Looking for a fly in this fall? Check out the Texas STOL Roundup at the end of September in Hondo, KHDO. Interested in entering? All are welcome! There are several different categories including LSA, Experimental, and others. Come in for a fun weekend and see how short an airplane can be landed!
There will be bands, a STOL seminar, and even a hangar dance.
Fly in or drive in. Camping will be available on the airport.
For more information, you can visit the event website.
Technology has made our job as pilots simpler, streamlined, and safer. With all the new GPS & autopilot technology that seems to come out every month, flying an airplane is getting easier every day (and when I say flying, I mean programming!). I can’t tell you the last time I actually used a VOR for navigation, other than a practice approach. The AIM even has guidance in it now allowing pilots to use the GPS overlay on a VOR or LOC approach instead of switching to the actual NavAid on the course needle (you have to WAAS in order to legally do this).
I hear the argument already. I am young (31) and used to all the different touchscreens because I have grown up with them. Tech is nothing new to me. It’s not that easy for everyone, I do understand. There is also the argument that all the tech causes pilots to not know how to fly the airplane, which is also valid. This is why I put an emphasis on hand flying in any kind of training I do.
For the sake of argument in this article, yes, I am young and I adapt to technology pretty easily. I’m not afraid to press buttons to figure out what they do, but I usually do it while sitting on the ground with a GPU hooked up (or I go look in the manual). And yes, all the autopilot ability has caused a decrease in base pilot skills. I actually encourage every customer I have to go get a tailwheel rating so that they can actually learn how to fly better. You don’t use a rudder much in a Cirrus compared to a Super Cub or a Citabria.
What I want to focus on for a few minutes is how to alleviate the frustration that comes with getting so wrapped up in the technology when it doesn’t do something that you want it to, or the wrong button gets pressed, then you end up somewhere you had no intention of being.
The biggest thing a pilot can do when it comes to technology is NEVER to get in a hurry. Good training is first and foremost, but, after that when flying without an instructor or even in recurrent training, SLOW DOWN and think through what you are doing and what you want the system to do. This will alleviate a ton of frustration.
It can be very easy in hot, turbulent weather to get tuned in to the GPS programming, trying to do five or six different things in the span of five or six seconds, before looking up and realizing that plane is 500 feet off altitude (without an autopilot) or you blew through the course you were supposed to be intercepting (with an autopilot).
What I teach is to slow down, whether or not you have an autopilot, and do one thing at a time. Once that item is done, look up at the instruments or the horizon, check on things, make sure the airplane is still flying properly, then do the next thing. Don’t try and do a bunch of things all at once or in a hurry. It will usually get you off course and off altitude, plus it distracts the pilot from his main job: Flying the airplane.
So, next time you want to do something on your GPS, pause, take a breath, think through what you want to do, then do one item at a time. The outcome will be less frustrating and you’ll keep flying where you want to go.
Technology has made our job as pilots simpler, streamlined, and safer. With all the new GPS & autopilot technology that seems to come out every month, flying an airplane is getting easier every day (and when I say flying, I mean programming!). I can’t tell you the last time I actually used a VOR for…
I began flying a Piper Malibu earlier this year. For those of you not familiar with the original PA-46, a Malibu has a Continental TSIO-320 engine, with 310 HP. It’s pressurized and cruises at about 185-200 KTAS.
A few things are introduced to the equation when pilots start flying higher, faster, and farther. When you start flying over longer distances, weather becomes more of an issue. On a quick hop from, say, Austin to Dallas, you can be pretty sure of what the weather will be since it’s a short trip. When you fly from Austin to LA, leave in the morning, land once along the way, and arrive in the afternoon after spending six and a half hours in the air, weather can change a lot in that amount of time.
A must for any pilot flying high and over long distances is some kind of Nexrad system, whether it be a Garmin 696, or it shows up on your GPS or MFD. Having this situation awareness is very helpful when planning ahead as to what to do about weather. A stormscope is also a handy tool, since you can see where the lightning is with it.
Cold fronts can be pretty nasty, depending on how strong and how fast they are moving. A strong, fast moving cold front usually has a lot of convective activity associated with it. The tricky thing with storms associated with fronts is that storms form in lines, most of the time. If you’re trying to cross a front in the morning, you can usually get high enough over the clouds with a pressurized airplane since the temperature is still relatively low to get clear of the cumulonimbus clouds. The cloud tops will only be around ten or twelve thousand feet.
