WELCOME PILOTS
I hope many of you were able to get out and participate in the WingsOfun sponsored National Take Flight Day (NTFD), Saturday, April 12, 2014. If you did get out to fly don’t forget to go to the WingsOfun Facebook page and post pictures, video and stories about what you did to celebrate this first annual event. This week’s Pilot Safety Minute (PSM) video is a re-cap of my NTFD experience flying from the Asheboro, North Carolina Airport (HBI) with fellow pilot and NC Aviation Museum board member, Bob Coyle. A big thank you goes out to Bob for providing his aircraft in order to commemorate this special day.
To those that were able to make it to Sun n’ Fun I hope you had a great time. I was pleased to hear the reports about a record attendance this year. Good attendance could be a window to the recovery of the economy and the sport aviation industry. Current projections show homebuilt aircraft as a strong second in sales volume compared to corporate turbines.
~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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WingsOfun.com PILOT SAFETY MINUTE (PSM) VIDEO #41 ~ MY NATIONAL TAKE FLIGHT DAY ~ TC FREEMAN
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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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LESSONS FROM THE HELICOPTER SAFETY COMMUNITY
By TC FREEMAN
I had the opportunity to be a small part of the Helicopter Association International (HAI) Safety Summit this past week in Raleigh, N.C. and was impressed with their brand new “Land and Live” safety program. Common to many facets of aviation there is a concern in the rise of accidents resulting from flight from Visual Flight Rules (VFR) into Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) accidents. For helicopter pilots, the prospect of flying IFR can be similar to juggling while standing on a beach ball, even for those with IFR certification. However, the issue and solution has many similarities with their fixed-wing brethren.
Stan Rose, Director of Safety Outreach, used his experience as a former military pilot to lay the groundwork of how pilots from the Vietnam era dealt with VFR Into IMC situations verses modern pilots. If I were to “cut to the chase” as they say, the core message is to land the helicopter when the prospect of IMC exists. To emphasize this concept they had t-shirts made up that say, “Flight not going well?” on the front. Turn to the back, it states, “LAND THE D***N HELICOPTER!”* While shocking, it does get your attention and that is the point. HAI officials are weary of seeing accident reports with VFR Into IMC (and Pilot Error) as a causal factor and are determined to make a difference.**
Expanding on the point, Rose said a precautionary landing is the best decision because the chance of vertigo (spatial disorientation) goes up upon entering IMC. Vertigo can be initiated by the maneuvers required for helicopter pilots to escape the situation; go down, slow down and turn around. According to Rose, “If you try to do more than one of these (maneuvers) at the same time you are asking for trouble.”
As a related side bar, I was impressed by the time taken on the benefit of using simple Personal Computer (PC) based flight simulator programs for proficiency.*** Being one of my “soapbox” issues, it was nice to see confirmation by a member of the aviation safety community.
In the modern world of aviation, helicopter pilots have reservations about making an off airport/heliport landing fearing legal issues with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), local law enforcement and/or property owners. This reminds me of the fear that the majority of pilots have with declaring an emergency upon arrival to an airport. As with both situations the recommendation by experts is to forget about the ramifications and do the safest possible thing, LAND.
The sailplane (glider) community probably has the healthiest attitude when it comes to off-airport landings which they call a “land out”. When a pilot realizes that the available lift isn’t sufficient to support a flight to the original destination a secondary, non-airport site is picked out for a safe landing. Keep in mind the word “emergency” wasn’t used, which is a good thing psychologically.
There is a lot we can learn from long-time pilots in various areas of aviation. We should all take a moment to take the stigma from the word “emergency” and embrace the idea of a successful “land out,” as our glider friends say. All pilots can benefit from the wisdom of the leadership of HAI’s “Land and Live” program. I salute this initiative and encourage others to adapt it to their own type of flying.
*Quote from Matt Zuccaro, HAI President
**Stan Rose clarified that this extends to other areas by stating, “…when we say, Flight not going well? we are talking about weather but also things like unusual vibrations, pilots who feel ill and anything that could lead to a bad outcome.”
***While noting they are not legal from a regulation stand-point for currency.
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.
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2nd ANNUAL
NATIONAL TAKE FLIGHT DAYSaturday, April 11, 2015
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2nd ANNUAL
NATIONAL TAKE FLIGHT DAYSaturday, April 11, 2015
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“We are excited to donate this segment of the WingsOfun BLOG to this great program that promotes; airport visitation, education and tourism.”
~TC FREEMAN
OPERATION: FLY NC NEWS
Stamp NOTAMS (no additional Stamp NOTAMS at this time)
*April 15, 2014 (6:15 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.) Pilot Seminar: Don't Let Stress Bring You Down. Lacy Griffin Building (Asheville, NC Airport~AVL), 1 Aviation Way, Fletcher, NC 28732. Registration and details available at: http://www.faasafety.gov/SPANS/event_details.aspx?eid=54256&caller=/SPANS/events/EventList.aspx?statecd=NC
*April 26, 2014 (9:00 AM. -- 6:00 PM.) Lexington, NC BBQ Capital Cook-off and Fly In.
Lexington, North Carolina: Davidson County Airport (KEXX). For more information go to:http://flyins.com/events/view-event.html?id=5732
* May 17, 2014 (8 a.m. – 7 p.m.) Fayetteville (FAY) Fly-in, Airport Road, Fayetteville, NC. For more information go to: http://flyins.com/events/view-event.html?id=5816
*May 17, 2014 (9 a.m. – 4 p.m.) IXA Wings and Wheels Fly-in. Halifax/North Hampton County Regional Airport (Roanoke Rapids, NC). Seminars, helicopter rides, Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) rides, food, camping, entertainment and more. More information available on the fly-in facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/1419097265010777/ or by phone at, 252-583-3492.
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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 by WingsOfun Media
*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.
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Get Active and contact your elected officials about current aviation issues by going to:http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml
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Friend and co-worker Terry Carlyle retired from State government. This is his retirement salute for many years an Executive Pilot on fixed wing and rotorcraft.
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Questions? Contact: tom@wingsofun.com
