For those of us not flying in sunny, warm climates all year round, the winter flying season may involve anything but…“flying”. Cold, colorless days seem to drag on with no end in sight. Instead of accepting defeat or allowing weeks to pass without opening the hangar door, let’s get creative. There’s plenty to do NOW to beat the winter flying blues.
1) Home simulator flying – Before you check out over not having a home “simulator,” let me first say your device doesn’t have to be elaborate, expensive, sophisticated, etc. because even the simplest of devices can be productive. But a plan for the use of simulation is a must. A simple list of tasks, maneuvers, or even complete lessons from your current syllabus will create a valuable to-do list when those no-fly days linger for weeks. Develop a menu of training tasks with your instructor to create powerful learning experiences. The right amount of structure and oversight will ensure you don’t develop bad habits.
2) Video training – The availability of quality video-based training can put you on the flight deck to examine maneuvers, practice landings and even rehearse emergency or abnormal procedures. Yes, it’s not quite the same as the real thing, but again, we’re talking about the next best option when you’re not able to make the flight. A comprehensive video-based course will keep you focused on the task at hand and working toward that written test and practical exam. You’ll be that much more prepared for the next flight scheduled.
3) Chair flying – Many of the instructors I respect most and owe such gratitude toward for helping me through to my goal of becoming a pilot would preach the value of “chair flying.” It’s just as the name would suggest, you quite literally sit in a chair and visual the space in front of you as the flight deck. You may even consider a flight deck poster to enhance the experience. From there, you can move through engine start, taxi, before takeoff checks and beyond to reinforce your flows and confidence.
Also in the “chair flying” environment, you have the opportunity to rehearse abnormal procedures. Read the wonderfully insightful section of your POH that includes an expanded discussion of abnormal and emergency procedures. On your next chair flying session, review the table of contents for the emergency section and select an event you haven’t practiced. Follow the checklist for that item and understand the “why” behind it. This exercise will not only prepare you for real-time abnormals, but will ensure a better understanding of your aircraft’s systems.
4) Seminars/webinars/periodicals – Learning doesn’t have to stop just because you may not have access to an airplane. If you don’t have an account at FAASafety.gov, sign-up now – it’s free. Here you’ll learn about many free, in-person seminars and other learning opportunities to help you grow as an aviator. The same enriching activites may also be available in the form of online webinars or through the various aviation publications. Most major aviation publications offer online newletters or electronic additions in addition to a print publication. And there are a number of online journals worth investigating. You may even find some ways to participate in a meaningful aviation discussion.
5) Finally, fly. Yes, there could be flying opportunities that, while outside of your qualifications, may be enlightening, educational and fun with an instructor. There’s nothing better for proficiency than to fly more and visit new places. Take the opportunity to perhaps log some actual instrument or venture out for some crosswind landings.
And since those flyable days are fewer and farther between, consider some added flexibility for you flying schedule. When the sun is shining, make it a point to get to the airport and connect with your instructor for some of that elusive stick time.
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What? Huh? Yes, you read the title correctly. There are many things one might claim I’m an expert in. “Good landings” is definitely not one of them. So then, by default, I might be an expert on how to make a bad one. I haven’t bent any metal, ground looped or seriously scraped a tail, but I’ve had more than a few that made me look around to see if anyone was watching.
It doesn’t take a 50 year professional pilot to point out my landing mistakes. I know what they are and yet still manage to commit many of the same errors. They seem to be occurring on a less frequent basis as my experience level grows, but we are creatures of habit and I have a habit of making these five mistakes most often.
Too Fast
While I know the correct method is to be on my target airspeed, when I commit the airspeed error, I’m typically on the high side. This results in having excess speed when you flare. I left a lot of usable pavement behind me floating down the runway before one of my instructors solved my issue. After beating me handily in a spot landing contest, he reinforced the practice of stabilized approach parameters. Find the target speeds you need to hit on every leg. Once you have the pitch set for speed, make distance adjustments with the power. In a Cessna 172, 85 kts on downwind, 75 on base, and 65 on final work really well.
Too High
This one is somewhat connected to my first problem. I often don’t slow down much when transitioning to the traffic pattern. When abeam the numbers, I typically need to shed more than 20% of my airspeed before the airplane will even think about descending. The result is often being way too high when turning base which may very well carry over to final approach. After slipping the airplane during three consecutive final approaches, the pilot in the right seat gave me a pretty good verbal bashing. He made an excellent suggestion that I follow to this day. Give yourself a speed limit while you are in the pattern. Make it no more than 10% higher than your desired “abeam the numbers” speed. In my 172 case, that means I can’t be faster than 93 knots while in the pattern. By limiting my pattern speed, getting on the appropriate final approach glide slope has been much easier.
Ballooning
Yes, too high and too fast as described above will result in a flare that looks more like a roller coaster than a landing – and feels like one too. It took a flight check from a more experienced flight instructor to fix this one. I describe this with a word of caution because the real takeaway is that the correct fix for any approach outside of your stabilized parameters is a go-around, but minor derivations can still be managed.
Some excess airspeed doesn’t have to result in a balloon. Is has everything to do with the rate of roundout or flare. By initiating the roundout earlier and more gradually, it may allow the excess energy to dissipate. However, this may also require additional runway. At all times, if not able to land the airplane in the touchdown zone, go around!
