Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2020 i Flying

The year 2020 has begun with significant efforts by business aviation to promote and use sustainable aviation fuel (discussed in this issue in Peter Garrison’s Technicalities). It continues to build onto the momentum displayed at the National Business Aviation Association’s Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition this past fall in Las Vegas, which saw manufacturers including Gulfstream, Embraer, Textron Aviation and Honda Aircraft Company powering their displays and other aircraft, at least in part, on SAF. For example, Gulfstream flew its fleet directly from Savannah’s Hilton Head airport in Georgia to Las Vegas’ Henderson Executive Airport, site of the show’s static display. The company says these were its first carbon-neutral flights using a blended sustainable aviation fuel and carbon offsets. Use of the 30-70 blend (with 30 percent low-carbon, drop-in SAF…

As a kid, I was lucky to go on a lot of family vacations. Colorado, California, Florida—wherever we went, I always angled for the window seat on airplanes, eager to watch the earth disappear under me during takeoff. I was that kid who was brought up into the cockpit to meet the pilot and copilot, marveling at all the shiny knobs and dials and levers, knowing that, one day, I wanted to be a pilot. In those days, for me, the journey was its own reward. The best parts of those vacations were the flights there and the flights back. Yeah, there were memories made in between, but from the moment I arrived at the airport, I was ready for adventure. While I was in college at Villanova University in…

WEATHER IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST VARIABLES IN GENERAL AVIATION FLIGHT AND A CONTRIBUTING CAUSE OF MANY ACCIDENTS. WHILE THERE IS NO WAY FOR US PILOTS TO CONTROL THE WEATHER, WE CAN MODIFY OUR FLIGHT PATHS TO PREVENT UNPLANNED ENCOUNTERS WITH MOTHER NATURE. Fortunately, doing so has become a lot easier in the past few decades. With the recent implementation of ADS-B, we have access to live weather information, either on a panel-mounted device or a tablet, without paying for a monthly subscription. As a budding pilot two decades ago, I didn’t have the luxury of live weather in the cockpit or multiple apps or websites from which to obtain weather data. Pilots had to get their weather forecasts and reports from local flight service stations—FAA offices focused on providing…

While studying meteorology at the University of Hawaii in the 1970s, Cyndhi Berwyn began flying gliders. In her senior year, the US Air Force decided to allow women to become pilots in the service. After she competed for a slot and was selected as one of the first women in that program, she became an Air Force instructor, flying T-37s and T-38s. Her career made a roaring start. During her Air Force years, Berwyn continued to build general aviation experience by flying hot air balloons, seaplanes and helicopters, before joining the Air Force Reserve flying KC-10s once her active duty was over. At about the same time, she was hired as a pilot for FedEx, where she has been employed for the past 34 years. Through her career at FedEx,…

The striking Horten HX-2 flying wing that was unveiled in Friedrichshafen, Germany, in April 2018 has completed the initial stages of its flight testing and continues to progress through ground-vibration and flutter testing at Horten headquarters near Eisenach. During the initial flight tests, the HX-2 was flown at speeds up to 124 mph and has returned promising preliminary data. The Horten HX-2 is a two-seat, tailless light aircraft without a fuselage. When flown at the long-range cruise speed of 87 mph, the HX-2’s 100 hp Rotax 912 iS Sport engine demonstrated a fuel burn of 2.64 gallons per hour. With 64.4 gallons of fuel capacity, this translates into a preliminary range of 2,123 miles and an endurance of over 24 hours. Horten predicts a maximum cruise speed of approximately 170…

