Better to be Lucky than Good

Plane stopped on edge of 1,500-foot drop off.

Amazing

On April 19, Soplanda attempted to land near 6,000 feet on an unnamed peak east of Bald Mountain in the Talkeetnas to explore ski and snowboarding opportunities on some adjacent slopes. Unfortunately, the snow atop the peak where he touched down was crustier than the young pilot expected.

So he kept sliding until….

The skis on the airplane, instead of grabbing soft snow, went sliding across hard snow. With cliffs ahead, Soplanda tried to steer the aircraft to the left to stay on top of the peak.

It almost worked.

21-year-old Matthew "Jake" Soplanda of Anchor Point and a skiing buddy managed to climb away from Soplanda's dated, single-engine Taylorcraft as it hung perched over a 1,500-foot drop.

I suppose he could have given it more power and used remaining altitude to give it another go after pitching down the drop off. Less risky than egress out of a plane on a cliffs edge. Much better story though. Now he’s famous.

Details...

Did you hear a clanging sound when we took off?

Bad Flight Planning

While Air Force One buzzed Manhattan with a 747, a Cessna 180 decided to return the favor in D.C.

Guess who's grounded and has a much bigger problem with FAA?

Sidenote: Using a GPS? Trust but verify

Dream On #2

For readers of my prior thoughts on convergence of technology, especially as relates to aviation, here's another idea that may be destined for the dust bin of inventions not commercially viable.

The Motorcycle Airplane.

General Aviation accident rates have been unfavorably compared to those with motorcycle driving. So insurance agencies must be thrilled about the combination of the two. If there's one thing you want to get serious about, it should be a vehicle that you just can't pull off to the side of the road if you have a problem at 5,000 feet. It might not be the domain of folks who want to see how fast they can shoot off the line.

I'm not bashing motorcyclists (Having enjoyed driving them), but I think it's best to dedicate all your best technology toward safe flight. Ultimately, you'll compromise safety with designs that try to strike a compromise between two modes of transportation. Don't get me started on the scuba car.

Caravans and Races

Windy in the Windy City. Went to the home drome and found winds gusting to 35 knots which is a bit sporty for light aircraft and does take some of the fun out of flying. Instead, I did some window shopping. More aircraft than usual seem to be available for sale. The one on the ramp that caught the eye and the imagination was the Cessna Caravan.

While there were other great flying machines with "For Sale" pennants attached to the props, it's hard to compare any against a machine that will take the whole family almost anywhere. Most GA aircraft have weight and space limitations, whereas this bird is limited mostly by the imagination. But seeing the checkbook and the weather were today's limitations I opted for plan #2 which was to engage in the scheduled run for the day.

To be exact, it was the first of back to back 5k events this weekend. Armed with the somewhat vain notion that I can keep up with the young folk, I signed up for two races. Son Number 2 has been engaged in short triathlons and marathons.
That's him on the left in the Chicago Marathon finishing at a respectable top 20% out of 35,000. I occasionally think I can keep up, which, I can't. However, give me a 5K event and I can wheeze along with the best of them. So while the weather was bad for flying, it was less bad for running.

I keep thinking that I can take first place in my age group which hasn't happened yet. But it might happen....someday. I'll ask the genie for it next time I find a magic lamp.

Then I'll ask for the Caravan.

More Power, Scotty

Unfortunately the warp drive is warped and no amount of dilithium crystals will help. There are a high number of landings with the rollers up, as many as six weekly according to AOPA. Hence the old saw for retractables: "Those who have and those that will" .What say? It won’t happen to you?

Serious Cirrus drivers aside, it can. Three reasons 1) The oops, I forgot. 2) Gear collapses on the landing roll usually due to the squat switch 3) Actual mechanical failure.

Here’s a few examples of pilots sliding in for a landing including a good video of a Beech 1900 , a nice clip with sparks and flame in a Hawker 125 jet. The pilots in this F111 attack aircraft did a fine job, but the most expensive is probably this one in the Bone at $7.9M in repairs.

Half the incidents are pilot error. Don't forget to check the checklist.

The Empire Strikes Back at General Aviation

Harrison Ford and the Campaign to Prevent User Fees

Years ago he flew the Millennium Falcon.

Now, he fly’s better equipment including a Cessna CJ3, Aviat Husky, Cessna Caravan, Bell 407 and de Havilland Beaver.

