A Proper Cross Country Flight Checklist (Part 2)

ByAndrew Robinson
This is Part 2 of the Proper Cross Country Flight Checklist article. To read Part 1, click here.

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.

Pitot-tube
An example of a pitot tube blockage taken from www.student-pilots.com

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.

IMG_0455 (cropped)
An approach into Farmer’s Cay in the Bahamas.

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.

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  • Flying Through Rain

    ByHank Gibson

    For the most part, flying through rain is a non-event. If the NexRad or Radar is showing light green or dark green, usually there aren’t that many bumps and your plane just gets a wash. Sometimes the visibility drops down a little bit making us IFR pilots have to transition to our instruments.

    It get’s a little more exciting when the precipitation on your screen turns to yellow. This means there is a lot more precipitation echoes either in the clouds or coming out of the clouds, meaning harder rain. I usually tend to stay away from yellow unless it’s absolutely necessary to go through it.

    I had a situation a few weeks ago where I deemed it necessary to fly through some yellow NexRad returns. I was flying a G1000 Columbia into Monroe, Louisiana, KMLU. The winds were mostly light, but slightly favoring runway 04, which was the runway in use. As I got closer, a decent size rain shower with mostly yellow returns was sitting over the final approach fix for runway 04 and slowly tracking to the northeast.

    I didn’t particularly want to spend the entire approach getting beat on with rain, so I decided to fly the RNAV 14 approach at MLU and circle to land on runway 04. The rain hadn’t quite reached the airport yet, so I decided that circling to 04 should be no problem.

    I started the RNAV 14 at the FLESH IAF. Since I was approaching from the west, I did not need to do the procedure turn, so I joined the Final Approach Course (FAC) after crossing FLESH.

    In the meantime, that rain shower was inching closer to the FAC for the RNAV 14. I wasn’t concerned about my safety if I flew through some of it and I didn’t have passengers on board who would get nervous, so I elected to continue. I wasn’t seeing any lightning coming out of the clouds, so it appeared to only be moderate rain.

    Just before I got to JIVEY, the FAF, I entered the clouds and the rain. About 20 seconds later, my altimeter and airspeed started bouncing around a lot. Now, based on all I’ve said so far, what would cause that, and what would you do?

    (Jeopardy theme song playing while contestants ponder questions)

    The answers? Due to the moderate precipitation, water had gotten into my static port and caused the unusual readings on my altimeter and airspeed indicators on the G1000.

    I had experienced this before, so I knew what to do. I reached down and turned the static source from primary to alternate, which starts taking static pressure from inside the cabin in the Columbia. Instantly, everything went normal.

    The other time I had experienced this was also in a Columbia, so I’m under the impression that the way the Columbia static ports are designed, they are a little bit more susceptible to water creeping into them than other airplanes.

    Moral of the story? If your pitot/static instruments start jumping around, the first thing you do is turn your alternate static source on.

  • The PIC Isn’t Always the Pilot Who Took Off

    ByAnne Pargeter

    You are at cruising altitude and your flight is going just as planned. All of that can change, sometimes without much warning, and you, the non-pilot, are now in charge. Would you know what to do?

    This was a scary thought for me until I attended a seminar developed for the non-flyer at a Cirrus Owners Pilot Association (COPA) fly-in. Cirrus is the only small plane with a parachute as standard, so I thought all I had to do in an emergency was pull the chute. It’s a little more complicated than that!
    I learned the vast majority of pilot incapacitation happens when the plane is at cruising altitude, so there is time to find a solution.

    anne-pargeter-picture

    I was taught ten basic steps to follow to bring the plane safely to the ground.

    • First attempt to revive the pilot. If he is choking, it is possible to do a Heimlich maneuver from the side. This may dislodge whatever is blocking his airway and solve the problem. If he is experiencing hypoxia, turn off the heat, open all vents, and, if you have on board oxygen, use it. Also, if you can, get instructions on how to descend to a lower altitude. If the pilot is unconscious due to a heart attack or other medical emergency, there are still things you can do from the right seat.
    • Engage the autopilot if it isn’t already on and move the pilot off the controls. *
    • Ensure you are connected to the radio. If you hear ATC or other pilots, you are.
    • Send an electronic trouble message. Set the transponder to 7-7-0-0 to identify your plane to ATC. This will cause your plane to be highlighted on ATC radar screens.
    • ATC will most likely contact you asking what is your emergency. If this does not happen, you will need to transmit a Mayday call. All non-pilot passengers should know how to use the radio to get help, if they know nothing else.
    • With help from ATC, decide where you want to go.
    • Use the autopilot to fly in the direction suggested by ATC. I was taught that ultimately the choice of where to deploy the parachute is up to me because I am now the PIC, pilot in command.
    • Ensure that seat belts are secure and the emergency hammer is between your legs (so you have it to break a window to escape if needed).
    • Pull the parachute handle.
    • On the way down, shut down the engine and brace for impact.
    • After landing, move away from the plane, into the wind. Stay nearby and wait for help.

