X	Science, freedom, beauty, adventure: what more could you ask of life?"                                                        - Charles A. Lindbergh, The Spirit of St. Louis

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Dear Pilots and Aviation Enthusiasts:

If I were to pick a single word that characterizes a pilot, that word would have to be "TRUST." Think about it . . . every time you take a passenger aloft, that passenger TRUSTS you to return him or her safely back to earth. 

Other pilots TRUST in your compliance with air traffic controller's vector and altitude assignments when operating under instrument meteorological (IMC) conditions. 

Flight instructors . . . you hold the most sacred trust of all.  Your students TRUST you to equip them with the skills necessary to maneuver safely in the national airspace system.   This trust goes far beyond teaching them basic maneuvers and bringing them up to the minimum standards referenced in the PTS.  Instead, it means providing them with the knowledge and skills necessary to operate safely in the most sophisticated national airspace system since the dawn of aviation over 100 years ago.

Think about the trust placed in us as pilots . . . by our family, our friends, and our fellow pilots with whom we share very crowded airspace.  Fulfilling this trust requires that we avail ourselves of every training opportunity.  It requires that we pursue an active recurrent training program  It requires that we work diligently to advance our knowledge, skill level, and flight proficiency.  

Think about it.  Would you send your son, daughter, wife or husband, or parent up with another pilot who has not genuinely earned this trust? 

Fly Safe,

Bob Miller, ATP, MCFI
Buffalo, NY

 

There you are, flying in smooth, clear air at 6,000 feet feet making ready for the approach to your destination airport.  Just 1,000 feet below are the tops of a solid layer of very cold clouds.  ATC calls and instructs you to descend to 4,000 feet for the remaining 15 to 20 miles of your trip. You dutifully obey and sink slowly into the certain icing conditions that await you.

There is definitely something wrong with this picture (click on the photo to enlarge)!

Is that controller nuts?  Doesn't he (or she) know that my plane is not certified for flight into known ice?  Why is he doing this?

No, he is not nuts.  Instead, he's likely following the required descent profile for his particular sector for your type aircraft.  Slow moving IFR arrivals into Buffalo from the east, for example, are typically lowered to 4,000 feet 30 miles out per letter of agreement between the Buffalo and Rochester TRACONs (terminal radar control facilities). 

Keep in mind, also, that the controller is buried in a 30'x50' dark room, without windows, looking into a green screen.  He can't see cloud layers. 

So what do you do? 

Answer:  Simply refuse the descent instruction!  Be nice, be courteous, but be firm.  Simply say, "Nxxxxx is unable to descend due to icing conditions below."

The savvy controller knows that it is NOT in your best interest to willingly descend into icing conditions, nor can he legally instruct you to violate FAR 91.527 which prohibits flight into known icing conditions..  He also knows that it is NOT in his best interest to create a scenario that will precipitate an emergency declaration.   Thus, his response will likely be to cancel his descent instruction and begin creating another arrival plan for you.  You, of course, should participate in the development of this alternative arrival plan.  (Remember, ATC is a "crew member," not the "law!")

Here's where things start to get a bit tricky.  It's also a point where "absolutes" do not work.  The problem is to get you down through an icy cloud layer in a non-known ice aircraft.  The folks that preach that everything in aviation is "black and white" and governed by regulations will find themselves in a nasty dilemma.  Obviously you can't stay up forever;  nor can you (they say) penetrate icy clouds.  Perhaps ATC can help you find a hole in the clouds to descend through.  My very favorite defense offered up by the naive observer is, "Well, you shouldn't have gotten caught above icy clouds in the first place!"

My response to comments like that is, "Wake up and smell the coffee!  Stuff happens, weather changes, cold fronts move in faster than forecast!"

Factors to consider before descending into those cold clouds . . .

1. Icing PIREPs:  There is an excellent chance that ATC has or can obtain a recent pilot report regarding icing conditions through the clouds. 

2. Where are the cloud bases?   If the tops are at 5,000' and the bases are at 3,000', it will take you two minutes (at a 1,000 fpm descent rate) to pass down through the clouds.

3. Minimum Vectoring Altitude:  Are the reported cloud bases higher than the minimum vectoring altitude (MVA) along your route of flight.  In other words, is it possible for ATC lower you to clear air below?

4. Weather at your alternate and available fuel:  Let's say that factors 1 through 3 above suggest you NOT make the descent through the icy clouds, what option(s) remain?  Is your alternate still available?  If not, do you have enough fuel to find VFR?  If not . . . . what then?  Okay you "black and white" guys, sort it out for me!

All of this falls under the heading of aeronautical decision-making.  It's easy to kick this scenario around in the cozy warmth of a classroom or to ponder it while snug in your chair in front of computer screen.  It is considerably more challenging to sort it out by yourself on a dark night, 6,000' in the air, with a bladder so full it's about to burst, and barely legal fuel reserves out there in your tanks. Click HERE to comment upon this article.

