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February 2016

www.inflightusa.com

3

Calendar of Events

To list your group’s event on a space available basis, please send your event notice with date, time, place w/city and state, contact name, and phone number to: Calendar, In Flight USA, P.O. Box 5402, San Mateo, Calif. 94402, or email 3rdavenue@embarqmail.com.

FEBRUARY

6

9 — 11 13 — 14 14 19 — 21 20

20 — 21

21

22 — 24 24 — 26 27 29 — Mar. 3

MARCH

4—5 5 8—9

8 — 10 11 — 13 12 12 — 13 19

19 — 20

20

APRIL

1—3 2

Q Hollister, CA: Antique Aircraft Display & Fly-In, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Frazier Lake Airpark, free, (831) 637-9822, www.frazierlake.com.

Q Buckeye, AZ: Buckeye Air Fair, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Buckeye Municipal Airport, www.buckeyeairfair.com.

Q Anaheim, CA: AeroCon West 2016, Anaheim Convention Center, aerocon-anaheim.designnews.com.

Q Brownvsville, TX: CAF Rio Grande Valley Wing Air Fiesta 2016, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Brownsville/South Padre Island Int’l. Airport, (956) 5418585, www.rgvcaf.org.

Q Laredo, TX: Stars & Stripes Air Show Spectacular, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Laredo Int’l. Airport, www.wbcalaredo.org.

Q Puyallup, WA: NW Aviation Conference & Trade Show, Washington State Fair, www.washington-aviation.org.

Q San Luis Obispo, CA: Vintage Aircraft Associate’s Airport Day, San Luis Obispo Airport, (805) 801-7641.

Q El Cajon, CA: Warbirds West Air Museum Open House & Pancake Breakfast, 8 to 10:30 a.m., Gillespie Field, (858) 414-6258, www.wwam.org.

Q Riverside, CA: Aircraft Display Day Fly-In, 8 a.m., Flabob Airport, (951) 683-2309, www.flabob.org.

Q Santa Rosa, CA: Climb Aboard Weekend, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Pacific Coast Air Museum, Sonoma County Airport, (707) 575-7900.

Q Vacaville, CA: Advanced Instrument Procedures Symposium, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Nut Tree Airport, (707) 449-4647, WingsFlightSchool.com.

Q LaVerne, CA: Antique & Special Interest Aircraft Display, 10 a.m to 2 p.m., Brackett Airport, (909) 593-1395.

Q San Diego, CA: Montgomery Field Historic Aircraft Display, noon to 2 p.m., Gibbs Montgomery Executive Airport, (619) 301-2530.

Q San Antonio, TX: NBAA Leadership Conference, venue TBD, www.nbaa.org.

Q Orlando, FL: Air Warfare Symposium & Technology Expo, Rosen Shingle Creek, www.afa.org.

Q Plant City, FL: Planes, Trains & Automobiles, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Plant City Airport, (813) 754-3707, www.plantcity.org.

Q Louisville, KY: 2016 HAI Heli-Expo (exhibits open Mar. 1), Kentucky Exposition Center, heliexpo.rotor.org.

Q Casa Grande, AZ: Cactus Antique Fly-In, gates 8 a.m., Casa Grande Municipal Airport, www.cactusflyin.org.

Q Hollister, CA: Antique Aircraft Display & Fly-In, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Frazier Lake Airpark, free, (831) 637-9822, www.frazierlake.com.

Q New Orleans, LA: FBO Success Seminar, Chateau LeMoyne French Quarter. Contact enicholson@mata.aero.

Q Abu Dhabi, UAE: Abu Dhabi Air Expo, Al Bateen Executive Airport, abudhabiairexpo.com.

Q Titusville, FL: TICO Warbird Airshow, Space Coast Regional Airport, (321) 268-1941.

Q Mesa, AZ: A Night in the 40s Big Band Dance, doors 5 p.m., CAF Airbase Arizona Museum, (480) 924-1940, www.BigBandDance.com.

Q El Centro, CA: NAF El Centro Air Show, gates 9 a.m., navylifesw.com Q Tucson, AZ: Thunder & Lightning over Arizona, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Davis-Monthan AFB, www.dm.af.mil, (520) 228-3406.

Q San Luis Obispo, CA: Vintage Aircraft Associate’s Airport Day, San Luis Obispo Airport, (805) 801-7641.

Q El Cajon, CA: Warbirds West Air Museum Open House & Pancake Breakfast, 8 to 10:30 a.m., Gillespie Field, (858) 414-6258, www.wwam.org.

Q Riverside, CA: Aircraft Display Day Fly-In, 8 a.m., Flabob Airport, (951) 683-2309, www.flabob.org.

Q Palmdale, CA: Los Angeles County Air Show, gates 9 a.m., William J. Fox Airport, www.lacountyairshow.com.

Q Tampa, FL: Tampa Bay AirFest 2016, gates 8 a.m., MacDill AFB, www.macdill.af.mil.

Q Santa Rosa, CA: Climb Aboard Weekend, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Pacific Coast Air Museum, Sonoma County Airport, (707) 575-7900.

Q Napa, CA: Vintage Aircraft Display, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Napa Airport, (707) 944-9236.

Q LaVerne, CA: Antique & Special Interest Aircraft Display, 10 a.m to 2 p.m., Brackett Airport, (909) 593-1395.

Q San Diego, CA: Montgomery Field Historic Aircraft Display, noon to 2 p.m., Gibbs Montgomery Executive Airport, (619) 301-2530.

Q Melbourne, FL: Melbourne Air & Space Show, Fri. 6:30 p.m./Sat. & Sun. 9 a.m., Melbourne Int’l. Airport, (321) 395-3110, airandspaceshow.com.

Q New Smyrna Beach. FL: Beach Balloon & SkyFest. CANCELLED. Q Riverside, CA: Riverside Airshow, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Riverside Municipal Airport, (951) 351-6113, www.riversideairshow.com.

Continued on Page 7

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4

In Flight USA Celebrating 30 Years

February 2016

BATAAN ARRIVES AT THE PLANES OF FAME MUSEUM IN CHINO, CALIFORNIA

ON

THE

COVER...

Last month, Stewart Dawson delivered N422NA Lockheed VC-121A Constellation Bataan to Planes Of Fame Museum, Chino, Calif. following a successful ferry flight from Valle, Ariz. Rod Lewis, owner of “Lewis Flying Legends,” purchased the airplane in April of 2015 and plans to have the iconic “Connie” fully restored at the Chino facility.

Bataan was so named by Gen. Douglas MacArthur in 1950 in honor of the American prisoners of war in the Philippines. MacArthur used the aircraft as his personal transport in 1950-1951 and was utilized as transport until it became surplus in 1966. In 1970, it found a new home at the U.S. Army Aviation Museum at Ft. Rucker, Ala., where it remained on display for 23 years.

In 1992, Planes Of Fame owner, Ed Maloney, rescued Bataan from the scrap heap with plans to fly her in the airshow

circuit. It was flown to Addison, Tex. for further interior modifications and ultimately came to rest at Ed Maloney's Chino, Calif. facility in 1994 before being moved to their Grand Canyon/Valle, Ariz. museum the following year.

Lewis Air Legends have completed some award-winning projects over the years, and with the Planes Of Fame professionals, Bataan is in expert hands.

The historic Lockheed Constellation Bataan aircraft will have a complete restorationdone at the Planes of Fame Chino facility.

(Anthony Taylor/warbirdfotos.com)

J.T. Evans

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BUY AMERIC A N ! !

TABLE Volume 32, Number 6

OF

CONTENTS February 2016

650-358-9908 • Fax: 650-358-9254 • E-mail: vickie@inflightusa.com • www.inflightusa.com

ON THE COVER COVER STORY

PHOTO FEATURE

PLANES OF FAME BATAAN

HELICOPTER PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS

Page 4

Page 33

Cockpit of Bataan as displayed at Planes Of Fame, Valle AZ. (Toni Sieling)

Winner of the cell phone photo category.

(Niah Taylor of Queenstown, New Zealand)

Cover Photo of Bataan courtesy of Anthony Taylor

NEWS NTSB unveils 2016 Most Wanted List ..........................................8 Applications For Two GAMA Scholarships Open......................10 Cutting Down on Runway Queues..............................................11 GA Groups to U.S. Congress on ATC Reform ..........................14 Female Pilot Makes History, Joins Red Bull Race ....................17 AOPA Enhances TurboMedical Tool ............................................18 ForeFlight Acquires JetFuelX......................................................19 “Innovator” Makes Maiden Flight................................................20 EAA Proposes ADS-B Solution for Light Sport Aircraft ..........22 Legend Cub To Perform In Greg Koontz Airshows ..................23 NAHA To Spotlight USAF Museum’s New Building ..................27 Space Center Houston Opens Independence Plaza ................31 AOPA On Aviation Innovation, Reform, Reauthorization Act ..37 Sebring EXPO: New Dates And Director For 2017....................37 Cubcrafters Introduces Emergency Aircraft Parachutes..........41 Upwind Foundation Expands Youth Flight Training ..................45

FEATURES

COLUMNS

Editorial: Cherry Picking

By Ed Downs ..................................................................6

Flying Into Writing: Column One

By Eric McCarthy ..............12

Contrails: The Dream Racking Up Miles: Incirlik Airman Cycles for AF

By Senior Airman Krystal Ardrey......................................21 Airline Pilot Wannabes: Don't Ever Lose Hope

By Bert Botta ................................................................42 Book Review: Forsyth on The Outsider

By Mark Rhodes ............................................................45 From Skies to Stars: An Exciting Year Ahead

By Ed Downs ................................................................49

By Steve Weaver ................17

What’s Up!? It’s Pucker Month, So…

By Larry Shapiro ................24 Flying With Faber: Our Annual Trip to San Francisco

By Stuart J. Faber ..............29 Homebuilders Workshop: Fuel

By Ed Wischmeyer ............35 Goodies and Gadgets ........................................39 Safe Landings: It Could Never Happen To Me ............40

DEPARTMENTS Calendar of Events ..........................................................3 Classifieds ......................................................................48 Index of Advertisers ......................................................50

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6

In Flight USA Celebrating 30 Years

February 2016

CHERRY PICKING

Editorial

1977 Beechcraft King Air 200

1962 Piper Cherokee 160

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TTAF 2970. 604 SMOH. Outstanding pedigree. Former owners include an airline Captain and Military pilot. A fabulous turnkey aircraft. Extensive modifications including new electrical wiring, alternator, Power Flow exhaust, air/oil separator, nice late generation avionics and a custom interior. ...... $34,900

2005 Diamond DA-40

1999 Socata TB-21

1080 TTAF. 1080 SNEW. Absolutely immaculate, impeccable care and maintenance, Power Flow exhaust, gross weight increase compliment the Garmin G1000 avionics suite. So confident in its care, was ferry tanked and flown to Hawaii in 2005 and then tanked and flown back to the mainland in 2014! . .....................$159,000

559 SNEW. Cruise in style, speed, and comfort. Fully IFR capable and ready for fast fun flights. Capable airframe is complimented by fabulous avionics and instrumentation. Always hangared, complete logs, and no known damage history...................$194,900

NEW OFFICE IN SAN CARLOS NOW OPEN!

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See us at Sun ‘n Fun • Booth N-75

D

By Ed Downs

id the title of this editorial get your attention? We hope so, as the real issue discussed in this article, the “State of General Aviation,” would probably have sent you into an immediate “ho-hum” status, deciding to skip the read. But hang in there! “Cherry Picking” will come into play as we take a look at what 2016 might have to offer the GA world, and you may even pull out some usable information.

It is customary for In Flight USA to take a look at our industry in the early part of each year to see how we think things are going. This writer decided to take the task seriously and looked for statistics that would give readers a real view as to what is going on in the world we love so much.

But statistics are a funny thing. As one political statistician said, “tell me what you want to prove, and I will pull stats together to prove your point.” This philosophy is exactly what I ran into while dutifully looking for dull facts to present.

Regrettably, dull statistics are plentiful, perhaps too much so. But on the fortunate side of the scale, there are four sources that can help one sort through dozens of reports and forecasts.

Of course the FAA leads the pack, producing an Annual Aviation Activity Forecast, which seeks to look 20 years into the future and predict how aviation will fare. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is a great source of data for GA-related stats, and the National Business Aircraft Association (NBAA) does a great job for those of us who have a G-4 in the hangar. The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) represents those who build our wondrous machines, doing a great job representing the manufacturing industry. But reviewing stats and figures on these websites reminded this writer of an article written several years ago dealing with the high cost of S-LSAs. In an attempt to deal with memories of new airplanes that sold for well under $10,000, I attempted to compare the “dollar of today” with the “dollar of yesterday” in order to even the playing fields. I discovered that there are at least five algorithms that statisticians use to determine comparative values of products over the years. Each formula came up with wildly different dollar equivalents.

So, this writer just picked the algorithm that allowed me to make my point, a trick known as “cherry picking.” You see, there is a reason for the article’s title!

We will hear a lot of cherry picking

in 2016 as politicians seek to prove their claims. One side is going to reference specific examples and statistics to prove that our economy is strong and growing stronger. The other side will dig up stats and economic reports that show the economy is terrible and getting worse. Both sides are correct given the facts they have cherry picked. It will be up to voters to sift through the hyperbole and come to a middle ground set of views based primarily upon personal experience and gut feeling, tempered with common sense.

How does this apply to the state of GA today? For the person who just happens to be in a growing sector of the economy, making a terrific income, having just purchased a new .7 million dollar Cirrus that is professionally cared for by a contract maintenance firm and hangared in a fully heated business center, GA is doing great. For the person who is working three jobs to support a family and trying to learn to fly in a tired, 50-year-old Cessna 150 that has never seen the inside of a hangar and has travelled 50 miles just to find a CFI, GA is in bad shape.

To paraphrase a famed TV show about the paranormal, “both truths are out there.” Allow this writer to draw upon information gleaned from a review of our industry through research, and temper it with personal experience and common sense. This writer continues as an active CFI and, through a national weekend ground school provider (Aviation Seminars), teaches classes in all ratings, for all categories of aircraft, including Flight Instructor Refresher Clinics (FIRCs). Activities also include national tutoring for folks having difficulty with flight training, resulting in this writer working with up to 400+ students and CFIs every year. No, this is not “moon lighting.” In Flight USA fully supports the need for our writers and contributors to be current in aviation activities.

So, what’s going on in the GA world? FAA predictions are not good.

GA will never recover to the heydays of the 1960s through the mid 1980s timeframe. The mid ‘80s saw litigious law and corporate pirates plunder the GA industry, and production of most singleengine planes was shut down. Flight schools went out of business, and services dwindled. While the Aviation Revitalization Act of 1998 did help, the planes that came back online cost up to three times more than in previous years.

Business was looking up until the Continued on Page 9

February 2016

www.inflightusa.com

7

Calendar of Events Continued from Page 3 2

2—3 5 — 10 9 — 10

16

16 — 17

17

22 — 23 22 — 24 23

23 — 24 27 — 30 29 — May 1

30 30 — May 1

MAY

7

15

21

Q Hollister, CA: Antique Aircraft Display & Fly-In, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Frazier Lake Airpark, free, (831) 637-9822, www.frazierlake.com.

Q Key West, FL: NAS Key West Southernmost Air Spectacular, gates 9 a.m., Boca Chica Field, airshowkeywest.com.

Q Phoenix, AZ: Luke AFB Open House & Air Show, www.luke.af.mil.

Q Lakeland, FL: Sun ’n Fun Int’l. Fly-In Expo, (863) 644-2431.

Q Kingsville, TX: Wings over South Texas, NAS Kingsville, wingsoversouthtexas.com.

Q Lake City, FL: Gateway to Florida Air Show, 8 a.m., Gateway to Florida Airport, (386) 344-2552.

Q Durant, OK: Take to the Skies Air Fest, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Durant Regional Airport (Eaker Field), www.taketotheskiesairfest.com.

Q Walterboro, SC: Walterboro Wings-n-Wheels, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Lowcountry Regional Airport, (843) 549-2549, walterborowingsandwheels.com.

Q Peru, IL: A Gathering of TBMs, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Illinois Valley Regional Airport, www.tbmavenger.com.

Q San Luis Obispo, CA: Vintage Aircraft Associate’s Airport Day, San Luis Obispo Airport, (805) 801-7641.

Q El Cajon, CA: Warbirds West Air Museum Open House & Pancake Breakfast, 8 to 10:30 a.m., Gillespie Field, (858) 414-6258, www.wwam.org.

Q Petaluma, CA: Historic Airplane Appreciation Day, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Petaluma Municipal Airport, (707) 778-4404.

Q Riverside, CA: Aircraft Display Day Fly-In, 8 a.m., Flabob Airport, (951) 683-2309, www.flabob.org.

Q Knoxville, TN: Smoky Mountain Air Show, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., McGhee Tyson ANGB, smokymountainairshow.com.

Q Columbus, GA: Thunder in the Valley Air Show, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Columbus Airport, www.thunderinthevalleyairshow.com.

Q Austin, TX: American Heroes Air Show, Camp Mabry, www.heroes-airshow.com.

Q Riverside, CA: AirFest 2016-Thunder over the Empire, gates 8 a.m., March AFB, (760) 814-5801, www.marchaviationsociety.com.

Q Houston, TX: CAF Houston Wing Open House, West Houston Airport, (281) 579-2131, www.houstonwing.org.

Q Santa Rosa, CA: Climb Aboard Weekend, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Pacific Coast Air Museum, Sonoma County Airport, (707) 575-7900.

Q Napa, CA: Vintage Aircraft Display, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Napa Airport, (707) 944-9236.

Q LaVerne, CA: Antique & Special Interest Aircraft Display, 10 a.m to 2 p.m., Brackett Airport, (909) 593-1395.

Q San Diego, CA: Montgomery Field Historic Aircraft Display, noon to 2 p.m., Gibbs Montgomery Executive Airport, (619) 301-2530.

Q DeFuniak Springs, FL: Marvel of Flight Fly-In & Expo, DeFuniak Springs Airport, www.marvelofflight.com.

Q Hampton, VA: AirPower over Hampton Roads, gates Fri. 5 p.m./Sat. & Sun. 9 a.m., Langley AFB, www.langleyairshow.com.

Q Louisville, KY: Thunder over Louisville, various times/events, Waterfront Park, thunderoverlouisville.org.

Q Burnet, TX: Bluebonnet Air Show, gates 10 a.m., Burnet Municipal Airport, www.bluebonnetairshow.com.

Q Fort Worth, TX: Air Power Expo 2016, NAS Fort Worth JRB, airpowerexpo.com.

Q Orlando, FL: AEA Int’l. Convention & Trade Show, vensue TBD, www.aea.net.

Q Havelock, NC: MCAS Cherry Point Air Show, Fri. eve airshow/all day Sat. & Sun., www.cherrypointairshow.com.

Q Chino, CA: Planes of Fame Air Show, Fri. noon to 8 p.m./gates Sat. & Sun. 8 a.m., Chino Airport, (909) 597-3722, www.planesoffame.org.

Q Tavares, FL: Planes, Trains & BBQ/Seaplane Fly-In, all day, Wooton Park, Lake Dora, (352) 742-6209, www.tavares.org.

Q Anchorage, AK: Great Alaska Aviation Gathering, FedEx Hangar, Ted Stevens Int’l. Airport, (907) 245-1251, www.greatalaskaaviationgathering.org.

Q Shreveport, LA: Defenders of Liberty Air Show/Open House, gates 9 a.m., Barksdale AFB, (318) 456-1015, www.barksdaleafbairshow.com.

Q Atlanta, GA: CAF Dixie Wing WWII Heritage Days, Sat. Hangar Dance 6 p.m./Sat. & Sun. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Falcon Field, www.wwiidays.org.

Q Hollister, CA: Antique Aircraft Display & Fly-In, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Frazier Lake Airpark, free, (831) 637-9822, www.frazierlake.com.

Q LaVerne, CA: Antique & Special Interest Aircraft Display, 10 a.m to 2 p.m., Brackett Airport, (909) 593-1395.

Q San Diego, CA: Montgomery Field Historic Aircraft Display, noon to 2 p.m., Gibbs Montgomery Executive Airport, (619) 301-2530.

Q Seattle, WA: American Heroes Air Show, The Museum of Flight, www.heroes-airshow.com.

Q San Luis Obispo, CA: Vintage Aircraft Associate’s Airport Day, San Luis Obispo Airport, (805) 801-7641.

Q El Cajon, CA: Warbirds West Air Museum Open House & Pancake Breakfast, 8 to 10:30 a.m., Gillespie Field, (858) 414-6258, www.wwam.org.

Q Riverside, CA: Aircraft Display Day Fly-In, 8 a.m., Flabob Airport, (951) 683-2309, www.flabob.org.

You Can Fly! We know there’s no one-sizefits-all solution when it comes to building our community.

That’s why, about a year ago, we created an umbrella program that would allow us to simultaneously pursue many different approaches to strengthening the general aviation community.

We called it You Can Fly. What makes it special isn’t only the variety of programs it encompasses. It’s also the rigor with which we measure our results, and I want to share some of those with you.

Our Rusty Pilot seminars are designed to help folks who’ve been out of the cockpit get current on regulations, procedures, and more. Attending a seminar is free and qualifies for the ground portion of the flight review. In 2015, we held 103 Rusty Pilot seminars across the United States. More than 3,300 people took part, and 26 percent of them report that they’re back in the left seat. Since the program started in 2014, we’ve helped more than 1,200 pilots return to flying.

To make aircraft more accessible and make flying more affordable, we’ve also been working to support flying clubs. We helped start nine new clubs in 2015 and now offer free software to AOPA Flying Club Network clubs that allows them to schedule aircraft and instructors, create invoices, and accept credit card payments. We’ve even improved the Flying Club Finder, making it easier than ever to find the perfect club based on things like location, aircraft, and amenities offered.

To help ensure that newcomers have a good experience with GA, our Flight Training initiative shares information about best practices and recognizes the very best schools and instructors. In 2015, AOPA received more than 7,100 responses to a survey asking students about their training experiences, and in December we honored the top schools and instructors nationwide with Flight Training Excellence Awards.

The most recent addition to You Can Fly is the AOPA High School initiative designed to bring aviation education into high schools nationwide. We held our first symposium last November, and more than 150 educators, administrators, pilots, and aviation industry leaders took part.

Just a year after its creation, You Can Fly is delivering real results and we’re committed to achieving even more in 2016 and beyond.

Mark R. Baker President & CEO, AOPA

*For more information on the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association HUK [OL PZZ\LZ [OH[ HɈLJ[ `V\Y Å`PUN NV [V www.aopa.org [VKH`

8

JUST

FOR THE

PROS

In Flight USA Celebrating 30 Years

P

By Mark Baker

February 2016

rofessional pilots have always been an important part of AOPA’s membership. Whether they instruct, fly corporate jets, operate small charters, or captain heavy iron, pilots who fly for a living have some unique concerns and special needs. And now, to help address those needs, AOPA is offering professional pilots an AOPA membership just for them.

The AOPA Pro Pilot membership includes loss of medical certificate disability insurance that automatically provides $7,500 in lump sum coverage to members who can’t fly because of a medical disability. And as a Pro Pilot member

you can choose to purchase additional coverage that will provide up to $6,000 per month for an ongoing disability or up to $250,000 in a lump sum to protect your family and income if you lose your medical certificate.

Unlike insurance that may be provided through your employer, you can take this coverage with you if you change jobs.

And, because it’s “stackable,” you can use it to supplement an existing policy. You can even get paid if you’re assigned to non-flying duties by your employer.

To be eligible for the insurance coverage, you must hold a current first- or second-class medical certificate, a commercial or airline transport pilot certificate, and be under age 59. Pilots who

don’t meet the age requirement can get all the non-insurance Pro Pilot benefits as Pro Pilot LT members.

AOPA Pro Pilot members are also automatically enrolled in AOPA Pilot Protection Services Plus. That means you get access to aviation attorneys to help in the event of an FAA enforcement or civil penalty action and help with medical advocacy to help restore a lost medical certificate. You also get access to personal, confidential advice from AOPA’s team of medical specialists on topics ranging from questions about medications to serious medical issues that could affect your certificate.

In addition, Pro Pilot members get all the benefits of regular AOPA membership,

plus 12 print and digital issues of AOPA Pilot Turbine Edition; 12 digital issues of Flight Training magazine; exclusive access to the AOPA Pro Pilot hotline; and opportunities to participate in the Professional Pilot’s Speakers Bureau as a way to give back by speaking publicly to prospective pilots about career opportunities in aviation.

The Pro Pilot membership is available for $21.99 per month or $259 per year. To find out more about how an AOPA Pro Pilot membership can help protect your livelihood, visit the membership pages at AOPA.org or call us at 800/872-2672.

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Air Safety Institute (ASI) has released a new video aimed at informing pilots about how to avoid midair collisions. Collision Avoidance: See, Sense, Separate helps pilots to know when and where most midair collisions occur as well as steps to reduce the risk.

“While there are only an average of about five to 10 midair collisions a year, the risk is not zero, and the AOPA Air Safety Institute is committed to working

with pilots to bring that number down,” said ASI Senior Vice President George Perry. “This video does a great job pointing out the times and places where extra vigilance can prevent midair collisions.”

The video, made possible by the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) Flight Safety Foundation and Donner Canadian Foundation, looks at some of the commonalities among midair collisions and offers some strategies for minimizing your chance of being

involved in one.

AOPA’s Air Safety Institute is dedicated exclusively to providing continuing pilot education and safety programs for general aviation. It is funded by donations from individual pilots and organizations, which support the cause of improved general aviation safety. Since 1950, ASI has served all pilots and avia-

tion enthusiasts—not just AOPA members—by providing free safety education, research, and data analysis. ASI offers award-winning online courses, nearly 200 live seminars annually throughout the U.S., flight instructor refresher courses, safety videos, accident case studies, and other materials to keep pilots safe and well informed. To learn more, visit ASI at www.airsafetyinstitute.org.

The National Transportation Safety Board unveiled its 2016 Most Wanted List of transportation safety improvements this month, calling it a “road map from lessons learned to lives saved.” The list focuses on 10 broad safety improvements on which the NTSB has made recommendations that have not yet been implemented.

Several items on the list demonstrate the importance of technology in saving lives, preventing accidents and lessening the number and severity of injuries from accidents. For example, the list calls for promoting both the availability of collision avoidance technology in highway vehicles, and the completion of rail safety initiatives to prevent accidents. The list also calls for strengthening occupant protection in all modes of transportation, including laws mandating primary enforcement of seatbelt use, and ageappropriate child restraints.

Twenty years ago, the NTSB issued

its first recommendation on the use of technology to prevent rear-end collisions.

Implementation of this technology could significantly reduce motor vehicle crashes – by far the leading cause of death and injuries in transportation. Although federal regulators have made progress toward including such technologies in the fivestar safety rating on new vehicles, the NTSB advocates including such new technologies as standard equipment on all new highway vehicles – including commercial vehicles – just as airbags and seatbelts are now standard equipment.

The NTSB also called for completion of rail safety initiatives, including the implementation of positive train control (PTC). A 2008 law mandated implementation of positive train control by the end of 2015. Congress changed the law and implementation deadline late last year to avoid a possible rail transportation shutdown.

NTSB Chairman, Christopher Hart,

cited the PTC implementation as an example of why a sense of urgency is needed in implementing Most Wanted List improvements. “Every PTC-preventable accident, death, and injury on tracks and trains affected by the law will be a direct result of the missed 2015 deadline and the delayed implementation of this life-saving technology,” Hart said.

The NTSB’s push to improve rail transit safety oversight was in part a result of the agency’s investigation of a deadly smoke event last January near Washington’s L’Enfant Plaza Metro station. The accident exposed many safety issues, some of which resulted from shortcomings in the safety oversight of WMATA. This year, the NTSB will continue to examine the way that the Federal Transit Administration is implementing such oversight––not only in Washington but nationwide.

Improving rail tank car safety by phasing out the use of DOT-111 rail tank

President and CEO AOPA

AOPA AIR SAFETY INSTITUTE RELEASES VIDEO AIMED AT COLLISION AVOIDANCE About the Air Safety Institute

NTSB UNVEILS 2016 MOST WANTED LIST, STRESSES TECHNOLOGY

cars to transport flammable liquids such as crude oil and ethanol is another improvement addressed in the 2016 Most Wanted List. The deadline for implementing such tank rules is 2025. Until these tank cars are removed from service, people, their towns, and the environment surrounding the rail system remain at risk.

