Cirrus CAPS Saves Lives Again

Scud Running

ByHank Gibson June 2, 2015

I was speaking with a pilot a few months back who was not instrument rated.  He was telling me of his flying experience while continually speaking fondly of scud running.  He told me several stories, most of the time with a smile on his face, about scud running to his destination while staying clear of clouds.  While he was talking, my mind was cycling through the numerous accident reports I’ve seen where a scud running VFR pilot has crashed into terrain or an obstacle.  Needless to say, scud running is not a very good idea.

This pilot’s stories got me to thinking, how common is the practice of scud running amongst VFR only pilots?  As an instructor, I always teach my private students about personal minimums and making that no-go decision when clouds are below those personal minimums.  The act of scud running falls under several of those dangerous pilot mindsets, get-there-itis, invincibility, and macho-ism, to name a few.

To bring everyone on the same page, let’s define scud running.  Wikipedia has a very good definition:

Scud running is a practice in which pilots lower their altitude to avoid clouds or instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). The goal of scud running is to stay clear of weather to continue flying with visual, rather than instrument, references. This practice is widely accepted to be dangerous, and has led to death in many cases from pilots flying into radio towers and high tension wires; however, even instrument-rated pilots sometimes elect to take the risk to avoid icing or embedded thunderstorms in cloud, or in situations where the minimum instrument altitudes are too high for their aircraft.

To put some numbers with that definition, a scud running VFR pilot would takeoff with a 1200-1500 foot ceiling and stay 700-1000 feet above the ground, right in the area where towers, hills, and rapidly rising terrain reside.

How do we change this mindset?  Well, if someone has been scud running for years without incident, the practice becomes normal, like the pilot I mentioned above.  The mindset of invincibility sets in and the practice continues.  This particular pilot can also lead other pilots to adopt the same practice, encouraging them that nothing will happen to them, since we all know that our pilot peers know better than our flight instructors (insert heavy sarcasm here).

In order to change this mindset, instructors need to emphasize personal minimums from day one.  This includes ceilings, visibility, and winds.  For a seasoned pilot, a review of accident statistics might help the process.

Scud running is not a safe practice.  If you’re a scud runner, you need to rethink your attitude.  Is getting there really worth it?

Still not convinced?  Read this pilot’s experience from AOPA.

Calm Wind Landings

ByHank Gibson December 11, 2015December 21, 2015

Some of a pilot’s favorite words are heard on the ATIS:  “Winds, Calm.”  These words set off all sorts of happy bells and hallelujah choruses.  Most pilots spend their lives fighting the winds.  On those rare days when the winds are calm, great happiness ensues.

But, are calm wind landings more complicated then everyone thinks?  Well, they can be if the proper planning doesn’t go into them.

Let’s think about wind.  We have surface wind and we have winds aloft. Sometimes the surface winds are calm.  When this happens, certain airports have preferred calm wind runways which are supposed to be used in these conditions.  Winds aloft are almost never calm.  95% of the time, there is some kind of wind even 100-200 feet above the surface.

Here is the question pilot’s face when coming into an airport with calm winds: which runway do I use?  Do I use the calm wind runway?  Do I use the runway that is easiest to enter the pattern for?  Do I use the one with the shortest taxi?

A lot of technologically advanced aircraft have a wind indicator on the PFD. This tool is often forgotten in calm surface wind conditions.  On the contrary, this is probably the most important tool a pilot can have when figuring out which runway to use when the winds are reported calm.

Here’s why.  That wind indicator is showing the pilot what the winds aloft are. The winds aloft should determine what runway is going to be used.  If the wind indicator is depicting a south wind, then a south runway should be used.  Even if it is a 5 knot wind at pattern altitude, it’ll still be a headwind coming in on final approach.  If the north facing runway is used, that same 5 knot headwind can blow an airplane halfway down the runway before the ground speed drops off enough for it to land.

So, the next time you are coming into an airport and the winds are reported calm, take a look at your wind indicator on your PFD when deciding which runway to use.  It’ll probably save a few go arounds!

My 2018 Osh Kosh Experience

ByHank Gibson September 24, 2018September 24, 2018

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:

The Stratos 716X Personal Jet

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.

The Lancair Mako

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.

Avionics

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 G2 Vision Jet

ByHank Gibson January 31, 2019

Well, that was fast.

In January, Cirrus announced the Generation 2 SF50 Vision Jet.  After getting the Generation 1 Vision Jet certified in late 2016, Cirrus didn’t waste any time in starting in on improvements.

The improvements are pretty sweet, making the G2 Vision Jet even easier to fly and step into for Cirrus’ target market, SR22 owners.

Here are the improvements on the G2 Vision Jet.

RVSM Approval

The G2 Vision Jet has received RVSM approval, allowing the airplane to fly at 31,000 feet.  RVSM stands for Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums (read more about RVSM here).  RVSM airspace starts at 28,000 feet, the G1 Vision Jet’s ceiling.  Now that the G2 Vision Jet is RVSM certified, it can fly at 31,000 feet.

For piston pilots, you are left scratching your head as to the advantage of this.  In a jet, the higher you go, the thinner the air, so the faster you go, and the less fuel you burn since the thin air needs less fuel to mix with.  This caps out at a certain altitude and the speed begins dropping and you start losing efficiency (even though the fuel burn is quite low).

According to Cirrus, at 31,000 feet, the G2 Vision Jet cruises over 300 KTAS and gets a range boost to almost 1,200 nm.

Garmin Perspective Touch+

Cirrus & Garmin have taken the new NXi interface and paired it with the Garmin Perspective Touch to create the Touch+.  You can read about the improvements on the NXi here, all of which are included in the Touch+ in the G2 Vision Jet.

The big improvement that is included in the Touch+ is Autothrottle capability.  An Autothrottle is integrated with the autopilot.  It automatically adjusts power settings and speeds based on the phase of flight without the pilot having to touch the throttle.  Pretty cool.

New Cabin

The G2 Vision Jet has a redesigned cabin as well, making it an extremely passenger friendly airplane.  The second row has been redesigned and equipped with a center console.  There is also a drop down TV screen that allows passengers to connect their mobile devices to it to watch movies or videos while traveling (no internet on board, yet.  That’ll probably be the G3 Vision Jet!).

Cirrus also put in more noise reduction in the cabin, creating a quieter ride for passengers.  Cirrus also allows for multiple different seating configurations, depending on the needs of the owner.

As always, Cirrus is on the leading edge of airplane technology, creating airplanes that are easy as well as fun to fly.  I’m excited to see how they continue to improve the design to both the SR22 and the Vision Jet.

Skyvector Has a New Look

ByHank Gibson July 26, 2015August 20, 2015

Skyvector has changed it’s look.  The aeronautical chart website is now offering flight plan filing capability. In order to gain the ability to file flight plans, the user has to form an account first.

Personally, I really liked how Skyvector had a simple interface before they changed.  As an instructor, a lot of times, I go to multiple airports on one flight.  It was really nice to just plug in airport IDs to check distances and heading information on Skyvector.  The new format is a little clunky as the website has made it a little more difficult to do what it did best before.

Did the aviation community need another venue to file flight plans?  Not with Foreflight, Garmin Pilot, and WingXPro leading the way in the app market.  Skyvector was smart in not trying to develop another app to compete with the big boys.

Will the new Skyvector last?  We’ll see.  I’m hoping they’ll go back to the way they used to be, but we’ll see. I may use it enough to come around to liking it.