The 2020 Texas Top Aviation Santa Fe Golf Fly In has been re-scheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine. The new date is September 3rd-5th at the Santa Fe Buffalo Thunder Resort and Towa Golf Club.
For more information on the event and to register, please click here.
Looking for somewhere to take a trip this fall? Sedona, Arizona should warrant strong consideration. Just shy of 100 miles north of Phoenix, Sedona is one of the most beautiful areas in the southwest United States. From Texas, depending on how fast your airplane travels, you could make it to Sedona in a day, with a couple of stops in between. You’d definitely want to spend a few days to enjoy the scenery and maybe jump over to the Grand Canyon while you’re in the area.
As you approach the Sedona Airport (KSEZ), you become somewhat distracted by the scenery around you. Don’t be too distracted as the approach is a little tricky. If you are landing north, on Runway 3, the calm wind runway, don’t let the surroundings fool you. Stay on that PAPI and don’t be short, as the runway is on a 500 foot mesa. In instrument conditions, the MDA for the RNAV approach to Runway 3 dumps you out about 1,300 feet above the airport elevation, giving you plenty of time to set up to land.
When using runway 21, don’t make your pattern too wide as there are some pretty tall rocks (around 7,000 feet) north of the field. The Airport/Facilities Directory gives a warning to pilots in strong southwesterly wind conditions. Be aware of strong downdrafts coming in on final for runway 21.
The runway itself is in excellent condition, and plenty long at just over 5,000 feet. The FBO is a little dated, but the folks there are great. They were redoing the ramp this summer, so beware of that. Airplane parking is no problem, but actually getting to the FBO is a little tricky. The Mesa Grill is a very nice good restaurant just a short walk from the FBO. When I was there, I chowed down on a buffalo burger. It definitely hit the spot.
Sedona is the outdoorsman’s paradise. Starting off, to get a great overview of the area, hop on the Red Rock Scenic Byway (SR 179) about an hour before dusk. You’ll get to see some spectacular views while it’s still light, then you can’t beat the sunsets in Sedona.
For hiking, you have a myriad of options, from the Cathedral Rock, to the Oak Creek Canyon, to the Devil’s Bridge Trail, all are beautiful, though most are not for the faint of heart (especially the Devil’s Bridge). Even though the fall is cooler, make sure you pack plenty of water for the hikes.
Want something to do in the evening? Go up to the Chapel of the Holy Cross to watch the sunset. After the sun goes down, go do some stargazing. You’ll get to take a tour of the stars at the Sedona Star Gazing location in Oak Creek. You are shown all the constellations and stars by professional astronomers, and blankets and chairs are provided.
Art connoisseur? You’ll find plenty of art galleries around town with a ton of beautiful, original artwork. There are also several theaters and golf courses around Sedona, giving everyone a little bit of everything.
If you’re up for it, the Grand Canyon is about a 2 hour drive north of Sedona, or a quick flight up to the Grand Canyon Airport (KGCN).
In search of a good getaway? Try Sedona. You’ll be sore from lots of hiking and sight seeing, but it will definitely have been worth it.
Sadly, in January, a pretty great airplane was put out to pasture. Textron (the conglomerate that now owns Cessna, Beechcraft, Hawker, and Lycoming) announced it was ceasing production of the Cessna TTx. With the end of the Cessna TTx production, an airplane that was the main “competitor” to Cirrus (if you can call it competition; Cirrus consistently outsold the Cessna TTx by a wide margin each year), it leaves the SR series to stand alone atop the High Performance piston single market.
I got to go through Cessna’s FITS Accepted Instructor (CFAI) course back in 2012 and have flown in the Cessna 350 and 400 (which is what they were known as at the time; the Cessna TTx name came around in 2011) for about 120 hours. I really like the airplanes. I’m partial to the Cirrus, but the Cessna 350 & 400 are fast airplanes and great for 1-2 people. I flew a 350 (the non-turbo charged version) from New York to San Antonio last fall and routinely saw 170 knots at 12 GPH.
Columbia started out making the 350 & 400 (the turbo-charged version) in the early 2000s, but went bankrupt in 2007. Lancair started Columbia to make a certified version of their popular kit planes. If you see a Lancair ES floating around, you would swear it’s a Columbia with only 1 door. Cessna bought the design from Columbia in 2007 to begin manufacturing the airplanes themselves.