Distraction (especially from portable electronic devices) and fatigue continue to be serious safety issues in all modes of transportation, and the NTSB’s 2016 Most Wanted List addresses them all. The list also notes that undiagnosed and untreated medical conditions have caused or contributed to accidents and calls for operators and regulators to require medical fitness for duty.

Impairment is also an issue in all modes of transportation. The NTSB has recommended lowering the legal limit on blood alcohol content to .05 to reduce Continued on Page 10

February 2016

www.inflightusa.com

Editorial: Cherryitalist,Picking look elsewhere. The fast buck

Continued from Page 6 tragic events of 9/11, when fears that strong government regulations that would limit flight hit the industry. By 2007, we were on the way up again, with Light Sport Aircraft and Very Light Jets promising excitement at both ends of the cost spectrum. But the economic failure of 2008 ended what appeared to be a promising recovery. It has been a very slow climb since 2008, with many businesses basically “hanging in.” Corporate mergers have limited competition, and the primary emphasis has been on the production of high-end machines used in corporate transportation.

It is interesting to note that long range FAA predictions (I do not think I would use these predictions for investing purposes) show only a slow .4 percent per year increase in GA activity, but the LSA world is expected to grow at 4.3 percent per year, 10 times faster than the contemporary market. Hopefully, this points to a relatively healthy sector of recreational GA flying, which can lead to pilots moving up to bigger and more capable airplanes.

This writer notes that dropping arbitrary and unneeded medical standards for the LSA world has played a key factor in promoting the use of Sport Pilot privileges. It will be interesting to see how the proposed Pilots Bill of Rights 2 law, which substantially reduces FAA medical bureaucracy for private pilots, will affect activity. This law has not been factored into predictions and may have a very positive influence. Stay tuned to AOPA for updates on these new medical issues.

GAMA points out that delivery of all aircraft went down in 2015, but revenues were up. Simply stated, the industry is selling more corporate-level planes at higher prices, the cost of which is often offset by tax benefits. One report touted the good news that Gulfstream was continuing development of a new super jet but laying off 1,100 workers. Is that good news or bad news? It all depends upon which fact is cherry picked.

According to the NBAA, there is true good news for young professional pilots who are trying to get an airline job.

The airline pilot shortage is real and getting even more critical. The regional carriers that used to treat new hires as indentured slaves are now paying semi-livable wages, meaning young pilots may not starve before they can get a job with a major airline. This need for new pilots is not bad news for flight schools if they are smart enough to cash in on it.

So, how does one apply the preceding discussion? It depends on your reading perspective. If you are a venture cap-

world of venture investment is looking for big immediate returns, not a longterm commitment. If planning to enter GA as a pro, be ready for the long haul and learn how to promote your services.

The GA industry is famous for its inability to get its message out to potential customers… and no… a website alone does not get the job done. Remember, the web did not exist when GA was at its best. But persistence will pay off.

This writer entered aviation in 1955 and continues to make a living in a field for which the passion has never subsided.

How many readers can make that claim about their work life? Far be it for this writer to discourage youth from entering a path that can lead them to worldwide adventure, but be prepared to work hard and never stop learning. When it comes to my career in aviation, I admit that, “were it not for aviation, I would have had to go to work for a living… what a terrible fate!”

For you folks who own a plane, hang on to it. New aircraft costs continue to skyrocket, and used plane values continue to go up, probably at a rate much higher than your IRA. Technological upgrades can turn a very average Skylane into a super plane that challenges aircraft costing five times the total investment.

Just browse the pages of this issue and take a look at the services our advertisers offer; the variety is incredible.

For now, the pressure is off rising fuel costs and, hopefully, a low-lead option to current AVGAS will result in the use of automotive technology, which will lower fuel costs even more. The market could not be better for those thinking about buying a plane, especially a used plane. While prices are high, value is great. There are some great values being advertised in this issue of In Flight USA; hunt them down and take action.

Purchase options have never been better.

Those who are thinking about learning to fly may have a search on their hands. The trick is to find a flight school that can offer a well-structured course with a consistent staff of CFIs. Such schools are sometimes hard to locate.

Website, www.aopa.org, has a training link that can help with your search and give you valuable information as to what to look for in a training school. And do not forget to look into a Sport Pilot certificate as a starter. You may find that this certificate will serve you well as a recreational flyer, with all the experience gained through Sport Pilot flying applicable to more advanced certificates. The cost of a Sport Pilot certificate, by the Continued on Page 10

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APPLICATIONS BEING ACCEPTED FOR T WO GAMA SCHOLARSHIPS

In Flight USA Celebrating 30 Years

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) announced that applications are now being accepted for two prestigious aviation scholarships.

The Edward W. Stimpson “Aviation Excellence Award” is given annually to a graduating high school senior who has been accepted to and will be enrolled in an aviation degree core program at his or her chosen university or college. The award includes a $2,000 cash prize and is named after Stimpson, a founder of GAMA and its President from 1970 to 1990 and from 1992 to 1996. Students are judged on the basis of academic skills, extracurricular activities, and an essay on what aviation means to the student and how he or she plans to pursue a career in aviation.

February 2016

The Dr. Harold S. Wood Award for Excellence is awarded annually to a college student who is a flight team member at a National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) member school.

Named after Wood, founder and past Executive Director of NIFA, the award comes with a $2,000 prize and an engraved propeller trophy. Applicants are judged on the basis of academic skills, aviation-related and non-aviation-related extracurricular activities, and an essay on their plans to pursue aviation in the future.

Both applications are due April 15, 2016. More information can be found on GAMA’s Website at gama.aero/ advocacy/aviation-education/scholarships.

NTSB 2016 Most Wanted Continued from Page 8 deaths and injuries on highways.

However, drugs other than alcohol can also impair drivers and operators of other types of vehicles––whether these drugs are recreational, over-the-counter, or prescription.

Another improvement on the 2016 list is preventing inadvertent spins and stalls within the general aviation community––the worst safety problem facing

general aviation. While airlines have become very safe, safety progress has slowed in the less widely understood world of general aviation.

All of these most wanted transportation safety improvements are the result of our accident investigations. Our most powerful tool to learn safety lessons from accidents is data recorders. Thus, the list calls for their increased use in all modes of transportation.

Editorial: Cherry Picking Continued from Page 9 way, is about half that of a Private Pilot certificate, definitely in the good news category.

And finally, for those businesses trying to sell planes, services, and flying lessons, step up and act like a business that actually wants to make a buck. Sorry if that came across as being a bit blunt, but this writer helps more than 100 students per year find services because they do not know where to look for them. Many businesses think that customers will show up simply because “you built it, and they will come.” That might work in a movie scenario but not in real life. This writer communicates with hundreds of aviation businesses every month, and a startlingly high percentage of them simply do not promote their businesses, with community involvement, participation in national organizations, or good old-fashioned marketing. The funny thing is, those who work at selling, sell. Go figure!

Yes, the future GA is not bright and cheery, unless the industry pulls together and creates a new day. Those of us who work in GA must not blame our customers for a lack of business but need to look inward and power up by reaching into new markets. It would be unfair to write an article about the challenges our industry faces without asking the industry to participate in solutions. It should not be up to our customers to fix GA. That is our job.

The experts are very cautious about GA, predicting slow growth. They have cherry picked the facts that make them look like experts. The real future of GA is in the hands of those who participate in the industry, as both users and producers of services and products. Frankly, this writer thinks it would be great sport to prove the “experts” wrong and show them what the tradition of aviation in America can really do.

February 2016

CUTTING DOWN RUNWAY QUEUES www.inflightusa.com

11

Model that Predicts Time from Gate Departure to Takeoff Could Cut Airport Congestion and Fuel Waste

Most frequent fliers are familiar with long lines at airports: at the check-in counter, the departure gate, and in boarding a booked flight.

But even after passengers are buckled in, the waiting may continue – when a plane leaves the gate, only to sit on the tarmac, joining a long queue of flights awaiting takeoff. Such runway congestion can keep a plane idling for an hour or more, burning unnecessary fuel.

Now engineers at MIT have developed a queuing model that predicts how long a plane will wait before takeoff, given weather conditions, runway traffic, and incoming and outgoing flight schedules. The model may help air traffic controllers direct departures more efficiently, minimizing runway congestion. For example, if a controller knows that a plane is unlikely to take off for half an hour, he may choose to keep the plane at the gate to avoid contributing to runway backups.

Hamsa Balakrishnan, an associate professor of aeronautics, astronautics, and engineering systems at MIT, said that in tests at various U.S. airports, the model encouraged controllers to hold flights

LAS

back during certain times of day, leading to significant fuel savings.

“In our field tests, we showed that there were some periods of time when you could decrease your taxi time by 20 percent by holding aircraft back,” Balakrishnan says. “Each gate-held aircraft saves 16 to 20 gallons of fuel because it’s not idling. And that adds up.”

Balakrishnan and former graduate student, Ioannis Simaiakis, have published their results in the journal Transportation Science. The team is working on airports across the country to further test the model.

How Long Until Takeoff?

A number of factors can contribute to airport congestion, which can create nose-to-tail traffic jams among departing flights. In 2007, Balakrishnan analyzed departure operations at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, and Philadelphia International Airport, and showed that these hubs were congested 10 to 20 percent of the time: At Newark, passengers traveling during congested periods expe-

rienced average runway taxiing times of 52 minutes, versus 14 minutes during less busy periods.

Balakrishnan said individual decisions on when planes push back from gates can contribute to the problem.

“It’s mostly on the fly,” she says.

A

“Sometimes, if there is a controller with a lot of experience or intuition, they might actually decide they’ll hold aircraft back.

Historically, though, they don’t; they just let everybody go, which is why you have queues of 40 aircraft waiting at the runContinued on Page 16 P.O. Box 5402 • San Mateo, CA 94402 (650) 358-9908 • Fax (650) 358-9254

Founder ..................................................................................................................Ciro Buonocore Publisher/Editor................................................................................................Victoria Buonocore Managing Editor..........................................................................................Annamarie Buonocore Production Editors ..............................................................................Anne Dobbins, Toni Sieling Associate Editors ........................ Nicholas A. Veronico, Sagar Pathak, Richard VanderMeulen Staff Contributors..................................................................................................S. Mark Rhodes, .........................................................................................................Larry Nazimek, Joe Gonzalez, Columnists ....................................Steve Weaver, Stuart Faber, Larry Shapiro, Ed Wischmeyer, ..................................................................................................................Marilyn Dash, Ed Downs, Copy Editing ............................................................................................................Sally Gersbach Advertising Sales Manager ........................................Ed Downs (650) 358-9908, (918) 873-0280 In Flight USA is published each month by In Flight Publishing. It is circulated throughout the continental United States. Business matters, advertising and editorial concerns should be addressed to In Flight USA, P.O. Box 5402, San Mateo, Calif. 94402 or by calling (650) 358-9908–fax (650) 358-9254. Copyright © 2008 In Flight Publishing.

In Flight USA is not responsible for any action taken by any person as a result of reading any part of any issue. The pieces are written for information, entertainment and suggestion – not recommendation. The pursuit of flight or any action reflected by this paper is the responsibility of the individual and not of this paper, its staff or contributors. Opinions expressed are those of the individual author, and not necessarily those of In Flight USA. All editorial and advertising matter in this edition is copyrighted. Reproduction in any way is strictly prohibited without written permission of the publisher.

In Flight USA is not liable or in any way responsible for the condition or airworthiness of any aircraft advertised for sale in any edition. By law the airworthiness of any aircraft sold is the responsiblity of the seller and buyer.

Lafferty Aircraft Sales, Inc. 47 Years Experience • Sales • Brokerage • Acquisitions

1994 B36TC BONANZA 2065 TT, 919 SFRMN, Garmin radios, G-500 PFD/MFD, GTN-750 & 650, GTX-330 w/ADS-B & TIS-B, active traffic, KFC-150 AP/FD w/GPSS, air, GEM, engine baffles, angle of attack, standby electric horizon, standby alternator, Bose X interfaces.

1981 MOONEY M20K ROCKET 2575 TT, 143 SFRMN, Garmin 430W, stormscope, HSI, KFC200 AP/FD, speed brakes, fuel computer, oxygen, long range fuel, Bose interfaces, recent paint.

2004 A36 BONANZA 259 TT, air conditioning, hot prop, dual Garmin 530 WAAS, MFD, Garmin 330 mode S xpdr w/TIS, stormscope, KFC-225 digital autopilot w/flight director/altitude alert & preselect, fuel computer, GEM, Bose

1999 B36TC BONANZA 2510 TT, 715 SMOH, 172 STOP, Garmin 430W, GDL-69A data downlink w/XM weather & music, stroboscope, GMX-200 MFD, KFC-225 AP/FD w/pre-select, air, standby horizon, standby generator, standby vacuum, ground clearance.

1980 A36TC BONANZA W/TKS ANTI-ICE 3904 TT, 716 SMOH, dual Garmin 430, HSI, GTX-330 mode S xpdr w/TIS, stormscope, KFC-200 AP/FD w/GPSS & YD, tip tanks, GEM, fuel flow, DVOR.

1996 SARATOGA II HP 1600 TT, 1600 SNEW, GTN-650 WAAS w/touch screen, Garmin 330 mode S transponder w/TIS, stormscope, Shadin fuel totalizer, GEM, air, ground clearance, standby vacuum.

1991 B36TC BONANZA 1490 TT, 1072 SFRMN, Aspen PFD, Garmin 530W, GTX-330 mode S transponder w/TIS, altitude alert & preselect, KFC-150 AP/FD w/vertical speed & altitude hold, GAMI, standby flight director, standby horizon, standby vacuum, standby alternator, EDM-700 GEM, LED beacon & landing lights, AmSafe seat belt airbag system.

1991 A36 BONANZA 3996 TT, 472 SNEW, King digital radios, Garmin GX-55 GPS, STec 55 AP, standby gyro, GEM, air, ground comm.

1972 V35B BONANZA 5835 TT, 526 SNEW, Garmin 530W w/terrain, HSI, moving map, GTX-330 mode S xpdr w/TIS, strikefinder, STec-50 w/altitude hold & GPSS, GEM, ground comm, cargo door.

Telephone: (408) 293-5352 • Web: www.Laffertyair.com • E-mail: sales@Laffertyaircraft.com 1885 De La Cruz Blvd. Suite 100, Santa Clara, CA 95050 • San Jose International Airport

12

In Flight USA Celebrating 30 Years

H

February 2016

Flying into Writing By Eric McCarthy

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ello world! Welcome to my first column in In Flight USA magazine. I’m excited to share my experiences of the past, present, and future with you. I look forward to bringing you along as I explore my new home in the southwest, present “lessons learned,” and advance my aviation knowledge and skills. This should be fun!

Allow me to provide a little background: I earned my Private Pilot License in 1980, fresh out of college – I’m a longtime flyer, if not a high-timer. My father, an MIT-trained aeronautical engineer, had introduced me to flying at a young age. He earned his PPL and took me up in a rented Cessna 172 when I was in third or fourth grade. It was a short hop from Hanscom Field (KBED), just west of Boston, to Norwood Airport (KOWD), just south of Boston, but that was all it took. To see the world from a few thousand feet was just magical to a young boy! I was hooked! I couldn’t get enough of it! I loved the maps and figuring out the “secret” codes they contained about the airports, terrain, and obstacles. I’d read and cut out pictures of airplanes from his Aviation Week and Flying magazines, often before he’d had a chance to see them – drove him crazy!

In college, I became president of the UMass Flying Club, so I figured it would probably be best if I earned my license.

The club had a new Cessna 152 that we kept at Turners Falls (0B5), a small, remote airport with a 3,000’ runway located in northern Massachusetts at a sharp bend in the Connecticut River. The airport was perched about 50’ above the river, with a wooded slope at the departure end of 34. In fact, someone had pancaked our old 150 into the trees, totaling the aircraft just before it was due to be sold; hence our new 152. (It happened just before my time, but as I understand it, there were only minor injuries...) The 152 rented out at $15 per hour – the instructor was another $10. Boy, was I in for a surprise when I had to finish up my license in the Boston suburbs after graduation – prices instantly doubled!

I soloed at about nine hours, not uncommon in those days but certainly a surprise to me at the time! I remember taxiing out in somewhat gusty conditions, watching as a Cherokee ran off the runway, tipped up on its nose in the grass, and slammed back down! Not sure of what I should do and not wanting to make the pilot feel bad (no, no, I didn’t see anything!), I just taxied on as if nothing had happened. The pilot hopped out of the plane unscathed, and my instructor/FBO

owner rushed over to assist. By the time I had completed the pattern and was approaching on final, the aircraft had been moved to the parking area. Now it was my turn… did I mention that it was a little gusty? My first landing resulted in the airplane heading toward the weeds just as the Cherokee had done! At the last moment, just before hitting a runway light, I stomped on the right rudder, firewalled the throttle, and completed the “go” portion of the touch and go! Whew! Did you ever wonder during your training if it was really you, or perhaps the instructor, pushing the rudder pedals! I learned in about a nanosecond what kind of authority the rudders have – thankfully, a lot!

Fortunately, I had completed a lot of my flight time at Turners Falls before transferring my training to Norwood Airport and eventually passing my flight test. There I would be introduced to towered-field operations, a much busier traffic pattern, and the Boston TCA (now Class B) airspace.

One of my early flights after getting my ticket was to take one of my best friends to Logan (KBOS) for a business trip – “…sure, I’ll give you a ride to the airport!” Despite the fact that the whole flight only took only .8 hours, it was eye opening to say the least! The flight into Logan was uneventful (Controller: “See that 727 at your 11:00? Follow him in.”), but getting out – oh boy! I had never been exposed to such a high-volume environment, nor one in which every flight begins with Clearance Delivery. I had heard of Clearance Delivery, of course, but never imagined I’d have to deal with it. After all, wasn’t that for IFR clearances?

After paying some outrageous landing fee ($75, I think – remember, this was in the early 1980s), I called ground and announced that I was ready to taxi.

Ground Controller: “November 7478 Whiskey, Boston Ground: they’re waiting for you over at Clearance Delivery.”

Me: “Oh… um, OK, what’s their frequency?”

Controller: “78 Whiskey, Boston Ground: contact Clearance Delivery on 121.65” Me: “121.65, 78 Whiskey” Ha! That sounded pretty good! I wonder what they’re going to tell me at Clearance Delivery…

Me: “Clearance Delivery, November 7478 Whiskey, ready to taxi to the active with Bravo” Clearance Delivery Controller: Continued on Page 13

February 2016

www.inflightusa.com

13

Flying Into Writing Continued from Page 12

“November 7478 Whiskey, Clearance Delivery, say destination.”

Me: “Uh, departing back to Norwood.”

Controller: “November 7478 Whiskey, taxi runway four Left via Whiskey Inner, Xray, Whiskey Outer, Bravo, Kilo.

Caution jet blast! Contact Ground on 121.9, Tower on 128.8. On takeoff, maintain runway heading until 1,500 feet, then left turn to 360. Contact Departure on 127.875.” What the...! She just gave me every number and letter I’ll ever need for the rest of my life! What am I supposed to do with that?

Me: (switched back to Ground): “Boston Ground, Cherokee 78 Whiskey: ready to taxi to the active.”

Ground Controller: “78 Whiskey, Boston Ground: they’re waiting for you read back your clearance at Clearance Delivery…” Uh-oh...

Me: “Oh, OK…” Me: “Clearance Delivery, November 7478 Whiskey: could you repeat my clearance?” I couldn’t see how this was ever going to go well, and my anxiety level shot through the roof! I didn’t even have a pencil…

Clearance Delivery Controller: “November 7478 Whiskey, taxi runway four Left via Whiskey Inner, Xray, Whiskey Outer, Bravo, Kilo. Caution jet blast! Contact Ground on 121.9, Tower on 128.8. On takeoff, maintain runway heading until 1,500 feet, then left turn to 360. Contact Departure on 127.875.”

Are you kidding me?

Me: “Ok, that’s taxi via Whiskey Inner, Xray, Kilo [I know I heard that in there someplace…] Contact tower… could you say that again?” At this point, my mind was shutting down, drawing a complete blank! And it was only getting worse!

Controller: “November 7478 Whiskey, taxi runway four Left via Whiskey Inner, Xray, Whiskey Outer, Bravo, Kilo.

Caution jet blast! Contact Ground on 121.9, Tower on 128.8. On takeoff, maintain runway heading until 1,500 feet, then left turn to 360. Contact Departure on 127.875.” You’re killing me here... how did she do that?

Me: “Uh, ok that’s taxi runway four, um, Xray, Whiskey, uh…” At this point, the mental block seems insurmountable, and I’m seriously considering parking the plane and taking a cab…

Controller: “Ok, let’s try this: November 7478 Whiskey, taxi runway four left...”

Me: “Taxi runway four Left” This woman is a saint!

Controller: “…via Whiskey Inner…”

Me: “via Whiskey Inner…”

And so it went until I had recited the entire clearance to her satisfaction. I’m sure they kept a close watch on me as I taxied, took off, and departed the area, as well they should have. The truth is, I shouldn’t have been there. I was unprepared, and that is not a good thing at a busy airport like Logan. But the professionals at Logan Airport handled me with undeserved grace and patience. I never had a chance to thank them for their patient assistance. I’m sure just clearing their airspace was thanks enough! But I’d like to thank them now.

If you’re new to flying, you’ll probably hear it many times: don’t be afraid to fly into the larger, Class Bravo airports; you have every right to go there. And they’re right: you do have every right to go there, and it certainly is a good, if somewhat expensive, experience – but be prepared! Even if you’re used to operating out of a busy GA airport, it’s not going to be like that. Controllers are juggling more, faster, and bigger aircraft, working on tight schedules. Most of the airline and other commercial operators at these major hubs already have a good idea of what their clearances are going to be before it’s given to them, and the radio traffic between pilots and controllers is, of necessity, short, crisp, and concise.

When you decide to mix it up with the big guys, do yourself a favor: take someone with you who’s done it before.

I had a lot of fun flying with friends to Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, Mauntauk, New York, Block Island, Rhode Island, or north to the White Mountains and Lake Winnipesaukee. Maine is particularly beautiful; the glaciers having ripped the coastline into long, rocky fingers as they receded.

In the crisp, low light of a cool autumn afternoon, the small villages and beautiful fall foliage glow against the deep blue waters of the Atlantic. Stunning, really.

Fast-forward a few years, I had married my beautiful wife, Sandi, and we started a family. Spare time and money evaporated, so I took a few years off from flying – not so much by choice as from necessity.

Like most pilots, I still had my eyes turned skyward every time an airplane flew over, pining to get back in the air.

In the early ‘90s, we moved to Boston’s North Shore, and I attended a Saturday morning men’s group at our church. The meeting began with the new folks introducing themselves. Naturally, I mentioned my passion for aviation. After the meeting, one of the men approached me, explained that he too was a pilot, and Continued on Page 14

1978 CESSNA P-210

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February 2016

It’s More Than Just User Fees; Request Sufficient Time to Review and Debate Bill

With the U.S. Congress preparing to consider FAA reauthorization legislation this session, a host of general aviation association leaders recently joined together to send letters to U.S. House transportation leaders, underscoring “real and longstanding concerns” regarding a concept being pushed by some big airlines regarding air traffic control governance and funding.

Specifically, the organizations cited concerns over a proposal promoted by some big airlines for the creation of “a new governance and funding model for our nation’s aviation system, based on systems in other parts of the world.

“The general aviation community has very real and long-standing concerns about foreign air traffic control models, which go well beyond the user fee issue,” the letter states. “These concerns are based on our operating experiences in foreign systems, as well as thoughtful analysis about what those systems might

look like in the United States.”

The Air Care Alliance, Aircraft Electronics Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Commemorative Air Force, Experimental Aircraft Association, General Aviation Manufacturers Association, Helicopter Association International, International Council of Air Shows, National Agricultural Aviation Association, National Association of State Aviation Officials, National Air Transportation Association, National Business Aviation Association, Recreational Aviation Foundation, Seaplane Pilots Association and Veterans Airlift Command sent their joint letter to House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chair Bill Shuster (RPA), Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (DOR), T&I Aviation Subcommittee Chair Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), and Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-WA).

To read the full letter, visit www.gama.aero.

Flying Into Writing Continued from Page 13 asked if I’d like to join him on a flight to Martha’s Vineyard. Heck ya! When can we go? Wanna go now? I felt like a dog being asked if he wanted to go for a ride in the car! I’m sure my face lit up, and I may have started drooling too!

Later that week, it was a late summer, late afternoon flight in clear, smooth air. On our return flight, as we flew up Buzzard’s Bay to avoid the Restricted area around Otis Air Force Base, a full moon was rising over Nantucket Sound, the golden sunlight cast long shadows as sailboats below made their way back to harbors at Woods Hole, Mattapoisett and Megansett – postcard perfect scenery! It was one of those evenings where, if you had a pulse, you’d instantly fall in love with flying! I was hooked again!

Lawrence Municipal Airport (KLWM) was conveniently located across town, and I found an instructor, completed a BFR, and began working on my Instrument rating. I introduced my boys to aviation with local flights down the Merrimack River to the coast and around Cape Ann. I’d fly them to summer camps in northern New Hampshire or even just to go jump in a lake – literally! Lake Winnipesaukee had an airport in Wolfboro that was about 200 yards from the shore; sadly, it is now a housing development...

I am relatively new to the Southern

California area, having relocated about two and a half years ago. When I moved here, to advance my skills, I decided to earn my Commercial Pilot Certificate. I joined Plus One Flyers and found a great instructor, Gary Wigdahl, through the club and got started. Gary’s a former U.S. Air Force T38 instructor, a long-time SoCal resident, and a great guy. He’s got a relaxed teaching style that I found comforting, and he clearly knows his stuff. The training was challenging but invigorating and also proved to be an excellent way for me to get to know the area and learn the local airspace.

I love to explore new areas, and Southern California has not disappointed!

The contrast between the various regions – the ruggedly beautiful mountains, the endless checkerboard of the Central Valley, the monotonous suede-beige/gray deserts, and the spectacular cliffs and beaches of the coastline are each fascinating in their own ways! I’ve now flown in some of the most complicated airspace in the country: throughout the Boston and New York City areas, and now the Los Angeles and San Diego areas, as well as some of the most vacant and desolate areas I could imagine.

I’m not in Boston anymore!

I hope you’ll join me as I continue my aviation adventure. I’ll tell you a little more about me and what I’m doing aviation-wise in future columns. In the meantime, fly safe!

February 2016

www.inflightusa.com

15

YOUNG EAGLES PILOTS: COMPLETE YOUTH PROTECTION PLAN REQUIREMENTS

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In Flight USA Celebrating 30 Years

As EAA approaches the 25th anniversary of EAA’s Young Eagles program, we can celebrate the success it has been for nearly two million young people.

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Continued from Page 11 way. And you want to avoid that.”

To prevent extended runway queues, Balakrishnan and Simaiakis developed a model to predict taxiing time. The model consists of two modules; the first calculates a plane’s travel time from the gate to the departure runway, taking into account any interactions with other arriving and departing flights. For instance, a plane headed toward a clear runway may have to cross an active segment, causing a delay in its taxiing. The second module estimates an individual runway’s queuing delay – the time it takes for a plane to take off after joining the queue for takeoff.

The model factors in a number of inputs, including visibility conditions, pushback times of departing flights, and runway configuration, and determines outputs including the number of takeoffs every 15 minutes, the total number of aircraft taxiing out, the number of aircraft waiting in line for takeoff, and how long an aircraft will likely have to wait before takeoff.

Readying for Departure (metering)

Balakrishnan and Simaiakis tested the model using data from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Aviation System Performance Metrics database, which contains pushback times and takeoff times for every flight departing from 77 major U.S. airports. The database also includes runway configurations and local weather conditions at each airport.

The team used 2011 data from Newark Liberty to train the model, then used the model to predict airport congestion and the length of takeoff queues, using pushback times from 2007 and 2010. The researchers found that the model’s results matched actual data from

February 2016

ago. Last week, Young Eagles volunteers were sent information regarding some administrative changes that keep EAA in step with best practices that are common in youth education and recreation programs throughout the nation, ranging from scout programs to youth sports leagues.

