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2 4 PAYING IT SIDEWAYS Sharing our love of the sky with those who matter most By Randy Bolinger 2 8 BEST OSHKOSH EVER! There are at least a few factors we will never see the likes of again Photography By Jim Koepnick and Art Eichmann inside VOL. 58 NO. O9 ctober 2 0 2 2 ❱❱ VISIT THE PLANE & PILOT® WEBSITE AT PLANEANDPILOTMAG.COM 4 0 PRACTICE MAKES PROFICIENT The lessons light plane ﬂ yers can take away from airline safety practices By Elliott Cox 4 4 WHY REDBIRD’S MIXED -REALIT Y SIM COULD BE A G AME CHANGER This is what happens when you mix the best par ts of real reality and make believe reality By Isabel Goyer

2 OCTOBER 2022 Plane&Pilot ❱❱ SPACES inside 6 GOING DIRECT Why Mosaic Matters …a Lot By Isabel Goyer 8 AVIATION NEWS OF NOTE An Unleaded Avgas Gets Fast Tracked 12 ACCIDENT BRIEFS Repor ts From the NTSB 14 CROSSWORD Aerodynamic Goodness 16 GEAR Cool Pilot Stuff 20 THIS INCREDIBLE PLANE Britten-Norman Trislander By Frank Ayers Jr. 22 PRO TIPS FOR PRIVATE PILOTS Take Off Like a Pro By Frank Ayers Jr ON THE COVER: Jim Koepnick photographed this Opener Aircraf t Black Fly tiltwing during evening fl ying at AirVenture 2022 The aircraf t, which can pretty much fl y and land itself, is one of the most futuristic looking birds in this histor y of Oshkosh and presages, some say, the future of light aviation 20 22 46 48 16 8 6 46 AFTER THE ACCIDENT Somatogravic By Dave English 48 THIS INCREDIBLE PILOT Hazel Ying Lee By Shalyn Marchetti

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H e t h e n r e i te r a te d E A A’ s c o m mitment to Mosaic: “But we want to make sure that Mosaic is an initiative to expand the category of Light Sport Aircraft and Sport Pilot privilege, and along with that, also to enhance the ability for Experimental Amateur Built Aircraft to be used for commercial oper ations, like flight training, so you could finally get a low cost flight trainer The working team, the people from the FAA , are fantastic and have the language for the regulatory change almost ready. Now it’s a matter of getting it released so it becomes a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking we’ll be talking to the current acting FAA administrator about that [soon]. The prior administrator was very supportive and had it on his priority list Now we’re kind of in a wait and see [position] ”

To address the diﬃculties it is surely facing in creating rules that are as appli cable to unpiloted and remotely piloted aircraft as they are to ones ﬂown by humans, the FAA made a bold move: It split the rulemaking into two groups, piloted aircraft and non piloted ones This is very good news for those of us

Mosaic

We’ve got our lawyers and lobby ists, too, thank goodness, so our aims are still getting plenty of attention. At AirVenture in July, EAA Chairman and CEO Jack Pelton pointed out that the issues with Mosaic very likely have a

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6 OCTOBER 2022 Plane&Pilot

A BOLD MOVE BY THE FA A

ike everyone else who follows the trends in the world of light aviation, I was eagerly awaiting word from the FAA on its prog ress with Mosaic, the plan developed by the FAA and the industry for the future of the National Airspace System In addition to a much needed defini tion of the emerging aerial mobility segment (good luck on that), the huge new rule will likely bring big changes to the light plane universe, with ben efits to airplane makers, owners, pilots and, well, everyone involved in light GA . And when I say “airplane,” please understand that it’s shorthand for any small aircraft that humans actually fly Everything from tiltrotors to gyros will get an upgrade.

Why Matters…a Lot

The big news was…there was no big news, at least this year. In his blog, Dan Johnson, who’s the go to guy about

all this stuff, goes into some detail on the delay and what it might mean. Our best guess? It’s taking the FAA so long to figure out what to do with aerial mobility stuff, a segment that created itself before its aircraft were even built, that the agency has had to put the whole thing on the backburner while it fights through the uncertainty associated with regulating a segment that, again, doesn’t even exist yet! So we get the short end of that stick, the longer end of which, Johnson so astutely points out, goes to the emerging segment, which has, as he said, lots of lawyers and lobbyists.

lot to do with the revolving door at the FAA . As we previously reported, Pelton said, “With advocacy, it seems there’s always some pressing need that you have to fight for…we’ve established our priorities, and the first one is to get Mosaic finished it’s important, but we’re getting concerned because of all the changes at the FAA If you look at the FAA org chart, you wouldn’t recognize anyone that’s in a leadership position, and the ones [you would], most of them are ‘acting,’ which makes it even more difficult because it means they don’t have an agenda or prior ity system.”

mobility will look like if it ever comes to pass, a future of which I am skeptical But imagine the imagined future, if you will. You’ll have many dozens or more very small to regular small aircraft all jammed into a bucket of airspace that is very low that’s the whole point, to cover that short distance quickly and compact, because it’s all about down town It’s a very short funnel, and the closer you get to the outlet, the down town part, the more jammed it gets. And you have tall buildings, which block and distort all kinds of signals, along with tons of other radio signal noise You ﬁg ure out a way to make that all work with near perfect reliability. I have no idea.

In case it’s not patently obvious what the problems are with remotely piloted or fully automated aircraft, there’s no pilot on board, and all the uncertainties that implies. Just take one element of dozens, collision avoidance, and you’ll see that in order for drones and other non pilot occupied aerial conveyances to see and avoid, they will have to be able to “see” in some fashion and then “avoid” in some other fashion

There are ways we can imagine to do this, but all of them require a really close to perfect level of reliability, and nothing that exists today approaches t h a t t h r e s h o l d A i r l i n e r s , w i t h t h e i r TCAS and TCAS II, are an example of something that works, but the environ ment that these aircraft ﬂy in for 95% of their journey is as simple as pie, and actual close encounters en route are rare When they occur, TCAS does an excellent job of helping live pilots take evasive action.

The result: The agency now says it plans to have a nearly ﬁnished Mosaic to toss around by summer of 2023

THE POT OF GOLD

❱❱ “For us , the coming rewards of Mosaic are great . We’ll get new, more capable and hopefully lower- cost aircraft that we can ﬂy with a driver ’s license medical.”

For us, the coming rewards of Mosaic are great. We’ll get new, more capable and hopefully lower cost aircraft that we can fly with a driver’s license medi cal As you likely know, I’m against the need for a Third Class Medical Certificate period, and I lean that way for the Second Class, too So being able to go flying in a small plane with a friend or three while relying on the pilot’s own good sense to self certify before flight, which is what we all already do anyways, makes all the sense in the world to me So I really don’t want to wait for Mosaic. It could be here tomorrow, and I’d be ecstatic. As would tens of thou sands of pilots (or more) who could fly without the needless, expensive hassle of FAA medical certification; airplane makers, who could cheaply build new planes that can go pretty fast and don’t have to stall at a snail’s pace while still selling for a lot less than any tradition ally FAA certificated plane could pos sibly cost; and, finally, everybody else in the industry, all of whom would profit from the expansion of a segment of aviation that is straining at the antique bonds of 1940s style regulation PP

C o n t r a s t a f e w p l a n e s f l y i n g extremely precise routes and altitudes in a giant expanse of sky with what aerial

So split it oﬀ the FAA did. Yay.

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who are enthusiastic about real airplanes and exceptionally meh about drones and other automated ﬂyers.

8 OCTOBER 2022 Plane&Pilot AVIATION NEWS OF NOTE

E A A re p o r te d t h a t A i r Ve n t u re 2022 set records for attendance at this year ’s EAA Oshkosh AirVenture Fly In. There were, as usual, more than 10,000 airplanes that made it to one of the airports that many pilots ﬂy into, and there were a lot of warbirds (369), classics and show planes, too, along with 137 ultralights which had a blast ﬂying their twilight circuits. There were more than 12,000 campsites, with 100% occupancy for most of the show, and tons of foreign visitors and media types, too. AirVenture 2023 is slated for July 24 30, 2023.

General Aviation Modifications, Inc. (“GAMI”) has announced that the FAA has approved STCs authorizing use of its G100UL unleaded highoctane avgas. The supplemental type certificates cover an initial approved list of aircraft and engines specific to this STC, with hundreds of approv als As time and experience with the n e w f u e l m o v e f o r w a r d , t h e A M L (Approved Model List) for the STC will be expanded to other aircraft and their related engines, which effectively should provide certification, claims GAMI, for most of the ignition piston powered aircraft in the general aviation fleet.

Ve r o B e a c h , F l o r i d a - b a s e d Skyborne Airline Academy is part nering with Delta Airlines to pro vide training through the airline’s Propel Pilot Career Path Program (PPCP). To qualify for the program, applicants need to be a three year Delta employee, possess at least a Private Pilot certificate, go through an interview process and more But those who are accepted get a terrific deal, with appli cants receiving a conditional offer from the airline and then, upon completion of the ATP program at Skyborne, getting a gig at a Delta regional partner and then with the major carrier itself Skyborne

An Unleaded Avgas Gets Fast Tracked

O n t h e o p e i n g a # O S H 2 0 2 2 , C u b C r a f t e r s announced that it was going public, opening the company to investment and ﬁling with the SEC to do so It’s still in process, but the result will be a publicly traded company of which you can buy a piece.

The company says it’s the ﬁrst company it knows of to go public during an AirVenture ﬂy in, and we won’t disagree. After all, it’s a big step for the Yakima, Washington, com pany to take

With Cirrus Aircraft focused on and dominating the personal transportation segment, CubCrafters seems to be setting itself up to be that kind of com pany only in a diﬀerent market segment. Such life style branding and marketing eﬀorts are not new to aviation Both Cirrus and Icon have played that tune well. It’s not a cheap strategy to pursue, but if it’s done right, the results can be measured in terms of airplanes sold and pilots created

y o f

My initial response was that the company, now that Richmond is gone, is going in a new direction, growth wise, at least But CubCrafters says it just isn’t so In its release announcing it was going public, CubCrafters wrote, “Our founder Jim Richmond initiated the plan to pursue a Public Oﬀering with the intention to take CubCrafters forward to the next

level and secure its future for generations of aviators to come. Jim’s vision will allow us to attain the key goal of continuing to innovate, increase market share, and accelerate the company’s growth ”

What this means, so far as I can tell, is that because it costs a lot of money to build planes and innovate, CubCrafters can’t grow production or its R&D eﬀorts with its current sources of funding, which are aircraft purchases By going public, it will be able to grow the company and its customer base and lineup much more aggressively. CubCrafters is a privately held American company, it pointed out in the release. My take is that while other companies, including Cirrus and Piper and Epic Aircraft, for example, have turned to foreign investors, CubCrafters wanted to go a dif ferent route, one that might oﬀer it more control of the company’s direction and vision.

