Are you still trying to master the Garmin 430 in your airplane? Is it giving you fits because you keep twisting the big knob instead of the small knob? Would you like a step-by-step guide to each and every part of the Garmin 430?
Pilot proficiency website PilotWorkshops.com has published a very thorough, step-by-step manual on how to use the Garmin 430. Want to load a flight plan? There’s a section for that. Want to load an approach? There is a section for that as well.
The Pilot-friendly Garmin 430 manual is a great reference to have for Garmin pilots. Pilot Workshops offers a guide for the Garmin 430 and the Garmin 430W, depending on if you have WAAS or not.
The hard copy guides are $44.95, but you can also download the PDF version of each for $19.95.
To get more information on the guide or to order one, you can visit the Pilot Workshops website. (Have another Garmin or King GPS unit? Pilot Workshops has guides for a variety of different GPS units)
You have finally decided it’s time to make an aircraft purchase. You’ve got your private pilot certificate with an instrument rating.
You’ve been flying for 3 years, mainly renting the Piper Arrow at the local flight school. You’ve had some frustrations at times with scheduling, since the Arrow is also used for training at the flight school. The airplane isn’t very well taken care of, is kind of old, and breaks a lot.
After several weekends of trying to book the airplane to take a weekend trip to the family cabin, your frustration finally boils over. It’s time to make an aircraft purchase.
Here’s a better question: Have you bought an airplane before? Do you know the process? Do you know what to look for in maintenance records? Do you know what ADs are required? Is the airplane priced higher than it’s valued?
Overwhelmed yet? Texas Top Aviation is here to help in your Aircraft Purchase. Visit our Aircraft Purchase Consultation page for more information. Ready to buy? Contact Texas Top Aviation today!
Sadly, in January, a pretty great airplane was put out to pasture. Textron (the conglomerate that now owns Cessna, Beechcraft, Hawker, and Lycoming) announced it was ceasing production of the Cessna TTx. With the end of the Cessna TTx production, an airplane that was the main “competitor” to Cirrus (if you can call it competition; Cirrus consistently outsold the Cessna TTx by a wide margin each year), it leaves the SR series to stand alone atop the High Performance piston single market.
I got to go through Cessna’s FITS Accepted Instructor (CFAI) course back in 2012 and have flown in the Cessna 350 and 400 (which is what they were known as at the time; the Cessna TTx name came around in 2011) for about 120 hours. I really like the airplanes. I’m partial to the Cirrus, but the Cessna 350 & 400 are fast airplanes and great for 1-2 people. I flew a 350 (the non-turbo charged version) from New York to San Antonio last fall and routinely saw 170 knots at 12 GPH.
Columbia started out making the 350 & 400 (the turbo-charged version) in the early 2000s, but went bankrupt in 2007. Lancair started Columbia to make a certified version of their popular kit planes. If you see a Lancair ES floating around, you would swear it’s a Columbia with only 1 door. Cessna bought the design from Columbia in 2007 to begin manufacturing the airplanes themselves.
Cessna then made a huge mistake as they moved the production facility from Bend, Oregon to Mexico. Production completely halted in 2009 as the planes coming out of Mexico were found to have defective composite work. The sales never really recovered, even though Cessna put the Garmin G2000 panel in the Cessna TTx, complete with a touchscreen key pad. A FIKI system was added as an option in 2012.
A prospective buyer can still get a great value on a used 350, 400, or TTx, as they are valued a little lower than a Cirrus. The 350, 400 or TTx all make excellent single pilot or two person speedsters with very comfortable amenities.
The South Central Cirrus Owner’s and Pilot’s Association (COPA) Region is hosting it’s second Fly In dinner at the Austin Executive Airport (KEDC) on Friday, October 8th, dubbed the Spring Cirrus Austin, TX Get Together. The event is from 5:30-9pm.
Like the first CATGT in October, there will be dinner ($25 per person), drinks, and several presentations. Jack Long and Josh Marvil will speak about their trip around the world in a PC-12. Ed McCombs and Eric Opiela will give a safety presentation about automation and task saturation.
Plus, best of all, Cirrus is bringing a real live flying SF50 Vision Jet, plus a brand new SR22 G6 with the Garmin Perspective NXi panel.
