News

Present Position Hold

ByHank Gibson February 1, 2015

When I was working on my instrument rating back in 2007, my instructor and I did a lot of unpublished holds. In ground school, I heard a lot about holding for weather or holding due to a traffic delay. At my first job, my chief flight instructor was also a Continental (now United) captain and he told me a lot about having to hold for weather going into different places.

I heard all this, but I figured it would never happen to me when I’m flying GA airplanes.

Boy was I wrong!

I was flying a Piper Malibu into Phoenix with two passengers for Super Bowl weekend and the weather was awful. No thunderstorms, but moderate precipitation and low ceilings. We were coming into Deer Valley (KDVT) on the north side of Phoenix and about an hour out, ATC advised me that arrivals into DVT were having to hold and to expect a delay. The controller said the delay would be about 30 minutes, so by doing a quick calculation, I determined the delay would probably be all cleared up by the time I got in the area. At the time, I didn’t know if the delay was due to weather or traffic congestion.

Twenty minutes later, the controller advised me that there was still a delay. I queried what it was for and he informed me it was due to weather. He asked me if I wanted to hold or divert. I listened to the ATIS and heard the ceilings were variable from just below the minimums to just above. I told him I would hold as the TAF I saw predicted the ceilings to go up.

“Malibu, hold present position, hold east, expect further clearance 2140 Zulu.” Gulp.

At this point, my autopilot had gone out, it was turbulent and I was definitely in the soup. This was going to be fun.

After recovering my wits, I read back the clearance, then set about setting up this hold without getting too far from my present position. The Malibu I was flying had a Garmin 530 which I was using as my primary means of navigation. I was on V190, but I didn’t have all the fixes in my flight plan. What to do? And what to do fast?

The 530 has a rarely used function called a User Waypoint. It comes in handy in situations like these. On the moving map, you can turn the cursor on, move the cursor to any point on the map, and, by pressing enter, create a User Waypoint. This is what I did on V190. After I created it, I had to go to my flight plan, find the right spot, and input the User Waypoint just like I would any fix. Just a note here, when you create a User Waypoint, make sure you remember what you named it so you can find it again.

After I input the User Waypoint in the flight plan, I had to go back and activate the leg that the User Waypoint was the end point on. Then, to make sure the flight plan didn’t go to the next waypoint once I crossed my User Waypoint, I had to press the OBS button on the 530 in order to put the GPS in suspend mode.

Keep in mind, my autopilot wasn’t working, so this involved a lot of multi-tasking!

That’s how to do a present position hold using the Garmin 530. Got all that? Here’s a concise review:

Create a User Waypoint
- Turn the cursor on by pressing the FMS knob
- Move the cursor to the point where you want your User Waypoint
- Press enter and name the User Waypoint
Press the Flight Plan button
Input the User Waypoint into your flight plan at the proper point
Activate the leg that the User Waypoint is the end point on
Finally, press the OBS button to put the GPS in suspend mode
After you’re cleared onward, just press the OBS button again to take the GPS out of suspend mode

Recurrent Flight Training
ByHank Gibson August 7, 2014August 7, 2014

As all pilots know, the Federal Aviation Regulations require licensed pilots to go through recurrent flight training in the form of a Flight Review every 24 months. The regulations require 1 hour of ground review and a 1 hour flight. This is all that a pilot has to do to legally maintain his or her VFR currency to fly alone in an airplane. Of course, when passengers are aboard, the pilot has to have done 3 takeoffs and landings in the previous 90 days.

What if the pilot in question hasn’t flown in 20 years? All the regulations require is 1 hour of ground review and a 1 hour flight. Kind of scary, isn’t it? (Any instructor worth his salt would not, however, turn a pilot loose with just those flight review minimums if they haven’t flown in 20 years without an extensive amount of recurrent flight training)

Now, a lot can happen in 2 years in between those flight reviews. Regulations change, airspace is modified, and skills change (for the better or worse, most often for the worse over a period of not flying). For a current pilot who flies once or twice a week, those minimums are no problem. Here’s the thing, though. Even those current pilots typically don’t do a lot of stall practice or emergency procedure practice on their own. These are the most critical areas of flight and to only do them every two years leads to a lot of rust building up, sometimes even causing safety concerns in some instances.

How to remedy this? Scheduling recurrent flight training as often as possible with a good instructor who puts you through your paces. Do this often enough and stalls will become second nature. The stall warning horn goes off? Well, lower the nose and add power. Engine failure? Switch tanks and set best glide. Recurrent flight training allows you to become as familiar as possible with your airplane, allowing you to know what to do in every circumstance.

