FBO Etiquette

A Proper Cross Country Flight Checklist (Part 2)

ByAndrew Robinson March 2, 2016

Airplane Covers

If you’re going to be leaving your airplane outside at your destination, make sure you have proper covers and plugs to protect it while you are gone. A friend of mine forgot to put his pitot cover on his airplane while it was parked outside and had his departure delayed because of a mud dauber which had moved in while the airplane sat on the ramp.

Tie-Down Ropes

Depending on your destination airport/FBO, there may or may not be tie down ropes available on the ramp. It isn’t uncommon for there to be tie down loops, but no ropes. I generally try to carry a set of ropes in the airplane and even my own set of chocks. If you are going to a fly-in or landing at a private strip, steaks with tie down ropes can be very useful as well. Don’t forget to take your ropes and chocks with you when you leave, though. Ropes and chocks which are left unattended can cause problems for airport machinery (plows) and other airplanes.

Paper and a Pen

Back to basics! Don’t forget to bring a pen/ pencil and something to write on to keep track of clearances and frequencies.

EAPIS/ Boarder Crossing Procedures

If you are planning to fly across the U.S. Border, you will need to have filed the proper paperwork and make sure to bring along your passport/greencard. If you want to fly into Canada everyone on board the airplane is required to have a passport.

Basic Tools

You never know when you may need a screwdriver or some pliers. Having a small toolbox which you can throw in the airplane could be a life saver.

GPS

If you have a GPS, make sure that your data base is up to date.

Camera

Pretty self explanatory…but, don’t forget the camera charger!

Currency

Look through your pilot logbook and the airplane logbook and make sure that everything is up to date. If you need to get an IPC or a BFR done before you leave, give yourself some buffer time in case you have to reschedule.

Other Considerations

Sometimes it makes sense to go to a larger airport despite having to pay additional fees and higher gas prices. Often, if I am traveling at night or after regular business hours, it is worth the extra expense to know that there will be assistance available should I need it. It also isn’t always necessary to get a hotel…there are airports such as Noble County, Ohio (I10) that have beautiful campsites available on the airport. If you like camping, it can be a fun alternative to shelling out the cash for a hotel and rental car.
Camping out next to the airplane can be a fun way to spend the night.

Finally, I like to take the airplane out for a short flight and make sure that everything is working properly before I bring the family and get everything loaded up. (Plus, it’s a perfect excuse to go for a little joyride.) I’d much rather find out that the battery is dead or the plugs are fouled when I have time to fix the issues. If possible, do your test flight on a day when your maintenance shop is open so you can get any problems addressed immediately. If you haven’t done much cross country flying or if you are a little rusty, ask a flight instructor or another pilot to look over your planning. There is also nothing wrong with having an instructor or experienced friend come along on the first few trips until you become more comfortable doing it on your own.

In my opinion, cross country flying is one of the most rewarding things a pilot can do with their certificate. The view available from the window of a general aviation airplane is so different than the one you get out the window of a car or a commercial airliner. If you’re willing to invest the time and money, you’ll get a lot more out of your trip than a few hours in your logbook. So, what are you waiting for….haven’t you always wanted to go to Oshkosh?

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.

Pitch + Power = Performance

ByHank Gibson October 10, 2016October 17, 2016

My first chief flight instructor had an addage he would impart to his flight instructors when we began working at that flight school. “Pitch + Power = Performance” he would tell us. Then he’d glare at us and follow up with, “nobody teaches that right, so make sure your students know it.”

Now, having been a CFI for seven years, I would tend to agree with him. I have moved on from doing mostly primary training to transition training. Transition training is taking someone who is already a pilot and teaching them how to fly a different type of airplane. In jets, you get a type rating. In piston engine airplanes, there is no FAA requirement to go through any type of extra training as long as you are rated in category and class (eg. single engine piston). But, insurance companies know that Mr. Fresh Private Pilot can’t just hop from a Cessna 172 into a Cirrus SR22 or a Bonanza, so they require transition training before insuring those pilots.

What did my chief instructor mean when he imparted his wisdom? He was speaking about a particular phase of flight, the final approach phase, regardless of whether it’s a VFR approach or an IFR approach. The pitch of the airplane and the power setting of the airplane have to be utilized together to achieve the proper speed and descent rate (performance).

VFR

On the final approach leg of a VFR pattern, most piston engine aircraft are configured with landing gear down and flaps down in the landing position. This puts the airplane on the back side of the power curve in the region of reverse command. In the region of positive command, in cruise, for example, the more power you add, the faster you are going to go and, if you pitch up, you will go up and you pitch down, you will go down. But, they work together (if you point the nose down, you will accelerate unless you reduce the power); remember, Pitch + Power = Performance.

In the region of reverse command, the pitch controls the airspeed and the power controls your rate of descent, but, again, they work together. Let’s say the airplane is 5 knots above it’s approach speed on final. Initially, the pilot will need to pitch up slightly to bleed off that airspeed. The airplane will want to climb, so as he is pitching up, he’ll need to make a slight power reduction to stay on glide slope.

Alternatively, let’s say the airplane is high, but is on speed. The pilot will make a power reduction to descend to the glide path, but he’ll also need to pitch down to maintain the proper airspeed.

What you don’t want to do is this: if the airplane is high on final, don’t push the nose down to try and get down. This does cause the airplane to lose altitude quickly, but the airspeed increases quickly. With a higher airspeed, the airplane has a lot more energy to dissipate when it gets to the runway, meaning you’ll float longer which can lead to forcing the airplane down or using up too much runway and not being able to get the airplane stopped in time.

