King Schools Updates Check Ride Guidance

A Flying Car in the Future?

ByHank Gibson July 31, 2016August 11, 2016

EAA Airventure at Osh Kosh always draws great innovators every year, leading the aviation consumer to discover something new and different.  Flying cars have always been a dream for the everyday pilot.  Why not fly to work?  Why not park the plane in the parking lot?  Why not drive from the runway onto the freeway?  All excellent questions!

Well, Samson Motorworks is trying to make those dreams a reality.  Samson’s Switchblade flying car is in the (hopefully) finally stages of development this summer.  The company expects to be able to conduct test flights early next year, then begin selling the experimental kit.

The Samson Switchblade will be in the Experimental category, but Samson has a builder assist program that only adds $20,000 to the final cost of the kit.  The total price of the kit, which comes 49% completed and only takes 3 weeks to complete with the builder assist program, comes in at $140,000.  That includes the engine, avionics (it’s equipped with Dynon’s 7″ Skyview glass panel display, a Dynon radio and transponder, a Dynon intercom, a Dynon AOA, an iPad mini, and an ADS-B GPS), and the builder assist program.  Similar to a Cirrus, it is also equipped with a Ballistic Parachute Recovery system.

The Samson Switchblade has several different engine options, including a supercharged, liquid cooled, V-4 similar to a Corvette engine that will produce 190 HP.  Max cruise in the air should be around 170 knots.  The Switchblade will hold 30 gallons of mogas, burn 9 GPH in the air, and get 35 mpg on the ground.  The gross weight will be 1,750 pounds.

How does the car to plane transition happen?  Samson has developed a fly by wire system to retract the rudder down while the car is in drive mode.  The wings use a mechanical linkage to fold up into the belly.

There are several different packages for the Samson Switchblade:  the Snowbird, the Aurora, and the Trek options.  Details can be found on Samson’s website.

I, for one, will be keeping an eye on the freeways next summer to keep an eye out for cars sprouting wings.  No more traffic jams!

Hank Gibson Earns ABS Instructor Designation

ByHank Gibson July 21, 2014July 21, 2014

Texas Top Aviation is proud to announce that Hank Gibson has completed the training to become an American Bonanza Society Instructor, or ABS Instructor.  He is now qualified to give instruction in Beech Aircraft.

As an ABS Instructor, Hank brings over 2800 hours of flying experience in a variety of aircraft to the cockpit of Beechcraft. Along with his ABS Instructor Designation, Hank is also a Cirrus Standardized Instructor Pilot (CSIP) and a Cessna FITS Accepted Instructor in both Cessna high and low wing piston aircraft (CFAI+). Hank is proud to add the ABS Instructor designation to his list of qualifications.

The process of becoming an ABS Instructor is quite comprehensive. The coursework consists of 20 powerpoint lessons covering anything and everything related to flying Debonairs, Bonanzas, Travel Airs, and Barons.  The ABS Instructor course is quite in depth and detailed, giving the graduate a full understanding of the Beechcraft piston line of aircraft.  To find out more about ABS Instructors, see the ABS website.

Hank is now giving initial and recurrent training in Beech Debonairs and Bonanzas.  Please visit the Texas Top Aviation Bonanza Training page for more information on Bonanza and Debonair initial and recurrent training.  Interested in Bonanza or Debonair training with a qualified ABS Instructor?  Contact Texas Top Aviation today!

 

 

Cirrus Alternator Failure

ByHank Gibson April 27, 2018May 1, 2018

A Cirrus is an electric airplane.  There are no vacuum pumps and therefore no vacuum driven instruments. The Klapmeier brothers did this on purpose, trying to make it a modern airplane.  No vacuum systems means no vacuum pump failures, hence there is a lower likelihood of instrument failures in IMC.

What Cirrus did instead was put a lot of electricity producing and storing devices in the airplane.  All SR20 and SR22s are equipped with 2 engine driven alternators and 2 backup batteries.  Alternator 1 is a 28 volt alternator (the amperage varies based on whether or not you have an air conditioner) while Alternator 2 is a 28.5 volt alternator.  There are 2 24 volt backup batteries, as well.  Battery 1 is also used for starting.

