News

Mooney announced last week the redesign of their current Ovation and Acclaim models.  The biggest change that Mooney pilots will love is the addition of a pilot’s door, allowing the pilot to enter on the left side instead of having to crawl over the passenger seat.

Other upgrades include a keypad for easier data entry on the G1000 and an all in one, digital standby instrument that includes attitude, airspeed, and altitude.

This raises the question, will Piper and Beechcraft follow suit?

As pilots, we are all familiar with the IM SAFE acronym that the FAA puts out.  It comes up as part of the ground training over Human Factors during private pilot ground school.  We all memorize it, spit it out for our check rides, then most of us promptly forget about it.

When I was training for my pilot’s licenses, I was at a Part 141 school that was very standardized (LeTourneau University, who has a fabulous aviation school).  Before each flight, we had to do a self evaluation based on the weather and the IM SAFE checklist.  Based on our answers, we would then determine if the conditions were conducive to flying as well as if I was physically okay to fly.

This was a great tool because not only do pilots have to pre-flight the airplane, they also need to pre-flight themselves.  It’s very easy to fall into one of the “Hazardous Attitudes” if there is a pressing meeting or you haven’t flown in a while and it’s a beautiful day, but maybe you aren’t physically fit to control an airplane.

Let’s break down the IM SAFE checklist to dig a little deeper into the physically fit side of flying.

Illness

This one is pretty easy.  Are you sick?  If so, how sick?  If you can’t hardly talk or your body feels like it was hit by a truck, then flying probably isn’t in your best interest.

The tricky area can become if you are only a little sick.  Maybe you have a cough or a little cold or a headache is starting to form.  You probably could go fly, but is it really a good idea?  It could be something worse, or it may be nothing.  You have to know yourself and put limits on yourself before you wake up on the day of your big meeting two states over.  Set illness personal minimums and stick to them.

Medication

There are a slew of drugs, both prescription and over the counter, that pilots cannot take and fly.  AOPA has a hotline to call for pilots to find out if they can fly with the medication they are taking, or what meds they can take to give them relief and still operate an aircraft.

Another great resource is your medical examiner.  Just give him/her a call and they will be more than happy to let you know what you can and can’t take.  They’ve been educated in the area of aviation so they are very knowledgeable.

Stress

This is a huge one that pilots ignore a lot.  Maybe it was a stressful day at work, maybe you are running late to the airport, your meeting got moved up, whatever.  Stress can jump on you and mess up a pilot’s thinking very quickly.  If you have a lot of other things on your mind and you aren’t able to focus just on flying, it might be a good idea to stay on the ground.

Alcohol

Out of the whole IM SAFE list, the alcohol limitations are very clearly defined.  8 hours bottle to throttle, no more than 0.04% BAC, no operating an airplane while under the influence, and no carrying passengers who are visibly intoxicated.  For your personal minimums, it’s a good idea to increase that time to 12, 18 or even 24 hours bottle to throttle.

Fatigue

Learning to fly while a college student led to a fair share of canceled flights due to fatigue.  I operate best on 8 hours of sleep in the past 24 hours.  I can function on 6, but anything less than 6 hours, my performance drastically drops off, sometimes to a point where I wouldn’t be safe.  I discovered this while with my flight instructor attempting to do a holding pattern and completely botching it up.

I observed this as a CFI quite often.  If I was doing ground with a student and they were struggling, my first question would be, how much sleep did you get last night?  More often than not, if I had to ask that question, I would get an average answer of 3 to 4 hours (I even had one guy show up for a flight block on 2 hours sleep.  I sent him back to the dorm).

Fatigue is very easily overlooked because it’s not measurable.  Needing to get a flight lesson done or needing to get somewhere when you are obviously fatigued is not a good idea.  Make sure you get a good night’s sleep before a flight and don’t be afraid to cancel if you didn’t.  Set some sleep personal minimums and make them hard and fast.

Eating

Don’t skip meals and fly.  Performance greatly decreases when a pilot is hungry.  At the very least, stick a couple of food bars in your flight bag to give you some nourishment.

Also, stay hydrated, especially in the summer time.  I carry a huge bottle of water with me on all my flights because I get headaches if I don’t drink enough.  Getting dehydrated on a long flight can lead to all sorts of performance problems (over hydration is also a problem in the air, but that’s what Gatorade bottles are for, right?).

All this to say, have some personal minimums when it comes to you and your body.  Check the plane, check the weather and check yourself.  If anything falls in the “red” area in any one of those three categories, stay on the ground and don’t press your luck.

6th Annual Armed Forces Weekend Celebration & Fly-In, May 20-21, in Brady, TX and Curtis Field (KBBD)!

Friday Night on the Square – FREE

Fly-In Saturday, 9-4 – FREE

A Night in London with Sentimental Journey Orchestra
Saturday night 7-11 PM
Tickets for Dinner & Dance, $30 available at www.morganmilitaryaviationmuseum.com.

Some fuel is available for warbirds! Please contact the airport if you would like to bring one!

Late last year, the Diamond Aircraft Corporation announced a brand new twin engine, the Diamond DA62. At first glance, this is a pretty cool airplane.  It seats 7 passengers, spread out amongst 3 rows, with 2 massive doors, leading to an “SUV” type feel, according to Flying Magazine.  That is only one of the “neato” features of the Diamond DA62.

The thing that will make pilots believers is the fuel burn.  According to Flying Magazine, which did a test flight of the airplane, at 14,000 feet and 60% power, the airplane was only burning 12 GPH, but still doing 170 KTAS.  Remember, this is a twin.  That’s about the same as a normally aspirated Cirrus SR22 at the same altitude.

