X	"Everybody must have a fantasy"                                                                            -- Andy Warhol

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Dear Pilots and Aviation Enthusiasts:                                                                                         

Few people will argue the fact that the most expensive machine in the world is an airplane sitting on the ground!  Insurance, tie-down or hangar expense, depreciation, and fixed maintenance costs continue to tick away without providing its owner any appreciable benefit.  So why let it sit there?

Weather is one reason.  Unresolved maintenance issues may be another.  Today, rising fuel costs is becoming a major factor.  Whatever the reason, each day an airplane remains sitting on the ground is another day of unrecoverable expense.

So what do we do about it?

We begin by removing the reasons for non-flight.  Weather, for example, can be mitigated in two ways.  First, the owner/pilot can acquire the skills necessary to operate in increasingly challenging weather.  The instrument rating is the first place to begin.  Instrument currency and experience is the next item to attend to, followed by advanced weather flying training.

The airplane, too, can be made more weather capable.  IFR certified GPS and storm scope/strike finding spherics enhance aircraft weather capability enormously.  Sure, these items are expensive, but when you factor in the resultant gain in aircraft utility, their costs are surprisingly low.  For me, I paid a large premium when I purchased my known-ice certified, radar-equipped turbo Cessna 210.  Adding a couple of Garmin 430's and a WX-500 Stormscope boosted that premium by about $25,000.  But now I have a nearly all-weather airplane that has a 95 percent dispatch reliability.  If the airliners can fly, I can fly!  For those of us who use our airplanes for business flying, this is a "must."

As for unresolved maintenance issues which keep us on the ground (AKA "Hangar Queen), shop carefully for your airplane, choose your make/model wisely, secure the very best maintenance service available, adopt an aggressive preventive maintenance program, and attend immediately to every squawk.  Cutting corners on aircraft maintenance will not only keep you on the ground, it could cost you the ultimate price!

Now for the fuel cost . . .

In the grand scheme of things, fuel is a surprisingly small portion of total aircraft ownership cost.  We may fuss over rising fuel prices, but even these can be made more affordable by flying with a friend or two.  While I don't strong-arm my flying companions for a contribution for fuel, I do keep score.  Those who offer, I accept . . . and I invite them to fly again!

And finally . . . make the destination worthwhile!

Many pilots are frustrated by the fact that their spouse/children will not fly with them.  Hence, their airplanes remain on the ground far longer than they should.  That use to be the case with me.  That is, until I began flying my wife to NYC for shopping and Broadway shows, or to Mackinac Island, MI for a weekends in the Grand Hotel, or to Martha's Vineyard, or Nantucket Island, or Cape Cod for seafood dinners. How about a week on a secluded island in the Bahamas or even a day on the Jersey shore with friends?  Or to New Orleans for shrimp gumbo, or to the Newport Jazz Festival.  My teenage daughter once had me fly her and several friends up to Boston for an Alicia Keys concert!  You can't do that stuff affordably on the airlines (and it certainly wins points with the kids)!

Yes . . . it takes money to secure the training and to equip the airplane for reliable cross-country flight.  But when you make this investment, you will fly often.  In the end, your airplane will cost you far less than when you leave it in the hangar or tie-down area.  In short, you will maximize your airplane's total return on investment! 

In the last issue, we talked about errors of omission that can lead to deadly consequences.  One area where errors of omission are particularly important is the approach to landing sequence.  Whether operating VFR or IFR, transitioning from the enroute phase to the landing phase is a very busy time.  It is also a time where important things can be neglected or forgotten.

Getting ready for landing involves checking the weather at the destination airport, setting up the radios, configuring the instruments, and checking out the runway environment.  There's the landing gear, the mixture, the propeller setting, adjusting the approach speed, making radio calls, strapping down the passengers.  In short, there is a lot to do.

In discussing this matter with fellow Akron Airport CFII, Dan Parzych, he told me of a memory aid given to him by another fellow CFII and Continental Airline pilot, Pete Treichler.  I liked what I heard and have incorporated it in my own flight training practice.  It's called "The WIRE check." 