 

You are taxiing over a snow-covered, slick runway or taxiway with high snow banks on each side.  The wind is blowing hard, threatening to "push" your airplane involuntarily into one of the snow banks.  This is the time to keep one hand on the ignition key!

We all know what a sudden propeller strike or stoppage requires, right?  A very expensive and time consuming engine tear-down and examination.  This is what will result if your spinning propeller strikes a snow bank.

If you begin sliding uncontrollably into a snow bank, switch the ignition key off immediately.  This is the fastest way to safely stop a spinning propeller.  You could, of course, pull the mixture to idle cut-off in the conventional fashion, but this takes longer to stop the propeller.  Then, if your propeller hits a snow bank, it is not spinning and thereby not likely to cause any internal engine damage.  In fact, you might get lucky and the prop misses the snow bank altogether!  Click HERE to comment upon this article.

                                                        -- Thanks to Louie Nalbone of Dunkirk (NY) Aviation Sales and Service for sharing this helpful tip

 

Given the pervasive nature of personal computers, launching without having a complete weather picture in mind is downright foolish!  On the other hand, having this weather picture in mind BEFORE calling the FSS specialist makes for a far more effective briefing.

I have a bookmarked (favorites) link on both my office and home computers which points to the pre-flight briefing page on the Wonderful World of Flight site.  You can find this page by clicking HERE

  Open and bookmark this page on your computer.   This page gives you immediate access to the BIG EIGHT Weather sites, Approach Plates, Airport Information, and DUATS.

 

It's a cold, dark IFR night at the Rutland, Vermont Airport.  You are exhausted from a full day of hard skiing at Killington and you and your family are anxious to return home.  Your preflight briefing with the Burlington, VT FSS includes AIRMET Sierra for poor visibility and mountain obscuration. The cloud bases are at 1,200,'   The good news is that the cloud tops are reported at 4,200 feet with no indication of ice.

The Rutland Airport field elevation is 787 feet.  The Minimum Safe Altitude (MSA) for a 25 mile radius around the airport is 5,500.  Got the picture?  Now take a look at the published departure procedure for this airport.

RUTLAND, VT RUTLAND STATE
TAKE-OFF MINIMUMS: Rwy 1, 2300-3 or std. with a min. climb of 270' per NM to 3500. Rwy 13, NA.
Rwy 19, 2800-3 or std. with a min. climb of 510' per NM to 4500. Rwy 31, 2900-3 or std. with a min. climb of 420' per NM to 4500.
DEPARTURE PROCEDURE: Rwy 1, climb direct DYO NDB, cross DYO NDB at or above 6000, if not at 6000, depart DYO NDB on bearing 325° to 6000 before proceeding on course. Rwys 19, climbing right turn direct DYO NDB, cross DYO NDB at or above 6000, if not at 6000, depart DYO NDB on bearing 325° to 6000 before proceeding on course. Rwy 31, climbing right turn direct DYO NDB, cross DYO NDB at or above 6000, if not at 6000, depart DYO NDB on bearing 325° to 6000 before proceeding on course.

It was a crisp Thursday afternoon, one day before New Years Eve, when commercial student, Keith Harlock, and I punched up through the low overcast into sunny skies above Akron, NY . . . enroute to Saranac Lake in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains.  Our training objective was to build wintertime flying experience including an instrument approach down through mountainous terrain in sub-zero clouds to a snow covered runway. 

Departing at mid-day in a Piper Warrior, we climbed up through the cloud tops to our 7,000 foot cruising altitude.  Our instrument flight plan was via the  Buffalo VOR, V2, Utica, V196 to KSLK  (Adirondack Regional Airport).  Planned flight time was two hours.

The photos below chronicle this fun flight.  (Click on each to enlarge to full screen.)  The first photo was taken approximately 15 miles southwest of our destination.  Whiteface Mountain can be see emerging up through the clouds.

    

Saranac Lake is a quaint community located about 20 minutes drive from Lake Placid, home of the Winter Olympics some years back.  The Whiteface Mountain ski area is located about 40 minutes drive from the airport.  Rental cars are available at the airport.

We had a delightful lunch in the rustic terminal facility, then filed our flight plan for the return trip.  It was late afternoon by the time we executed the charted departure procedure.  We climbed up through a broken cloud layer which immediately closed up to a solid undercast that topped out at 6,000 feet.  The setting sun (pictured above) in the west provided a picturesque trip back home.  The last two photos were taken as we descended into the cloud layer in preparation for our landing at the Akron Airport.  We encountered trace ice on the descent, but it quickly sublimated as we entered the clear air below the 4,000 foot bases.

Winter flying is great fun.  The air is clear and smooth.  Most importantly, long cross-country training flights like this instill confidence.  They also develop more effective decision-making, risk management, and multi-tasking piloting skills. Click HERE to comment upon this article.