For those of you not familiar with the CubCrafters story, the company has for 40 years dedicated itself to building and improving backcountry aircraft. Founded by Jim Richmond, who died last year, CubCrafters produces an impressive range of products, from overhauled Piper Super Cubs to kit aircraft, Light Sport models and Part 23 certiﬁcated planes, too. This broad and innovative approach was all Richmond, who was an outwardly quiet and fame averse thinker whose low proﬁle belied his brilliant growth strategy for the company, as well as the technical innovations of which he guided the creation.

Here’s the vision, and it’s a bold one BY ISABEL GOYER

“Advised by Manhattan Street Capital,” the com pany said in an embargoed press release, “CubCrafters intends to file with the SEC for qualification to launch their public offering in the coming weeks ” The idea, it said, is “to raise investment capital by selling preferred stock to its fans, customers, aviation enthusiasts, the investment community, and the gen eral public at a price of $5 per share with a minimum investment of only $400 per investor ” The details of the offering are such that, explained CubCrafters, the offers that investors make would be non binding but would reserve a space to buy shares at the price they initially buy them at, $5 per share

planeandpilotmag com 9

With backcountry ﬂying enjoying an unprec edented level of popularity, now seems like a great time to take this step; even with the economy a wild card right now, there’s some real risk involved, though if we’re honest with ourselves about it, this is always the case

CubCrafters G o es Public

says the training typically takes just under a year

I n i t s fi n a l re p o r t o n t h e c r a s h o f a l i g h t p l a n e t a k i n g o f f f r o m Lewiston Nez Perce County Airport in Lewiston, Idaho, last year, the National Transportation Safety Board found that the pilot, former naval aviator and well known and highly respected airshow flyer Dale Snodgrass, had failed to remove the gust lock from the SIAI Marchetti light single engine plane he was flying. The locking mechanism, designed to prevent gusty winds from damaging the flight controls, prevented Snodgrass, the Board found, from controlling the aircraft. With the device installed, the plane’s nose rose immediately after takeoff, and at an altitude of 80 feet, nosed over in a left turn and impacted the ground in a direct nose down position.

AVIATION NEWS OF NOTE

a flight that progressed, by our quick math, at about 100 knots A converted Cessna Skymaster with an electric motor replacing the 337’s front engine while retaining the conventional piston engine in the rear, the EEL demonstrates fuel savings of up to 40% over the standard airplane Ampaire is moving forward to the first flight of its nine seat Eco Caravan Cessna 208 conversion to fly later this year. That airplane should give fuel savings of up to 70%, claims the company

A team of for ward-thinking aerodynamicists at the University of Arizona are designing a sailplane that could be the first fixed wing craft to fly the Martian skies. The first flight on Mars belongs, of course, to Ingenuity, NASA’s cool little helicopter that flew last year and has proceeded to exceed the space agency’s wildest expectations. The problem with Martian flight is that the air on the Red Planet is extremely thin, so airfoils produce only so much lift. So any sailplane that flies on Mars would have to have an enormous wing span the U of A design features an 11 foot plus span and weighs just 4 pounds One advantage of the Martian atmosphere is that it’s windy, which would theoretically allow such a design to soar, possibly for hours at a time and much farther from base than a small helicopter can

The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) launched a rebranding eﬀort, including an all ne w logo that is decidedly futuristic while still being symbolic of the orga nization’s position within the Air Force family, its mission and, yes, its history. The V shaped logo combines nods to the CAP’s unique position as a national youth initiative that has aviation at its heart It also, if you know where to look, references the CAP’s spirit of volun teerism and partnership with the Air Force as a Total Force partner

Colorado-based Boom Supersonic showed a Nor thrup Grumman co b r a n d e d re n d e r i n g t h a t i n c l u d e s reﬁnements to the airliner it calls Overture. According to the developer, the Overture will be a Mach 1.7 capable airliner with capacity of 65 80 seats, and Boom’s partnership with Northrup Grumman allows the potential construc tion of “special mission variants” for military or other government use.

Ampaire, the Hayward, California,based hybrid-electric flight developer, showed off the capabilities of one of its EEL demonstrator airplanes by completing a flight from Camarillo, California, to Oshkosh’s Wittman Regional. The trip included a 1,135 mile leg between Mojave, California, and Hays, Kansas, a record for non stop hybrid electric aircraft. O verall, the trip covered 1,880 statute miles,

10 OCTOBER 2022 Plane&Pilot

Daher announced a new Kodiak fea t u r i n g a n e a r l y 4 f o o t s t r e tc h ; f o u r additional seats; a new, more modern and powerful 900 shp Pratt & Whitney PT 6; and cruise speeds around 30 knots faster than its predecessor, the Kodiak 100 Both planes will continue to be built in Daher’s Sandpoint, Idaho, fac tory Remarkably, the plane has already earned FAA certiﬁcation, says the com pany, which will start deliveries of the 900 next year

That value is the investment in safety features that pilots want and that objectively improve safety. The parachute is the one safety feature that every one associates with Cirrus, and for good reason A rocket powered whole airplane parachute system has been on every Cirrus since Day One, including the jet. But about 10 years ago, the company realized that pilots often were declining to use the chute in

In addition to “the chute,” the company has invested in ever more advanced safety features, many of them associated with new products intro duced by longtime partner Garmin International.

Another unprecedented safety investment the company has made is recurrent training for pilots who buy used Cirrus aircraft, called Embark, which Cirrus pays for The investment is for safety’s sake, it goes without saying, and people who are slightly more cynical than I might be say it’s a way for the company to reduce its liability tail. My response: Good on them anyway

T h e s e x i e s t o f t h o s e i s i n a r g u a b l y G a r m i n Autoland, which Cirrus has on its jet and calls “Safe Return.” If the pilot were to be incapacitated, the push of a button would prompt the airplane to ﬂy itself to the nearest suitable airport, brake to a stop and shut down the engine

I s p o ke w i t h C i r r u s P r e s i d e n t o f C u s to m e r Experience Todd Simmons on the third day of Oshkosh 2022, and it was great to catch up and to hear his thoughts on where Cirrus stands with its growth and how its vision for all things SR and SF, many of those ideas formulated a decade ago, have helped drive the design of the SR22/SR20 and the SF50 Vision Jet

an emergency, too often with fatal results

So, is there a new plane coming from Cirrus? I don’t know. Simmons did say that the company is always looking ahead. So even if there’s not a new swept wing tri jet on the horizon, it’s certain that Cirrus has been working constantly to improve its products to the point where its current owners want to trade in their SR22 or SF50 and transition into the next best thing, which Cirrus hopes will be the updated bird it just rolled out the hangar door

The design of both aircraft are informed by a handful of core values that Cirrus holds, and these aren’t the make believe mission statement value statements They are arguably the most innovative in the history of GA

BY ISABEL GOYER

planeandpilotmag com 11

It gets said a lot, that Cirrus is the leading maker of small personal transportation aircraft, but its model lineup is small, consisting of the SR22, a six c ylinder four /ﬁve seat all composite single with industry best safety systems and the single engine turbofan SF50 Vision Jet…ditto on the safety systems there. The company is closing in on 9,000 aircraft sold, a ﬁgure it expects to hit sometime in 2023 The vast majority of those sales are of the approximately $1 million SR22, which has been the top selling single in aviation for 20 years running.

Cirrus Talks New Airplanes, Core Priorities

But the SF50 Vision Jet, which goes for right around $3 million and on which the company bet its very existence on more than one occasion, has been a huge hit In the ﬁve years since it handed over the ﬁrst SF50 in early 2017, Cirrus has deliv ered more than 350 of the Williams FJ 33 powered composite jets, and the company has orders for more than 400 more

The company told Plane & Pilot that it’s thinking way ahead but moving strategically

You want to know what new airplane the folks at Cirrus Aircraft are working on right now? Yeah, we do, too, but they are tight lipped about it, if there even is a new airplane in the works But they are happy to discuss what they are doing right now, and it’s cutting edge stuﬀ.

So, Cirrus changed not its vision but its training with a new approach to the chute that is part of a comprehensive program it literally calls Cirrus Approach. It began to focus on procedures that put the chute at the center of the pilot’s safety per spective, with speciﬁc callouts on takeoﬀ for when the chute was available for use and techniques for how to deploy the chute. That change in training approaach has paid dividends, with the number of fatalities declining Simmons said that more than 200 lives have been saved, in fact

Cessna 182 Skylane

Cessna 172K Skyhawk

Fresno, California / Injuries: 2 Fatal

The non instrument rated pilot was on a cross country flight in dark night, hazy, visual flight rules conditions As the pilot approached his intended des tination airport, witnesses observed the pilot attempt to land the airplane three times During the third attempt to land, the airplane struck a 62 ft tall tree with the left wingtip; the tree was located about 1,400 ft from the approach end of the runway The airplane then contin ued to fly over the runway and entered a left turn. Subsequently, the airplane descended rapidly into the ground. Wreckage and impact signatures were consistent with a near vertical impact with the ground Examination of the w r e c k a g e r e v e a l e d n o e v i d e n c e o f any preimpact mechanical malfunc tions or failures Review of the pilot’s Federal Aviation Administration medi cal records revealed that the pilot had not reported any medical conditions. However, according to the pilot’s per sonal medical records, the pilot had elevated cholesterol, gout, high blood pressure, and chronic depression that was in remission; all were adequately controlled and the medications being used were unlikely to impair the pilot’s performance Although the pilot’s cor rected visual acuity remained 20/20 bilaterally, he had complained to his optometrist of vision problems with h a l o s a r o u n d s t a r s A n n u a l e x a m s documented progression of bilateral cataracts and vitreous opacities in the 4 years before the accident. Cataracts can cause halos around points of light

The pilot reported that the airplane’s fuel tanks were filled to the tabs dur ing the preflight. He then departed on about a two hour local flight, which included touch and go landings He added that he did a soft field tech nique, where he pulled up abruptly The engine then ran rough, so he leveled off, and the engine regained power briefly, before going to idle rpm He lowered the flaps for the forced landing During the forced landing, the left wing sepa rated from the airplane after impact with a fence post. The pilot stated that he ran the fuel tank too low and when he pulled up during the takeoff, the remaining fuel was unable to reach the engine. He added that he “just ran the left tank too long without switching” fuel tanks