The WIRE check is typically initiated about 10 miles from the destination airport.  Here's how it works:

W	WEATHER:  Obtain the destination weather from the ATIS or AWOS.  Pay particular attention to wind speed and direction.
I	INSTRUMENTS:  Adjust the DG to the compass heading.  Dial the correct altimeter setting into the Kollsman window.  Instrument pilots, set the CDI to the inbound course.
R	RADIOS: Set number two radio to the local UNICOM frequency and monitor.  Instrument pilots, dial in the localizer or approach VOR frequency.
E	Environment:  Determine the runway in use.  Note the traffic pattern altitude and direction.  Plan your entrance into the traffic pattern.

The WIRE check is remarkably simple to remember, yet it covers the essential elements of the enroute to landing phase of flight. Once completed, the pilot can attend to the other landing preparation tasks like the GUMPS (Gas, Undercarriage, Mixture, Pump/Prop, Seatbelts) check.

Remember, our goal is to always eliminate any possibility of committing errors of omission whenever we fly!  Simplicity is also important.  We must learn to keep things SIMPLE!

While it is far too soon to speculate why a college student in a rented Piper Warrior found himself out of fuel while on a midnight flight across Lake Michigan this past Monday (April 25), the end result suggests a notable lapse in judgment.

The pilot radioed that he was low on fuel.   He then used his cell phone and said, "I need any help real fast," My plane's going down real fast."  A few minutes later he said, "I'm in the water."

The US Coast Guard along with the Canadian Coast Guard dispatched boats, helicopters and a C-130 to search for the downed pilot, but to no avail.  With a water temperature of 44 degrees, the Coast Guard estimated that he could survive for no more than four hours before succumbing to the cold temperatures.  The search was called off the following morning.

A Tragedy Packed with Lessons!

How many lessons can YOU see in this accident? 

Poor fuel management; Single engine night operation over open water; No GPS to provide lat/long coordinates for search and rescue; No portable raft or life jacket.

Lesson 1 - Fuel Management: Surviving a fuel exhaustion crash during daylight hours is problematic, but doable.  Surviving one at night is far more challenging!  NEVER, EVER take off at night with a questionable fuel load.  Pack on enough fuel to get you to your destination plus at least 1.5 to 2 hours (the FAA night 45 minute reserve requirement cuts it too close for me).

Lesson 2 - Single Engine Night Operation over Open Water:  This is a classic "risk assessment" lesson.  If you ditch in open waters at night, what is the probability that search & rescue can even locate you, much less rescue you before you freeze or drown?  NEVER, EVER fly day or night in a single over open water farther than your gliding distance to shore . . . unless you have emergency floatation equipment and a GPS on board.  Refuse, if necessary, any ATC vectors or route assignment that violates this lesson.

Lesson 3 - Flight Without GPS:  The single best emergency equipment you can carry on board any flight is a GPS . . . because it provides immediate latitude/longitude coordinates right down to several feet that you can transmit to search & rescue to pinpoint your location.   If everybody used this technology, we could remove the word SEARCH from the term "Search & Rescue!"

Lesson 4 - No Portable Raft or Life Jacket:  Lest my readers suspect that I'm opposed to flying over water in a single engine aircraft, let me say that I cross Lake Michigan in my C-210 at its 75 mile wide midpoint at least six to seven times a year . . . and many of these flights are at night.  I've also flown over extensive open water in the Bahamas with my family aboard.  But I would NEVER undertake any of these over water flights without a GPS, raft, and life jackets!   Having this equipment on board reduces the risks of non-surviving a water landing by 90 percent, in my opinion!

Like everybody else, we pilots sometimes do incredibly dumb things.  Fortunately, if we're reading this page, we've survived them all.  But anyone who heads out over open water, in a single engine airplane, at night, with minimal fuel, with no floatation equipment, and no GPS, well . . . that goes over the top in the category of reasonable dumbness.  Think about that when you open your next aircraft insurance premium bill!

Risk Assessment and Aeronautical Decision-Making . . .

All of this comes under the heading of risk assessment and aeronautical decision-making.  It is apparent that the young man referenced above did not receive much of this in his flight training curriculum.  Note that it was not his lack of flying skills, in particular, that caused his undoing.  Nor was it his inability to perform turns on a point or S-Turns over a highway.  What got him, and many others like him, is poor risk assessment and aeronautical decision making skills.

