WELCOME PILOTS
It’s been a busy week in North Carolina with the winter ice storm that brought down trees, limbs and power lines. Fortunately, after a few days, the power was restored with the assistance of many out-of-town electrical repair crews. Times like these are a reminder of the benefit of the simple pleasures in life.
During this time, I was part of an aviation maintenance conference targeted at Airframe and Powerplant mechanics (a.k.a. Aviation Maintenance Technicians) with the advanced Inspection Authorization (IA) certification. These hard working IAs are required to either complete a certain amount of Annual Inspections on aircraft or attend eight hours of training each year. The calendar year for this training runs from March to March of the following year (not sure why) and allows IAs to stay current on the latest regulations and maintenance topics. My hat is off to the dedication of these folks to maintain their advanced certification. We should all appreciate that the cost of an annual isn’t just the per-hour rate but the work required to maintain certification. Many IAs attend to benefit from the presentations while already qualifying through inspections.
One of the presentations was presented by a Cessna Aircraft representative discussing the development of diesel engines for single engine aircraft. Next week I will talk about viability of diesel engines to boost production of general aviation aircraft.
I wanted to give a shout-out to the Piedmont Flying Club (Greensboro, NC) for inviting me to speak to their group about “Pilot and Aircraft Performance.” We had a good discussion with a focus on the topic of the February 10, 2014 article “How Many Hours Do you Need to be Safe (http://wingsofun.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2014-02-24T15:44:00-08:00&max-results=7).”
Be sure to check out the News section with information about contacting your elected officials regarding the Expansion of the Driver’s License Exemption for Pilots. It’s important for the future of the aviation industry for this to get Bill passed.
~TC Freeman
Aviation Speaker and Author
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NEW PRESENTATION
“PILOT AND AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE"
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Your opportunity to continue the dialog is on Facebook:
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PILOT SAFETY MINUTE VIDEO #36 ~ BUZZING MATTERS II
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Need a Speaker for your Next Event? We Can Help. See the Article;
Need a Speaker for your Next Event? We Can Help. See the Article;
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IN A WORLD WHERE STALLS DON'T EXSIST
By TC FREEMAN
Imagine the scene, the pilot’s aircraft is loaded to maximum weight after a weekend of snow skiing. The pilot’s family, a spouse and two teenagers, are dead tired after milking all of the value out of expensive lift tickets and skiing equipment. Despite the cost, the pilot chocks it up as an opportunity to make some good memories, along with the realization that the kids are not getting any younger. Being safety conscience, the pilot quits skiing early, looking forward to using the hot-tub at the chalet and catching up on some much needed sleep.
Fast forward to the next day. The aircraft is positioned at the absolute beginning of the runway with full-power, full brakes applied. The pilot’s legs begin to burn, a reminder of the bumpy moguls on the expert double black diamond slope. With max power achieved the brakes are released and the aircraft slowly accelerates down the runway. The pilot keeps tabs on the slowly moving airspeed needle while simultaneously making sure the metaphorical “point of no return” isn’t passed without sufficient airspeed. A sigh is heard after the realization that everything is good; engine gauges in the green, airspeed steadily rising and the climb rate is better than expected. The pilot thinks aloud, “thank God for cold weather.”
The momentary comfort is thwarted hard as a large mountain begins to fill the windscreen. It becomes obvious to the pilot that it’s going to take all the horsepower available if they are going to clear this formative hurdle. As a knee-jerk reaction the pilot pulls back on the control yoke despite the blare of the stall warning horn followed by a buffet and stall……the scene fades to black.
ALTERNATE ENDING: picking it up from the end of the first scene.
The pilot pulls back on the yoke and the aircraft automatically achieves maximum best angle (Vx) climb angle and speed. No matter how far back the pilot pulls the yoke the aircraft stays solidly on maximum climb performance criteria. The mountain peak turns into a solid wall of trees and the aircraft barely ekes out over the obstacle with only feet to spare.
The best thing about this scenario is that they all made it out alive. After several days of reflection during sleepless nights the pilot realizes what things could have been changed if it could be done again. Carrying less baggage and fuel, plus leaving earlier in the day, would have translated to better climb performance. The question remains, how did the family in the second scenario make it over the mountain while the first entered a stall and crashed?
The survivable scenario is brought to you by a system typically reserved for large airliners, fighters and sophisticated corporate jets. It’s called fly-by-wire. In a recent seminar I attended by Embraer, they highlighted the positive benefits of this system. Fly-by-wire is a rare commodity in this this class of corporate aircraft (450/500 models). Typically reserved for the “big iron,” such as Airbus and Boeing, Embraer is committed to making this technology available to the corporate sector of the market. I know what you are thinking, “Didn’t that fly-by-wire aircraft crash in New York due to a rudder issue? What about the one that went into the trees at the airshow in France?” If you really think about it, those crashes happened many years ago, 2001 and 1988 respectively. Since then, fly-by-wire has greatly improved and have been commonplace in the airlines and military. Actually, these systems have been around for decades, starting with the first lunar module.