 

 

Wouldn't it be nice if you could rattle off the answers to the pilot examiner's questions in rapid-fire fashion?  Try these questions: 

"Tell me, what basic instruments and equipment must be on any airplane for VFR flight?"

"What evidence can you provide that the airplane that we're about to fly is airworthy?

"What instruments are required for IFR flight?"

Click HERE for some helpful memory aids for these and many other important questions. Click HERE to comment upon this article.

 

Professional Pilot Magazine (December, 2004) describes a near tragedy that  occurred recently between a King Air and a flight of four USAF F-16s. The fighters were in level flight at 5,000 feet.  The King Air was instructed to descend to 6,000 feet.  The King Air pilot misunderstood his clearance and read back, "Descend and maintain 3,000 feet."  The controller did not catch  the mistaken read back, nor did the F-16 crews who were operating on a UHF frequency.  

Within seconds, King Air passed only a few hundred feet in front of the four F-16s.   A multiple midair collision was avoided by a whisker!  Where did the error occur?  Why did the King Air pilot hear something different from what the controller communicated to him?  Why didn't the controller pick up the error on the pilot read back?  Lots of questions.

Altitude deviations, for whatever reason, represent approximately 1/3 of all aviation incidents reported through the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) from 1995-97.  This represents a total of 3,646 reported altitude deviation incidents during this three year period. The problem is SERIOUS!

Why do Altitude Deviations Occur?

NASA concludes that altitude deviations are caused, in part, by pilot "distractions or other task demands" that interfere with checking, cross-checking, and other monitoring duties.  In other words, when the workload increases to high levels, pilots are more prone to making mistakes.  The same observation can be made about controllers.  When their workload increases, they are less likely to catch pilot read back errors.

So What's the Solution?

There are a couple of things a proficient pilot can do to minimize the risk of altitude deviations.  They include:

1. Getting out of the practice area and into the system:  The practice area, by definition, is a big block of airspace where you can turn, climb, and descend at pilot's discretion.  It provides a great place to practice maneuvers, but it does little to develop high workload, multi-tasking skills.

2. "Sterilize" the cockpit during all climbs and descents:  No, this is not a housekeeping task;  rather, it refers to restricting all cockpit discussions to flight-related tasks during climbs and descents.  Save the non-flying related chatter for the enroute cruise phase flight only.

3. Make altitude call-outs at 1,000 foot, 500 foot, and 100 foot increments:  Pilots should be in the habit of calling out the feet remaining during any change in altitude at 1,000, 500, and 100 foot intervals.  Like any habits, once developed, they will not be forgotten.

4. Reject the PTS altitude deviation standard:  The private pilot practical test standard permits a whopping plus/minus 200 foot deviation from an assigned altitude.  This is roughly akin to permitting fast moving automobiles to cross the highway centerline by only five or ten feet!  Properly trained student pilots can easily hold assigned altitudes plus/minus 25 feet!

5. Enforce altitude deviations as an automatic disqualifier on all airman check rides:  Let's keep in mind that much of the Practical Test Standards (PTS) were developed back when airplanes like the J-3 Cub moved at a much more leisurely pace than, say, an RV-6 or Cirrus SR-22. Today, F-16s and other exotic military aircraft frequently fly cover over major cities and terrorist-sensitive installations.  The skies are also far more crowded than in the post-WWII days.  Closure rates today among airplanes occur in seconds, not minutes.  

A word about the "Snitch Patch"

Just in case you think you might get away with an altitude deviation because the controller wasn't watching your target on his radar screen, think again!   The miracle of technology has incorporated an automatic monitoring device that triggers a reporting system anytime there is a loss of required separation between aircraft.    In other words, if your inadvertent altitude deviation causes a loss of required separation with another aircraft, the FAA computers will assume that you are guilty of making an operational error.  When that occurs, it is out of the controller's hands. 

The "system" just got you!  Expect a certified letter in your mailbox within 10 days.   Beware, very stiff penalties can be imposed!  Click HERE to comment upon this article.

 

The long overdue make-over of the Wonderful World of Flight homepage is nearly complete.  The new look is refreshingly simple and easy to navigate.  There is still much to be added . . .

Click HERE to visit this newly redesigned site!

If ever there was a reason for obtaining the highest quality flight instruction, it is the new array of fast, composite material aircraft available today! 

More and more low time private pilots with a fresh instrument rating, like Ravi Bansal, who are stepping up to high-flying, 200 knot aircraft.   These airplanes, as the old advertisement use to say, "are not your father's Oldsmobile!"  They are fast, slippery, and require utmost skill to operate safely . . . . particularly in the challenging weather we have here in the northeast.

Actually, they are so unique, e.g., side stick control, that insurance companies require flight instructors to have model-specific factory training before they can train others to fly them.  

