AOPA Air Safety Foundation Survival Seminar

Iridium Zoleo Allows In Flight Messaging

ByHank Gibson August 31, 2021August 31, 2021

Satellite communications company Iridium now has a really nifty little product called the Iridium Zoleo Satellite Communicator. Most pilots who fly newer Cirrus Aircraft will be familiar with the company name Iridium. Iridium manufactures the built in satellite phone that is an option in all Cirrus after 2012. The Iridium Zoleo brings messaging capability to any airplane in a cost effective and simple manner.

The Iridium Zoleo is a device roughly the size of a walkie-talkie. It links up with the Iridium satellite network to send and receive messages and emails anywhere in the world (or air!). To make things easier, the Iridium Zoleo links with a phone via Bluetooth to a free app that allows the user to write a message directly from the phone and send through the device.

The Iridium Zoleo is affordable at only $200. A plan has to be purchased in order to send messages, with 3 different levels of subscription offered: 25 messages a month for $20, 250 messages a month for $35, or unlimited messages per month for $50. Each plan offers a $6 upgrade to allow unlimited worldwide breadcrumbs and tracking.

The Iridium Zoleo has a 200 hour battery life and is designed to be shock, dust, and water resistant. Plus, the device has a built in SOS that can be used anywhere in the world. So, you can take it rafting down the Grand Canyon, hiking in the Andes, flying over the Atlantic, or SOS if you are stranded in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

Click here to read more about Zoleo and here to read more about the Zoleo plans.

I Learn To Speak Seaplane

ByHank Gibson February 9, 2019February 19, 2019

From the time I started flying, I have always had the dream to learn how to fly a seaplane.  As I learned in November, it’s actually learning to land a seaplane, and the veterans call them floatplanes.

ProMark Aviation at the Burnet Airport (KBMQ) offers a weekend float plane course that is high on fun and low on stress.  The school has a Piper PA12 Super Cruiser on amphibious floats (amphibs as I was corrected at one point.  I mean, if you’re going to fly a seaplane, er, floatplane, you have to know the lingo) that will land and takeoff on water, but does little else with ease and grace.  At 150 HP with those big floats and all the associated rigging hanging underneath the airplane, you are lucky to get to 500 feet before you get to your destination.

We weren’t working on setting any speed records.  I was learning the lay of the water.  I learned about the step, the keel, pumping the floats, how to read the water, currents, ducks (yes, ducks and birds are important to know about when you are flying low on the water), buoys, docking, and ditching.  Step taxiing was fun as you are basically at 3/4 throttle screaming across the top of the water just below flying speed.  It’s the best way to taxi a seaplane (truly, it is.  You get more air in your engine, you can see better, and you are moving.  Just don’t try and turn sharp).

Floatplanes also don’t have any shock absorbers, so the higher the wave, the more you get knocked around, so wind velocity and, in turn, wave height is very important.

A very important nuance of an amphibious floatplane compared to a straight floatplane (one that doesn’t have wheels that come out of the floats), is at one point, you want to make sure your gear is down for landing (runway landing) and at another, you want to make absolutely sure your gear is up for landing (water landing).  If you land wheels down in the water, you will capsize, 100% of the time.  Thankfully from my good instruction, I did not capsize.

Ken Wittekiend, my instructor, and I spent the majority of the weekend landing and taking off on Lake Buchanan (I was informed by locals it is pronounced “Buk-cannon”, not “Bue-cannon”), which is more open and therefore has more waves.  We did one landing on Inks Lake so my kids could see me land, which they thought was the best thing since cheese sticks.

There is a check ride at the end of the training, but, as Ken reassured me, it’s the most fun check ride you’ll ever have.  I still hate check rides, but that one I think I hated least of all.

I hope someday I can put my floatplane skills to practice, but for now, I can vouch that I now speak seaplane!

Night Flying Techniques

ByAndrew Robinson July 9, 2015July 9, 2015

We’ve all been there. You’re flying into an unfamiliar airport at night, you’re having difficulty seeing the field, and trouble identifying the runway. Airports can be hard to identify for a variety of reasons, but approaching in darkness only makes it more difficult. Perhaps the airport is located in a densely populated area and the airport lights bleed into the city lights. Maybe the airport that you’re approaching is located amid terrain that obstructs your view.

Situations like these are not uncommon for charter pilots. Just a few evenings ago I was descending IFR into Asheville, NC (KAVL) on a dark night with high overcast and scattered showers. Although the airport was VFR, the surrounding hills made me doubtful that I would be able to see the field in time to safely and comfortably descend for the visual approach that I was expecting.

