aircraft owner miffed about an ADS-B “out” purchase as a waste of money without a tangible benefit.

The bottom line is that ADS-B “out” operators will be beneficial to the other stakeholders in the game; the airlines, fully equipped ADS-B aircraft and ATC.*Some pilots are taking a hybrid approach, a certified ADS-B “out” with non-certified “In” capabilities. If you own an aircraft with a multi-function display or plan to “trick out” your aircraft with the latest and greatest avionics package then there are significant benefits that go along with this investment.

(To be continued next week.)

Correction: We stated that aircraft would be "...relegated to flying below 2,500 AGL, in Class G and some E airspace..." which is incorrect. Aircraft can fly in Class G and some E airspace. We suggest using the quote from the FAA above as the best guide to understanding.  

*This will most likely extend to UAV operators in the future.


REMEMEMBER THE 1ST “NATIONAL TAKE FLIGHT DAY” is

Saturday, APRIL 12, 2014 www.NationalTakeFlightDay.com
 

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OPERATION: FLY NC NEWS



Thanks to Operation: Fly NC pilot Jay Darmstadter for the following updates:

*At Siler City (5W8), the stamp is in a mailbox with a Fly NC logo on a column outside the door to the FBO, so it can be accessed anytime.

*The stamp is missing from the mailbox at Hyde County (7W6).

Here is a previously mentioned update:

*The JAARS/Townsend Airport (N52) stamp that was reported as missing from the telephone box has been found.

Upcoming Events: Good for OP: FLY NC stamp/signature, most posted to: www.SocialFlight.com.

*Tuesday, January 14, 2014 (6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) Person Co. Pilots Association meeting. Seminar topic: Pilot and Aircraft Performance.

*Saturday, January 18, 2014 (9:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.) Sebring (Florida) Light Sport Expo. Seminar Topic: Operations at Non-Towered Airports for Recreational Pilots. See the complete schedule and information at: http://www.sport-aviation-expo.com/event-details/workshops/

*Sunday, January 19, 2014 (9:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.) Sebring (Florida) Light Sport Expo. Seminar Topic: Operations at Non-Towered Airports for Recreational Pilots. See the complete schedule and information at: http://www.sport-aviation-expo.com/event-details/workshops/

*(UPDATED!) Saturday, February 15, 2014 (time to be announced) B Bar D Flight Training (Allegro), Raleigh Executive South Jetport (TTA). Seminar topic: Operations at Non-Towered Airports. Contact: B Bar D at: (919) 775-2224
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eBook Special $3.99

HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON FLIGHT TRAINING

*INCLUDES SPECIAL CAREER PILOT SECTION!


http://tinyurl.com/lw2s674
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OUR FAVORITE VIDEOS FROM THE WEB ~ Clay Lacy and the Amazing Human Fly

 

I’ve heard about Clay Lacy over the years and was fortunate to stumble across this story about one of his exploits.

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