Ravi, pictured left, is the chairman and co-founder of AirSep, a worldwide manufacturer of PSA oxygen generating systems for medical and industrial applications with sales in over 100 countries.  He received his private pilot certificate many years ago and is now working with me on his instrument rating.

"There's no way my private pilot training prepared me for what I am now seeing in the national airspace system today," says Ravi.  "The world of flying has changed dramatically!"

Ravi is getting ready to step into a slick, high performance airplane which he plans to operate in very busy airspace and in and around some of the most dynamic weather in the nation.  He's discovered that yesterday's traditional flight training approaches need to be substantially enhanced before stepping into tomorrow's high performance airplanes.  This means getting out the practice area, forsaking the "hood," and getting into the real world, into the real weather, and into the real airspace system.  

Anything short of this will leave him dangerously under-prepared for the challenges he will be facing with his new airplane!

If you want to have more fun and obtain greater utility from your flying skills, set a goal to achieve the next pilot rating in 2005.  Surprisingly, you may find this to be a lot easier than you thought.  For example, the flying hours you have already logged may fulfill much of the aeronautical experience required by the next rating. 

The best way to begin this process is to click on the appropriate link in the table below.  Print and post the listed requirements on your bathroom mirror . . . and review them each time you comb your hair or brush your teeth!

Click on the rating titles below to view the requirements.

Private Pilot	Instrument Pilot	Commercial Pilot
Certificated Flight Instructor		Airline Transport Pilot

The advantages of acquiring that next rating include:

1. Greater utility of your airplane;
2. Lower insurance costs;
3. Heightened pilot proficiency and flight safety;
4. Opportunity to be paid to fly.

Dick Forrestel and and Roy McCreedy will be the featured speakers at the Aero Club of Buffalo's January 21st dinner meeting at Salvatore's Italian Garden in Depew, NY.  Recall, we featured their amazing story in the July 23, 2004 issue of "Over the Airwaves."  Click HERE to see this story again with photos.

Click  HERE for a dinner reservation form.

Click HERE for an Aero Club of Buffalo membership form.

The Aero Club of Buffalo is the oldest aero club in the United States and the second oldest aero club in the world.  Its members include veterans of Western NY's proud aviation heritage, active airline and corporate pilots, air traffic controllers, flight instructors, private and student pilots and people who simply love aviation.  It hosts monthly dinner meetings where 150 to 300 members and guests socialize, dine, and listen to some of the best aviation speakers in the nation.  You do not need to be a member to attend, but your membership ($25/year) helps to support club activities.

Out-of-towners:  The meeting site is located less then a 10 minute taxi ride from KBUF.  Fly over, attend the event, spend the night, and fly back in the morning! Click HERE to comment upon this article.

Will it really be possible to shoot  Cat 1 ILSs to every little airport in America?  This means, of course, being able to descend in the clag down to a 200 foot decision height with 1/2 mile visibility and land.  Yes!

But before this can happen, a lot of power lines and trees will have to be cleared out of the way and a bunch of approach lighting systems will have to be installed.  This is not about to happen soon.  Current time estimate, according to Aviation Consumer (January, 2005), is the year 2019 or 2020.  WAAS is now, however, enabling GPS approaches to substantially lower non-precision minimums than we've been getting with the basic GPS system.

What is WAAS?

We all know what GPS navigation is all about and basically how it works.  There are 19 GPS satellites plus a couple of spares orbiting in space.  Aircraft GPS boxes are able to compute our position relative to these satellites.  This system provides position accuracy to about 15 meters. 

WAAS or Wide Area Augmentation System enhances this system by adding 25 ground reference stations, two geostationary satellites, two master stations, and four uplink stations.  This enhancement corrects minor errors in the basic GPS system then broadcasts differential corrections back to our aircraft GPS units.   This enhancement to the basic GPS system provides position accuracy to about 3 meters.  [If you are a geek and want more details on how this enhancement works, click HERE.] 

WAAS is working . . . but not completely, yet.

We will not be able to shoot Cat 1 ILS type landings to 200' and 1/2 mile visibility until GPS satellites are equipped to broadcast a second civil frequency, called the L2C.  This is scheduled to occur sometime later this year.  A third civil frequency will be required for full Cat 1 status capability, and this will not happen until sometime after 2013.

So what we have now is partial WAAS capability . . . assuming your GPS unit is WAAS enabled.

If you have a WAAS enabled GPS unit such as the Garmin GNS480, you can shoot GPS approaches to lower minimums than those of us with non-WAAS enabled GPS units. 

Take a look at the difference between the following two GPS approach procedures to the same runway at the Jamestown, NY Airport.  The RNAV (GPS) Y RWY 25, shown below, is a standard GPS approach.  You can shoot this approach with any approach certified GPS unit.  It permits a descent down to an LNAV (Lateral Navigation) MDA of 2,100' MSL (379' AGL).

