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The Piper Saratoga Turbo

ByHank Gibson June 20, 2014June 20, 2014

Recently, I assisted with the delivery of a 2007 Piper Saratoga Turbo from San Antonio to New York City. It was a very nicely equipped airplane, complete with a Garmin G1000 panel, an STEC 55x autopilot, and air conditioning. The owner joined me on the flight back to get trained in the airplane, getting him comfortable in it over our 2 day excursion back to NYC. Total flight time was 12 hours, though that did include several stops along the way and landing practice at the airports we stopped at.

The 6 seat Turbo Saratoga is a very comfortable, very capable flying machine. It is made for hauling, with a gross weight of 3,600 pounds, but that’s not to say it isn’t lacking in comfort, either. The rear cabin has 4 seats, 2 facing forward and 2 facing rear. It would be a little tight for 4 full size adults in the back seat. To avoid knee knocking, the plane is an excellent 4 person and bags aircraft (or 4 adults and 2 kids).

The really nice part about the Piper Saratoga is the baggage door. Unlike the Bonanza, the Piper Saratoga has a baggage door that opens to the baggage compartment, creating a much easier way to load and unload baggage. The nose baggage compartment, which holds an additional 100 pounds, is a very nice feature, allowing the bag load to be spread out.

We typically saw cruise speeds of 155-165 KTAS depending on altitude. The highest we went was only about 9,000 feet, so we didn’t get up real high to see what the single turbo could do. Even though the Lycoming TIO-540 engine burns about 20 gallons an hour, with 102 gallons of gas on board, the fuel consistently outlasted our desire to continue flying.

Being equipped with the G1000 was a very nice feature of this particular Piper Saratoga. The screens are nice and big, larger than the displays on a high wing Cessna or a Corvalis. That allows for easier viewing of approach plates, NEXRAD, and the engine gauges.

There are always downsides to an airplane, and the Saratoga is no exception. The STEC Autopilot leaves some to be desired as I felt it hampered the capability of the G1000 when shooting approaches because the 12 knot crosswind limitation on the autopilot. You can still use the autopilot on an approach with higher than 12 knot crosswinds, but the autopilot tends to search around for the final approach course.

The air conditioning works very nicely, though it did have a tendency to freeze up at altitude. We discovered that quickly and just decided to turn it off and leave the blower on, since it was cool enough up high anyway.

Overall, the Turbo Saratoga is a very nice airplane. The speed leaves a little to be desired (you can get 10 KTAS more out of a Bonanza with a Continental engine, about 20 knots more if it is a Turbo Bonanza), but it is very high on comfort. The Piper Saratoga makes for a good family airplane or as a hauler. I liked the airplane a lot and thoroughly enjoyed my time in it.

A Takeoff Briefing
ByHank Gibson January 22, 2015January 27, 2015

Takeoff briefings are one of those things that most pilots are taught when they first learn how to fly, but once they get into flying themselves around, quickly fall by the wayside. There is a reason student pilots are instructed to perform a takeoff briefing before departure. It gets them thinking about what the plan is after they get off the ground and what to do if something goes wrong.

Takeoff briefings are a good habit to get into. Airline crews do a takeoff briefing before every departure, even though they have performed a takeoff in that particular airplane thousands of times. It enhances safety and provides repetition, keeping that knowledge at the forefront of the crew’s minds.

In general aviation, a takeoff briefing should cover what the takeoff procedure is, what the abort plan is, and what the plan after takeoff is.

Takeoff Procedure

Most pilots fly the same airplane all the time, so the familiarity with what goes into a takeoff is there. But, habits should be formed to brief the takeoff procedure as part of the takeoff briefing. It doesn’t need to be extensive, just covering the basics of how the airplane is getting off the ground. Something like this:
- Throttle setting (if turbo charged, will full throttle cause an overboost?)
- Rotate speed
- Expected takeoff roll
That’s it. Nothing fancy for the takeoff procedure.

