Table of contents for November - December 2022 in Plane & Pilot

HIGH PRICES ARE THE NEW NORMAL A friend of mine is thinking about selling their small plane, an old Mooney, and the price they are being counseled to consider is $140,000, which, in case you don’t have an aircraft price guide from 2018 handy, is around $100,000 more than that same plane would have sold for just four years ago. And even before then, prices were stable for around a decade. Now, three and a half times the former typical asking price just seems nuts to me, but then again, if you look around, it’s not the only commodity that’s going for more than ever. Just look at housing costs. They’re nuts. The difference is, housing costs will settle some. Airplane prices won’t. Here’s why they won’t. Imagine a world…

Lightspeed introduced a brand-new headset, the Lightspeed Delta Zulu, which enters the fray as the most feature-packed headset going. The most noteworthy feature is a built-in carbon monoxide detector, which will give pilots (and/or passengers) audible alerts through the headset if the CO levels get to concerning levels, at which point it will issue audible alerts to the wearer. The feature, called Kanari, is active any time the headset is turned on, so there are no user steps required to activate or use it. Lightspeed says the built-in detector has a life of around 10 years. The part is factory replaceable, too, so the headset can live on after that time. And another first-of-its-kind feature is a hearing impairment accommodation feature that Lightspeed calls HearingEQity. According to Lightspeed, the utility…

Trimming an airplane is one of the most important and least-discussed tasks performed by pilots. In the airline business, the over-reliance on automation has sparked concern from the FAA and the airlines. Automation is so prevalent in airline flying that the average pilot will often hand-fly the plane less than 10 minutes per flight. And then there are fly-by-wire aircraft like the Airbus or the General Dynamics F-16 that automatically trim the aircraft for the pilot. Pilots simply point the jet in the direction they want to go, and it goes there! And we are not immune to this march of technology down here in general aviation land. The increased availability of relatively low-cost, full-featured autopilots threatens to consign the fine art of hand flying the aircraft and trimming the…

PLANE & PILOT IS THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE that its 2022 Plane & Pilot Plane of the Year is the Daher TBM 960, a new model that incorporates numerous updates from stem to stern. In an era when new plane development is at an all-time low, Daher is one company that keeps making its TBM pressurized single-engine turboprop better and better. And how does it do that? By listening to its customers and giving them what they ask for. The result is what they firmly believe is the most sophisticated single-engine turboprop traveling machine going, one that is sold out through the end of 2023, by the way. Not that it doesn’t have competition. It does. Outstanding planes from Epic, Pilatus and Cirrus—yes, the jet—all give Daher a run for its…

When conjuring up mental images of Alaska, certain things come to mind: breathtaking views, bears, gold, sled dogs and cold weather. But there’s another image that comes to mind for those who love aviation and likewise for those who live in Alaska: bush pilots. Aviation has been described as a way of life in Alaska, and that’s all thanks to a man named Noel Wien. Born in Lake Nebagamon, Wisconsin, Wien was certainly no stranger to the cold. At the age of 22, he began learning to fly in a JN-4 Jenny. Although he could handle the airplane by himself with only eight hours of instruction, it wasn’t until 1925 that Wien received his official pilot’s certificate from aviation’s governing agency of the time, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Wien’s certificate…

The organizers of September’s National Championship Air Races at Reno identified the pilot of a fatal crash of a jet during the Jet Gold race as Aaron Hogue of Paso Robles, California. He was 61. The Czech-built Aero Vodochody L-39 was banking along with other jets on the third lap of the race when Hogue’s plane began descending toward terrain, seemingly under control and in a constant bank, before hitting the terrain below at very high speed—estimated at close to 500 mph—and bursting into flames, killing the pilot in the impact. No one on the ground was injured, and the organization canceled the remainder of the racing. Hogue, who was a relative newcomer to Reno racing, was named Reno’s rookie of the year in 2021. The chairman and CEO of…

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) came out with its preliminary report on the July 17, 2022, midair collision at North Las Vegas Airport between two small planes, a Cessna 172 and a Piper Malibu. The four occupants of the two planes, two in each one, died in the crash, which, based on the preliminary report, seems completely preventable. The two planes collided, wings hitting, near the threshold of Runway 30R. The two northwest-facing runways, 30L and 30R, are parallel, but the left-side runway can be hard for pilots to identify right away because its threshold is much farther north than that of 30L, which seems under most lighting conditions to be the more prominent of the two. The Cessna 172, a local flight, had been cleared to land on…

It’s not often that an entirely new form of propulsion emerges, but such an advance is happening now. DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) announced that it is developing an engine that will be driven by rotating explosions (that’s not a typo). These engines have been under active development for the past dozen years, and the excitement surrounding them is palpable. This new technology, being developed by DARPA under the code name Gambit, aims to increase the range of conventional rocket-fueled weaponry, though its potential applications are endless. The Navy is even working on a version to power its ships. Now, you might be asking, don’t internal-combustion engines rely on the same principle, whereby the small explosions move pistons up and down within the engine’s cylinders to allow the rotation…

Aeronca 7AC Champ Rhinelander, Wisconsin/Injuries: 2 The flight instructor stated that the purpose of the flight was for the sport pilot, who had not flown in several years, to accrue flight time for currency requirements. They completed flight maneuvers in the local area and returned for landing practice. During the first landing roll, the airplane drifted slightly to the right and the pilot corrected with left rudder input. The airplane veered hard left and struck a runway sign with the right wingtip. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. After the accident an examination of the tailwheel confirmed that the tailwheel was operating normally and there were no issues noted. PROBABLE CAUSE(S): The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during landing. Cessna Cardinal 177RG Galt, Missouri/Injuries: 2 Fatal The…