Bouncing
Have you ever logged three landings after just one approach? That’s known as a bounced landing and while efficient for currency, it’s also a mark of a poorly executed landing. The reasoning on why this happen is similar to why my dog doesn’t come when I call her – “she don’t want to.” The airplane is simply not ready to stop flying because of too much energy. The correct fix for any bounced landing is to go around. In the even that the bounce was very minimal and there is plenty of runway remaining, it’s possible to land the airplane normally by adding some power to cushion the subsequent attempt and dissipating the excess energy. Keep in mind that after a bounced landing, it’s likely that you’re already holding in excess back pressure which will have to be released to recover or execute the go-around.
Flying Straight-In
I’ve found that some of my worst landings were usually after flying straight-in to land rather than flying the full pattern. Even though it’s a pilot-controlled field and a full pattern is not “required”, performing a straight in approach throws off the normal visual clues on where and when we should make the pitch/power adjustments and judge the approach stability. There are plenty of arguments for and against going straight in to land at non-towered fields, but the prudent approach is to complete a full pattern as you generally practice and allow time to get set up properly for a stabilized approach. And you get to log a few more minutes of flight time!
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Do you fly the airplane, or is your checklist really the PIC?
It may sound funny, but an awful lot of pilots are slaves to their checklists, blindly following them as if it’s a set of assembly instructions for a piece of furniture. If the checklist said, “Airplane – Crash Into Ground,” some pilots might follow those directions right to the ground. You can and should do better.
Let’s be clear: there’s nothing wrong with checklists. On the contrary, they are a critical part of safe flying, and even airline pilots with 25,000 hours still religiously follow one on every flight. In fact, pilots’ checklist obsession is starting to be copied by other professions. An influential book, The Checklist Manifesto, argues that checklist discipline can improve safety and efficiency in fields as diverse as banking and medicine.
While checklists are important, it’s critical that you use them the right way: as a check or a backstop against error. It is not a “do list” where you read, then do, then verify. This approach makes you an unthinking computer, instead of an airman with critical thinking skills and context. So next time you’re running a checklist, think–don’t just do.
But that’s just a start. I think there’s an even better way to use checklists: the flow check.
Printed checklists are a good way to stay disciplined, but sometimes they can get in the way. You may get overloaded because of weather, Air Traffic Control, passengers or some mechanical anomaly. At these moments, it’s important to be able to think about your airplane and understand the big picture. That’s why I like flow checks so much; you think about every system in the airplane, but in an organized way.
Start at the left side of the panel and work your way all the way across to the right side, pausing on each switch or gauge to think about what it does and which way it should be set. Check the engine gauges: everything green? Check all the light switches: where they should be? How about the GPS and radios: are they set up properly?
I like to do this after leveling out in cruise, when I have plenty of time to move deliberately. It’s a great way to double check my previous checklist usage and make sure nothing was overlooked. I also do a flow check after shutdown, right before I leave the airplane for the day. It can take 10 minutes or 30 seconds, depending on your airplane and your experience.
What’s so helpful about the flow check is that it can be used in almost every airplane, from a J-3 Cub to a King Air. Especially as you transition into more complex airplanes, it’s easy to get confused or overwhelmed by everything that’s new–avionics, controls, instruments and systems. But the principle of the flow check still holds. The single level throttle may be replaced by six levers in a turboprop, but you do the same procedure: pause and make sure each is where it should be.
The left-to-right flow is a great starting point, but you can also make up your own abbreviated flow checks, too. When I used to fly a Cessna 210, I used a “1, 2, 3 check; 1, 2, 3 check” after takeoff. This meant: gear up, flaps up, cowl flaps open (these three handles were close to each other); and throttle reduced, propeller control reduced, mixture leaned (these three controls were all in a row). If those six things were done, the rest could wait. This easy-to-remember flow saved me more than once in busy airspace, because it was quick and intuitive.
Beyond using flow checks as an everyday procedure, they also make a great training exercise. Sitting in the cockpit–even with the engine off–and going over every part of it in a disciplined way is an excellent way to learn the systems and the layout of the switches.
It’s also a good opportunity to practice your emergency procedures. As you check the ammeter, consider what you would do if it showed a discharge. How about an overcharge situation? This type of “what if” planning isn’t paranoid, it’s safe flying.
Just remember that flow checks are a complement, not a replacement, for printed checklists. Regardless, they can be a great addition to your flying tool kit. More than anything, they keep your head in the game.
So next time you’re droning along with nothing to do, perform a quick flow check. You may catch a mistake, but you’re almost guaranteed to learn something.
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In my position, I talk to all sorts of pilots looking for flight training. The largest group is not Private pilots looking to add an instrument rating, or a brand new student looking to get started in aviation. The largest group is existing pilots who have let their currency lapse – in some cases for many years. Most of the pilots all share one thing in common; they are not sure what it takes to get back to flying.
The largest held misconception about getting back into flying is that you have to take another written exam or another checkride with a Designated Pilot Examiner or the FAA. Others believe that the process will take so long and cost so much that it will be equivalent to learning to fly all over again. For those who might be thinking along those lines, I have great news; the actual requirement is far, far simpler than either of those paths.
