Table of contents for October 2022 in Plane & Pilot

Like everyone else who follows the trends in the world of light aviation, I was eagerly awaiting word from the FAA on its progress with Mosaic, the plan developed by the FAA and the industry for the future of the National Airspace System. In addition to a much-needed definition of the emerging aerial mobility segment (good luck on that), the huge new rule will likely bring big changes to the light-plane universe, with benefits to airplane makers, owners, pilots and, well, everyone involved in light GA. And when I say “airplane,” please understand that it’s shorthand for any small aircraft that humans actually fly. Everything from tiltrotors to gyros will get an upgrade. The big news was…there was no big news, at least this year. In his blog, Dan Johnson,…

“Navigating Weather” Dr. David Ison outlines the fundamental knowledge and skills necessary to operate both airborne and datalink weather radar. He starts with radar and severe weather theory and inclement weather phenomena, including how to detect and evaluate them. There’s also a discussion of airborne weather radar essentials such as attenuation, tilt management, contouring and gain. Each chapter features real-world scenarios along with test questions to determine your assessment skills. This is a foundational reference on using radar data in flight. Price: $39.95. Available at www.asa2fly.com. KOSH T-Shirt We’ve still got an Oshkosh hangover and are already looking forward to the 2023 edition. This T-shirt celebrates the spirit of the world’s greatest airshow all year round! With an eye to minimalist art, the screen-printed KOSH Dots T-shirt from Etsy’s Runway…

On April 9, 2020, a student pilot and his instructor crashed into trees 2,000 feet from the departure end of the runway after practicing a touch-and-go landing. They both died. A lawsuit filed this year against the airport authority alleges the crash was caused by taller-than-FAA-standard trees. The U.S. court system may or may not eventually decide the merits of that case. What we do know, thanks to a recently released National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report, is how the pilots ended up in the woods. Leaving a little after 8 p.m., the pair flew 60 apparently uneventful miles from their home base of Myrtle Beach International Airport (KMYR) in South Carolina on a direct course to the Mount Pleasant Regional Airport-Faison Field (KLRO), also in South Carolina. It was…

Cessna 182 Skylane Stowe, Pennsylvania/Injuries: 1 The private pilot was landing the tricycle landing gear equipped airplane with a significant gusting right crosswind. After establishing the airplane on a 1-mile final approach to the runway, the pilot initiated a sideslip to maintain runway centerline. After touching down about 800 feet beyond the runway threshold, a gust of wind struck the airplane and it veered off the runway. The airplane crossed a taxiway then struck a concrete culvert before flipping over and coming to rest inverted. The pilot stated that once the aircraft veered left, he could not recover. Both of the airplane’s wings and the empennage were substantially damaged during the accident. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have…

Picture a tri-motored mini-airliner that looks like nothing else on wings, is an amazing short-field performer, and has been incredibly successful for over 50 years. When we think of three-engine airplanes, images of the sturdy Ford, Fokker and Stinson tri-motors from the 1930s come to mind. And then in the jet age, the Boeing 727, Douglas DC-10 and the Lockheed TriStar all had their days, not to mention a few classy Falcon Jets from France. However, the most unique tri-motor design, and one with strong general aviation roots, is the Britten-Norman Trislander (which is pronounced as though there is a hyphen between “tri” and “islander,” even though there is not.) The genesis for the successful Trislander series of aircraft was the even more successful Britten-Norman Islander twin-engine utility aircraft. The…

Oshkosh AirVenture 2022 will go down as one of the best shows in the history of the event, and it’s a long, star-studded history, like a week-long, living aviation highlight reel. And this year, it broke some records, though that fact can’t come close to explaining how special a show it was. Speaking of those records, there were a lot of planes, more than 10,000 of which flew into one of the airports that feed into KOSH, including but not limited to Fond du Lac, Appleton and Green Bay. It’s the same number we see every year from EAA, and truth be told, the numbers are almost always surely greater than that because it’s a literal impossibility to keep track of that many objects moving in time and space through…

This day was going almost comically wrong for Hazel Ying Lee. She’d had to execute a forced landing in a farmer’s field in Kansas. The wheat had provided a nice cushion, and she got her plane on the ground safely. Seeing another person had, at first, likely seemed that welcome help had arrived. But before Lee knew it, she was being chased around her plane—a plane she flew for the United States Army Air Corps—as the clueless farmer screamed, “The Japanese are invading!” Born on Aug. 24, 1912, in Portland, Oregon, Lee was the daughter of two first-generation Chinese American parents. The racial bias against Chinese Americans was fierce, yet Lee was determined not to let it stop her. In 1932, following her first airplane ride, Lee knew that she…

Much of our flight training is focused on landings. Let’s face it, we all secretly look forward to the oohs and ahhs from the passengers when we grease one on! But, alas, the poor takeoff earns no standing ovations no matter how good the performance is on this critical piece of piloting. At least when it comes to small planes, that is. In the world of transport-category aircraft, the takeoff is fully recognized as one of the most critical maneuvers. Balanced field lengths, V-speeds and takeoff abort considerations dominate the cockpit conversation as these big birds take flight. Why all this attention on takeoffs? Well, takeoff is that period when the jet is at its heaviest weight, the engines perform at their highest power setting, and quick and accurate decisions…