Selecting the Proper Altitude

Flying the RDD LX7

ByHank Gibson October 10, 2022October 10, 2022

I get to fly a lot of different airplanes in my chosen career. There aren’t many airplanes that I take off in, then say “Wow,” and have a big smile on my face. The RDD LX7 was definitely one of those.

I wrote about the RDD LX7 in the past, bragging about everything I read about it. The blogs all advertised 250 KTAS and 17 GPH and FL250, all of which are eye popping numbers.

Lo and behold, those numbers are true.

I got to go up to RDD’s Redmond, Oregon facility in April 2021 to get my initial training in the RDD LX7 and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. The 3 screen G3X Touch layout is very impressive and not crowded like I thought it would be. Being familiar with the G500TXi, there are some G3X specifics that take a little getting used to, but overall, it’s a good system. The main GPS and number 1 radio is a GTN 750Xi.

We took off from RDM and proceeded to climb at 140 KIAS, which equated to 2,000 FPM. We only had half tanks (which is still 90 gallons of fuel!), but it climbed with no problem. It’s extremely responsive as I learned while doing the basic flight maneuvers. The stall speed of the airplane (the biggest problem with the Lancair 4P, the airframe that the RDD LX7 is derived from, was the terrible wing design and extremely high stall speed), was in the low 60s or high 50s, with the stall being extremely docile.

The airplane handled very similarly to a Columbia 400, but seemed even more responsive. The glide ratio isn’t as good as some, but it’s still better than a Cirrus (plus it still has a BRS system to boot).

The big test was the flight to San Antonio from Redmond to bring the plane home. The new owner and I departed RDM with the tanks full of Avgas (180 gallons), then got up to a cruise altitude of FL210. After setting power and leaning, the numbers came out true to spec: 252 KTAS, 17.5 GPH.

The greatest part? We stopped in Santa Fe to stretch our legs and we didn’t need fuel. We still had 100 gallons left! That left us plenty to get to San Antonio with 40-50 gallons left over. Another RDD LX7 owner flew his piston direct from Redmond, OR to Jacksonville, FL, non-stop. It was over 9 hours. That’s impressive.

You can’t beat the purchase price, either. A new Cirrus SR22T runs a little north of $1.2m. A piston engine LX7, that is pressurized, 70 KTAS faster with a much longer range, and still has a BRS, is between $850,000-$900,000. An LX7 starts to make a whole lot of sense when you weigh all that. There is also a PT6 option with several different sizes and horsepowers to choose from, which costs more, but you see 300 KTAS.

To learn more about the RDD LX7, check out the company’s website: RDD LX7.

The Glass Panel Cockpit Seminar

ByHank Gibson September 10, 2014September 16, 2014

Have you looked longingly at the Aspen PFD or Garmin G500, imagining those beautiful glass panels set in your airplane?  Think it’s too advanced for your flying skills?  Well, think again!  Hank Gibson of Texas Top Aviation will be hosting a seminar at the Redbird Skyport FBO at the San Marcos Airport (KHYI) on Thursday, September 25th  at 7pm to enlighten everyone on all the different glass panel and modern GPS options out there.

No panel is too complex!  No GPS is too complicated!  Come hear about how you can upgrade your steam gauge airplane to a modern, glass panel cockpit that will be the envy of all your pilot buddies.

The seminar begins at 7pm in the large conference room at the Redbird Skyport.  Come see this beautiful facility which hosted the AOPA Fly In this past April.  There will be two drawings for free flight training in your airplane, so make sure you get your entry in once you arrive.  WINGS credit will also be given.

Redbird welcomes pilots flying in for the event.  If you are flying in, please show your support for Redbird by purchasing fuel!  

Signup is required for the event.  To sign up, please click here.

We hope to see you there!!!

VFR Flight Plans in the Modern Age

ByHank Gibson May 9, 2016May 15, 2016

Raise your hand if, after you have officially become a pilot by passing your private pilot check ride, you consistently file VFR flight plans with Flight Service.