Flight instructors . . . . the more time we spend on teaching risk assessment and aeronautical decision-making, the safer our students will be. 

Note:  This does not mean canceling flight training on windy or poor visibility days. Nor does it mean prohibiting overwater flights.  It simply means that we have to impart risk assessment and decision-making skills that empower our students to look at their options and to reliably select the very best course of action under various flight conditions.  We cannot accomplish this by hanging out in the practice area or by repeated landing and takeoffs at the same nearby airports.

The airspeed indicators used on single engine light airplanes are deceptively simple, yet they contain a wealth of information.  Your knowledge of displayed color ranges will not only get you through the private pilot knowledge test . . . it could also save your life!

Here's what these color ranges mean:

• FLAP OPERATING RANGE (the white arc).

• POWER-OFF STALLING SPEED WITH THE WING FLAPS AND LANDING GEAR IN THE LANDING POSITION (the lower limit of the white arc).

• MAXIMUM FLAPS EXTENDED SPEED (the upper limit of the white arc).  This is the highest airspeed at which the pilot should extend full flaps. If flaps are operated at higher airspeeds, severe strain or structural failure could result.

• NORMAL OPERATING RANGE (the green arc).

• POWER-OFF STALLING SPEED WITH THE WING FLAPS AND LANDING GEAR RETRACTED (the lower limit of the green arc).

• MAXIMUM STRUCTURAL CRUISING SPEED (the upper limit of the green arc). This is the maximum speed for normal operation.

• CAUTION RANGE (the yellow arc). The pilot should avoid this area unless in smooth air.

• NEVER-EXCEED SPEED (the red line). This is the maximum speed at which the airplane can be operated in smooth air. This speed should never be exceeded intentionally.

With another thunderstorm season rapidly approaching, this is a good time for all pilots to self-assess their thunderstorm maneuvering strategies. 

Pilots who do not periodically conduct this self-assessment could quickly find themselves in the same tragic circumstances that took the life of a young pilot and his mother while flying a Piper Saratoga over Florida in September, 2002.

Did the pilot have all available information?

A $30 million law suit against the FAA, filed last month in Federal Court in Orlando by the pilot's estate, charges that the pilot did not have all available information concerning flight precautions along his route of flight . . . and blames both the Flight Service Station briefer and the air traffic controller working his flight.  You be the judge!

Let's look at what happened . . .

The pilot received a preflight briefing from the St. Petersburg Flight Service Station and requested weather along his planned route of flight.  The specialist reported low levels of precipitation with thunderstorm activity. There was no evidence to show that the FSS specialist provided the pilot with forecasted adverse weather conditions, however.

The pilot took off and contacted the Miami Center as instructed.  There was no evidence to indicate that the Center controller advised the pilot of the pertinent information on observed weather areas displayed on his radarscope. 

The National Weather Service issued SIGMET 55E, 56E and 57E at 1355. The controller received the information and issued a HIWAS (Hazardous In-flight Weather Advisory Service) alert message on his frequency at 1358:10 as shown below:
 

Convective SIGMET 57E valid until 1555: Florida and coastal waters; from 30 miles east of Orlando, Florida; 10 miles east of Vero Beach, Florida; 50 miles south southeast of Fort Myers, Florida; 30 miles east of Orlando, Florida an area of developing thunderstorms moving from 140 degrees at 25 knots; cloud tops to 44,000 feet."

Pilot apparently ignored the HIWAS broadcast . . .

The last transmission received from the pilot was about 10 minutes after the broadcast. The pilot had sufficient time to contact Flight Watch or a Flight Service frequency for additional information. According to the FAA there was no evidence of any contacts made by the pilot to Flight Watch or any Flight Service frequency before or after the HIWAS alert message was broadcast.

About 20 minutes after the HIWAS broadcast the pilot stated he encountered IMC conditions and requested a descent.  The controller approved the deviations, but he did not advise the pilot of actual weather areas observed on his radar display as required.   Radar data indicated isolated returns of light and heavy precipitation throughout the vicinity of the flight path.