Fly in or drive to EDC. The dinner will be in the Henrickson Jet Center’s main hangar. You will need to RSVP so event organizers can get a proper head count. The link to RSVP is here.
When it comes to turboprop engines, a hot start is a really bad thing. For you piston drivers out there thinking, “What’s the big deal, you are just starting a hot engine,” then here’s a little education for you.
In a PT6 turboprop engine, there is a very important temperature gauge that a pilot monitors very closely during each and every start. It is called the Inter-Turbine Temperature gauge, or ITT. This temperature is a measurement of the exhaust gases between the compressor turbine and the power turbine (s). In the picture below, the probe is located where the blue and red colors meet.
In a turboprop engine, specifically the Pratt & Whitney PT-6 in all it’s different sizes and variations, there will always be a specific temperature that the pilot will want to keep the ITT below. This article will deal specifically with a Piper Meridian.
A Piper Meridian starts hotter than almost any other PT6 engine because of the way it’s air intake is designed. Unlike other turboprops, the Meridian has a permanently open inertial separator. This means that not all the intake air makes it to the engine during start because some of it goes out the inertial separator opening. So, coming to a Meridian from operating other turboprop engines can lead to a little bit of a surprise on the ITT temperature being higher than what a pilot is used to when starting.
As a rule of thumb, when starting a Meridian, never let a start continue when the ITT hits 875 degrees. Based on the chart below, you are still in the safe zone at 875 and have about a 50 degree buffer before you have to start getting worried.
On cold starts with a good battery or a GPU, 875 is typically not an issue. Most starts when cold are going to be in the high 700s or low 800s. On a cold start, if you are seeing starts in the mid to upper 800s, try starting with a GPU and see if that lowers the start temperature. If it does, then that means your battery is weak and needs to be replaced. Another tell-tale sign of a weak batter is the Ng doesn’t spool up properly (meaning it settles around 12-13%) or takes a really long time to spool up. Also, never start on the battery with less than 24 volts.
When there are multiple flights in one day, the pilot has to take into consideration the warm engine prior to starting. If the ITT, prior to the start sequence, is above 150 degrees, it is time to do some motoring of the engine.
What is motoring? It is simply using the starter to turn the engine, which leads to air being sucked into the engine allowing the engine to cool off prior to start. The theory is, the cooler your engine prior to start, the cooler the ITT peaks at during start.
Here’s the steps on how to dry motor a Piper Meridian:
Battery on
Strobes on
Fuel Pumps and Ignition off
Throttle idle
Condition Lever feather/cutoff
Push the start button
Monitor the ITT temperature
Reaching 150 degrees, if less than 30 seconds have elapsed:
Fuel Pumps on
Ignition On
Condition Lever run
Reaching 150 degrees, if 30 seconds have elapsed:
Push Manual/Stop button to stop the start
Let starter rest for 30 seconds
The starter has a 30 second limit on the Meridian, followed by a 30 second rest period. You can do the sequence twice, then, after the 3rd start, there is a 30 minute rest period. Typically, if the ITT won’t cool down to 150 after the 3rd time, there is probably something wrong.
The most important thing a pilot can remember is never, ever push the condition lever forward if the ITT is above 150 degrees. You’ll be well on your way to avoiding hot starts that way.
Ever since I moved out to the Philadelphia area, the Hudson River corridor in New York City has become one my favorite places to fly. It’s hard to overstate the beauty of the city from low over the river. Every time I have a family member or friend come to visit, I try and take them over to see the city from the air.
Each time I fly up the river I can’t believe that we are actually allowed to do so, flying below the tops of the buildings and close enough that you feel that you could reach and out touch them. The draw back to the Hudson River Corridor is that it can be busy, intimidating, and confusing. However, with some reading and preparation, the Skyline flight is easy to do and extremely rewarding.
Having the right weather is an important first step. The second step is try to arrive during ideal lighting conditions. If possible, select a smooth, calm day to make it easier to maintain a track down the correct side of the river. I always try and target arrival at the city around sunset. The view is spectacular any time of day, but having the lights from the city while the sun is just setting gives the best viewing. I’ve also flown over and done the whole flight after dark, which is always spectacular.