Abort Plan

What is the plan if something goes wrong? It doesn’t have to be an engine failure, maybe the engine coughs when full power is added or maybe the engine doesn’t produce peak RPM. Maybe the takeoff roll is longer than anticipated and something doesn’t seem right. Maybe on climb out a door pops open. Maybe the engine fails at 1,000 feet. It’s good to keep the plan in the foreground for what to do if an abnormal or emergency situation takes place.
- Brief the aborted takeoff procedure
  - Pick an abort point on the runway based on the expected ground roll
  - What is the procedure if the airplane isn’t off the ground by then?
  - What is the procedure if the engine quits on the runway?
- Brief the engine failure procedure at low altitude
  - If the engine fails over the runway, will you try to land on the runway?
  - What altitude would you elect to turn back as opposed to landing straight ahead?
  - If the plane is too low to turn back, would you land straight ahead or aim left or right?
  - What airspeed will you aim to hold if the engine fails?
- In a Cirrus, what is your minimum parachute deployment altitude?
After Takeoff Plan

After the airplane is off the ground, what’s the plan then? Are you staying in the pattern or departing the area? Do you need to adjust your power at a certain altitude? What altitude are you climbing to? What heading are you going to fly? Is your flight plan in your GPS? This is an excellent time to set up altitude and heading bugs if your airplane is so equipped.

Get in the habit of doing a takeoff briefing before you call the tower or announce your departure. It get’s your mind focused on the task at hand and then what is going to be happening next.
Flying WAAS GPS Approaches
ByHank Gibson August 30, 2021August 30, 2021

When flying a WAAS GPS approach, there are several different levels of WAAS signal that a GPS receiver can get. The most precise is an LPV signal. LPV stands for Localizer Performance with Vertical guidance. An LPV approach has the lowest minimums of all the WAAS GPS approaches, typically in the range of 200-300 feet AGL. A GPS glide path (GP) is guaranteed with an LPV approach and the minimum altitude is a decision altitude (DA).

Just like a localizer, an LPV course width get’s tighter and the CDI becomes more sensitive the closer the plane get’s to the runway. Even though the LPV approach minimums are so low and the approach is down to a DA, they still aren’t considered precision approaches by the FAA (which leads to some extra planning when selecting an airport as an alternate that only has GPS approaches, since the AIM specifies only the LNAV minimum are to be considered if an alternate airport only has GPS approaches, bringing the 800 foot ceiling requirement to bear)

An LNAV/VNAV approach is still a WAAS approach that has a GPS glidepath, but is slightly different than an LPV approach. An LNAV/VNAV final approach course does not get more sensitive the closer the plane gets to the runway. The smallest course width on an LNAV/VNAV approach is 0.3 miles either side of center. LNAV/VNAV approaches will, most of the time, have higher minimums than LPV approaches and can have minimums no lower than 250′ AGL.

The third type of WAAS approach is strictly a non-precision approach with a Minimum Descent Altitude (MDA). These are designated LP approaches, which stands for Localizer Performance. These are like old school Localizer only approaches that, similar to the lateral portion of an LPV approach, the course width tightens the closer to the runway that a pilot is. There is no glide path by definition of an LP approach, though there is a caveat.

Now, by looking at an approach plate that is a WAAS approach, but only has LP minimums listed, a pilot would assume there would be no glide path. Depending on what type of GPS unit the airplane has, that pilot could be wrong. Garmin Perspective units (Cirrus G1000), all GTN 750s and GTN 650s, All G1000 NXi units, most Garmin 430W and 530W, and all Avidyne IFD 550/540 and 440 units will display an advisory glide path on an LP approach, designated LP+V.

What does LP+V indicate? An advisory glide path is just advisory, but it is totally legal to follow down on a non-precision LP approach. The kicker is obstacle clearance is not guaranteed and the pilot needs to keep an eye on minimum altitudes at the different waypoints on the approach. The big thing I tell people is, when you arrive at the MDA and the runway is in sight, following the advisory glide path below the MDA could get you in trouble with obstacles. Don’t just hone in on your instruments when you break out of the clouds. Look out the windscreen and make sure you won’t hit anything.

If you arrive at the MDA on the advisory glide path and the runway isn’t in sight, DON’T GO BELOW THE MDA! Most autopilots won’t level off at the MDA, even if that altitude is set in the altitude pre-select, so this will involve turning off the autopilot before the MDA and manually leveling off, or engaging the altitude mode of your autopilot at the MDA.