The new Youth Protection Program will involve many EAA volunteers who Continued on Page 18 both years, predicting the length of queues, plus or minus two aircraft.

Balakrishnan says the queuing model gives air traffic controllers accurate predictions of what airport congestion would look like if they took certain actions such as continuously pushing planes back from the gate. Controllers can then use these predictions to adjust their pushback times to avoid runway backup.

“If you predict only 10 aircraft are likely to take off in the next 15 minutes, you probably don’t have to release 25 aircraft from the gate,” Balakrishnan said.

“Ultimately, you want to find the right number of aircraft you need to be releasing in order to make sure you don’t have a huge amount of congestion on the ground, and at the same time, you’re not starving the runway.”

In addition to Newark Liberty, the team has tested the queuing model at Boston’s Logan International Airport, LaGuardia Airport in New York, Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, and Philadelphia’s airport. So far, results suggest that the model may be easily implemented in departure procedures – a crucial goal, as the nation’s aviation system is expected to experience widespread congestion in the coming years.

“In 2022, there’s going to be systemwide congestion, and the belief is [that] most of the benefit of airport operations management is going to come from some sort of departure metering,” Balakrishnan says. “What you need in order to do departure metering is a way to predict what’s actually going to happen, and use that to meter. So we’re building the models to help us achieve that.”

This research was supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation.

February 2016

Contrails

M

by Steve Weaver

www.inflightusa.com

THE DREAM

ost people dream. Scientists say that in fact everyone dreams, just not everyone remembers dreaming.

Of the ones who do remember, a small percentage will tell you that they have reoccurring dreams. These are the same or similar dreams that return to us, unbidden and seemingly without a waking connection, hijacking our regular nighttime programming.

I’m not sure what opens the door to our subconscious and lets out reoccurring dreams, but no doubt something from our waking hours has touched us. A hope or a fear that we’ve given thought to, or perhaps a reminder from our past has sent an unseen signal that calls for a rerun of the dream.

Psychologists say that dreams are unresolved issues that our minds are dealing with in the “safe” mode. Whatever the trigger is, our subconscious schedules our familiar dream to visit us once again when it deems us in need of it.

I have a friend who was raising a very large family in the ‘90s. In spite of the good salary he was earning, things were pretty much hand to the 11 mouths he was feeding. Without warning and in the midst of a long and successful career, he got downsized, and he suddenly faced the task of keeping his family together without an income.

He persevered, found another way of making a living, and kept his family clothed and fed, but now years later he is visited regularly in his dreams with a replay of that stressful time in his life. At

least once a month he will tell me during one of our phone conversations, “I got fired again last night.”

The thing is, when these old and worn dreams come to you in the night, they are brand new to your sleeping persona. It is only later upon awakening that you realize it was just your familiar rerun inflicting itself on your defenseless sleeping self, complete with the power to upset you all over again.

But not all reoccurring dreams are nightmares. I have my own little vignette, which comes to me every few weeks, and I mention it here only because I find it interesting. The dream does present me with a conundrum while I’m asleep, but I think I understand it enough for it to have a positive effect on my waking hours.

Like my friend’s drama about getting fired, my dream also concerns my livelihood, and to understand it, I need to tell you a bit about my work history.

When I was a young man before starting my flying career, I worked for five years as a salesman for the U.S. Rubber Company, selling Keds tennis shoes to retail stores. Later I worked for Cessna Aircraft Company as a Multi-Engine Demonstration Pilot, also for five years.

For almost all the rest of my working life, I’ve been self-employed, involved in selling aircraft all over the world. It is these facts that make the dream interesting to me, and this is how it occurs.

Night has arrived, and as is my custom after going to bed, I have to read until I can stay awake no longer. I take off my reading glasses, rub my tired eyes,

and lay my book on the nightstand as I turn off the light. Random thoughts flit by like feeding bats, then slow as I sink deeper and deeper toward slumber. Night sounds move farther from my consciousness, my breathing slows. I sleep.

The dream bubbles up, again to be billed as this night’s main feature. Once again, I am working as an employee of U.S. Rubber Company. Or of Cessna, for it changes, and they seem to have worked out a schedule for sharing me.

In the dream, the time is the present, and I have been working for this company for the past 40 or 50 years, but now there’s a problem. Many years ago personnel had somehow lost my records and apparently had forgotten all about me.

Through a glitch however, the company had gone on paying me, and I had dishonestly failed to bring this to their attention.

They had been faithfully sending my salary to me, but there had been no other contact with me at all. No communications, no meetings, no supervisor. It was only the paycheck, arriving month after month, year after year.

Of course the inevitable slowly happened. Without someone to report to, or reports on my work to submit, I had over the years gradually slackened my efforts until the duties that I was responsible for were now only dim memories. I hadn’t really worked at my job for decades and had grown accustomed to the faithfully appearing paycheck. I had settled comfortably into a lifestyle dependent upon “mailbox money” in exchange for no effort on my part.

French aerobatic champion, Mélanie Astles, is writing history, as she becomes the first female pilot to join the Red Bull Air Race’s Challenger Cup. Two other new exciting pilots will also join her, Britain’s Ben Murphy and American pilot, Kevin Coleman.

The 2016 Challenger Cup promises plenty of surprises for 2016, with three new contenders in the eight-pilot field.

New for 2016 are Mélanie Astles, a five time French aerobatic champion who has earned top 10 rankings at World and European levels. She is the first woman ever to compete in the sport. Astles will compete against fellow debutants, Ben Murphy and Kevin Coleman. The UK’s

Ben Murphy is a former Commanding Officer and team leader of the RAF’s Red Arrows display team. Kevin Coleman, a flying prodigy from the U.S. Advanced Aerobatic Team is the first American to join the ranks of the Challenger Class and will be the youngest competitor this season. 2016 will also see the return of Luke Czepiela, an accomplished Polish aerobatic pilot who competed in the 2014 season.

Mélanie Astles said, “I will mostly enjoy the tremendous opportunity of sharing my passion with the crowds. I can’t hide the fact that for me it’s a real dream to join the 2016 Challenger Cup. I’m really looking forward to that great challenge.”

Ben Murphy also spoke of his delight about joining the Red Bull Air Race, “I’ve been lucky enough to have done some amazing flying in my career so far, but the Red Bull Air Race remains the ultimate challenge for me. The precision, skill, and teamwork needed to succeed in the Master Class is second to none, and the Challenger Cup competition will give me the chance to build the experience required to compete at that level.”

The new pilots will be making their debut at the Red bull Air Race World Championship in Abu Dhabi on March 11-12.

Don’t miss out: Ticketing for the 2016 season of the Red Bull Air Race

FEMALE PILOT

17

Now disaster has struck. Someone in accounting has discovered me. A person who wasn’t born when I was hired has asked, “who is this guy and why have we been paying him for nothing for 40 years?”

I am shocked. How could I have let this happen? I had forgotten to do what I was being paid to do, and now I would lose my livelihood.

Perhaps I can pull off some great coup d’é·tat, and I’ll be allowed to keep my job. The resulting scramble is pathetic, as I frantically try to find a shoe store that still sells Keds, or to find a dealer for Cessna twins that haven’t been produced in a quarter century.

There are slight variations of this, but it stays pretty close to the gist of this scenario. I do understand the meaning of the dream though, and it serves me both as an affirmation of my chosen profession and a warning to always appreciate it.

I am one of the lucky ones who has always loved my life’s work. In a sense, I feel as if I’ve never really had to work to make a living. I’ve just always done what I wanted to do and enjoyed the airplanes, the travel, and the people I’ve worked with, and the living just seemed to take care of itself.

I think the dream is to remind me of that, and most importantly to caution me to never, ever take it for granted.

TO MAKE HISTORY AS SHE JOINS THE CHALLENGER FOR THE 2016 RED BULL AIR RACE SEASON

CUP

Mélanie Astles will be the first woman to compete in the Red Bull Air Race.

(Red Bull Air Race)

World Championship is underway. For more information on tickets and all the latest, visit www.redbullairrace.com Continued on Page 18

18

AOPA ENHANCES POPULAR TURBOMEDICAL TOOL In Flight USA Celebrating 30 Years

By Alyssa J. Miller AOPA

Before your next flight physical, check out AOPA’s redesigned Turbo Medical online tool. The members-only tool closely represents what you will see when you start to fill out FAA MedXpress online before you visit your aviation medical examiner.

TurboMedical allows you to fill in

the same information you would fill in on the FAA form, but it will alert you to any responses that could be potentially disqualifying and prompt you to provide information that the AME might need during your evaluation. The redesigned tool includes an improved status bar to help you keep track of your progress throughout the application and lets you search AOPA’s online medications database to see if the medications you are

reporting require any documentation to be submitted to the FAA. This new iteration also includes improved functionality in reporting your medical history and visits to health professionals.

AOPA members have been using TurboMedical as a pre-medical application-planning tool since 2001. The tool is equally valuable today before submitting the FAA’s online MedXpress application.

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1951-1953

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1961-1963

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1998+

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1959-1977

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2000-2003

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1978-1986

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2003-2007

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1979-1990

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1961-1967

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1961-1967

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1963-1973

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1972-1980

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1980-1992

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“MedXpress won’t alert you to potential problems that you should address before you visit your AME,” said Gary Crump, AOPA director of medical services. “Completing TurboMedical first can save you a lot of time and hassle by alerting you to potential conditions or medications that might require extra paperwork so that you can gather the needed information before going to your AME.”

Continued from Page 17

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*City and date to be confirmed

Young Eagles

Continued from Page 16 work with young people. It will include online best practices training and a basic background check to create the safest environment possible for young people in our programs and to protect our volunteers.

This online training is available to all EAA volunteers who work with youth and Young Eagles pilots, chapter coordinators, and field representatives free of charge. We encourage you to participate early, as we will require that all participants in EAA and EAA chapter activities that serve youth to have successfully completed the training by May 1, 2016.

After that date, EAA and chapter programs for youth will require full compliance with the training and background checks. If you’re wondering whether your volunteer activities should comply with the training and background check, review the Frequently Asked Questions sheet.

EAA’s programs have earned an outstanding reputation because of the volunteers and our organization. We aim to maintain that reputation and instill the youth protection guidelines and culture that parents and guardians seek in all programs for their kids.

February 2016

FOREFLIGHT ACQUIRES JETFUELX www.inflightusa.com

19

Adds Jet Fuel Contract Price Management to Portfolio

ForeFlight, creator of the most widely used flight planning and electronic flight bag app for Apple iPad and iPhone, recently announced the acquisition of JetFuelX, a free web-based fuel card management service that makes it easy for owners and operators of turbine aircraft to save money by quickly finding the lowest prices available from their multiple jet fuel discount program memberships.

“We are thrilled to announce this exciting addition to ForeFlight. The JetFuelX platform is the first of its kind and allows our customers to make timely and cost-effective planning and fuel purchase decisions,” said Tyson Weihs, ForeFlight’s co-founder and CEO. “The free JetFuelX service helps operators get the most out of participating in fuel contract programs and helps fuel providers and FBOs efficiently distribute pricing data to their members.”

“Our primary focus is to enable owners, operators, and flight departments to take full advantage of the tremendous cost savings available in purchasing fuel,” said Jason Talley, JetFuelX founder. “JetFuelX turns a time-consuming and cumbersome process into an elegant and easy-to-use solution that is accomplished in seconds. We are really excited to join the ForeFlight team and continue to expand our services.”

JetFuelX is designed to help everyone from individual pilots to large flight departments, including charter operators, quickly pinpoint the best fuel prices and eliminate the frustrating and time-consuming task of managing and comparing multiple fuel card and FBO discount programs. Customers can manage unlimited fuel card memberships and aircraft profiles, view all prices available at the planned destination, compare prices in

Subscribe to In Flight USA today for home delivery of your source for aviation news, information and features.

real-time with nearby airports, and submit fuel releases in a matter of seconds.

The simple search function returns discount pricing information at the planned destination, as well as the nearest airports, in a neatly organized list or interactive map view.

Existing JetFuelX customers can continue to enjoy the benefits of this free service. ForeFlight customers can also login to portal.jetfuelx.com with their existing ForeFlight credentials and use the JetFuelX platform at no additional charge. New customers are encouraged

to sign up for a free account at www.jetfuelx.com.

FBOs and fuel providers who are interested in integrating with JetFuelX, please contact info@jetfuelx.com.

20

INNOVATOR MAKES MAIDEN FLIGHT In Flight USA Celebrating 30 Years

T

By Jim Moore

est pilot, Ethen Chaffin, was prepared to fly on Sept. 24, 2015, the chosen day for the maiden flight of a brand-new, home-brewed design. He just wasn’t expecting it to happen quite so soon.

Models and math had told the small team behind Commuter Craft, a startup founded by homebuilder, Richard Hogan, to expect the two-seat Innovator to lift off on its own (in the absence of aft stick) at 105 knots. Chaffin advanced the

throttle, spinning the 180-horsepower Titan engine up to speed and accelerating down the nearly 6,000-foot runway at Cartersville Airport in Cartersville, Ga., with his left hand steady on the sidestick, watching the airspeed wind up.

“It took me just a moment to realize I was off the ground,” Chaffin recalled, standing beside the distinctive white airplane on display at the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Fla., nearly four months (and 28.3 flight test hours) after that first flight. “It came off the

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ground at 87 (knots)… it didn’t pitch up.”

Hogan was so excited that he forgot to keep the camera pointed at his creation as it broke ground. About five years before that auspicious day, Hogan had retired early from his day job as the general manager and chief financial officer of a (nonaeronautical) engineering firm to complete a mission he had been working on in his spare time.

That first flight was more than a decade in the making, and in one respect the culmination of a dream dating to his boyhood, though it was also just the beginning.

A longtime homebuilder actively involved in the Experimental Aircraft Association community, Hogan said he set out to make an airplane that is capable of covering distance at speed, an airplane that is exciting, unmistakably “new,” comfortable, and “very, very safe.” The Innovator, as he dubbed the design, has so far shown no signs of falling short of those goals.

On that first flight, Chaffin, the 26year-old test pilot, realized he was already off the ground soon enough, and decided to let it fly. The short first flight of the first prototype produced a remarkably short list of tweaks and improvements to be made: minor adjustments to the suspension of the long, leggy landing gear, ailerons, and engine cooling.

It was the humans who overheated, so to speak.

“It was such a euphoric moment! We didn’t fly again that day,” Chaffin recalled. “We needed a couple of days to cool down.”

This unique two-seater is difficult to describe, with lines and features that invite comparison to some Rutan designs (it has a canard and a pusher prop) as well as manta rays. The wide body accommodates a wide cockpit (60 inches), with widely spaced seats and a huge center console between that is large enough to accommodate batteries that can drive the wheels for travel by road, with an expected road range of about 50 miles when that version is developed.

The design produces lift from tip to tail, with three primary airfoils: the canard, the wing, and the horizontal stabilizer.

Technically, Hogan noted, it has four lifting bodies, including the fuselage.

He plans to give it folding wings, a design point in common with Terrafugia’s Transition, though Hogan emphasized that this craft is an airplane first, and a road vehicle second; it is designed to be a great airplane above all.

While he plans to build a light sport version (1,320 pounds maximum gross), this first prototype has so far been flown at 2,250 pounds gross; fiberglass wings

February 2016

Commuter Craft test pilot, Ethen Chaffin, sits in the wide cockpit of the Innovator designed by Richard Hogan. The roadable two-seater design features a pusher prop, a canard, and four lifting surfaces.

(Jim Moore)

Designer, Richard Hogan, is a longtime homebuilder who retired early to devote his full attention to making his vision a reality with the Commuter Craft Innovator. Moore.

(Jim Moore)

account for some of that weight. The allcomposite, folding-wing version will be able to adapt quickly to road travel, and another option will be to tow it home on a trailer.

While there are some similarities between the Innovator and the Transition, Hogan noted many differences, and said he has a different market in mind: The Innovator will be produced first as a kit, and will likely require more than three years to develop into a light sport version.

It will have at least this much in common with the Terrafugia Transition.

“Nobody’s going to confuse either one of them with a 172,” Hogan said.

A flip of the prototype’s switch can move the rudder pedals forward or aft to accommodate pilots ranging in height from five feet two inches to six feet four inches tall; Hogan said the design will offer a comfortable ride (and consistent sight picture forward) for pilots up to six feet eight inches tall.

It is scalable in other ways. Hogan anticipates his small startup company will eventually build versions with up to six seats, and the basic design can scale larger still.

“I’ve got a lot of ambitions for my little baby,” Hogan said.

Chaffin, so far the only pilot with Continued on Page 22

RACKING UP MILES: INCIRLIK AIRMAN CYCLES FOR AF

February 2016

www.inflightusa.com

By Senior Airman Krystal Ardrey 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

(This feature is part of the “Through Airmen’s Eyes” series. These stories focus on individual Airmen, highlighting their Air Force story.)

T

he air is crisp like the frost on the ground; winter is approaching as Senior Master Sgt. Jason Chiasson hops onto his sleek road bike. Today, he will only ride 25 miles, a short day compared to the 100-mile days in his strict training schedule as an Air Force Cycling Team cyclist.

Chiasson is the 39th Communications Squadron production superintendent of cyber operations, which means taking care of Airmen is close to his heart. Chiasson spoke about the importance of leading by example.

“I want people to know (the Air Force) is one of the best organizations you could ever work for,” Chiasson said.

“I don’t see myself as just a communications technician or a communications superintendent. I’m an Airman. The whole body compass of an Airman is to make sure other people know and want to emulate professionalism... I think I can do that by doing this.

“And it keeps this 40-year-old man in shape,” he said, laughing.

Chiasson arrived to Incirlik Air Base in April 2014. He said he felt like he was not representing the professional military image in the best way he could. Partly because of this feeling and partly because of a driving desire to continually better himself, he decided to train for a triathlon.

After completing his first Ironman, Chiasson became interested in joining one of the Air Force sports teams. He first looked into joining the triathlon team but was unable to because he could not complete in all of the races needed as a prerequisite to join while stationed there.

However, during his triathlon training, he had discovered the joy of cycling and instead looked to join the Air Force Cycling team.

“They pretty much look at your commitment, your dedication, and the reasons why you want to become part of the team,” Chiasson said.

The Air Force Cycling Team is part of the We Are All Recruiters program, whose primary mission is to inspire, engage, and recruit future Airmen to deliver airpower for America. The cyclists of the Air Force team do this by

21

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Call USA Aircraft Brokers for your nearest area broker location Senior Master Sgt. Jason Chiasson, the 39th Communications Squadron production superintendent, rides past the flightline at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, Dec. 10, 2015. Chiasson, a member of the Air Force Cycling Team, regularly cycles a variety distances both indoors and outdoors to stay prepared for the races he will participate in as part of the cycling team.

(U.S. Air Force photo/ Senior Airman Krystal Ardrey)

exhibiting the core values and displaying wingmanship as they participate in group rides around the country.

“We’ll do team rides, where we’re all grouped up, get on our (Air Force) cycling gear, and then we’ll just go represent the Air Force at certain big key races throughout the year,” Chiasson said. “The biggest race being what’s called the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, where you ride from the western side of Iowa all the way to the eastern border of Iowa, across the state in seven days. It is 500-plus miles, but you do it as a team. So throughout the entire week, people see (Air Force) cyclists. There is actually one day where we get together, all of us, it’s about 130 people, and you get two by two, and you ride like that. It’s an amazing sight. It’s going to be awesome.”

When Chiasson trains, it depends on the weather. In the summer, he rode before work when it was cool, now he rides on his lunch hour when it’s the warmest. Some days he trains on a stationary bike inside.

Though when or where he cycles may change, he makes sure to train six days a week. Where others might find training for such endurance sports to be tedious, Chiasson said he looks at it as an opportunity to reflect.

“What I tell people is this is not a job,” Chiasson said. “This is a lifestyle. This is not a switch I turn on and off when I put on my uniform. It’s with the same mentality I approach anything in life. Whether it’s a relationship, raising my children, interacting with Airmen, or getting on a bike, I’m always going to go 100 percent.”

By continually working to improve his fitness, Chiasson said he hopes to serve as a standard for other Airmen.

Continued on Page 22

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EAA PROPOSES ADS-B SOLUTION FOR LIGHT-SPORT AIRCRAFT

22

In Flight USA Celebrating 30 Years

EAA has proposed a path forward for owners of special light-sport aircraft (S-LSA) to equip ADS-B equipment per the FAA’s 2020 mandate. Currently, the manufacturer has the sole approval authority over any alteration to an SLSA. In some cases, this can be a barrier to ADS-B equipage, either because the manufacturer declines to approve an installation or the manufacturer no longer exists or no longer supports the product.

In comments to a recent change to FAA Advisory Circular (AC) 90-114A, EAA proposed a way to leverage existing regulation to empower the Chicago Aircraft Certification Office (ACO) to approve alterations to S-LSA aircraft. The proposal would allow the ACO to evaluate changes on a case-by-case basis. The traditional system of manufacturer-approved alterations

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Continued from Page 20 firsthand knowledge of the results of the years-long effort, said the Innovator is an “absolute joy” to fly: responsive, steady, and as docile in a stall as can be. Power off and stick full aft produces a sink rate of 1,100 feet per minute, with no pitching, yawing, or rolling tendencies, he said. He has added turns to that profile, up to about 17 degrees of bank, and the aircraft has yet to spin. These characteristics, he said, will help make the dreaded base-to-final stallspin scenario nearly impossible, part of the Innovator’s safety package. (An optional ballistic parachute will also be available, along with other safety features.)

Chaffin has logged speeds of 181 knots at 7,000 feet and projected a range of 620 nautical miles at 55 percent power with an eight-gallon reserve. Those figures, along with the climb rate of 1,750 feet per minute at sea level, will be reconfirmed as the design is refined and new features (such as folding wings) and alternative powerplants are added.

Hogan expects to produce kits that

February 2016

in S-LSA would also remain unaltered.

“Owners of light-sport aircraft are an important part of the general aviation community, and we always look for ways to support them,” said Sean Elliott, EAA vice president of advocacy and safety. “Our proposal is meant to help some owners of special light-sport aircraft have an easier time installing mandated equipment without having to resort to options such as the experimental light-sport category.”

EAA has an active role in the FAA/industry “Equip 2020” working group, which works to identify barriers to affordable ADS-B equipage and eliminate them. A major victory won by EAA through Equip 2020 in the past year has been the FAA affirming that non-TSO equipment may be used to satisfy the ADSB mandate in the experimental category. can be completed for about $100,000 to $120,000, depending on avionics and other choices; the roadable version will be a bit more expensive, between $150,000 and $180,000.

He hopes to be able to fly it in front of the crowd at the Sun ‘n Fun International Fly-In and Expo, where he will also announce details of an “alpha” and “beta” build program, with 10 experienced builders to be recruited in each of these categories. Largely self-funded to date, he will also be recruiting investors.

The Innovator has already demonstrated a remarkable ability to draw crowds, pilots and non-pilots alike. There was such great interest among patrons at the local Waffle House that they posted one of the design drawings on the wall, and Hogan noted that the aircraft has earned the admiration of men and women alike, including people who had never expressed much interest in airplanes before.

“We wanted an airplane that would inspire and bring new people into aviation,” Hogan said.

Racking Up Miles

Continued from Page 21 “I think if we can get more Airmen to try these things, I just have faith that you would see a fitter force,” he said. “You would see a more positive force because science has proven your physical abilities directly link to your mental abilities. If you are overall physically healthy then most of the time you are mentally healthy as well.”

Chiasson said that while promoting the Air Force and staying in shape are

both important to him, the thing he finds most inspiring about his journey to the Air Force Cycling Team is seeing how he has been able to affect other Airmen.

“What’s really cool is since I’ve been doing this, I’ve had some Airmen want to start training (with me),” Chiasson said. “These Airmen are legit.

They can keep up, and they have the dedication. Just to see them grow, it’s exciting. It’s infectious.”

February 2016

LEGEND CUB

American Legend Aircraft Company announced its sponsorship of Greg Koontz Airshows in cooperation with C&D Aviation, an aircraft sales and service center. Under the agreement, one of Greg Koontz’ signature airshow acts will now feature the Legend Cub. C&D Aviation is well known for its aircraft restoration services. The firm specializes in Piper Cub parts and has a highly experienced team building/restoring aircraft. Based at Bessemer Airport (KEKY) in Bessemer, Ala., upstate near the city of Birmingham, the firm employs specialists in all areas of aircraft service, fabrication, and overhaul.

Greg Koontz is a popular showman on the national airshow circuit. When performing, Koontz offers two distinctly different acts. One is a solo aerobatic routine that culminates with his aircraft flying low and inverted for a ribbon cutting. The other performance is called “Alabama Boys” and is also known as the “World’s Smallest Airport.” In this act, Koontz also performs maneuvers and stunts low to the ground.

TO

PERFORM

IN

GREG KOONTZ AIRSHOWS

www.inflightusa.com

Beginning in 2016, Koontz will perform his Alabama Boys show in a newly manufactured Legend Cub. Don Wade, president of C&D Aviation, commented, “We are excited to be building this relationship with American Legend Aircraft Company.

Both parties are focused on offering specific airplanes for their clients. A lot of attention is paid to the details. These aircraft address both the desires of the customer and the handiwork that goes into them,” he added, “We eagerly anticipate Greg’s first flight in this newly manufactured Super Legend HP.” The airshow season for Koontz begins in April and includes a visit to Sun ‘n Fun Fly-in.

The Alabama Boys act was originally flown in a 1946 Piper J-3 Cub. In the skit, Koontz dognaps the airplane. As crewmembers chase him down, a wheel is shot off. With deft precision, and the aid of a well-practiced team, Koontz lands the Cub on a moving pickup truck.

Greg Koontz has been performing in airshows since 1974, then a member of

PACIFIC AVIATION MUSEUM PEARL HARBOR

Colonel Moser’s Flying Circus. Through the years, he taught aerobatics and flew in the flying circus all over the southeast and many parts of the Caribbean. Koontz credits having learned his maneuvers “from the best in the business.” He has held his Level 1 SAC (Statement of Aerobatic Competency) card since 1976. The permit is issued based on pilot proficiency with Level 1 being the highest allowing aerobatic flight below 250 feet AGL. Koontz is an Aerobatic Competency Evaluator and serves as Chairman of ICAS ACE Committee.

American Legend Aircraft Company continues to be one of the most successful manufacturers in the sport pilot category and is noted for its exceptional product support. American Legend is also renowned for building a true Cub, one that is sensibly modern, competitively priced, and built to last.

C&D Aviation is located at the center of a 400-mile circle encompassing Memphis and Nashville, Tenn.; Atlanta, Ga.; Pensacola, Fla., and Jackson, Miss.

The region is rife with small, backcoun-

23

try and remote airports, well suited to low-and-slow and scenic flying. C&D Aviation can be reached at Bessemer (KEKY) Airport, 900 Mitchell Field Road, Bessemer, Ala. 35022, tel.

205/230-5787, info@canddaviation.com, or online at www.canddaviation.com.

For further information on the Legend Cub, contact American Legend Aircraft Company at 1810 Piper Lane, Sulphur Springs, Tex. 75482; call 903/885-7000, or log on to www.legend.aero. Follow us on facebook.com/LegendAircraftand instagram.com/legendcub.

HAWAII’S “#1 HISTORICAL SPOT WORTH TRAVELING FOR” BY TRIPADVISOR’S, FLIPKEY

Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor has been named Hawaii’s “#1 Historical Spot Worth Traveling For” by FlipKey, TripAdvisor’s leading vacation rental service.

Based on industry research and traveler feedback, FlipKey named the “50 most loved and most talked about historical attractions in each state across the country.”

Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor was awarded the number one spot for Hawaii.

“Receiving this tremendous recognition is such an honor for us,” said Kenneth DeHoff, Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor Executive Director. “Hawaii has many notable historical sites, especially at Pearl Harbor and on Ford Island. This designation couldn’t have come at a better time as we celebrate our 10th anniversary this year.

We remain committed to giving visitors the best experience at a historic site where they learn of the sacrifices of those who served in WWII.” With more than five million monthly unique visits, FlipKey is a TripAdvisor company and helps power the vacation rental experience on TripAdvisor.com – the world’s largest travel website.

Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor

is located on Historic Ford Island, where bombs fell during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. Visitors to the Museum can see remnants from that day of infamy, including the 158-foot tall red and white iconic Ford Island Field Control Tower, Hangars 37 and 79, and bullet holes in Hangar 79. Through its preservation and restoration of World War II fighter planes and accompanying artifacts in the Museum’s historic hangars, Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor shares the story of the vital role aviation played in America’s winning of World War II, and its continuing role in maintaining America’s freedom.

Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization. Its mission is to develop and maintain an internationally recognized aviation museum on Historic Ford Island that educates young and old alike, honors aviators and their support personnel who defended freedom in The Pacific Region, and to preserve Pacific aviation history. A Smithsonian Affiliate, it is rated one of the top 10 aviation attractions nationally

by TripAdvisor. It is located at 319 Lexington Boulevard, Historic Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Honolulu, Hawaii 96818.

Visit In Flight USA’s website for the latest aviation news...

www.inflightusa.com

24

In Flight USA Celebrating 31 Years

IT’S PUCKER MONTH SO? MONTH OF LOVE AND VALENTINES!

February 2016

W h a t’ s U p ! ?

I

THE

this is a good idea! Heads up, I think you’re wrong.

love each month that has a theme.

Some are good, and some aren’t. It seems that most have a food theme, and then I remember I write an aviation column, and I’m suppose to write about things that are suppose to make aviators happy.

It was at that point I remembered that making an aviator happy might be above my pay grade. Then I remembered how much alike we all are… but we are polite except for a few rude ones that sneak in. I know we all appreciate the kindness and help offered to us almost everywhere when we’re trying to survive a cross-country flight.

This reminds me how few pilots ever leave their zip codes or time zones after they are sitting on their private tickets. I’m serious! I have this discussion more often than I do about ice cream. Any new aviator that works with me gets the same suggestion: When you have 100 hours, beg, borrow, or even rent an appropriate airplane, and now the “kicker,” I beg, plead, and whatever it takes to get them to do the following trip, and… to do it solo.

Take lots of junk food, camping gear, a picture of your favorite folks, and any and all of the appropriate cross-county gear you “might” need.

Okay, now grab your pencil and write this down: Call and say goodbye to me and someone else you might love and

fly 1,000 miles south and east. Land and stop as many time as you wish, and since you are alone, you have no one to ask or to worry about. I like to put it this way, you have the privilege of worrying about someone else, and you aren’t burdened by another person’s needs.

You are now experiencing real freedom and know how real pilots feel. Your life and freedom are now going to look and feel like your first kiss.

The only way this works is if you do it “my” way. You will now solidify how much you really love aviation and may even be able to better decide which airplane fits your needs and wants.

Before I forget, take your camera, film, batteries, and remember to keep me posted on your progress. I promise this will change and enhance your future in regards to aviation. I am willing to say that I have yet to get any negative notes, comments, and or threats on my life from people who have taken this bit of advice.

In fact, I’ve had more invitations to do the trip again with the newest “Sky King.” And some of the stories will have you on the floor… it’s that much fun, plus very educational. I know, I know, there are one or two of you that may not think

When you complete your first leg, the first 1,000 miles, turn your airplane north… no, I don’t give exact checkpoints or directions. In fact, I want you to feel totally free to learn how good an aviator you are, or are going to be. In the future, you will continue to thank me and tell me more about your trip. Yes, you will probably do it again. If you don’t want to, you may want to consider a new hobby.

And now the most important part and the beginning of the end of your first major aviation celebration… you will never forget this flight.

Many of my most solid and precious relationships have begun with, “Larry’s crazy cross-country flight.” I love reliving the flights and stories that are born during this adventure. They are repeated many times during your first 5,000 hours, and you might want to come to my office to borrow something. I never try to talk you out of your perceived need… it doesn’t matter.

Okay, yes, things do happen, and that’s when the learning really begins. Airplanes break, tires go flat, and you change your mind a dozen times about your route. While it is always best to have a flight plan and be

A commitment to high-quality education focused on student engagement and outstanding faculty has earned Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Worldwide a No. 1 spot on the 2016 U.S. News & World Report list for online bachelor’s degrees.

For the third consecutive year, Embry-Riddle Worldwide (online.erau. edu) has been named one of the nation’s top online educators, according to the U.S. News & World Report listing released this month. Embry-Riddle Worldwide had previously been ranked No. 5. In addition to its No. 1 ranking for online bachelor’s degree programs, Worldwide also ranked in the top 50 for its online, non-MBA graduate business programs.

To publish its annual lists, U.S. News

& World Report ranked online bachelor’s degree programs and graduate business programs in the following categories: student engagement, admissions selectivity (graduate business programs), faculty credentials and training, peer reputation, student services and technology. Other schools joining Embry-Riddle at the top of the 2016 online bachelor’s degree list include Penn State World Campus (tied for No. 1), University of Illinois – Chicago, Temple University, and The Ohio State University.

“What defines Embry-Riddle’s online education is our attention to student support,” said Dr. Jason Ruckert, Embry-Riddle Worldwide’s vice chancellor for online education. “With decades of experience in distance learning, we are setting the standard for world-

class online education by focusing on engagement and services critical to student success. Technology has given our faculty and advisors the ability to interact with students in new and exciting ways, and we’re constantly looking to improve the overall student experience.”

Embry-Riddle’s residential campuses in Florida and Arizona also have consistently earned top honors by the publication as reflected in the 2016 Best Colleges guidebook. In the specialty category of “Best Undergraduate Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering Programs,” the Daytona Beach, Fla., campus was named No. 1 for the 16th year in a row, and the Prescott, Ariz., campus is No. 3 for the 13th straight year.

“Acknowledgment of the innovative, quality education that Embry-Riddle pro-

Now The Real Fun Begins . . .

Time to Turn!

Larry Shapiro

safe, you can change your mind anytime you want. It is up to you.

I always add that this must be done solo, except for the KFC and cookies… and if you insist, you can take a pet.

Before I forget, don’t pay attention to what others have to say about this trip; it’s usually a lack of experience.

You might want to take some business cards, pictures of your wife, girlfriend, kids, and – okay, okay – I’ll give you one of me if you beg.

On Final

Now, when you decide when you’re going to jump off on this amazing adventure, I would be glad to offer my input… plus clothes, sunscreen, hats, and or gloves. You know where to find me.

Also, remember to work on your SOS list and the other things you will think of. I am always available to help.

About the writer: Larry Shapiro is a senior aircraft broker, aviation humorist and a grandfather of three, still the semi-best event announcer, coming to an Airshow near you soon, he hopes.

He’d love to have you share your thoughts and ideas for future articles.

Palo Alto Airport Office: 916/804-1618 or Larry@LarryShapiro.com

U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT RANKS EMBRY-RIDDLE WORLDWIDE A NO. 1 ONLINE EDUCATOR

vides, whether it is online or in a traditional classroom setting, serves as affirmation and a source of pride, but it also motivates us to do even more,” said Embry-Riddle Interim President Dr. John R. Watret. “As we celebrate 90 years as the world’s largest and oldest university educating the future leaders of aviation, aerospace and beyond – we will never stop evolving.”

Widely known for its aviation and aeronautics programs, degrees in nonaviation disciplines such as engineering, project management, and information security are delivered through its colleges of Business, Arts and Sciences, and Aeronautics. Embry-Riddle Worldwide serves more than 22,000 students online and at 130 campuses in the United States and globally.

MILITARY AIRSPACE EXPANSION COULD SQUEEZE GA

February 2016

A

By Dan Namowitz

OPA has expressed concern that the proposed enlargement of an expansive special-use airspace area in Wisconsin would create a mass of military airspace that would reduce the utility of underlying civilian airports and make north-south air travel difficult in the state.

AOPA is working with the plan’s Camp Douglas, Wisconsin-based proponent to resolve the general aviation community’s concerns. AOPA urges members to review the draft environmental assessment and submit comments on how the expansion would affect their flight operations by Feb. 28.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs, the Volk Field Special Activity Airspace (VFSAA) modification proposal “would extend the current military operations area further north in Portage, Wood, Clark, and Eau Claire counties. The proposal also pushes the military operations

www.inflightusa.com

area north and east in Waupaca County and east across the Waushara and Green Lake County lines into Winnebago, Fond du Lac, and Dodge counties. A small portion of the military operations area will extend into the southwest corner of Marathon County. In the southern portion of the military operations area, the VFSAA will extend further south in Juneau and Monroe counties.”

The proposal would provide what the military describes as sufficient airspace for operations by modern fighters and munitions, such as non-eye-safe lasers, in the special-activity airspace.

Modifications to the swath of airspace would include raising some airspace sector floors and reconfiguring and expanding borders. A new restricted area would be created “to support the use of long-range, non-eye safe laser training” and would be activated with four hours of advance notice by notam.

“AOPA is concerned that the new special-use airspace will have adverse impacts on the underlying airports and on

any civil traffic transiting from southern Wisconsin to northern Wisconsin,” said Rune D u k e , AOPA director of airspace and air traffic. “The proposal w o u l d expand on the existing military airspace so that it would be about 120 nautical miles wide from east to west, which could result in significant delays and limit access to many communities should the entire complex be active.”

AOPA has begun “considerable outreach” to measure the possible impact on general aviation. Simultaneously, the associ-

IN

WISCONSIN

25

ation has committed “to work with the military proponent on a solution that will allow military training to take place while not causing significant impacts to civil aviation.”

Members are encouraged to submit comments by Feb. 28 by email. Please share your comments with AOPA at AOPA.org.

JET EDGE EXPANDS FLEET WITH THREE MORE HEAVY JETS

Jet Edge International, the leading business aircraft management and luxury jet charter provider, announced recently the addition of two long-range business aircraft, which include a Falcon 900EX EASy II and Gulfstream GIV, as well as a 2015 ultra-long range Gulfstream G550, to its growing fleet of private jets.

These aircraft expand the Jet Edge fleet to 48 large-cabin charter jets throughout North America and Asia.

“The addition of these three aircraft, each closing within the month of December, stands as evidence of not only the great momentum we experienced throughout 2015, but of the substantial efforts made everyday by our talented aviation professionals,” said Bill Papariella,

chief executive officer of Jet Edge International. “With two of the three additions being East-Coast-based, our New York and Florida fleets have grown to more than 13 aircraft. This exceeds our 12month east coast expansion plan and provides more depth and availability for our clients on both coasts.”

In 2015, Jet Edge grew from just more than 30 charter aircraft to nearly 50 and secured more than 13,000 hours of revenue flights for charter aircraft.

The Gulfstream GIV, G550, and Dassault Falcon 900EX Jet Edge’s newly added GIV operates from Palm Beach, Fla. (KPBI) and provides non-stop luxury charter service to locations throughout North and South

America and Europe. The aircraft is equipped with dual DVD/CD players and two 20” cabin monitors for in-flight entertainment, as well as accommodations for USB charging for mobile devices throughout the cabin. Passengers also benefit from complimentary domestic wireless Internet while traveling in the spacious 14-passenger cabin.

The Gulfstream G550, added at the close of 2015 and based in the busy Los Angeles market (KVNY), is the 22nd luxury jet positioned on the West Coast for Jet Edge. As one of the most in demand aircraft models by discerning charter travelers, this brand new, wellappointed G550 boasts the latest in inflight amenities and cabin comforts. The

bright, spacious interior seats 16 passengers with four berthing areas that sleep six passengers, and features domestic and international Wi-Fi connectivity.

A Dassault Falcon 900EX EASy II was added to the Jet Edge fleet in December. The Falcon 900 series of business jets offers long-range travel while delivering unrivaled fuel economy and cabin accommodations. The newly added Falcon 900EX comes equipped with WiFi Internet access, a fully appointed galley, a breathtaking, spacious interior, and a cabin configuration that provides ultimate comfort for both business and leisure travelers. This is the first Jet Edge charter jet based in Canada at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport (CYYZ).

Cessna Aircraft Company, a subsidiary of Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. company, recently announced the partner universities selected for its 2016 Top Hawk program. Kent State University, LeTourneau University, Purdue University, and Westminster College will each take delivery of a new, custom-branded Cessna Skyhawk 172

aircraft in February to support flight training, recruiting efforts, and promotional activities at their respective universities throughout the year.

“Textron Aviation is excited to partner with these four leading aviation universities, building on the success from last year’s launch of Top Hawk,” said Doug May, vice president, Piston

Aircraft. “These universities are renowned for their innovative aviation programs and commitment to general aviation and will be leveraging the world leading flight trainer, the Cessna Skyhawk, to continue training the next generation of pilots.”

In addition to the aircraft, a top student from each of the four universities

will be chosen for a Textron Aviation summer internship. These students will receive valuable exposure beyond flight training to include real-world experience from various corporate departments such as sales, marketing, flight operations, integrated supply chain, and engineering.

For more information on Top Hawk, please visit cessna.txtav.com/tophawk

CESSNA ANNOUNCES 2016 TOP HAWK UNIVERSITY PARTNERS

TRU SIMULATION + TRAINING ENDS 2015 HITTING MAJOR PROGRAM MILESTONES

26

In Flight USA Celebrating 31 Years

February 2016

ProFlight earns FAA qualification for its King Air 350i Pro Line Fusion pilot training program.

TRU successfully launches new state-of-the-art Aviation Maintenance Academy in Wichita, Kan. TRU Flight Training Iceland earns FAA qualification for its Icelandair B757 Full Flight Simulator.

DIVORCE – PATERNITY MEN’S RIGHTS If you are Involved in a Divorce or Paternity Case... ...you Should Know That: 1. You may have an excellent chance of obtaining child custody; 2. It’s your child...she doesn’t own it; 3. There are numerous legal methods of avoiding alimony; 4. There are numerous legal methods of avoiding loss of your property; 5. If properly represented, you won’t be “taken to the cleaners”, 6. Courts can be legally required not to favor the woman; 7. You can fight against false charges of child abuse or spousal abuse.

8. You can emerge from a divorce emotionally and financially sound; 9. Men do have rights!

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TRU Simulation + Training, a Textron Inc. company, reports closing 2015 achieving several key program milestones – obtaining FAA qualifications and achieving the successful launch of its new Aviation Maintenance Academy. Said TRU Simulation + Training President and CEO, Ian Walsh, “We made significant progress at year-end delivering new programs and gaining regulatory approvals that position us for a strong start to 2016.

Our team is energized and looking forward to continuing the momentum.”

ProFlight earns FAA qualification for its King Air 350i Pro Line Fusion pilot training program.

In its recently opened East Coast Part 142 satellite pilot training center, ProFlight, a subsidiary of TRU Simulation + Training, has received FAA qualification for its King Air 350i Level D Full Flight Simulator and pilot training programs. The pilot training programs for the new production Beechcraft turboprop provide initial typerating and an introduction course on the Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics package, as well as recurrent and FAR part 135 training. ProFlight instruction combines use of the King Air 350i full motion flight simulator and proprietary Level 6 flight-training device for enhanced avionics training capability in a modern classroom setting that incorporates interactive animated courseware for all aircraft systems.

ProFlight is the first pilot training center to offer instruction on the new Pro Line Fusion equipped King Air 350i aircraft.

TRU successfully launches new state-of-the-art Aviation Maintenance Academy The new TRU Simulation + Training Aviation Maintenance Academy officiated the opening of its modern Part 147 training center in a ribbon-cutting ceremony held Dec. 10. The 35,000 squarefoot state-of-the-art facility combines traditional classroom and hands-on aircraft maintenance instruction in a climate-controlled environment–both inside the classroom and in the adjacent hangar space. The schoolhouse design, curriculum, high technology courseware, and

part task trainers reflect TRU’s extensive experience providing aviation maintenance training for the military, as well as feedback gained from civil aviation technicians working in the field today.

Currently, mechanical and avionics maintenance theory and practical courses are being offered for Beechcraft new production King Air 350i turboprops with the Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics package.

The TRU Simulation + Training Aviation Maintenance Academy is the first schoolhouse to offer training on this new production aircraft. In early 2016, the Academy plans to offer additional courses: mechanical and avionics theory and practical training for Beechcraft King Air 250 and C90GTx turboprops, Beechcraft Baron and Bonanza piston aircraft, and Cessna CJ series business jets, as well as McCauley Propeller courses.

Stated the vice president and general manager of TRU’s Mission and Maintenance Training division, Kyle Crooks, “Being the OEM-approved training center–and being co-located on the Textron Aviation campus – gives us direct access to Cessna, Beechcraft, and McCauley engineers and production teams that design and make the aircraft. This ensures the relevance and up-to-date accuracy of our instruction and our instructors’ in-depth knowledge of the product being taught. It also allows us to include a tour of the aircraft manufacturing operations as part of our standard curriculum.”

TRU Flight Training Iceland earns FAA qualification for its Icelandair B757 Full Flight Simulator.

At its Icelandair joint venture, pilot training center in Reykjavik, TRU Flight Training Iceland has earned FAA qualification of its Boeing 757 Level D Full Flight Simulator. Last year, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) also qualified the full motion flight simulator for Level D use. This latest FAA approval makes this the only pilot training center in the world with dual regulatory approval of a B757 Full Flight Simulator.

More information is available at www.TRUsimulation.com.

NAHA COORDINATES REGIONAL PLAN TO SPOTLIGHT USAF MUSEUM’S NEW BUILDING

February 2016

In an unprecedented act of collaboration, aviation heritage groups, business associations, and tourism bureaus in the National Aviation Heritage Area have teamed up to support the grand opening of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force’s new building on June 8.

The organizations are leveraging their limited resources by pooling advertising dollars, crafting social media campaigns, and planning special events to promote the 224,000-square-foot building, which will make more than 70 historic aircraft, missiles and space vehicles more accessible to the public.

C.D. Moore, a retired three-star Air Force general and a former commander of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, is the voluntary chair of the Grand Opening Regional Working Group.

Moore said the museum isn’t the only entity that will benefit from the new building. “There’s a value proposition where the whole region benefits,” he said.

What’s galvanizing the collaboration is a common recognition that the huge new attraction has the potential to be a boon to the region’s economy by boosting tourism–not only to the museum but also to other aviation heritage sites in the eight-county Heritage Area and other recreational activities across the region.

“We want people to come here to visit the museum and then stay an extra day or two to visit some of our other attractions,” said Phil Parker, president and CEO of the Dayton Area Chamber of

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Commerce. “By working together, we can maximize the museum’s economic impact for the whole region,” he said.

The National Museum and the Air Force Museum Foundation began working with the National Aviation Heritage Alliance (NAHA) in 2015 to promote the opening of the new building. This led to NAHA convening the working group.

The museum foundation is a notfor-profit corporation that supports the museum and conducted the capital campaign for the $40.8 million building, which was paid for with private donations. NAHA is a nonprofit that serves numerous aviation heritage partners in the eight-county heritage area, including the museum and the foundation.

“This is the biggest, most diversified collaboration in support of aviation heritage the area has seen,” said Tony Sculimbrene, NAHA’s executive director. “It’s a sign of growing recognition that our aviation heritage has value not just for its history but for the economic impact it can generate.”

Besides aviation heritage organizations, the working group currently includes the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, Dayton Development Coalition, TourismOhio, and the convention and visitor bureaus for Greene, Miami, and Montgomery Counties. It also includes representatives from area attractions not directly related to aviation such as the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery. Moore said he expects the list to grow as other community stakeholders get involved.

MIRACLE FLIGHTS LOOKS TO CONNECT WITH PAST PATIENTS

Miracle Flights, previously known as “Miracle Flights for Kids” or “Angel Planes,” is seeking to reconnect with patients and families who flew with the organization prior to 2011.

The organization hopes to connect for the purpose of obtaining updates on past flight recipients, including current medical status, major life events, education, career, hobbies, passions, etc.

Updated stories may be utilized as testimonials and/or for an upcoming PBS spe-

cial on Miracle Flights. Recording will take place at the Miracle Flights headquarters in March, and some recipients may be asked to participate in the project.

Former patients not interested in appearing publically are still encouraged to submit an update for archival purposes.

Those interested in connecting are encouraged to contact: Charles Courtney, Director of Special Projects at courtney@miracleflights.org or 702/2610494.

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RED BULL AIR RACE ADDS PILOTS FROM CZECH REPUBLIC AND SLOVENIA FOR 2016 SEASON

In Flight USA Celebrating 31 Years

Images and visions of Sagar Pathak

Specializing in Aviation Photography

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Top pilots from the Czech Republic and Slovenia, Petr Kopfstein and Peter Podlunsek, have earned two coveted slots to fill out the elite Master Class that will vie for the 2016 Red Bull Air Race World Championship. The battle for the Red Bull Air Race World Championship will be wide open in 2016, and joining the fray at the eight stops across seven countries will be two pilots who distinguished themselves in the Challenger Class: Peter Podlunsek of Slovenia and Petr Kopfstein of the Czech Republic. The newcomers are flying into a World Championship that will be more unpredictable than ever, thanks to technical innovations, two new locations and the retirement of two of the most successful pilots in the sport’s history, Hungary’s Peter Besenyei and 2015 World Champion Paul Bonhomme of the UK – whose departure opens up the top of the leaderboard for the Master Class field comprising 14 of the world’s best pilots.

The Challenger Cup, an element of the Red Bull Air Race introduced in 2014 to give the next generation of pilots the chance to develop skills in maneuvering through aerial racetracks at high speed and low altitude, has produced four Master Class pilots to date. Kopfstein, who won the Czech National Aerobatic Championship in four categories as well as international prizes, was also the Challenger Cup champion in 2014. Over two seasons, he amassed seven podiums, and his exceptional overall performance in all areas during that period earned him the coveted Unrestricted Superlicense and invitation to join the Master Class.

“It is a great honor to become part of the unique group of aviators in the Master Class. The first year will be a season of learning, testing, and tuning, but all of us on my team want to do it quickly and become competitive as soon as possible,” Kopfstein said. “While we have high ambitions, it will be a tough and challenging season.”

Also earning his invitation after two seasons of Challenger Class experience was Podlunsek, the top aerobatic pilot in Slovenia and the first Slovenian pilot in the Master Class. The eight-time National Aerobatic Champion, who has claimed numerous international podiums, was runner-up for the 2015 Challenger Cup Championship and clinched four Challenger Class race podiums.

Podlunsek said, “Joining the Master Class is a dream come true. As we start

February 2016

Petr Kopfstein of Czech Republic prepares for his flight at Challenger Cup of the seventh stage of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, United States on Sept. 27, 2015.

(Chris Tedesco/Red Bull )

Peter Podlunsek of Slovenia prepares for his flight at the Alliance Airport prior to the Challenger Cup of the seventh stage of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship on Sept. 27, 2015.

(Chris Tedesco/Red Bull )

from zero, my teammates and I will first have to see how we function together as a team and eventually become the best we can be. Our strategy is flying safe and smart.” Australia’s Matt Hall has been contending in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship since 2009, when he achieved the best-ever placement of any first-season pilot: third overall. Now coming into the 2016 season as the highest-ranked Master Class pilot, Hall remembers that it was “a milestone” in his career to be a rookie, joining the World Championship ranks. “It’s pushed me to become the pilot I am today and to enjoy the most exciting flying of my career,” Hall relates. “I’ve watched the Challenger Class over the past two years and have been impressed with the progression and attitude of all the pilots, and obviously Peter and Petr have demonstrated that. I am looking forward to having them join us in the Master Class hangars.”

Kopfstein and Podlunsek will be making their debut in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship at the season opener in Abu Dhabi on March 11 and 12.

Continued on Page 32

February 2016

I

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29

Flying With Faber

OUR ANNUAL TRIP

n the course of each year, my job takes me to the four corners of the planet. One week, I may be in Shanghai. A week later, I am on the other end of the globe – perhaps London. In between, I might visit places that some folks might regard is less glamorous.

That’s okay with me – I’m not always looking for glamour. You know, at times you might love to dine on gourmet cuisine (I’ve never quite understood what the term means), on a table adorned with white linen and bone China plates. Other times, it’s just as exciting, or even more so, to saunter into a dive in a small, obscure town and have a down-home sizzling steak or burger dinner. (For the latter, I’ve often written about, and rhapsodized over, one of my favorite joints in America – Jocko’s steak house in Nipomo, Calif. I can’t count the times we’ve flown or driven from Los Angeles just to devour one of their steaks).

The point is that I often can derive just as much pleasure and exhilaration, or more, from a trip to some off-the-beatenpath village as I can from strolling down the Champs Elysees. But when asked about my favorite places in the world, San Francisco is always near the top of the list.

One reason is that the environs of this city are so magnificent and unique that, as is true with all genuine beauty, the pulchritude increases with each observation.

Another is that San Francisco was my boyhood home for two years during WWII. Some force draws me back each year.

The Airport

My airport of choice is Oakland International (KOAK). Oakland and KSFO are virtually equidistant from the city. The Oakland field is more general aviation friendly. One ILS runway, 27R/9L, is reserved for GA. KaiserAir, 510/569-9622 is my usual stop.

Landmark Aviation, 510/633-1266 is the other FBO. Kaiser can arrange for a rental car, which can be left at the FBO upon your departure.

Hotels

Clift Hotel, 495 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA 94102, 415/775-4700, www.morganshotelgroup.com/clift-sf I’ve been hanging out at the Clift for more than 30 years. Built by Frederick Clift in 1913 as the city’s first luxury

TO

SAN FRANCISCO Stuart J. Faber and Aunt Bea

Farallon Dining Room.

The lobby in the Clift Hotel contains one of the most eclectic furniture collections in all of California. (Courtesy Clift Hotel)

hotel, the Clift has been witness to San Francisco’s glorious history. For many years, it was operated as a Four Seasons Hotel. About 10 years ago, it was sold to Morgan’s Hotel Group, hoteliers who have pioneered new hotel concepts on both coasts. Morgan transformed this historical landmark into a fused masterpiece of modern design and early San Francisco world charm.

Steps from Union Square shopping and the legendary Nob Hill, The Clift is ideally located for sightseeing, shopping, and socializing. What I absolutely adore about this hotel is that it represents the pinnacle of unique design and stellar luxury, yet it imparts the feeling of a downto-earth hospitable home. Some fancy hotels are relentless in reminding what a privilege it is to allow you through the door. A few supercilious managers actually dictate how you must attire yourself before you enter the lobby. Imagine that – they will take your money and tell you what clothing to wear!

At the Clift, folks meander around in everything from tattered jeans, (that’s me),

(Courtesy Farallon)

The famous and historic Redwood Room at the Clift Hotel. The bar features the original redwood bar. (Courtesy Clift Hotel) to designer gowns. And that incongruity is a perfect blend. The Clift today reminds me of hotels in the 1950s – places where folks meet, hang around, imbibe, and dine – sort of like a town center.

Designed by Philippe Starck and Ian Schrager, the dramatically illuminated lobby contains one of the most eclectic furniture collections in all of California, with chairs from Ray and Charles Eames, a coffee table by Salvador Dalí, The Apple Stool by Roberto Sebastian Matta inspired by René Magritte, and a sculpture custom made by William Sawaya.

The centerpiece is a 35-foot fireplace with a Bronze chimney sculpture by Gerard Garouste. The thrilling monumental scale and fantastical furnishings create a dream-like composition that is the cornerstone of Clift’s ambiance.

Whisk yourself up the softly lighted, deeply colored elevators to the cozy guestrooms and suites. These digs also feature beautifully crafted furniture customdesigned, primarily by Philippe Starck.

The luxurious 300-thread-count bedding, down duvet, and Merino wool blanket are

a perfect complement to the muted elegance. You may never want to leave.

Meanwhile, back in the lobby, the famous and historic Redwood Room has been restored and reinvented as an exceptionally elegant and modern San Francisco bar. Suffused with all-out glamour, the interior features the original redwood paneling and enormous bar, which, legend has, was carved from a single redwood tree. The Redwood Room also features Starck-designed lounge furniture and an ever-changing array of digital artwork displayed on plasma television screens hung throughout the room. The Room has become a great hangout for locals and tourists alike. As the sun sets, a diverse group of folks gather for cocktails and delicious snacks.

There is a great collection of stylishly appointed meeting rooms unlike any other hotel. A 24-hour business center includes computer workstations with laser printers and Internet access. A 24hour fitness center is also available. By the way, service was impeccable and without a hint of superciliousness.

What a fabulous hotel. It almost took an eviction notice to pry me out.

Nikko Hotel Guestroom.