The challenge to the representatives of Embraer is to sell the benefit to veteran corporate pilots that have (for the most part) no experience with fly-by-wire. For as much as aircraft have advanced, old habits and technology die hard. Under the skillful teachings of the test pilot speaker, it was obvious that he had gained their attention while outlining the benefits. One of the cool features of this system is that if both pilots try to fly the aircraft at the same time the side stick will vibrate. As shown in the scenario, the aircraft has automatic stall protection in maximum climb and steep bank angle situations. According to company representatives you can roll the aircraft with the system engaged. The system will prevent the pilot from doing such stupid pilot tricks such as stalling and over-speed conditions. However, it must be mentioned that manual mode is still available for certain flight operations.
My question is, “Why don’t we have fly-by-wire in small General Aviation aircraft?” If not in certificated aircraft it would seem logical to have them in experimental sport aircraft. Rumor has it that Diamond is working hard to bring such equipment to their airframes. An industry friend of mine answered my question by saying, “…because the equipment is too expensive.” Conventional wisdom would say that with all of the homebuilders out there that someone would have tackled such a project. Heck, in my area you can swing a dead cat (it’s a joke, I love cats) and hit a computer programmer and electrical engineer that have a passion for aviation.
I must admit, my initial perception of fly-by-wire was tainted by the accidents we mentioned earlier. However, after listening to the Embraer test pilot and company representative present the facts, I’m convinced that fly-by-wire is the future…and it’s already here.
About the author:
TC Freeman has been flying since he was a teenager and is now an aviation speaker and author. Being employed as an Aviation Safety Specialist for state government, he has passion for spreading the thrill of flying just for the fun of it via the website, www.WingsOfun.com.
*WingOfun Call to Action: “Senate Acts On Third-Class Medical Exemption” (AvWeb). A quote from the article from Senator Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, "The FAA has had two years to review this request for an exemption.....Let's get this thing moving."
http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Senate-Acts-On-Third-Class-Medical-Exemption221581-1.html
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http://youtu.be/wixm0fN1QD0
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NATIONAL TAKE FLIGHT DAY,
SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 2014
SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 2014
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OPERATION: FLY NC NEWS
OPERATION: FLY NC NEWS
Discuss OP: Fly NC with fellow pilots at: http://tinyurl.com/opflync
Stamp NOTAMS (no additional Stamp NOTAMS at this time)
Upcoming Events: Good for OP: FLY NC stamp/signature, most posted to: www.SocialFlight.com.
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IMPORTANT AUDIO PRESENTATION AVAILABLE:
“OPERATIONS AT NON-TOWERED AIRPORTS”… for pilots flying just for the fun of it.
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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NEWS FROM THE WEB
Brought to you by:
HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON FLIGHT TRAINING
eBook
*INCLUDES SPECIAL CAREER PILOT SECTION!
*INCLUDES SPECIAL CAREER PILOT SECTION!
*Winston-Salem Fun Fly-in, May 9, 2014 (2 p.m. – 6 p.m.) Coordinated by subscriber Jonathan Miller.
*“Aviation Triad (NC) and Purolator partner in promoting jobs in NC.” Interesting Effort Focused in the Triad of NC.
http://generalaviationnews.com/2014/03/08/aviation-triad-and-purolator-partner-in-promoting-jobs-in-nc/
http://generalaviationnews.com/2014/03/08/aviation-triad-and-purolator-partner-in-promoting-jobs-in-nc/
*“Skydiver, Pilot Hurt After Midair Accident in Florida - weather.com.” Fortunately all were admitted and released from the hospital with no serious injuries.
*The FAA introduces the new Airman's Information Manual (AIM), check it out online for free.
*WingOfun Call to Action: “Senate Acts On Third-Class Medical Exemption” (AvWeb). A quote from the article from Senator Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, "The FAA has had two years to review this request for an exemption.....Let's get this thing moving."
http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Senate-Acts-On-Third-Class-Medical-Exemption221581-1.html
Contact your elected officials in support of the “expansion of the driver’s license medical exemption to more (non-commercial) pilots. To find your senate representatives go to: http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml
*Here's a legal option for the installation of a GoPro camera. Has anyone had any luck with an FAA field approval? There are several aircraft covered under this companies Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) but it isn’t necessarily cheap for hobby type photographers.
*Women in Aviation conference awards $500K in scholarships.
http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Women-in-Aviation-Conference-Draws-Record-Crowd221580-1.html
http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Women-in-Aviation-Conference-Draws-Record-Crowd221580-1.html
OUR FAVORITE VIDEOS FROM THE WEB ~ Black Pilots of America
http://youtu.be/wixm0fN1QD0
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