I FIRST FLEW A PILATUS PC-12 MODEL 10 BACK IN 2008 AND FOUND IT MADE A NICE, STABLE INSTRUMENT PLATFORM. AT 270 KNOTS, IT WAS NO JET, BUT A WALK THROUGH THAT GARGANTUAN CABIN ON THE GROUND WITH THE MASSIVE REAR CARGO DOOR OPEN MADE NO BONES ABOUT THE AIRPLANE’S ABILITY TO CARRY TONS OF STUFF. I think I called it an airborne Chevy Suburban. Pilatus chief pilot Jed Johnson offered a more descriptive tag line when I was in Broomfield, Colorado, for a December 2019 visit to Pilatus Business Aircraft, calling it a “turbine Suburban.” No matter what nickname you give it, the PC-12 is famous for being able to haul a couple of Harleys and a few passengers out to a dirt strip and back (see “A Little…

1 Look at the trends. How has the shape of the storm changed in the recent past? In which direction is it going? Storm cells can change course or grow. Don’t get yourself stuck with no point of return. 2 Stay upwind of the storm. If you fly downwind, you’re essentially flying into the storm. Lightning, turbulence and other dangerous weather phenomena can extend well beyond the edge of the precipitation. 3 Respect the colors. Just because a colorful area on the screen is small doesn’t mean it won’t take you down. Stay well clear. 4 Call an expert. If you have trouble understanding a weather pattern during your preflight, call 800-WX-BRIEF. The expert can clarify the data to help you make a go/no-go decision. 5 Wait it out. You…

GARMIN Full functionality of the GI 275 comes with a multi-unit installation, to deliver traffic, weather and terrain information in addition to navigation and engine-monitoring data. If you’re in love with the look of the traditional six-pack in your airplane—or don’t want to spend the cash on a new instrument panel—but want to incorporate the latest in glass multifunction capability into your cockpit, a new solution just dropped that satisfies that very desire. In January, Garmin debuted an electronic flight instrument, the GI 275, that offers a drop-in replacement solution for standard 3.125-inch round-panel installations in legacy aircraft. The lightweight GI 275 features multiple functions, essentially serving as four instruments in one, including attitude and navigational data, as well as engine indications. The instrument can be installed singly or in…

When Pilatus—then maker of the famous Turbo Porter single-engine STOL aircraft—announced the PC-12 in 1989, it saw the design as a highly efficient workhorse perfect for the utility, cargo and commuter airline, as well as air-ambulance segments. The first PC-12 prototype flew on May 31, 1991, with certification by the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation on March 30, 1994. The FAA’s nod followed on July 15, 1994. Three decades later, it would be tough to look at the more than 1,750 PC-12s produced as anything other than a dream come true. The PC-12 was certified to Part 23 standards to ensure the aircraft would be marketable in the US. That regulation demands a stall speed no greater than 61 knots: a problem easily solved with the PC-12’s big 70-percent-wingspan…

I FEEL THE PULL OF THE CESSNA 182’S CHANGING LIFT VECTOR AS I TURN TO ORBIT JUST SOUTH AND EAST OF KPHL AT 500 FEET. We’re observing the changes along the New Jersey banks of the Delaware River—a very different “Jersey Shore”—and marking them with a string of photos across the water from the Philadelphia International Airport. At the same time, Philly Tower asks us to stay east of the final approach to Runway 35 for traffic, a landing Embraer 145, and we’re all watching for power lines, cell tower and birds. We brief the emergency bird-avoidance maneuver—if the bird appears motionless and grows larger, pitch up hard because birds tend to dive—and we almost use it. LightHawk volunteer pilot Steve Kent negotiated our low-level path along the river as…

This past year, International Jet Aviation transformed their Learjet 35 into a rainbow named Dream Chaser 5. The cheerful airplane was used to give rides to children with life-threatening medical conditions in support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Launching from International Jet’s home base in Denver, the tour stopped at five additional cities around the western US for Make-A-Wish events. Before each flight, children were able to sit in the flight deck and chat with the pilots. After landing, they were given the opportunity to sign their names on the side of the Learjet’s fuselage. At the culmination of the tour in Denver, the Learjet was retired from service. Lynn Krough and Brian Smith of International Jet have been giving back via aviation with the Dream Chaser program since 1990.…