All you need to begin flying again is a current Flight Review (every 24 calendar months), recency of experience to carry passengers (if desired) and a current medical certificate.
The Flight Review –
According to FAR 61.56, a flight review consists of a minimum of 1 hour of flight training and 1 hour of ground training. The review must include a review of current general operating and flight rules of FAR Part 91 and a review of those maneuvers and procedures … necessary for the pilot to demonstrate the safe exercise of the privileges of his certificate.
Like all regulations, there is more fine print in the book, along with exceptions for pilots in specific circumstances, but that general paragraph applies to most everyone. As you can see, the Flight Review is not a huge procedure. It simply requires a flight instructor to endorse that you are safe to go flying again. No checkrides. No written exams. No FAA inspectors. Any current CFI that has privileges for your type of flying (Airplane Single Engine Land, Helicopter, Seaplane, etc.) is capable of conducting your Flight Review.
How long your Flight Review will actually last beyond the minimum prescribed time is a function of pilot proficiency and knowledge. There is an old aviation expression about expecting 1 hr of flying for every year of not flying. So if you haven’t flown in 10 years, project 10 hrs to get back in. Although I do not personally subscribe to that formula directly, it is a ballpark that many people use.
Your Flight Review will not be a hazing or tortured experience. The goal of a quality flight instructor conducting a Flight Review is to ensure your safety as a pilot, and to provide a sample review of required knowledge and flight skills. Most instructors will ask about what type of flying you do, what does a typical flight look like, and use these answers to help guide what your review will be focused on.
It doesn’t benefit you or your instructor to spend most of the review focused on ATC communications if you spend all of your time at non-towered airports. Remember that your input is welcome! Pilots should try to highlight areas of flying that they feel need work or haven’t been reviewed in years. Make the Flight Review a great learning experience, not just a regulatory requirement.
Currency Requirements –
According to FAR 61.57, in order to carry passengers you must have completed at least 3 takeoffs and landings within the preceding 90 days. This requirement applies to daytime and will likely be satisfied during the course of your Flight Review. If you are interested in returning to night passenger carrying, remember to conduct those 3 landings at nightto a full stop to meet the night passenger carrying requirements. If you are not planning on taking passengers up immediately, this section does not apply to a pilot flying solo.
Medical –
Unless you are planning to return to flying utilizing Sport privileges, you will need to have a current 3rd class medical certificate for non-commercial operations. Medical certificate durations have changed over the years. Currently according to FAR 61.23, if you are under the age of 40 when you have your medical examination, you have 60 calendar months of privileges. If you are over the age of 40 at the time of the examination, you have 24 calendar months before needing another medical. If you have any questions about the medical requirements, your flight instructor will be able to help you decipher the rules.
These three steps are the only requirements that you need to get back into the world of aviation and begin enjoying your certificate again. Don’t wait another month to get back to it. Now is a great time to start back again.
Safe flying!
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Earlier this year, I wrote about my family’s plans to take a number of mini-vacations during the summer centered on our enjoyment of roller coasters and amusement parks. Now that the amusement park season is winding down, I am happy to report that we were able to visit six of the twelve amusement parks in the Cedar Fair family this year including all but one in the eastern half of the United States and Canada (maybe another time Dorney Park).
Half of the park visits included the use of a general aviation aircraft as transportation to and from the area but all did not go as originally planned. The trips required flexibility for them to happen safely.
Good pilot judgment depends on proper planning and the ability to adjust the plans when warranted by the conditions.
Carowinds Trip
One of our trips during the month of June was to Carowinds along the North and South Carolina border; about twenty minutes from the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina. I recounted some of the details regarding this trip in my previous post.
The planning for this started days in advance with a preliminary look at the long range forecast and the arrangement of a rental car. The long range forecast looked good at the destination and along the way.
Our plan was to depart the Sporty’s/Clermont County Airport early in the morning for the one day trip. A detailed review of the weather was in order on the evening before the trip. There were some storm systems in the Charlotte area that night but they were forecast to be gone by the time we arrived. All looked good for our flight when we headed for bed.
A review of the weather the next morning showed that the storms were a bit slower to clear than expected but they were dissipating. By the time we arrived at the airport to board the Piper Aztec, the rain had moved out and we only had some marginal clouds and visibilities with which to contend. The conditions and forecast were well above my personal minimums so we launched to the southeast. It was a great flight with a descent through a layer clouds near the Charlotte area. The approach and landing were performed visually.
As reported before, the trip to the park was quick and easy and the kids enjoyed the day trying out the new coasters and rides. My mother, who first introduced me to roller coasters back before there were many height limitations, also enjoyed the trip. The Intimidator and Afterburn coasters were family favorites.
The trip back to Clermont County was smooth and uneventful.
We had planned our day trip to Michigan on a Tuesday near the end of July. Plans were made, the G1000 equipped Cessna 182 was scheduled, the vacation day was set, and the weather looked questionable when viewed on the Monday before. While it didn’t look like the trip would be a washout, the forecast called for thunderstorms to pop up along the route and at the destination. With appropriate planning, an early departure, and weather avoidance equipment, it might have been okay, but who really wants to spend the day worrying about storms. Time for plan B.