In traditional airplanes that have 1 alternator, an alternator failure can affect a lot of things.  Depending on how many electronics are in the airplane, the battery can get depleted quite quickly.

The Cirrus electrical system is quite ingenious.  It’s a little bit different based on whether you have an Avidyne Cirrus or a Garmin Perspective Cirrus.  I will discuss that further below.

The main goal of this article is to talk through what happens in the event of a #1 Cirrus Alternator Failure (an Alternator 2 failure actually isn’t a big deal at all, though Alt 2 is required for IFR flight), the procedure for trying to fix it, and a technique I have developed that makes the pilot’s job easier.  First, let’s go through the #1 Cirrus Alternator Failure procedure.

Alternator 1 Failure

In either avionics configuration, the Cirrus Alternator Failure procedure is the same.

• Check and reset the circuit breaker for Alternator 1 (Reset only once)
• Cycle the Alternator 1 master switch
• If Alternator 1 doesn’t come back online, leave the Alternator 1 master switch off and shed load on the battery

Avidyne Entegra

The Avidyne Entegra has 2 busses, the Main Bus and the Essential Bus.  Alternator 2 isn’t set to come on until the engine RPM reaches 1700.  While on the ground, Alternator 1 runs both the Main and Essential Buses.  In the air, Alternator 1 runs the Main Bus and Alternator 2 runs the Essential Bus.  Since Alt 2 is 28.5 volts, the higher voltage won’t allow the power from Alt 1 to cross over and run the Essential Bus.  There are also 2 one-way directional diodes that prevent the voltage from Alt 2 to cross over and run the Main Bus.

Having said all that, when Alternator 1 fails, Battery 1 is now running the items on the Main Bus.  There are a significant number of items on the Main Bus which causes the 24 volt battery to quickly lose it’s charge. This precipitates the need for shedding load.  Items like GPS 2, the air conditioner and aircraft lights can all be turned off.

In the above scenario, Alternator 2 is running the Essential Bus still that has all the Essential items on it.  Those include:

• The PFD
• Flight Instruments and associated Avidyne computers
• Engine Instruments and associated Avidyne computers
• GPS 1
• Com 1
• Nav 1
• Autopilot
• Stall Warning
• Charging Battery 2

Note 2 important items that are not on the Essential Bus:  the flaps and the landing light (which is very handy at night).  Those two are only on the Main Bus, which Battery 1 is now powering.

Let’s further enhance our scenario.  You are flying over Nevada (quite remote and not a lot of airports) at night, 30 minutes from the nearest airport when your Alt 1 fails.  When you get to the airport you are planning on landing at, you want to have your flaps and your landing light, but we don’t know how long Battery 1 will last.

The solution (this is where my technique comes in):  Turn off the Battery 1 master switch.  This is an easy solution to ensuring you have battery power to use your flaps and landing light.  Instead of going through and shedding load, simply turn off the source.  You’ll still have all the above items on the Essential Bus, which is all you need to keep safely flying.  Then, when you get to your landing airport, turn Battery 1 back on to utilize your flaps and landing light.

Garmin Perspective

Cirrus wired the Garmin Perspective plane a little bit differently.  There are now 2 Main Buses along with the Essential Bus.  Alternator 1 runs Main Bus 1, while Alternator 2 runs Main Bus 2 and the Essential Bus. Both Alternators are running all the time.  The Alternator 1 Failure procedure remains the same.

The cool thing that comes along with the second Main Bus in the Perspective is the amount of items you still have available to you in the event of an Alternator 1 failure.  The only items you lose will be:

• Yaw Damper
• Landing Light
• Air Conditioner and associated components
• EVS Camera
• 12 Volt power supply in armrest

Everything else is powered off of Alternator 2.  That’s not much.  The only item you really want on the above list is the landing light if you are going to be landing at night.

Follow the Alternator 1 Failure procedure, then do my technique again.  Turn off Battery 1 to save the battery power in order to use the landing light when needed.

Cirrus did a great job creating an all electric airplane with plenty of backups in case something fails.  I focused mainly on the Alternator 1 failure here.  If Alternator 2 fails, the system is wired for Alternator 1 to run everything while still charging Battery 1 and 2.  No big deal.

In my experience, turning off Battery 1 to conserve battery power is just a simpler solution when shedding load in the event of a Cirrus Alternator Failure.