What’s a good recurrent flight training schedule? There are several options out there. The WINGs program is a pretty good option, though you will only have 3 flight training sessions in those two years instead of 1, but it’s a good start. In recent years, the FAA has put out Advisory Circular 61-98B encouraging pilots to begin personal currency programs for themselves. The suggested schedule for VFR recurrent flight training is every 4-6 weeks.

Texas Top Aviation highly recommends this suggested schedule, for both VFR and IFR. The AC doesn’t have a specific recommendation for IFR recurrent flight training, but flying 2-3 approaches a month with an instructor helps keep pilots as proficient as possible in the IFR environment. This way, the instructor can introduce circumstances in a controlled environment that simulate abnormal conditions that might possibly be encountered in flight. If those abnormal conditions are encountered, then it will be second nature on how to handle them, leading to less accidents and safer flying habits.

Try to schedule your recurrent flight training every 4-6 weeks and your piloting skills will stay top notch, keeping you safe and proficient in every circumstance.
Cirrus Approach
ByHank Gibson September 18, 2019September 18, 2019

Earlier this year, Cirrus debuted it’s new Learning Management System (LMS), Cirrus Approach. For several years, Cirrus has led the way in online systems training while using several different platforms for it’s LMS. Cirrus Approach is the culmination of lots of sampling and tinkering, and boy, did Cirrus knock it out of the park.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Cirrus training program, here is the quick rundown. When a pilot who has no Cirrus time buys a Cirrus aircraft, initial transition training is required to familiarize the pilot with the aircraft systems, speeds to fly, power settings, etc. The Cirrus Transition Course is a 3 day that gets a VFR pilot up to speed in the airplane. Under the Cirrus Embark program, those 3 days of training are covered by Cirrus and free to the new owner.

If the pilot is an IFR pilot, then the 5 day Cirrus Advanced Transition Training Course is required. If the pilot has Cirrus experience, but with a different engine or avionics configuration, there are courses for that too. The Cirrus Embark program covers 3 days of training for most courses for a new Cirrus owner.

As part of the aforementioned courses, there are systems to learn about and procedures to understand. This is where the Cirrus Approach LMS excels. Cirrus has done a great job of putting together lots of good videos (that are actually interesting but not annoying) on the airplane, systems, how to fly it, etc. for each course. It cuts down greatly on the time that the training instructor has to spend on the ground with the pilot since the pilot has already compiled knowledge through Cirrus Approach.

Cirrus Approach is accessible online at learning.cirrusapproach.com. To get access to the courses, create an account, then select the Learning Catalog. The courses are categorized based on the type of training (Transition, Advanced Transition, Avionics Differences, Airframe & Powerplant Differences, Recurrent, and Specialty), then further broken down into the type of airplane, engine and avionics (eg. SR22T G6 Perspective+). Make sure the correct engine and avionics configuration is selected! Notice, there is a difference between the SR22T and SR22 (Turbo & Non-Turbo).

Anyone can do the specialty courses. I would highly recommend for everyone to take the Engine Management course as well as the Icing Awareness Course for you TKS and FIKI operators. The Takeoff & Landing course is a good refresher course for a pilot who hasn’t done any training in a while.

The Recurrent Training courses are encouraged for all Cirrus pilots. There is an IFR Refresher, a VFR Refresher, and a Skills Refresher. These are recommended to rotate through with a CSIP (Cirrus Standardized Instructor Pilot) on a yearly basis. With a little extra ground, a Flight Review and an IPC can be accomplished yearly using these courses.

Interested in Initial or Recurrent training in your Cirrus using Cirrus Approach? Contact Texas Top Aviation today!
Beware of the Lunch Monster
ByHank Gibson October 3, 2017

He prowls around, preying on innocent pilots.

He’s very sneaky, creeping unexpectedly and attacking after the propeller begins to turn.

He’s very cunning, veiling his intentions until, BOOM, he attacks.

Beware of the Lunch Monster!

Whenever I am doing a full day of training (which is usually how transition training courses are planned out, in full day sessions), I always plan a lunch stop. My metabolism has the speed of a rocket ship, so I get hungry and need some sustenance in the middle of the day. I have a running list of airports to stop at that have good lunch spots at them or nearby, so my customers and I usually end up at one of those airports.

Almost without fail, if a customer is having an excellent flying morning, nailing all the procedures, picking up all the techniques, and overall, flying pretty well, then eats lunch, the afternoon doesn’t go quite as well. Doing some of the same things we did that morning, but the customer’s performance isn’t quite as good. Most of the time, it’s just a brain lockup or landings aren’t quite as squeaky as they were in the morning.