Fortunately, there are some things we can do to help find our destination and set us up for the approach. Here are a few tricks that I use regularly when I find myself in this position:

• When flying into an untowered/closed tower airport: Make sure that you have the right lighting frequency. Some airports have pilot-controlled lighting that is operated on a different frequency than the CTAF. If the lights don’t seem to be working, consult your AFD. If the AFD advises that your frequency is correct, double check the NOTAMs to make sure that the lights haven’t been taken out of service.
  • For towered airports: Ask the tower controller to turn up the intensity of the runway lights. This has helped me find the runway countless times. This request can be especially useful at airports that are located in a highly lit area. Controllers are happy to honor this request and will often leave the lights at the bright setting until you advise them that you are ready for them to be turned back to normal intensity.
• Load an approach: If you are an instrument rated pilot, loading an instrument approach is a great way to get oriented with a runway when you need a little help. You may need to coordinate with the tower or controlling agency if you want to fly the approach, but this has the added bonus of giving the pilot altitudes for terrain/obstacle clearance should there be any hazards present.
• Use OBS mode: If you are flying an airplane that has equipment capable of doing so, you can use the Omni Bearing Selector (OBS) button to help align you with the runway. If using this strategy, just remember: THIS IS NOT AN INSTRUMENT APPROACH. It will not provide you with obstacle clearance, nor will it line you up directly with the runway.

The pictures below should help clarify how to use the OBS to assist in airport orientation.

Step 1- Have the destination set as the next way point in your flight plan. In the picture below, The GPS is set to navigate direct to KJGG. Press the OBS button (circled in red) to engage the OBS mode.

Step 2- Once OBS is selected, use either the window on the screen (which should come up automatically when you press the button in step 1) or the OBS selec tor on your navigation head to select the inbound radial. In this example, I have selected 310 degrees, the landing runway at KJGG.

Step 3- The GPS now shows an inbound course to the airport of 310 degrees. It appears as a magenta line. The line serves as an excellent aid in airport/ runway orientation. Remember that this will not line you up perfectly with the runway, but it can still be extremely useful in planning a pattern entry or for getting your bearings.

Note: As shown below, If you press the OBS button again, the GPS will return to the navigation as previously set.

1. Ask for vectors to the airport/ runway: If you have VFR flight following or are talking to a tower equipped to provide vectors, asking for them can be a good choice. Although the controllers may not always be able to accommodate your request due to workload or equipment limitations, most will be happy to comply if they are able. Some pilots may feel silly asking for help, but my policy has always been that I’d rather feel silly for asking than look silly for being lost.

In the case of the Asheville flight mentioned in the opening of this article, my solution was to ask the controller fo r direct to the final approach fix of the assigned runway. Upon arriving there, I had no trouble seeing the VASI and was in good position to fly the visual approach. If I had wanted to be positioned a little further out, I could have asked to fly to a different fix or simply asked to be cleared for the approach in lieu of the visual. Just remember to keep your intentions clear when communicating them to the controller.

The best way to approach an airport day or night, familiar or unfamiliar, is with careful preparation. Having lighted landmarks picked out as well as being acquainted with the airport layout will pay off when it comes time to plan your pattern entry or find the airport on a dark night. Use the resources available to you to get you safely to your destination.

Andrew Robinson is a 135 Charter Pilot and flight instructor in Pennsylvania.  He flies Pilatus PC-12s and instructs in Beechcraft Bonanzas.

MAF Provides Disaster Relief in Haiti

ByHank Gibson October 9, 2016October 11, 2016

Hurricane Matthew rolled through the Caribbean last week and dumped vast amounts of rain across several of the island nations.  Haiti was one of them.  Haiti has been hard hit by disasters over the last 10 years.  Hurricane Ike in 2008, he devastating earthquake in 2010, Tropical Storm Isaac in 2012 and now Hurricane Matthew.

MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship) has provided relief through all those disasters in Haiti.  Their disaster response team is preparing to provide relief yet again to the island nation in the form of relief supplies and personnel as well as damage assessment flights.

MAF-US is based in Nampa, Idaho.  The organization uses aviation and technology to gain access to isolated people groups in order to allow those people to experience the love of Jesus Christ.  MAF-US serves in 6 countries around the world spread out amongst 15 bases.  MAF International works in 33 countries around the world.

In addition, MAF works with multiple non-profits and human aid organizations to provide transportation to doctors and aid workers to those remote parts of the world where automobile transportation is impossible.

In Haiti, MAF has 3 airplanes based in the country that serve 13 remote airstrips.  To read more about MAF, visit their website.

Cirrus Tow Bar For Sale

ByHank Gibson October 3, 2015

In the market for a tow-bar?  This one is basically brand new and hasn’t been used all that much.  It has the Cirrus connections on it as well.

For more information, contact Texas Top Aviation.