View of the World Trade Center
The first method of flying the river is to utilize VFR flight following. If the controllers aren’t too busy, they will provide advisories to aircraft that request the Skyline. The nice thing about doing it this way is that the controller will clear you into the NY bravo airspace and keep you above the traffic flying the Skyline in the VFR corridor below. This is the method that I have always preferred as I enjoy the added benefit of the traffic advisories and it’s nice not to worry about position reporting on the radio.
If you want to get flight following, head toward the corridor and request the Skyline route with NY Approach. (Remember to stay clear of the Bravo until you’re cleared in!) Once you’re cleared into the Bravo and approaching the corridor, they will hand you off to Newark/ LaGuardia Tower for traffic advisories over the river. I like to approach from the south and ask for a 180 over the George Washington Bridge. This allows me to fly past the city a second time before exiting the corridor over the VZ (Verrazano Bridge) and heading back toward home.
In red is the path I typically fly. I descend to 1400’ and fly toward the APPLE intersection picking up the shoreline around Staten Island and hugging it until crossing the middle of the VZ. Newark normally clears me into the Bravo at 1400’ or 1500’ to fly up the corridor.
Pros:
Better traffic Awareness
No position reports
Cons:
Flying slightly higher reduces the view
If the controllers are busy, they may deny your request for advisories
Can be intimidating to talk to NY Approach/ Newark/ LaGuardia
The other option is to fly in the VFR corridor. If you want to do it via this method there are just a few things you need to make sure you’re familiar with before you go. When in the VFR corridor you’ll need to make required position reports on a CTAF frequency. Make sure that you have the proper charts and have studied pictures of the landmarks so that you know what you’re looking for. I tend to plan on this as a backup in the event that the controllers won’t give me advisories.
Pros:
Doesn’t require talking to controllers/ class B clearance
More freedom to select altitude and routing as desired
Cons:
Less traffic awareness
Required position reporting
All the requirements and guidelines for flying the corridor can be found on the back of the NYC TAC chart. Any pilot flying the river is required to have one of these or a NYC helicopter route chart on board. If you’re using Foreflight, look in the Documents section under FAA Fly Charts and select the NYC TAC chart in order to read the back of page.
Below you’ll find examples of the diagrams/ instructions printed on the back of the NYC TAC charts.
You can see the traffic flow requires northbound airplanes to hug the east side of the river, while the southbound traffic stays on the west side. The VFR reporting positions (listed from North to South) are: Alpine Tower, George Washington Bridge, Intrepid aircraft carrier, Goldman Sachs (clock), Statue of Liberty, VZ (Verrazano Bridge). Each position report should include aircraft type, position, direction, and altitude.
Other things to be aware of: NYC is always a hotspot for TFR’s. There are often TFR’s for baseball games or presidential movements so make sure to check before you head that way. Additionally, there is a speed restriction in place of 140 kts, though I’m not sure why anyone sightseeing would want to go that fast anyhow.
I realize that all of the procedures and restrictions can be overwhelming, but with the proper preparation, the Hudson Skyline is one of the most incredible places in the world to operate an airplane. There are a lot of things that are easy to get excited about that don’t live up to expectation, but this isn’t one of them. I’ve never taken anyone to the river that wasn’t impressed by what they saw and that’s why I plan to keep going back.
About to cross the VZ looking north toward the city
For those of you who frequent the Houston area, make sure to check your NOTAMs. The Houston Executive Airport (KTME) in Katy recently opened a control tower. The Houston Executive tower information won’t show up on the sectional chart till the new chart comes out in the spring. The only way to get the information about the tower and the airspace will be via NOTAMs or when the new Airport/Facilities Directory comes out on November 3rd. The tower opened October 1st.
According to AOPA, the airspace will remain Class G around the airport, even though there is a control tower in place. Since the Houston Executive tower is there, it will be mandatory to contact the tower when passing through the airspace. KTME’s airspace stretches up to 2,000 feet MSL and goes out to a 4 sm radius around the airport. It is a VFR Only tower, so the controllers do not have radar.
The tower is open from 6am-10pm, local time, 7 days a week.
Pilot proficiency website PilotWorkshops.com has published a very thorough, step-by-step manual on how to use the Garmin 430. Want to load a flight plan? There’s a section for that. Want to load an approach? There is a section for that as well.