(glare) and degrade night vision A wit ness, who was based at the pilot’s home airport, reported that the pilot recently h a d p r o b l e m s t a x i i n g o n a f a m i l i a r lighted runway and taxiway at night The witness reported that he had to drive his truck onto the taxiway and use the truck’s headlights to allow the pilot to find his way off the runway Based on the pilot’s 4 year history of progressive bilateral cataracts, complaints of halos around stars at night, prior difficulty operating the airplane at night on his lighted home airport runway, and his unsuccessful attempts to land on this unfamiliar runway at night, it is likely that cataracts degraded his ability to see clearly at night and resulted in his inability to safely operate the airplane during the accident sequence

Pip er PA28R Arrow

The pilot was at te mpting to depart from a 2,200 ft long turf runway with three passengers onboard After the airplane lifted off the ground, the pilot noted that it was not accelerating, and it settled back to the ground Concerned with clearing a shed off the end of the runway, the pilot aborted the takeoff. Subsequently, the airplane departed the runway into a valley. Both wings sustained substantial damage The take off performance chart for the airplane, which weighed close to its maximum gross weight, indicated a ground roll of 600 ft and a takeoff distance of 1,600 ft to clear a 50 ft obstacle The chart was based on a dry runway and did not contain a correction for a takeoff from a turf runway, which would require a longer ground roll and takeoff distance

PR O B A B L E C AU S E ( S ) : T h e p i l o t ’ s l o s s of directional control while landing in a gusty crosswind, which resulted in a runway excursion and subsequent impact with terrain.

ACCIDENT BRIEFS

PROBABLE CAUSE(S): The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate clearance from trees while on approach, which subsequently led to a loss of airplane control. Also causal was the pilot’s continued operation of the airplane at night with a diagnosed medical condition that degraded his night vision

The private pilot was landing the tri c ycle landing gear equipped airplane with a significant gusting right cross wind. After establishing the airplane on a 1 mile final approach to the run way, the pilot initiated a sideslip to m a i n t a i n r u n w ay c e n te r l i n e . A f te r touching down about 800 feet beyond the runway threshold, a gust of wind struck the airplane and it veered off t h e r u n w ay T h e a i r p l a n e c r o s s e d a taxiway then struck a concrete culvert before flipping over and coming to rest inverted The pilot stated that once the aircraft veered left, he could not recover Both of the airplane’s wings and the empennage were substantially damaged during the accident. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

PROBABLE CAUSE(S): The pilot’s improper decision to take oﬀ with the airplane at a high gross weight from a short, turf run way, which degraded its climb performance and led to a delayed aborted takeoﬀ, a run way excursion, and impact with terrain.

12 OCTOBER 2022 Plane&Pilot

Onaga, Kansas / Injuries: 4

Pip er PA 28 181 Archer II Gypsum, Colorado / Injuries: 1

PROBABLE CAUSE(S): A loss of e ngine power due to fuel starvation and the pilot’s mismanagement of the available fuel

The pilot stated that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation and that he should not have attempted to takeoﬀ from a short, turf runway

Stowe, Pennsylvania / Injuries: 1

NOTE: The reports republished here are from the NTSB and are printed verbatim and in their complete form.

The

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14 OCTOBER 2022 Plane&Pilot AERODYNAMIC GO ODNESS Acro ss 1 Screen that rules all others, abbr 3 Bad pilots often have a bad this, too 8 It happens when the angle of attack becomes so great that air no longer flows smoothly over the airfoil 10 DF 11 Price 12 Home state to Van’s, abbr. 13 Current of air, marked by vertical motion, up or down 14 Acronym for Cirrus’ whole plane recovery parachute system, abbr. 17 Douglas DC 3 nickname, 2 words 22 Half circle trajectories 23 R 44 helicopter 26 GI 275 flight display system 27 B r i n g a n e n g i n e t o o p t i m u m functioning, 2 words 28 Book for pilots that has all the details, abbr. 29 Frequent companion of “balance” 30 Use brakes, spoilers and thrust reversers D own 1 Engine part that reciprocates 2 Sometimes, it’s parasitic 3 From the French for “little wing” 4 Evaluate an aircraft, 2 words 5 Top (leading) 6 DoD test group, abbr 7 Altitudes for flying east 9 Asphalt surface 15 “The” is not a part of its name 16 e q u i p m e n t l i s t ( w h a t y o u m u s t h a v e t o o p e r a t e a specific aircraft) 18 Make a mistake 19 Necessary part of an arrival 20 Word after “steam” 21 Buy in a hurry, 2 words 24 tap 25 Can be mid , high or low 27 Titanium symbol 28 What @ means Check your answers on page 20, or online at planeandpilotmag.com/article/october 2022 crossword ke y. CROSSWORD

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KOSH T Shir t

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16 OCTOBER 2022 Plane&Pilot GEAR

We’ve still got an Oshkosh hangover and are already looking for ward to the 2023 edition This T shir t celebrates the spirit of the world’s greatest airshow all year round! With an eye to minimalist ar t, the screen printed KOSH Dots T shir t from Etsy ’s Runway Three Six is constructed from comfor table cotton material and comes in a range of sizes, from S to 2XL.

“Navigating Weather ”

Price: $25. Available at: w w w.etsy.com/ shop /rwy36.

Dr David Ison outlines the fundamental knowledge and skills necessar y to operate both airborne and datalink weather radar. He star ts with radar and severe weather theor y and inclement weather phenomena, including how to detect and evaluate them There’s also a discussion of airborne weather radar essentials such as attenuation, tilt management, contouring and gain Each chapter features real world scenarios along with test questions to determine your assessment skills This is a foundational reference on using radar data in ﬂight

This reference aims to simplif y the of ten complex rules that apply to aviation With 874 pages of information, it also includes an exhaustive FAR index in the front of the book and an AIM index in the back. It’s printed in a size that easily ﬁ ts in a ﬂight bag and features full color AIM images

This aircraf t anchoring system holds down a combined 3,600 pounds It has a large footprint, spreading over a larger surface area for a secure hold. It’s designed for use in a range of aircraf t on any surface from hard soil to sandy clay With a low proﬁle that won’t puncture tires, its aircraf t aluminum body has die cast zinc plated steel spikes and a 25 foot, 3/8 inch diameter solid braid polyester rope Also included are three ear th anchors, nine spikes and a hammer that doubles as a removal tool, all in a canvas carr y bag. Comes with a lifetime warranty

“Gleim FAR/AIM Handbook 2023”

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The Claw Tie down

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Compact Bolted Quick Release

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12 Pack Battery Caddy

18 OCTOBER 2022 Plane&Pilot GEAR

These plastic cases keep batteries organized and stored securely so they ’re not loose and are easy to find The batter y terminals are protected, and they ’re designed for one finger removal Ideal for airplane pockets or flight bags, these hold 12 AAs and glow in the dark

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An accessor y for charging electronic devices, Spor ty ’s Flight Gear Charging Mod has components to organize them as well. There’s an included iPad Backup Batter y and multiple por ts that allow charging of up to three devices at once Its USB A to lightning cable will charge iPhones, mid size iPads and AirPods. The USB A to USB C cable supplies power to other ﬂight deck instruments such as the 11 inch iPad Pro, the iPad Mini 6, Sentr y, the PJ2 Comm radio and the Garmin Aera 760 The USB C to USB C cable powers up devices that need more charge, such as the iPad Pro 12 9, MacBooks and Sentr y+ Other features include loop cable holders, a quick grab handle and a removable external ID holder.

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FlyBaby Onesie

planeandpilotmag com 19

Little aviators need gear too! These onesies have overlapping shoulders at the sleeves for ease in changing outfi ts. They ’re made of 100% cotton, with side flat lock seams Ribbed binding on the neck, shoulders, sleeves and leg openings ensure comfor t The three snap closure also makes quick work of diaper duty They come in two sizes: six months and 12 months These were designed by fl yGIRL, an organization that raises funds to suppor t a scholarship fund that awards $5,000 to a woman pursuing flight training

Flight Gear Charging Mod

The aptly named Britten Norman Tr i s l a n d e r M a r k I I I w e n t f r o m t h e drawing board (no computer aided d e s i g n h e r e ) to f i r s t f l i g h t o n t h e 11th of September 1970, in only eight months. The original prototype fea tured a strengthened aft fuselage and vertical stabilizer to support the addi tional 260 horsepower Lycoming 0 540, stronger tric ycle landing gear and a lengthened forward fuselage section. The prototype’s third engine was ini tially mounted on top of the vertical T tail section However, stability con cerns resulted in the eventual addition of a small vertical ﬁn above the rear mounted engine.

Conventional wisdom said to mount it in the nose. However, the Islander’s design nixed that idea. On the other hand, could it be mounted in the tail, l i k e t h e t h e n f a s h i o n a b l e t r i j e t s ? Eventually, Britten and Norman agreed

The Trislander entered service in July of 1971 and immediately dem o n s t r a t e d o u t s t a n d i n g s h o r t f i e l d capability, taking oﬀ and landing from 1,500 foot unprepared airstrips with a full load of passengers With nearly 1,000 nautical mile range, an increased load capacity and excellent low speed handling characteristics, the Trislander has proven to be a capable inter island and commuter transport Designed for single pilot operations, the aircraft is relatively easy to handle, docile and has an excellent safety record. Its simple general aviation based systems and powerplants ensured reliable perfor mance. The pilot’s compartment is well laid out, and controls for all three engines are uniform and easy to use. And, of course, its unique appearance is a showstopper even today

However, the passenger experience in a Trislander is a bit diﬀerent. With a narrow fuselage and no center aisle, the 17 passengers and one pilot sit side by side in a two across conﬁguration

A modern interpretation of the classic tri-motor that has ser ved proudly for over 50 years!

❱❱ “ The aptly named BrittenNorman Trislander Mark III went from the drawing board (no computer-aided design here) to ﬁrst ﬂight on the 11th of September 1970, in only eight months . ”

P H O T O B Y F L I C K R U S E R R O B H O D G K I N S THIS INCREDIBLE PL ANE BY FRANK AYERS JR. CROSSWORD ANSWERS See puzzle on page 14.