Cessna then made a huge mistake as they moved the production facility from Bend, Oregon to Mexico. Production completely halted in 2009 as the planes coming out of Mexico were found to have defective composite work. The sales never really recovered, even though Cessna put the Garmin G2000 panel in the Cessna TTx, complete with a touchscreen key pad. A FIKI system was added as an option in 2012.
A prospective buyer can still get a great value on a used 350, 400, or TTx, as they are valued a little lower than a Cirrus. The 350, 400 or TTx all make excellent single pilot or two person speedsters with very comfortable amenities.
Information for this article was taken from Flying Magazine’s website.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
When flying a WAAS GPS approach, there are several different levels of WAAS signal that a GPS receiver can get. The most precise is an LPV signal. LPV stands for Localizer Performance with Vertical guidance. An LPV approach has the lowest minimums of all the WAAS GPS approaches, typically in the range of 200-300 feet AGL. A GPS glide path (GP) is guaranteed with an LPV approach and the minimum altitude is a decision altitude (DA).
Just like a localizer, an LPV course width get’s tighter and the CDI becomes more sensitive the closer the plane get’s to the runway. Even though the LPV approach minimums are so low and the approach is down to a DA, they still aren’t considered precision approaches by the FAA (which leads to some extra planning when selecting an airport as an alternate that only has GPS approaches, since the AIM specifies only the LNAV minimum are to be considered if an alternate airport only has GPS approaches, bringing the 800 foot ceiling requirement to bear)
An LNAV/VNAV approach is still a WAAS approach that has a GPS glidepath, but is slightly different than an LPV approach. An LNAV/VNAV final approach course does not get more sensitive the closer the plane gets to the runway. The smallest course width on an LNAV/VNAV approach is 0.3 miles either side of center. LNAV/VNAV approaches will, most of the time, have higher minimums than LPV approaches and can have minimums no lower than 250′ AGL.
The third type of WAAS approach is strictly a non-precision approach with a Minimum Descent Altitude (MDA). These are designated LP approaches, which stands for Localizer Performance. These are like old school Localizer only approaches that, similar to the lateral portion of an LPV approach, the course width tightens the closer to the runway that a pilot is. There is no glide path by definition of an LP approach, though there is a caveat.
Now, by looking at an approach plate that is a WAAS approach, but only has LP minimums listed, a pilot would assume there would be no glide path. Depending on what type of GPS unit the airplane has, that pilot could be wrong. Garmin Perspective units (Cirrus G1000), all GTN 750s and GTN 650s, All G1000 NXi units, most Garmin 430W and 530W, and all Avidyne IFD 550/540 and 440 units will display an advisory glide path on an LP approach, designated LP+V.
What does LP+V indicate? An advisory glide path is just advisory, but it is totally legal to follow down on a non-precision LP approach. The kicker is obstacle clearance is not guaranteed and the pilot needs to keep an eye on minimum altitudes at the different waypoints on the approach. The big thing I tell people is, when you arrive at the MDA and the runway is in sight, following the advisory glide path below the MDA could get you in trouble with obstacles. Don’t just hone in on your instruments when you break out of the clouds. Look out the windscreen and make sure you won’t hit anything.
If you arrive at the MDA on the advisory glide path and the runway isn’t in sight, DON’T GO BELOW THE MDA! Most autopilots won’t level off at the MDA, even if that altitude is set in the altitude pre-select, so this will involve turning off the autopilot before the MDA and manually leveling off, or engaging the altitude mode of your autopilot at the MDA.
One other type of GPS approach that you will encounter is an LNAV approach. This is a non-WAAS approach down to an MDA, but your GPS unit may still give you a +V. Most modern ones will.
For a VFR or an IFR pilot, an unusual attitude can be one of the most dangerous situations to get into. That is one reason so many new autopilots are being developed with a level button. The concept behind the level button is if the pilot gets into a disorienting situation, press the level button and the autopilot comes on, holding the airplane in a straight and level pitch attitude.
What about all those planes without autopilots that have a level button? That’s who this article is for.
