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Hank Gibson Featured on Joe Casey’s The Malibu Guru Podcast

Recently, I did my TBM and Meridian recurrent training with Joe Casey of Casey Aviation. I always like being challenged my more seasoned instructors than me because I always get to learn something. When I learn something, it makes me a better instructor and allows me to give better instruction to my customers. Plus, there is still a bunch that I don’t know!

Joe has a podcast titled The Malibu Guru (because he really is the Malibu guru!). During our training, we did a podcast together and he interviewed me. I get to tell about Texas Top Aviation and some exciting things coming up this summer (hint: the biggest exciting thing is called The Aviator’s Academy). Before I give too much away, take a listen to the podcast.

The Malibu Guru Podcast: Interview with Hank Gibson

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  • GAMI Gains STC for G100UL, Unleaded Avgas

    For years, there has been clamoring for airplanes to get rid of lead in piston engine Avgas. In the early 2000s, Thielert created a Jet A burning piston engine for Diamond Aircraft that gained some traction, but Thielert had internal issues and ended up declaring bankruptcy. Several other Jet A piston engines have come down the line since then to some success (Diamond is currently using 2 Austro manufactured Jet A piston engines on it’s DA62 and a Continental manufactured Jet piston on the new DA50).

    The problem with a Jet A burning piston engine, though, is that those engines would be very expensive to put on existing airplanes, not to mention the cost of the STC alone.

    Insert GAMI (General Aviation Modifications, Inc.), the famed Ada, Oklahoma company that championed turbo normalization, balanced injectors, and lean of peak operations. For those that have been to GAMI’s engine class, you know that these guys are at the very top of their game in engine knowledge.

    In 2010, GAMI started the process of creating an Unleaded form of Avgas, terming it G100UL (the irony of traditional Avgas, 100LL, is the LL starts for low lead, but the lead levels in 100LL are actually quite high. UL stands for UnLeaded). Just before Osh Kosh in 2021, GAMI revealed that it’s work has come to fruition, gaining an STC for G100UL for Lycoming powered Cessna 172s.

    The amazing thing about GAMI’s product is that it is able to mix with 100LL and not cause any issues. This means fuel trucks, fuel lines, fuel pumps, and aircraft fuel tanks don’t have to have any modifications to them to use G100UL. Plus, pilots will see longer engine life using G100UL because of the simple elimination of the lead. In tests, combustion chambers in cylinders burned cleaner, so theoretically, cylinders and engines will last a lot longer.

    According to the company, GAMI has a few more tests to run and, assuming those go well, G100UL will be available for a whole lot more airplanes. An STC will still be required for the use of G100UL in a specific airplane, but the hope is, eventually, 100LL will be completely replaced by G100UL. The only downside is that G100UL is expected to cost about $1/gallon more than 100LL.

    GAMI has partnered with Avfuel, so expect to see 100UL showing up at all Avfuel FBOs in the next year or two.

    To read more, check out the press release on AOPA’s website.

  • Textron Aviation’s New Single Engine Turboprop

    An 8 seat, cabin class, single engine turboprop is set to come to market in 2018 from the new aviation conglomerate Textron Aviation (Textron owns Cessna, Hawker, and Beechcraft).  Details were announced last week at the European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition.  The as yet unnamed aircraft will be equipped with Garmin’s G3000 avionics and will be outfitted with a GE 1,240 Shaft Horsepower engine.

    Cessna TurbopropThe GE engine will be equipped with a FADEC (Fully Automated Digital Engine Control) computer that will allow the pilot to make all necessary power adjustments using just one lever.

    Range will be about 1,600 miles at 285 knots, giving the airplane the same legs as a PC12 at slightly faster speeds, but a smaller cabin.  The cabin will be equipped with a belted lav if desired.

    To read more, check out the AOPA Article here.

  • Introducing…The Aviator’s Academy

    Imagine this …

    You have plans to fly to an airport 218 miles north for a business meeting. Your window is tight; you have an early morning meeting at your office you can’t miss prior to leaving for the airport. The colleagues you are flying to meet must catch another flight within two hours of your target arrival time. 

    You’re comfortable flying in the current weather conditions, but a small southward-moving storm north of your destination might threaten your approach. Additionally, given the time of day, you can expect ATC delays due to vectors and know you’ll have to adjust on the fly.

    Are you confident you can make the meeting in time?

    If the answer isn’t immediately clear, you’re not alone. Good aeronautical decision making is of utmost importance in the air. External pressures, unexpected challenges, and your level of instrument proficiency are among the many factors to consider when considering an IFR flight. 

    While we can’t remove the external pressures or control the weather, we CAN help with instrument proficiency!

    Introducing … The Aviator’s Academy – advanced online pilot training. 

    During my time training hundreds of capable and competent pilots at Texas Top Aviation, my most common observation with seasoned and rookie pilots alike is that the pilot is often aware of knowledge gaps with the airplane’s avionics after initial flight training or after upgrading to a more advanced airplane, but aren’t sure where to get answers.  Simply put – expert glass panel flight training is hard to find.

    They know enough to have earned their license, but still feel uneasy anticipating unexpected challenges. This leaves them feeling at best, uncomfortable, or worse, on edge and unsafe. When you’re not as proficient as you could be, an easy flight can become stressful quickly in unexpected scenarios, and things spiral from there. It doesn’t have to be this way.

    That’s why The Aviator’s Academy offers online courses with real-life scenarios using glass panel avionics. You’ll gain more confidence in the air and be equipped with better aeronautical decision-making skills after learning from the best in the business.

    We understand the pressures you face in the air. We get it because we have been providing expert, personalized, owner/pilot instruction since 2014 at Texas Top Aviation. With over 8000 hours of instruction given in Technically Advanced Aircraft and over 13,000 hours in total flight time, The Aviator’s Academy instructors are qualified to fly and instruct most single-engine aircraft to a level that far exceeds what a flight school can provide. Nowhere else can you get expert glass panel online instruction for Technically Advanced Aircraft.

    If you’re in need of an instrument proficiency check and fly a technically advanced aircraft with glass panel instruments, this is the place to get your ground school training. Conveniently online. Expertly taught. 

    Mastering your glass panel avionics isn’t impossible. You just need a guide. Enroll in the course you need to take your skill to the next level. You’ll receive expert, specialized online training. Then you’ll fly with confidence.

    LAUNCHING AT OSHKOSH! Visit www.aviatorsacademy.com and leave us your email to be notified when our first course drops. Come visit us at booth 3004 at Osh Kosh, July 25th-July 31st, 2022.

  • Skyvector Has a New Look

    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.

  • Iridium Zoleo Allows In Flight Messaging

    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.

  • PopSocket iPad Yoke Mount

    I was recently clued in to a really cool (and very cost efficient) iPad yoke mount.

    It’s called a PopSocket and you won’t find it on any aviation website (I have to credit Joe Casey of Casey Aviation with this nifty find).

    It’s very simple.  You take the mount (see right) and stick it to your yoke.  Then you pick one of a ton of designs from PopSocket and stick it to the back of your iPad (you can even create your own design!  B2 Bomber anyone?).

    It’s low profile, doesn’t get in the way of anything, and is easily removable.  The PopSocket mounts are $10 apiece (depending on the size of your iPad, you may want to get 2).  The PopSocket is $10, so at the most, you’ll be in $40 plus tax and shipping.  Most mounts on Sporty’s are upwards of $50 and require a lot of installation, are big and bulky, and usually require lots of juggling to get the iPad in and out of the mount.

    Give the PopSocket a try.

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