Just as aircraft designers in the 1930s discovered, sometimes two engines are not enough, and just as often, four engines are too many. Sometimes, three engines are just right Since one of the key features of the Islander series was the low step up height and large cargo doors, simply adding more powerful engines with larger diameter propel lers would require an extensive rede sign So, designers John Brit ten and D esmond Norman turned the clock back 40 years and decided on a tri motor conﬁguration. But where to put the extra engine?

icture a tri motored mini air l i n e r t h a t l o o k s l i ke n o t h i n g else on wings, is an amazing short ﬁeld performer, and has been incredibly successful for over 50 years When we think of three engine airplanes, images of the sturdy Ford, Fokker and Stinson tri motors from the 1930s come to mind And then in the jet age, the Boeing 727, Douglas DC 10 and the Lockheed TriStar all had their days, not to mention a few classy Falcon Jets from France. However, the most unique tri motor design, and one with strong general aviation roots, is the Britten Norman Trislander (which is pronounced as though there is a hyphen between “tri” and “islander,” even though there is not )

that the simplest solution was to mount a third Lycoming, in a strengthened vertical stabilizer, much like the DC 10, while retaining the smaller propellers of the Islander series, which allowed them to keep the same low proﬁle of the fuselage Additionally, the location of the engine aft of the centers of gravity and lift would allow moving the cockpit forward and lengthening the passenger c o m p a r t m e n t to s e a t a n a d d i t i o n a l seven to eight passengers

Britten-Norman Trislander

20 OCTOBER 2022 Plane&Pilot

T h e g e n e s i s f o r t h e s u c c e s s f u l Trislander series of aircraft was the even more successful Britten Norman Islander twin engine utility aircraft The Islander emerged in 1965 as a ﬁxed gear

utility twin powered by two 540 cubic inch Lycoming engines. And it has been a staple of short haul, short ﬁeld and inter island commuter transport ever since Initially designed and built on the Isle of Wight, just oﬀ the south coast of England, the Islander was, and remains, a great success. However, with a maximum passenger capacity of just 10, a growth version was needed So how do you increase the performance of an already successful design?

through the adventures of G JOEY And while the iconic Boeing 707, Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis and the Pan American Clippers were all fea tured on postage stamps, so was the unmistakable Trislander, several times And as you might expect, most featured the ever popular G JOEY!

service providers, spanning 22 coun tries in nearly every corner of the globe Today, Trislanders still serve faith fully, carrying passengers and freight in the Caribbean.

Passengers step directly into their seats from the ground through several wide entry doors located on each side of the aircraft No jetways, no waiting in the aisle and no overhead bins! The seating is utilitarian and cabin service non existent, but overall, the experience is just right for the short routes and even shorter fields that are the Trislander’s specialty Since many Trislanders spend their time over the water, the third engine is a security blanket. While the Trislander’s short field capability is legendary, a later variant, the BN 2A MkIII 4, was equipped with 350 pound thrust rocket assist for shorter takeoffs and more robust initial climb.

Like many peculiar looking aircraf t, the Britten Norman Trislander comes about its odd looks honestly, with designers adding features, in this case, a third engine on the tail and a healthy fuselage stretch, to an existing successful design.

❱❱ “ The Trislander ’s unique appearance has also cemented its place in folklore. Due to some creative, child-focused marketing, Trislander G-JOEY was born.”

Aurigny Airlines, Britten Norman’s first and largest customer, operated 1 6 Tr i s l a n d e r s o n r e g u l a r l y s c h e d uled service from the British Island of Guernsey, just off the French Coast, to t h e m a i n l a n d A l l i n a l l , t h e 7 2 Tr i s l a n d e r s t h a t w e r e c o n s t r u c te d were operated by up to 48 different air

The Trislander’s unique appear ance has also cemented its place in folklore. Due to some creative, child focused marketing, Trislander G JOEY was born. Painted in several differ ent paint schemes over its lifetime, G JOEY’s final livery represented the stubby little Puffin birds found in the British Channel Islands. It was also featured in a series of popular chil dren’s books Many young children’s first exposure to aviation has been

W h i l e t h e l a s t e x a m p l e o f t h e Trislander was constructed in 1982, even in retirement, the efficienc y of the design has shone through. Often replaced by modern twin engine tur b o p r o p s , t h e s e ke r o s e n e g u z z l i n g n e w c o m e r s c o u l d n o t f u l l y m a tc h the short field takeoff performance, passenger carrying capacity and fuel economy of the three engine wonder they replaced

T h e B r i t te n No r m a n Tr i s l a n d e r proves that a basic design based on general aviation materials and systems and a little imagination can produce an aircraft with outstanding performance and staying power PP

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Taking the active runway, heels on the floor and crosswind controls applied Crosswind takeoff controls are similar to crosswind landings but in reverse, so don’t be bashful about starting the roll with significant crosswind controls We can always take them out Smoothly apply full power, track the centerline and consider checking the engine instru ments, especially oil pressure, just after power application, just prior to rotation and during the initial climb A quick glance is all that is required to note if the needles are pointing in the right direction and lights are all green! Some single engine birds require a crisp rota tion to takeoff at titude, while others will take to the air smoothly with just a little back pressure. And then some are in between Each airplane has its own idiosyncrasies A little planning before takeoff and proper technique during the

There are generally no emergency takeoﬀs, so plan carefully and make good decisions

TAKEOFF BASICS

However, in the real world, takeoffs are a bit less dramatic They are a series of decisions, starting with “can we take off ?” Commercial jets utilize the bal anced field length concept and the time tested V Speeds “V1” is defined as “the speed beyond which takeoff should no longer be aborted.” “VR” is where the pilot begins to rotate the airplane for takeoff. And “V2,” takeoff safety speed, is the speed at which the airplane can climb out safely on a single engine So, airline pilots have a distinct set of numbers to guide their go/no go decisions.

PRO TIPS FOR PRIVATE PILOTS BY FRANK AYERS JR.

Proper technique is just as important getting into the air as it is getting back on the ground. Airline takeoﬀ proce dures often appear to be a symphony of crosswind controls, power application, airspeed callouts, engine instrument checks, precise rotation and after takeoﬀ pitch control. Well, nothing so fancy in Single Engine Land, but we can develop our own techniques, or maybe habits, that encompass some of these criti cal crosschecks.

If the runway is shorter, the (hope fully pre briefed) oﬀ airport landing area is probably the best option If the runway is longer, say 5,000 feet, there may be more time to make the decision. At the 70 knot initial climb speed of many light singles, our pilot covers about 100 feet per second Section 5 of the POH is not an exciting read, but a little time spent digging into the numbers may be time well spent.

Take Oﬀ Like a Pro

DECISIONS, DECISIONS, DECISIONS

In one popular single, the takeoff ground roll is computed at 750 feet, and the distance to clear a 50 foot obstacle is nearly twice that at 1,400 feet (with a 15 degree flap setting) On that same s e a l e v e l s t a n d a r d d ay, t h e l a n d i n g ground roll is 600 feet, and the landing distance over a 50 foot obstacle is about 1,200 feet this distance figures in full flaps If you are keeping score at home, that’s 1,200 plus 1,400 plus a couple

Thankfully, down here in general aviation land, most of us have only one e n g i n e , o n e p r o p e l l e r a n d a c o u p l e thousand pound airplane to get oﬀ the ground. However, we might simplify a few of the techniques the pros use to make our takeoﬀs a little safer.

TRIGGER WARNING! FIRST A LIT TLE MATH

In the movie “The Spirit of St. Louis,” Charles Lindbergh, played by Jimmy Stewart, marks his takeoﬀ go/no go point on Roosevelt Field’s short muddy runway with a white handkerchief on a stick

hundred extra feet thrown in for reaction time, pushing the nose down and add ing some ﬂaps So, if the engine begins to pop and bang right at rotation on a 3,000 foot runway, our pilot might just have time to react and put the airplane back on the ground before we run out of pavement.

uch of our ﬂight training is focused on landings. Let’s face it, we all secretly look forward to the oohs and ahhs from the passengers when we grease one on! But, alas, the poor takeoﬀ earns no standing ovations no matter how good the performance is on this critical piece of piloting

22 OCTOBER 2022 Plane&Pilot

Why all this attention on takeoffs? Well, takeoff is that period when the jet is at its heaviest weight, the engines per form at their highest power setting, and quick and accurate decisions are required to take advantage of the limited runway remaining. In fact, takeoff is primarily a simple math problem that considers the specific airplane configuration, the weather and the runway location, surface and condition And the cherry on top is proper pilot technique. When each of these factors is considered, takeoff is a fairly benign experience However, disregard any of these items, and things can go south quickly.

Then, in true Hollywood fashion, he presses on by it, lifts off just barely before the tree line, catches a telephone wire with his tailskid, then flies off to Paris and into history, with the orchestra play ing in the background.

A t l e a s t w h e n i t c o m e s to s m a l l planes, that is. In the world of transport category aircraft, the takeoff is fully recognized as one of the most criti cal maneuvers. Balanced field lengths, V speeds and takeoff abort consider ations dominate the cockpit conversa tion as these big birds take flight

As the captain of our single engine land machine, we might just have some fig ures in the Pilot Operating Handbook ( P O H ) t h a t c o u l d c o m e i n h a n d y i f takeoff conditions are marginal O ne way to approach this go/no go problem is to dig into Section 5 of the POH. Right next to the takeoff and landing ground roll charts, it contains figures for takeoff and landing over a 50 foot obstacle. Add the two together, and we might have a basic set of numbers on which to base your takeoff abort decision

planeandpilotmag com 23

climbing None of this is good, and the result can be fatal.

roll can ensure a safe takeoﬀ, especially at the higher density altitudes.

Takeoffs at high elevation airports on w a r m d ay s c a n te s t o u r k n o w l e d g e , technique and decision making. First, we know that the high and hot hits the trifecta and reduces the effectiveness of our wings, propeller and engine Less so for the turbocharged engine crowd, but still significant. Second, as we landed, we noticed that our indicated airspeed was right on the money However, looking out the window, the ground seemed to whiz by due to the higher true airspeed. And third, many of the high altitude airports seem to be surrounded by jag ged mountain peaks, depriving pilots of a useful horizon reference So, what is the trap?

I t i s a b e a u t i f u l F l o r i d a e v e n i n g, and the Cessna Cardinal is taxiing to the runway for a short sunset beach f l i g h t . A p p r o a c h i n g t h e h o l d s h o r t line, “Chuck” (the resident sandhill crane named by the locals after Charles Lindbergh) emerges from behind the runway hold line sign and makes an

“Experience is a hard teacher because it gives the test first, the lesson after ward ” This famous phrase by Vernon Law applies to aviation, and especially the takeoff phase. Our friends in the professional world have perfected the art of expecting the unexpected during this critical phase of flight A little time spent reviewing our takeoff calculations, techniques and abort procedures may just make us all a bit more ready for the test when it comes You are cleared for takeoff, and fly safe PP

THE DENSIT Y ALTITUDE TRAP

Airline pilots spend a signiﬁcant amount of their training on takeoﬀ abort situ ations While these are rare in general aviation, the need to abort can happen at any time. A short story is in order.

