AOPA recapped the year in the general aviation industry recently. A lot happened in 2016 including the certification of both the Cirrus Vision Jet and the Honda Jet. Several other manufacturers debuted new models, including Mooney with their Ovation Ultra and it’s 2 doors and Cub Crafters with their faster XCub.
To read the full year in review, you can read the AOPA Article here.
I got the privilege of going to the EAA AirVenture at Osh Kosh this year. It was my first Osh Kosh experience. I’ll be the first to tell you, walking in the gate on the first day is mildly overwhelming. There are people and stuff everywhere. Airplanes, tents selling everything from airplane parts to mattresses (I wasn’t really sure how mattresses tied to flying), vendors, colleges, and loads of people.
After I gathered myself from my initial shock, I set out to explore all that I could. I spent most of the first morning walking around the different manufacturer’s tents, getting a gauge on all the new airplanes I could never afford and only hope to ever fly.
The short of it is, the Cessna/Textron Denali is going to be stellar once it gets completed. The Epic E1000 (if it ever gets certified) might take a large market share from TBM, though they will have an uphill climb. The Cirrus Vision Jet is very cool and should be a relatively simple step up for SR22T owners. The Pilatus Jet is huge. Finally, the Diamond DA62 would be my below 12,500 airplane and the Piper M350 would be my pressurized plane. Money being no factor, of course.
I decided to take in the entire airshow on Day 1, all 4 hours of it. Upon realizing I would be very stiff necked if I did that each day for the three days I was there, I decided on Day 2 to check out some seminars and learn something. I took a seaplane ground school course on Day 2, then listened to a NASA presentation on electric airplanes and low boom sonic jet technology (how to make supersonic passenger flight quieter).
The end of Day 2 at Osh Kosh had to be the highlight. I got to hang out with Cub Crafters at the 51WI grass strip just north of the OSH Class D airspace. There was a free BBQ and I got to take a ride in a Carbon Cub. My landing from the back seat was a bit rusty, but still a very cool experience. Buzzing the BBQ area in tandem was pretty neat.
Day 3 brought some cooler temps and some clouds. We walked out to the vintage airplanes, spending the morning gawking at Cessna 195s and Wacos. Then I took the plunge to explore all the vendor hangars. My idea was to walk around and see if I can find some interesting and innovative technology. Well, after 2 of the 4 hangars, my head was spinning, so I decided to watch the rest of the airshow to let my brain drain out a bit.
3 Days was a good amount of time to spend. I don’t think I could have stayed all week, but only a day or two wouldn’t have been worth it. I flew up with a former student in his TBM 700, which was a very nice way to travel. We landed and stayed in Green Bay (KGRB), which was super easy and low stress. Had a great tailwind on the return and made it to Houston non-stop.
A few closing observations:
If Stratos Aircraft is ever able to bring this to market, it sounds awesome. 400 knots, single engine, single pilot, with 6 seats. Being a single engine jet, similar to the Cirrus Vision Jet, it’s 100 knots faster, plus with the airflow and engine technology, it doesn’t have that big V Tail in the back, thereby reducing drag. I have a feeling it would find a good market, but the certification process is a bear to get through. Just ask Epic.
This is a legit airplane. Lots of thought was put in to the design of the Mako by the new Lancair organization in Uvalde, TX (KUVA). The airplane was extremely comfortable, capable, and pretty cool. The stick is in the center, with throttles on the side (where the stick would be in a Cirrus or Columbia). AC, full Garmin integration, and the cool factor of the nose gear retracting, but not having a gear handle. Higher useful load than a Cirrus or Columbia, it would be a great alternative (and cheaper) to one of it’s certified competitors.
There is a lot of new avionics technology hitting the market. Dynon, beloved by experimental enthusiasts, is finding a foothold in the certified world with some neat panels. It will be an uphill battle to take on Garmin, but there is some potential in the retrofit market to offer a cheaper alternative to the Garmin TXi.
Speaking of the TXi, I played around with the 10.7″ panel at the Garmin booth. It is extremely intuitive. Garmin did a great job of making it a simple touch screen interface, easy to use, and easy to learn.
Avidyne is pushing their iPad integration with the IFD 100 iPad app. It ties via Wifi or Bluetooth to an IFD 550 or 440 navigator, giving an additional screen in the cockpit to work with. You have the ability to modify flight plans and such on the iPad and it will show up on the GPS units.
All in all, Osh Kosh was an experience I’m glad to have finally experienced. I don’t think I would go every year like some folks, but every few years, especially when my sons are older, seems like just enough for me, but not too much.
All Photos Courtesy of William Day, copyright 2018, All Rights Reserved
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.
http://www.cbsnews.com/live/video/pilot-forced-to-deploy-emergency-parachute-in-arkansas/
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.