(Courtesy Nikko Hotel) Nikko Hotel, 222 Mason Street, San Francisco, CA 94102, 415/ 394-1111, www.hotelnikkosf.com.

My first experience with the Nikko coincided with their grand opening.

Although it seems like only a few years ago, over 25 years have passed (1987) since I first gazed in awe at this gleaming property with its white tile lobby and Continued on Page 30

30

In Flight USA Celebrating 31 Years

Flying With Faber

Continued from Page 29 majestic ceilings. This past month, I stopped in for a short visit and reunion. It gleams as brightly today.

This super-luxury hotel is centrally located in downtown San Francisco – two blocks from Union Square, one block from the historic Cable Cars, and

Nikko pool and whirlpool.

(Courtesy Nikko Hotel)

February 2016

four blocks from Moscone Center. The hotel’s 532 guest rooms provide a soothing escape with their plush pillow-top beds with Frette linens and down comforters, 42-inch flats screens, and 10 Mb/sec wireless Internet. New bathrooms feature granite countertops, porcelain fixtures, travertine marble, and boast stall showers as well as bathtubs. The 10,000-square-foot, 24-hour health club

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features new cardiovascular equipment, steam rooms, dry saunas, an atrium covered 15-meter pool, and a whirlpool spa.

The hotel is ideal for a get-together for huge weddings or meetings, or other social events, pilot’s groups and business powwows. There are 13 other rooms and boardrooms of every size and description – all with natural light and great views of the city.

Dining

Farallon, 450 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94102, 415/956-6969, www.farallonrestaurant.com.

Founded by famed restaurateur and designer, Pat Kuleto, and Chef, Mark Franz, Farallon has been enchanting guests for 18 years. With carefully crafted details that capture the aquatic life, Farallon has been justifiability lauded as a top-dining establishment in this city.

What was once the Elks Club building in 1925 has been transformed into an aquatic-themed space with a whimsical jelly bar fashioned with jellyfish lights and octopus bar stools. The floor resembles the ocean bottom. The caviar staircase to the balcony shines with 50,000 iridescent indigo-blue marbles resembling caviar.

The freshest seafood available comprises the majority of the menu, rounded out with local produce, meat, and game.

The Oyster Bar menu features a daily selection of 10 different types of oysters from around the world, all on the half shell. Tartars, caviar, and house-cured gravlax are also available. Iced shellfish platters feature an assortment of raw and chilled shellfish.

The Dining Room menu features appetizers with such favorites as Hawaiian Ahi tuna tartare with crisp wonton, toasted pine nuts, brut champagne, lemon chantilly; wild arugula and endive salad, brandied Bing cherries, frog hollow peaches, sandy bottom goat cheese; crisp Chesapeake Bay soft shell crab with fried green tomato, applewood smoked bacon, buttermilk emulsion; and Brentwood white corn ravioli with porcini mushrooms.

The entrees include seared Mediterranean branzino with butter braised leeks and fava beans, yellow corn royale, tomato confit; grilled sterling filet of beef with garlic roasted squash and eggplant, crème fraiche crushed potatoes and balsamic-cabernet reduction; and seared rare Hawaiian ono with mango puree, baby tatsoi, pickled enoki mushrooms. Innovative desserts include dishes such as pear and almond crème tart with crème fraîche ice cream, goats milk panna cotta with vanilla poached apples, pumpkin seed crumble, chocolate pound Continued on Page 31

SPACE CENTER HOUSTON OPENS INDEPENDENCE PLAZA

February 2016

A spectacular grand opening celebration marked the unveiling of Space Center Houston’s newest exhibit, complete with fireworks, astronauts, and an incredible interactive experience inside the one-of-a-kind exhibit, Independence Plaza presented by Boeing.

“It was an unforgettable day for the world and our center,” said Richard E. Allen Jr., president and CEO of the educationally focused nonprofit museum, Space Center Houston. “Visitors celebrated the historic day and the launch of the world-class exhibit, symbolizing one of America’s greatest accomplishments in space exploration.”

Years in the making, the extraordinary day themed “Mission Accomplished” welcomed visitors from all over the world to be a part of the historic opening. For the first time, the nonprofit opened the eightstory-tall multiple-exhibit complex, featuring the first shuttle carrier aircraft, NASA 905, and the high-fidelity shuttle

www.inflightusa.com

replica, Independence.

Set around the magnificent new exhibit complex, the day kicked off with an exciting opening ceremony and a T-10 countdown to celebrate the monumental day. Visitors heard from NASA Johnson Space Center Director and astronaut, Dr. Ellen Ochoa, who was integral in obtaining the extraordinary vehicles featured in the international landmark. Laura Husband, daughter of the late astronaut, Col. Rick Husband, sang the National Anthem while RE/MAX skydivers landed at the event, and the U.S. Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard presented the colors.

Space Center Houston President and CEO, Richard Allen, told the crowd about the ambitious project and why bringing such a grand exhibit to life was important to the nonprofit. U.S. Rep. Brian Babin joined the ceremony and presented Space Center Houston with a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol Building. John Elbon, vice president and

general manager of Boeing Space Exploration, discussed the importance of Independence Plaza and the significance of the shuttle carrier aircraft program to the Space Shuttle Program.

The excitement filled the air when visitors took their first steps inside the exhibit complex and entered both the shuttle carrier aircraft, NASA 905, and the high-fidelity shuttle replica, Independence.

The action continued throughout the day with activities for the whole family.

Visitors watched a space adventure during a special viewing of the new animated movie, “Capture the Flag,” participated in interactive Pop-Up Science Lab, and had fun with hands-on space-related educational activities. People of all generations enjoyed a special opportunity to have lunch with an astronaut and meet space veterans, Jerry Ross and Ken Cameron. Visitors took home the ultimate souvenir during astronaut autograph signings with Anne McClain, Ken

Flying With Faber Continued from Page 30 cake, plus an exquisite selection of imported and domestic cheeses. The seafood was fresh and supple, the broths and sauces were exquisite.

Le Colonial dining room.

(Courtesy Le Colonial) Le Colonial, 20 Cosmo Place, San Francisco, CA 94109, 415/931-3600, www.lecolonialsf.com Just a short stroll from our hotel near Union Square, we walked up the hill and turned into what seemed like an alley.

The dimly lit passage was our gateway to a colonial style building, which evoked the tropical elegance of French Vietnam in the 1920s. We walked up a set of tiled stairs and entered a veranda, which immediately seemed to whisk us across the Pacific. Shuttered windows, antique lamps, and rattan furniture set among palm fronds and lazily swirling ceiling fans seemed to tell us that we were about to embark on an intriguing dining experience. You can enjoy an interlude at the

upstairs bar and lounge in a relaxed salon adorned with faded oriental rugs, decorative bamboo birdcages, low wooden tables and comfortable couches.

We headed right for the dining room.

The Vietnamese cuisine is fashioned from the highest quality cuisine available, primarily from local ecologically farmed meat, game, and poultry. Among the specialty dishes are an heirloom tomato salad with watercress, cherry tomatoes, and red onions served with a tart basil dressing. The seared Ahi tuna salad with cucumber, avocado, and red onions is dressed with an herb-lime emulsion and chili aioli. We also sampled the spring rolls with shrimp, pork, and mushrooms – crisp and flavorful.

How about roasted Peking duck breast with a pomegranate glaze for an entree? Or, I recommend the pan-seared halibut served with edamame and fava bean ragout.

My favorite was the Steak Au Poivre a grilled prime rib eye steak with curried pommes frites and green peppercorn scallions sauce, which I drank it like a soup. Or, the five-spiced seasoned grilled lamb chops with sweet and sour ratatouille and ginger butter soy sauce.

Overall this restaurant offered sumptuous food and outstanding service.

Fog Harbor Fish House, Pier 39, San Francisco, CA 94133, 415/421-2442, www.fogharbor.com.

Fog Harbor Fish House is located at the world famous Fisherman’s Wharf on the San Francisco Bay. No question that

The view at Fog Harbor Fish House.

(Courtesy Fog Harbor Fish House)

tourists flock to the Wharf. Sightings of tourists have indeed been reported at Fog Harbor. At least once a year, I’m included in that population. The point is the syllogism that “if tourists frequent the place, ergo, it’s expensive” is not necessarily true, especially at Fog Harbor. Territorial battles for tables between tourists and sophisticated locals are legendary. The locals know and understand great food and value. That’s why the number of local sightings is profuse.

Fog Harbor Fish House offers the quintessential San Francisco waterfront dining experience. Steeped in tradition, Fog Harbor Fish House was created by the original developers of Pier 39 and is filled with a quarter century of San Francisco history. Family-owned and operated, these folks are obsessive in their quest to select the freshest sustainable seafood in San Francisco.

Grab a table or booth next to the giant picture windows, take in the view of the Golden Gate Bridge, the fishing boats docked at their slips, Alcatraz and

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31

Cameron, and Jerry Ross, who also signed copies of his book, Spacewalker: My Journey in Space and Faith as NASA Record-Setting Frequent Flyer.

During three panel discussions, visitors gathered to hear about the rich history of the shuttle program and the exciting future of aerospace from the pioneers of human space exploration. Among the panelists were astronauts, Jerry Ross, Dr. Jan Davis, and Ken Cameron; shuttle carrier aircraft pilot, Frank Marlow; Tony Antonelli, Lockheed Martin; Mark Mulqueen, Boeing; astronaut, Brian Duffy, Orbital ATK; Chris Sanders, Aerojet Rocketdyne; George Nield, Federal Aviation Administration; Peter McGrath, Boeing; Jeff Siders, OrbitalATK; and Benji Reed, SpaceX. Unlike anything else in the world, Independence Plaza immerses visitors in the science and history of the shuttle era with hands-on exhibit displays inside an unprecedented interactive experience. It Continued on Page 32 often, a full moonlight as you peruse the menu with goodies such as live lobster, Cioppino, just-caught whole crab, steaks, catch of the day, or even a steak. Steaming loaves of San Francisco sourdough breads are baked fresh daily. You can also dine outdoors and luxuriate next to a warm fireplace and soothing waterfalls.

Start off with oysters on the half shell, a bowl of steamed clams, jumbo shrimp cocktail or a farm fresh salad. Many claim the clam chowder to be the best in town.

Tear off a huge hunk of sourdough as you ponder over the entrees of salmon, Ahi tuna, or one of the shellfish dishes.

The fresh wild caught salmon is grilled and served on a bed of roasted corn, arugula, red peppers, and fingerling potatoes. The Ahi tuna is seared rare with a crunchy sesame seed crust, ginger soy glaze, and stirfried veggies. We are shellfish lovers, so we generally go for the whole Dungeness crab, a shellfish platter, or the cioppino. The latter is chock full of crab, fresh fish, shrimp, scallops, and clams and mussels stewed in a rich and hearty tomato herb broth.

I never leave without trying the apple crisp, house-made with Granny Smith apples, walnuts, and a butter crumb, served warm and topped with vanilla ice cream. I also recommend the vanilla bean crème brule, the tiramisu, or the chocolate banana bread pudding.

Same time – next year, I will be back. I’ll grab a modicum of glamour, but primarily, I’ll visit some boyhood haunts and search for some new ones.

32

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Golden West Regional Fly-in 2016 October 15 â&#x20AC;˘ 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Yuba County Airport (MYV), Olivehurst, California Take a step â&#x20AC;&#x153;Back to the Futureâ&#x20AC;? and capture the old fashioned fun of a home town fly-in. This one day event features great food, education, hangar flying and an experience geared towards introducing new generations to the fun side of aviation. The Golden West Fly In is a fun-filled day of visitor participation in a number of fun flying events.

Fuel Discount with Minimum 10 gal. Purchase

Pancake Breakfast â&#x20AC;˘ Forums â&#x20AC;˘ Aircraft Displays â&#x20AC;˘ RC aircraft New Drone Zone â&#x20AC;˘ Exhibits â&#x20AC;˘ The KidQwest Hangar (aviation-related hands on activities for kids of all ages) â&#x20AC;˘ Young Eagles Flights for kids ages 8-17 5th Annual EAA Chapter vs Chapter Aircraft Competition

www.goldenwestflyin.org

Topics ranging from aircraft automation and the degradation of pilot skills to project management and resume writing will be discussed during a series of complimentary webinars being offered by EmbryAeronautical University â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Worldwide.

Noted aviation safety expert and Embry-Riddle professor, Bill Waldock, will kick off the 2016 webinars Thursday, Feb. 11, with â&#x20AC;&#x153;Aircraft Automation and the Degradation of Pilot Skills: Keeping our Skies Safe.â&#x20AC;? A professor of safety science at Embry-Riddleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Prescott (Ariz.) Campus, Waldock has been investigating accidents for more than three decades. His webinar will examine how technology has changed the working environment for pilots and crews. Waldock will also discuss ways pilots can maintain concentration and control in this new automated environment. The session begins at two oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;clock p.m. (EST).

Other dates include: â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;&#x153;Project Management Solutions to Help You Stay on Schedule and on Budget,â&#x20AC;? Thursday, April 14, 2 p.m.

February 2016

(EST), presented by James Marion, PMP, assistant professor in the College of Business at Embry-Riddle Worldwide. â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;&#x153;Writing Effective Emails, Reports, and Messages,â&#x20AC;? Thursday, May 12, 2 p.m.

(EST), presented by Terri Maue, associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at Embry-Riddle Worldwide. â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;&#x153;Developing a Resume That Gets Results,â&#x20AC;? Thursday, June 9, 2 p.m. (EST), presented by Rose Opengart, PHR, assistant professor in the College of Business at Embry-Riddle Worldwide.

Each 50-minute webinar includes a presentation and Q&A session. Attendees do not need to be enrolled at EmbryRiddle to participate.

Webinars will be archived and can be viewed after the live presentation. This complimentary webinar series gives prospective students and the public an opportunity to experience Embry-Riddle Worldwide instruction while also learning about current trends and topics.

To view the webinars and register, go to http://worldwide.erau.edu/webinars/.

Space Center Houston

Continued from Page 31 honors those who designed, built, and flew in Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Space Shuttle Program by recounting stories from astronauts, engineers, and pilots. Visitors learn about the key role NASA Johnson Space Center played in the shuttleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development and see firsthand the future of space exploration through the interactive multimedia educational displays.

To visit Independence Plaza, visitors who have purchased an admission ticket can reserve a free timed ticket to view the smaller shuttle, enter the larger plane via a first-come, first-served line, or walk around the plaza without waiting in lines.

The new timed tickets were a suggestion from our visitors. We will continue to modify the program to ensure our guests have the best experience possible. To learn more about timed tickets, visit spacecenter.org/timed-ticketing.

For tips on planning your trip, go to the spacecenter.org/visitor. Admission to Independence Plaza is included with a fullprice ticket. Purchase a Space Center Houston membership for a few dollars more than full-price admission and return free as often as you like during the year with free parking, special events, and much more. For more information on Space Center Houston, visit spacecenter.org.

Red Bull Adds Pilots

Continued from Page 28

2016 Master Class Pilots Hannes Arch (AUT) Kirby Chambliss (USA) Matthias Dolderer (GER) Michael Goulian (USA) Matt Hall (AUS) Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA) Petr Kopfstein (CZE) Nigel Lamb (GBR) Francois Le Vot (FRA) Pete McLeod (CAN)

Yoshihide Muroya (JPN) Peter Podlunsek (SLO) Martin Sonka (CZE) Juan Velarde (ESP) Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss out: Ticketing for the 2016 season of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship is underway. For more information on tickets and all the latest, visit www.redbullairrace.com

ROTOR PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS CAPTURE POWER OF HELICOPTERS AND THEIR PEOPLE

February 2016

A series of striking shots reflecting the breadth and drama of helicopters and our industry at work have been selected as winners of HAI’s fourth annual ROTOR Magazine Photo Contest. This year, 323 photographers submitted nearly 1,000 images. The grand prize winner and five category winners will be showcased in the Winter 2016 issue of ROTOR. In addition, the winter issue’s cover is an honorable mention photo.

The rules of the contest are simple.

Anyone – not just HAI members – may submit up to five photos in each of five categories. Each photo must include all or part of a helicopter. The five categories are: Helicopters at Work; Helicopters in the Military; Helicopters Serving the Community; People and Their Helicopters, and Cell Phone Photos.

Grand Prize: Adam Ward of News Corp Australia in Surry Hills, New South Wales, won the Grand Prize for this dramatic shot of a person being rescued from a blowhole, or vent leading to a sea cave. Taken at Dee Why cliffs on Sydney Northern Beaches, the photo shows Rachel Turner, a doctor for the New South Wales Ambulance, ascending with the patient who suffered two broken arms

www.inflightusa.com

AND

BEAUTY

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Helicopters in the Military winner by Kyle Newman, of Norcross, Ga., USA.

Grand Prize winner by Adam Ward of News Corp Australia. and multiple internal injuries.

Helicopters in the Military: Kyle Newman, of Norcross, Ga., USA, took this picture of the Sikorsky HH-60M Medevac Blackhawks of the Georgia National Guard at Gatlinburg Pigeon Forge Airport

in 2013, just after having been commissioned as a second lieutenant. He is now a rated aviator out of the same flight facility and flies a UH-60L. Helicopters at Work: Michael Adam of Docklands, Victoria, Australia

Helicopters in the Military winner by Kyle Newman, of Norcross, Ga., USA.

faced a technical challenge while getting this shot during nighttime winch training in rural Victoria. Adam, a flight paramedic team manager with Ambulance Continued on Page 34

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Building kits in Idaho for 30 years, and now ready-to-fly certified models are available.

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Learn to fly, continue your backcountry flight training, or take Gowen Field -Boise (BOI) a sales demonstration flight www.stick-rudder.com 208.477.1318

34

BEECHCRAFT SIGNS T-6C CONTRACT FOR THE UK MILITARY FLYING TRAINING SYSTEM In Flight USA Celebrating 31 Years

Beechcraft Defense Company, LLC, recently announced it has signed a contract with Affinity Flying Training Services to provide 10 Beechcraft T-6C Texan II military training aircraft to the UK Ministry of Defense’s Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) program. A second contract has also been signed to include five years of engineering services, parts support, maintenance training, and the placement of on-site Field Service Representatives who provide ongoing technical expertise to UKMFTS maintenance personnel.

With deliveries beginning in the first quarter of 2018, these aircraft will support team Affinity, a joint venture between Elbit Systems and KBR

(Beechcraft Defense Company/Textron Aviation Inc.)

(Kellogg, Brown, and Root), who was selected as the preferred bidder to pro-

vide aircraft and maintenance services to the UKMFTS program.

February 2016

“We are proud to offer the U.K. Ministry of Defense a proven and highly capable solution that will meet their current and future training needs,” said Russ Bartlett, Beechcraft Defense Company.

“We look forward to continuing our successful relationship with the UKMFTS program, providing a superior platform to fill its mission requirements as well as outstanding product support.”

The T-6C trainers will replace Shorts Tucano T1 aircraft and join the fleet of Beechcraft King Air 350ER turboprops, which are already providing live and synthetic radar training for Royal Navy observers as part of the UK MFTS Rear Crew Training program.

ROTOR Photo Contest Winners

Continued from Page 33 Victoria, took this striking image in pitchblack conditions with no flash, only the anti-collision and clearance lighting of the Agusta Westland AW139.

People and Their Helicopters: Luis Feliz of Hollywood, Fla., USA, had a goal: to capture on film the confidence and readiness of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) rescue swimmers. With this portrait, Feliz, who heads the avionics shop at USCG Air Station Miami, obviously succeeded.

Helicopters and Serving the Community: Richard Morales of Tucson, Ariz., USA, really caught the right moment in this photo of a Bell 206B of the Tucson Police Department Air Support Unit sitting out a passing storm between patrol flights.

Cell Phone Photos: This photo, taken by Niah Taylor of Queenstown, New Zealand, while waiting for the weather to clear, demonstrates once again

People and Their Helicopters winner by Luis Feliz of Hollywood, Fla., USA.

Helicopters and Serving the Community winner by Richard Morales of Tucson, Ariz., USA. In addition to having their photos published in the Winter 2016 ROTOR magazine and displayed prominently at HAI HELI-EXPO 2016 in Louisville, Ky., the grand prize winner receives a $500 prize, and each category winner receives a $50 prize.

The 2017 ROTOR Magazine Photo Contest will open for entries on Aug. 1, 2016, at photo.rotor.org and will run through Dec. 1, 2016.

EMBRY-RIDDLE CONTINUES AVIATION-FOCUSED PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION OFFERINGS IN SPRING 2016 that superb photography is possible with

today’s cell phones.

Study Aircraft Accident Investigation, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, and Aviation Safety

As part of Embry-Riddle’s commitment to continuing professional education and lifelong learning, the university is hosting a variety of aviation-focused short courses and seminars at the Daytona Beach Campus taught by aviation industry subject-matter experts.

These industry-focused courses are designed for aviation professionals involved in the operation, management, and supervision of aerospace organiza-

tions. The staff at Embry-Riddle Professional Programs can also create specialized programs to offer on-site, customized education and training in a variety of aviation, safety, and investigation subjects.

For a complete listing of the Certificate of Management in Aviation Safety course schedule, please visit www.erau.edu/cmas

Certificate of Management in Aviation Safety Short-Courses

The certificate requires the completion of three five-day courses in Occupational Safety and Health and Aviation Ground Safety, Aviation Safety Program Management and Aircraft Accident Investigation and Management (Basic or Advanced). This series of courses can be completed independently

or as part of the Certificate of Management in Aviation Safety; discounts are available for multiple course selection.

April 18-22 OSHA & Aviation Ground Safety, Daytona Beach, Fla. This course gives the participant working knowledge of OSHA’s General Continued on Page 36

www.inflightusa.com

February 2016

Homebuilder’s Workshop

I

have very little going on in the homebuilder’s workshop, as I’m recovering (on schedule) from yet another spinal surgery, but my guys have been busy on the fuel system of the RV-9A. And I hope to restart flying within the next month, accompanied of course by a babysitter CFI on the first flight.

The most recent project was the fuel gauges, as the Garmin G3X glass cockpit lets you calibrate those puppies.

Although calibration had been done when I bought the airplane, they didn’t seem to be reading right. And besides, I had removed the analog fuel gauges to make room for the second G3X touchscreen, possibly confusing the electrons.

Anyway, the fuel gauges are now calibrated, as much as possible, that is.

The tanks in the RV-9A are in the leading edge of the wing, the wings have dihedral (are bent upwards towards the tips a little for in-flight stability), and the fuel sensors are float-type sensors mounted in the root (inboard and lower) end of the tank. This means that the floats float up to the top of the inboard end of the tank and read full before the tanks are completely full at the outboard end of the tank. Each tank holds nominally 18 gallons, but the left and right fuel gauges

FUEL

show full at 14 and 15 gallons. What’s more important, though, is that they be accurate when the fuel quantity is low.

But do the tanks actually hold 18 gallons? Yes and no. The guys were able to get a little more than 18 gallons in each tank. But if you’re in a hurry, the ribs inside the fuel tank can hold air bubbles, and you might not get the tanks completely filled. When I was an active CFI, I always told my students not to calculate fuel reserves based on completely full tanks for just that reason.

This plane has a fuel-flow sensor that connects to the engine interface unit part of the G3X system, but the GTN650 nav/GPS/comm also has a function to track fuel flow and hence, fuel burn.

There’s no provision in the G3X to export fuel flow in the serial data format (RS232) that the GTN650 wants to see fuel flow in, and the GTN doesn’t have the ability to count the pulses that come from a conventional fuel-flow sensor like the G3X can––you need a fuel-flow computer to convert pulses to RS232. Ain’t a gonna happen – don’t want to run more wires, break into the fuel system for an extra sensor, and of course, don’t want to spend any extra money.

BeLite, maker of the ultralight, has

fuel gauge senders that are based on pressure of the fuel at the bottom of the tank due to gravity. No surprise, the senders are calibrated through a microprocessor. This seems like a really cool widget, but similarly, not a project at the top of the list.

••••• As an AirVenture Chairman (one of perhaps several hundred, each in charge of a group of volunteers with a given mission), I get a heads up on all of the preparations for AirVenture. In this month’s briefing, we learned of all of the airplanes coming to AirVenture (impressive!) and all the arranging that is required (overwhelming).

Part of what makes AirVenture special is that all kinds of airplanes and groups of airplanes show up. On the other hand, it seems that an “anniversary” is any multiple of five years that some group wants to use as an excuse for a group event. Let ‘em come, I say. The economic and political clout of EAA comes in large part from AirVenture, and that clout in turn comes from the broad participation across the aviation spectrum. If AirVenture was just homebuilts, politicians and the more mainstream press would ignore it, and the homebuilt movement would wither to a few very hardcore

35

individuals.

••••• The RV-9A has Ed an angle-of-attack Wischmeyer system installed so that I can determine for myself what AOA features are actually benefits and which ones are part of the hype. This (Garmin G3X) system does not have a prominent visual display on the primary flight display, but it also generates a series of beeps as the angle of attack increases. At lower angles of attack, the beeps are infrequent, but as the angle of attack gets close to stall, the beeps become more frequent till at stall there is a continuous tone.

The system was extremely easy to calibrate in flight. It took longer to read and understand the directions than it did to do the calibration.

Frankly, I think that an aural tone for AOA is the way to go – think of the Cessna vibrating reed stall warning systems that got ever more annoying as the angle of attack increased. After all, if a pilot is too preoccupied to watch the airspeed indicator, why would he or she be able to watch an AOA display?

We shall see.

AIR ELITE NETWORK SEEKS IS-BAH ACCREDITATION NETWORK

Partners with the International Business Aviation Council to Gain the Highest Safety Certification in the Industry

World Fuel Services announced that the Air Elite Network has partnered with the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC), so network members can attend training and pursue the International Standard for Business Aviation Handling (IS-BAH) accreditation in 2016 and beyond.

Several Air Elite members currently hold IS-BAH accreditation or are working toward the certification. With the guidance of the Air Elite Network, all members can attend workshops and take steps to becoming accredited.

IS-BAH is designed to promote the use of industry best practices through a progressive Safety Management System (SMS) for Fixed Based Operations and Business Aircraft Handling Agencies. As one global industry code of best practices, IS-BAH introduces a regulatory standard for the safety oversight of

ground service providers and aircraft operators to meet the proposed changes to SMS requirements.

IS-BAH follows the long-established structure of the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations Program (IS-BAO) and incorporates the NATA Safety 1st Ground Audit Program. IS-BAH helps organize and monitor service delivery processes, systems, and behaviors. In addition, IS-BAH provides a registration process, auditor credentialing, audit approval process, and a fully integrated implementation manual.

Conforming to these standards and recommended practices is voluntary and may be self-administered. However, an IBAC certificate to recognize the implementation/conformance to the standards is available through a third party auditing process.

“The Air Elite Network has set the bar high for its members in the area of service standards and quality since the network’s inception. Safety is always paramount in the Aviation industry. Air Elite’s goal of bringing each member up to speed with the new IS-BAH requirements furthers the network’s commitment to quality and safety excellence,” said John Rau, World Fuel Services’ Executive Vice President of Aviation.

More specifically, IS-BAH strives to provide the following benefits: • Safer ground operations, fewer accidents and injuries • ‘Safest Optimum Practice ground handling procedures and improved safety oversight • Enhanced understanding of high risk areas within scope of ground activities • Reduced injury and ground damage costs

• Elimination of redundant audits from operators – one IS-BAH™ audit in place of many operator audits • Uniform audit process and harmonized industry standards – • Quality management based on standards can be implemented more effectively • Influence in standard-setting process helps reduce disadvantages from regulations • HSE management based on standards can be implemented more effectively The Air Elite Network is comprised of 51 uniquely exceptional diamond service locations worldwide and continues to grow steadily. The network was established in late 2011, and each FBO must meet a number of airport, facility, and service quality standards in order to qualify for membership.

Have an event coming up? Submit it for publication in the In Flight USA Events Calendar online at inflightusa.com

36

ICAO'S CAEP MEETS TO AGREE NEW AIRCRAFT INTERNATIONAL CO2 STANDARD AND DECIDE STRINGENCY LEVEL In Flight USA Celebrating 31 Years

February 2016

The 10th triennial session of ICAO’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP/10) gets underway on Monday (Feb. 1) with a decision on an aircraft CO2 standard set to dominate the two-week meeting. The standard has been in development for around six years and has not been without controversy over its metric and level of stringency.