Looking a couple days out to Thursday, the weather looked more promising. Change the plans, reschedule the airplane, change the vacation day, and hope for the better weather. The better weather held true.
Thursday dawned bright and sunny. The route could have been flown under visual flight rules but I elected to file an instrument flight plan anyway. I just like the added margin of safety with having my ATC “crew” on the ground in a single-pilot operation.
I contemplated flying to Muskegon or Fremont, Michigan. Muskegon is a tower controlled field with a Terminal Radar Service Area surrounding it. Fremont is a non-towered field with a nice long runway and instrument approaches. Researching online, it looked like the drive times to the park would be similar though the drive from Muskegon would be on larger roads. Ultimately, the rental car convenience and lower fuel price at Fremont won out and I made that our destination.
The flight to Fremont took just over two hours. It was a relatively smooth flight other than a few bumps as we descended toward the airport.
The drive to the park was a little more complicated than anticipated due to road closures unfamiliar to the GPS but we ultimately made it. The family enjoyed the day at this smaller Cedar Fair park and I think that the Shivering Timbers roller coaster was worth the trip.
The flight back home was quiet and uneventful from an airplane perspective. The moon created an amazing fire-like show as it rose into the darkening sky. Cincinnati Approach welcomed us home like a long lost friend.
Canada’s Wonderland and Niagara Falls Trip
Our final big trip of the summer came in early August. We departed for Niagara Falls, New York, in the Aztec on Sunday evening after my kids and I attended a family reunion and my wife finished her work for the day. Hotel reservations and a rental car along with initial weather evaluations had been taken care of during the prior week. Final weather evaluations were completed before departing on this multi-day adventure.
With confidence born in having a second engine and fairly good weather, I elected to take a direct route to Niagara Falls airport. This put us over Lake Erie for about 85 miles and carried us through the edge of Canadian airspace. The shores of the lake were always in sight and easily accessible if an emergency were to have occurred.
We hit a line of clouds and some moderate turbulence over the shore near Cleveland but the flight was smooth with good visibility otherwise.
As we approached the Niagara area, Buffalo Approach began to give us vectors to the outer marker for the ILS on runway two eight right. Since the weather was beautiful and this was our first visit, I asked about the aircraft traffic over the Falls. He indicated that there was no traffic and provided us a vector to the area for some sight-seeing laps around this natural wonder. While there is a published procedure with a discrete frequency for VFR flights over Niagara Falls, his instructions were to stay with him, maintain four thousand feet, circle as desired, and advise when ready to proceed to the airport. What fantastic service from ATC and what a spectacular view!!
We parked the Aztec at Niagara Falls Aviation and they met us at the airplane with our rental car.
We spent the night on the U.S. side of the Falls and did the tourist activities on both sides of the border on Monday. Monday evening we drove to our next hotel on the north side of Toronto and prepared for our first day at Canada’s Wonderland, bright and early on Tuesday. Our plan was to spend all of Tuesday and part of Wednesday at the amusement park but the weather outlook for Wednesday didn’t look like it was going to live up to earlier expectations so we took it one day at a time.
Tuesday was a great, though very crowded, day at the park. Leviathan and Behemoth were coaster favorites of the entire family. Time Warp was a unique coaster experience that was worth riding at least once.
A review of the weather Tuesday evening made us rethink our planned time at the park on Wednesday. Storms were going to move in later in the day on Wednesday and our plan was to be home in Ohio by Wednesday evening. Since we were two hours and a border crossing away from the airplane, it was decided that we should start our drive back to New York early in the morning. Being at the airport would allow us to better adjust for the weather and it looked like the storms would reach Niagara in the mid afternoon.
Back at the airport and having cell service once again, I looked more closely at the weather. It turned out that there were two lines of storms. One was strong and currently impacting our route of flight, the other was weaker and would arrive at our departure point in a couple of hours. Current conditions at the departure point were very good and it looked like a deviation well west of our desired course would keep us clear of the weather and allow us to reach Clermont County.
Armed with a thorough weather briefing, a plan, and visual conditions supplemented by ADS-B weather to monitor the situation, we launched on our journey home.
The direct flight path home would have taken us into the heart of a line of extreme thunderstorms. Our new route took us direct to the Sandusky VOR and then south to Clermont; well clear and behind the extreme line.
Passing north of the line we encountered some light precipitation and some light turbulence but the ride wasn’t bad. Once in the clear and behind the line of storms, I requested a route direct to our destination and received this in short order. The ADS-B showed some cells of light to moderate precipitation to the west of this route which bore watching but they dissipated soon enough.
Our next encounter with weather came as we approached the Sporty’s/Clermont County Airport. A low layer of strato-cumulus clouds necessitated flying the instrument approach to runway two two. Visibility beneath the clouds was good and the landing occurred without an issue.
While we would have liked to have had two days at Canada’s Wonderland, we were happy to be safe and sound and on the ground at home. The decision to be flexible and leave early was a good one.
Flexible Flyer
Aviation is a great mode of transportation. General aviation will take you places that aren’t easily accessed and allow you to see things that you can only see from a light aircraft.
But, aviation does require sound pilot judgment and may require some flexibility.