    The seminar covered specific procedures to accomplish these basic steps, what to do if you don’t get a response from ATC, what to say in a Mayday transmission, how to fly a heading, how to check fuel levels, shut down the engine, etc. After the seminar, I felt much more comfortable about what to do if my pilot suddenly lost consciousness.

    I was also told to practice what I had learned to avoid panicking in an emergency situation. There are so many things the person in the right seat can do under normal circumstances to practice. Learn how to set heading bugs, learn where the plane’s Electronic Locator Transmitter (ELT) is located and how to activate it. This will help rescuers locate the airplane. Learn how to assess your fuel levels. Practice making routine radio transmissions. Observe what your pilot does and ask questions if you don’t understand something.

    Knowing what to do in an emergency situation will give you a sense of control over what will happen to you, your pilot, and any passengers on board your plane. If you have never considered taking a lesson or two for the non-pilot, find yourself an instructor, and learn what you need to know for your plane. Hopefully you will never have to use it, but if you do, you will be ready to be the PIC who lands the plane.

    Anne and her husband Stephen are the proud owners of a Cirrus SR20. They plan to put the airplane to better use once Stephen retires. Anne has a background in desktop publishing and writing.

  • The New Diamond DA50 Line

    ByHank Gibson

    Diamond has joined the high performance single engine fray with the announcement of it’s new line of DA50 models.  Cirrus currently has the cornered the market on easy flying, fixed gear, speedy HP single engine airplanes.  But, (assuming that the Diamond DA50 gets certified in a timely manner and the appeal of the Jet A sipping SMA diesel engines appeals to a broad enough audience), Cirrus could have some competition soon.

    The proposed Diamond DA50 will come in 3 different configurations, the IV, the V, and the VII.  The IV and the V will each burn under 10 GPH of Jet A. The VII will burn about 14 GPH of Jet A, using the same amount of fuel as a normally aspirated SR22, but at cheaper Jet A prices (plus the discount of fuel companies like CAA or AEG Fuels).

    According to AOPA, all 3 Diamond DA50 models will be equipped with the Garmin G1000 NXi panel and the GFC 700 Autopilot. The Diamond DA50 -V will be the first model expected out next year, with the IV to follow soon after.  The wait for the VII will be a bit longer.

    In testing, the Diamond DA50 -V showed true airspeeds of 173 knots with an expected range of almost 1100 miles.  Gone is the bubble canopy that greatly increased the green house affect of the airplane.  It’s replaced by two suicide doors, similar to what is on the Cessna TTx.  The single back seat door on the pilot’s side remains.

    Carrying capacity will be greater than the Cirrus as well.  The Diamond DA50 -V will have a gross weight of around 4,000 pounds, giving it a useful load of 1,250 pounds, giving pilots a lot more flexibility in weight carrying.  The Diamond DA50 exterior will be fully customizable as well as advances in carbon fiber paint and decals has come a long way since the early 2000s when white was the only option.

    Here are some basic specs for each DA50 model:

    Diamond DA50 -IV

    • 230 HP
    • 4 seats
    • Less than 10GPH fuel burn

    Diamond DA50 -V

    • 260 HP
    • 5 seats
    • 10 GPH Fuel Burn

    Diamond DA50 -VII

    • 360 HP
    • 7 seats
    • Retractable Gear
    • Turboprop option

    I am most excited to see the performance numbers on the VII model when it comes to market.  With a 360 HP engine and retractable gear, it seems like it will be a screamer.

    There are also rumors that Diamond is working on a rotorcraft, the Dart 280, but there isn’t a flying model at the moment.