TAKEOFF ABORTS ARE FOR THE BIRDS

It’s a hot day at a high airport. Our intrepid pilot pushes up the power and notes the slower acceleration on the airspeed indicator due to the density altitude. However, just like the landing, the scenery out the window seems to be going by at a quicker pace Concerned that the end of the runway is beginning to come into view, our pilot uncon sciously begins to apply back pressure before the indicated airspeed reaches rotation speed The early rotation actu ally slows acceleration and may cause the aircraft to stagnate in ground eﬀect. The lack of a true horizon reference due to the high terrain surrounding the airport tempts the pilot to increase back pres sure while staggering in the air and not

elegant departure, about 20 feet over head. Relieved that the wildlife encoun ter for the flight seems to have passed, the pilot of the Cessna 177 begins the takeoff roll As the airspeed starts to build, the alert co pilot, spouse and all around keen observer of things aviation calmly says, “They are taking off.”

A couple thoughts. Unless you are e x p e r i e n c e d a t h i g h a n d h o t o p e r a tions, avoid taking off in the heat of the afternoon. Compute the takeoff data carefully and think about how the airplane will accelerate and at what point on the runway the airplane will rotate If you need a handkerchief on a stick marker like Lucky Lindy, pick out a pre determined final abort point on the runway if the airplane does not perform as expected Then, be ready for the disconnect between the indicated and true airspeed, and the speed of the trees going by out the window. To gain the altitude to cross those mountains, our aircraft must build airspeed and energy If any conditions or calculations are marginal, then simply don’t take off. Remember, there are generally no emergency takeoffs!

To the right side of the runway, a f o r m a t i o n o f b e a u t i f u l w h i te e g r e t s (a.k.a. Florida chickens) is taking to t h e a i r. A f te r a g r a c e f u l 3 6 0 d e g r e e climb to gather the formation, Egret Leader decides to take the formation right across the runway The situation: Airspeed approaching 50 knots, egret altitude 50 feet, 4,000 feet remaining, and the egrets are not moving in the windscreen Time to abort, throttle idle, maintain centerline, brakes as required and a call on the CTAF to let the world know that a “close encounter of the third kind” between a sandhill crane, an egret and a Cardinal had been avoided Always good to be ready for the unex pected abort!

Sharing our love of the sky with those who matter most

BY RA N DY B O L I N G E R | I L LU S T R AT I O N B Y B A R RY R O S S

ABOUT FLYING (AND ABOUT LIFE)LESSONS LEARNED

PAYING IT SIDEWAYS

As an aspiring future husband, how ever, I took pause over stories passed a l o n g to m e o f h a p l e s s n e w l y w e d s shedding the risky pastimes in their lives. The thought of having to give up the parts of me that helped shape my identity the aircraft, the motorcycles, the ﬁrearms always played on a loop in the back of my mind. Certainly, the right woman for me would be someone who would accept and even appreciate the unique quirkiness that made me who I am and consequently would not ask to silence the mechanical heartbeats of the things I (also) love.

over the next four years. And by that time, we’d both run out of frequent ﬂyer miles, so it was time to take things to the next level. In my mind, a grand gesture was required the big ask but how?

A f e w a n n u a l s l a te r, i n 1 9 9 6 , I was blessed to meet the woman of my dreams at a New Year’s Eve party Although we did not live in the same time zone, we managed to ﬁgure out that we were meant to be together

❱❱ “ To create an engagement stor y that would be the envy of her friends , I enlisted the help of my avian temptress , 54 Tango, whom I aﬀectionately called Voodoo. ”

To create an engagement story that would be the envy of her friends, I enlisted the help of my avian temptress, 54 Tango, whom I aﬀectionately called Voodoo. If you’re curious, I named my aircraft that because when I had to travel, my aircraft was which craft (aka witchcraft) I’d choose above all others. But I digress.

ike most private aircraft owners, I have an emotional at tachment to my aircraft that is to say, I take care of the machine that I expect to take care of me. Although I never expected to, I owned my first aircraft for 20 years. And the longer we were together, my bond with my first plane, Piper PA28 180, 54 Tango, deepened with each shared experience both mundane and harrowing. Owning an aircraft is a wonderful distraction, one that can become all consuming if there’s a restoration involved. There are many upsides to owning a plane, but as far as the relationship aspect goes, it’s a one way, non reciprocal relation ship which is fine when you’re a single guy.

26 OCTOBER 2022 Plane&Pilot

One ﬁnal nagging issue that con cerned me was the possible unin tended consequence of my proposal being misinterpreted by a diﬀerent girlfriend with the same name who might also spy the banner in the sky. For example, a Super Cub towing a banner near Ohio State University t h a t s a y s “ M A R R Y M E S U SA N ” observed on the ground by myriad girlfriends named Susan could be the catalyst for any number of awk ward conversations.

keep aircraft ownership a central part of my life that brings me joy

The solution to that dilemma came in the form of the nickname Trixie (since a female aviator is an “avia trix”), which had become a pet name for my would be ﬁance So, the stage was set: date, time, location, ﬂight plan and message

I ’ v e l e a r n e d a g r e a t d e a l a s a n aviator for more than three decades I’ve learned much about myself and others, too. I’ve become a critical decision maker, perfected how to help people overcome a fear of ﬂy ing, discovered how sharing a pas sion with a young person can change the trajectory of a life, found how contagious ﬂying is once you put a yoke in someone’s hand, and, from m y a i r b o r n e m a r r i a g e p r o p o s a l , I learned that emotional attachments can be transferred.

I’ve learned that as an aviator, I should strive to be a good steward of the gift I’ve given myself by sharing it with others, especially the most important people in my life PP

But more than that, I’ve discovered that ﬂying is a gift to be shared and shared generously. Empty seats in an aircraft are missed opportunities to change a life, to open doors to career aspirations, to share a passion few get to taste, to forge a bond across generations, to mentor someone, or to watch someone become genuinely awestruck I learned that the more I share my enthusiasm for ﬂying, the more others consider doing some thing that perhaps they never imag ined was possible. We all have the power to create a sense of purpose in a young life, introduce a lifelong passion to people at any age, and help sustain general aviation for gen erations to come simply by putting butts in seats and letting the sky do the talking

That fateful February day helped solidify her appreciation for general aviation, which in turn has helped me

M y e n g a g e m e n t s c e n a r i o w a s painstakingly wrapped around a lei surely trip to a grass strip for break fast during a weekend visit Planning ahead, as good pilots do, I called a banner tow company and cast them into a key role in my proposal rom com I left nothing to chance for the tow pilot. I provided the GPS coor dinates where he should orbit, coor dinated the air to air frequencies, synchronized the time and crafted what I hoped was a fool proof mes sage for the proposal banner.

❱❱ “While ﬂying low and slow in the early midwinter morning, Trixie and I spotted a target at our 3:00 position that appeared to be towing a banner. So I suggested we go take a look. Banking right to make what I hoped would not be a teardrop entr y into my future, we pulled alongside the banner with the proposal in big red letters: ‘MARRY ME TRIXIE.’”

Thankfully, the plan and flight plan worked flawlessly. While flying low and slow in the early midwinter morning, Trixie and I spotted a target at our 3:00 position that appeared to be towing a banner So I suggested we go take a look. Banking right to make what I hoped would not be a teardrop entry into my future, we pulled alongside the banner with the proposal in big red letters: “MARRY M E T R I X I E . ” W h i l e m y c o p i l o t started laughing and continued to laugh for some time the Super Cub pilot’s curiosity got the best of him as he ke yed his mic to ask, “Well, what did she say?” Until that moment, m y i n te n d e d b r i d e to b e h a d n o t answered the question at hand But soon thereafter, she stopped laughing and, with her own teardrop, accepted my proposal.

Being the obsessive compulsive planner I am, I ran through various scenarios in my head and attempted to have a redundant alternative for a n y p o s s i b l e u n i n t e n d e d c o n s e quence well, except for not having an engagement ring; I’m obsessive but frugal

PILOT APPROVED. PILOT TESTED. B e e c h c r a f t K i n g A i r 9 0 S e r i e s B e e c h c r a f t K i n g A i r 2 0 0 S e r i e s B e e c h c r a f t K i n g A i r 3 5 0 S e r i e s C e s s n a C a r av a n S e r i e s C e s s n a C o n q u e s t I S e r i e s P i p e r C h eye n n e S e r i e s Fa c to r y n ew e n g i n e s f ro m B l a c k h awk d e live r b et te r th a n n ew p e r fo r m a n ce , i n c re a s e d re li a b ilit y, h ig h e r s afet y m a rg i n s , a n d a sig n i ﬁ c a nt retu r n o n i nve s tm e nt B L AC K H AW K . A E R O

28 OCTOBER 2022 Plane&Pilot

BEST OSHKOSH EVER! There are at least a few f actor s we w ill never se e the likes of again PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM KOEPNICK AND ART EICHMANN planeandpilotmag com 29

PREVIOUS SPREAD, LEF T: Fireworks at the Wednesday evening Night Airshow highlight the site’s historic Brown Arch Photo by Jim Koepnick

ABOVE LEF T: The airshow crowd. Photo by Jim Koepnick

ABOVE RIGHT: A gorgeous Cur tiss P 40 Warhawk at ﬁrst light.

RIGHT: The amazing Nor th American B 25 Panchito ﬂ ying by during the af ternoon airshow extravaganza. Photo by Jim Koepnick

The pandemic, which nobody, including me, wants to talk about, was a big factor... due to its absence People know that the virus still exists, but with vaccinations widely adopted and treatments available to prevent and minimize the effects, people had a lot of confidence that things were going to be just fine And some risks are just worth taking, says everyone who ever flew a plane and everybody who went to a spectacularly successful AirVenture, me included

shkosh AirVenture 2022 will go down as one of the best shows in the history of the event, and it’s a long, star studded history, like a week long, living aviation highlight reel. And this year, it broke some records, though that fact can’t come close to explaining how special a show it was

The big record is for the number of people who attend AirVenture, and EAA is very good at keeping track of wristbands, so the organization’s conclusion that 2022 was a record year with 650,000 attendees is credible. That is a lot of people, but we were there, and we believe it There were people everywhere all week long

30 OCTOBER 2022 Plane&Pilot

Isabel Goyer

BELOW: Parking the Bonanzas in the Nor th 40. Photo by Jim Koepnick

In addition to all the cool planes, one factor that should be given a lot of credit was the weather, which you will see in these photographs by our remarkably talented duo of photographers, Jim Koepnick and Art Eichmann, and which, in the words of EAA CEO and Chairman Jack Pelton, was almost perfect We’d go that extra mile and call it practically perfect in every way And yes, we know that there were rain showers during Wednesday’s Night Airshow, which kind of made it better. The whole week’s weather was spectacular, and it was easy to see on people’s faces how much they were loving it.