However, CAEP’s 22 members representing states worldwide – with input from 15 observers representing states, industry, and NGOs – are expected to agree the standard during the session, which will then be passed for approval by ICAO’s governing Council. The standard will have no effect on aircraft that are already in service and will likely be applied to new aircraft designs and for inproduction aircraft that undergo major changes. Among issues that require deci-

sions are the threshold weight of aircraft to which the standard should apply and the stringency levels, or options (SO), that should be applied.

The purpose of the CO2 standard, which would become effective sometime between 2020 and 2023, is to drive efficiencies in aircraft and engine technologies and is an important component of ICAO’s “basket of measures” to mitigate the growth in emissions from international aviation. Aircraft types that do not meet the standard will not receive a certificate until the manufacturer improves the design. As well as established plane makers such as Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier and Embraer, the standard would also impact on new aircraft manufacturers entering the market, such as from China.

The requirements for aircraft already in production would be less stringent than

those for new aircraft types, as there are fewer options to improve efficiency. For both groups of aircraft, the standard would differentiate between those above and below 60 tonnes of maximum takeoff mass (MTOM), although the aircraft and engine manufacturers association ICCAIA, a CAEP observer, is pushing for a higher threshold of 70.265 tonnes.

The metric is based on fuel consumption per square meter of cabin space, times kilometers flown.

The airline sector strongly supports the CO2 standard, IATA Senior Vice President Paul Steele told journalists earlier this month. “It won’t necessarily accelerate the level of fuel efficiency of the industry over the next five to 10 years, as we are already on a trajectory of improvement and know what technologies are coming into the fleet during that period,”

he said. “But it is really important in providing a framework by which the efficiency performance of the industry and aircraft can be judged. As with standards over aircraft noise, a similar approach can be taken over CO2 and stringency can be ratcheted up over time. The standard will provide a longer term impact and significant building block in helping us get to where we want to be in 2050.”

A study prepared by Oeko-Institut for the European Parliament’s environment committee (ENVI) says higher stringency levels require more advanced technology and more sophisticated design, so leading to potentially higher prices airlines will have to pay for their aircraft.

This would have to be balanced, it says, by fuel and cost savings due to higher efficiency during operation of the aircraft.

Continued on Page 39

Textron Aviation Inc. recently announced that it has attained new certifications allowing each U.S. companyowned service center to support the Beechcraft, Cessna and Hawker brands.

“We are committed to fostering relationships with our customers that continue well beyond the initial aircraft purchase. We recognize that investing in and expanding our service capabilities to ensure Beechcraft, Cessna, and Hawker

customers have convenient access to high quality, factory-direct expertise is paramount to their satisfaction,” said Brad Thress, senior vice president, Customer Service. “All 14 Textron Aviation-operated service centers in North America have received expanded certifications in the past year, allowing us to deliver on our service commitments across our brands.”

In addition to investing in companyowned service centers, Textron Aviation

continues to make available more resources for customers who want the flexibility of service at their location.

Over the last year, the company expanded its mobile service unit (MSU) fleet to more than 60 vehicles located in North America and Europe. The company also recently placed a third dedicated support aircraft in service – its first in Europe – to support maintenance events by transporting technicians and parts to the cus-

tomer’s location.

“From growing our team of highlytrained technicians, to making our company-owned service centers capable of servicing all of our brands, we’re focused on how best to reach our broad base of customers and be their go-to source for aircraft support,” Thress said. “We’ll continue to listen to their feedback and expand our solutions in ways that keep our customers flying.”

TEXTRON AVIATION COMPLETES EXPANDED CERTIFICATION OF U.S. COMPANY-OWNED SERVICE CENTERS

Embry-Riddle Aviation-Focused Professional Education

Continued from Page 34 Industry Safety and Health standards. In addition, participants will gain a fundamental working knowledge of an aviation ground safety program. Participants will also receive the OSHA 30-Hour General Industry Safety and Health Card.

April 25-29 Aviation Safety Program Management, Daytona Beach, Fla. Participants will gain working knowledge of the development and management of an effective safety program. Topics include economics of safety; risk management; safety climate; regulatory safety and health programs; safety analysis techniques, and safety management systems.

May 2-6 Aircraft Accident Investigation and Management, Daytona Beach, Fla. This course will teach the fundamentals required to conduct or manage an aircraft mishap/accident investigation.

The participant will review the investigation sequence from the preplanning stage through the general survey and specific analysis of a mishap/accident, culminating with the determination of contributing factors and probable cause/s.

Continuing Education Seminars:

May 24-26 Aviation Safety Management Systems, Daytona Beach, Fla.

This concentrated course in Aviation Safety Management Systems (SMS) is tailored for aviation practitioners and taught

by Embry-Riddle and industry SMS subject-matter experts. Aviation safety professionals and stakeholders should plan to attend. This course is tailored for any individual actively involved in his or her organization’s safety management system.

Web: www.erau.edu/sms

June 7-9 Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Daytona Beach, Fla. This three-day Embry-Riddle Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) course is designed to identify the key concepts, attributes, and challenges of UAS operations. Eligible participants will also receive the Small UAS Safety

Awareness Certificate.

Attendees will gain knowledge of: • UAS System Components and Classification • UAS Design and Limitations • Regulatory Environment for UAS • Issues Associated with UAS Airspace Integration • Current and Future Trends Affecting the UAS Industry Web: www.erau.edu/uas For detailed course descriptions, fees, dates, and to register online, go to www.erau.edu/dbproed Professional Programs Contact: For more information on available courses and programs, please contact Sarah Ochs, Director of Professional Programs, at 386/226-6928 or dbproed@erau.edu.

February 2016

NATA WILL NOT SUPPORT “LEAP OF FAITH” FAA REAUTHORIZATION PROPOSAL www.inflightusa.com

37

The following is a statement by National Air Transportation Association President and CEO, Thomas L. Hendricks, following the recent release by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of the Aviation Innovation, Reform and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act, legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration. The Committee is expected to consider the legislation on Feb. 11.

“NATA cannot support the legislation’s proposal to create a federally chartered, not-for-profit air traffic control corporation. We have been quite clear throughout the development of this legislation that we will not support ‘leap of faith’ proposals that place the fate of any segment of general aviation – in this case the air charter community – in the hands of a yet-to-be-determined board of directors – especially given the fact that this segment

of general aviation is denied a voice in the corporation’s governance. A user-fee funded ATC corporation, controlled in perpetuity by a board of industry insiders, will place general aviation in constant peril, starve rural America of access to cuttingedge technology, and saddle the travelling public with ever increasing fees.

NATA understands and respects the process that Chairman Shuster undertook to develop this legislation. We also

acknowledge the legislation contains many provisions that reflect NATA’s suggestions for making the FAA a more efficient organization. While we agree with the Chairman that maintaining the status quo risks our nation’s supremacy in aviation, this draft legislation poses even greater risks – to the safe and stable nature of the world’s best air traffic control system and America’s vibrant general aviation community.”

A long-anticipated FAA reauthorization bill that calls for creating a federally chartered not-for-profit organization to manage air traffic control functions was announced during a Feb. 3 news conference led by Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Penn.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

The 270-page bill called the Aviation Innovation, Reform and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act of 2016, H.R. 4441, also includes third-class medical reform, certification reform, and user fees for Part 135 charter operators, and would set priorities for the FAA for the next six years.

“There are some very good things for general aviation in this bill. I think

everyone can agree that the FAA can be more efficient and effective, and this legislation creates opportunities for both third-class medical reform and certification reform that have the potential to make flying safer and more affordable,” said AOPA President Mark Baker. “But there are other provisions we will firmly oppose such as user fees for any segment of GA, including business aviation. And still other elements, like the plan to separate air traffic control from the FAA, raise important questions that demand meaningful answers. Ultimately, we need to know that any FAA reauthorization legislation will protect the interests of general aviation now and into the future.”

An 11-member board that includes

representatives from the airlines, controllers, general aviation, and others would govern the proposed air traffic organization. AOPA plans to carefully study the bill’s language and its potential consequences over the coming days.

Aviation groups, including AOPA, have been asking House transportation leaders to make sure all stakeholders have adequate time and opportunities to weigh in on the legislation, which will have a profound effect on the entire aviation community if it becomes law.

Exactly how much time they’ll have remains to be seen, with lawmakers hinting at a committee markup of the bill sometime in the next few weeks.

“This is extremely complex legisla-

tion, and we need to be sure we get it right and fix only the things that are actually broken. So we will be going over it with a fine-toothed comb,” said AOPA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Jim Coon. “This bill is an important starting point, and there are many more steps to go before it is finalized. AOPA is going to be actively involved in the process, representing the needs of our members at every step along the way and opposing any provisions that would harm GA.” With FAA funding set to expire March 31, it seems unlikely that the House and Senate can reach agreement on final legislation before the deadline, increasing the chances that we’ll see another shortterm extension of the status quo.

The U.S. Sport Aviation Expo will begin plans for 2017 with a new Director, as Jana Filip has moved on to new opportunities and increased family time.

Sebring Regional Airport (SRA) Executive Director, Mike Willingham, said, “SRA appreciates Jana’s dedication to the event for the past five years.”

This year’s event started off strong with presentations and exhibits for Jan. 20 and 21 with robust attendance, including a Thursday morning AOPA Seminar that drew a standing-room-only crowd.

The next two days, Expo faced severe weather with winds gusting to 35 miles per hour, prohibiting most

exhibitors from taking to the sky.

Expo expects to remain the mainstay of sport and light-sport aviation manufacturers, catering to the recreational flying markets; to that end, SRA is researching weather data to choose a more optimum timeframe for 2017. “The weather challenges in recent years have given us the opportunity to review and assess the best possible time to produce a successful 2017 event,” Willingham said.

“The U.S. Sport Aviation Expo is and will continue to be an important part of building an industry with aircraft sales that far outpace the rest of general aviation,” Willingham added.

About U.S. Sport Aviation Expo:

worldwide, to promote their aircraft and associated products to a rapidly growing select group of like-minded professionals in this specialized sport aviation field.

There is no other show like this in the United States.

The 2017 Expo will be the 13th year Sebring Regional Airport has hosted this event.

New date information for 2017 will be announced within the coming months. For details, visit www.sportaviationexpo.com or www.facebook.com/SportAviationExpo

AOPA STATEMENT

SEBRING EXPO

ON THE AVIATION INNOVATION, AND REAUTHORIZATION ACT

TO

ANNOUNCE NEW DATES

AND

REFORM,

DIRECTOR

The U.S. Sport Aviation Expo began in 2004, in cooperation with Sebring Regional Airport and its Executive Director, Mike Willingham.

The Expo is an annual four-day Light-Sport and Sport Aviation Show featuring the newest in the field, including conventional aircraft, kit planes, powered parachutes, trikes, gyros, amphibians, and all types of innovative designs such as electrically powered aircraft. The Expo not only brings economic development to the airport and community but also brings together sport aircraft leaders,

FOR

Have an event coming up? Submit it for publication in the In Flight USA Events Calendar online at inflightusa.com

2017

38

MAKING SPORT PILOTS MASTERS

AND

In Flight USA Celebrating 31 Years

COMMANDERS

Bristell Introduces “the Landing Doctor” Syllabus Mancuso. Seeing a trend in damage to light-sport aircraft at these key moments, Mancuso knew he could share his expertise and make a difference.

Out of that commitment, Mancuso developed The Landing Doctor, a syllabus for flight school training on lightsport aircraft. “My company provides every pilot who buys a Bristell this specialized training. But in seeing these numbers, I knew we needed to think bigger than just ourselves.”

With that in mind, The Landing Doctor was developed. It includes key concepts such as Defined Go-Around Point (DFGAP), Ground Proximity Awareness (GPA), and a Personal Limitations Checklist (PLC) that support pilots in safely navigating light-sport aircraft. His goal is to provide every flight

school in the U.S. the material this year, expanding the reach and impact in coming years. Whether the school has LSAs as part of their training fleet, or the new pilots have access to their own LSA, Mancuso is committed that the training be there to support them.

“It doesn’t matter if they are flying a Bristell, a Cub, or a Gobosh,” said Mancuso, “what matters is that every pilot be trained to safely enjoy their time in the sky – and be confident in their abilities to fly these amazing aircraft” Flight schools can request a copy of the Landing Doctor syllabus by going to the Bristell Aircraft website and clicking on the training tab. www.bristell.com/training.

More information is also available at www.thelandingdoctor.com Bristell Aircraft are designed specif-

Banyan Air Service and Garmin are hosting a free one-day event for Beechjet 400A and Hawker 400XP operators to discuss Garmin’s pending STCs and to experience the new G5000 kiosk on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016 from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. To RSVP for this event, go online to banyanair.com/G5000 or contact Matthew Schepers, email mschepers@banyanair.com, 954/491-3170.

The Garmin G5000 is an advanced flight deck for Beechjet 400A/Hawker 400 XP series aircraft. It offers dual touchscreen displays/controllers with an intuitive menu interface offering each crew member full operational accessibility. Three split screen (dual PFD and MFD) displays offer six customizable

screens to present graphical flight data.

The system enables WAAS LPV approaches to 200’ minimums and provides the convenience of flying safely into smaller airports closer to your ultimate destination. Full FMS features like autopilot coupled with VNAV and STARS/SIDS give the pilot easier operation in congested airspace.

The GFC 700 autopilot has features like Flight Level Change (also known as indicated airspeed climb and descend) plus optional Electronic Stability and Protection. Replacing legacy avionics with the Garmin 5000 saves more than 150 pounds of weight, which enables additional passengers, cargo, or fuel.

Other advanced capabilities include

ADS-B “Out,” TCAS II, and advanced solid-state weather radar. The G5000 also offers optional satellite weather, voice calling, and text messaging as well as supporting RVSM operations. Future technologies like CPDLC, FANS 1A, and 7.1 TCAS II can be accommodated via future software updates.

The G5000 Retrofit Open House takes place the day before Banyan’s NextGen Mandates and Aircraft Upgrade Event on Thursday, Feb 18, 2016 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. The NextGen event is geared to Citation, Learjet, King Air, PC-12, Challenger 604, Piaggio and Falcon 2000 aircraft owners and operators. This event is sponsored by Rockwell Collins, Universal Avionics, Garmin,

Engineered Propulsion Systems is making steady progress in their push toward FAA certification. The cleansheet design for their diesel engine is being developed to fit a wide range of global applications in General Aviation.

The company completed ground and flight tests on two concept engines last spring. They have incorporated a number of refinements in their first pre-production engine, which recently passed the 100-hour mark in ground tests.

During the first 30 hours of running, the new engine confirmed predictions that all moving parts would run smoothly and that internal ports were functioning correctly in the movements of fuel, oil, and gasses. “We spent considerable time tweaking the calibrations and adjustments

to assure optimal performance,” said EPS President Michael Fuchs. “That’s the only way to reach peak efficiencies and maximum horsepower. We have turned up 360 horsepower so far and expect to reach higher as the software is enhanced.”

The engine was subjected to a complete tear down at five hours and a partial tear down at 30 hours. “There were no major issues,” said Fuchs. “This is encouraging since we incorporated hundreds of new mechanical components and systems.”

At the end of December, the first pre-production redundant Electronic Engine Control Units (EECUs) were put in service and are currently undergoing testing. “We are extremely proud that the EPS team and suppliers have reached this important milestone,” said EPS Vice

President Steven Weinzierl. “Clean-sheet designs are essential for advancing powerplant technologies, and our test runs have clearly demonstrated their merits.”

As the company adds hours to the logbook, run times will increase. All of the data collected from running the first pre-production engine will be incorporated in the second in the series of pre-production engines. Flight tests with one of the pre-production engines are scheduled to begin with a company-owned Cirrus, at the hands of Dick Rutan, this spring.

As measurements progress with the pre-production engines, EPS has been working on its second contract with the United States Air Force. The award was part of the Air Force Alternative Energy Solicitation, which has the objective of

Landing light-sport aircraft (LSA) requires extra care in the landing and takeoff phases of flight, as the planes are lightly wing loaded. According to research completed by the AOPA Air Safety Foundation, light sport aircraft are 19 percent more likely to be involved in a landing, take-off, or go-around incident than a certified two-place aircraft. As most LSA pilots have backgrounds in flying more weighty aircraft, learning the techniques that make these critical stages of flight smooth is the difference between enjoying the freedom of flight and costly mishaps.

Long committed to safety in flight, Lou Mancuso sees the importance of leaving a legacy of safety in flying LSAs. “My desire is to make every pilot master and commander of his ship,” said

February 2016

G5000 RETROFIT OPEN HOUSE

AT

ically for the big and tall American Aviator. Wider than a Cirrus and faster than a Skyhawk, Bristell redefines affordable personal FUN flying. Backed by the longest standard warranty in its class, Bristell offers an ownership experience that is the envy of the market segment with the highest level of quality, fit, and finish available on the market. To learn more about Bristell Aircraft, visit www.bristell.com.

BANYAN

CMD Flight Solutions, BLR, Blackhawk, Raisbeck Engineering, Flight Display Systems, Gogo Business Aviation, Aircraft Lighting International, ForeFlight, MidContinent, L3 Communications, Appareo, Bendix King, Honeywell, FreeFlight Systems, and BurgerFi. To RSVP for this event, visit banyanair.com/2020.

EPS DIESEL PRE-PRODUCTION ENGINE LOGS 100-PLUS HOURS

Testing of EPS’ pre-production engine has met or exceeded expectations and continues to record a high level of progress. developing technologies that match the intent of the Air Force Energy StrategyPlan.

For more information on EPS, visit eps.aero.

February 2016

OODIES AND ADGETS

www.inflightusa.com

39

One of the truly great things about being an aviation buff is the number of “Goodies and Gadgets” available to play with. Here In Flight USA has collected a few new ones worthy of your consideration.

Zeftronics Alternator Control Units

The R15VOL Alternator Controller Unit provides high voltage regulation, over voltage protection, field to ground short protection, and an on-unit troubleshooting light. A perfect fit for aircraft owners and mechanics, the 14V R15VOLAlternator Controller will make it easy to identify if power is getting to the Alternator Control Unit. The R15VOL simplifies electrical charging system wiring while reducing trouble shooting time and improving the operation of the alternator system.

For more information, please contact Aircraft Spruce at 1-877-477-7823 or 951/372-9555, and reference part number 07-17988 for the 14-volt unit and 0717989 for the 28-volt unit.

Aircraft Spruce’s complete product line is available at www.aircraftspruce.com.

Request your complimentary copy of the company’s free 1,000+- page catalog (available in print, CD, or PDF formats).

ATS Pro Complete Time-Rite Kit (18MM)

Time-Rite is an instrument designed for precision timing of aircraft engines by direct measurement of piston travel.

The features of the Time-Rite design a moveable slide pointer and an adjustable calibrated scale, eliminate the need for finding top dead center and compensate for the variables involved in accurate piston positioning.

Calibrated scales are available for most types of engines, and scale calibrations are obtained in cooperation with, and are approved by the engine manufactures.

Because of the difference in spark plug locations and piston dome shapes, different pivot arms are available to adapt the Time-Rite to most aircraft engines.

All arms are easily interchanged.

This Complete 18mm Kit Includes: • One 18mm Time-Rite unit • A complete set of scales for 18mm engines • A complete set of arms for 18mm engines • An instruction manual • A fitted case • 3 lbs (1.5Kg) shipping weight More Information: Install TimeRite in the spark plug hole of the timing cylinder and turn the engine through one complete cycle, which leaves the slide pointer at the highest piston travel point, permitting alignment of the zero-degree position on the calibrated scale with the slide pointer.

Timing degree positions measured from the zero-degree scale mark represent angular, crankshaft positions relative to true top dead center as obtained by methods using a pointer and protractor on the crankshaft. $549.95 Visit www.aircraft-tool .com today

New Aircraft International CO2 Standard Continued from Page 36 The United States is suggesting a stringency level of SO8 to SO9 – the highest being SO10 – for both in-production and new aircraft types, according to CAEP working papers seen by OekoInstitut. The U.S. level of ambition is largely driven by government pressure following recent action over aviation emissions from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EU is suggesting a level of SO7 for new types over 60 tonnes MTOM. Aircraft and engine manufacturers are seeking much lower SO levels for in-production models (SO2) and levels of SO5 and SO6 for new types. Oeko-Institut says an impact analysis shows the optimal stringency level in which additional investment costs are in balance with fuel savings is around SO8.

NGOs, which are represented as a CAEP observer by the International Coalition for Sustainable Aviation (ICSA), are seeking the highest stringency level of SO10.

Some NGOs have criticized the EU

for its lower level of ambition for the standard, which they claim would result in up to 400 megatonnes of additional CO2 emissions between 2020 and 2040 that could be avoided with a higher stringency level. They blame the weaker EU position on lobbying by Airbus and say it potentially leaves Europe to take the blame if an environmentally ineffective standard is agreed by CAEP and would be “a betrayal of European climate ambition and run directly counter to everything that Europe so rightly achieved last month in Paris.”

The group of 17 NGOs, which includes ICSA member Transport & Environment, has written an open letter to Airbus CEO, Fabrice Brégier, calling on the manufacturer to “seize the opportunity that this standard presents”.

The letter adds: “An effective standard will set a level playing field and realistic technology bar that can only benefit European industry by stimulating billions of manufacturing investment in R&D and thousands of new jobs. A weak standard on the other hand will not only

lock in many hundreds of megatonnes of avoidable emissions over the next generation – all from the sector with the fastest rate of CO2 emissions growth – but damage both Airbus and Europe’s airlines by foregoing achievable fuel efficiency improvements, which are central to aviation becoming sustainable.”

Last week, UK newspaper, The Guardian, leaked details of the EU and U.S. positions and said the U.S. SO9 level would reduce overall aircraft emissions by 37.5 percent, while an EU SO7 would result in a 33 percent cut. While a small gap, the report said it was equal to 350 million tonnes of CO2, or slightly more than Spain emits every year.

An Airbus spokesperson told GreenAir the company would not comment on leaked documents from the ongoing negotiations, adding that it was investing heavily in continuous innovations that significantly reduce fuel burn in current and future aircraft programs, and was fully supporting international talks at ICAO to identify global solutions.

The Oeko-Institut briefing said that

Plug and Jump (Cessna)

This is the universal model (threepin). The Plug and Jump is a very lightweight portable unit. It can be used to start your aircraft using standard jumper cables and a car. The Plug and Jump comes in two models: The Universal Model for Cessna, Beechcraft, etc. (three-pin plug), and the Single Pin model for the Piper. It is not a battery in itself but a simple conduit of power from any external power source to the aircraft.

The Plug and Jump can be used for either 28 or 14 V systems. 2 lbs (1Kg) shipping weight. $79.95 Visit www.aircraft-tool.com today.

due to strong traffic growth, aircraft efficiency improvements will reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to baseline projects but will not result in absolute emissions reductions.

“They are, nevertheless, an important contribution to global efforts on addressing climate change because they reduce the aviation sector’s demand for offset units,” it concludes.

With more than 150 information and working papers submitted for the meeting, CAEP/10 will also be focusing on progress made by the technical task force (GMTF) supporting ongoing work on the Global Market-Based Measure (GMBM). The GMTF has three subgroups looking at monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV), eligibility aspects of carbon offsets, and technical and economic analysis.

Attention will also be paid to work on an emissions standard under development concerning non-volatile particulate matter, which aims to encourage improved engine designs and is due for decision-making by CAEP/11 in 2019.

40

In Flight USA Celebrating 31 Years

February 2016

It has been said that the only voluntary act in aviation is the decision to take-off. Every action after take-off involves the skillful management of risk, the enjoyment of flight and a continuous stream of decisions that result in a safe landing.

In 1974, NASA created the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) to allow aviation professionals to share experiences in a frank, non-punitive manner.

The ASRS structure allows pilots and other aviation professionals to file an anonymous report of an incident, error or occurrence that the contributor feels might be of value to others. These reports are gathered, analyzed and data based by NASA experts and made available to all interested parties as a tool for creating proactive aviation safety programs. Additionally, NASA distributes an electronic publication, CALLBACK, which contains selected, de-identified, reports on a free subscription basis. In Flight USA is proud to reprint selected reports, exerpted from CALLBACK, for our readers to read, study, occasionally laugh at, and always learn from. Visit http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/ to learn how you can participate in the ASRS program.

When ASRS Analysts screen safety incident reports, they can tag certain ones for their relevance to upcoming CALLBACK topics. Other reports can be tagged for the Editor’s “Miscellaneous” file simply because they are “interesting.” A year-end review of the Miscellaneous file found several reports that fit into the “DOH!” (“Different Or Humorous!”) category and are worth sharing. No matter what our level of experience, there is an important lesson to be learned from these reports. No one is immune to error and, while some of these mistakes may seem rather improbable, those who think, “It could never happen to me” may be setting themselves up for embarrassment or worse. Wise aviation professionals recognize that we are all just a brief mental lapse away from one of those memorable moments we’d like to forget. Or, as a pilot stated in the first sentence of a recent report, “After years of reading incident reports and thinking, ‘How could a pilot do something so stupid?’ now I understand. I have met the moron and he is me!”

Not a Good Friday

Obviously, mistakes attributable to lack of experience tend to happen earlier in our flying careers. One of the factors often affecting newer pilots is a tendency to focus so intently on one thing that their sense of the “big picture” is lost. An integral part of the big picture is what some old timers refer to as “headwork” or common sense. This B99 pilot may have been a little too focused on the mechanics of a checklist to step back mentally and question whether it fit the situation.

• Enroute… I started to perform my required “Weekly Checks” Checklist, going through item by item. The checklist calls for the weekly fire-test; the first item is to pull both fire handles. As I pulled them, I noticed a sudden loss of performance on both engines. My gauges indicated that both of them flamed out. I pushed the handles back and started to troubleshoot. I determined that my right

IT COULD NEVER HAPPEN

engine was still operational. Meanwhile, the aircraft was losing altitude, but it was under control. I advised ATC about my situation, and they told me there was an airport 10 miles away along my route.…

Being a new pilot on this airplane, under these circumstances, I decided the best course of action was to secure the inoperative engine and land as soon as possible. Having my right engine operational, I was able to stabilize the airplane and started my VFR descent. I completed my Emergency Checklist and then performed a safe single-engine landing. I am a new pilot on this airplane, having just completed my upgrade training one week ago. During the flight training, this part of the checklist was never mentioned, and the checklist was not available in the training aircraft. On the checklist, the fire test appears to be among the inflight test items. This situation was the result of me following the checklist that I believed I was supposed to perform. Had I received the proper training, I am sure this situation could have been avoided.

Push the “Right” Pedal

The more this Maule M7 Pilot corrected a left yaw with right rudder, the more trouble he had controlling the aircraft. When you think you’re doing the right thing, but get the wrong result, it’s time to do some troubleshooting.

• I was flying… at 11,000 feet on an IFR flight plan. My autopilot disconnected and revealed an out-of-trim condition, which caused the aircraft to yaw to the left. I had stretched my right leg to the right of the cockpit for comfort. When the aircraft yawed, I instinctively pressed my right foot on the rudder pedal. This caused the aircraft to yaw even more to the left, requiring full right aileron to keep from rolling inverted. I turned the autopilot off and released the rudder trim with no effect. I also reduced power and lowered the nose to get better control, advising ATC that I was turning and descending with a flight control problem.

ATC advised me that [an airport] was

TO

ME

ahead about 10 miles.… As I continued to troubleshoot, I noticed that my right foot was pressing on the copilot left rudder pedal instead of the pilot right rudder pedal. As soon as I got my foot on the correct rudder pedal, I was able to control the aircraft and advised ATC. I continued the flight.

Climb to Increase Airspeed (?!)

A regular pattern of observation that includes all of the essential flight instruments is the essence of a good instrument scan. To some extent, the scan starts on the takeoff roll and, as this ERJ-145 Pilot learned, fixation on one instrument can disrupt the scan and lead to an embarrassing sequence of events.

• On the takeoff roll, after calling out, “Thrust set,” I scanned the EICAS engine indications, and then I fixated on the altimeter, confusing it with the airspeed indicator. When the numbers on the altimeter dial did not increase during the takeoff roll, I mistakenly believed it was a stuck airspeed indication and called for an aborted takeoff. The Captain aborted the takeoff, and we taxied to a location where we could talk to maintenance. As I was explaining to the Captain what I had seen, I realized my mistake. I had confused the altimeter indication with the airspeed. There were no problems with the aircraft and we completed the flight safely.

