I’m a big fan of having my Foreflight map always match up exactly with the way I am flying. Having a Flight Stream in the airplane helps a lot with that as it always prompts me to load the new flight plan from the GPS into my Foreflight map. When I load an approach in the GPS flight plan, Foreflight will put it into my Foreflight flight plan via the Flight Stream.
The problem I run into on Foreflight is when there is a published hold at the Initial Approach Fix (IAF), but ATC has told me to fly the straight in approach and skip the hold. Up until recently, I didn’t think there was a way to set up a straight in approach on Foreflight, so I just settled for the hold staying on there.
Not anymore! There is a simple trick that I discovered that allows you to remove the hold from the Foreflight flight plan. Here’s how to do it.
Load the Approach
The first step is still to load the approach into your Foreflight flight plan on the Map page. In this scenario, we are flying from KAQO, the Llano Airport, to KHYI, the San Marcos Airport. Austin Approach has told us to expect the straight in RNAV 17 KHYI via PUKIY. So, on Foreflight, we have KAQO and KHYI in our flight plan. Then, I tap the Procedures button on the upper right hand corner of the screen. I then tap Approach, then RNAV 17 KHYI. Then I select my transition.
The options given are either PUKIY with the hold, seen below;
Or Vectors to Final, which lines me up inside of PUKIY. Neither of these are what I want.
But, to get this to work, I select PUKIY, then tap add to route. Now we have our approach loaded into our flight plan.
Removing the Hold
The RNAV 17 is now in the Foreflight flight plan, but the hold is displayed at PUKIY. To remove the hold, the first step is to tap the approach in green and a menu pops up.
The 7th option down is “Remove Hold in lieu of PT.” Eureka! Tap that, then the approach is displayed without the hold. Houston, we have success! It even says “NoPT” in the flight plan.
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 The Entegra system was way outdated by that point.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.
Takeoff briefings are one of those things that most pilots are taught when they first learn how to fly, but once they get into flying themselves around, quickly fall by the wayside. There is a reason student pilots are instructed to perform a takeoff briefing before departure. It gets them thinking about what the plan is after they get off the ground and what to do if something goes wrong.
Takeoff briefings are a good habit to get into. Airline crews do a takeoff briefing before every departure, even though they have performed a takeoff in that particular airplane thousands of times. It enhances safety and provides repetition, keeping that knowledge at the forefront of the crew’s minds.
In general aviation, a takeoff briefing should cover what the takeoff procedure is, what the abort plan is, and what the plan after takeoff is.
Takeoff Procedure
Most pilots fly the same airplane all the time, so the familiarity with what goes into a takeoff is there. But, habits should be formed to brief the takeoff procedure as part of the takeoff briefing. It doesn’t need to be extensive, just covering the basics of how the airplane is getting off the ground. Something like this:
Throttle setting (if turbo charged, will full throttle cause an overboost?)
Rotate speed
Expected takeoff roll
That’s it. Nothing fancy for the takeoff procedure.
Abort Plan
What is the plan if something goes wrong? It doesn’t have to be an engine failure, maybe the engine coughs when full power is added or maybe the engine doesn’t produce peak RPM. Maybe the takeoff roll is longer than anticipated and something doesn’t seem right. Maybe on climb out a door pops open. Maybe the engine fails at 1,000 feet. It’s good to keep the plan in the foreground for what to do if an abnormal or emergency situation takes place.
Brief the aborted takeoff procedure
Pick an abort point on the runway based on the expected ground roll
What is the procedure if the airplane isn’t off the ground by then?
What is the procedure if the engine quits on the runway?
Brief the engine failure procedure at low altitude
If the engine fails over the runway, will you try to land on the runway?
What altitude would you elect to turn back as opposed to landing straight ahead?
If the plane is too low to turn back, would you land straight ahead or aim left or right?
What airspeed will you aim to hold if the engine fails?
In a Cirrus, what is your minimum parachute deployment altitude?
After Takeoff Plan
After the airplane is off the ground, what’s the plan then? Are you staying in the pattern or departing the area? Do you need to adjust your power at a certain altitude? What altitude are you climbing to? What heading are you going to fly? Is your flight plan in your GPS? This is an excellent time to set up altitude and heading bugs if your airplane is so equipped.
Get in the habit of doing a takeoff briefing before you call the tower or announce your departure. It get’s your mind focused on the task at hand and then what is going to be happening next.