Crossing fronts in the afternoon when daytime heating is pushing the tops of the CBs up to the 20-40 thousand foot range, it’s best to land, have a meal, stretch your legs, and wait till the sun starts to go down before pushing on. Do not, under any circumstances, try and go through the cumulonimbus clouds associated with a cold front in a small airplane. Not only is it uncomfortable (the turbulence bounces you around pretty good), but you’ll get ice, scare the passengers, and, if you’re in the heart of a storm, the plane could come apart.
When crossing mountains, the weather is always highly unpredictable. If it’s a clear day, no matter your altitude, you’ll probably pick up some turbulence from all the rising air off the peaks. If there is moisture in the air, there are going to be isolated to scattered thunderstorms in the summer time. The advantage of flying high when there are isolated or scattered storms is you can utilize the see and avoid method.
See and avoid is simple. When the storms aren’t embedded in other clouds, it’s actually rather easy to spot the big, rising clouds and go around them. The same concept holds true when avoiding those pesky pop up thunderstorms in humid areas like Houston and Florida.
One thing that I learned this summer was this. Sometimes, with an area of closely grouped storms, the cloud base is actually quite high (some storms I went underneath in New Mexico had cloud bases of 15,000 MSL). The thing to do here is just stay below the bases of the clouds and go around the areas of rain. These will be visible and you’ll be able to navigate around them. With bases even as low 9-10 thousand feet, it’s a much better idea to stay below the clouds, sacrifice some speed, and dodge the rain shafts.
The most important concept to take away is don’t fly into a thunderstorm. If there are a bunch of really high clouds in front of you and you don’t see a safe way around them, descend down and land, wait it out, and then continue on your way.
I began flying a Piper Malibu earlier this year. For those of you not familiar with the original PA-46, a Malibu has a Continental TSIO-320 engine, with 310 HP. It’s pressurized and cruises at about 185-200 KTAS. A few things are introduced to the equation when pilots start flying higher, faster, and farther. When you…
If you’re weighing a Cessna 400 vs Cirrus, start here. The 2008 Cessna 400 Corvalis TT cruises at 235 knots true — the fastest fixed-gear piston single ever certified. It’s faster than a turbocharged Cirrus on the same fuel and the same class of engine, and it costs less than a comparable SR22T. If you’re shopping a high-performance single for speed and value, N422TJ deserves a hard look.
The Cessna 400 is a Lancair design — a clean-sheet, all-composite airframe built to go fast. Cessna certified and refined it, and built N422TJ in 2008. It seats four, carries a real load, and handles weather. Most buyers shopping a high-performance single default to Cirrus, so airplanes like this one get overlooked. That’s where the value is.
The 400’s 235 KTAS is a true max cruise at 25,000 feet on oxygen. A 2011–2012 Cirrus SR22T (Gen 3) trues about 211 KTAS. Both burn 100LL and run turbocharged Continental engines in the same ~310-horsepower class.
That’s about 24 knots up high — roughly 45 minutes off a 1,000-nautical-mile leg — with no bigger engine and no more fuel. And it isn’t only a flight-levels number: at 10,000 feet the 400 still trues about 180 KTAS, roughly 10 knots faster than an SR22T at the same altitude.
N422TJ is priced at $350,000. A comparable Gen 3 SR22T typically trades between $450,000 and $550,000 used. (A new SR22T is a $1M-plus airplane — not the comparison.) Against the newer turbo Cirrus, that’s roughly $100,000 to $175,000 less for a faster airplane.
A lot of buyers looking at N422TJ also weigh a Cirrus SR22 with the Tornado Alley turbonormalized engine. It’s a fair comparison — the same ~310-horsepower-class Continental, the same all-composite fixed-gear layout, the same 100LL — so here’s the honest math.
Speed and engine: the turbonormalized SR22 trues around 211 KTAS; the 400 does 235. The 400 also runs a true twin-turbocharged TSIO-550-C, not a turbonormalized system — a true turbo makes boosted power up high, which is a big part of that speed edge.
Avionics and price — 2006–2008: those Cirrus came with the Avidyne Entegra panel. N422TJ’s Garmin G1000 with WAAS and Synthetic Vision is a clear step up — better glass for comparable or less money.
Avionics and price — 2009 and later: Cirrus moved to Garmin Perspective (G1000-class) glass, but the price moved with it. A 2009 SR22 turbonormalized with Perspective typically runs around $400,000 or more — one representative listing is $429,900. N422TJ is $350,000: less money, comparable glass, and 24 knots faster.
