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Jet A Fueling Mismanagement

ByHank Gibson April 29, 2015May 1, 2015

I’m sure at this point, most pilots in Texas have heard about the Cessna 421 that went down two weeks ago in Lufkin.  The Golden Eagle suffered a dual engine failure (the pilot lost the first at 2300 feet, then the second at 1700 feet) in IMC on climb out.  He broke out at 1,000 AGL miraculously lined up with US 59, south of the Lufkin airport.  The pilot had to dodge a car as he was attempting his landing, stalled the airplane, sheared off the landing gear, then slid into the median.  No one died, but lots of bumps and bruises.  All were airlifted to Houston.

The cause was a lineman at LFK put Jet A in the 421, which is a piston airplane and takes 100LL Avgas.  The story that I saw said the pilot and two passengers were returning to Houston from Kansas City and diverted to LFK due to weather.  They landed in driving rain and spent the night.  I have not seen any reports saying whether the pilot sumped the tanks or not the following morning.

There were several factors that led to this accident.  If you take one factor out, the accident probably wouldn’t have happened.  Let’s take a look at the sequence of events.

The 421 arrived in a driving rain storm, so the pilot and passengers probably disembarked quickly to get out of the weather.  Factor number 1 presents itself here.  We don’t know whether or not the pilot told the lineman to put Avgas in it or not (he may have just said fill it up), so we’ll leave that aside.

Understandably, the pilot dashed inside to get out of the rain, but they neglected to monitor the fueling.  Whether or not the fueling took place that night or the next morning, we can’t say.  I have started to greatly encourage my customers to monitor the fueling of their airplanes, especially when it’s a fuselage that can either have Avgas piston engines or Jet A turboprops, as is the case with the Cessna 421.

Factor number 2, we already know about.  The lineman messed up and put the wrong fuel in.  If their was uncertainty about what type of fuel, he would have been prudent to await the return of the pilot to ask, even if that meant delaying the pilot’s departure.

Factor number 3 is the matter of sumping the fuel.  We don’t know if the pilot sumped the fuel or not. The tricky thing about sumping is Jet A doesn’t settle out of Avgas like water does unless it sits for a long, long time.  The two ways to determine if you have Jet A in your Avgas airplane are to smell it, as Jet A has a very strong diesel smell, or do the paper towel test.  The paper towel test consists of dumping a fuel sample onto a paper towel, then let the Avgas evaporate.  If you are left with a nasty, oily residue, you’ve got Jet A in your tanks (not to mention it will smell like diesel).

To prevent misfueling of your airplane, take the following steps:

• Be specific in telling the lineman what type of fuel you want, not just “fill ‘er up”
• Monitor the fueling and watch which truck pulls up to your airplane
  • This is especially important with fuselages that can have either Pistons or Turbo-Prop engines, like the PA-46 line or the Twin Cessna line
• Always sump your fuel, definitely smell it, and if there are any doubts, try a paper towel test

Lightspeed Tango Headset

ByHank Gibson March 29, 2016June 2, 2016

I recently purchased the new, wireless, Lightspeed Tango headset.  I’m a little OCD, so when a headset wire is banging against my shoulder while I’m trying to tune a radio or point something out, it’s a little annoying. A headset without the wires caught my eye.

As I’ve stated before in a previous article, I really like Lightspeed headsets.  They are more comfortable than Bose, and a little bit more affordable too.  The noise canceling quality is very high in the different Lightspeed models.  I personally believe it got even better with the Lightspeed Tango.

Let’s talk about the obvious first.  Not having a wire connecting you to the headset jacks is really nice.  You’re not tethered to anything, so your head is free to move anywhere without getting yanked back in place. Lightspeed developed a new technology, called Lightspeed Link, which bypasses Bluetooth or Wifi and connects the Panel Interface to the headset wirelessly.

The Link technology works pretty well.  The only problem I have noticed is in certain airplanes, I occasionally lose one ear, but after I wiggle the input wires around, the deaf ear comes back up.  It may be a loose connector in the plane itself.

The really nice thing about the Lightspeed Tango is the fact that it doesn’t need AA batteries anymore. Lightspeed put rechargeable lithium ion batteries in both the Panel Interface and the headset.  You get 12 hours of battery life out of both, far surpassing any length of time you would want to be in an airplane.  If the battery dies, there is a handy aux cable that can connect the Panel Interface directly to the headset (the ion batteries recharge with the included wall charger and USB cables in 2 hours).

Though the Lightspeed Tango is slightly heavier than the Zulu 2 due to the Link hardware and the lithium ion battery, it is still extremely comfortable.  The ear cups actually fit better over my ears and give me a better seal with glasses on then the Zulu 2 did.  As with all Lightspeed products, there is no squeezing of my head and the cushions on top of the headset sit very comfortably on top of my head.

The Bluetooth is much simpler to use than the Zulu 2 and definitely simpler than the Bose A20.  Sound quality is very good for phone calls and music.  The volume control on the headset itself is set to make smaller adjustments so you don’t have to deal with wide swings in volume.

Overall, I’m a big fan of the Lightspeed Tango.  I am recommending them to all the pilots I talk to.  Rolling in at $400 cheaper than the Bose, you can’t go wrong.

Medical Reforms Get Passed

ByHank Gibson July 17, 2016July 22, 2016

On July 15th, the medical reforms that AOPA and many other aviation advocacy organizations had pushed so hard for were passed into law.  President Obama signed the medical reforms law on the 15th, but, before practical application of the law takes place, the FAA has to translate the law into regulations.

What do the new medical reforms mean for medical certificates and flying?  First, you still have to get a medical examination at some point in your flying career.  Student pilots will still need an initial medical examination. Initially, for pilots who have held a medical certificate at some point over the previous 10 years, a new medical examination may not be needed (this still has to be regulated by the FAA so exact details aren’t known yet).