Cirrus CAPS pull #55 took place at the beginning of November over Fayatteville, AR. From initial reports, it appears a clamp broke on the oil cooler, causing a loss of oil pressure. It does not appear that the engine immediately quit, but an annunciator alerted the pilot that the engine was losing oil pressure. At this point, it appears the pilot elected to do an emergency descent to an airport below him, but ended up not timing it right, missing the airport and pulling the parachute.
As an experienced Cirrus flight instructor, there appears to be some suspect decision making in handling this operation. I teach in a Cirrus that if an oil light comes on, given that a pilot has some altitude to work with, it is a better option to physically shut the engine down, leaving control of the situation in the pilot’s hands. This way, the pilot knows when the engine is stopping and is prepared for it, instead of the engine acting erratically and causing problems on the descent.
After checking the engine gauges and shutting the engine down, a pilot should establish best glide first, not nose down and descend at a high rate trying to make an airport. Best glide gives the pilot many more options and a lot more altitude to work with, further allowing him/her to plan how to make an airport directly underneath the airplane.
To pontificate, it seems that if the pilot had adjusted the plane to best glide, instead of performing an emergency descent, there is the possibility that Drake Field would have been reachable, the chute would not have been needed, and the driver of the truck would not have had to visit the hospital. Hindsight is 20-20, but this may be an overall training and decision making issue that may need further emphasis.
The initial NTSB report as well as a link to the CBS story is below.
NTSB Identification: CEN16LA026
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, November 03, 2015 in Fayetteville, AR
Aircraft: CIRRUS DESIGN CORP SR22T, registration: N857SW
Injuries: 3 Minor, 1 Uninjured.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On November 3, 2015, at 0950 central standard time, a Cirrus SR22T airplane, N857SW, descended under the canopy of the cirrus airframe parachute system (CAPS) and landed on a road in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The pilot, pilot rated passenger and one person on the ground received minor injuries. One passenger in the back right seat was uninjured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to WG Aviation LLC, Rogers, Arkansas, and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed. The flight departed from the Bentonville Municipal Airport (VBT), Bentonville, Arkansas, at 0934 and was en route to the Waco Regional Airport (ACT), Waco, Texas.
According to the pilot, after departure from ACT he leveled off around 10,000 ft mean sea level (MSL) and was in “VFR on top” conditions. The pilot noticed that the crew alerting system (CAS) flashed a yellow caution light for oil pressure; the engine was still producing power. The pilot notified air traffic control (ATC) of the issue and received vectors to the nearest airport, Drake Field Airport (FYV), Fayetteville, Arkansas. The pilot descended and maneuvered toward FYV as the CAS indicated a red warning light for oil pressure, which had dropped below 10 psi. The engine was producing inconsistent power as the airplane descended to 3,300 ft and FYV was still not in sight due to cloud coverage. The pilot was unable to maintain altitude and the airplane’s stall warning horned sounded. The pilot deployed the Cirrus airframe parachute system (CAPS) and descended to the ground. During the landing the airplane collided with a truck and then came to rest on a four lane road.
At 0953, the weather observation at FYV reported wind from 190 at 9 knots, gusting to 17 knots, 10 miles visibility, clear sky, temperature 61° F, dew point 57° F, and altimeter setting 30.11 inches of mercury.
An initial postaccident examination was conducted on November 4, 2015, in Fayetteville. Engine oil was observed on the underside of the fuselage. The oil cooler cross fitting was broken and oil was observed in the engine compartment.
The airplane’s recoverable data module and three data cards were removed and sent to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory for download.
The airplane has been retained for further examination.
Texas Top Aviation was at the AOPA Regional Fly-In at the San Marcos Regional Airport (KHYI). If you weren’t there, you certainly missed out spending time with 2,500 other airplane and flying enthusiasts!
The day began somewhat gloomy and windy with the threat of rain. Organizers feared that weather would keep a lot of people from coming. Boy, were they wrong!
There were many classic airplanes, many modern and pretty nicely equipped airplanes, and everything in between. There were aviation celebrities, Rod Machado and the Kings of King Schools fame, to name a few. Not to mention the fabulous BBQ!
Texas Top Aviation had several drawings for free training and 3 lucky winners. We also had a Lancair Super ES for sale, N132BB (which made the San Marcos Record newspaper!). It definitely stood out with it’s unique paint job. The flames on the tail drew many oohs and aahs.
Departing the San Marcos Airport after the fly in was like battling traffic in Austin at rush hour (though, Austin doesn’t have any air traffic controllers). The San Marcos controllers probably hadn’t seen that much traffic since the airport was an Army Air Base back during WWII. It was quite a sight to see all the exhibitor’s airplanes lined up ready to head skyward.