The SR22 still brings the CAPS parachute and the Cirrus owner community. But on speed, engine, and price, the Cessna 400 stays ahead.
| Metric | Cessna 400 Corvalis TT (N422TJ) | Cirrus SR22T — Gen 3 (2011–2012) | Cirrus SR22 Turbonormalized (2006–2009) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max cruise (25,000 ft) | 235 KTAS | ~211 KTAS | ~211 KTAS |
| Cruise at 10,000 ft | ~180 KTAS | ~170 KTAS | ~170 KTAS |
| Engine | Twin-turbocharged Continental TSIO-550-C (true turbo, ~310 hp class) | Turbocharged Continental (~310 hp class) | Turbonormalized Continental IO-550-N (~310 hp class) |
| Glass panel | Garmin G1000 — WAAS + Synthetic Vision | Cirrus Perspective (Garmin) | Avidyne Entegra (2006–08) / Garmin Perspective (2009+) |
| Fuel | 100LL | 100LL | 100LL |
| Airframe / gear | All-composite, fixed gear | All-composite, fixed gear | All-composite, fixed gear |
| Useful load | Comparable (often equal or a touch better) | Comparable | Comparable |
| Whole-airframe parachute | No | Yes (CAPS) | Yes (CAPS) |
| Typical used price | $350,000 | ~$450,000–$550,000 | ~$300,000–$450,000 (est.; 2009 Perspective ~$400K+) |
The fastest fixed-gear piston single ever certified — and it out-runs a turbo Cirrus on the same fuel.
N422TJ has a Garmin G1000 with WAAS and Synthetic Vision (SVT) and the GFC-700 autopilot. WAAS gives you LPV approaches — near-ILS precision at runways nationwide.
This matters because the WAAS upgrade path for the G1000 in these airframes is closed. A Cessna 400 that left the factory without WAAS can’t be upgraded — it will never fly an LPV approach. So a WAAS-plus-SVT 400 like this one is a scarce find. You either buy one that has it, or you don’t get it.
This airplane is equipped to be flown hard and often:
The engine is a twin-turbocharged Continental TSIO-550-C with about 1,503 hours total time — the original engine, 1,503 since new. No damage history, complete logs since new, maintained by Van Bortel.
One thing every Cirrus has that the 400 doesn’t: the CAPS whole-airframe parachute. Pull the handle and the airplane comes down under canopy. For a lot of buyers that’s the deciding factor, and it’s a fair reason to choose a Cirrus. Cirrus also has a large owner community and a strong support network.
Useful load is comparable across all three airplanes — the 400 is often equal or a little better. If the parachute and the community are your priorities, a Cirrus may be the right airplane, and we can help you find one. If your priorities are speed, avionics, and value, the 400 is hard to beat at this price.
Yes. The Cessna 400 Corvalis TT trues up to 235 KTAS at 25,000 feet versus about 211 KTAS for a Gen 3 Cirrus SR22T — about 24 knots faster on the same 100LL and the same ~310-horsepower class of turbocharged Continental engine, or roughly 45 minutes saved on a 1,000-nautical-mile leg. At 10,000 feet the 400 still trues about 180 KTAS, roughly 10 knots faster than an SR22T at that altitude.
The Cessna 400 trues 235 KTAS versus about 211 KTAS for a turbonormalized SR22, and it uses a true twin-turbocharged Continental TSIO-550-C rather than a turbonormalized system. A 2006-2008 SR22 turbo has the older Avidyne Entegra panel, while the 400 has a Garmin G1000 with WAAS and Synthetic Vision. A 2009-and-later SR22 turbo with Garmin Perspective glass typically costs around $400,000 or more, versus $350,000 for N422TJ. The SR22 still offers its CAPS whole-airframe parachute.
No. Cirrus SR22s from 2006-2008 typically came with the Avidyne Entegra glass panel; Garmin-based Perspective glass arrived in 2009. The 2008 Cessna 400 came with the Garmin G1000, and N422TJ has the WAAS and Synthetic Vision version.
N422TJ is priced at $350,000, while a comparable 2011-2012 Cirrus SR22T (Gen 3) typically sells for about $450,000 to $550,000 used — roughly $100,000 to $175,000 less for a faster airplane.
The Cessna 400 Corvalis TT, at 235 KTAS maximum cruise, is the fastest fixed-gear piston single-engine airplane ever certified.
No. A whole-airframe CAPS parachute is the one meaningful capability the Cirrus offers that the Cessna 400 does not. On speed, avionics, and useful load, the 400 matches or beats a comparable SR22 or SR22T.