Bad Vibrations

Traffic and weather distractions after takeoff disrupted an A320 Flight Crew’s normal procedures to the point where the obvious became obscure. As the Captain noted, their experience level led them directly to troubleshooting. You can’t know too much about aviation, but sometimes you can “overthink” a simple problem.

• We were focused on avoiding thunderstorms in the departure corridor.

Immediately after takeoff, we requested a right turn from departure. We also remained vigilant of the [reported traf-

fic]. There was now another concentrated area of weather directly ahead. I was trying to break into the congested departure frequency for a turn on course, which would provide adequate weather clearance. This took a couple minutes and dominated our attention. I noticed a slight airframe rumbling, but thought it might be the landing lights, which were still extended. Once we were given the turn on course and accelerated to 250 knots, we both started to focus on the increasing noise and vibration. I raised the landing lights with very little improvement. We completely concentrated on things that might be wrong with the airplane and searched through numerous system ECAM pages for answers.

Everything appeared normal, and all symbols were green (including the large green landing gear DOWN and LOCKED symbols, which were as we always see them… on the ground. But the gear doors I concentrated on were in fact UP and green), so we started hypothesizing about abnormal things that might be wrong with the jet. Things like a missing engine cowl, flap track fairings, gear doors open, and flight controls out of position.

We continued north as we attempted troubleshooting and began to think about diverting. We asked the Lead Flight Attendant to take a look at the wings, etc. and report back any anomalies. He found nothing unusual. I asked the First Officer to keep the speed back at 210 knots and to level off at 15,000 feet to remain in a safe speed and altitude range in case something was extended and to protect the airframe. I attempted a radio patch through Dispatch to include Maintenance. The reception was poor and we never spoke with Maintenance. We decided to continue communications through ACARS. Enough troubleshooting time had passed that I decided we needed to get the plane on the ground safely. I instructed the First Officer to coordinate landing at the divert airport while I briefed the Lead Flight Attendant and Continued on Page 41

CUBCRAFTERS INTRODUCES EMERGENCY AIRCRAFT PARACHUTES

February 2016

www.inflightusa.com

41

New Systems from BRS Aerospace Available for Company’s LSA, Kit, and Builder Assist Aircraft

Light aircraft manufacturer, CubCrafters, is announcing new emergency parachute systems for the company’s line of backcountry tailwheel airplanes. The systems, developed in conjunction with BRS Aerospace, will further advance safety in CubCrafters’ already exceptional aircraft designs by allowing pilots a safe alternative in otherwise difficult emergencies.

“The Carbon Cub is already recognized as the safest backcountry aircraft available,” comments Randy Lervold, President of CubCrafters. “Its extraordinarily slow stall speed, fundamentally sound wing shape, and vortex generators assure low-speed stability and maneuverability. The Carbon Cub’s super strong protective cage around its occupants is best in class. Now, the addition of the BRS systems not only provide a proven life-saving technology but also additional piece of mind for Carbon Cub pilots and passengers.”

Safe Landings

Continued from Page 40 then performed the Airframe Vibration Checklist.... As the First Officer flew the visual approach he called for “Gear Down, Landing Checklist.” It then became immediately clear that our “problem” was that the landing gear had never been retracted. We continued to a landing without incident since there was not enough time to verify adequate fuel to continue to [our destination]. I attribute this error to saturation with weather and traffic avoidance on departure followed by a lack of performing normal climb out procedures for the same reason... When we were handed off to departure, we focused intently on clearing traffic and weather on a very congested frequency.

Obviously, I did not raise the gear, and after raising the flaps, we had already completed our 90-degree right turn and were headed toward the thunderstorm area directly ahead. My attention was primarily on trying to break into the busy Departure Control frequency for an immediate clearance north away from the weather. This dominated our attention, and I believe I never accomplished the After Takeoff Checklist since it’s simply so out of sequence climbing out of approximately 6,000 feet. Between us, [the First Officer and I] have around 30,000 flight hours, and about eight years’ experience each in the airbus. I believe this is an important contributing factor since I have never experienced

The BRS parachute systems are offered on CubCrafters’ production Carbon Cub SS aircraft as well as the company’s Carbon Cub FX Builder Assist model and their EX-2 kit. Systems are also available for retrofit on CubCrafters’ existing fleet of LSA and experimental aircraft. Three new BRS models are immediately available for these CubCrafters airplanes: • New production LSA aircraft, including the Carbon Cub SS, for gross weight up to 1,320 lbs. (1,430 lbs. on floats). For this configuration, the BRS system weighs 34.3 lbs. and is priced at $13,990 installed.

• Retrofit on the existing fleet of LSA Carbon Cub and Sport Cub models, for gross weight up to 1,320 lbs. (1,430 lbs. on floats). This version weighs 41.4 lbs. and is priced at $15,990 installed.

• Carbon Cub EX-2 and FX experimental aircraft for gross weight up to 1,865 lbs. This configuration weighs 43.5

lbs. and is priced at $11,990 as a kit, or $15,990 installed.

The new BRS systems require annual inspection, a parachute repack every six years, and a rocket refresh every 12 years. These services, as well as installation of retrofit systems on fleet aircraft, can be performed now at CubCrafters’ Yakima, Wash. facility and at select CubCrafters Authorized Service Centers in the near future.

The new BRS system is the latest illustration of CubCrafters’ ongoing dedication to producing the safest aircraft possible. “As a light aircraft manufacturer, we feel it is incumbent on CubCrafters to offer proven mechanisms that contribute to product safety,” said Lervold. “The new BRS system is just another example of that commitment. It takes our already robust, reliable airplane design and makes it even safer.” Boris Popov, Founder and SVP at BRS added, “Being in our 34th year of business, we have been, and con-

tinue to be involved with a wide spectrum of innovative aircraft designs. There is no doubt that the Carbon Cub design, as successful as it is, will be even more so with the inclusion of the safety-enhancing BRS recovery parachute system.”

The first CubCrafters BRS system has already been installed and delivered on a new Carbon Cub SS.

even a delayed gear retraction on takeoff.

It’s such an unusual thing that we simply didn’t consider it. As we scrolled through ECAM system pages and other troubleshooting attempts/hypotheses, we never considered such a simple error.

Our experience level led us directly to troubleshooting a problem rather than looking for the obvious solution. It’s the

most embarrassing event of my flying career. This flight encountered a confluence of operational challenges as well as human factors issues, which resulted in a sub-par performance. It’s not like we lacked understanding of landing gear panel or ECAM symbols. I simply allowed my focus on weather and aircraft avoidance to lead to my neglect of basics.

I failed to raise the landing gear and perform the After Takeoff Checklist properly since we were so far past the normal flight sequence to accomplish it while concentrating on immediate safety of flight procedures. I am glad the company allowed us to continue the flight since I personally wanted to get back in the saddle and put this behind us.

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42

AIRLINE PILOT WANNABES: DON'T EVER LOSE HOPE! In Flight USA Celebrating 31 Years

By Bert Botta

From Private Pilot to Airline Captain in 23 Short Years!

It was Aug. 1966. I had a massive 180 hours in my little black logbook, the ink wasn’t even dry on my instrument ticket, and I was headed back to Kansas City, Mo. to be interviewed for a “flight officer” position at TWA. If I got past the stare down of the captain interviewers, and they figured I had enough of the TWA “right stuff,” I would then be given a physical and considered eligible for being hired as a pilot for Trans World Airlines.

The night before the interview, as I sat in my hotel room in the old President Hotel in downtown Kansas City, my mind was racing as I thought about the whirlwind I had just been spit out of, finding myself here, being interviewed for an airline dream job.

In 90 days, I had trained for and completed my private pilot’s license, and my commercial and instrument ratings at the old Flight Safety training academy at San Carlos Airport.

After passing my instrument ticket check ride, I was sure if I ever had to do a missed approach out of an ILS approach as part of the hiring procedure, I’d for sure screw it up. But, as it turned

out in those days, they didn’t require a simulator check to get hired.

Come on, how could you expect a 180-hour pilot to pass a sim check in a 707, full motion simulator when all he’s had in his throttle hand was a little push/pull handle to make the thing go faster.

I remember not sleeping that night; I got up early to walk around the corner to stare, wide-eyed, at the TWA training center at 12th and Baltimore Streets.

In my wildest dreams, I couldn’t imagine being here, crossing the threshold into that building, and being considered for a pilot position at an airline that was, not only one of the premier airlines in the world, but it also happened to be my first choice as an airline to fly for.

How presumptuous of me, 180 hours! How could I even call myself a pilot?

When I walked into the lobby, I was the receptionist welcomed me and told me to take a seat in the reception area.

The area had probably 15 or 20 straight back chairs arranged around the perimeter of the room.

Every chair was filled with a guy who looked just like the other guys; black or dark suits, white shirts with dark ties,

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IF SO, LET'S GET STARTED by giving me a call at: 415-320-9811, Toll-Free at: 888-962-3954, or email at: bert@bertbotta.com “After all, the most powerful and influential executives in the world trusted me with their lives when I flew for Netjets; it only makes sense that you can trust me with your business!”

shined shoes––you know the look if you’ve ever interviewed for a job, especially a pilot job!

(I remember thinking, “This secretary must have to really stifle a laugh every day, watching guys like me file in, all looking like we showed up to audition for the sequel to the “Men in Black!”)

As I took an empty seat in the middle of these guys, I looked around; I was sitting in the midst of a bunch of guys who looked like they just finished Navy Seal BUD week training; sitting straight as a stick, well composed, looking dead ahead, 12 o’clock, square jawed, you know the look.

After sitting there for a few minutes, I struck up a conversation with the guy on my right. He told me he just returned home from military flight duty in Vietnam.

He proceeded to tell me “Yeah, I just got back from ‘Nam.’” I asked him, “What were you flying over there.?” He said, “Caribous.”

I couldn’t help myself; I asked him how many hours he had. “About 3,000,” he said.

“What the heck am I doing here?” I thought to myself.

“If I sneak out now, maybe I can make the noon flight back to SFO. Except my return ticket isn’t good until tomorrow... O.K, stay with it, I’m here now, give it my best shot.”

Then the Caribou driver pointed across the room to another Navy Seal type and said, “Yeah, that’s a buddy of mine over there. He was in ‘Nam with me, flew Otters, doesn’t have as much time as me, only a couple thousand hours.”

“Only a couple thousand hours!

You’re killin’ me; give me a break!”

Sheesh! Now I really started to sweat. I tried to think good thoughts, calm myself, and stop sweating because I didn’t want to go into the interview, smelling like a goat, and ruin one of the two white shirts I brought with me; one for the first day interview, one for the physical the next day.

Every time one of the two office doors would open, a captain would emerge and call one of our names.

As each Navy Seal suit filed separately into one of the two interview offices, I peered down a hallway that connected the two offices. As the interviews finished up, I noticed some of the interviewees were directed to a room on the left down the hallway and some of them were directed to another one on the right.

February 2016

I figured the guys with the most flight time were in the room on the right with the most guys in it. And the other room on the left held guys like me, the “imposters,” the “wannabes,” the “rejects.”

I knew I was going to be herded out of the interview and into the room on the left with the other “untouchables!” But I tried not to let my mind go there; I couldn’t help myself.

Just as I was trying to figure out how to slip out of the office without the receptionist noticing me, one of the captains came out of his office and called out, “Mr. Botta?”

That was it. I cinched up my skinny tie, patted down the lapels on my confirmation suit, walked into the office, and waited for the captain to invite me to sit down like I read I should do.

I was confused. The captain immediately made me feel like I belonged there. I thought, “Why would he do that if he was only going to herd me out of his office and into the reject room?”

Oh well, I’m here, might as well see if I can compensate for my lack of flight time by being a really nice, personable guy.

He asked me a bunch of questions about flying, aerodynamics, weather, why I wanted to work for TWA, what kind of movies I liked, whether or not I liked girls, what I studied in college, those kinds of questions. The girl question would probably be verboten these days...

He didn’t bother to ask me about my flying time. Why the heck would he? It wasn’t enough to make any difference!

He was probably just being nice so I would say something complimentary about TWA on my return flight home.

Then he asked me a big one, the one about my college degree. “Why do you think you’re qualified to fly for TWA with a Social Science degree?” “How do you think a Social Science degree prepared you to fly airplanes?”

I can’t remember what I told him, but I stumbled through the rest of my answers, giving it my best shot with each one. I was silently thinking to myself, “Man, I wish I had stuck with that mechanical engineering program at San Francisco State, even though I hated engineering.”

By the end of the interview, I’m thinking I did pretty good but probably not half good enough to make up for my measly 180 hours.

After a few more questions, the capContinued on Page 43

February 2016 As an integral part of PS Engineering’s continuing efforts to improve cockpit audio management, the company is announcing the new PMA8000BTi audio selector panel, a version of the very popular PMA800BT that includes IntelliAudio spatial audio technology. Shipments of these units began Feb. 1, 2016.

IntelliAudio is technology that PS Engineering, Inc. has licensed from and patented by the United States Air Force Laboratory. When activated, the IntelliAudio application places the Com 1 audio signals at the relative 10 o’clock position and COM two audio signals at two o’clock relative position to the flight crew. This allows the pilot to take advantage of the Multi-talker or cocktail party effect, where the brain automatically interprets and differentiates conversations at different locations for reduced lis-

RAISE

THE

BAR, NOT

tening effort and greater comprehension.

“When we introduced IntelliAudio two years ago, we were amazed at the reaction from the pilots when they heard IntelliAudio for the first time,” said company founder and CEO, Mark Scheuer, “from air shows to flight PIREPS, pilots love it, so we decided to add it to our flag ship audio panel. What’s more, we didn’t raise the price, only the bar!”

The PMA8000BTi carries the same list price as the PMA8000BT, $2,095.00, and includes all of the features.

Bluetooth® telephone and music connectivity, patented IntelliVox automatic

Airline Pilot Wannabes Continued from Page 42 tain stood up, shook my hand, and said, “Thanks for coming, Mr. Botta.” That was way too formal, too polite. If I were hired, he should have been giving me a hug or something, right!”

Then he opened the door, pointed down the hall, and said, “You’ll be a captain here at TWA within three years. Now just go down the hall and into that room on the right, Sir. Good luck.”

I thought, “Why is he saying that to me, a private pilot, airline pilot wannabe with no chance of ever being hired, much less becoming a captain here! Besides, that’s the room down the hall with the guys who just got hired. He must have made a mistake!”

Then I thought, “At least they gave me a round trip ticket, and they serve booze on the airplane, so I can get hammered on the way home this afternoon with the other West Coast losers.”

I walked about 20 feet down the hallway, opened the door into the room, and sat down. I looked around and there were about five guys sitting there. I struck up a conversation with one of the guys, and he asked me, “How’d you do?”

I said, “I have no idea, Man. It seemed to go pretty well.”

Then I offered what I thought was my best rationale for not getting hired. “I was up against all you guys with thousands of hours. How did you expect me to get hired?”

Then he said, “Wait a minute, Buddy. You do know we’re the guys who got hired, right?”

THE

www.inflightusa.com

I looked at him and said, “What!

You gotta be kidding me! Are you sure?”

He said, “Yeah, the other guys got escorted out of that other room, and they’re down in the lobby, waiting for a ride to the airport!”

I just started laughing; but I could feel my eyes overflowing with tears of joy.

I knew at that moment I could make it through the physical because my pulse was now back to something less than a

PRICE

43

VOX intercom, Alternate Intercom Function (AIF), digital aircraft radio playback, Swap Mode™, a front panel utility jack, marker beacon receiver/indicator, and multiple music muting modes.

IntelliAudio can be easily switched on or off from the front panel, “but I never turn mine off,” reports Mark Scheuer.

The PMA8000BTi is a plug-andplay replacement for the popular PMA8000-series audio panels, as well as the GARMIN GMA340*, which makes upgrading and getting the IntelliAudio

easy. Full-rate deliveries will start in early February through authorized PS Engineering dealers.

Founded in 1985, PS Engineering has become a leading manufacturer of general aviation intercoms and audio control systems. The company’s sole corporate focus is excellence in the design and manufacture of audio control systems for General Aviation Aircraft. PS Engineering is credited for many innovations in the field, including IntelliVox, Softmute, Karaoke Mode, Split mode, Swap Mode, and the IRS (Internal Recording System). With a network of more than 600 authorized dealer/installers worldwide, the company is a leader in retrofit avionics as well as a supplier to other major avionics manufacturers for their audio panel requirements.

For more information, visit www.psengineering.com

hummingbird’s!

The guy asked me, “What’s the matter, Man?” I said, “Someday, if we ever fly together, I’ll tell you!”

And I still had a clean white shirt for my physical the next day...

(Looking back and hearing the interview captain’s statement, “You’ll be a captain in three years,” ring in my ears, I thought about the 23 years I spent as an “apprentice” in the flight engineer and

co-pilot’s seats before I got upgraded to captain.

The ‘70s fuel crisis, lousy upper level management, stagnant growth, corporate raiders, ad nauseam, took its toll on my flying career.

Even though things didn’t go as forecast, I too, finally found my own, adequate version of “The Right Stuff.”

And it was still the best job that a guy who didn’t want to work for a living could have.

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In Flight USA Celebrating 30 Years

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Engineered Propulsion Systems (EPS), Inc., reached a number of milestones in 2015 while pursuing FAA certification. They relocated their manufacturing and assembly into new and larger facilities at New Richmond Airport (KNRH). Additional facilities are located in Mojave, Calif. and Germany.

Incorporating data obtained from their first two “concept engines,” EPS completed and began test runs of their first pre-production engine. The first and succeeding pre-production engines will be used in a process of revalidating performance and calibration that will lead to Production Engines.

EPS successfully completed their Air Force AFRL RIF contract and were awarded a new Air Force BAA contract based on fuel efficiency. They won an additional pending patent based on an innovative firing order for their diesel engine.

A number of major aircraft OEMs from around the world visited EPS headquarters in 2015, and the company hosted meetings with military contractors.

During 2015, they also added critical engineering and manufacturing talents to their staff and purchased new technology tooling, representing state of the art in the creation of a production line.

February 2016

EPS’Graflight 8 Engine experienced significant progress in 2015.

EPS is developing and certifying, through the FAA, the first clean-sheet diesel engine with electronic engine controls. Though the engine incorporates automotive and light duty truck technologies, it is definitely not an automotive conversion. The Graflight 8 engine will be certified to DO 178C. Completion of the certification process is expected in early 2017.

Once available, the EPS diesel engine will reduce pilot workload, reduce fuel burn by 30 to 50 percent, and have a TBO of 3,000 hours. The engine will allow owners to fly cheaper, go farther, fly faster or carry more load, and fly in geographic areas lacking avgas infrastructure. With its “Flat Vee” structure, the engine will fit legacy single or twinengine aircraft.

For more information, visit: eps.aero.

PLANES OF FAME AIR MUSEUM “WHERE AVIATION HISTORY LIVES”

Now, that is a title line that many air museums would like to claim, but few can live up to it. The Planes of Fame Air Museum, located in Chino (KCNO), Calif., is easy to reach both by land and air. Located to the east of Los Angeles, Chino Airport and the Planes of Fame location are a quick drive from virtually any Southern California location and a great fly-in destination. Chino Airport is large and welcoming, just south of Ontario International Airport, with a special “cut-out” in the Ontario Class C airspace to aid in making VFR arrivals easy.

Sporting Class D airspace, Chino Airport has an ILS approach and numerous FBOs. Best of all, one can taxi and tie down close to the Planes of Fame Museum (just ask for progressive taxi) where you will be welcomed by transient parking and access to a real, living adventure. A wide variety of FBO services, food, transportation, and accommodations are readily available at Chino, making a visit to Planes of Fame Air Museum a true weekend trip

that can extend far beyond the great experience offered by Planes of Fame. Just visit www.airnav.com/airport/KCNO for details regarding services that make flying into Planes of Fame a real treat.

But let’s get back to that “Where Aviation History Lives” tag line. Air museums around the country do a great job of preserving an aviation heritage that is uniquely American. They all deserve our gratitude and support. But most aircraft displayed in these remarkable facilities are… well… dead, much like the animals in a natural history museum. To be sure, seeing historic aircraft in person, and reading about the stories they tell is a privilege we, and especially our kids, can all learn from and enjoy. But their wings will never again feel the force of flight, the smell of fuel and oil, or the heartpounding sound of a high-speed fly-by.

Then there is Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino. Each month, an aircraft is featured. WWII legends like the Continued on Page 46

LEGENDARY AUTHOR, FREDERICK FORSYTH, REVISITS HIS ACTION-PACKED AND AVIATION-FUELED LIFE IN THE OUTSIDER

By Mark Rhodes February 2016

F

rederick Forsyth is well known as one of the most accomplished and prolific thriller writers of the 20th century whose works have sold more than 70 million copies and been adapted into films a dozen times. This is only a part of his life’s work; his resume includes stints as a BBC correspondent (where he covered the attempted assassination of Charles de Gaulle – the core plot point of his most famous thriller “The Day of the Jackal”; radio broadcaster; MI6 operative; and the youngest ever RAF pilot at 17 and a half. Suffice to say they don’t make ‘em like Mr. Forsyth anymore.

His recently published memoir, The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue (GP Putnam’s Sons), chronicles Mr. Forsyth’s extraordinary, swashbuckling life. His tone is rakish, self- depreciating but also aware of how his luck, drive, and talents have served him well.

Forsyth reports that he was obsessed with the idea of aviation and being an avi-

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ator since flying in the seat of a Spitfire at the age of five, and indeed the incessant need to fly consumed much of Forsyth’s youth. His accounting of his early aviation training and roguish exploits in the cockpit propel the initial chapters of the narrative. His initial success was getting placement in an RAF Flying Scholarship in the mid-50s. The idea here was a novel one; give young men interested in flying the chance to earn a private pilot’s license with the idea that they might get the flying “bug” and join up later. Forsyth paints a vivid picture of the rough-and-tumble nature of this training, including an episode where he “buzzed” his old school.

Not content with procuring his private pilot’s license, Forsyth set his sights on considerably bigger ambitions, namely flying Jets in the RAF. Forsyth goes into interesting detail about the transition of the RAF to jet-powered flight during the years not long after World War II. Typically, RAF pilots were basically “weekend warriors” who reported for duty (and flew) on weekends. However,

UPWIND FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES MAJOR EXPANSION TO YOUTH FLIGHT TRAINING

The Upwind Foundation (Upwind), now in its fourth year of operation, has released the 2016 scholarship applications and program dates. Upwind aims to transform a high school student into a Private Pilot during the summer between his or her junior and senior year. Upwind was created to promote piloting and general aviation, to cultivate interest in aviation as a career, and to address the nationwide pilot shortage.

Upwind is excited to announce two new programs! New for 2016 are a helicopter scholarship and a youth training initiative. The helicopter scholarship does for helicopters what the original Upwind scholarship continues to do for airplanes – create a newly minted helicopter pilot during the students’ summer between junior and senior year of high school. The youth training initiative’s (YTI) goal is to provide funds for a youth or young adult to complete his or her training or perform additional training.

The YTI is aimed at furthering a young pilot’s progression to more advanced certificates, ratings, and experience.

Upwind selects high school students and awards them a scholarship inclusive of everything they need to earn a Private Pilot certificate. This includes ground and flight training with expert instructors, as well as all the necessary books, charts, and basic flight planning tools.

Additionally, the scholarship recipient will receive mentorship and guidance from other pilots, and enjoy many other social and flying activities. The 2016 program winner will be selected in March and will begin ground training in April with flight training beginning in June.

Call For Applications

Applications are now being accepted, and the deadline to apply is Feb. 26, 2016. To apply, download the application at http://www.upwindscholarship.com/.

For more information about the Upwind Summer Scholarship Program, please visit www.upwindscholarship .com/%20 or email info@upwindscholarship.com.

with the Cold War heating up, there was considerable concern that this kind of genteel and old school approach to military aviation could not compete with the suddenly sophisticated Soviet jet fighters.

True to form, Forsyth used his prototypical guile, instinct for human nature, and outright audacity to talk himself into a position as a jet pilot in the RAF despite being younger than the required age of 18.

As a novelist, Forsyth is known as a plot-oriented storyteller with little of the pulp flourish of say Ian Fleming.

Interestingly enough, his descriptions of his time flying jets shows hints of poetry that is fairly uncharacteristic of his prose.

When he reminisces about flying, he waxes poetic: “The thing about wings is they are yours and yours alone. You cannot inherit them from an indulgent father; you cannot buy them in Savile Row... you practice and you persevere, and finally you do it alone, high above the clouds...”

The book ends on a charming and particularly satisfying note with Forsyth going up in a Spitfire in 2014 in Kent and

45

taking the controls from the pilot for a time. In the retelling of this, Forsyth’s panache is on full display (“Would old Fred’s luck still hold? It held”). Of course this should have been little surprise for “old Fred.” His luck has held for almost 80 years.

Old School Aviation Advanced Warbird Flight Training WWII Stearman and Texan AT-6

Contact Dan Vance 707.972.1293 Vance824@aol.com OPERATING OUT OF:

Sonoma Jet Center 6000 Flightline Dr., Santa Rosa, CA 95403 Have an event coming up? Submit it for publication in the online events calendar at www.inflightusa.com

46

SCHWEISS DOORS HAS SOLUTION

FOR

In Flight USA Celebrating 30 Years

MINNESOTA FARMER

February 2016

Stronger, Easy-to-Grease, Wrap-Around Hinge Provides Better Hydraulic Door

A little homework and some personal experience led Chad Hoese to select a hydraulic door from Schweiss Doors when faced with the replacement of the sliding doors on an existing building at Stoney Creek Farms in Glencoe, Minn.

Stoney Creek Farms covers 2,500 acres, producing corn and soybeans. It’s also home to 60 dairy heifers. Hoese, 29, took over the farm when his father passed away five years ago.

Ten years ago, Schweiss installed a bifold door on a larger machine shed at Stoney Creek. That door, measuring 44 x 16 feet, originally operated with a cable lift system but has since been upgraded with the company’s liftstrap conversion kit. “Three or four years ago we had Schweiss do the strap conversion, and we now have the autolatch with straps instead of cables,” Hoese said. “We had trouble with springs breaking and cables winding up. The straps are so much superior to the cables.”

So when Hoese started researching options for replacing the sliding doors, Schweiss Doors was on his list. “I did a

Chad Hoese of Stoney Creek Farms replaced the sliding doors on this existing building and installed a hydraulic door from Schweiss Doors. little homework and learned about what worked and what didn’t work,” he said.

“There’s a lot of stress on the hinges of hydraulic doors, and I saw some pictures showing hinge failures. The Schweiss system provides the quality and safety I

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was looking for.”

Hoese says he would have put another bifold door on this building but needed all the headroom he could get for a sidewall door. “For this new door, hydraulic with the self-supporting header and new wrap-around hinges was the way to go,” he said.

The Schweiss one-piece hydraulic door, measuring 29.1 x 14 feet, was installed in Oct. 2015 on an existing woodframe shed that houses two semitrucks and other equipment.

“We promote our new wrap-around hinge as ‘robust,’” said Mike Schweiss, president of Schweiss Doors. “We’ve heard it was over-engineered, but I don’t know if that’s possible. Either way, we think that’s better than being under-engineered.”

Schweiss doorframes are designed with double push tubes that are tied directly into the wrap-around hinges that

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Continued from Page 44 B-25 Mitchell, P-40 Warhawk, and Japanese ZERO fire up and take to flight.

Even experimental planes, like the Northrop Flying Wing can be seen in their natural element. Korean War planes, like the Lockheed Shooting Star, F-86 Saber, and Mig-15 are represented with exciting flight displays. More than 30 rare aircraft are ready to take flight for special programs held the first Saturday of each month, in addition to a terrific annual airshow, scheduled for April 29 through May 1. There are simply too many great flying aircraft to mention in

connect both vertical push tubes directly to the header tube. The advantage of double push tubes is that forces of hydraulic cylinders are evenly distributed to the doorframe and the wrap-around hinges.

“There have been hydraulic doors with hinge welds that failed, literally tearing off the doorframe and destroying the door,” Schweiss said. “Our design team provided a more durable wrap-around hinge with grease zerks that are accessible without removing the top rubber seal.”