Then the trouble began . . .

The pilot then said, "One oh six juliet golf, the gyro is out."

The controller asked the pilot to say again, and the pilot responded, "Gyro's out one oh six juliet golf."

The controller instructed the pilot to "descend and maintain 5,000 feet." There was no response from the pilot. Radar data indicated the airplane's Mode C was 7,500 feet and then the radar track began a tight right descending turn. The controller made several more attempts to contact the pilot.  No further communications were received.

The last radar return showed the flight at an altitude of 900 feet.  It had descended at a rate of about 11,143 feet per minute. Examination of the wreckage showed that the right wing, vertical stabilizer, and the stabilator had separated in flight, due to overstress.

Weather and tracking data showed that at the time the pilot reported the gyro was out, the airplane was, according to the NTSB report, "penetrating intense to extreme weather echoes level 5 to level 6; containing thunderstorms and heavy rain, instrument metrological conditions, up and downdrafts, horizontal gusts, and turbulence of at least moderate intensity."

Did the pilot have all available information?

Did the pilot have all available information?  We will that up to the Federal Court to decide.  Here is the NTSB had to say about probable cause:

"The pilot's continued flight into known severe weather, resulting in an in-flight separation of the right wing, vertical stabilizer and the stabilator. Factors in this accident were heavy thunderstorm, and failure of the FAA controllers to provide the pilot information on observed weather areas, and the specialist at the AFSS to provide the pilot with forecasted adverse weather conditions."

The FSS briefer did advise the pilot about low levels of precipitation with thunderstorm activity along his route of flight.  While the Center controller did not specifically mention adverse weather cautions, he did broadcast a HIWAS message indicating a convective SIGMET in the vicinity of the fatal flight for developing thunderstorms and cloud tops to 44,000 feet.  Such HIWAS messages always instruct the pilot to contact Flight Service or Flight Watch for additional information.  There is no record that the pilot made this contact!

Who is ultimately responsible for the safe outcome of every flight????

More and more law suits are being brought against the FAA, the aircraft manufacturer, and everybody else by the estates of deceased pilots, hoping to affix blame to someone other than the pilot himself.  In this particular case, the pilot was tipped off by the FSS specialist that thunderstorms were occurring along the planned route of flight.  The area forecast, valid at the time of the flight reported "cloud ceiling 3,000 feet scattered to broken, 10,000 feet broken, cloud tops 25,000 feet; scattered to widely scattered thunderstorms, moderate rain showers, thunderstorm tops to 45,000 feet."  A HIWAS alert was broadcast on the pilot's frequency reporting "developing thunderstorms, cloud tops to 44,000 feet."

The mistake was in entering IMC conditions

One wonders if the pilot had any appreciation for the hazards associated with imbedded thunderstorms.  While the NTSB report said that the aircraft was equipped with a storm scope, we do not know if it was either working or if the pilot knew how to use and interpret it. 

The only safe action the pilot should have taken was to turn around and return to VFR conditions.  To proceed blindly into IMC with thunderstorms present, without adequate onboard weather avoidance equipment, is downright dangerous . . . . and, in this case, fatal.

Parenthetically, to affix blame on ATC for accidents such as this, well . . . a stretch.

 

2 Months 3 Weeks 3 Days to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2005!
Wittman Regional Airport, Oshkosh, WI  -  July 25 - 31, 2005

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh earns its distinction as “The World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration” every year. And with the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the history-making air and space vehicles GlobalFlyer and White Knight and SpaceShipOne in action and up close, this year’s installment will more than live up to its billing.

These attractions and so much more await you: from ultralight aircraft to WWII bombers, from antiques to state-of-the-art aircraft, from the best tools to the best how-tos, from aerobats to astronauts, from forums for adults to KidVenture, from the newest products to timeless treasures.

The Very Best Way to Experience Oshkosh . . .

The very best way to experience Oshkosh is to wake up each morning to the smell of 100LL fuel and pungent aroma of Jet-A as is wafts through the camp ground or aircraft camping areas.  There's nothing like the roar of a flight of P-51s or an F-18 on afterburners climbing immediately overhead to arouse you from your early morning sleep.  Fly-in, pitch a tent under your wing, kick back, and enjoy the very best week of the year!

