Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2018 i Plane & Pilot

Person behind RV phenomenon: Richard VanGrunsven Nicknames: “Van,” “Dick” Profession: engineer Aeronautical ratings: ATP Total time: more than 12,000 hours Origin of first RV (RV-1): modification of Stits Playboy RV-2: wooden flying wing glider (never flew) RV-3: single-seat all-metal, low wing sport plane Serial kit production, RV-3: 1971 First “factory:” small shop behind founder’s home Location: Reedville, Oregon (where VanGrunsven still resides) Current factory: 60,000-sq. ft. facility in Aurora, Oregon Distance between the two: 33 miles Time to travel between by car: 36 minutes Van’s commuting method: “whatever RV strikes his fancy” Number of basic designs produced: 9, the RVs 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 and 14 How many available only in a nose gear version: two, the RV-10 four-seater and RV-12 LSA Main option with most…

ACROSS 1 V10 maker, 2 words 6 To get these letters, you need to pass FOI 8 Light Sport amphib from Brazil, 2 words 11 Observe 12 New tach reading 13 Almost heading to the pole 14 INOP 15 Tries out 18 What you do after a long cross country 19 What you tell the tower you are, for takeoff 22 Hawaii welcome 23 Pilot of the future? 25 School org 27 If you hear the thunder do this, you are too close 29 Maker of Comanches and Apaches 30 Regs are different here, supposedly 32 Almost heading to the pole, in the other direction 33 Magical mach number for Chuck 34 A&P equals this for airplanes 35 What airlines are supposed to keep DOWN 1 Makers of 10,000 completed…

Like other students contemplating their first check ride, I’d heard the tales from the crypt about examiners. Legend had they were all mean enough to frighten Hannibal Lecter into retirement. Needless to say, I was not looking forward to this day. With the mere mention of the word “check ride,” the nerves hit me, chills down the spine and beads of perspiration on my brow, heart beating faster than the drummer at a heavy metal concert. Yet, with some sadistic, perverse anticipation, I was ready to welcome the day with the examiner. Months of preparation, countless hours of study, and many dollars invested to learn what comes naturally to birds were not to be wasted on check ride day. Standing on the tarmac, glancing up at the clear blue sky,…

It’s often said that habits get started early in life and stick with us. Unfortunately, that’s true for habits both good and bad. So it’s important to develop good habits early and nurture them while learning how to keep from picking up bad habits along the way. If you’re a pilot, you understand how fundamental it is to develop good habits and how critical it is to undo the bad ones. I understood all of this in my teens, even if I wasn’t good at executing on the plan. It wasn’t until I started my primary flight training that I started to really get it, that I understood that to become a good and safe pilot, I needed to develop good habits more effectively than I could in the rest…

ATTENDANCE AT EAA AIRVENTURE 2018 AT RECORD HIGH EAA marked another successful year of the largest GA event in the nation after thousands descended on Oshkosh, Wisconsin, for the annual gathering. This year’s show boasted more than 10,000 incoming aircraft, 40,000 campers and a total of approximately 601,000 visitors. FOREFLIGHT INTRODUCES PORTABLE ADS-B RECEIVER ForeFlight recently made the move into the realm of hardware creation with the unveiling of a new portable ADS-B receiver, known as the Sentry, which uses both 1090ES and UAT (978 MHz) and provides ADS-B traffic, TIS-B weather, NOTAMS and both ground-based and aerial traffic. The unit has a 12-hour battery life and interfaces with the popular ForeFlight app. CESSNA SHOWCASES NEW TURBOPROP MOCK-UP Textron Aviation took the wraps off a Cessna Denali cabin mockup at…

Garmin D2 Delta Watches Garmin’s new D2 Delta models bring a host of additional features to the company’s successful line of aviation watches. The three new options recently unveiled by Garmin include the D2 Delta PX, priced at $1,249, the $899 D2 Delta S, and the D2 Delta Aviator, priced at $949. The Delta PX is the largest of the three and features a built-in pulse oximeter. The D2 Delta is the standard and comes with a brown leather band and black silicon band and a great, euro-classic look. The freshest model is the D2 Delta S, which is significantly smaller than any previous D2 watch. All three come with extensive aviation features, including a high-res moving map, weather radar overlay, airport info, an HSI display and flight plan transfer…

This marks the third year of our Plane & Pilot Plane of the Year recognition for the most impressive design in light GA, and as we knew when we launched the award, new designs in light aviation are not as common as they used to be. Still, this year’s winner is a special plane that took home the hardware after a unanimous vote. The Mooney Ovation Ultra takes the Mooney DNA of speed to burn, great efficiency and butter-smooth flying characteristics and adds what Mooney owners have been dreaming about for decades, a pilot-side door, more space and far easier entry room in back, better visibility all around (but especially in back) and updated avionics, too. The Ovation Ultra is the second Mooney to get recognition from Plane & Pilot.…

All of us want to keep our friends alive, and the newest safety initiative uses the moniker of “loss of control (LOC).” The popular belief is that LOC is synonymous with stall/spin, and the popular panacea is visual angle of attack indicators. But, in fact, low-speed spirals (different from high-speed spirals taught as part of instrument training) can masquerade as and be as vicious as inadvertent spins. Here’s the story of how this was discovered. Three years ago, the Experimental Aircraft Association announced the Founder’s Innovation Prize with a goal of reducing LOC accidents by 50 percent over 10 years, I, like nearly 200 others, started thinking of how to win (and spend) the $25,000 first prize. Maybe half of that first year’s submissions were about ways to measure or…

THE BACKSTORY The controversy, which has been around for at least 70 years, is this: How does one best control airspeed and glideslope on the approach? The approach in question was originally an ILS, though today LPV approaches have a glideslope (technically a “glidepath”) as well. In the seminal aviation how-to book “Stick and Rudder,” written in 1944 by Wolfgang Langewiesche, the author says it’s the counter-intuitive way, pitch for airspeed and power for glideslope. And since then (if not before), this method has had its passionate adherents. THE CONTROVERSY Langewiesche has an almost cult-like following among pilots, and for good reason. “Stick and Rudder” reveals flying in ways that pilots have never thought of before. Many have called the author a genius. We wouldn’t argue with that assertion. Still,…

The most popular flight simulator in the world is X-Plane, but for those who don’t want to be tethered to their computer, there’s a powerful and rewarding alternative—Infinite Flight, a flight sim you can play on your phone. When Infinite Flight co-founder and chief developer Laura Laban talks about her company’s app, she beams with pride. After you try it, you’ll see why. Laban, a tall, self-possessed woman with blonde hair and an air of elegance you’d more expect to see in the fashion world, is herself a pilot. She owns and flies an American Champion Scout and was showing off photos of herself sitting in a CubCrafters XCub at AirVenture Oshkosh. Laban is clearly as passionate for the real thing as she is for the virtual flying experience. Laban…

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2018 is in the books, and the numbers it produced were huge, more than 600,000 attendees, 10,000-plus airplanes, including some spectacular first timers, hundreds of educational forums and seminars, and so much more it’s almost beyond accounting. STARS OF THE SHOW: The Weather: While in the week leading up to OSH everyone was expecting a good weather week, it far surpassed expectations. It got off to a shaky start, though, and low ceilings and widespread storms and IFR conditions across much of the north and east of the country kept the skies around Wittman Regional quiet for the first part of the day before the show, Sunday. This has become an unofficial press day, with numerous media events and company celebrations, including Cirrus’ annual gala, which this…