Table of contents for July/August 2024 in Plane & Pilot

Aviation has been a major interest in my life since I was a youngster, but I’m not sure where that came from. My dad learned to fly a Piper J-3 Cub in a farmer’s field near our hometown of Haxtun, Colorado, in the early 1950s, but I never knew that until some years later. Shortly before my 16th birthday, he drove me to the airport in Sterling, about half an hour away, four times for half-hour lessons in a Cessna 120 and 140. After one of those sessions, before the drive home, I overheard him tell my instructor, Ron White, a former military pilot, “He knows what they’re made of all right.” It made a huge impression on me and whetted my appetite for more. However, Dad gave me a…

The windsock whipped back and forth above us as we completed the external preflight and checked the cowl fasteners one last time. Climbing into the bright yellow 1940 Piper J-4 Cub, one of my longtime flying friends, David Wilkins, and I fastened our seat belts and purposely made our way down the preignition checklist. With the “before start” list out of the way, we continued through the “engine start” portion, then inched forward to check the heel brakes and flight controls before moving on to the run-up. The weather briefing we had reviewed a half hour earlier promised a 20-knot headwind that would require two fuel stops on the 130-mile trip from our home airport in Kennett, Missouri (KTKX), to Little Rock Air Force Base (KLRF) in Arkansas. The windsock…

SOONER OR LATER, most of us will be facing an interruption to our flying because of surgery. Here’s what I’ve learned from way too many operations—and, fortunately, only one had time pressure. The caveats: This column is anecdotal, not advisory. Reliable advice will come from your healthcare professional, AME, or CFI, and, as required, from AOPA—not from me. And remember FAR 61.53. In summary, it says that if you’re not fit to fly, or are taking medications, you cannot act as PIC or a required crewmember (safety pilot). There are three main considerations for surgery preparation and recovery. First is the surgery and recovery from it. Second is making absolutely sure your flying skills are still up to snuff, and I’ve personally encountered surprises there. Third is making sure that…

A history of no more than two mental health diagnoses no longer requires automatic FAA review for any class of pilot certificate as long as certain criteria are met. The agency has revised its guidance to aviation medical examiners (AMEs) on “uncomplicated anxiety, depression, and related conditions.” Chief among the changes is that the FAA can be left out of the process if the pilot has been off medication for two years, there are no issues raised by a questionnaire, and the AME has no concerns. The questionnaire deals with serious mental health issues such as suicidal thoughts, self-harm, and whether or not the pilot has been hospitalized or been under court-ordered evaluation. It also reminds the AME to be thorough and conservative in their judgment. “If ALL items fall…

It’s fascinating to compare flying in different parts of the country. In my 50 years of flying, I’ve been lucky enough to live and fly from the four corners of the nation, as well as three states in the middle. Home base was at 10 different airports: two nontowered; eight Class D, some before the letter designations, two Class C, and one lake. All of the Class D airports were close to or under Class B airspace, but I’m not married to towers. On long cross-country flights, like Savannah, Georgia, to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, or Prescott, Arizona, I look for cheap gas, and that usually means nontowered airports. Flying in New England was cold in the winter—no surprise. The flying club planes were tied down outside, and it wasn’t unusual to…

The captain, a seasoned ATP with a Top Gun level of confidence, was at the helm of a Boeing 737NG. With over 10,000 hours of experience, he was prepared for anything. Or so he thought. The takeoff proceeded as usual, V₁ then V₂, with the aircraft now gaining speed and altitude. But then the unexpected happened. At a mere 200 feet above the runway, the first signs of trouble emerged. The EICAS (Engine-Indicating Crew Alerting System) flashed a chilling message: Fire No. 2 Engine. The No. 2 engine began to spool down, and the engine fire switch was activated, but the situation was far from under control. Shortly thereafter, the No. 1 engine followed suit, and the cockpit was filled with a cacophony of alarms. The captain’s calm demeanor was…

ACROSS 1 "Fate Is the Hunter" author, Ernest ____ 3 Piper PA-28 ____ 9 Critical angle that when exceeded leads to a stall, 3 words 10 Garmin’s vital product for pilots 11 Departure 12 Response to a General 15 Announcement source in all airports, abbr. 16 See 5 down 17 Weather phenomenon that can affect visibility 20 Terminate 22 Have a view from above 24 Viral image or text on social media 26 Model number of the original Learjet, 2 words 30 Another name for the Douglas C-47 31 _____ CAP 10B plane DOWN 1 VHF ____ frequency (an emergency frequency) 2 Find a way through an obstacle 4 Stick 5 Turning lights positioned near an airport to help pilots find the airport at night, goes with 16 across 6 Greenlights 7…

Acquiring flying time is not the same as accumulating flight experience. Simple repetition of acts of aviation teaches us very little about the art of flying. It’s only when we meet varied and challenging conditions that we acquire a sense of broader scope, which brings us true understanding. You can have 500 hours in your logbook and merely have one hour of experience repeated 500 times. Or you can make an effort to have 500 distinctive hours, each building on the one before it, thereby assuring that you’re not the same pilot you were at 100 hours. How do you make every hour count toward growth as a pilot? By actively participating in the flight, not just being passively carried along by events. Each trip is, or can be, different…

DO YOU REMEMBER when you first picked up the mic to contact air traffic control? It was undoubtedly a scary time. In fact, the normal process of transmitting information to your brain’s motor cortex to make your mouth move and create logical speech at that moment was as far removed as a drop-top Cadillac in a rainstorm. As experts in the field have determined, the tongue-tied feeling that occurs at the press of a push-to-talk switch can be primarily attributed to a lack of experience on the radio and venturing into the world of ATC prematurely and unprepared. That’s where ATC simulations, such as those from PilotEdge, VATSIM, and others, create a virtual world that allows users to practice their communication talents long before they take off. These simulations provide…