The RNAV (GPS) Z RWY 25 approach, shown below, requires a WAAS enabled GPS unit.  This approach permits a descent down to an LNAV/VNAV (Lateral Navigation/Vertical Navigation) DA (Decision Altitude) of 2,040' MSL or 319' AGL.  This is 60' lower than the above standard GPS approach. This is better, but still now as low as the ILS approach to the same runway permits.

By the way, this is one of only 30 to 50 published WAAS procedures available today. An additional 150 such procedures are scheduled for 2005, and 300 more in 2006.

Note the row titled GLS PA DA (GPS Landing System Precision Approach Decision Altitude) in the minimums section of the above plate.  The entry currently says NA (non applicable).  This row WILL become applicable, to Cat 1 ILS minimums, when the WAAS system is complete.

Will the complete WAAS system be worth the wait?

Vertical guidance has long proven its worth on the nation's ILS approaches.  Bringing this level of safety to the thousands of non-precision approach capable airports throughout the nation will dramatically improve flight safety.  It will also substantially improve the utility of the general aviation airplane.

A Word of Caution

The WAAS enabled GPS unit can bring you to GPS (LNAV) minimums to any standard GPS approach in the nation.  Remember, however, it cannot see obstacles below the final approach course.  So don't dare try descending below the LNAV MDA, in less than VFR conditions, using vertical guidance until you have a published LPV or LNAV/VNAV procedure chart in hand for your airport.

Question:  Without barometric inputs and the uneven level of the earth's surface, how do WAAS equipped GPS units compute and provide vertical descent guidance?

Answer:  It does it just like good pilots have been taught to fly . . . by the numbers.  The receiver calculates the equivalent of a 3-degree vertical path from the final approach fix to the missed approach point, which in most cases is near the runway threshold.  Click HERE to comment upon this article.

Click on each photo to enlarge.

The above photos (actual, un-retouched) are of a B-747 landing on a 3,400' x 50' wide runway serving the Rand Airport near Johannesburg, South Africa.  The aircraft came to a stop at the 2,800' point on the runway!  The jumbo jet was was being delivered to an air museum where it is now at its final resting place. 

This Boeing 747-200 entered airline service on November 6,1971.  It carried a total of 6 million passengers over an amazing 107,000 flying hours.  It traveled a total of 481.5 million nautical miles.  It used 3,384 tires at a cost equal to twice its original purchase price!

Wonder how they make this remarkable short field landing??  Click HERE for an explanation by the pilot.

Thanks to Col. C.B. Goldacker, USAF (retired) from Davenport, FL for sharing these remarkable photos with us.

There are two weather phenomenon that can bring down even the largest airliners.  They are the natural enemies of aviation.  

Rather than fearing them and remaining on the ground every time they appear in the forecast, as many general aviation pilots do, we should learn how to deal with them in ways that guarantee our safety.  Since this is the icing season, now is the time to become proficient in the various icing scenarios.

Since this the Icing Season . . .

Icing is simply the accumulation of frozen material on the wings and airframe.  Its presence creates three adverse flight conditions:

(1) An Interrupted Airfoil:  Lift results, in part, from the low pressure area above the wing created by the smooth, laminar flow of rapidly moving air over the curved surface of the wing.  Any roughness on the curved wing surface can interrupt this smooth laminar flow and reduce or destroy lift.  Frost or ice on the lifting surface of the wing as small as the grit on sandpaper is sufficient to destroy lift.  This is the most insidious hazard associated with flying in icing conditions.  Click HERE for an exhaustive discussion by the NTSB regarding wing ice (sent in by Kelly Brannen).

(2) Additional Weight:  One to three inches of icing coating the leading edges of the wing and the fuselage can add considerable weight to the airplane.  The larger the airplane, the greater the weight. 

(3) Additional Drag: Even trace amounts of ice on the wing and airframe can result in a serious degradation of airspeed due to additional drag.  This loss of airspeed is, in fact, one of the early signs of aircraft icing.

The AOPA Air Safety Foundation recently published an excellent Safety Brief on the subject of icing.  Click HERE to open.  [The illustrations in this article were taken from this Safety Brief.]

Icing is where you find it!

Plain and simple . . . icing is where you find it.  Sometimes it's there, sometimes it isn't.  Its presence and location are extremely difficult to forecast.  Surprisingly, MANY freezing clouds contain little or no ice.

I took off on an IFR training flight earlier this week.  Despite low clouds and freezing temperatures, our FSS pre-flight briefing confirmed the absence of any icing in the clouds along our multi-stop route of flight.  This information proved correct until the climb-out from our final stop (Dunkirk, NY).  There,  we got smacked with 3/4th inch of clear ice in about 30 seconds!  With ATC permission, we continued the climb to clear skies above at 4,000 feet where air friction and sublimation effect melted much of this ice.  

Recent meteorological research reveals that icing conditions occur in narrow ribbons of airspace located at various altitudes within freezing clouds.  Thus, a negative icing report on one side of the airport does not mean that there is no ice on the other side!  Again, ice is where you find it.