Randy Vanstory, a long-time customer of Texas Top Aviation, decided in early 2017 to build his own airplane. Randy currently owns a Mooney M20J and has been active in aviation for a number of years. He took on the Vans RV 10, starting in February 2017. He’s about halfway through right now, with an estimated completion of mid-2020.
I asked Randy what gave him the desire to build his own plane. “I love building things, learning new things, and working on things” he said. “This satisfies those desires all in one project.” Randy had a desire to work with his hands, to create something of his own, and building an airplane put several of his passions together in one project.
Lots of pilots out there dream of building their own airplane in their garage. There is a certain cool factor to putting together an RV or a Lancair in a garage, then trucking it out to an airport, attaching the wings, then flying a personal creation for the first time. An airplane unique to you, since there isn’t one quite like it any where else.
That’s the beauty of a homebuilt.
Here is a link to Randy’s build video done by Kobalt Tools.
Earlier this year, Cirrus debuted it’s new Learning Management System (LMS), Cirrus Approach. For several years, Cirrus has led the way in online systems training while using several different platforms for it’s LMS. Cirrus Approach is the culmination of lots of sampling and tinkering, and boy, did Cirrus knock it out of the park.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Cirrus training program, here is the quick rundown. When a pilot who has no Cirrus time buys a Cirrus aircraft, initial transition training is required to familiarize the pilot with the aircraft systems, speeds to fly, power settings, etc. The Cirrus Transition Course is a 3 day that gets a VFR pilot up to speed in the airplane. Under the Cirrus Embark program, those 3 days of training are covered by Cirrus and free to the new owner.
If the pilot is an IFR pilot, then the 5 day Cirrus Advanced Transition Training Course is required. If the pilot has Cirrus experience, but with a different engine or avionics configuration, there are courses for that too. The Cirrus Embark program covers 3 days of training for most courses for a new Cirrus owner.
As part of the aforementioned courses, there are systems to learn about and procedures to understand. This is where the Cirrus Approach LMS excels. Cirrus has done a great job of putting together lots of good videos (that are actually interesting but not annoying) on the airplane, systems, how to fly it, etc. for each course. It cuts down greatly on the time that the training instructor has to spend on the ground with the pilot since the pilot has already compiled knowledge through Cirrus Approach.
Cirrus Approach is accessible online at learning.cirrusapproach.com. To get access to the courses, create an account, then select the Learning Catalog. The courses are categorized based on the type of training (Transition, Advanced Transition, Avionics Differences, Airframe & Powerplant Differences, Recurrent, and Specialty), then further broken down into the type of airplane, engine and avionics (eg. SR22T G6 Perspective+). Make sure the correct engine and avionics configuration is selected! Notice, there is a difference between the SR22T and SR22 (Turbo & Non-Turbo).
Anyone can do the specialty courses. I would highly recommend for everyone to take the Engine Management course as well as the Icing Awareness Course for you TKS and FIKI operators. The Takeoff & Landing course is a good refresher course for a pilot who hasn’t done any training in a while.
The Recurrent Training courses are encouraged for all Cirrus pilots. There is an IFR Refresher, a VFR Refresher, and a Skills Refresher. These are recommended to rotate through with a CSIP (Cirrus Standardized Instructor Pilot) on a yearly basis. With a little extra ground, a Flight Review and an IPC can be accomplished yearly using these courses.
Interested in Initial or Recurrent training in your Cirrus using Cirrus Approach? Contact Texas Top Aviation today!
Earlier this month, Eclipse Aerospace and Kestrel Aircraft merged to form ONE Aviation. Most pilots are familiar with Eclipse, who makes the Eclipse 550 jet, but not many have heard of Kestrel Aircraft.
Kestrel Aircraft is run by Alan Klapmeier, co-founder of Cirrus Aircraft and brother to Dale Klapmeier, who still runs Cirrus. Klapmeier joined Kestrel in 2010 and brought innovation to the K350 Turboprop design that Kestrel was developing. Kestrel has been lacking in investors to further their project, but the merger will help a lot in getting more funding. Klapmeier assumed the CEO role for ONE Aviation.
The merger will also help bring more innovations to the Eclipse 550. The original Eclipse Jet was a miserable failure and the company went into bankruptcy in 2009. The Eclipse Jet came back to market in 2013 as the Eclipse 550 with many much needed improvements, including making GPS a standard amenity.
Klapmeier and his genius will lead ONE Aviation in good directions. The K350 will come to market a lot sooner as more investors will be drawn to the company, while the Eclipse 550 will continue to see new and innovative developments.
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!