The U.S. ”Empire” is planning to “strike back” at general aviation. President Obama proposed user fees to start in 2011 to the tune of $7.5 billion dollars. Many, including me, believe this plan has the potential to cripple general aviation. There are beginner and veteran pilots who will stop flying. Manufacturers, business and airports will be affected.

May the Force be with us

Today’s Wall Street Journal mentions that Harrison Ford agreed to be the spokesman for the new campaign from AOPA to prevent user fees from hurting general aviation. Mr. Ford gives the explanation.

General aviation provides an economic lifeline for communities across America,” said Harrison Ford, “Millions of jobs and businesses of all sizes depend on small aircraft serving our country every day.”

Why it Matters

General aviation represents $150 billion in revenue and provides 1.3 million jobs. It supports law enforcement, medevac, and emergency services, as well as aiding disaster relief efforts. General Aviation includes crop dusters, overnight freight and business support. It’s the way to most pilots get training. Forestry, search and rescue, firefighting, energy, and construction all depend on it. That’s why there’s over 5,300 general aviation airports in the U.S. in addition to the 600 that support scheduled flights. There's at least 10,000 more private use landing areas and helipads

As Chief Justice John Marshall stated: "The power to Tax is the power to destroy". We will eventually run out things to tax. Don’t make us bring out the Wookie.

The Color of Money

Remember Marcus Schrenker? The guy who faked an emergency then bailed out of his turboprop Malibu last January. He was living the good life, allegedly because he swindled millions from investors. When it finally caught up with him he apparently hopped in his $1.3M plane and parachuted to safety in Georgia, riding away on a motorcycle he'd stashed in a rented storage unit along with a laptop and cash. The empty aircraft was tailed by an F-16 as it flew on autopilot and the military pilot reported the windshield appeared to be intact. In the letter, Schrenker insists there was an "explosion" that prompted his bailout but he doesn't address his handy access to the motorcycle. Oh, and most people don’t wear parachutes and goggles when flying a cabin class plane.

Last week he penned a letter to the newspapers. You can read the handwritten story which also says he wishes he'd died in the airplane "with honor". I don’t know why that would make him any less cowardly than staging an airplane accident and hiding the rest of his life. Perhaps another example of the same greed that led Bernard Madoff down the wrong path. Schrenker is now writing a book in jail. Wonder who would buy it?

How *Not* to Fly the L-29

Same type jet as in the title bar.

Might have cut that one a little close.



This one didn't work out as well. The Thunderbird pilot miscalculated his above ground altitude which can have a big impact.

World's Busiest Control Tower

One week each year, the relatively small Oshkosh Airport has the busiest control tower anywhere with up to 15,000 aircraft visiting. Now there is a much better tower facility and the old one was just demolished.

But couldn't they have taken a cue from Yankee Stadium and the Berlin Wall where rubble was sold for big bucks? Many GA enthusiasts would pay for a souvenir brick or a piece of glass to frame a view in a house. The EAA could fund Young Eagles programs and Scholarships instead of throwing it in a landfill?

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Anyway: Mark your calendars to see General Aviation's biggest event. Airventure. July 27 to August 2 2009! The new tower is ready!

Nice to See You

Newest airport security technology peers through clothes

Forget the lost luggage, lousy food and tight- leg rooms. We are all going to go through the whole- body imager to show our naked-bodies in public...warned Samuel Ampah

I'm all for transparency in our government and with publicly traded companies but wonder if we may be going a bit too far. What you don't want to hear from a TSA screener in this situation (If you're a guy like me) is a female snickering or worse, a male TSA employee whistling.

Another reason to like General Aviation. You don't even need to take off your shoes before boarding.

CAT and The Big Muddy

CAT: Clear Air Turbulence

We left at dawn on a mission, for no other reason than to explore the reaches of the Mississippi River. The famous river where the Lewis and Clark expedition began; Jolliet and Marquette, the Vicksburg campaign, and 100 pound catfish. The plan was to follow the tributary as it snaked it’s way North from Illinois and Iowa to Wisconsin and Minnesota. We lifted off the runway and the flat roofs of hangers soon transformed into small matchboxes. Fields appeared, spanning in all directions. The earth became limitless, with the horizon appearing in the haze. It was a smooth ride, in fact as smooth as it gets.