No. The WAAS upgrade path for the G1000 in these airframes is closed, so a non-WAAS Cessna 400 can never gain LPV approach capability. N422TJ already has WAAS plus Synthetic Vision, which makes it a scarce find.
No. Useful load is comparable — the Cessna 400 is often equal to or a little better than a comparable SR22 or SR22T.
✈️ See the full N422TJ listing, specs & photos →
Call to see N422TJ or to talk through the Cessna 400 vs Cirrus decision: (512) 270-1298 · txtopaviation.com. Austin & San Antonio, TX.
The 2008 Cessna 400 Corvalis TT (N422TJ) trues 235 KTAS at FL250 — faster than a Cirrus SR22T — for roughly $100–175K less. An honest speed-and-value comparison.
When a pilot thinks of an engine runup in a single engine piston airplane, typically it is let’s find out if the engine is running rough or not, meaning a spark plug is fouled. Believe it or not, there is a little more to learn from a runup than just checking the spark plugs.
A distinct advantage to having an engine monitor that monitors all EGTs and CHTs is you get a better idea of engine health. When switching to one magneto or the other during the runup, all the EGTs should rise, showing that the temperature of the exhaust gas is going up from each cylinder. This occurs because when running on only one magneto and one set of spark plugs in each cylinder, the mixture takes longer to burn, so, when the exhaust valve in the cylinder opens, the burn is still on going and this hits the EGT probe, causing a temperature rise. An indication of a magneto failure in flight would be a rise in all the cylinders EGT without a change in mixture setting.
Now that we know what to look for when checking each magneto, what would one look for to show that there is a problem? The basic that each student pilot is taught still applies. The engine manufacturer puts a limit on RPM drop during the runup. When checking one magneto or the other, watch for an excessive RPM drop. If the RPM drops past the limit, this usually will be accompanied by engine roughness.
Why is that? Let’s look at the cause for the excessive RPM drop. For this, we need to go back to our EGT indicators. Let’s say we have a 6 cylinder engine. When the key is turned to the right magneto, the RPM drops 250 RPM and the engine gets very rough. Look at the EGT gauge. The cylinders where the spark plugs are firing normally will all show a temperature. The cylinder (or cylinders) where there is no combustion, meaning a bad plug, will show no temperature. This is because the mixture is just sitting in the cylinder and not igniting, therefore, no exhaust gases will be pushed out so there will be no EGT indication for that cylinder. This is also how you tell a mechanic which cylinder to check for the bad plug.
It could also be a bad magneto. If multiple cylinders EGT all drop, or the engine wants to quit entirely, you have a bad magneto or bad ignition harness.
What else can you learn during the runup? Electrical system health is key, especially in all electric airplanes (meaning no vacuum system). It’s a very good idea to turn on all the lights and pitot heat to ensure that a rise is indicated on the ammeter. This means the alternator is carrying the load and working properly.
The next time you do your runup, keep an eye on your EGT to see the rise during a magneto check.
When a pilot thinks of an engine runup in a single engine piston airplane, typically it is let’s find out if the engine is running rough or not, meaning a spark plug is fouled. Believe it or not, there is a little more to learn from a runup than just checking the spark plugs. A…
Four things moved this market between July and the end of September, and each one changes the arithmetic on what your airplane is worth today. Inventory is thinner than it was a year ago and has stopped draining. Asking values have split. The Fed raised rates and has penciled in one more increase for December. And the FAA ended single-pilot operation in the legacy Citations. Here is the short version, and what I would do about it before December 31.
The short version
In September, used single-engine piston inventory in the U.S. and Canada was down 12.2% against last year. Turboprops were down 12.0% worldwide. Jets were down 23.6%, with the large-cabin end off 39.8%. The field your airplane competes against is smaller than it was a year ago.
The monthly direction is the other half. Piston inventory was flat in September, turboprops rose 3.5% and jets rose 5.1% — the second month running that inventory added rather than drained. So the field is thin by the standard of a year ago, and it is no longer getting thinner.
The three categories stopped moving together. Piston singles fell 0.74% on the month and are down 2.36% against last year. Turboprops rose 0.22% on the month and are up 0.57% on the year. Jets rose 2.02% on the month and are up 0.71%, led by the super-mids at plus 5.29%.
Asking prices are not values, and I will keep saying that. What they give you is the leading edge — VREF and the closed comps follow a quarter or two behind. Right now that edge says the turbine market has turned the corner and the piston market has not.