First off, what is an unusual attitude? The Airplane Flying Handbook on page 4-17 gives the following definition: “An unusual attitude is commonly referenced as an unintended or unexpected attitude in instrument flight.” The AFH also goes on to say that an unusual attitude in training has no defined bank and pitch parameters, but “for training purposes an instructor could place the airplane in a 30 degree bank with a nose up pitch attitude of 15 degrees and ask the student to recover and that would be considered an unusual attitude….”
We now have a basis from the FAA. VFR Pilots are now saying, “Oh, instrument flight, that doesn’t apply to us.” Not so fast. The Private Pilot ACS (and before it, the PTS) has a requirement for Basic Attitude Instrument Flying, including unusual attitude recoveries. Why? Because VFR pilots still inadvertently fly into IMC conditions and can get into an unusual attitude. Plus, a private, non-instrument rated pilot has a higher chance of not recovering from an unusual attitude since he isn’t used to relying on his instruments.
At each training event I do, whether it be private pilot training, a flight review, IFR training, transition training, or pretty much any kind of recurrent training, I like to do unusual attitude recoveries with my customers. It’s one of those things that the recovery procedure wanes over time since it isn’t routinely practiced solo (for good reason!).
I see people have the most trouble with the nose high unusual attitude recoveries. Let’s start with the recovery procedure, then I’ll discuss the common errors (notice that the nose high unusual attitude recovery procedure mirrors a stall recovery). Remember, this is in IFR conditions:
The order is important, especially the breathing part. What happens if a pilot goes straight into a recovery and doesn’t pause for a second or two to absorb what’s going on is the recovery isn’t executed properly.
Our brains see the wings banked and set off all kinds of alarms to roll the wings level first before doing anything else. Adding any kind of aileron input with the nose close to the critical angle of attack is a bad idea. You are adding adverse yaw (since you probably won’t be coordinated) and load factor which increases the stall speed. Then we all know that Stall + Yaw = Spin. That’s something that is best avoided in IMC.
We have to teach our brains to ignore the bank angle until the pitch and power come in. Once the airplane is far away from the critical angle of attack, then the bank can be rolled to neutral.
Let’s look at the nose low unusual attitude recovery. The order is still important on this one too:
The theory with the nose low unusual attitude is your speed is accelerating. By reducing the power first, that helps reduce the load factor experienced when the pitch is increased. Same with rolling the wings level. Neutral bank is a lower load factor than some kind of a bank angle. We are trying to prevent overspeeding the airplane. The lower the load factor, the less of a chance we have to rip the wings off.
The most important step in either recovery procedure is to breathe first, allowing the brain to process exactly what is happening. That way, the proper recovery can be executed.
If you’ve ever been to Nantucket Airport during the summer, you’ll understand when I say that it is a crazy place. During the summer months, especially on weekends, the airport is visited by an endless parade of airplanes ranging from the smallest GA airplanes to the biggest private jets.
One sunny Sunday afternoon I was standing in line at the front desk of the Nantucket FBO when the ramp door opened and a very grumpy and entitled man walked in. The man marched right up to the front desk and barked a fuel order at the girl working there, which she mistakenly read back wrong. After yelling at her for her wrongdoing, he announced that he had flown in to go to the restaurant and stormed off to drown his sorrows in fish and chips. Although he was a jerk, his attitude got me thinking about FBO’s and everything that the people who work at them do for us pilots.
For anyone who may not know, FBO stands for Fixed Base Operator. FBO’s can be found at airports everywhere and their business is to provide services such as fuel, hangar space, and tie downs. Bigger FBO’s can offer more services including rental cars, food, maintenance, flight instruction, etc. FBO workers have the ability to make life really good or really miserable for pilots, and, it seems to me, we pilots have the same power over them. Based on my personal experiences and the experiences of some friends who have worked at airports around the country, here are some things to think about next time you taxi onto an FBO ramp.
I’ve divided this article into two sections:
Everyone I talked to about their time working at an FBO said that simply by being friendly and polite is one of the biggest ways we can help. Most of the people that work at the FBOs love aviation and likely are working there to be around the industry in hopes of eventually being more involved. The girl working the desk at Nantucket didn’t deserve to be yelled at just for reading a tail number back wrong; don’t forget that “please” and “thank you” are still magic words.