Click HERE for more information.

You may feel comfortable navigating  the familiar airspace around your home drome.  You may even feel confident to fly into that big city airport every so often.  But until you have experienced the rush you get from hop scotching into and out of the New York TRACON's (Terminal Radar Approach Control) "BIG FIVE" airports [Westchester/White Plains; LaGuardia; JFK, Newark, and Teterboro], you haven't truly arrived as a truly proficient  instrument aviator!

In the previous issue of "Over the Airwaves" (OTA) I told of how Steve Barnes and Brian Goldstein of Buffalo, NY engaged in aggressive recurrent training relative to their TAA (Technically Advanced Airplane) Piper Turbo Saratoga.  This week these intrepid pilots decided to put their new found skills to work by participating in my "High Density Airspace Training." 

This training involves five back-to-back instrument arrivals and departures into the world's busiest airports.  Not for the weak or timid pilot, this training pits individual aeronautical skills against the fast talking, take-no-prisoner, very business-like professional air traffic controllers (some with attitude) that control the flow of domestic and international air traffic into and out of the New York metropolitan area.  Do it right and you land in sequence.  Mess it up, you could find yourself on a 60 mile delaying vector! 

Photo (above) showing take-off from JFK (click on it to enlarge.)

Training, Training . . . Training

Flying in and through the New York TRACON  is major league stuff.  Only proficient pilots are welcomed here!  And the only way to become proficient is through lots of recurrent training delivered by experienced flight instructors.

Click HERE for the complete story and photos of this "High Density Airspace Training" trip!

The sad photo (left) is of a Piper Cherokee after making an emergency landing at Seminole-Lake Gliderport during Sun 'n Fun.  Fortunately, the pilot walked away from this crash! Click on photo to enlarge.

Shot by David St. George, MCFI and DPE from Ithaca, NY who witnessed the accident, this photo illustrates what can happen if you make the wrong decision when things don't go as expected!

Here's what David had to say about this accident:

 "A CFI and student landed that Cherokee after experiencing an engine problem (good call...well done!) The next day a mechanic shows up, starts it and after a run-up decides it is fine to fly out!

He only was gone about 10 minutes when he was back in the pattern...unfortunately fast and high (that was Friday, quite windy).  Instead of accepting the over-run, he tried to go-around on three cylinders (this is probably the only time NOT to go-around!)

Anyway it was excruciating watching him labor around the pattern at about 150' and then spin into the swamp (standard skidding base to final turn). The fellow trashed the plane but actually got out with only scrapes and bruises. The right wing impacted a tree then spun him backwards into the swamp. He basically took all the impact going backwards into the seat. We had to go get him before the alligators got on board...think of that when considering survival equipment. This is what our high insurance prices pay for!

Ironically, truly excellent ADM (aeronautical decision making) and skill was followed by very bad decision-making. Additionally, when the situation demanded a higher level of skill, it was not there. This is my answer to pilots in training that want to know "why are we doing this...I'll never do this?" Real experience gives the test first then provides the lesson!"

Below is a post script related to this accident sent to me by David:

"I guess the lesson for me, and I know you are of the same ilk, is first a pilot must exercise good risk management.  If you fail in this regard, a pilot often needs skills that exceed their usual "performance envelope."  This is why training (with a good CFI) in things "I would never try alone" is necessary on a regular basis. No pilot (none of us) can safely test and expand their own limits. This needs to be done cautiously with an experienced CFI.  This is why I am down in Florida learning gliders and towing...more tools in the toolbox!  (This is why you went to the emergency maneuver training too I assume!)  This accident pilot was guilty of a poor decision and then lacked the resources to extricate himself.  Fortunately he had an "angel on his shoulder" and walked away with only cuts and bruises."                                                                                            -- David St. George, MCFI, DPE, Ithaca, NY

 

Nothing that I encounter as a flight instructor is as surprising to me as the remarkable loss of both knowledge and skill exhibited by pilots coming to me for a BFR or rental aircraft check ride after several months or more of a lapse of flying.  For many of these pilots, it's like starting all over again!

