Merry Christmas 2018

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.

The Importance of Transition Training

ByHank Gibson October 15, 2016October 19, 2016

In September, the FAASTeam at the San Antonio FSDO put a special emphasis on transition training (AOPA put out a free course last year covering general transition training topics).  A lot of pilots don’t understand the need for transition training or what it even entails.

Transition training deals mainly with piston engine aircraft, regardless of whether the airplane is a single or twin.  The FAA doesn’t have any special requirements for changing from one piston engine airplane to another, as long as the pilot has the appropriate endorsements (high performance, complex, high altitude, etc.) and is rated in that category and class.

Transition training is promoted mostly by insurance companies. An insurance company looks at a pilots experience when deciding to insure him or her in a new airplane.  If the pilot has only flown Cherokees and Comanches and is now upgrading to a Malibu, then the insurance company is going to require some transition training with a knowledgable instructor.

What is transition training?  It is when an appropriate rated pilot needs to learn how to fly a different airplane.  These are referred to commonly as checkouts, but with more complicated airplanes, the training is actually very in depth.

Using the example above, Pilot A just sold his Comanche 260 and bought a 1987 Malibu.  Pilot A says, “A Malibu is a complex, high performance, single engine piston, which is what I had in my Comanche.  I can fly that, no problem.”  In reality, a Malibu has a lot of differences.

First, there are more systems in a Malibu.  You have pressurization, air conditioning, emergency oxygen, turbo charging, and possibly radar.  Not to mention you are dealing with a Continental engine instead of a Lycoming.  And, is it a factory TSIO 520 or a converted 550?  2, 3, or 4 blade prop?  Glass panel or steam gauges?  What kind of autopilot?  Plus, it’s a much heavier airplane so it’s going to fly different, have different rotation and landing speeds and handle differently in stalls.  What’s the sight picture supposed to be on final approach?  What are the emergency procedures?

Overwhelmed yet?

An experienced, insurance approved instructor and training program is a necessity when getting into new airplanes.  It makes for safe pilots and safer skies.

Texas Top Aviation offers Cirrus Transition Training as well as Bonanza Transition Training and Columbia/Corvalis Transition Training.  We are working on an insurance approved Piper PA 46 piston transition course as well (Malibu and Mirage) and will have the course approved by the end of 2016.  Contact us today to schedule your transition training.

AOPA’s Year In Review

ByHank Gibson December 28, 2016

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.

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.