If it is super important that you arrive somewhere at a particular time, then you need to be thorough in your planning. If the general aviation plan won’t work without exceeding your personal minimums, then make sure that you leave yourself enough time for a plan B or C. Don’t let “get-there-itis” be your downfall.
Speaking of personal minimums, if you don’t have any, develop some. There are several tools available for this which may find their way into a future article. You can also discuss these with your favorite local flight instructor. Once you have your personal minimums, stick to them! Review them occasionally during quiet times to see if they need adjusted. The time to review them for changes in not in the middle of a flight decision.
Go on, get out there and use your pilot rating but be safe so that the most exciting part of your story is at your destination not something read in an NTSB report.
Standing next to my favorite airplane inspires me to recall a few of my favorite flights. This old, red Aztec has taken my friends, family and me to such far-flung places as Caracas, Newfoundland, Cabo and Kelowna. I now realize it was because of the training I received (and a lot of good luck) that I have been afforded the opportunity to go to those places–and cherish those memories.
Here at Sporty’s, I see all kinds of prospective pilots walk through our door. Some want to be an airline captain, others a bush pilot, and many just want to see the ground from the sky with a buddy or spouse (or someone they hope will be their spouse). But no matter the disparate goals, they have one thing in common. Sometime between that moment when they first walk into our flight school and the time they advance the throttles on that Boeing full of passengers or Skyhawk with a friend, they have to taxi from the ramp to the end of the runway, take off and land an airplane by themselves–they must solo!
The solo is such a powerful accomplishment that in the past couple years, we at Sporty’s Academy have not had anyone–not a single student–drop out of the program between their solo and earning a certificate. And regardless if they are pursuing a Sport, Recreational or Private license, they all need to possess the same knowledge of airmanship to conduct that solo. The main (and really only) difference in requirements is the Recreational and Private candidate must have obtained a medical certificate prior to their solo flight.
This initial, mutual path forms the architecture for Sporty’s award-winning Learn to Fly course. The first lessons concentrate on soloing, the common experience for all pilots. Just as a long cross country is really only a series of short cross countries, only after pilots pass this first waypoint–the solo–are they ready to continue their route to the Sport, Recreational or Private certificate. Flight paths for all three are included in our Learn to Fly course.
In the future it is my hope the FAA will extend to pilots flying simple airplanes recreationally, the same medical requirements necessary for the pilots of balloons, gliders and sport airplanes. This will eliminate what is for some the greatest barrier to my passion–our passion–enabling a new generation of aviators to create memories of their favorite flights. Now that is a proactive flight plan!
Blue skies and right rudder. Fly safely.
Hal Shevers
Founder/Chairman
Sporty’s
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5 Ways to Beat the Winter Flying Blues
/in Tips and technique/by StudentpltnewsFor those of us not flying in sunny, warm climates all year round, the winter flying season may involve anything but…“flying”. Cold, colorless days seem to drag on with no end in sight. Instead of accepting defeat or allowing weeks to pass without opening the hangar door, let’s get creative. There’s plenty to do NOW to beat the winter flying blues.
Also in the “chair flying” environment, you have the opportunity to rehearse abnormal procedures. Read the wonderfully insightful section of your POH that includes an expanded discussion of abnormal and emergency procedures. On your next chair flying session, review the table of contents for the emergency section and select an event you haven’t practiced. Follow the checklist for that item and understand the “why” behind it. This exercise will not only prepare you for real-time abnormals, but will ensure a better understanding of your aircraft’s systems.
And since those flyable days are fewer and farther between, consider some added flexibility for you flying schedule. When the sun is shining, make it a point to get to the airport and connect with your instructor for some of that elusive stick time.
Five Ways to Make Bad Landings
/in Tips and technique/by StudentpltnewsWhat? Huh? Yes, you read the title correctly. There are many things one might claim I’m an expert in. “Good landings” is definitely not one of them. So then, by default, I might be an expert on how to make a bad one. I haven’t bent any metal, ground looped or seriously scraped a tail, but I’ve had more than a few that made me look around to see if anyone was watching.
It doesn’t take a 50 year professional pilot to point out my landing mistakes. I know what they are and yet still manage to commit many of the same errors. They seem to be occurring on a less frequent basis as my experience level grows, but we are creatures of habit and I have a habit of making these five mistakes most often.
Too Fast
While I know the correct method is to be on my target airspeed, when I commit the airspeed error, I’m typically on the high side. This results in having excess speed when you flare. I left a lot of usable pavement behind me floating down the runway before one of my instructors solved my issue. After beating me handily in a spot landing contest, he reinforced the practice of stabilized approach parameters. Find the target speeds you need to hit on every leg. Once you have the pitch set for speed, make distance adjustments with the power. In a Cessna 172, 85 kts on downwind, 75 on base, and 65 on final work really well.
Too High
This one is somewhat connected to my first problem. I often don’t slow down much when transitioning to the traffic pattern. When abeam the numbers, I typically need to shed more than 20% of my airspeed before the airplane will even think about descending. The result is often being way too high when turning base which may very well carry over to final approach. After slipping the airplane during three consecutive final approaches, the pilot in the right seat gave me a pretty good verbal bashing. He made an excellent suggestion that I follow to this day. Give yourself a speed limit while you are in the pattern. Make it no more than 10% higher than your desired “abeam the numbers” speed. In my 172 case, that means I can’t be faster than 93 knots while in the pattern. By limiting my pattern speed, getting on the appropriate final approach glide slope has been much easier.