Most pilots know passengers can contribute risk any time a pilot chooses to take them on a flight. They can distract a pilot, they can put undue pressure on a pilot to complete a flight, or they can even detract from aircraft performance just by having their extra weight onboard a flight. But with some proper briefing and planning, they can also become part of the risk mitigation process a pilot uses to make flights safer. Teaching passengers to be part of our risk avoidance and awareness process can actually reduce risk, especially for those passengers who fly with us regularly. In fact, not teaching them to do this might increase risk that could have otherwise been avoided. Much discussion has been had in the aviation community about how to…

The pilot’s elderly father had unexpectedly been admitted to a hospital 600 miles away. That’s a long drive. But the son owned a well-equipped Piper Arrow and planned to fly there, with his mother riding along as a passenger. Sadly, they never made it, and the story behind the crash is shocking for a number of reasons. The goal was to leave early on the afternoon of April 20, 2021, arriving before dark and before a cold front moved in along the route. The plane was at his home field of Pearland Regional Airport (KLVJ) in Houston, Texas, and the intended destination was Kyle-Oakley Field Airport (KCEY) in Murray, Kentucky. According to FlightAware account records, the pilot was up at 1 in the morning planning the flight. At that time,…

If the proposed joint venture between SpaceX and T-Mobile goes as planned, dead zones in remote locations will be as rare as a cheap low-time Skyhawk. The new plan, which will co-exist with T-Mobile’s existing cellular network, as well as SpaceX’s Starlink Internet constellation, will provide T-Mobile cellular users with the ability to send texts, images and, ultimately, voice calls from geographic areas where cellular service simply does not currently exist. Once deployed, the benefits of merging these two technologies go beyond convenience, with T-Mobile saying it will allow reliable satellite communication from most any cellphone on its network. It’s not hard to imagine what the benefit to general aviation would be when this technology comes to fruition (think emergency communications in desolate, hostile environments like Greenland, deserts across the…

In honor of the 100th anniversary of Bessie Coleman earning her pilot’s license, American Airlines put together a very special flight from DFW, situated in Coleman’s home state of Texas, to Phoenix, Arizona. In getting her ticket, Coleman became the first Black woman pilot in the world. The all-Black, all-female crew on this flight included not only the flight and cabin crew but also the ground crew. A special guest of the airline on the flight was Coleman’s grand-niece, Gigi Coleman. In publicity surrounding the event, American admitted upfront that we have a long way to go, even 100 years after Coleman’s achievement. Less than 1% of U.S. airline pilots are Black women, and American says that it is “being intentional in its efforts to diversify the flight deck,” an…

The day of finally being able to top off your airplane with FAA-approved 100-octane unleaded fuel is right around the corner. In early September, the FAA approved the GAMI unleaded avgas STC for every piston-powered airframe using a general spark ignition. That’s more than likely your aircraft. For those who have been watching the progression of gaining FAA approval for an unleaded avgas option, you would have aged 12 years. The process and refinement of the fuel, along with the required FAA STC approvals, were not quick by any standard of measurement, as GAMI began developing its G100UL fuel way back in 2010. However, with the STC approved, it will now just be a game of Tetris in getting the product from refinery to fuel pumps that service general aviation.…

The 1960s would become known as the decade of speed. Craig Breedlove’s Spirit of America set successive land speed records at 400, 500 and ultimately 600 miles per hour. The Lockheed YF-12A (predecessor to the SR 71) surpassed the 2,000 miles-per-hour mark. And the original Learjet 23 revolutionized business aviation with its airliner-level performance. Speed was king! Into this heady environment stepped aeronautical engineer Ted R. Smith, with his history of designing high-performance twin-engine military aircraft, such as the Douglas A-20 Havoc and the A-26 Invader. His goal was to bring this need for speed down to the general aviation twin market with the creation of a light twin, the Ted Smith Aerostar. The Aerostar was not Ted Smith’s first foray into general aviation. In the late 1940s, while working…

“What the hell was that?” I asked. Several years ago, we were climbing out of 8,000 feet in my V35B Bonanza, returning from a vacation trip to South Texas, when there was a loud bang from the rear of the aircraft. A quick look at the panel showed nothing amiss, and there was no change to the flight characteristics. I kept waiting for any further indications of problems while my wife, Judy, investigated. She quickly solved the mystery when she discovered the ruptured bag of potato chips that had suffered an explosive decompression as the ambient air pressure decreased with altitude. As you might imagine, it took a bit for my heart rate to return to normal. This was not my first encounter with unexpected noises. We tend to associate…

As the customers shuffle aboard, the corporate folks appreciate us being present with a smile on our faces to welcome passengers aboard. “Hi, good morning, welcome aboard./Oh hey, little friend. I love your teddy bear./Hi, mom. Welcome aboard. Speak up if you need help./Good morning, and thanks for joining us.” As each passenger turns right to head down the aisle, I take a breath and gauge the next person stepping aboard. Occasionally, curious eyes hang a left, past my shoulder and into the flight deck. It’s not always a young’un, but the offer stands for all ages: “Come on up and have a look.” Sometimes they say yes, sometimes no. After landing, we’re also asked to stick around, “unless operationally necessary,” to say goodbye. Again, the interactions are numerous but…