On September 16 the Federal Open Market Committee raised the federal funds rate a quarter point, to 3.75–4.00% — the first increase since 2023, on a unanimous vote. The Committee’s own projections point to one more quarter-point increase in December. A financed buyer’s payment is higher than it was in the spring, and his offer reflects it.
On September 28 the FAA published a policy change rescinding the training-provider exemptions that let a single pilot fly the transport-category Citations. Effective September 29, no wind-down. Thirteen of the fourteen exemption holders reviewed were rescinded or denied renewal.
It catches the two-crew airframes: the 500, 550, S550, 552, 560, 550 Bravo, 560 Encore and Encore+. It does not touch the 501, the 551, the CJ/525 family, the Mustang, or any turboprop.
A large share of those airplanes are owner-flown. That owner now hires a second pilot for every leg, or he stops flying. NBAA and Citation Jet Pilots asked for a 90-day pause on September 29. No answer yet.
The demand moves, it does not disappear. The owner-pilot still wants to fly himself, and what he can legally fly is a short list: the CJ family, the Vision Jet, and the single-pilot turbines — TBM, M500, M600, M700, PC-12, JetProp. Those are legal single-pilot by type certificate, not by exemption.
The budgets line up. A clean legacy Citation’s price buys a strong TBM or a good PC-12, so these buyers arrive at the top of the turboprop market, where supply is thinnest and inventory is already 12% under last year.
Expect it in the leading indicators first — inquiries, showings, days on market — with price following a quarter or two behind.
Our airplanes went from listing to closing in a median of 98 days last year. This year that median is 178 days, an 81% increase. Buyers take longer, financing takes longer, pre-buys are more thorough.
At that pace an airplane listed today closes in March, not December. The year-end buyer is the exception — he is working to a December 31 placed-in-service deadline and moves far faster than the median.
Work the calendar backwards from that deadline. From an accepted offer, 30 to 45 days covers scheduling the prebuy, the inspection itself, the acceptance window and then escrow and title. To close before December 31 the offer has to be accepted by about November 15. To have an offer in hand by then, the airplane needs to be in front of buyers by the end of October. That is the whole reason for the date.
Our closings this year came in a median of 4.8% under the ask the airplane carried when it sold, and 7.1% under its original list price. We reduce the ask; we do not haggle.
If you own a Meridian, M500, M600, JetProp, TBM, Epic, PC-12 or Vision Jet and you have been going back and forth, here is the case for the next three weeks.
The buyers are shopping now. The displaced Citation owner-pilots are working through their options this quarter, and what they can legally fly is close to that list. An October listing puts your airplane in front of them while the field is thin. A March listing puts it in the spring wave, beside every other owner who had the same idea over the winter.
We took a full-price offer on one of our single-engine turboprops after a week on the market.
The call is yours. The calendar is the part that is not negotiable.
Turboprop inventory is 12% under last year, asking values have split, and the FAA ended single-pilot flying in the legacy Citations. What it means for Q4 2026 — and why October 31 is the date that matters if you are thinking about listing.
Type Clubs Lead By Example with Standard Operating Practices
Imagine a year when there are no fatal accidents in general aviation. Does that seem impossible? The airlines achieved that many years ago, and so can we if we focus on the right things in our safety pro- grams. In fact, the overall trend in GA accident rates over the last few years is very encouraging. AOPA’s Air Safety Institute published its annual GA Accident Scorecard recently (see www.EAA.org/ extras), revealing fatal accidents from 2008 to 2017 are down more than 30 percent. Nevertheless, there were 185 fatal accidents in 2017, so we still have a long way to go. But, there are many developments in safety programs across GA that can keep the trend going.
One such development that I’ve advocated through a couple of type clubs is establishing standard operating practices (SOP). When I flew for both the U.S. Air Force and NASA, we had what we called standard operating procedures. They were the law for our flying. That is, we had to follow them procedurally because the folks that paid our salaries said so. The objective was to ensure we all used the same playbook, minimizing the risk that one of us might develop a bad in-flight habit that increased risk to the organization.
One way to think about SOPs is to recognize the difference between procedure and technique. For example, you have to follow the manufacturer’s pilot’s operating handbook (procedure)where it says to lower the landing gear before landing. If you don’t, you are in for a bad day. However, it does not tell you exactly when to lower the gear; that’s left to technique.