One other type of GPS approach that you will encounter is an LNAV approach. This is a non-WAAS approach down to an MDA, but your GPS unit may still give you a +V. Most modern ones will.
Have You Got Your FAA WINGS?
ByHank Gibson November 17, 2014July 14, 2026

The FAA started their Pilot Proficiency Award Program (commonly known as FAA WINGS) in 1996. It is run by the FAA Safety Team, or the FAASTeam. The intent of the program was, and is, to “improve the nation’s accident rate by conveying safety principles and practices through training, outreach, and education” (taken from faasafety.gov). The FAA WINGS program, free of charge, encourages pilots to pursue recurrent training to enhance their overall knowledge of all the aspects of aviation.

The FAA WINGS program has evolved over the years, but with the current structure, pilot’s accomplish tasks, both knowledge and flying, for credit that adds up to the equivalent of a flight review. Pilot’s must accrue three knowledge credits and three flight credits to complete a phase, and each phase acts as a flight review.

FAA WINGS has three levels, the basic, advanced, and master level. Under each level, you accomplish different phases. The basic level is “designed for pilot’s [desiring] a higher level of proficiency than … a normal flight review” (faasafety.gov). The flying tasks in the basic phase are based on the private or commercial pilot PTS, depending on the airman’s certificate level. The knowledge courses revolve around many different areas, all of which can be viewed on the FAASafety Team’s website. Most are free, but there are some courses that have a cost associated with them. In the advanced and master phases of the FAA WINGS program, the tasks have higher standards, challenging pilots to hold themselves to those higher standards.

One unique aspect of the FAA WINGS program is the opportunity to attend a safety seminar for credit. Throughout the year, there are many different safety seminars that take place in the different FSDO areas. The FAA WINGS seminars range from a study of accidents, to GPS usage and anything in between. You can even get FAA WINGS credit for attending the Bonanza BPPP or the Cirrus CPPP programs.

As an instructor, I highly recommend to all my customers to enroll in the FAA WINGS program and use it. This keeps pilot proficiency at a high level, which in turn keeps safety at a high level as well. Plus, you get to learn a lot too!

If you’d like to enroll in the FAA WINGS program, visit faasafety.gov to create an account. Then, find a good instructor and start working on those phases!
Winter Ops
ByAndrew Robinson August 10, 2015August 19, 2015

It’s summertime and the weather is hot! Over this dry, sunny season, winter flying is probably the last thing on your mind. However, now is the perfect time to start getting things in place for winter and that includes having a plan for taking care of your airplane.

Why are preparations for winter ops needed in the first place? Cold weather, especially during the engine start and warm up period, can be very damaging to your engine if precautions aren’t taken to ensure that safe temperatures exist inside the engine before you turn the key. I always thought that the biggest problem associated with cold weather was engine oil. The logic is since cold oil is thicker and less viscous as the temperature drops, it is not able to circulate quickly throughout the engine to provide proper lubrication upon starting.

While cold oil may be a factor, the introduction of multiviscocity oils has greatly reduced that issue. The real problem is created by the different ways that various parts of the engine respond to heat. Because aluminum expands more quickly when heated than steel does, the pistons (made of aluminum) expand more quickly than the cylinders (made of steel). This can lead to scuffing on the sides of the cylinder barrel. In the same way, differential heating can reduce clearances which are designed to provide cooling oil to bearings and other vital engine parts, thereby causing damage which greatly reduces the life of the engine.

So how cold is TOO cold? Unfortunately, that is a difficult question to answer. Because there is so much variation between engines, airplanes, and environments, there really isn’t any one specific answer. An older, more worn out engine may actually be less susceptible to cold weather damage than a newer, tighter engine because its internal clearances are probably not as tight as they were a few thousand hours ago. I have heard of some people who preheat their airplanes anytime the temperature falls below about 40 degrees. For us northerners, this seems excessive. On our E33A Bonanza which has a Continental IO520, we generally preheat the airplane when it is cold soaked in temperatures below freezing (32° F).