Ballooning
Yes, too high and too fast as described above will result in a flare that looks more like a roller coaster than a landing – and feels like one too. It took a flight check from a more experienced flight instructor to fix this one. I describe this with a word of caution because the real takeaway is that the correct fix for any approach outside of your stabilized parameters is a go-around, but minor derivations can still be managed.
Some excess airspeed doesn’t have to result in a balloon. Is has everything to do with the rate of roundout or flare. By initiating the roundout earlier and more gradually, it may allow the excess energy to dissipate. However, this may also require additional runway. At all times, if not able to land the airplane in the touchdown zone, go around!
Bouncing
Have you ever logged three landings after just one approach? That’s known as a bounced landing and while efficient for currency, it’s also a mark of a poorly executed landing. The reasoning on why this happen is similar to why my dog doesn’t come when I call her – “she don’t want to.” The airplane is simply not ready to stop flying because of too much energy. The correct fix for any bounced landing is to go around. In the even that the bounce was very minimal and there is plenty of runway remaining, it’s possible to land the airplane normally by adding some power to cushion the subsequent attempt and dissipating the excess energy. Keep in mind that after a bounced landing, it’s likely that you’re already holding in excess back pressure which will have to be released to recover or execute the go-around.
Flying Straight-In
I’ve found that some of my worst landings were usually after flying straight-in to land rather than flying the full pattern. Even though it’s a pilot-controlled field and a full pattern is not “required”, performing a straight in approach throws off the normal visual clues on where and when we should make the pitch/power adjustments and judge the approach stability. There are plenty of arguments for and against going straight in to land at non-towered fields, but the prudent approach is to complete a full pattern as you generally practice and allow time to get set up properly for a stabilized approach. And you get to log a few more minutes of flight time!
One checklist that works in every airplane
/in Tips and technique/by StudentpltnewsDo you fly the airplane, or is your checklist really the PIC?
It may sound funny, but an awful lot of pilots are slaves to their checklists, blindly following them as if it’s a set of assembly instructions for a piece of furniture. If the checklist said, “Airplane – Crash Into Ground,” some pilots might follow those directions right to the ground. You can and should do better.
While checklists are important, it’s critical that you use them the right way: as a check or a backstop against error. It is not a “do list” where you read, then do, then verify. This approach makes you an unthinking computer, instead of an airman with critical thinking skills and context. So next time you’re running a checklist, think–don’t just do.
But that’s just a start. I think there’s an even better way to use checklists: the flow check.
Printed checklists are a good way to stay disciplined, but sometimes they can get in the way. You may get overloaded because of weather, Air Traffic Control, passengers or some mechanical anomaly. At these moments, it’s important to be able to think about your airplane and understand the big picture. That’s why I like flow checks so much; you think about every system in the airplane, but in an organized way.
Start at the left side of the panel and work your way all the way across to the right side, pausing on each switch or gauge to think about what it does and which way it should be set. Check the engine gauges: everything green? Check all the light switches: where they should be? How about the GPS and radios: are they set up properly?
I like to do this after leveling out in cruise, when I have plenty of time to move deliberately. It’s a great way to double check my previous checklist usage and make sure nothing was overlooked. I also do a flow check after shutdown, right before I leave the airplane for the day. It can take 10 minutes or 30 seconds, depending on your airplane and your experience.
What’s so helpful about the flow check is that it can be used in almost every airplane, from a J-3 Cub to a King Air. Especially as you transition into more complex airplanes, it’s easy to get confused or overwhelmed by everything that’s new–avionics, controls, instruments and systems. But the principle of the flow check still holds. The single level throttle may be replaced by six levers in a turboprop, but you do the same procedure: pause and make sure each is where it should be.
The left-to-right flow is a great starting point, but you can also make up your own abbreviated flow checks, too. When I used to fly a Cessna 210, I used a “1, 2, 3 check; 1, 2, 3 check” after takeoff. This meant: gear up, flaps up, cowl flaps open (these three handles were close to each other); and throttle reduced, propeller control reduced, mixture leaned (these three controls were all in a row). If those six things were done, the rest could wait. This easy-to-remember flow saved me more than once in busy airspace, because it was quick and intuitive.
Beyond using flow checks as an everyday procedure, they also make a great training exercise. Sitting in the cockpit–even with the engine off–and going over every part of it in a disciplined way is an excellent way to learn the systems and the layout of the switches.
It’s also a good opportunity to practice your emergency procedures. As you check the ammeter, consider what you would do if it showed a discharge. How about an overcharge situation? This type of “what if” planning isn’t paranoid, it’s safe flying.
Just remember that flow checks are a complement, not a replacement, for printed checklists. Regardless, they can be a great addition to your flying tool kit. More than anything, they keep your head in the game.
So next time you’re droning along with nothing to do, perform a quick flow check. You may catch a mistake, but you’re almost guaranteed to learn something.