Whether you are flying to the airport, or you left your airplane at the FBO and you need them to pull it out or fuel it, calling ahead is greatly appreciated. Most FBO’s have a radio at the front desk and have their frequency listed online and in foreflight. Call ahead and tell them that you’re coming, when you’ll be arriving, and what you’ll need when you get there (gas, rental car, taxi..etc). That way they wont feel rushed and you may get what you’re looking for more expediently upon arrival.
If your fuel order is difficult or confusing (example: 6.54 gallons in the right side and 4.32 in the left) you may be better off just to do it yourself at the self serve. One of the guys I talked to said that he would have pilots ask for extremely specific numbers and then stand there watching, ready to pounce when it wasn’t fueled exactly right. Its also worth noting that fuelers do make mistakes. Its highly recommended to watch and make sure that the correct truck (Jet A or 100LL) is the one pulling up to dispense your gas. Make sure you check that the fuel caps are properly installed before departing.
Taxiing onto the ramp is not the right time to be doing your after landing and shutdown checklists. Wait until the airplane is stopped before taking your eyes off the person marshaling you to your parking spot. I’ve been told that it isn’t uncommon for a pilot to be looking inside while taxiing and it makes the linemen very nervous as they are motioning to the pilot to stop (For those unfamiliar, with lineman hand signals, here’s a helpful link).
Unless you have talked to them and get the okay, don’t leave the parking brake on when leaving your airplane at an FBO. Often the lineman will direct you to park upfront to make loading and unloading easy, but if you’re going to stay for a long period, the airplane will need to be towed and parked out of the way. Leaving the parking brake on can make serious headaches for the people trying to organize the ramp after you leave.
Don’t blind the poor guy parking you by leaving all your landing, taxi, and recognition lights on as you’re pulling into your spot at night. Likewise, when you are ready to leave your parking space, its courteous to signal the person waiting in front of your airplane by flashing one of your lights at them so they know you are ready to be directed off of the ramp.
This one is pretty basic. I’ve heard through the grapevine that you may get parked in the boondocks as punishment for being rude to the FBO staff. However, if asked, much of the time they can pull your airplane right up front and may even let you pull a vehicle onto the ramp to load people and bags more easily.
Some FBO’s have special rates with hotel and rental car companies around in the area. Although it varies from place to place, you may be surprised with the amount you can save on these travel essentials. I had a flight last week where I called and was given a quote of 185 dollars for a rental car…after telling them that I was parking at the local FBO, I got the special price of 125. Check with the FBO you will be stopping at for any of their current offerings.
Sometimes the price of fuel or the minimum uptake to waive the fees can be negotiated. Sometimes, the fees may be forgotten entirely. If you are unable to take the minimum amount of fuel to waive the landing or ramp charges, tell them what you can take and you may be pleasantly surprised with the response. Its not uncommon with our Bonanza that even though the “minimum” may be 20, I can waive the fees by up-taking 10 or 12 gallons instead.
Some FBO’s offer incentives to pilots for buying gas. Many of the rewards programs are free to sign up for and will pay the fuel purchaser cash based on how much fuel they buy over a specified time period. I am a member of the Avtrip program which rewards fuel purchases at Avfuel airports with points that are redeemable for money. Avtrip is just one example of an FBO fuel rewards program; if you fly regularly, it may be worth looking into whether or not there is a fuel rewards program you can take advantage of.
Most FBO’s have cars designated for use by the pilots. They are extremely nice for going to get lunch or taking care of whatever short errands you may need to run around town. Most crew cars are limited to about 1-2 hours of use, but they can often be loaned out longer based on the discretion of the people working the desk. On a few occasions, I’ve had the cars loaned to me for longer, even over night, by the nice people at the FBO (They always appreciate pilots splashing a few gallons of auto gas into the cars while they are out, too).
FBOs and the services that they provide are invaluable to pilots, both commercial and private. If we as pilots are willing to work with the linemen and service reps we can make both our lives and their lives easier. Remember to be polite and don’t be afraid to ask if you need something….that’s what they’re there for!
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.