Here are a few of the best ways to get your machine ready for a cold weather flight:
- Heated Hangar: Nothing beats a heated hangar for warming up an airplane. The warm air is evenly distributed around the engine and in the cockpit (your avionics and gyros will thank you!). The airplane will need to be in the hangar for a while in order to warm up the guts of the engine. Often, the easiest way is to have the airplane pulled in the evening before the planned departure and left overnight. Many FBOs will hangar airplanes overnight for a small fee and it is well worth the price. We almost always have our charter airplanes put into hangars overnight when on a winter trip to ensure that we don’t have any trouble when we depart the next day. This practice has the added benefit of keeping the airframe clear of any ice and snow that may accumulate before you are scheduled to leave.
- Electric Engine Heaters: Multipoint electronic heaters use heating pads that are placed around the engine in order to heat up the various components such as cylinders, the oil pan and crankcase. Most of these systems are designed to be activated by being plugged into a wall outlet with an extension cord. Preheating for a winter flight is as simple as going to the airport the night before and plugging it in. Two well known manufacturers of multipoint engine heaters are Reiff and Tanis. These systems are relatively inexpensive and can be a life saver if you regularly travel in colder climates. If an engine heater is the right choice for you, it is recommended to avoid less expensive models that heat only the oil pan.
Pictured above is the Reiff system. The heated bands go around the cylinder bases and the pad at the bottom of the picture heats the oil pan. Picture Courtesy of www.reiffpreheat.com
- Covers and Blankets: If it is especially cold or you have to preheat outside, having something to insulate the cowling and keep the wind out can be very useful. Regular blankets will work long as you can secure them in place. If you have an ongoing need for additional insulation, there are companies that make custom blankets and propeller covers to fit your airplane. If you are landing and then taking off again relatively quickly, using a few blankets and cowl plugs will work nicely to keep the engine warm while it is sitting outside. In a pinch, placing a couple of powered light bulbs in the cowling overnight with insulation on top can result in sufficient temperatures for starting the engine.
Even with the multipoint electric heater, we still use a blanket while preheating to help keep everything toasty.
- Forced Air: This method is used widely by FBO’s and flight schools. Hot air is produced in a portable heater and is then pumped into the engine compartment via the openings at the front or bottom of the cowling. This method has the benefit of not requiring any additional equipment to be installed on the aircraft beforehand and can be very effective provided there is adequate time for the engine to heat completely before removal.
Pictured above is a Red Dragon engine preheater. Photo courtesy of Red Dragon’s website: www.flameengineering.com
- Winter Baffles: When the air temperature starts to drop into the teens and lower, you may find it difficult to keep your engine temperatures warm enough in cruise flight. The problem is that the air entering the cowling inlets is so cold that it overcools the engine. The solution is to install additional baffling in the engine inlets to reduce the amount of airflow into the cowling. These additional baffles are usually just sheets of aluminum that are cut to the correct size and are bolted in and removed quickly and easily as needed. Some pilots swear by them while others complain that they can cause uneven cooling. If you have questions about winter baffling, I’d suggest talking to your mechanic about your specific airplane.
Winter flying can be extremely rewarding. After their hands thaw from preflight, a pilot is often rewarded with smooth air, improved performance and outstanding views. Just don’t forget to prepare the airplane for the cold. The preparation is often as simple as plugging in an extension cord or making a phone call to the FBO. So whether you live in the north or the south, take good care of your engine so that it can keep taking good care of you.
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!
Flying to the Bahamas
ByRyne Bergren January 25, 2018February 9, 2018

A couple weeks ago, my employer informed me that he wanted to take a group to Nassau, The Bahamas. I thought, no big deal, this should be an easy trip. The more I started to read, though, the more I realized it wasn’t going to be just a “normal” trip.

If you aren’t a member of AOPA, I would highly recommend joining. AOPA’s website was where I started researching. They actually have a checklist to help you along the way.

The first step is getting the paperwork started. All souls on board are going to need a valid passport. In our case, a couple of passengers need to get theirs. Since it was a little shorter notice, we had to go through the expedited process. It’s fairly simple. A quick internet search gave me a couple of people that helped the process along.

Next was making sure the aircraft had all it’s paperwork. The airworthiness certificate was easy as it’s always in the plane (or should be).

The registration certificate was next to check. We recently upgraded to the King Air 350 so we had to make sure we had the original issuance registration certificate. The Bahamas supposedly doesn’t allow Temporary Certificates and I really didn’t want to test that policy. Thankfully after a couple of calls between owner and the FAA we got the original.

The aircraft and pilot are both also required to have an FCC Radio License. This is only for international flying, but not an everyday thing pilots think about.

After that was flight planning. I use FltPlan.com. The actual filing of the flight plan was very easy. I use the prescribed routes from the website. In the remarks section of the flight plan put ADCUS (Advise Customs). This advices ATC to let customs know of your arrival. It’s basically an added safety net in case you forget to call ahead or your flight times end up being way off.