Getting Back Into Flying
/in Tips and technique/by StudentpltnewsThe largest held misconception about getting back into flying is that you have to take another written exam or another checkride with a Designated Pilot Examiner or the FAA. Others believe that the process will take so long and cost so much that it will be equivalent to learning to fly all over again. For those who might be thinking along those lines, I have great news; the actual requirement is far, far simpler than either of those paths.
All you need to begin flying again is a current Flight Review (every 24 calendar months), recency of experience to carry passengers (if desired) and a current medical certificate.
The Flight Review –
Like all regulations, there is more fine print in the book, along with exceptions for pilots in specific circumstances, but that general paragraph applies to most everyone. As you can see, the Flight Review is not a huge procedure. It simply requires a flight instructor to endorse that you are safe to go flying again. No checkrides. No written exams. No FAA inspectors. Any current CFI that has privileges for your type of flying (Airplane Single Engine Land, Helicopter, Seaplane, etc.) is capable of conducting your Flight Review.
Your Flight Review will not be a hazing or tortured experience. The goal of a quality flight instructor conducting a Flight Review is to ensure your safety as a pilot, and to provide a sample review of required knowledge and flight skills. Most instructors will ask about what type of flying you do, what does a typical flight look like, and use these answers to help guide what your review will be focused on.
It doesn’t benefit you or your instructor to spend most of the review focused on ATC communications if you spend all of your time at non-towered airports. Remember that your input is welcome! Pilots should try to highlight areas of flying that they feel need work or haven’t been reviewed in years. Make the Flight Review a great learning experience, not just a regulatory requirement.
Currency Requirements –
According to FAR 61.57, in order to carry passengers you must have completed at least 3 takeoffs and landings within the preceding 90 days. This requirement applies to daytime and will likely be satisfied during the course of your Flight Review. If you are interested in returning to night passenger carrying, remember to conduct those 3 landings at night to a full stop to meet the night passenger carrying requirements. If you are not planning on taking passengers up immediately, this section does not apply to a pilot flying solo.
Medical –
These three steps are the only requirements that you need to get back into the world of aviation and begin enjoying your certificate again. Don’t wait another month to get back to it. Now is a great time to start back again.
Safe flying!
Flexible Flyer
/in Personal stories, Tips and technique/by StudentpltnewsEarlier this year, I wrote about my family’s plans to take a number of mini-vacations during the summer centered on our enjoyment of roller coasters and amusement parks. Now that the amusement park season is winding down, I am happy to report that we were able to visit six of the twelve amusement parks in the Cedar Fair family this year including all but one in the eastern half of the United States and Canada (maybe another time Dorney Park).
Half of the park visits included the use of a general aviation aircraft as transportation to and from the area but all did not go as originally planned. The trips required flexibility for them to happen safely.
Good pilot judgment depends on proper planning and the ability to adjust the plans when warranted by the conditions.
Carowinds Trip
The planning for this started days in advance with a preliminary look at the long range forecast and the arrangement of a rental car. The long range forecast looked good at the destination and along the way.
Our plan was to depart the Sporty’s/Clermont County Airport early in the morning for the one day trip. A detailed review of the weather was in order on the evening before the trip. There were some storm systems in the Charlotte area that night but they were forecast to be gone by the time we arrived. All looked good for our flight when we headed for bed.
A review of the weather the next morning showed that the storms were a bit slower to clear than expected but they were dissipating. By the time we arrived at the airport to board the Piper Aztec, the rain had moved out and we only had some marginal clouds and visibilities with which to contend. The conditions and forecast were well above my personal minimums so we launched to the southeast. It was a great flight with a descent through a layer clouds near the Charlotte area. The approach and landing were performed visually.
As reported before, the trip to the park was quick and easy and the kids enjoyed the day trying out the new coasters and rides. My mother, who first introduced me to roller coasters back before there were many height limitations, also enjoyed the trip. The Intimidator and Afterburn coasters were family favorites.
The trip back to Clermont County was smooth and uneventful.
Michigan’s Adventure Trip
Looking a couple days out to Thursday, the weather looked more promising. Change the plans, reschedule the airplane, change the vacation day, and hope for the better weather. The better weather held true.
Thursday dawned bright and sunny. The route could have been flown under visual flight rules but I elected to file an instrument flight plan anyway. I just like the added margin of safety with having my ATC “crew” on the ground in a single-pilot operation.
I contemplated flying to Muskegon or Fremont, Michigan. Muskegon is a tower controlled field with a Terminal Radar Service Area surrounding it. Fremont is a non-towered field with a nice long runway and instrument approaches. Researching online, it looked like the drive times to the park would be similar though the drive from Muskegon would be on larger roads. Ultimately, the rental car convenience and lower fuel price at Fremont won out and I made that our destination.
The flight to Fremont took just over two hours. It was a relatively smooth flight other than a few bumps as we descended toward the airport.
The drive to the park was a little more complicated than anticipated due to road closures unfamiliar to the GPS but we ultimately made it. The family enjoyed the day at this smaller Cedar Fair park and I think that the Shivering Timbers roller coaster was worth the trip.
The flight back home was quiet and uneventful from an airplane perspective. The moon created an amazing fire-like show as it rose into the darkening sky. Cincinnati Approach welcomed us home like a long lost friend.