Anybody?

Okay, let’s revise the question.  Raise your hand if you have filed VFR flight plans at least 5 times in the last year.

Okay, one or two hands go up.

That’s it?

To be perfectly honest, I have filed VFR Flight Plans twice (I think) in the last year.  The only reason I did was because I was flying in an area that had poor radar/radio communications and I wanted someone to know where I was (I was ferrying an airplane through southern Oregon and northern Nevada which is mountainous and is hard to get coverage into at lower altitudes).  I was so unaccustomed to doing it that I nearly forgot to call and close my flight plan.

This is a common complaint amongst pilots concerning VFR flight plans.  It’s extremely easy to get to your destination, hop in the car and completely forget to close your VFR flight plans.  Thankfully, now a days, the Flight Service Station will typically call the number you put in your VFR flight plans (your cell phone number most of the time) to make sure you are on the ground before initiating search and rescue services.

Another complaint is that it is cumbersome to call the Flight Service Station after departing to open the VFR flight plans.  This is especially true in a busy airspace area or if the pilot is getting a VFR Flight Following and talking to ATC on a different frequency.

I still think it is a great idea to file and utilize VFR flight plans.  If you don’t show up at your destination, someone will come looking for you which could mean the difference between getting stranded after an off airport landing and getting a warm cup of coffee at the end of the day.  Even if the you get flight following from ATC, it’s still good to file a flight plan.

Lockheed Martin, who runs all the Flight Service Stations across the US, heard these complaints from pilots and decided to come into the modern age and make it easier to open and close flight plans.  They developed EasyActivate and EasyClose.

These services are very simple.  Just go to Lockheed Martin’s Flight Service Station website, set up a new account, then file VFR flight plans to see the services in action.

File your VFR flight plans first, through calling the FSS or on your favorite iPad app.  Then, for EasyActivate, you’ll receive an email 30 minutes prior to your ETD with a link in it.  Simply click/tap on the link and your flight plan is activated.  No having to call FSS in the air, no having to try to get them on the ground.  Just tap the link and you’re good to go.

For EasyClose, you’ll receive an email 30 minutes prior to your ETA at your destination.  When you get on the ground, you’ll see the email in your phone or iPad and you just tap the link and your flight plan is closed.  Since we all have our phones and iPads with us constantly, there will be no more forgetting to close the flight plan and getting that angry call from the FSS.

Sign up is quick and easy.  All Lockheed Martin needs is your email address, last name and phone number. They’ll send you the password to set up your account.  Log in (they will have you change your password immediately), then just click on EasyActivate/EasyClose up at the top.  You have to register the email address you want (you can also put in a phone number to receive a text message, and you can put multiple email addresses and phone numbers if you’d like), then you are all set to go.

King Schools Updates Check Ride Guidance

ByHank Gibson August 1, 2016August 17, 2016

Most in the aviation industry are familiar with John and Martha King, the faces of the myriad of Kings Schools aviation training courses.  Thousands of pilots have gone through their ground school courses for a variety of certificates or ratings, taking in the videos on original VHS, DVD, or streaming online depending on what the current technology is.

With the advent of the Airmen Certification Standards (ACS) replacing the Practical Test Standards (PTS) for the private and instrument certificates, King Schools didn’t take long to update their material.

To help private students prepping for their check ride (and their instructors who aren’t familiar with an ACS check ride yet), John King plays the student pilot in the latest King Schools prep video.  The streaming online video is about 5 hours long, includes the oral portion and the flight portion of the check ride, and runs $139 (you can still get the DVD, too!).

I have recommended King Schools and their courses to all of my customers.  They have always put out a great product as they reduce the fear felt for a check ride applicant.  If you are prepping for your private pilot check ride, checkout the King Schools video today.

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.

A Proper Cross Country Flight Checklist (Part 2)

ByAndrew Robinson March 2, 2016

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.

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.

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.