  • Bruce’s Custom Covers

    ByHank Gibson

    I have used a few different sun shields in airplanes in my flying career.  I have found one that I really like. Bruce’s Custom Covers knocks it out of the park for usability and ease of storage.

    Let’s start off with functionality.  Like other window sun shields, Bruce’s Custom Covers fit very nicely into the airplane glare shield and side windows. Depending on the type of airplane you have, some of the window covers use the suction cups and others don’t.  I recently had 2 customers order from Bruce’s, one that owns a P210 that uses the suction cups for all windows, including the glare shield, and the other owns a Cirrus which doesn’t use the suction cups on anything.

    They work great.  They do the job of blocking the sun and keeping the cabin much cooler while the airplane is sitting on the ramp.

    The thing I like best about Bruce’s Custom Covers is their storage.  Other sun shields require you to roll them up and lash a tie around them. Bruce’s, on the other hand, come folded very neatly in a black canvas bag.  The folded covers don’t take up nearly as much room as the rolled up covers, plus they are really easy to just fold up and store.

    Bruce’s Custom Covers also sells plugs for cowling, pitot tubes, etc., as well as aircraft exterior covers.

    Bruce’s Custom Covers gets my recommendation for anyone wanting to get some new sun shields.  For those of you in Texas, you know you need them!

  • Garmin GFC 700 Autopilot

    ByHank Gibson

    The Garmin GFC 700 Autopilot is an amazing machine.  Fully digital and fully integrated with the Garmin G1000 glass panel, it makes a pilot’s workload a lot easier, especially in busy airspace.

    I train a lot of pilots in airplanes that have the Garmin GFC 700 autopilot.  The Cirrus SR22, the Columbia 350 & 400, the G36 Bonanza, and the Piper Mirage and M350 to name a few.  The most common problem I see for pilots transitioning into the Garmin GFC 700 equipped aircraft is that it doesn’t act like other autopilots.

    STECs and DFC 90 Autopilots function like this:  you push the button for the mode you want on the autopilot controller and that turns the autopilot on.

    Not so on the Garmin GFC 700.  If you push the button for the mode on the GFC 700, then the flight director engages, but not the autopilot.  This confuses folks a lot who move up from different autopilots because their autopilot primacy side of their brain is telling them the autopilot is on whenever they push one of the buttons on the GFC 700 controller.

    Here’s an example:  A pilot has just departed and is ready to turn on course.  In his old airplane with an STEC 55x autopilot, the pilot pushes the direct to key to go to his first waypoint, then pushes NAV on the autopilot controller and the STEC 55x comes on and starts flying on course.  Then he presses VS and ALT to initiate a climb.

    With the same scenario and a Garmin GFC 700 autopilot, the same pilot (who is used to a 55x), pushes the direct to key, then pushes NAV on the autopilot controller and pushes IAS or FLC to initiate the climb.  He lets go of the flight controls thinking the autopilot is engaged.  The airplane starts nosing over and he starts panicking.

    Why did this happen?  The pilot in the second scenario never pushed the AP button on the Garmin GFC 700 so the autopilot never engaged.  All he did by pressing the NAV button and IAS button was to turn the flight director on.

    How to remedy this?  Get in the habit of checking your scoreboard.  On the top of the G1000 or Garmin Perspective PFD, there is an autopilot annunciation strip (or scoreboard as I like to call it).  In the very middle of the scoreboard is an area to show if the autopilot or flight director is engaged.  AP means the autopilot is on; FD means the flight director is engaged but the autopilot is not.

    I teach pilots to be in the habit of checking your scoreboard each time you get done pressing buttons on the autopilot controller to ensure the Garmin GFC 700 is in the proper mode.  This saves some of those panic moments when it is supposed the AP is engaged, but it’s only the FD.

  • The Avidyne Equipped Cirrus Upgrade

    ByHank Gibson

    A History Lesson

    11 years ago, in April of 2009, the Avidyne Corporation unveiled the much bally-hooed Release 9, or R9 as it is commonly known, as a hardware replacement for the Avidyne EX5000 Entegra system in Cirrus Aircraft. The Entegra system was way outdated by that point. Even though Avidyne was the first company to put together a glass PFD in a single engine piston airplane, the company had quickly fallen behind Garmin in keeping up with the ever changing technology landscape.