Canada’s Wonderland and Niagara Falls Trip
With confidence born in having a second engine and fairly good weather, I elected to take a direct route to Niagara Falls airport. This put us over Lake Erie for about 85 miles and carried us through the edge of Canadian airspace. The shores of the lake were always in sight and easily accessible if an emergency were to have occurred.
We hit a line of clouds and some moderate turbulence over the shore near Cleveland but the flight was smooth with good visibility otherwise.
We parked the Aztec at Niagara Falls Aviation and they met us at the airplane with our rental car.
We spent the night on the U.S. side of the Falls and did the tourist activities on both sides of the border on Monday. Monday evening we drove to our next hotel on the north side of Toronto and prepared for our first day at Canada’s Wonderland, bright and early on Tuesday. Our plan was to spend all of Tuesday and part of Wednesday at the amusement park but the weather outlook for Wednesday didn’t look like it was going to live up to earlier expectations so we took it one day at a time.
Tuesday was a great, though very crowded, day at the park. Leviathan and Behemoth were coaster favorites of the entire family. Time Warp was a unique coaster experience that was worth riding at least once.
A review of the weather Tuesday evening made us rethink our planned time at the park on Wednesday. Storms were going to move in later in the day on Wednesday and our plan was to be home in Ohio by Wednesday evening. Since we were two hours and a border crossing away from the airplane, it was decided that we should start our drive back to New York early in the morning. Being at the airport would allow us to better adjust for the weather and it looked like the storms would reach Niagara in the mid afternoon.
Back at the airport and having cell service once again, I looked more closely at the weather. It turned out that there were two lines of storms. One was strong and currently impacting our route of flight, the other was weaker and would arrive at our departure point in a couple of hours. Current conditions at the departure point were very good and it looked like a deviation well west of our desired course would keep us clear of the weather and allow us to reach Clermont County.
The direct flight path home would have taken us into the heart of a line of extreme thunderstorms. Our new route took us direct to the Sandusky VOR and then south to Clermont; well clear and behind the extreme line.
Passing north of the line we encountered some light precipitation and some light turbulence but the ride wasn’t bad. Once in the clear and behind the line of storms, I requested a route direct to our destination and received this in short order. The ADS-B showed some cells of light to moderate precipitation to the west of this route which bore watching but they dissipated soon enough.
Our next encounter with weather came as we approached the Sporty’s/Clermont County Airport. A low layer of strato-cumulus clouds necessitated flying the instrument approach to runway two two. Visibility beneath the clouds was good and the landing occurred without an issue.
While we would have liked to have had two days at Canada’s Wonderland, we were happy to be safe and sound and on the ground at home. The decision to be flexible and leave early was a good one.
Flexible Flyer
Aviation is a great mode of transportation. General aviation will take you places that aren’t easily accessed and allow you to see things that you can only see from a light aircraft.
But, aviation does require sound pilot judgment and may require some flexibility.
If it is super important that you arrive somewhere at a particular time, then you need to be thorough in your planning. If the general aviation plan won’t work without exceeding your personal minimums, then make sure that you leave yourself enough time for a plan B or C. Don’t let “get-there-itis” be your downfall.
Speaking of personal minimums, if you don’t have any, develop some. There are several tools available for this which may find their way into a future article. You can also discuss these with your favorite local flight instructor. Once you have your personal minimums, stick to them! Review them occasionally during quiet times to see if they need adjusted. The time to review them for changes in not in the middle of a flight decision.
Go on, get out there and use your pilot rating but be safe so that the most exciting part of your story is at your destination not something read in an NTSB report.
Hangarside chat with Hal Shevers
/in Personal stories/by StudentpltnewsHere at Sporty’s, I see all kinds of prospective pilots walk through our door. Some want to be an airline captain, others a bush pilot, and many just want to see the ground from the sky with a buddy or spouse (or someone they hope will be their spouse). But no matter the disparate goals, they have one thing in common. Sometime between that moment when they first walk into our flight school and the time they advance the throttles on that Boeing full of passengers or Skyhawk with a friend, they have to taxi from the ramp to the end of the runway, take off and land an airplane by themselves–they must solo!
The solo is such a powerful accomplishment that in the past couple years, we at Sporty’s Academy have not had anyone–not a single student–drop out of the program between their solo and earning a certificate. And regardless if they are pursuing a Sport, Recreational or Private license, they all need to possess the same knowledge of airmanship to conduct that solo. The main (and really only) difference in requirements is the Recreational and Private candidate must have obtained a medical certificate prior to their solo flight.
This initial, mutual path forms the architecture for Sporty’s award-winning Learn to Fly course. The first lessons concentrate on soloing, the common experience for all pilots. Just as a long cross country is really only a series of short cross countries, only after pilots pass this first waypoint–the solo–are they ready to continue their route to the Sport, Recreational or Private certificate. Flight paths for all three are included in our Learn to Fly course.
In the future it is my hope the FAA will extend to pilots flying simple airplanes recreationally, the same medical requirements necessary for the pilots of balloons, gliders and sport airplanes. This will eliminate what is for some the greatest barrier to my passion–our passion–enabling a new generation of aviators to create memories of their favorite flights. Now that is a proactive flight plan!
Blue skies and right rudder. Fly safely.
Hal Shevers
Founder/Chairman
Sporty’s