Speaking of those records, there were a lot of planes, more than 10,000 of which ﬂew into one of the airports that feed into KOSH, including but not limited to Fond du Lac, Appleton and Green Bay It’s the same number we see every year from EAA , and truth be told, the numbers are almost always surely greater than that because it’s a literal impossibility to keep track of that many objects moving in time and space through the skies of Central Wisconsin.

PREVIOUS SPREAD, RIGHT: Family, friends and suppor ters greet the return of the annual Honor Flight carr ying veterans to memorials in Washington, D.C., highlighting the impor tant connection between these heroic vets and aviation histor y, past, present and future. Photo by Jim Koepnick

Looking east across the airshow in full swing , it’s easy to see that Oshkosh 2022 was a huge success, one of the biggest shows in EAA histor y Photo by Jim Koepnick

BELOW: Kyle Franklin scrapes a wingtip during his wild aerobatic performance. Photo by Jim Koepnick

ABOVE: Hot air balloons glow in advance of the night airshow Photo by Jim Koepnick

BELOW: An unsuccessful though admittedly hilarious attempt at blending in Photo by Ar t Eichmann

planeandpilotmag com 35

ABOVE: You don’t need to ask twice. We’re in. Photo by Ar t Eichmann

LEF T: A thoughtful touch by the owner of this drop dead gorgeous Beechcraf t Stagger wing Photo by Ar t Eichmann

ABOVE: A MiG 17 Korean era ﬁghter lights it up as it ﬂies by during the af ternoon airshow. Photo by Jim Koepnick

36 OCTOBER 2022 Plane&Pilot

BELOW: A longtime showgoer proudly displays on their Bonanza stickers from Oshkosh AirVentures past. Photo by Jim Koepnick

Vicky Benzig wrings out her gorgeous 1940 Boeing Stearman, stock except for the smoke system and the more powerful, 9 cylinder 450 hp P r a t t & W h i t n e y Wa s p J r r a d i a l P h o t o b y J i m Ko e p n i c k

honored the life and legacy of longtime head of EAA Tom Poberezny, who died on Day One of this year’s show fol lowing a short illness

BELOW: Tom Poberezny ’s business card, clipped to the dash of Red 3. Photo by Jim KoepnickA L L W E E K L O N G AT A I R V E N T U R E , E A A

ABOVE: This one tugged at our hear tstrings. The Volkswagen Beetle, Red 3, driven by former EAA head Tom Poberezny at OSH for decades. It was one of several tributes to the younger Poberezny EAA put together around the grounds af ter Poberezny ’s death on the morning of the ﬁrst day of this year ’s event. Photo by Jim Koepnick

One of the most talented aviators of his day, Tom was world aerobatics champion as part of team USA in 1972 and was United States Unlimited aerobatics champion the next year He went on to become part of the three plane Red Devils aerobatic airshow act, later known as The Eagles, along with Gene Soucy and the late Charlie Hilliard.

The son of EAA founder Paul Poberezny and Audrey Poberezny, Tom became Oshkosh Fly in Chairman in 1977 and took the reins of EAA in the early ’90s and served as president and chairman for two decades, lead ing the organization to a world class profile and taking it from a gathering of homebuilt and small plane enthusiasts to an organization that embraced every aspect of flight. He was also central to the birth of the Young Eagles, a program that gives first flight experiences to millions of young people free of charge He retired as president and chairman of EAA in 2010.

EAA spokesperson Dick Knapinski noted the timing of Poberezny’s death, which happened at 2:00 a m the morning of the opening of the 2022 edition of the event he loved so well.

EA A Honors Memor y of Past P resident Tom Poberezny

BELOW: There were a record number of Bonanzas at Oshkosh this year. Photo by Jim Koepnick

planeandpilotmag com 39

ABOVE: A dad and his daughter walking at OSH. The show is all about and has always been all about family, nuclear, extended, chosen and more Photo by Ar t Eichmann

BY ELLIOTT COX

One of the biggest differences I’ve seen between flying professionally and non professionally is the frequency and quality of training Part 135 charter operations and Part 121 air carriers typically require their pilots to at tend recurrent training every six months, with a check ride at the end of each train ing event To maintain PIC currency in Part 91, you only need a flight review every 24 months, unless you’re operating an airplane that requires two crew members or is turbine powered. In that case, you’ll need a 61.58 proficienc y check every 12 months. But it isn’t just the frequency of training that helps to keep the accident rate low among the carriers; it’s the quality of the training.

When I go to recurrent training every six months, we have two days of ground instruction followed by practical training in a simulator We review airplane

etween 2009 and 2018 in the United States, part 121 airline carriers had an accident every 628 9K hours flown with 11 fatalities. Part 135 charter operations had an accident every 125.9K hours flown with 45 fatalities Part 91 general aviation had an accident every 1 87K hours flown with 13,297 fatalities Why is there such a steep spike in the accident rate of general aviation?

The lessons light plane ﬂyers can take away from airline safet y practices

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intensive than just a few maneuvers that you’ve been doing since your stu dent pilot days.

Checklists and brieﬁngs ensure each crew member performs each task the same way every time You can take any two pilots from any airline, put them in a cockpit together, and they’ll function as smoothly as a King Air crew who have been ﬂying together for 10 years. Each pilot is trained exactly like every other pilot, so they all do things the same way, keeping procedures in the cockpit standard across the board. Crews do the same thing the same way every time, which makes any anomaly stand out like the proverbial sore thumb

The airlines and charter companies also put a lot of thought into the dis patch decision Weather and NOTAMs, weight and balance, and maintenance logs are just a few things that have to

When your next flight review is due, let your instructor know that you’d like to work through some emergencies and abnormals instead of steep turns and chandelles they’ll probably appreci ate the break in the monotony. They probably won’t pull the mixture at 50 feet just to see if you can make it over the river and through the cornfield, but CFIs are a curious bunch. They may call “simulated engine out” at 50 feet and ask you to talk and mimic through what you’d do if that emergency was actually inflicted on you, but they’d probably prefer that their side of the airplane not get crunched up in a field and turned into beer cans Although the emergen cies are simulated, it’s important to touch the controls you’ll be moving during each emergenc y because the tactile element of feeling the knob or switch or fuel selector will help burn that procedure into your brain. As Maria Montessori said, “What the hand does, the mind remembers.”

You don’t have to have a fancy simu lator to train like the jet jockeys train No matter what you fly, you can hire an instructor to put you through some emergencies, or, if the timing lines up, work with an instructor to turn your flight review into something more than a signature in your logbook. A flight review is a good opportunity to work with an instructor to knock the rust off of any skills you haven’t used in a while, but they’re typically not more

systems and limitations and discuss recent accidents and incidents to learn what we can about each case. After ground school, we get to play in an awe some 3D video game I mean, we get to participate in three days of high quality training in a level D simulator for a total of 12 hours “in the box.” We swap seats every two hours, so each crew member gets equal time in pilot monitoring and pilot ﬂying roles

Much like it is in ground school, a lot of what we do in the sim is scenario based and comes from accidents or incidents We have engine and com partment fires, we lose engines at the worst time on the takeoff roll, and we sometimes lose all of our hydraulic fluid so that we have minimal flight control authority So, you know, just a run of the mill Tuesday morning

in case something happens Briefings take away the “this can’t be happen ing” factor because you know that if an engine fails before a certain speed, you’ll abort the takeoff If you have a failure beyond that speed, you’ll take the problem into the air and deal with it once you’re stabilized. By briefing what you’re going to do, you’re acknowledg ing that something bad can happen, and you have a plan

What the carriers and charters use to combat indecision and startle factor are checklists and briefings The pros use a briefing before each phase of flight to take the decision making process away

A less expensive option than hiring an instructor to torture you all day, although some CFIs I know love teach ing for their own entertainment, is to do some chair flying on your own time. Go through your POH or airplane flight manual (AFM), refamiliarize yourself with the abnormal and emergency pro cedures, then chair fly them. Don’t sell yourself short, either Set aside a block of time in a quiet place, close your eyes, and work your way through the procedures in your airplane’s manual. Chair flying helps you memorize the procedure and gets you started on burn ing the muscle memory into your brain It isn’t quite as effective as actually performing the procedure, but chair flying primes your brain to know what to do when your engine starts shooting metal out at you A piston rod sticking out of your engine cowling is not the most opportune time to pull out the ‘ole POH and see what Clyde thought you should do to get his 172 back on the ground safely

Over the past few years, I’ve prob ably had 25 engine ﬁres in the sim I hope it never happens in real life, but if I ever do get an engine ﬁre in the air plane, I won’t have to think about what to do because I’ve seen it all before That procedure has been drilled into my head, as well as my muscle mem ory, so it becomes a procedure, not an emergency.

42 OCTOBER 2022 Plane&Pilot

What makes sim training so valuable is that if we ever see any issues in the real world, it’ll be less of an emergency than just another set of procedures that we as a crew have to work through. Even if what we encounter in the real world isn’t something we’ve speciﬁcally trained on, working through so many emergencies in training prepares our brains to accept that things can and do happen, and there’s a way to deal with whatever comes our way. Training in the sim makes emergencies seem like a real possibility, not just an abstract, bulleted list in the airplane pilot’s oper ating handbook (POH).

be in order before closing the passenger door. What they have that GA doesn’t is an entire dispatch department. Luckily for you, you don’t have quite as many boxes to check to make your own go/ no go decision

everything you’d ever want to know is in AC 43.13 1b. Maintenance is one of the least understood aspects of general aviation, but it doesn’t have to be.