So, if you’re medical certificate has expired but you have had one in the past 10 years, you qualify.  But, if you have had your medical certificate revoked, suspended, withdrawn or denied, you don’t qualify.

Once that student pilot receives the initial medical certificate (or the experienced pilot decides to start flying again), all that needs be accomplished is to take a free, online course on aeromedical factors every two years and meet with a physician at least once every four years.

There are some operating limitations that will be put into place for folks operating without a third class medical.  Pilot’s can operate aircraft with no more than 6 seats that weigh less than 6,000 pounds, can carry 5 passengers, and are able to operate in day or night VFR or IFR conditions.  Pilot’s may not operate for hire, nor climb above 18,000 feet or fly faster than 250 knots.

It will take some time for the FAA to put the regulations in place, but the process has begun.

Cirrus SR22 Owner Completes First Solo

ByHank Gibson July 31, 2014

Congratulations to Monte James who, on July 31, 2014, completed his first solo flight!  Monte is the owner of N565TV, a 2007 Turbonormalized Cirrus SR22.  N565TV is a G3 model with an Avidyne panel.  Monte was very excited to complete his solo flight.  He reported very good landings during the flight (he even said the last landing, which was probably his best yet, caused him to break into laughter!).  Texas Top Aviation’s Hank Gibson, Monte’s instructor, took pictures and continued the tradition of cutting Monte’s shirt tail to commemorate the flight.

Congratulations to Monte!

Aircraft Purchase: The Logbook & Pre-Purchase Inspections

ByHank Gibson July 10, 2014July 14, 2026

Your about to make your dream aircraft purchase.  The plane has low time on the engine, is reasonably priced, and, according to the seller, has no damage history.  You are overjoyed!  Your dream of making an aircraft purchase is finally coming true.  You prepare your offer for the seller, set up the escrow account, and start all the paperwork.

Two weeks later, the airplane is yours!  You start flying it, though, and the engine starts to have some strange vibrations.  After several flights, it starts to get worse.  You take it to your mechanic to get it looked at and you find out the airplane needs three new cylinders along with some other engine work that is going to total a lot of money.  Plus, your airplane is now going to be in the shop for several weeks.

All that excitement you just had?  It just went out the window.

Could this have been prevented?  Probably so, with a logbook inspection and a pre-purchase inspection.

Aircraft Purchase: Logbook Inspection

Inspecting a logbook can be very daunting when making an aircraft purchase, especially for older airplanes.  This is, however, one of the most vital steps in making a new aircraft purchase.  You can find out many things from looking at the maintenance logs of an airplane.  First, you can check the compression levels of the engine.  Typically, you want compression levels in the 70’s, with it still being okay in the high 60’s.  Anything below 65 and there could be potential problems.

Second, you can find out if there has been any odd maintenance done pointing to possible unreported damage history.  This is rare, as most aircraft owners are honest and up front when talking about damage history.  But, if there is an entry detailing a prop overhaul after only 50 hours on that prop, you may start to ask some questions.

Third, you can find out how well the airplane has been maintained.  If a lot of maintenance was completed at each annual, even if it was a lot of small things, then the airplane has been maintained by a good mechanic who is very thorough.  This also involves a check of the ADs, Mandatory SBs, SBs, and SLs that have been issued for the airplane.  If all that has been kept up with, it’s a well maintained airplane.

Finally, it gives you a good idea of how much the airplane has been flown.  Sure, the ad online will have the total time and time since overhaul, but you can look at the year by year breakdown of how much the airplane has been flown.  It may have been flown a lot earlier in it’s life, but not quite as much recently.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but airplanes like to be flown.

Aircraft Purchase: Pre-Purchase Inspection

Before making an aircraft purchase, it is extremely vital that whenever you are buying an airplane that you get a pre-purchase inspection done on the airplane.  Even better is getting one done by a mechanic who specializes in that type of airplane (eg. Piper Service Center for Pipers, Cirrus Service Centers for Cirrus, Kevin Mead for PA-46s).  A pre-purchase inspection can save you a lot of money in the end.

There is always going to be some kind of maintenance issue with an airplane being purchased, whether it is big or small.  Once a pre-purchase inspection is completed, you can take the findings to the seller and negotiate for a lower price based on those findings, or just have the seller fix the items before the sale is completed.

I would recommend having the seller fix the problems before the sale is completed.  Even though it may take a little longer for the sale to be completed this way, you’ll get to enjoy your airplane right away instead of it being in the shop the next several weeks after you complete the purchase.

There is the circumstance where the  pre-purchase inspection reveals some serious airworthiness issues which would cause the deal to be voided.  Always put this clause in a purchase agreement, giving you, the buyer, an out if there are serious airworthiness issues.

When it comes to making an aircraft purchase, it is not a process to be rushed.  Slow and steady usually gets the best airplane for the money, giving you years of enjoyment in the future.

Looking to make an aircraft purchase?  Daunted by all the work that’s involved to find a good, quality airplane?  Let Texas Top Aviation do your aircraft search for you!  To learn more, visit Texas Top Aviation’s Aircraft Purchase Consultations page.

Air Traffic Control Privatization

ByHank Gibson January 25, 2016

There was a bill introduced in Congress recently to take control of Air Traffic Control away from the FAA and give it to a private, for profit, corporation.  The initial reaction of pilots is “Ahhh!  User fees!” which we are all adamantly opposed to.  There are a myriad of reasons why this is a bad idea (the “Flying” article makes a comparison to giving NASA to Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos) and we as pilots should be against it.

Read the “Flying” Magazine full article here.