    Rewind to 2008. Cirrus had been going strong with the Avidyne Entegra since the SR20 and SR22 went to full glass in 2003 (a PFD and an MFD; prior to that, Cirrus aircraft only had an MFD with steam gauges and a Sandel Electronic HSI). Cessna, on the other hand, vaulted past the Avidyne Entegra and went straight to the Garmin G1000 in it’s aircraft, starting in 2004 with the 182 G1000 and 2005 with the 172 G1000. Beechcraft and Columbia went to the G1000 (Columbia started with the Avidyne as well) in 2005.

    Garmin’s technology in 2007 was so much better than Avidyne’s technology that Cirrus decided to switch. I’m sure there were many promises made by Avidyne to Cirrus about what Avidyne was working on (the R9), but the G1000 was out there, available, and being used in a lot of different airplanes with very good results.

    So, in 2008, Cirrus made the switch from the Avidyne Entegra to the Garmin G1000, dubbing it the Cirrus Perspective by Garmin avionics package. Avidyne finally got the R9 to market in 2009, but by that time, Piper was the only airplane manufacturer left putting factory Avidyne panels in their airplanes, and they switched to G1000 later that year.

    The R9 is a fabulous product. It’s fully integrated, has great graphics, has fully redundant displays, a QWERTY keypad (which, by the way, Garmin didn’t do for another 8 years), and a lot of other neat features. There’s a bit of a learning curve, but it’s a really good product for what it is.

    Avidyne, though, was late to the game with their technology. By the time it debuted in 2009, all the GA aircraft manufacturers had long since switched to the Garmin G1000 and weren’t looking back. That left Avidyne with the retrofit market for the many different Avidyne Entegra Cirrus aircraft out there. The only problem was, the retrofit was $80,000 ($95,000 if you wanted to throw in the DFC 100 Autopilot, which is a must have) and not many owners were up for paying that much money, then or now.

    To sum up our brief history lesson, Avidyne knew the Entegra needed to go, but couldn’t get the R9 out quickly enough to convince anyone to stick with Avidyne products. The retrofit market didn’t amount to many sales, so Avidyne doesn’t even make the R9 anymore.

    As a side note, I really, really like the Avidyne R9 and am sad that it didn’t make it into more airplanes.

    So, when the Avidyne Entegra starts to have issues, what’s an owner to do? Keep reading!

    There is Hope

    There are thousands of Cirrus aircraft out there flying with the Avidyne Entegra instrumentation, which is basically 20 year old technology (I’ve had a computer engineer tell me the programming in an Entegra is Windows 98 tech). These things are going to start having problems at some point (many already have), but what solution do owners have that is cost effective and get’s them new technology?

    Remember that little company named Garmin? Well, they have come through again. Announced this summer, the Garmin G500 TXi is now certified as a replacement in the Cirrus Avidyne Entegra equipped aircraft. This means pulling out both the PFD and MFD and replacing them with the G500 TXi on both sides. Engine data is also displayed on the G500TXi MFD, including the percent power and TIT indications, if equipped.

    Cirrus SR22 Equipped with Dual G500 TXi Screens and Dual Garmin GTN 650Xi GPS Units

    The cost for the panel? Two 10.6″ G500 TXi’s run about $16,000 apiece for the units, not including labor. $32,000 for a brand new panel isn’t terrible. Plus, the G500 TXi’s work with the DFC90 autopilot if the Cirrus is already equipped with it. If not, the Garmin GFC 500 autopilot is now approved for the Cirrus at a relatively low price of $7,000, including the servos.

    Still have the original Garmin 430s in your Cirrus? Upgraded to the Avidyne IFD 540/440 stack? Put in dual GTN 650Xi’s? Put in a GTN 750Xi? All are compatible with the G500 TXi panel.

    Want to upgrade everything? It does get kind of pricey at that point, but for just equipment, the cost for a complete panel conversion is somewhere in the area of $65,000 plus labor, still below what the R9 cost, but not cheap either. That would include 2 G500 TXi’s, 2 GTN 650Xi’s, a GFC 500 Autopilot, and all the engine monitoring equipment that the G500 TXi would need.

    Cirrus SR22 Equipped with Dual G500 TXi Screens, a GTN 750Xi, and a GTN 650Xi

    Thankfully, some new technology has finally come to the Generation 1-3 Cirrus. Oh, and by the way, your steam gauge Cirrus is fully upgradable as well.

    Want to read more? Check out Garmin’s website.

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