Hoese said the combination of durability and simple maintenance sold him on the hydraulic door with the easy-togrease hinge from Schweiss Doors.

Hoese said he helped with the hydraulic door installation, and the Schweiss Door crew came out to finish it off. He measured the opening himself, did some welding, and pre-hung the door.

He got the tin off the old door in a couple hours to prepare for new exterior cladding and said the entire installation probably took about eight hours. When the door arrived, his measurements were right on the money.

“Mike was helpful with suggestions,” Hoese said. “On the inside, we ran some braces back to the headers. He encouraged me to get the new wrap-around hinge. It really works well. I’m not a door expert, but it looks good and works smooth; the grease zerks are really great, and the pump works well. I would recommend doors from Schweiss Doors.”

Schweiss Doors is the premier manufacturer of hydraulic and bifold lift-strap doors. Doors are custom made to any size for any type of new or existing building for architects and builders determined to do amazing things with their buildings, including the doors. For more information, visit www.bifold.com.

this short article, so do visit www.planesoffame.org for more details.

Keep your eyes on the pages of In Flight USA for monthly updates on Planes of Fame programs featuring not only flying planes but also those who flew and lived with them. So, if you are looking for a place to fly, a $40 burger, and a personal experience with historic aircraft, you just found it. Be sure to bring the kids so they can learn about a proud American heritage that is often no longer taught in schools. The Planes of Fame Air Museum is for the entire family.

BANYAN NEXTGEN MANDATES AND AIRCRAFT UPGRADE EVENT

February 2016

www.inflightusa.com

Banyan Air Service, based at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, is hosting an event that will prepare, educate, and save you money on your ADS-B, FANS1A, EFIS, and/or IFE upgrades. Rockwell Collins, Universal Avionics, Garmin, and CMD Flight Solutions will be available to help with solutions and package incentives that will keep aircraft flying.

Aircraft including Rockwell Collins’ King Air 250 with Proline 21 and Proline Fusion upgrades will be participating. Universal Avionics will be here with their NextGen solutions. CMD Flight Solutions will offer their ADS-B STC solutions for all models of Lear, Citations, and King Airs. Flight Display will have their solution for small aircraft in-flight entertainment. Garmin will have the G1000 King Air Solution and a King Air 350 onsite. Gogo Aviation will have their IFE and connectivity solutions available.

Also participating with aircraft upgrades for King Air owners and operators will be Raisbeck Engineering, showcasing their Swept Blade Turbofan Propeller for the King Air 200/B200/B200GT, BLR Aerospace Winglet Systems for the King Air B200, B200C and B200GT, and Blackhawk Modifications with engine upgrade packages for King Airs. Among the aircraft displayed will be Banyan’s versatile, rugged, and refined Quest KODIAK and possibly a HondaJet. This event is geared to Citation, Lear, King Air, PC-12, CL 604, Piaggio, and Falcon 2000 aircraft owners and operators on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016 at

Banyan at FXE in hangar 62. Attendees can attend anytime from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and visit with the manufacturers.

BurgerFi catered lunch will be provided from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. by Banyan. RSVP online at banyanair.com/2020 to receive special discounts on parts and service and a 10 percent discount at Banyan Pilot Shop the day of the event.

About Banyan Air Service: Banyan Air Service, based at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, is an aviation complex that offers award-winning FBO services, a unique aviation store, Jet Runway Café, aircraft sales, and a comprehensive maintenance and repair operation (MRO) that includes extensive airframe, avionics, and aftermarket part sales services.

Banyan is well known for MRO services of turbine-powered aircraft, including Pilatus, King Air, Citation, Learjet, Hawker, Challenger, and Falcon.

In addition, Banyan is factory authorized as service centers for Beechcraft, Piaggio, Quest KODIAK, and HondaJet. Along with its FAA Repair Station and EASA Repair Station Certificates, Banyan Air Service also holds certificates in several Island nations and Latin American countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Chile, Columbia, and Venezuela.

Banyan’s avionics department offers avionics installations, repair modifications, and is an authorized dealer for all major avionics manufacturers. The avionics department specializes in ADSB, FANS, and STCs. For more information, visit banyanair.com

REGISTER NOW TO SAVE YOUR SEAT

NATA’s FBO Success Seminar will take place March 8-9, 2016 at the Chateau LeMoyne French Quarter in New Orleans.

This seminar is designed for FBO owners, operators, general managers, new managers, finance personnel, and other key FBO employees who are interested in building a more successful FBO. This popular industry seminar, now in its sixth year, will offer attendees new FBO management techniques, essential operational and service knowledge, and a

networking forum for sharing experiences and best practices.

As a special bonus for attending the FBO Success Seminar, attendees will receive a free copy of the book (a $49.95 value), FBO Survival: 10 Tips to Keep Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable.

For additional information or to register as a returning guest, please contact Elizabeth Nicholson at enicholson@nata.aero.

See you in New Orleans!

Visit In Flight USA’s website for the latest aviation news...

www.inflightusa.com

47

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In Flight USA Celebrating 30 Years

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(800) 421-1729, Orlando, FL. 11/14 Largest variety of quality aircraft, plus training and other services. Alliance International Aviation Flight Centers at Chino, Riverside and Brackett Field, CA, airports. www.AIAFlight.com.

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Sales, brokerage, acquisitions w/46 years experience. Laffery Aircraft Sales, San Jose (CA) Int'l. Airport, (408) 2935352, www.laffertyair.com.

2/14 Bristell Aircraft. Wider than a Cirrus; faster than a Skyhawk. With GPA safety training. Lou Mancuso, (516) 658-1847, www.bristellaircraft.com.

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Also offering formation training. Max G Aviation, MaxGAviation.com, (650) 2482065.

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FLIGHT INSTRUCTION Old School Aviation. Advanced Warbird training. Contact Dan Vance (707) 972-1293 at Sonoma Jet Center, Santa Rosa, CA. 8/14 Aerobatics instruction and air shows.

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IFR SEMINAR Doctorial level IFR Seminar Feb. 20-21, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Nut Tree Airport (KVCB), Vacaville, CA. Cheap. Limited seating. Wings credit. Call (707) 4494647 or visit WingsFlightSchool.com for more info.

16100:2

TYPE RATINGS Arizona Type Ratings CE-500/CE-525 type ratings or recurrent. Insurance approved, staff examiner. www.arizonatyperatings.com, (602) 614-7994.

9309:2

Magneto specialist for TCM, Bendix, Slick, single & dual magneto. Aircraft Magneto Service, Bainbridge Island, WA, www.aircraftmagnetoservice.net, (206) 768-3099.

1/15

OXYGEN SUPPLIES

Basic installs to complete panel and glass retrofits. Great service and value pricing. Pacific Coast Avionics, (800) 353-0370, www.PCA.aero.

7/15

Complete Propeller & Governor Service. Tiffin Aire, Tiffin, OH, (800) 5537767, (419) 447-4263.

2/08

AIRCRAFT PARTS Your one-stop center for aviation products. San Carlos Aviation & Supply. Two Calif. locations: San Carlos, (650) 592-2322, & Palo Alto, (650) 2138784, www.sqlaviation.com.

3/13 Aircraft Tool Supply. Ring jobs just got easier. www.aircraft-tool.com.

8/14

Aircraft Parts for General Aviation.

Special orders welcome. Aerozona Parts, Phoenix, AZ, (623) 581-6190.1/16 Specializing in oil coolers, fuel heaters, valves and more. Buy, sell, repair, overhaul, exchange. Pacific Oil Cooler Service, La Verne, CA, (800) 866-7335, www.oilcoolers.com.

1/16

PILOT SUPPLIES The Airport Shoppe, Reid-Hillview Airport, San Jose, CA, orders (800) 6344744, www.airportshozppe.com. 10/06

Aircraft Spruce & Supply. Free 700page catalog, Corona, CA & Peachtree City, GA, www.aircraftspruce.com.10/06 www.sportys.com your single source for quality educational aviation products— always at a good price fax 1.800.543.8633 phone 1.800.SPORTYS Clermont County/Sporty’s Airport Batavia, OH 45103 2522:TFN

4720:TFN

Get Top Retail for Your Aircraft Aircraft sales, jet sales, management, financing. USA Aircraft Brokers, (877) 417-3069.

51218:TFN

Specializing in GA & Corporate Aircraft for 40 years. Giottto's Aircraft Interiors, San Jose, CA, (800) 315-1095, www.giottoaircraftinteriors.com. 11/14

“Doing it right the first time” Home of Peninsula avionics, sales & service. Jorgenson-Lawrence Aircraft Sales & Management, Palo Alto, CA, Airport. Larry Shapiro, (650) 424-1801.

6107:TFN

HANGARS/TIEDOWNS Aviation Building Systems, custom designed hangars for 44 years. R&M Steel Co., Caldwell, ID, (208) 454-1800, (866) 454-1800, www.aviationbuildingsystem.com.

51217:TFN New one-piece doors. Hydraulic or bifold. Schweissdoors.com, (800) 7468273.

1/15

FBOs Northgate Aviation Chico Jet Center®

General Aviation Services FAA Charts Available in NoCal Shell Aviation Products Chico, CA, (530) 893-6727 Diamond Service Center, maintenance, rentals, flight school, tiedowns, and hangars.

7707:TFN Serving the General Aviation Community since 1981. Wisconsin Aviation, Watertown Municipal Airport, WI, (920) 261-4567, WisconsinAviation.com.3/13

Corona Air Ventures. Low fuel prices, amenities, tie-downs & hangars. Corona Municipal Airport, (951) 737-1300, www.CoronaAirVentures.com.

8/14

SERVICES

Aircraft Sales & Corporate Aircraft Management NAAA-certified appraisals, FDIC & RTC approved. Sterling Air, Carson City, NV, (800) 770-5908, (775) 885-6800, www. sterling-air.com.

11601:2

AIRCRAFT INSURANCE Specializing in personal, business and charter aircraft. Best price, coverage & customer service. Zanette Aircraft Insurance Center, (650) 593-3030, (888) 723-3358.

10/06 Aircraft Insurance WARNING! Don’t even think of calling another agent until you’ve called us first! Access the entire market with just one call. Best rates.

Broadest coverage. All markets. Aviation Insurance Resources, (877) 247-7767, www.AIR-PROS.com.

1716:TFN

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES #1 Largest Network of Aircraft Brokers in the United States Become an Aircraft Broker — Available in Your Area Start today with USA’s proved system for listing and selling everything from high-performance single-engine airplanes, cabin class through jets, and helicopters & jet fractional shares.

Includes multi-million-dollar inventory from which to start selling.

Complete turn-key proved system.

No experience necessary. Will train.

Licensed USA Aircraft brokerage.

Call today (504) 723-5566.

Visit Business Opportunity Section at www.usaaircraft.com.

4208:TFN

AVIATION TRAVEL

FUEL

The original "Self-Fly Safari." Selfpiloted bush flying in Southern Africa, planned by Hanks Aero Adventures. info@selfflysafari.com, (518) 234-2841, www.SelfFlySafari.com.

7/15

Fuel Cells. Repair, overhaul or new.

New tanks with 10-year warranty.

Hartwig Aircraft Fuel Cell Repair, www. hartwigfuelcell.com.

2/09

ENGINES

Aircraft Engine Parts & Service. Gibson-Aviation, El Reno, OK, (800) 9924880, gibsonaviation@msn.com. 11/14

Aviation Marketing/Copywriting Expert for your projects. A published former TWA captain/instructor. Bert Botta, (415) 320-9811, www.bertbotta.com.

1/16

AVIATION CONSULTANTS

No cheap imitation watches at HME! To order or for information, (888) 4646660 or www.hmewatch.com.

1/15

Corona Aircraft Engines. Complete engine overhauls on all Continental & Lycoming engines. ECI Titans in stock.

Corona Airport, CA, (951) 736-6452, www.coronaengines.com.

8/14

Let your dreams soar! Aircraft loans tailored to your needs. Liberty Bank, (831) 338-6477, libertybk.com.

1/15

PAINTING/UPHOLSTERY

DuraCharts — Best print quality, resistant to tearing and liquids. Produced by pilots for pilots. www.DURACHARTS. com.

8/14

Quality, Service & Price, keeping the cost of aircraft engine maintenance down. Aircraft Specialties Services, Tulsa OK, (918) 836-6872.

10/06

Susan Biegel, MD, Certified FAA Medical Examiner, Upland, CA, wwww.susanbiegelmd.com, (909) 985-1908.

8/14

AIRCRAFT FINANCING

iCloth Avionics. Next-gen flight deck wipes. Touchscreen safe, effective, approved. Visit iclothavioncis.com for a free sample 1/6.

PROPELLERS

February 2016

AVIATION ART/GIFTS 14900:TFN

Protect your assets. Legally avoid California Aircraft Sales and Use taxes.

Call for free consultation. Associated Sales Tax Consultants Inc., (916) 3691200 or visit www.astc.com.

3/06 Divorce-Paternity Cases. Contact Lawyers for Men's Rights, (213) 3848886, www.mensrightslawyers.com.

Offices of Stuart J. Faber.

4/10

Personalized Aviation Nose Art. Quality, service, lasting value. Hand-crafted to your specifications. Order now for Christmas delivery. Victory Girl, www.

VictoryGirl.com, (909) 297-6688. 11/13 Airplane Models. Military to corporate.

ScaleCraft, www.Scalecraft.com. 1/16

230 VIDEOS/PHOTOGRAPHY Specializing in aviation photography. www.horizontalrain.com.

1/15

PUBLICATIONS Avionics Checklists & Quick Reference gudes. Available in book, card & new iPad editions. www.Qref.com or from your favorite supply shop.

8/14

The World Beneath Their Wings, A New Millennium of Female Aviators" by Julie Jervis. Dealer inquiries invited. To reserve your copy, call (650) 358-9908.

51108:TFN

Things My Flight Instructor Never Told Me & other lessons for aviators of all levels. (561) 752-3261, www.tmfintm. com.

11/07

HELP WANTED IN FLIGHT USA, the leading source of general aviation news, seeks writers and photographers to cover all aspects of aviation. Send an SASE for writer’s guidelines to: In Flight USA, P.O. Box 5402, San Mateo, CA 94402.

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FLYING CLUBS West Valley Flying Club, San Francisco Bay Area.. Palo Alto (650) 856-2030, San Carlos (650) 595-5912, Hayward (510) 781-0101, South County (408) 683-4102., www.wvfc.org.

7/06 Charter Members Wanted for New Flying Club Bring back the thrill of flying in a Cherokee 180 or a Cessna 182 Whether you’re an aircraft owner, a seasoned pilot, a flight instructor, a student, or just want an affordable way to get back into the sky, become a charter member of our new Inland Empire Flying Club — an organization that makes flying fun again with affordable access to good, solid, wellequipped, clean aircraft.

Membership includes maintenance, insurance, servicing or other costs involved in individual ownership.

Contact Richard: (562) 208-5280 or ryardusa.com INLAND EMPIRE FLYING CLUB Corona, Chino and Riverside, CA 151100:2

MUSEUMS The National WWII Museum New Orleans, LA, (504) 528-1944 info@nationalww2museum.org Planes of Fame Air Museum Chino, CA (909) 597-3722 www.planesoffame.org Palm Springs Air Museum Palm Springs, CA (760)778-6262, www.psam.org Military Aviation Museum Virginia Beach, VA, (757) 721-7767 www.militaryaviationmuseum.org Florida Air Museum Lakeland, FL www.sun-n-fun.org

Sell Your Airplane FAST!! with an In Flight USA Classified Ad

Call (650) 358-9908 Current Ad Expiring?

To renew, email: 3rdavenue@embarqmail.com

February 2016

www.inflightusa.com

W

By Ed Downs

AN EXCITING YEAR AHEAD

From Skies to Stars

ow, time has flown, and this writer regrets not keeping readers up to speed in what has been taking place in the world of astronomy, astrophysics, and space travel. To put it mildly, last year, we “sky bound” pilots witnessed incredible events of discovery in our solar system and galaxy. We orbited two asteroids (have you been watching the new Sci-Fi Channel fictional series based upon asteroids Ceres and Vesta?), landed upon a comet, discovered liquid water on Mars (the movie The Martian, stressed the need for water as the key for settling Mars), landed on a comet with the Rosetta mission (looking very different than the asteroid/comet portrayed in the movie, Armageddon) and finally, have come very close to actually seeing the massive black hole at the center of our galaxy.

The fly-by of Pluto brought new meaning to the term “buzzing,” with new photographs being released, daily, that disclose this demoted dwarf planet is far more complex than ever imagined, complete with a huge, bizarre, moon, atmosphere, and surface conditions that show us that Pluto is far from being a dead rock. In another scientific discipline, astrophysicists applied the principles of gravitational effect developed by Einstein to locate what now appears to be a massive ninth planet orbiting 20 times further from the Sun than the Earth. In years past, we looked to science to catch up with science fiction. It now seems that science is blazing a new trail for fiction writers to follow!

Our solar system is providing telescope fans a great chance for a grand slam. All six of our inner planets will be visible at the same time. Mercury, Venus, Earth (if you can manage a “selfie”), Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will be visible to the unaided eye if you look just before dawn prior to Feb. 20. Even a modest telescope will offer a spectacular view. Take a look at www.skyandtelescope.com for details on viewing opportunities. This fine magazine will also give you leads on great telescope values, which start as low as $200 for manual tracking scopes and under $400 for telescopes that are computer driven to locate and track objects.

Mars is going to continue its show,

49

The Orion Nebula, photographed by Robert Fields, utilizing his private observatory in Howell Twp, MI (www.irvingtonobservatory.com). At 1,400 light years from Earth and some 20 light years wide, the Orion Nebula is an area of star birthing gas and dust illuminated by massive young stars less than 50,000 years old.

(Robert Fields) as on May 22, Mars will be in opposition to Earth, meaning the closest it will be to our planet in two years. A decent scope will allow one to see surface color differences and the polar Ice caps. Amateur astronomy equipment can allow even a rank beginner to see remarkable views of distant objects, and astrophotography enables amateurs to rival the pros in photographic beauty. This time of year also allows one to view the Orion Nebula (a vast cloud of glowing dust and gas), a

favorite in the astronomy world. This famous “star nursery” can even be seen with the unaided eye if you look for the fuzzy spot in Orion’s sword. But, with a six-inch reflector and an Oxygen-III Nebula Filter (telescopes have all kinds of extra goodies, just like flying paraphernalia) you can actually see stars being formed. It is spectacular! And if you are a fan of movies that include “in a galaxy far, far away,” instruct your computer star finder (cell phone apps) to

Orion arriving at Kennedy Space Center

(NASA photo)

locate the M81 and M82 galaxies.

These two galaxies are close together and bring to mind stories of the Millennium Falcon, X-wing fighters, and heroic deeds. And do not forget all those “M” class planets out there that are visited by the crew of the Enterprise. It is now known that planets probably outnumber the stars in our Milky Way by a fairly large factor. Speaking of Star Trek, one episode included a story of a spaceship that was powered by solar winds, like a sailboat in space. The Planetary Society’s “LightSail” project will launch in 2016, proving this concept is viable, offering interstellar flight that cannot be done with chemically powered engines. Cool stuff!

But not all of this year’s adventures will be limited to telescopes. Final assembly of the first crew capable Orion spacecraft has begun. The first flight of this Mars spacecraft took place in late 2015.

Components to the giant Space Launch System (SLS) are being delivered to the Kennedy Space Center, with first flight scheduled for 2018. This heavy lift launch vehicle is larger and more powerful than the historic Saturn 5 that enabled our moon landings almost a half century ago.

The SLS, when combined with variations of the Orion spacecraft, will orbit the Moon, capture asteroids, and take astronauts to Mars. 2016 will also see the continued test of U.S. made spacecraft that can once again take our astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) without the need to hitch a multi-million dollar ride on a pre-70s Russian Soyuz.

America’s continued advancement into space science may depend upon the upcoming elections, as NASA’s budget continues to drop to something less than point four percent of the federal budget in recent years. During the heydays of America’s leadership in space exploration, four and a half percent of our federal budget was being spent on the enormous moon landing effort, resulting in job creation and advancement in technology, which has yet to be equaled. Maybe Back to the Future is a plan we should explore, and take a look at our past to define the future. These are exciting times. Keep your eyes on the stars, for our “truth may be out there.”

In Flight USA’s website for the latest aviation news... www.inflightusa.com Visit

50

In Flight USA Celebrating 30 Years

February 2016

AD INDEX Aerozona Parts ....................44

Bristell Aircraft....................44

Idaho Expo ..........................23

Planes Of Fame ..................21

Aircraft Tool Supply ............9

Corona Aircraft Engines ....27

JT Evans ................................4

R&M Steel ..........................14

Aircraft Spruce....................15 Airplane USA Aircraft Sales 6

Airtronics ..............................3 Alliance Intl. Aviation ........12 American Aircraft Sales ....47

AOPA ....................................7 Arizona Soaring ..................41

Arizona Type Ratings ........26 Assoc. Sales Tax Consult. ..52

Aviation Insurance Resources ..22

Bert Botta ............................42

Corona Air Venture ............20 David Schultz ........................6 Divorce For Men ................26

Dr. Susan Biegel..................14 Durachart ..............................6 Gibson..................................22 Golden West ........................32

Hartwig ..................................3 HME Watches ....................30

Horizontal Rain ..................28

iCloth ....................................9

Jorgenson Lawrence ..........50

Kitfox ..................................33 Lafferty Aircraft Sales ........11

Liberty Bank........................46 Max-G Aviation ..................16 Mountain High Oxygen........3 Old School Aviation............45

Pacific Coast Avionics ........10

Pacific Coast Dream Machines 28

Pacific Oil Cooler ..............16

QREF Media ......................18 Schweiss Doors ..................44

Sky Dancer ..........................32

Stallion 51............................12 Sterling Air ..........................13 Tiffin Air..............................43

TJs Aircraft Sales ................51 USA Aircraft Brokers ........21 Zanette Aircraft Insurance ....5

Pilot House ..........................32

“Still Specializing In First Time Buyers And Student Pilots Needs" We need 2 Great Cardinals. Want to sell yours?

1982 T-210, “Rare Find” and Recent Annual.

1969 172

One owner for over 15 years and a showpiece ...make offer.

1978 182, Flown Regularly, Great Panel.

1972 Aztec, Fresh Paint!

JORGENSON-LAWRENCE AIRCRAFT SALES AND MANAGEMENT HOME OF WHAT’S UP?! AIRSHOW ENTERTAINMENT

Voted Best “After the Sale Customer Service” for the 18th Straight Year

Located at the beautiful Palo Alto Airport (PAO) in the Baylands Recreational Area where aviation, golf, nature and good food live in harmony creating a comfortable and convenient setting to select a new airplane. South of San Francisco along the west side of the bay, north of San Jose.

Larry Shapiro • Larry@LarryShapiro.com • Or Call Us! 650-424-1801 For more information about these planes and others, Please Visit Our Web Site: www.LarryShapiro.com

Fax: 415-898-5155 www.tjair.com Email: tjair@tjair.com

351 Airport Road #3 Novato, CA 94945 415-898-5151

The The Trinidad Trinidad Center Center 1990 SOCATA TB-20 TRINIDAD

1995 SOCATA TB-20 TRINIDAD

Beautiful, well equipped, 2400 hours TTE and AF (available as 0 time engine). King HSI, KAP 150 autopilot, Argus 5000 moving map, BFG 900 Stormscope, dual Nav/Com, KMA 24 Audio Panel. Useful load 1164 lbs. Executive leather interior

Total restoration 225 hours ago, new paint, interior, prop, o'haul engine and Garmin GTN-750 WAAS GPS / 340 Audio / 255A NAV/COM / Transponder and ADS-B

1980 MOONEY M20K 231

1994 TB-21 TC TRINIDAD

1986 SOCATA TB-21 TC TRINIDAD

Sleek airplane with lots of extras. 2130 TT & AF (available as 0 time engine). Full TKS Ice Protection, Garmin GNS 530W GPS, XM Weather Avidyne TAS600 Active Traffic Advisory System, WX-950 Stormscope, King KFC150 Flight Director/Autopilot. Always hangared. NDH, Complete logs. BEST value on a Turbo TB21 anywhere.

Great high-altitude flyer. Cruise at 185 kts, 11,000 nm range, go from sea level to 15,000 feet in 15 minutes, land in a 25 kt crosswind. Enjoy the feel and comfort of a fine European sports car, two entry doors, fabulous visibility and superior cockpit ergonomics. 2670 AFTT, Always Hangared.

1964 PIPER CHEROKEE 180

1972 PIPER CHEROKEE 180

2008 JIHLAVAN KAPPA KP-5

A well-maintained (Mooney specialist) located in Texas & California. Nicely equipped with higher time but still strong engine. 2954.7 TT, 1577 hours SMOH, 1200 hours SPOH.

LOW TIME AIRFRAME HOURS, 582 SMOH, Digital IFR radios. A very nice, 180 HP Cherokee with low total and engine times, GPS coupled to S-Tec 50 Autopilot w/ Alt Hld and much more. MUST SEE!!!!

3776.62 hours AFTT. 1554 SMOH. Factory remanufactured by Western Skyways to factory new tolerances. All accessories overhauled or new. Exceptionally Clean. Nicely equipped. Great paint, glass, and interior. Well rigged. Flies straight. EVERYTHING works (even the old autopilot).

This experimental light-sport airplane looks and flies like brand new. 531.7 TT, Rotax 914 Turbo 115 hp engine.

Glass panel, Garmin GPS 696. Fowler flaps. Maintained by the #1 Rotax specialist del mundo. Always hangared.

1970 AMERICAN CHAMPION 7GCAA CITABRIA

1980 PIPER T SARATOGA SP

1972 GRUMMAN AA5 TRAVELER

1991 SOCATA TB-10 TOBAGO

Cute, fun, aerobatic ready. ONLY 7 hours SMOH. Icom ICA22 radio, Narco AT150 XPDR with Mode C. Accelerometer, Oil temp gauge and EGT.

Big, comfortable, high-altitude hauler. 177 knot cruise at 20K feet. Load it up. Go far, fly fast.PS Engineering PMA 800 Audio Panel & Intercom #1 Com/#1 Nav Garmin GNS 430 with glideslope & Color Moving Map GPS #2 Com/#2 Nav King KX 170B with glideslope King KT76A Transponder with Mode C. 2430 hours AFTT, 880 hours SMOH and SNEW.

Great first time family 150 hp airplane. Perfect for learning to fly. 2582 hours TT. 845 SMOH by Textron Lycoming.

1567 AFTT, 1567 SNEW. Bendix-King KMA 24 Audio Panel with marker receiver, Dual King KX 155 Nav/Com - 1 with glideslope, Apollo GX 55 GPS. Delivered With Fresh Paint, Roomy, easy to fly, stable 4-seater. 180 hp Lycoming engine. CALL!

GREAT PARTNERSHIPS AVAILABLE 1991 SOCATA TB-20 TRINIDAD

1980 PIPER DAKOTA

1969 BEECHCRAFT 36 BONANZA

1/3 INTEREST in this GREAT plane located

1/3 OWNERSHIP, clean, beautifully maintained in No. California, Petaluma (KO69). 3711 TT, 1784.9 SNEW. Collins Micro Line, HSI, Stormscope, GPS, DME, ADF, Auto Control 111B, Xspdr, Hangared. *OWNER FINANCING AVAILABLE*

1/7 INTEREST ONLY!! Price includes 1/7 INTEREST in airplane, hangar, bank assets, etc. 8639 TT as of 09/29/14, 1439 hrs SMOH, 3 Blade McCauley Black Mac 409. Lots of additional equipment! Beautiful airplane with recent paint and interior!!

in Northern California, Gnoss Field (KDVO), 2400 TT, 200 SMOH, Garmin 430W and more.

All specifications and representations are believed to be accurate to the best knowledge of the seller. However, it is the buyerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s responsibility to verify all information prior to purchase.

T. J. Neff

Phone: 415-898-5151

www.tjair.com

Email: tjair@tjair.com

ASSOCIATED SALES TAX CONSULTANTS, INC. 9700 Business Park Drive, Suite 300 • Sacramento, CA 95827 916.369.1200 • info@aircraftexemption.com • www.aircraftexemption.com

Legally Avoid California Sales or Use Tax on Your Aircraft Purchases.