Thanks to all of you who stopped by the Texas Top Aviation booth! It was a pleasure meeting all of you and we look forward to working with you in the future!
Hank Gibson and Russell Moore of Texas Top Aviation
He’s very sneaky, creeping unexpectedly and attacking after the propeller begins to turn.
He’s very cunning, veiling his intentions until, BOOM, he attacks.
Beware of the Lunch Monster!
Whenever I am doing a full day of training (which is usually how transition training courses are planned out, in full day sessions), I always plan a lunch stop. My metabolism has the speed of a rocket ship, so I get hungry and need some sustenance in the middle of the day. I have a running list of airports to stop at that have good lunch spots at them or nearby, so my customers and I usually end up at one of those airports.
Almost without fail, if a customer is having an excellent flying morning, nailing all the procedures, picking up all the techniques, and overall, flying pretty well, then eats lunch, the afternoon doesn’t go quite as well. Doing some of the same things we did that morning, but the customer’s performance isn’t quite as good. Most of the time, it’s just a brain lockup or landings aren’t quite as squeaky as they were in the morning.
Part of it is fatigue after flying for 2-3 hours in the morning. The other part is what I call the Lunch Monster. Eating a big lunch can sap away brain power and cause a person to lose energy around 2-3pm, leading to an afternoon lull (or the Lunch Monster attacking!).
Diet contributes to energy levels too. “Eating a lunch that is too big is the most common reason for feeling sleepy in the afternoon,” says Rebecca Solomon a nutritionist at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. “All your energy goes into digesting the enormous meal.”
The goal is to keep the body’s Cortical and Cortisone levels even since they’re the hormones released by the body in reaction to stress–they produce the fight or flight response. Their levels are elevated when you have sugar, caffeine and processed food, so you feel awake and energetic. But a few hours later, when those levels drop, you’re sluggish.
Solomon recommends eating a meal that’s balanced with healthy fats (from olive oil or avocados, for instance) with protein and healthy carbohydrates (whole wheat bread or pasta). The portion will vary for people of different sizes, but a general rule is you should be hungry about four hours after the meal.
Another healthy eating habit: Consume small portions of foods throughout the day, including almonds, carrots and hummus and fruit. Enjoy lunch around 1:30 or 2 p.m., just before the time you normally feel fatigued.
Now, most of the stops on my list of restaurants don’t fit the bill of healthy fats and healthy carbohydrates (plenty of protein, though, especially the BBQ joints). For those days, bringing along a snack like almonds or dried fruit is a great idea to munch on mid-afternoon. Trimming down the amount eaten at lunch helps a lot too.
So, the next time you have a long day of flying or training, beware the lunch monster and prep some good snacks when your flight instructor says you’re stopping for BBQ!
The massive storms that rolled through the Austin Bergstrom and San Antonio areas last Friday not only put a dent in the landscape, they put a dent in the skies too.
The Austin Bergstrom (KAUS) control tower suffered significant flood damage Friday. 6 inches of rainfall in an hour caused water to come pouring into the first floor of the tower, flooding the radar room and knocking out the power. This led to transmission outages for the tower, ground control, clearance delivery and the ATIS. Similar to the Chicago Center fire last year (though this was a much smaller section of airspace), the area normally controlled by Austin Approach was replaced by a big, gaping radar hole.
By 8:45am on Friday morning, the Austin Bergstrom airport actually closed. One runway eventually opened back up Friday afternoon, but massive delays and cancellations had already taken place. All the ILS approaches were down and Houston Center had taken over the airspace normally occupied by Austin Approach control.
A temporary, emergency tower vehicle was brought in by the FAA (it’s essentially an RV with communications and a giant window) by the end of the weekend. All arrivals and departures were restricted to 17L and 35R.
Due to the radar outage, I heard there was as much as a 4 hour delay even for planes coming into Austin Bergstrom from Dallas, and that was in VMC conditions on Sunday and Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday brought IMC conditions which only enhanced the delays.
The latest news is that Austin Approach will be opening back up, but in a satellite base in San Antonio. The Austin controllers will be using the SAT radar room and will be receiving their radar picture via satellite. The approach frequencies should be up and running today or tomorrow. The Austin Bergstrom tower is up and running and most of the ILS approaches are operational at this point.
In the meantime, expect delays going in and out of Austin. If you don’t have to get to AUS, EDC, or GTU, you’re better off delaying a day or two until Austin Approach is back up and running.
2 Comments
How can I add a hold to my ForeFlight flight plan?
How can I add a hold to my ForeFlight flight plan?
Hi Paul, stay tuned. We have a Foreflight blog coming soon with the details on how to do this.