IFR

On an instrument approach, you are on the front side of the power curve. When trying to stay on glide slope, the power is controlling the speed of the airplane and the pitch is keeping the airplane on glide slope. This can be a little bit confusing for VFR pilots transitioning to instrument approaches as they are not used to being on the front side of the power curve.

Keeping in mind that Pitch + Power = Performance, let’s put the airplane above the glide slope on an ILS approach. In order to get down to the glide slope, the pitch needs to be lowered as much as needed (it’s always better to pick a pitch attitude to fly and see if it is working to bring the glide slope back to center. If it doesn’t work, pick a new one. Don’t just push the nose down until the glide slope moves) and the power needs to be reduced to maintain airspeed (again, pick a specific power setting). Once the glide slope centers, then the pitch will be raised slightly and the power will need to be increased to hold glide slope and speed respectively.

Hurricane Harvey

ByHank Gibson August 29, 2017August 29, 2017

Texas Top Aviation wants to express our heartfelt concerns and prayers for those affected by Hurricane Harvey along the Texas Gulf Coast and in Houston.  We have several customers in Houston and hope and pray that they are all safe.

If you would like to donate to the relief effort, there are several organizations that are accepting support.  A few are below.

Samaritan’s Purse

American Red Cross

Aircraft Purchase: The Logbook & Pre-Purchase Inspections

ByHank Gibson July 10, 2014July 14, 2026

Your about to make your dream aircraft purchase.  The plane has low time on the engine, is reasonably priced, and, according to the seller, has no damage history.  You are overjoyed!  Your dream of making an aircraft purchase is finally coming true.  You prepare your offer for the seller, set up the escrow account, and start all the paperwork.

Two weeks later, the airplane is yours!  You start flying it, though, and the engine starts to have some strange vibrations.  After several flights, it starts to get worse.  You take it to your mechanic to get it looked at and you find out the airplane needs three new cylinders along with some other engine work that is going to total a lot of money.  Plus, your airplane is now going to be in the shop for several weeks.

All that excitement you just had?  It just went out the window.

Could this have been prevented?  Probably so, with a logbook inspection and a pre-purchase inspection.

Aircraft Purchase: Logbook Inspection

Inspecting a logbook can be very daunting when making an aircraft purchase, especially for older airplanes.  This is, however, one of the most vital steps in making a new aircraft purchase.  You can find out many things from looking at the maintenance logs of an airplane.  First, you can check the compression levels of the engine.  Typically, you want compression levels in the 70’s, with it still being okay in the high 60’s.  Anything below 65 and there could be potential problems.

Second, you can find out if there has been any odd maintenance done pointing to possible unreported damage history.  This is rare, as most aircraft owners are honest and up front when talking about damage history.  But, if there is an entry detailing a prop overhaul after only 50 hours on that prop, you may start to ask some questions.

Third, you can find out how well the airplane has been maintained.  If a lot of maintenance was completed at each annual, even if it was a lot of small things, then the airplane has been maintained by a good mechanic who is very thorough.  This also involves a check of the ADs, Mandatory SBs, SBs, and SLs that have been issued for the airplane.  If all that has been kept up with, it’s a well maintained airplane.

Finally, it gives you a good idea of how much the airplane has been flown.  Sure, the ad online will have the total time and time since overhaul, but you can look at the year by year breakdown of how much the airplane has been flown.  It may have been flown a lot earlier in it’s life, but not quite as much recently.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but airplanes like to be flown.

Aircraft Purchase: Pre-Purchase Inspection

Before making an aircraft purchase, it is extremely vital that whenever you are buying an airplane that you get a pre-purchase inspection done on the airplane.  Even better is getting one done by a mechanic who specializes in that type of airplane (eg. Piper Service Center for Pipers, Cirrus Service Centers for Cirrus, Kevin Mead for PA-46s).  A pre-purchase inspection can save you a lot of money in the end.

There is always going to be some kind of maintenance issue with an airplane being purchased, whether it is big or small.  Once a pre-purchase inspection is completed, you can take the findings to the seller and negotiate for a lower price based on those findings, or just have the seller fix the items before the sale is completed.

I would recommend having the seller fix the problems before the sale is completed.  Even though it may take a little longer for the sale to be completed this way, you’ll get to enjoy your airplane right away instead of it being in the shop the next several weeks after you complete the purchase.

There is the circumstance where the  pre-purchase inspection reveals some serious airworthiness issues which would cause the deal to be voided.  Always put this clause in a purchase agreement, giving you, the buyer, an out if there are serious airworthiness issues.

When it comes to making an aircraft purchase, it is not a process to be rushed.  Slow and steady usually gets the best airplane for the money, giving you years of enjoyment in the future.

Looking to make an aircraft purchase?  Daunted by all the work that’s involved to find a good, quality airplane?  Let Texas Top Aviation do your aircraft search for you!  To learn more, visit Texas Top Aviation’s Aircraft Purchase Consultations page.

Angelina County Airfest

ByHank Gibson September 11, 2015September 10, 2015

The Angelina County Airport in Lufkin, TX (KLFK) will be hosting the Angelina County Airfest on Saturday, October 10th.  The airport will open up at 9am.

Prepare for a day of food, fun, and some great performances.  There will be warbirds and many other classic airplanes on display, not too mention a number of aerobatic performances as the day goes on.

To learn more about the Airfest, visit the Angelina County Airfest website.  Tickets start at $10 for adults.