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Confidence on the radio is all about listening

April 30, 2018/in Tips and technique/by studentpltnews

FAA announces complex aircraft change

April 27, 2018/in Regulations/by studentpltnews

As you may have heard, earlier this week the FAA announced a policy change that went into effect on Tuesday, 4/26/2018, which eliminates the mandate to use a complex airplane on the single-engine commercial and CFI airplane practical exams. The official notice and the revised Commercial ACS & CFI PTS are linked below. Sporty’s has […]

Confidence on the radio is all about listening

April 30, 2018/in Tips and technique/by studentpltnews

FAA announces complex aircraft change

April 27, 2018/in Regulations/by studentpltnews

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Confidence on the radio is all about listening

April 30, 2018/in Tips and technique/by studentpltnews

For me, learning how to talk on the radio was a difficult element of my training. And I know from talking to other pilots, I’m not alone. I would always put undue pressure on myself because of wanting to communicate the right way, but more than anything, I wanted to sound like the polished pros I was used to hearing on LiveATC. I rarely heard anyone fumble. And those confident airline voices always had a knack for communicating in two words what would take me five or more.

I learned at a pilot controlled field, so when we flew to the big city to practice landings at a towered field, I often fumbled my way through the communication. My flight instructor suggested that I invest in an aviation scanner and listen to other pilots in the local area. My process was to listen to the ATC transmission and then try to repeat it back. This annoyed the heck out of my roommate, but it made me much more confident when I had to fly into controlled airspace.

The lack of radio confidence can be just as dangerous a distraction on the flight deck as electronics or a needy passenger. It can create unnecessary barriers when planning flights or even have you thinking twice about asking for assistance so this is just as much about safety as it is enjoyment and utility.

One of the limitations I experienced while listening to a scanner was the reception range. I would consistently hear transmissions at my home airport within 5-10 miles of my location, but I wanted to reach the towered field further down the road. After talking to some local pilots, I learned a few tricks that helped to double range and my learning. Here are a few if you choose to invest in a scanner:

Location, Location, Location

Transmission reception is highly dependant upon line of sight. When we are flying at 10,000 feet, there are few obstructions that interfere with radio transmissions. But on the ground, trees, buildings, hills, power lines, etc. will affect incoming radio waves. The rule of thumb: the higher you can position the antenna, the better your range. The same receiver picking up traffic 10 miles in one direction may now reach 20 miles in all directions when elevated with unobstructed views.

Bigger is better most of the time

Not all antennas are created equally. Some are tuned for specific bands while others are designed to receive a wide swath of radio signals. Most aviation antennas are the latter. The most popular antennas used for scanners are referred to as discone antennas with lots of arms radiating out in many directions and are normally mounted above the roof of your building. While this will certainly pick up more than a single wire antenna, don’t expect four times the reception distance. Location is much more important than antenna type.

Minimize interference

Most avionics shops have hundreds of stories about chasing down that annoying little pulsing hum in older airplanes, only to find that the shielding on the wire used to the cigarette lighter plug wasn’t sufficient for our modern demands. Here are the top five modern conveniences that may create interference with ground based receivers:

Computers, phones
Fluorescent light bulbs
AC/DC adapters
Appliances
Motors

When in doubt, try to keep your receiver and antenna away from these items.

Finally, my recommendations for ground-based antennas:

Deluxe Base Station Antenna – most popular for roof mounting. Most people are mounting this to a steel pipe and running the wire down the middle. Note: the longer the wire, the more possibility for signal loss. Try to keep the distance from antenna to receiver under 50 feet.

Thru-Glass Mobile Antenna – designed for mobile use in a vehicle. The antenna mounts to the outside of a window with an adhesive pad. The opposite side is attached inside the vehicle. This works pretty well when the glass is relatively thin and you don’t want to permanently mount something on your car. Home use is hit or miss, as double paned windows leaves a fairly large gap between the two pads.

Extension Cables – best thing you can do to improve reception is improve your location. A simple extension cable and some zip ties will do wonders for improving your current antenna’s reception capabilities.

FAA announces complex aircraft change

April 27, 2018/in Regulations/by studentpltnews

The complex airplane is no longer required for the Commercial or CFI single engine practical test.

Sporty’s has long held the belief that regulations requiring complex airplane time for the Commercial certificate (ASEL) are antiquated. Leading general aviation manufacturers are producing single-engine, high-performance aircraft with advanced, flight deck technology that are not equipped with retractable landing gear but are capable aircraft and many are utilized in commercial air carrier operations.

At the same time, flight training academies, universities and other flight schools are tasked with maintaining older, retractable gear aircraft often not equipped with the more sophisticated technology likely to be encountered in a pilot’s first commercial pilot job. These aircraft, which are becoming more scarce, are being maintained for the sole purpose of students being able to satisfy the current complex airplane requirement with minimal educational benefit.

It is also important to consider that many Commercial pilot graduates will complete a multiengine rating where they learn complex, multiengine operations. And the requirement to obtain an endorsement to operate a complex aircraft still remains.

Before you walk away from the complex airplane entirely, it’s important to note that the change does NOT remove the complex training requirement from the commercial certificate training requirements of 14 CFR Parts 61 & 141, it only removes the complex requirement from the practical exam. You will still need to acquire 10 hours of training in an airplane that has a retractable landing gear, flaps, and a controllable pitch propeller, or is turbine-powered.

If you are almost ready for your commercial or CFI practical exam and you have been practicing in a retractable gear airplane, you certainly can continue to use it if you choose but you are not required to use it for the test. Use the airplane in which you are most comfortable with the maneuvers and procedures.

Notice of change: https://fsims.faa.gov/PICDetail.aspx?docId=N%208900.463

Commercial Airplane Airman Certification Standards with Change 3: https://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/acs/media/commercial_airplane_acs.pdf

Flight Instructor Practical Test Standards with Change 6: https://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/test_standards/media/FAA-S-8081-6D.pdf