Part of it is fatigue after flying for 2-3 hours in the morning. The other part is what I call the Lunch Monster. Eating a big lunch can sap away brain power and cause a person to lose energy around 2-3pm, leading to an afternoon lull (or the Lunch Monster attacking!).

According to Forbes.com:

Diet contributes to energy levels too. “Eating a lunch that is too big is the most common reason for feeling sleepy in the afternoon,” says Rebecca Solomon a nutritionist at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. “All your energy goes into digesting the enormous meal.”

The goal is to keep the body’s Cortical and Cortisone levels even since they’re the hormones released by the body in reaction to stress–they produce the fight or flight response. Their levels are elevated when you have sugar, caffeine and processed food, so you feel awake and energetic. But a few hours later, when those levels drop, you’re sluggish.

Solomon recommends eating a meal that’s balanced with healthy fats (from olive oil or avocados, for instance) with protein and healthy carbohydrates (whole wheat bread or pasta). The portion will vary for people of different sizes, but a general rule is you should be hungry about four hours after the meal.

Another healthy eating habit: Consume small portions of foods throughout the day, including almonds, carrots and hummus and fruit. Enjoy lunch around 1:30 or 2 p.m., just before the time you normally feel fatigued.

Now, most of the stops on my list of restaurants don’t fit the bill of healthy fats and healthy carbohydrates (plenty of protein, though, especially the BBQ joints). For those days, bringing along a snack like almonds or dried fruit is a great idea to munch on mid-afternoon. Trimming down the amount eaten at lunch helps a lot too.

So, the next time you have a long day of flying or training, beware the lunch monster and prep some good snacks when your flight instructor says you’re stopping for BBQ!
How to Get the Current Weather
ByStephanie Mertz December 17, 2020December 31, 2020

For a long time, I was happy if an FBO had a radio where I could tune the ATIS or automated weather before getting into the plane. This would allow me to skip listening to the weather in the airplane with the engine running, giving me a quicker exit from the ramp while burning a little less fuel. I would also be able to brief my taxi route from the ramp since I would know which runway was in use before getting in the plane.

As we progress forward in technology, I’m constantly amazed at how much more planning I can do from the palm of my hand. Now, I can call a phone number and get the ATIS, AWOS, or ASOS, depending on the size of the airport; if you prefer reading a text version…well, there’s an app for that.

With this technology, it’s very important for pilots to be aware of what service they are utilizing when calling these numbers. Usually only a Class B or larger Class C airport will have a phone number specifically for ATIS as well as one for AWOS/ASOS. These are listed in the Airport/Facility Directory (AFD), as well as all flight planning apps (Foreflight, Garmin Pilot, Stratus Insight). More then one pilot has called the AWOS/ASOS number for an airport thinking they would receive the ATIS (because towered airports that have ATIS phone numbers often also have AWOS/ASOS phone numbers that are different). Since the pilot didn’t hear a code on the phone, that led to the false thinking that either the tower was closed or the pilot did not have the code (ie. Information Bravo) to give to ground control when calling for taxi instructions. The minute weather can be very useful for flight planning, but the ATIS must be received before contacting ATC at a towered airport.

Notice the red box just past halfway down the page. There is a phone number for the ASOS at KSAT and a separate phone number for the ATIS next to the frequency.

Sometimes, you may get a busy tone if someone else is on the line. Usually, waiting a few minutes and trying again will lead to success. Just like old school phone lines, only one call can go through at at time! If it’s a particularly stormy day, you may be fighting a number of pilots to get on the line. In this case, an app where you can read the ATIS may be particularly helpful (Yes, there actually is a dedicated ATIS App!).

The ATIS app allows us lowly pilots without an Aircraft Communicating and Reporting System (ACARS) to access the Digital ATIS (D-ATIS ) at airports where ATIS is available. Only 76 airports in the US have D-ATIS, most of which are either Class B or busier Class C airports. Foreflight also provides D-ATIS textually at the same 76 airports, though it is only accessible depending on which subscription level you have with Foreflight (since I’m not a Garmin Pilot or Stratus Insight user, I’m not sure if either of them give D-ATIS reports).