How does Diamond do it?  Jet A.  The company put two Austro AE330, 170 Horsepower, Jet A burning piston engines on the Diamond DA62.  You may say, well, yeah, at 60% power, that’s great, but I want to go places. How much fuel does it burn then?  Even at max continuous power of 95%, it’s still only burning 18.5 GPH total and cruising at 195 knots.  Paying Jet A prices, that’s pretty sweet.

The range on the airplane is quite nice too.  Again, according to Flying Magazine, the range with full fuel (86.4 gallons with aux tanks) is about 1,300 miles.  You can carry the whole family too, as the full fuel payload is 1,000 pounds.  Golf clubs?  No problem.  Just stick them in the nose.

The Diamond DA62 is probably one of the easiest twins to manage, engine-wise, too.  The Fully Automated Digital Engine Control (FADEC) system that Diamond installed leaves the pilot with only 2 power levers, instead of 6 on the typical piston twin.  All that needs to be done at cruise is set a percent power and the FADEC computer does the rest.

Need air conditioning, built in oxygen, and TKS?  Diamond can set you up.  The G1000 system complete with digital backup instruments is standard in the airplane.  What more can you really ask for?

If you haven’t figured it out, I really like this airplane and would be aching to fly it.  I enjoy the DA40 and have a good amount of DA42 experience, but I’d really like to hop in a Diamond DA62.

Read the whole Flying Magazine article here.

Sources:  Flyingmag.com

I love cross country flights. Airplanes are designed to travel.  When I was instructing private students, my favorite lessons were always the first cross country flights. I looked forward to getting my students out of the pattern, away from the practice area, and showing them what they could really look forward to as a private pilot.

When I was in college, my friend and I borrowed his dad’s Cessna 150, did a cross country flight in it from Indianapolis to Kitty Hawk, then down the coast to Florida. We camped in the grass next to the airplane wherever the airport managers would let us and had our own aviation adventure complete with mechanical problems, unexpected weather, and interesting people along the way. These types of trips have produced some of the best memories and experiences that I’ve acquired during my aviation career so far.

Unfortunately, I know many people whose only cross country flight experience is what was necessary to satisfy their Private and Instrument training requirements. Some of them are nervous about the idea of venturing away from the familiarity of their home airport, while others are relatively new pilots who simply don’t know where to start planning a long cross country flight.

I’ve taken some notes on my preparations for an upcoming cross country flight that I’ll be flying in my dad’s Bonanza. I’m hoping this checklist might help others feel a little more confident that they have everything they need to get going.

Oil

Its always a good idea to bring a few extra quarts of oil. If you stop somewhere and find you need some, its nice to have the right kind on hand. Never assume that the airport you’ll be landing at next will have oil available.

I like to keep a few extra quarts of 15W50 in the back of the Bonanza, just in case (photo from oil-store.com)

Fuel Stops

Here is an example of the 100LL price tool as seen on the Foreflight maps page

I’ve learned the hard way that calling ahead to verify fuel availability can be extremely important. I landed at an airport in Ohio one beautiful Sunday morning to find that the FBO wouldn’t be open until much later in the day. Naturally, there was no other fuel available on the field. I hadn’t called ahead to verify the hours of fuel availability (I assumed they had Self Serve) and had only 2 options: wait a while for the FBO to open, or try and find somewhere else nearby that had gas. As far as price, www.100LL.com is a valuable tool for finding cheap fuel. Foreflight also has posted prices for 100LL and Jet A, but it’s still a good idea to call ahead and verify price and availability.

Batteries for electronics

It’s miserable to run out of batteries for a noise canceling headset with hours remaining in your flight. Bring spares, not only for your headset, but for your flashlight and other gadgets as well. Make sure your hand held GPS, iPad, and Stratus are charged (if you have them). I like to carry a charge cable and adapter as a backup so that I can plug things into the cigarette lighter.

Jumper Cables

We always carry the ground power cable in the back of the Bonanza just in case we ever need a jump. Last month, when I was flying down to Texas, I was glad I had them; we had a dead battery after our fuel stop and had to borrow some power from an FBO worker’s pick up truck. Don’t assume that wherever you are stopping will have the correct cable to jump your airplane, especially if it requires a specific plug.

These are the cables we keep in the back of the Bonanza (photo from airchief.com)

Parking Fees

Every airport is different. I like to call ahead and find out how much the FBO is going to make me pay in landing/overnight fees. When I flew up to Buffalo last summer, I paid 25 dollars for parking at Niagara International (IAG). Had I parked at Buffalo (BUF), they would have charged me over $200.

Approach plates and charts

Make sure you have current approach plates and charts either physically available or downloaded before you blast off. Having a copy of an AFD is a good idea as well, be it digital or paper.

Rental cars

If you arrange it beforehand, many FBO’s will have the car ready for you upon arrival. You may also be able to drop the car off at the FBO when are finished, instead of taking it back to the rental agency. It sure is nice to have the car pulled up next to the airplane when it’s time to unload.

Hotels

Bigger FBO’s may have discounted rates with local hotels. If you call the desk and explain your needs they may offer to book it for you, or at least point you in the right direction. It may be worth picking an airport with more expensive fuel if it puts you closer to the hotels or restaurants you want to go to.

Come back next month for Part 2!

Andrew Robinson is a 135 Charter Pilot and flight instructor who lives with his wife and 2 daughters in Pennsylvania.  He flies Pilatus PC-12s and instructs in Beechcraft Bonanzas.