A word about "known ice" certified airplanes . . .

Some airplanes such as the Cessna 210 are equipped with sufficient anti-icing and deicing devices to qualify for a known ice certification.  This equipment includes inflatable de-icing boots on the wing and horizontal and vertical stabilizer leading edges, heated propeller, heated windshield, and super-heated pitot tube and stall warning device.  Known ice certified aircraft are exempt from many of the restrictive provisions of FAR 91.527 and are permitted to operate in icing conditions.

Having owned and operated such an aircraft for the past six years, I can tell you that all this equipment affords you is - a little bit more time to vacate icing conditions.  This equipment is NOT sufficient to permit continued operation in icing conditions for long periods of time, e.g., more than 10 or 15 minutes depending upon the severity of icing conditions.  The reason for this is, simply, there are too many unprotected areas on the wing and fuselage where ice can accumulate.

A word about turbo-charged airplanes . . .

While having a wealth of anti-icing and de-icing equipment on an airplane is a benefit to the wintertime flying, I have solved more icing problems with the high flying capability afforded by a turbo-charged engine.  Most wintertime weather, particularly ice-laden clouds, top out at 15,000 feet.  Above that, clear, ice-free air can nearly always be found.  The turbo-charged engine enables you to operate well above this altitude.

A word about technique . . .

Wintertime flying is like mountain flying.  There are numerous tools and techniques a pilot needs to have in order to fly safely in this environment.  Basic tricks like "zoom" climbs, "slam/dunk" descents, and proper aircraft configurations can go a long way in preventing icing emergencies.  If you are unfamiliar with these techniques and do any winter IFR flying, I suggest you pursue winter flying instruction from an experienced CFII.

A final word about icing PIREPs . . .

Forget about that widespread lie that you will incriminate yourself by issuing a positive icing PIREP from a non-known ice aircraft.  You won't . . . I promise you that!  Icing PIREPs serve ALL pilots by helping to paint a more accurate picture of the weather conditions in a given area of airspace.  They also enable ATC to assist you in escaping icing conditions without delay.

Click HERE for one of the best icing forecast sites on the web.  Check this site before commencing any wintertime IFR flight.  Click HERE to comment upon this article.

Thanks to our recent access to the Upstate New York e-mailing list, we can now welcome many new pilots to the Over the Airwaves free subscription list.  The addition of these new pilots makes Over the Airwaves one of the most widely read aviation e-publication in region.  

Thanks to our many readers who have forwarded Over the Airwaves to their pilot friends across the nation, the message of flight safety and improved pilot proficiency is really beginning to take hold!

Given the meteorological difficulty of predicting the presence or absence of icing conditions, pilots often engage in a game of Russian Roulette when making wintertime flying decisions.  "Do I go or do I stay?" 

FAR 91.527 says that pilots may not fly under IFR into known or forecast moderate icing conditions.  The FAA and the NTSB have adopted a strict interpretation of this flight restriction, meaning that if icing is reported in the pre-flight briefing or if a pilot report mentions icing, then icing conditions are "known to exist."

Go/No-Go decisions would be easy if the real world operated in such clear-cut fashion.  For example, most pre-flight briefings during the winter months include the following statement:  "Occasional light to moderate icing in clouds and precipitation."  The troubling word in this statement is:  "Occasional."  Does this mean that ice is present in the clouds when you plan to fly?  (The word occasional means sometimes "yes" and sometimes "no."  You can see why the FAA likes to use the word "occasional" in pre-flight briefings!) 

However, following the FAA/NTSB strict interpretation, one would have to assume that YES means YES!

Unfortunately, this "Occasional light to moderate icing in clouds and precipitation" statement is contained in nearly every FSS pre-flight briefing from December to March here in Buffalo and the entire northern one-half of the continent!  If every pilot followed the FAA/NTSB strict interpretation, nobody would fly light, general aviation aircraft during winter months.  Obviously, this is not the case, so how do you decide when to fly or not to fly in the winter?

So what is a girl supposed to do?

While there are no hard and fast realistic rules governing wintertime launches, the proficient pilot can look at THREE very important indicators.  One indicator is the cloud base height.  The next is freezing level.  And the last is the minimum vectoring altitude (MVA).  Plugging these three numbers into the decision table below offers a quick way to arrive at a Go/No-Go decision.

Note:  The minimum vectoring altitude is the lowest altitude ATC can descend you to.  This altitude is based upon terrain and obstacles.  Obviously, it varies by location.   So you will need to know the MVA for your entire route of flight.  The MVA is not published anywhere - though it should be.  Contact your local ATC facility to determine the MVA over and around your airport.  As an alternative, check the MEA or MOCA published on low altitude enroute charts.