ATIS App Symbol

With Foreflight’s D-ATIS, it does not get updated over ADS-B, only when your iPad or phone have an internet signal. When inbound to an airport with D-ATIS, the pilot has to listen to the radio frequency to get the current ATIS. Foreflight will display the last D-ATIS it received, but typically, it’s old. Check the time in the upper right hand corner.
- On the Airports page on Foreflight, tap Info, then tap Weather & Advisory and the phone numbers will display along with the ATIS frequency
- On the Airports page, tab Weather, then tap D-ATIS, and the last received D-ATIS will display. Note the age of the D-ATIS in the upper right hand corner
Foreflight now offers Pre-Departure Clearance (PDC) at those same 76 airports. With either a pre-registered tail number or a Foreflight call sign (starting in FFL), once a pilot files an IFR flight plan, the D-ATIS and the IFR clearance in it’s entirety are texted to the phone number the pilot filed with. All that is left to do is call ground, state “I have information Romeo and my clearance, ready to taxi,” then away you go. Skipping listening to the ATIS and talking to Clearance Delivery saves a good 5-10 minutes at times, depending on how busy the airport is.

These days, there are many different avenues to get the current weather (and IFR clearances!). When calling on the phone, the key is to be aware, know which number you are calling and, if you are expecting to hear an ATIS message but instead hear the AWOS/ASOS, verify the Chart Supplement Guide and Notices to Airmen (NOTAMS) to check tower hours of operation before flying into the airspace.
A Proper Cross Country Flight Checklist (Part 2)
ByAndrew Robinson March 2, 2016

This is Part 2 of the Proper Cross Country Flight Checklist article. To read Part 1, click here.

Airplane Covers

If you’re going to be leaving your airplane outside at your destination, make sure you have proper covers and plugs to protect it while you are gone. A friend of mine forgot to put his pitot cover on his airplane while it was parked outside and had his departure delayed because of a mud dauber which had moved in while the airplane sat on the ramp.

An example of a pitot tube blockage taken from www.student-pilots.com

Tie-Down Ropes

Depending on your destination airport/FBO, there may or may not be tie down ropes available on the ramp. It isn’t uncommon for there to be tie down loops, but no ropes. I generally try to carry a set of ropes in the airplane and even my own set of chocks. If you are going to a fly-in or landing at a private strip, steaks with tie down ropes can be very useful as well. Don’t forget to take your ropes and chocks with you when you leave, though. Ropes and chocks which are left unattended can cause problems for airport machinery (plows) and other airplanes.

Paper and a Pen

Back to basics! Don’t forget to bring a pen/ pencil and something to write on to keep track of clearances and frequencies.

EAPIS/ Boarder Crossing Procedures

If you are planning to fly across the U.S. Border, you will need to have filed the proper paperwork and make sure to bring along your passport/greencard. If you want to fly into Canada everyone on board the airplane is required to have a passport.

Basic Tools

You never know when you may need a screwdriver or some pliers. Having a small toolbox which you can throw in the airplane could be a life saver.

GPS

If you have a GPS, make sure that your data base is up to date.

Camera

Pretty self explanatory…but, don’t forget the camera charger!

Currency

Look through your pilot logbook and the airplane logbook and make sure that everything is up to date. If you need to get an IPC or a BFR done before you leave, give yourself some buffer time in case you have to reschedule.

Other Considerations

Sometimes it makes sense to go to a larger airport despite having to pay additional fees and higher gas prices. Often, if I am traveling at night or after regular business hours, it is worth the extra expense to know that there will be assistance available should I need it. It also isn’t always necessary to get a hotel…there are airports such as Noble County, Ohio (I10) that have beautiful campsites available on the airport. If you like camping, it can be a fun alternative to shelling out the cash for a hotel and rental car.
Camping out next to the airplane can be a fun way to spend the night.

Finally, I like to take the airplane out for a short flight and make sure that everything is working properly before I bring the family and get everything loaded up. (Plus, it’s a perfect excuse to go for a little joyride.) I’d much rather find out that the battery is dead or the plugs are fouled when I have time to fix the issues. If possible, do your test flight on a day when your maintenance shop is open so you can get any problems addressed immediately. If you haven’t done much cross country flying or if you are a little rusty, ask a flight instructor or another pilot to look over your planning. There is also nothing wrong with having an instructor or experienced friend come along on the first few trips until you become more comfortable doing it on your own.

An approach into Farmer’s Cay in the Bahamas.

In my opinion, cross country flying is one of the most rewarding things a pilot can do with their certificate. The view available from the window of a general aviation airplane is so different than the one you get out the window of a car or a commercial airliner. If you’re willing to invest the time and money, you’ll get a lot more out of your trip than a few hours in your logbook. So, what are you waiting for….haven’t you always wanted to go to Oshkosh?

Andrew Robinson is a 135 Charter Pilot and flight instructor who lives with his wife and 2 daughters in Pennsylvania. He flies Pilatus PC-12s and instructs in Beechcraft Bonanzas.
Spring Cirrus Austin, TX Get Together (CATGT)
ByHank Gibson April 5, 2017April 13, 2017

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.

Register for the CATGT before the slots are all filled up!