Textron Aviation’s New Single Engine Turboprop

ByHank Gibson May 29, 2016

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.

The 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.

Synthetic Vision Technology

ByHank Gibson December 5, 2014December 5, 2014

Let’s say you’re flying in the mountains of Colorado on a cloudy day.  There’s a solid layer from the surface all the way up to 14,000 feet.  You’re inbound to Eagle (KEGE) on the RNAV (GPS) D approach.  There are mountains next to you and below you, but you aren’t concerned since you can see them all.  The base of the last reported overcast layer was 3,000 feet, so you know you’ll break out before the MDA and land no problem.

At 11,100 over AWACC, you clearly see the top of the mountain below you.  You are comfortably above it. You already have the runway in sight as well.  You pop out of the clouds on the approach at 9,700 feet, spot the airport and follow the tower’s instructions to circle north of the runway for a left base for runway 7.

How could you see the mountains inside the clouds?  You have Synthetic Vision installed on your glass panel, that’s how.

Synthetic Vision, which has actually been around since the ’70s when NASA and the US Military first developed it, was first FAA certified for the Gulfstream PlaneView flight deck in 2009.  Garmin, Avidyne, and Aspen are the main general aviation manufacturers of synthetic vision these days.  All Garmin PFDs are now equipped with Synthetic Vision while Aspen gives you the option to upgrade to Synthetic Vision when you get one of their PFDs installed.  Avidyne gives you Synthetic Vision in their R9 upgrade for the Cirrus.

What is Synthetic Vision?  Basically, it’s a 3-D picture on the primary flight display showing terrain, obstacles, traffic, and runways.  It greatly enhances situation awareness in areas of terrain or high obstacles during IFR conditions or at night.

The goal behind the development of Synthetic Vision was to decrease the amount of controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) accidents.  A CFIT accident consists of a perfectly airworthy airplane flown by a pilot (or autopilot) unintentionally into terrain. These accidents can happen in low visibility conditions or at night, but the reason is mainly due to the pilot losing track of his position in relation to obstacles or terrain (or water as was the case with JFK Jr.).

With Synthetic Vision, the goal is to enhance pilot knowledge of what is around the airplane at all times. When you’re at altitude, the terrain below you looks flat.  When you start descending down amongst the rocks, the hills or mountains start to rise up on your screen.  For those used to the coloration with the 2-D terrain feature on a GPS unit, it translates very easily to the terrain coloration on a Synthetic Vision equipped PFD. Terrain that is between 100 and 500 feet below the aircraft is shown as yellow, while terrain closer than 100 feet is depicted as red.

 

One neat feature on Garmin units is the Highway in the Sky.  When a pilot puts a course or a flight plan in the GPS, the PFD displays magenta boxes at the altitude selected displaying the route.  It’s handy when hand flying to just “fly through the boxes.”  They also display descent angles on approaches.

Synthetic Vision is still optional on Garmin and Aspen units, but I highly recommend springing for it.  It will give you a higher level of safety and keep you out of the rocks.

Hold Anywhere

ByHank Gibson December 21, 2016September 24, 2018

The latest Garmin software version on the Garmin G1000 and Cirrus Perspective by Garmin has a really neat feature.  It gives the pilot the ability to create a hold at any fix, VOR, NDB, or even airport.  If the point is in the GPS database, a hold can be created over it.

How does it work?  Here are the steps.

Let’s say ATC tells you to hold over an intersection on a Victor Airway that you are already on.  Since you are tracking the airway already, the airway should be in your flight plan complete with all the waypoints on it.

Bring up your flight plan and highlight the waypoint to hold at.  Press the menu key.  Using the big knob, scroll down to highlight the hold at waypoint option at the bottom of the bottom of the menu.  Press enter.

Now you can build the hold.  You select what the inbound or outbound course will be.  Select a timed hold or a distance hold.  Then select left or right hand turns.  You can even input your expect further clearance time.  Press enter and now you have a hold as a waypoint in your flight plan.  Assuming you have a WAAS unit, the autopilot will fly the hold for you.

If you are ever told to “Hold Present Position,” Garmin has you covered.  Simply press menu on the flight plan page, scroll down to Hold Present Position, then follow the prompts on the screen to build a hold at your present position.