It was unknown at this point that Mother Nature planned a sucker punch.

Before long, the river was in sight and we turned right 90 degrees. Tom was in the right seat, handling radios and navigation which was pretty much looking down at the river. Of course he could take a turn at the wheel so as to provide a break and some photo snaps. Perspective changes from this vantage point. The great Mississippi ranges in width from one to four miles but from here it looked like a shiny brown ribbon. They don’t call it the big muddy for nothing and I liked the idea of touring from above than with the barges below. They appeared immobile, if it wasn’t for the burbling of wakes at the stern.

North we cruised. Old river towns passed by mile after mile. I thought of riverboats that used to ply these waters when my thoughts were interrupted by a voice on the radio. Air traffic control came on line to advise a”target” was on the same heading, same altitude. “Be advised that both targets will merge in one minute”. A polite euphemism for mid air collision. Without traffic in sight due to increasing haze, I changed altitude and veered ten degrees until we could see a light airplane passing on the left. All was well when we landed at the LaCrosse Airport, an Island, surrounded by tentacles of water. Time for fuel and a quick check with the Flight Service Station (FSS). These people provide a storehouse of information on weather, navigation aids, local and distant airport information, ability to file flight plans and did I say weather? There was an Airmet (Significant weather concerns for light aircraft) for severe turbulence. Not light chop but severe. Pshaw, I said. We just flew a great length of landscape and surely you must be mistaken. (The briefer asked that I not call him Shirley). Press on we would. Besides, our options were limited. It would mean spending the night in some fleabag motel which was not part of the plan. How bad could it be?

We launched back into the blue and, in ten minutes, it became bumpy. No problem. It’s all part of the experience of flight. However, another fifteen minutes later, it felt as if a giant hand pushed us skyward. Then the same invisible force pushed us back down. The instruments were pegged at 2,000 feet per minute and we really didn’t have that much altitude to spare. Then to spice things up, the same mystical force provided uncommanded roll. I was trying to over control but I remembered that it overstresses the aircraft. The unseen force decided slap the plane around as if to punish us for not obeying the voice of reason, the FSS gods of meteorology. No clouds -this was clear air. While this probably lasted for 20 minutes it seemed much, much longer. I left grip marks on the glareshield and promised to repent from the error of my ways. Tom didn’t say much aside from the occasional “whoa”. He was kind enough not to mention that any smart pilot wouldn’t have launched in the teeth of very turbulent air. I decided that if it didn’t get worse, we would head to the next destination. We were half way, rivets weren’t popping and there was nowhere to land in the rolling hills.

We finally landed at the next airport before heading for home, the wind sheer was relenting and so were our stomachs. We stopped to eat but mostly pushed food around the plate. More lessons into the bag of experience. First: The FSS folks do know what they’re talking about. Second: What you can’t see can potentially hurt you. It’s better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air than in the air wishing you were on the ground.

Back to the Drawing Board

I'm all for "out-of-the-Box" thinking as long as it doesn't follow with "Out-of-the-Sky" results. Today Zenair will find out that-

Federal safety officials want the Federal Aviation Administration to immediately ground a type of small sports aircraft, saying six of the planes have broken up in flight in the past three years, killing 10 people.

I've been intrigued by kit airplanes. It's a fraction of the price of a certificated plane made by the larger manufacturers (Piper, Cessna) and with a homebuilt you don’t have to pay for the whole thing at once, building a section at a time.

Still, you gotta be brave desperate to fly one of these.

This particular plane is the "Skybaby". You can have first place in line.

I'll watch.

Now You See it, Now You Don't

Occasional reader Dan forwarded this post regarding the effort to hide the Lockheed Burbank Aircraft Plant from Japanese air attack. It was made to look like a rural subdivision from the air. With the concerns we face regarding the Global War On Terror, I'm reminded that Americans on both coasts harbored similar fears during WWII. Be prepared, be vigilant and keep fighting.

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Good Save

Both a passenger and air traffic control did an outstanding job in handling an emergency at 10,000 feet when the passenger took the controls and landed a King Air with help from ATC after the pilot died in mid-flight.