For example, even simple tasks like properly recovering from a stall appears to be an entirely new experience to them.  Proper spin recovery?  Well . . . they die!  As for knowledge of the national space system, e.g., Class A,B,C,D, E, and G airspace, forget it!  Most haven't a clue of the airspace designation of their departure airport and the weather minimums that must exist for them to operate there!

This is no criticism of the pilot's mental abilities or flying skills . . .

What surprises me is not their absence of knowledge or flying skills.  Rather, what surprises me is the nonproficient pilot's assumption that he or she can climb back into the airplane after a long absence with the same abilities that they once had.  These pilots have no appreciation of the fact that aviating skills are more perishable than over ripe strawberries in October!

Reason why over two-thirds of all GA accidents are attributed to pilot error . . .

There are many reasons why we continue to experience over 500 general aviation fatalities annually.  Among them is the lack of recent flight experience.  I know if I climb back into the cockpit with more than a two week absence (as occurred to me this past winter as a result of a broken leg), I feel strangely uncomfortable with my surroundings.

This problem is severely compounded with instrument flight.  If I haven't been on the gauges in the clag in the past 30 days, my hands get sweaty when I have to wrestle with the needles when flying down to minimums.

Solution:  Fly frequently!

Frequent flying does NOT mean flying every 90 days or so.  Instead, it means going up every week to really stay proficient.  If you can't do this, then be sure to fly at least two times a month.  If you can't do this, find a current flying buddy with whom you can go up and re-acquire your proficiency.  If you can't do this, then hire a CFI.  And if you can't do this, seriously consider surrendering your pilot certificate!

Harsh words . . . but they will save your life!

Sure . . . taking off and flying around the patch isn't all that difficult.  That's not what kills pilots.  What kills pilots (and passengers) is the absence of knowledge and skill to safely extricate oneself from an unusual attitude, or declining weather (think . . . JFK Jr.), or whatever other emergency comes your way.  The solution is easy.  Go out and fly, and fly often!

How low can you go?  Such a simple question, yet such a major reason for aviation accidents!  Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) where perfectly good airplanes are flown into the ground or into obstacles continues to take far too many pilot lives.

Some of the reasons for this include:

Scud Running:  "It's too bad to fly IFR, I'll scud run home VFR instead."  This statement has killed more pilots that we'd like to think about.  It involves a ground-hugging flight, just below low clouds and often in low visibility.  It's generally an unseen tower that gets these errant pilots.

Lack of Position Awareness:  The absence of precise position awareness, especially when close to the ground or in the vicinity of mountains or rising terrain is leading cause of CFIT accidents.  Given the ready availability of portable moving map GPS units, especially those like the Garmin 296 with its terrain avoidance feature, the absence of position awareness should quickly become a thing of the past!

Aerial Showmanship (Buzzing):  Showing off by flying low (buzzing) over people or buildings is about the dumbest thing a pilot can do.  Unseen obstacles, overstressing the airplane, and aggressive pull-ups that result in stall/spin accidents are the frequent consequences of this dangerous kind of flying.

Sec. 91.119: Except when necessary for takeoff or landing, no person may operate an aircraft below the following altitudes: (a) Anywhere. An altitude allowing, if a power unit fails, an emergency landing without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface. (b) Over congested areas. Over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over any open air assembly of persons, an altitude of 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft. (c) Over other than congested areas. An altitude of 500 feet above the surface, except over open water or sparsely populated areas. In those cases, the aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure.

 

It's no secret to the experienced aircraft owner that the most hazardous time to operate an aircraft is immediately following its return from maintenance.  A loose fitting, an improperly torqued nut, a tool left behind, or any combination of mechanic-induced errors can lead to serious problems during that first flight out of the shop.

A Cessna 177RG pilot learned this lesson the hard way!

Our hapless pilot had ordered a pre-buy inspection on his C-177RG (Cardinal) this past February in Fargo, ND.  An oil change and filter replacement was included in this pre-buy inspection.   Apparently satisfied with the inspection, the pilot climbed in, fired up, and took off.  About 30 seconds after lift off, then engine seized and the pilot made a force landing on a nearby highway.  He struck a light post and an automobile resulting in serious injuries.