Weather Condition	Above MVA	Below MVA	Decision
Cloud Base	X
Freezing Level		X
Decision			Go
Cloud Base		X
Freezing Level	X
Decision			Go
Cloud Base	X
Freezing Level	X
Decision			Go
Cloud Base		X
Freezing Level		X
Decision			No Go

To escape icing conditions, ATC can descend you down to either clear air or warmer temperatures where icing is no longer a factor IF either the cloud bases or freezing level is ABOVE the MVA.  On the other hand, if both the freezing level and the cloud base are below the MVA, you have no possible icing escape route*.

*Note:  Actually, you do have an escape route if you can obtain an ATC clearance to a nearby instrument approach procedure.  This is the only way you can descend below the area's MVA.

The key to all icing go/no-go decisions is the presence of an escape route (or "back door") to non-icing conditions.  This escape route is almost always UP or DOWN.  The only solid escape routes are (1) clear air, or (2) above freezing temperatures.  If the cloud tops are within reach, then that provides a solid back door.  If the cloud bases are above the minimum vectoring altitude, then that provides a solid back door.

Similarly, if you know you can reach above-freezing temperatures by climbing or descending (to a point above the MVA) that that provides a suitable escape route. 

The most important thing !

The most important thing to do when encountering icing conditions is to escape it . . . immediately.  Don't wait, don't delay.  Issue a PIREP, then request an ATC clearance for higher or lower. 

Consider it an emergency if you encounter moderate to severe icing.  Change altitudes immediately, with or without an ATC clearance.  You may only have minutes to escape.  Always keep in mind that under FAR 91.3, "the pilot in command of an aircraft is directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft. In an in-flight emergency requiring immediate action, the pilot in command may deviate from any rule of this part to the extent required to meet that emergency.:

Note:  Air traffic controllers are "spring loaded" to respond to icing reports.  I have never been denied an immediate clearance for higher or lower due to reported moderate or severe icing. Click HERE to comment upon this article.

Click HERE to view the national press release issued by the National Association of Flight Instructors regarding my recent recognition as a Master Certificated Flight Instructor.  I was particularly honored to have received this recognition as it puts me in the company of the nation's very best flight instructors!  In fairness, this recognition was earned through the efforts of each of my many flight students who inspired and encouraged me to endure the many trials of a being a flight instructor is some of the most rugged weather in the world!

Who ever said that those folks in the National Aeronautical Charting Office (NACO) don't have a sense of humor?  Take close look at the plate below for RNAV (GPS) RWY 16 approach to Portsmouth, NH.   (Could it by true the Elmer Fudd works for NACO?)

Begin at the west Initial Approach Fix (IAF) and follow it through the Final Approach Fix (FAF) to the Missed Approach Point (MAP).  Finally, look at the Missed Approach holding fix in the briefing strip on the top of the plate.  See anything unusual about the names of each of these fixes?   If you missed this bit of humor, see explanation at the bottom of the plate.

Fix Names (in order):  ITAWT . . . ITAWA . . . PUDYE . . .TTATT  -  IDEED!  ("I thought I saw a puddy cat . . . I did!")

Yes . . . this is a REAL approach procedure!  Click HERE to comment upon this article.

 

 

 

[Click on photos to enlarge to full screen]

The European consortium’s A380 super-jumbo, which is to be formally unveiled at a lavish ceremony on Tuesday, January 18th, will break the 747’s longstanding monopoly of the big-jet market when it enters service in 2006.  Dwarfing the Boeing 747, this double-decker of the skies has already been dubbed the "superjumbo."  Its wingspan is nearly as long as a football field. Its design could accommodate up to 850 passengers, though most airlines are initially likely to use a large chunk of the extra space to turn flying into an experience more akin to a luxury cruise.

There is already talk of in-flight casinos, on-board fountains, duty-free shops, gyms and showers. Some airlines are considering scrapping the traditional trolley service for meals and allowing passengers to help themselves from a range of food counters.

The UPS A380F freighter will be able to carry a freight load of 330,000 pounds on three decks, has a cargo volume capacity of 40,000 cubic feet, and has a range of 5,600 nautical miles. 

Airbus now has 149 firm orders from 14 customers for its new 555-seater A380 super- jumbo, which is being officially revealed in a lavish ceremony in France next week.   Thanks to Kelly Brannen for sending us this story.

 

There are nearly as many makes and models of handheld GPSs as there are headsets, but only one make and model stands far ahead of ALL others in terms of functionality, features, battery life, and ease of use.  This is the Garmin 296. 

Like the Bose X headset featured in the previous issue of Over the Airwaves, the Garmin 296 proves the old adage that "You get what you pay for"  ~ $1,600. 

I have encouraged my flight students to purchase and use handheld GPSs in their flight training and in their subsequent flights as licensed pilots.  Some pilot examiners even allow their use in checkrides.   These devices enhance position awareness and serve as excellent emergency backup navigation aids.

Click on photos to enlarge.