The passenger, who took the controls and was in contact with the control tower in Miami, and subsequently in Fort Myers, has single-engine plane experience, said Bergen. He had been a pilot since at least 1990. However, he was not certified to fly a twin-engine plane like the King Air, which is a large luxury plane, said Wallace. To instruct him on how to maneuver the plane and bring it back to earth, one air traffic controller got on the phone with a friend in Connecticut who is rated to fly the King Air aircraft.

Many air traffic controllers are actually pilots-mighty handy in a situation like this. Some ATC types can be down right cranky but most are there to help. Especially some of us who need a hand from time to time. That's why they established the Archie League and Controller Commendation awards for folks that help handle life threatening situations, including smoke in the cockpit, low fuel, vacuum pump failures, and icing.

Listen to some of the audio exchanges of the award winners here. If you got an emergency, who else 'ya gonna call?

Eject- Eject -Eject

There may be the occasional day in the office when you feel the need to "pull the handle" as the last resort. Now you can.
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An ejection seat seat from an F-4 Phantom. For the days when you can't fly, just scoot around the office and make jet engine noises.

Geezerville - The Old , Bold Pilot

After reviewing messages about "getting old" from several bloggers, including Lex, I recalled the aphorism:

There are old pilots and bold pilots but no old, bold pilots.

Maybe.

I think I am a little of both. It's humbling to get the senior discount.-But the upside is a grandson who's pretty cool. This time he slowed down long enough for a photo shoot with gramps. Actually I'm fortunate to have two grandsons.

Hope you're enjoying family gatherings this Easter weekend as well.

Top Ten Uses of Aviation

Military and Commercial Aviation account for two. The remaining eight are General Aviation.

Think about it before you check for the answer.

Stupid Pilot Tricks #1

Yesterday’s post reminded me that there is no end of stupid. For many reasons. I am one of those who read various NTSB reports: Accident summaries of the FAA. … not in the sense of Schedenfraude, but to learn and avoid repeating them. As I’ve said, an aviator really should learn from others mistakes because he/ she will never live long enough to make them all, learning the hard way.

Not that I would personally know anything about that of course

Which brings me to the subject of Stupid Pilot Tricks. I do believe I have the granddaddy of them all. Readers- please feel free to comment if you can top this. The pilot and his passengers unfortunately all died in the crash of a Cessna Skywagon in the Palo Duro Canyon Park southeast of Amarillo. Witnesses observed the aircraft maneuvering at 50 feet above the ground. Four shot guns, plenty of ammo and fourteen empty cans of beer were found. Toxicology reported alcohol levels at .178 percent. (The Federal regulation prohibits a pilot from consuming alcohol before flight - “8 hours from bottle to throttle”).Why would shotguns and beer be in a plane?

Bird hunting.

Of course! Why wait for birds to come to you when you can go to them? A real time saver. Plus there’s better pickings in the state park. We have the rest of the story since one of the passengers survived long enough to tell the tale. All four occupants, including the pilot joined in the festivities with four barrels pointed outward and blasting away. Finding birds in the park was easy. Getting close enough to bag them required precision flying and shooting, neither of which the pilot was capable. He didn’t even have a valid license. Drinking beer didn’t improve marksmanship either. But shoot they did, at everything that moved. About 70 times. After missing all the birds they went after a hawk which, at that point, veered skyward. The pilot and rear passenger let loose in unison with buckshot striking the left wing This left a gaping hole and tore off the wingtip. Loss of control led to impact shortly thereafter. The NTSB Conclusion: Unauthorized low flight and buzzing. Poor judgment. Impairment due to alcohol. Failure to maintain flying speed. Pilot error......and in my book, top honors for the Darwin Award.

You might say that no one else would try and match such a brain impaired stunt. But you’d be wrong. There was a Super Cub (PA-18) on coyote patrol in Montana. Flying about 40 feet AGL, the passenger "inadvertently discharged" a semi-automatic 12-gauge shotgun. Not once, not twice, but three times, striking the right wing, fuel tank and aileron. I’m not sure how you "inadvertently" cycle the trigger three times. Must be one of those new Blast-O-Matic shotguns. Fortunately, this one didn’t end as badly. So if you see someone packing heat and boarding your plane think of stupid pilot tricks. There are better ways to hunt.

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This Can't Be Good

A goofball led F-16’s on a chase across six states Monday, flying a stolen plane from a Canadian flight school to Ellsinore, Mo. He was arrested after hitching a ride to a convenience store. Yavuz Berke a/k/a Adam Leon, hoped the military would shoot him down. Too bad the wish wasn’t granted.