What the pilot apparently failed to notice was the four foot wide oil slick left on the taxiway run-up area just before he took off.   This proved to be the key for investigators in determining what went wrong.

Improperly installed oil filter!

Here's an extract from the NTSB accident report on this crash:

"The oil filter canister was removed and approximately 1/4 of the canister base gasket circumference was observed to be displaced (folded) to the inside of the canister sealing surface. No leaks were noted after the gasket was repositioned and the canister was reinstalled and torqued to 15 ft/lbs."

The mechanic's error in installing the oil filter and a falsified statement saying he leak-checked the aircraft was considered so grievous that the FAA revoked the mechanic's ticket under an emergency order filed April 4th. The mechanic filed a challenge to the order on April 18th. It was turned down by the government. 

Know Thy Mechanic . . .

Airframe and power plant mechanic's undergo rigorous experience and testing requirements before the FAA issues them their A&P license.  But, like anybody else, some A&Ps are good and some are better.  Unfortunately, there are a few mavericks A&Ps out there that can cause you serious grief.  Beware!  The important lesson is . . . no matter how good you believe your A&P to be, it's YOUR NECK!  Trust . . . but verify!

Many thanks to reader and active contributor, Dan Maloney, Northwest Airlines B-747 pilot, for sending in the this photo taken by an Anchorage, Alaska newspaper reporter.  Look carefully and you will see a bald eagle in tree as a B-747 freighter lifts off immediately overhead.  (Click on the photo to enlarge it to full screen.)

Romantics will quickly note that this photo represents the span of man's efforts to fly from watching the birds to the invention of the airplane.

Thanks, Dan, for sharing this photo with us.

 

This event will be packed with lot's of worthwhile seminars.  One seminar of particular interest to many pilots will be presented on Saturday, May 7 at noon at the Rochester, NY Airport by aviation attorney, Dean Drew.  See box below:

"I Just Want to Break Even": The Perils and Pitfalls of '"Sharing" Your Aircraft. by Dean Drew, Aviation Attorney The most common methods of getting some help with ownership and operation expenses: 1. Lease back to a flight school or FBO. 2. Co-ownership (as distinguished from partnership). 3. Putting ownership of the aircraft in a corporation or limited liability company and issuing minority stock or membership interests to a limited number of qualified pilots. 4. Creating what is commonly referred to as a "private club" by having up to three non-owner pilots named on the owner's insurance policy.   Each of these options has advantages and disadvantages. Not surprisingly, the more costly options are the least likely to lead the owner into trouble with the FARs or cause them to lose insurance coverage, and vice versa. Dean's talk will include how each method is structured, its major functional and financial advantages and disadvantages and its FAA and insurance ramifications. This topic will have fairly broad interest among pilots and aircraft owners. It involves both FAR issues (Part 47 - title and ownership and Part 91 - expense sharing) and non-FAR issues (liability protection of corporations and limited liability companies, co-ownership do's and don'ts, and insurance ramifications).

For more information on this weekend event, click HERE.

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Monday, May 30, 2005
Akron Airport (9G3), Akron, NY
8am 'till Noon

This annual event marks the true beginning of the summer flying schedule here in Western New York.  Fly-in, drive-in, bike-in, or walk-in . . . anyway you arrive will be rewarded with a hearty breakfast, lots of airplanes to look at, and friendly folks to laugh with.  I'll be flying demo rides.  Stop by and say hello!

Don't miss this "rain or shine" event!!!

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The Mid Atlantic Air Museum
World War II Weekend Airshow
June 3-4-5, 2005

Reading Airport, Reading, PA

This is one great adventure!  I and several pilot friends flew into the event last year.  It is one of the very best commemorative WWII events in the nation!

Come and live (or re-live) the colorful reenactment of a WWII airbase, with USO shows, music, mission briefings, and lots of warbirds.

I'll be taking several of my flight students again this year.  Hope to see you there!  Click HERE for details.

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For just about every other aviation event scheduled for Upstate New York, click HERE.

 

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