“A less expensive option than hiring an instructor to torture you all day, although some CFIs I know love teaching for their own entertainment, is to do some chair ﬂying on your own time. ”

There are quite a few things that the GA community can learn from the pros that will reduce the risk in GA flying, and most of them are inexpensive and easy to implement into our daily fly ing There’s risk in everything, but as a group of people who willingly coax wings full of 1930s era gas, powered by 1940s era tractor ignition systems, into the air, we should mirror the pace of GA innovation and slow our willing ness to take undetected problems into the air. The only surefire way to bring the GA accident rate down to almost zero is to drain all that dangerous fuel out of all these airplanes and never take them into the sky again, but where’s the fun in that? But we can surely trim off some of the risk and, consequently, give the NTSB investigators a few more days off a year by training smarter and flying with eyes wide open PP

If you own an airplane, you’re inti mately knowledgeable about its main tenance status and history, but if you rent airplanes from a school or a club, you may have to dig a little to find all the logbooks to form a complete picture of an airplane’s status. Maintenance history, current discrepancies, AD com pliance and upcoming maintenance are all things that a pilot should be up to date on before deciding on whether or not to go flying. Not all clubs or schools make it easy to get access to mainte nance documents, and maintenance is often a grossly overlooked subject in primary and advanced training. If you feel like you don’t have a good grasp on the maintenance piece of the puzzle, spend some time with someone who does. If you ask a few of your flying friends for recommendations, you’re sure to find a local CFI or an A&P/IA who would be happy to give you some pointers and let you know that nearly

planeandpilotmag com 43

for several days You can also run very detailed weight and balance reports and precise performance calculations in these EFBs. All it takes is a little bit of time to set up proﬁles for the airplanes you ﬂy, and you can create dispatch reports that rival what the pros use within a few minutes.

Along with your maintenance brief ing, make weather and performance brieﬁngs part of your preﬂight rou tine Digital EFBs like ForeFlight and Garmin Pilot are available today for not a lot of money, so getting killed by weather is nearly optional. It’s true that some weather events can sneak up and completely blindside you, but the vast majority of it has been heading your way

44 OCTOBER 2022 Plane&Pilot

That rig consists of several criti cal components, including the Varjo XR 3 headset; the Quantum3D image generation system; the ﬂight simula tor software, here by Redbird; and the simulator, here a Redbird TD2 desktop non motion sim with the excellent Alloy

BY ISABEL GOYER

I swung by Redbird’s exhibit space at Oshkosh and met with old friend and Redbird VP of Marketing Josh Harnagel to check out the big news from Redbird, which, in case you’re new to aviation, has been one of the most innovative c o m p a n i e s i n o u r l i t t l e n e c k o f t h e woods for 15 years now. And at most Oshkosh gatherings, the company has some innovation to announce. These announcements have pulled the drape off of such products such as virtual instructors (GIFT); sim based scenario training (a development for which I take at least partial credit) that is used as a primary tool at EAA’s Pilot Proficiency Center and a thousand other places that provide flight training; pilot per formance monitoring, which is the core technology behind the company’s new Redbird Pro; and more

e d b i r d F l i g h t a n n o u n c e d a t O shkosh AirVenture 2022 a well, not a “product” exactly, but a technology it is developing to merge a real world ﬂight sim and a vir tual reality headset that allows the pilot to “see” in 360 degrees It’s an amalgam of the hardware based world and at least two others that are created in order to make the experience of being in a sim, even a ﬁxed motion one, come to life.

If you know anything about com puter technology, and just about every pilot does, you might think that some thing like this would require enormous computing power and a really great headset. And you’re right. Even ﬁve years ago, a rig like this would have been impossible For starters, the computers needed to do the processing were pro hibitively expensive. On top of that, the headset tech, Harnagel told me, wasn’t available at any cost.

T h e n i m a g i n e o k ay, y o u d o n ’ t h av e to i m a g i n e i t r e g u l a r r e a l i t y ; you know, that world out there con structed of atoms and molecules that we know and love simply as “reality.” I won’t go down any philosophical rabbit holes on this one except to say if you start thinking about that very hard, it quickly becomes clear that reality isn’t

T h e p r o b l e m w i t h v i r t u a l r e a l i t y comes when there’s an operator of some kind who relies on physical controls to do whatever it is that virtual reality is attempting to mimic. In the case of what we do, we’re talking pilots and ﬂight controls/electronics.

But what is mixed reality? Imagine virtual reality in which the user (read: pilot for our purposes) interacts with a completely digitally fabricated world. Everything you see and hear they’re w o r k i n g o n s m e l l , to u c h a n d , w h o knows, maybe taste is invented for you It’s impossible, if you think about it very hard, not to let your mind jet oﬀ to potential applications, almost all of which are in active development somewhere by somebody

as brick and mortar as we all instinc tively know it is But for the sake of this discussion, let’s just assume it’s as real as real can be

The Holy Grail would be to create a virtual reality world that lets in only the controls and operator parts (the physi cal controls in this case, a ﬂight sim’s controls and the pilot) while creating an outside world, the airplane and the world outside, including airports and terrain and weather, so the pilot could ﬂy using physical controls while seeing a world around them that’s rendered via virtual reality

That is what this is

The mind, some Madison Avenue publicity wonk once said, is a terrible thing to waste. When it comes to ﬂight training, and this might sound obvious, the mind is a wonderful thing to take advantage of, and Redbird Flight’s latest futuristic ﬂight sim device puts the mind to work, and without the sim pilot’s gray matter breaking a sweat.

This is what happens when you mix the best par ts of real reality and make believe reality

“The point here is not only to fool your mind but to fool the rest of your body, too. There’s no motion involved. It’s a desktop sim, which you can purchase from Redbird, by the way, but my body was, no question about it, feeling motion.”

technologies, mixed reality there’s not a product name for it yet doesn’t try to create a new product within an existing paradigm but, rather, to create a new paradigm altogether.

L i k e a f e w o f t h o s e o t h e r

Why Redbird’s Mixed-Reality Sim Could be a Game Changer

I took oﬀ from San Francisco without talking to the tower (still waiting for my letter from the FSDO on that omission), and I climbed out straight ahead until at pattern altitude or thereabouts and proceeded to make some turns and then some steeply banked turns.

weight of myself, but my mind, which knows very well what the maneuver feels like, ﬁlled in the blanks, eﬀectively pro viding the missing motion component Upon landing, I even “felt” the bump on touchdown and the deceleration, neither of which was present anywhere but in my brain

It’s also talking with the FAA about certiﬁcating such a sim, which will cer tainly be a protracted process, though one that Redbird has some conﬁdence c o u l d h a p p e n . I h o p e i t d o e s. W i t h full motion sims being prohibitively e x p e n s i v e f o r c o n s u m e r s , t h i s te c h nology would give a pilot 90% of the full motion experience at, eventually, pennies on the dollar.

rudder pedals/brakes. All of that works together to provide through the head set a clear view of the outside world in spectacular fidelity and detail, the inside of the airplane and the flight con trols in front of you and at your feet. It essentially creates a mask through which those controls can be seen in real life, like you’re looking at them as you do every day. So, when you look down to ensure that you’re adjusting the prop control and not the fuel mixture, you see your actual hand and the actual physical controls on the simulator Again, the computing power required to mask that real world stuff as the pilot moves their head from side to side and up and down is enormous

While I was at the Redbird booth, two diﬀerent people approached Josh and inquired about buying such a rig. Josh’s deadpan response was that it would cost eighty grand or so, but, he explained, Redbird seriously expects to be able to get it all down to consumer level pricing at some point.

No t e t h e t e c h n o l o g y w o u l d b e conﬁned to consumer applications It could be put to use as a realistic (and, therefore, eﬀective) supplementary or introductory device for organizations that provide training in $10 million plus full motion rigs PP

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Flying the plane it was a generic model, felt like a Skyhawk was very much like it is in one of Redbird’s sims without the virtual reality component. That is, it’s pretty realistic, though the simulated plane is touchier than the real one, so at ﬁrst, I overcontrolled and later overcontrolled on landing It was an extremely satisfying ﬂying experience. As I turned my head, I saw the interior of the plane it was a Skyhawk! and behind it, the outside world, including dynamic weather and terrain

nothing short of stunning.

The point here is not only to fool your mind but to fool the rest of your body, too. There’s no motion involved. It’s a desktop sim, which you can purchase from Redbird, by the way, but my body was, no question about it, feeling motion I “felt” the Gs as I pulled through the 60 degree banked turn, and I “felt” the negative Gs as I pushed and unloaded those Gs while returning to straight and level ﬂight There were, of course, no Gs being pulled, other than the normal

But would it work? To ﬁnd out, I sat down at the simulator and donned the headset, which immediately cali brated my eyes it creates the virtual world based on what you’re looking at, instantly changing the view as you move your eyes to look at the runway ahead of you, scan for traﬃc or to see how the kids are doing in back okay, there weren’t any kids back there, yet! Josh, whom I looked at but couldn’t see, as he wasn’t part of the simulation, pointed out that as I looked around the airplane’s pillar, the scenery behind it matched the move ment of my head, just like in real life It’s

ACCIDENT BY DAVE ENGLISH

46 OCTOBER 2022 Plane&Pilot

The 9 p.m. landing appears to have been normal, and the trouble is assumed to have begun as power was added and the airplane started its initial climb There are no video, avionics or radar data of the accident sequence. A witness reported to local police hearing an aircraft overhead and the engine sound stopping near the airport Air traﬃc control (ATC) was notiﬁed of a possible emergency,

Leaving a little after 8 p.m., the pair ﬂew 60 apparently uneventful miles from their home base of Myrtle Beach International Airport (KMYR) in South Carolina on a direct course to the Mount Pleasant Regional Airport Faison Field (KLRO), also in South Carolina. It was a night instructional ﬂight, planned with a return back to Myrtle Beach

The wreckage was discovered in the morning. Physical marks on the tree line, half a mile oﬀ the end of the run way, show impact was at the tops of 75 to 100 foot trees Broken tree limbs, branches and small pieces of ﬁberglass and plexiglass were found for 250 feet outside the airport security fence. There was no immediately apparent reason for the crash

receipts and physical evidence ruled out fuel problems

The flight instructor had over 12,000 hours of flight time; however, the NTSB doesn’t say how much experience he had in the Lightning LS 1. It’s a sleek looking two seat, 120 horsepower fixed tricycle gear experimental light sport airplane (LSA) built using composite materials.

❱❱ “ The plane may have been a lot to handle for a beginning student, but the instructor had over 12,000 hours, and they’d safely flown together in the accident plane several other times. Why would they fly into trees on this touch and go? The NTSB found the answer in an effect we sometimes read about, but rarely experience the somatogravic heads-up illusion.”

n April 9, 2020, a student pilot and his instructor crashed into trees 2,000 feet from the departure end of the runway after practicing a touch and go landing They both died. A lawsuit ﬁled this year against the airport authority alleges the crash was caused by taller than FAA standard trees The U S court system may or may not eventually decide the merits of that case. What we do know, thanks to a recently released National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report, is how the pilots ended up in the woods.