Thanks go to those asleep at the switch at Confederation college in Ontario: “Apparently, somebody jumped over the fence and just jumped into an aircraft," Judi Maundrell, the college's vice president of academics said. "It was sitting as usual parked on the ramp. The keys are in all the aircraft because students are using them."

Way to go.

Many Americans still believe light aircraft are a threat. Why else would they evacuate the Wisconsin State capital when this happened? Truth be told, you can do far more damage with a truck full of fertilizer (remember Oklahoma City)? Trucks can easily access most areas of the United States but regrettably 9/11 irrevocably linked aviation and terrorism. If you measure potentially damaging moving mass, a semi weighs 80,000 pounds. A Cessna 172 weighs in at a spritely 2,500.

This is a rare event and we need to keep it that way. According to the AOPA, only six aircraft were stolen in 2006, compared to 1.2 million vehicles. Wait and see how many jump on the bandwagon to further restrict general aviation, whatever their motives. It was the pretext Mayor Daley used to shut down Meigs Field in Chicago. So fellow pilots: Let’s keep ‘em locked, report suspicious activity and tell your friends that the only thing to fear is fear itself. (Ok that last part was from FDR’s inaugural speech but it still works). General Aviation supports our country in many great ways.

Way cool

Cold today. Not so much for most activities, but if it involves flying it means engine warming and wing de-icing . Yes it was worth the time and trouble so I went to work. A little frost can stall any plane so it’s vital to remove it from most of the wing, rudder and elevator leading edges and surface areas. Reaching into a cold bucket of glycol is similar to fishing out your favorite beverage in a bucket of ice. About twenty times. It helps if you’re warming the engines at this point as it renders the nacelle surfaces blistering hot. Handy since it returns the color of your frozen hands back to a healthy glow instead of lobster red. After fourty five minutes of fun and games it was time to go.

Most of us who fly general aviation aircraft are relegated to older planes, unless you have recently robbed a bank or are close friends with Warren Buffet. I am fortunate to fly at all so I am not complaining. Nonetheless, it means that I break the surly bonds with “steam gage” panels that look like this.


Not nice and splashy like those glass panels I'd love to try but it works. At least most of the time. Too often, light airplanes of this vintage are prone to Things Gone Wrong. Some items are less important, like the fussy autopilot . Other things that can occur in flight involving lost hydraulics or pieces falling off are more inconvenient. Landing gear malfunctions are one of my favorites. I liked them so much , I decided to repeat the experience three times. Sometimes it wouldn’t retract, sometimes it wouldn’t extend. Fortunately, all had a happy ending but it’s interesting to note that the majority of new light singles have fixed gear. Sliding in for a landing is expensive.

Anyway, it was a good day to fly. With apologies to Francis Ford Coppola, I love the smell of Avgas (or Jet-A) in the morning. There’s something about the inside of a cockpit that says “fun” whether it’s the smell of sun baked older plane interiors or the brand new leather of the latest G-Whiz Cirrus marvels. The tower gave permission to taxi and after a brief run-up I was rolling. Cool flying is cool. Props and lifting surfaces all work better with dense air. With wheels up, the plane clawed quickly to 1,500 feet. I reduced manifold pressure, decreased the tach, and leaned the mixture. Aerobatic planes were spinning and rolling above the small lake to the South. Best to steer west. Dozens of white pinwheels twirled in the landscape ahead. It was one of the larger wind farms in the Midwest and I expected to see more in the future. I wheeled the plane into a 50-degree bank and watched as the horizon spun around in a full circle. There was a pat on the tail from my wake. As I glided back home, the sun glowed above the horizon behind the silhouette of the great City of Chicago. It was a privilege to see the world from this perch. Next week, I hoped to see it upside down from 6,000 feet.

Shiny

Plane Pr0n

This is Lefty Gardner's old P-38. Lefty was a legend in the Commemorative Air Force as one of its founding 5 members. Red Bull purchased the plane after an accident (turbo charger blew and caught fire causing an off-field landing) several years ago and has rebuilt it completely
Photo's are of the Red Bull P-38 undergoing maintenance at Ezell Aviation in Breckenridge, TX.
Glacier Girl was an historic acheivement. This mirror finish "Lightning" is a work of art.

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