The other item when dealing with flight planning is dealing with eApis. There are numerous companies who will provide this service for you. I elected not to use one of those. If you go to the CBP website, you can set up an account and do all of it yourself. Take your time and really plan the flight out well to make sure your arrival times are as close to real time as possible. If you’re way off, this will make any customs agent very frustrated and that is not something you want to be dealing with.

Approach charts and en route charts are another hurdle. Thankfully Foreflight has you covered. With my subscription, I already had en route charts. The approach charts were the real issue. In the Bahamas, the only places that have approved instrument approaches is Nassau and Freeport. Fortunately, we were going to Nassau. Foreflight does charge almost $400 for the Caribbean and Bahamas charts. Emailing the FBO is a good option as they can usually supply approach plates for international flights.

You’ll also need a CBP sticker. This goes on the outside of the aircraft showing customs you’re in the system. This can be found on the CBP website as well. It takes a little bit to get the
sticker in the mail. However, once you pay for the sticker, the receipt can be used in place of the sticker.

The final thing I focused on was picking an FBO. I chose Jet Aviation. They had CAA which gave us a Jet fuel discount. Their facility was excellent and staff was very friendly. The thing that put it over the top for me was how they handled customs. I emailed Jet Aviation all the information for myself and passengers and they pre-filled all the customs forms for me. When we arrived, customs took all of five minutes and then my passengers were out the door.

While in Nassau, I stayed at Breezes Resort. It’s all inclusive so that helps keep the costs down for your owners if you’re a corporate pilot. It’s next to some of the other bigger resorts so there were shuttles available to get to other amenities. The only complaint I might have was the power kept cycling on and off and the internet wasn’t reliable. This proved challenging when trying to plan for the return trip.

The return trip required a lot of the same preparation. Again it was nice to have a good FBO to help prepare the paperwork required to clear customs. Jet Aviation handled the General Declarations for me and my passengers. All I was required to do was file the flight plan and file eApis, which was actually challenging while my internet at the resort was on the fritz.

Don’t forget to call US Customs at your Port of Entry! As this was Ft. Lauderdale for us, I called them twenty four hours in advance as prescribed. The customs agent was friendly and helpful with any questions I had. I think the best advice I can give throughout this whole experience is call ahead and ask lots of questions! Did I say that already?

The morning of the return trip went off with no hitches. Again, Jet Aviation had set up a driver to pick me up and he was on time. Jet Aviation had all the General Declarations paperwork pre-filled out for myself and passengers. Again, I use FltPlan.com to file my flight plans. Their service performed flawlessly even though I had heard rumors of flight plans not going through. To curb my bet, I talked with the staff at Jet Aviation and they made a call to tower for me to verify that the flight plan had gone through; of course, it had.

The actual flight out of Nassau was pretty uneventful. The last real hurdle I had was dealing with customs in Ft. Lauderdale, and hurdle it was. When we landed at FLL, ground instructed me over to customs ramp. There was no one to tell us where to park on the ramp. This was extremely frustrating.

A Learjet taxied in prior to us and had taken up most of the ramp but, we found a spot and shutdown. Once we shut down, no one came out to our aircraft. I walked in to talk to someone and was greeted by a Boarder agent who was less than helpful. Since the Learjet had parked first, they got to go through first. Evidently, we were not allowed in the building until they were done. This didn’t make my owner too happy!

Be prepared, though, if another airplane is on the Customs ramp before you arrive. You are not supposed to get out of the airplane until a Customs agent comes and meets you, even to go to the bathroom. This can result in large fines.

Once we were allowed in, the process went smoothly. We had to put all of our bags through the x-ray machine. Beyond the x-ray machine, CPB didn’t require any other security measures. On other crossings I’ve done, CPB had opened up bags and sifted through clothes, so just doing the conveyor belt was a surprise. The rest of the trip was fairly commonplace. We stopped in Destin FL for dinner before making our final leg into Dallas. All in all, it was an excellent trip and I’m excited to do another one.

Ryne Bergren works for a Part 91 operation in Dallas flying a King Air 350. Being a Part 91 outfit, he doesn’t get to rely on a “dispatch” or “company” to help with any international flight planning. This was a learning experience for him. Hopefully this will be a help to anyone for future trips.