In the middle, between procedure and technique, is a best practice. In this example, lowering the gear just before the final approach fix is a “standard practice.” It is the generally accepted “best” place to lower the gear. In GA, however, aircraft owners don’t generally answer to a boss, so I prefer the term practices instead of procedures.
However, whether or not someone is paying us to fly, following best practices just makes sense. If you have a good set of practices, they enable you to do things the same way every time, leaving lots of brain cells to manage the unusual, the things that might go wrong. The safest approach to accomplishing a flight task is one that leverages consistency. On the other hand, if you are inconsistent, doing flight tasks differently each time, you’ll always be struggling to keep up. So, in my involvement with the safety committees for both the Malibu Mirage Owners and Pilots Association and the Citation Jet Pilots Association, there has been broad acceptance of recently developed standard operating practices.
The good news in this development is that a culture of safety is growing broadly across most sectors of GA through these type club initiatives. Perhaps more importantly, there is much to learn from each other about the effectiveness of these various initiatives. EAA has seen a four-year drop of 47 percent in fatal accidents among homebuilts! So, there must be something right going on there — a major focus on appropriate transition training before flying a new homebuilt (as a standard operating practice) is paying off.
So, what is covered in the SOPs these type clubs have developed? The following outlines the kinds of standard practices other type clubs have set up and represent SOPs you could establish for yourself regardless of the type of aircraft you fly. You just have to fill in the blanks for your particular type and commit to sticking to them in your flying. These are notional and are practices (not mandatory procedures). They don’t tell you how to fly your aircraft; they give you things to think about when you do. If you take a bit of time to set your own SOPs and then stick with them, you’ll be a far safer pilot. Here are some ideas:
Duty Day
Set the maximum number of hours of flight time during a calendar day and rest hours off between flying days. One example is a maximum of eight hours in the air and a minimum of 10 hours off until flying again.
Cargo
Establish best practices for what you will carry as cargo. One example is no lithium batteries in the baggage compartment.
Flight Planning and Preparation
What are your limitations for the types of flight you’ll take on? Consider SOPs such as designating a suitable alternate airport for all flights. Another might be for first flights after significant maintenance, such as no flight at night or in IMC until a day-VMC functional check flight has been done.
Runway Field Length Guidelines
Establish an appropriate minimum field length for your aircraft and commit to not going into shorter fields. Consider sea level operations and high-altitude airports as well.
Surface Operations
What should be your maximum wind conditions for taxi, takeoff, or landing? Maximum acceptable crosswinds on landing? Set them in your SOP and stick to them.
En Route
Consider establishing practices like no non-operationally necessary conversation below 10,000 feet MSL, during any segment of an approach procedure, or during the last 1,000 feet before leveloff during climb or descent. Also consider declaring “minimum fuel” when the fuel state becomes less than fuel to destination plus 45 minutes at current burn, even if flying day VFR.
Approach and Landing
Consider establishing personal minimums in your SOPs for things like visual approaches. Perhaps use a 1,500-foot ceiling and 3 miles’ visibility for day and 5 miles for night, even though these exceed the FAA’s requirements.
Pilot Limitations, Training, & Currency
FAR Part 91 rules allow us to fly with pretty marginal levels of currency. Consider setting your own SOP to something more appropriate for the kind of aircraft you fly and the kind of flying you do in it. For example, consider these ideas as SOPs:
Maneuver Standards
Wherever there are “techniques” associated with things like takeoffs and climbs, cruise, use of autopilot, power settings, and approaches and landings, you can write down your preferred technique as your own SOP. Describe each maneuver in enough detail (speeds, altitudes, power settings, configurations, etc.) to define a routine you will use each time. This ensures you fly consistently each flight and leverage the power of the standard operating practice, that is, to give you the bandwidth you need should you encounter an unexpected event or an emergency.
SOPs are among the exciting concepts underway to make safety programs work for us. Hats off to type clubs like MMOPA and CJP and many others that are taking the initiative. But even if you’re not in this kind of group, you can still set up your own SOPs. Let’s all look forward to our first year in GA without a fatal accident — and let’s make it soon!
Fly safe!
Charlie Precourt is a former NASA chief astronaut, space shuttle commander, and Air Force test pilot. He built a VariEze, owns a Piper JetPROP, and is a member of the EAA board of directors.
Type Clubs Lead By Example with Standard Operating Practices This article appeared in the May 2019 edition of EAA’s Sport Aviation Magazine. It is used with permission. For other articles by Charlie Precourt, please visit EAA.org and join for a full subscription. Imagine a year when there are no fatal accidents in general aviation. Does…