I have seen or used nearly every handheld GPS on the market today.  None, I mean NONE even come close to the versatility of the Garmin 296.  One of it's strongest features is the standard instrument display shown in the center photo above. In an emergency, this screen provides enough information to control of your airplane IN THE CLOUDS should you suffer a total aircraft instrument failure!  That's right . . . a total loss of vacuum and electrical systems!  And it contains the published approach procedures for every airport in North America, thus making it a perfect backup navigation tool.

Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT) represents a whopping 32% of all IFR accidents!

But the very best feature of the Garmin 296 is the terrain avoidance page which instantly alerts pilots to obstacles both 1,000 feet below and 100 feet below.  This feature effectively eliminates the risk of controlled flight into terrain (CFIT). 

Earlier this week, for example, I made a GPS approach in IMC in my T-210 to a remote airport in a mountainous region near the Virginia/Tennessee border.   I used the twin panel-mounted Garmin 430s for navigation purposes.  It was the terrain display on the Garmin 296 moving map, however, that provided consummate peace of mind as I knitted my way down through the obscured surrounding higher peaks.  Instrument pilots - this is  "MUST HAVE" technology!

And . . . the Garmin 296 is WAAS enabled!

My IFR approach certified Garmin 430 units cost over $8,000 each.  The Garmin 296 offers more functionality at 1/5th the cost of these high-end Garmins.  Their only drawback, however, is that they, like ALL other handhelds, are not certified for anything other than position awareness.

I use my Garmin 296 primarily as an emergency control and navigation backup tool in my T-210 and in all of the training planes I fly. After using the Garmin 296, I would not launch on an IFR flight without it.   Click HERE for ordering information. Click HERE to comment upon this article.

 

 

You land a million planes safely, then you have one little mid-air and you never hear the end of it ...                           — Air Traffic Controller, New York TRACON, Westbury Long island.                                Opening quotation in movie "Pushing Tin"

This "tongue-in-cheek" statement is enormously profound.  There are more than 5,000 airplanes in the skies over the United States on any given day.  Since 2001, only 34 people died in airline accidents.  None died in 2002.  That is a remarkable record of success for the airlines.

Unfortunately, the record is not so good in the general aviation category.  We managed to generate over 500 general aviation fatalities EACH YEAR from 1998 through 2002. (Source: AOPA NALL, 2003).  Even when we keep   in mind the fact that general aviation conducts over 70 percent of all non-military flying hours in the U.S., the fatality numbers are still bad.

The accident rate for general aviation aircraft increased slightly from 6.33 accidents per 100,000 flight hours in 2000 to 6.56 accidents in 2001.  Sadly, general aviation was the only category of air transportation to report an increase in its accident rate. (Source: Instrument Procedures Handbook, FAA-H-8261-1, published by the U.S. Department of Transportation, 2004.)

The saddest news of all is the fact that 72.6 percent of all general aviation fatal accidents are attributable to pilot error.  We can sugar-coat the data anyway we like, but the end results are the same.  We general aviation pilots continue to make far too many mistakes. 

AOPA's Air Safety Foundation NALL Report  provides exhaustive data on all general aviation accidents.  It breaks down the accident data by phase of flight, by aircraft class, by type of operation, and by pilot experience.  

The data is significant in what it does NOT tell us.

The crash data do not, for example, correlate accidents rates with the type of initial and recurrent training received.  Most significantly, it does not tell us WHY the accidents happened. 

The reason for this can be attributed to the original NTSB crash investigation reports.  These reports provide a detailed analysis of WHAT happened including the probable cause(s).  A commonly reported probable cause is, "Pilot's loss of control during the approach to landing,"  or "Pilot's failure to maintain sufficient climb rate to avoid striking rising terrain."   Duh . . . that's what happened, but the real unanswered question is, WHY did the pilot do what he (or she) did?

Was there a defect or an omission in the pilot's initial or recurrent training?  Did s/he lack specific airmanship or decision-making skills?  In truth, we'll never have the evidence or data from which to derive scientifically valid answers to those questions.  We can, however, draw some subjective conclusions.

The NALL does help us with this.  For example, the report points out that personal flying represents 48 percent of all general aviation hours flown.  However, personal flying represents over 70 percent of all GA accidents, and an even higher percentage of fatal crashes.  The report concludes, "Possible reasons for the high accident rate in personal flying include lack of experience, proficiency issues, pilots exceeding personal limitations, showing off, and just plain poor judgment.  In some of the other types of GA flight operations, pilots have more stringent proficiency requirements, greater annual flying time, specialized training, and regular recurrent training."

Proper initial flight training reinforced with effective recurrent training creates more proficient pilots.  And proficient pilots are less likely to experience pilot error-induced accidents.  If we don't believe or accept this statement as true, then let's forsake any kind of flight training turn the keys to our airplanes over to the general public and let them fly at will!

If you do not want to be an accident statistic . . . . train hard and train frequently. 

Click HERE to comment upon this article.

 

 

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