After the accident, the NTSB steadily eliminated many possible causes It didn’t seem to be a weather problem. At 8:55 p.m., the LRO airport weather station reported no obscuration, no pre cipitation, few clouds at 4,400 feet, wind from 250 degrees at 6 knots, tempera ture 27°C and dewpoint 11°C. Great conditions for visual ﬂight rules (VFR) ﬂying, although it was a dark night, with the moon still an hour away from rising

The student pilot had ﬁve hours of total ﬂight time, all in his newly purchased 2009 Arion Aircraft Lightning LS 1

and it shared that it had lost contact with the aircraft and pilots. A ramp and runway check by police found no signs of the plane

AF TER THE

In general, spatial disorientation

The Arion Lightning LS 1 is a fine air plane A 2010 Plane & Pilot article by Dan Johnson said, “The smokin’ Lightning handles smoothly and predictably, and she’s doggone beautiful.” It’s about as nimble as is possible while still falling inside the LSA regulations (“an all Amer ican speedster that flies as fast as the law allows”) with a 210 mph top speed reduced to comply with LSA limitations. The Lightning is light on the controls, responsive and accelerates quickly due to its streamlined aerodynamics But it’s not a common primary trainer. Nick Ot terbach, one of the lead designers, told The Aviation Consumer magazine in 2013 that, “although a very few buyers have learned to fly in their Lightnings, we did not design it for flight training.” While many really like the airplane for its performance and handling, the pitch changes with flap movement and con stant need for rudder inputs, with speed and power changes led that magazine to agree that “this would not make a good primary training machine ”

So, the plane may have been a lot to handle for a beginning student, but the instructor had over 12,000 hours, and they’d safely flown together in the accident plane several other times Why would they fly into trees on this touch and go? The NTSB found the answer in an effect we sometimes read about, but rarely experience the somatogravic heads up illusion

Radar and ADS B data show a gen tle descent from cruise altitude, traﬃc pattern entry on base leg and a nicely lined up ﬁnal descent to Runway 17

The Jabiru 3300A engine was run n i n g a t t h e t i m e o f t h e h i g h e n e r g y impact. The Board reported that “no anomalies were discovered with the a i r f r a m e o r e n g i n e t h a t w o u l d h av e p r e c l u d e d n o r m a l o p e r a t i o n ” G a s

Somatogravic

The crash of a spor t plane into trees on a clear night lef t investigators looking for answers

The Board found that “toxicology testing for both the student pilot and the flight instructor did not detect any medications that would be considered impairing or sedating ” Based on autopsy findings, both pilots had moderate coro nary artery disease. Cardiovascular dis ease can raise the risk of experiencing an acute cardiac event, but no evidence suggested that occurred here Plus, of course, there were two pilots in the cockpit, each having some ability to operate the plane if the other were to become incapacitated Several witnesses at Myrtle Beach reported the pilots left there in good spirits on what appeared to be a normal training flight.

from the end of the runway. An extensive FAA Advisory Circular on standards and recommendations for airport design (AC 150/5300 13B) references many times a 40:1 imaginary ﬂat surface free of obstacles after takeoﬀ for instru ment departures. The tree line at 1,975 would meet this requirement if the trees were 50 feet tall or less But the aircraft struck the tops of trees at 75 to 100 feet. Clearly, they are obstacles above the 40:1 plane.

T h e r e l a t i v e l y h i g h p e r f o r m a n c e Lightning LS 1, doing a touch and go in the no moon darkness with no vis ible horizon ahead, is a classic setup for somatogravic illusion. Flying visu ally, already having to handle the pitch changes that come with resetting the flaps, the pilots felt they were pitch ing way up and “corrected” by pushing down on the lightly loaded stick. They flew into the trees. The NTSB report quotes the FAA’s Medical Facts for Pilots (AM 400 03/1): “A night takeoff from a well light airport into a totally dark sky (black hole)…can also lead to this illusion and could result in a crash.”

Now, the case is muddled by this being a visual ﬂight rules (VFR) opera tion, but it seems the airport may not h av e b e e n i n c o m p l i a n c e w i t h FA A design limits for clear departure sur faces Would the plane have missed the trees if they were only 50 feet tall? Or further away? Maybe. But other pilots in similar circumstances have driven aircraft down into level ground oﬀ the end of the dark runways

Somatogravic illusion has caused sev eral accidents A 1965 crash of a Vickers

So why the ongoing lawsuit about the trees? The tree line the airplane hit was, according to the NTSB, 1,975 feet

The court case doesn’t change what we can learn from this accident. The dynamic somatogravic illusion is hard to train for. It’s an insidious enemy. With no moon and no bright horizon, leaving the runway behind us, sudden accelera tion can fool us into pitching down at just the wrong time. As always, when visual conditions are limited by weather or dark of night, one needs to trust the ﬂight instruments to tell the truth PP

Plane & Pilot rendering of NTSB ADS B data using Google Ear th Lef t pin is last ADS B position, next is initial crash impact, right pin is end of debris ﬁeld

Vanguard at London Heathrow during a go around was the first hard evidence of the effect, thanks to analysis of the flight data recorder information In 2000, a Gulf Air Airbus A320 crashed into the Persian Gulf following a go around at Bahrain International Airport. A total of 143 people died, with somatogravic illusion cited as a contributing cause Recently, the NTSB found the 2019 fatal dive of an Atlas Air Boeing 767 freighter close to Houston was likely caused at least in part by somatogravic illusion after inadvertent activation of go around power while flying in the clouds

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Somatogravic illusion came to light in 1946 from a study of accidents all occurring on takeoﬀ during dark nights during World War II blackout condi tions Feeling a pitch up, and with no horizon to reference, pilots instinctively push down on the controls, inadver tently ﬂying the plane into the unseen ground ahead

occurs whenever a pilot fails to correctly sense the position, motion or attitude of the aircraft within the ﬁxed coordinate system provided by the surface of the Earth We feel the aircraft is moving in a diﬀerent way than it really is. In particu lar, the somatogravic illusion is an “incor rect perception of attitude due to the brain misinterpreting the gravito inertial acceleration sensed by the vestibular sys tem during prolonged linear acceleration; with reduced, absent or confused visual and proprioceptive information ” That’s according to Simon Ludlow in Reducing the Threat of the Somatogravic Illusion, presented at the Flight Safety Foundation International Air Safety Summit in Dubai in November 2016 In a forward accelera tion, the three semi circular canals in our head that detect angular acceleration and the saccule and utricle organs that detect linear acceleration together give an impression of upward tilt

THIS INCREDIBLE PILOT

The United States wasn’t ready for female pilots yet, either, but that would soon change. Following the Japanese at tack on Pearl Harbor, Lee joined a new organization headed by Jacqueline Cochran This organization would come to be known as the Women’s Air Force

In 1944, Lee became one of only 134 women qualiﬁed to ﬂy the military’s pursuit aircraft, as the highest performing aircraft of the day were referred. She excelled in the training and later began ferrying aircraft such as P 51s and P 63s all around the country

In 1932, following her first a i r p l a n e r i d e , L e e k n e w t h a t she wanted to become a pilot By October of the same year, she had indeed earned her pilot’s certificate, becoming the first licensed Chinese American woman pilot.

Lee reported for WASP training at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas In doing so, she became the ﬁrst Chinese American woman to ﬂy for the United States military. The six month training program was famously rigorous, and her training wasn’t exactly incident free. At one point, Lee was thrown from her aircraft following an unexpected l o o p p e r f o r m e d b y h e r i n s t r u c to r Fortunately, she was wearing a para chute and was soon spot ted walking

Born on Aug. 24, 1912, in Portland, Oregon, Lee was the daughter of two ﬁrst genera tion Chinese American parents. The racial bias against Chinese Americans was ﬁerce, yet Lee w a s d e te r m i n e d n o t to l e t i t stop her

Fo l l o w i n g h e r g r a d u a t i o n from the WA SP training pro gram, Lee became a member o f t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n ’ s T h i r d Fe rrying Group, stationed in M i c h i g a n . T h e a s s i g n m e n t , however, took Lee all over the country, where she delivered m a n y d i ﬀ e r e n t t y p e s o f a i r craft. Lee stated, “I’ll take and deliver anything.”

BY SHALYN MARCHET TI

Yet her legacy lives on. In 2004, Lee was inducted into Oregon’s Aviation Hall of Honor, and in 2010, Lee, along side all other WA SPs, posthumously received the Congressional Gold Medal The racial bias she endured may have b e e n ﬁ e r c e , b u t h e r s i s te r r e c a l l e d that Lee rose above it by focusing on the “thought of doing something she loved ” PP

❱❱ “Lee repor ted for WASP training at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas. In doing so, she became the ﬁrst Chinese American woman to ﬂy for the United States militar y.”

But this coveted assignment would end in tragedy. On Nov. 23, 1944, confu sion in the control tower in Great Falls, Montana, led to a midair crash between the Bell P 63 Kingcobra Lee was ﬂying and another P 63. While Lee survived the initial accident, she suﬀered severe burns and died from her injuries two days later

The stor y and legacy of this pioneering aviator were lost for decades

It was during her time deliv ering aircraft that she was forced to land in the farmer’s ﬁeld in K a n s a s . A f t e r b e i n g c h a s e d around her aircraft a few more times than was necessary, Lee ﬁnally got the chance to explain who she was. The farmer ceased his yelling.

48 OCTOBER 2022 Plane&Pilot U S A I R F O R C E P H O T O P U B L I C D O M A N, V I A W I K I M E D I A C O M M O N S

Service Pilots, or WASPs.

Yet while the United States was her home, Lee didn’t forget her heritage Following the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1933, Lee went back to China. Her skills as a pilot would be a useful tool to the Chinese Air Force, or so she thought But the Republic of China Air Force wasn’t ready for female pilots, and the only thing it let her ﬂy was a desk.

h i s d a y w a s g o i n g a l m o s t c o m i c a l l y wrong for Hazel Ying Lee. She’d had to exe cute a forced landing in a farm er’s field in Kansas The wheat had provided a nice cushion, and she got her plane on the ground safely Seeing another person had, at first, likely seemed that welcome help had arrived But b e f o r e L e e k n e w i t , s h e w a s being chased around her plane a plane she flew for the United States Army Air Corps as the clueless farmer screamed, “The Japanese are invading!”

back to the base, dragging her parachute behind her.

Hazel Ying Lee

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