Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2023 i Flying

ON THE SHORTEST night of the year, it’s easy to stage a sunset photo op. When you can combine it with a required return-to-service engine run, all the better. Yukon Sourdough, a 1942 Douglas C-47A converted to a DC-3C and once owned by Air North, came back to life after a long slumber in July 2022. At the time, it had not been flown since 2009. Since then, the yellow-and-green Douglas flew to EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh last summer and around to local airports, drumming up excitement—and fundraising. The cause? Its bid to be amongst the fleet that plans to traverse the Atlantic Ocean once more for the 2024 commemoration of the Normandy Invasion, as part of the D-Day Squadron. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 Twin Wasp engines,…

ON DECEMBER 3, 2021, a student pilot, 23, went from his home in Katy, Texas, to Cincinnati, Ohio, to take possession of a Piper Cherokee 140 that he had purchased. Surveillance video at West Houston Airport (KIWS) recorded that on his return, his fiancee and a third person emerged from the airplane with him. The next day he put 40 gallons of fuel into his airplane, and the day after that he flew it in the traffic pattern for 20 minutes. On December 6, he called his flight instructor, with whom he had hitherto flown only in Cessna 172s, to ask whether his training could continue in the Cherokee. The instructor agreed, contingent on his looking over the airplane and its maintenance logs. On the evening of the 8th, after…

One of the hazards of being a pilot is the potential for hearing loss. This goes back to the early days of aviation—Amelia Earhart is said to have commented on a temporary loss of hearing as a result of long f lights behind a loud radial engine. Prolonged exposure to noise and vibration will take its toll. These days, most pilots are savvy enough to wear some sort of hearing protection every time they f ly, whether it be earplugs when they are in an open cockpit biplane that lacks an electrical system, or noise-canceling mega-buck headsets in a jet. FLYING put a few of the more popular designs through our testing gauntlet. DAVID CLARK DC SERIES David Clark, the Worcester, Massachusetts-based company, has been manufacturing “headset communication systems for…

Somewhere a little south of the halfway point between St. Louis and Indianapolis is Olney, Illinois. You might be asking, what makes this a relevant point for flying? Honestly, it has nothing to do with the town. Instead, it’s all about the airport’s instrument approach options and how you would know about them as an IFR pilot. You can fly at least one approach at this airport without the use of GPS, or even DME. And you don’t have to be psychic or sift through every airport and all the approaches they have to know this. You can tell by the note on the IFR enroute low altitude chart denoting “MON,” or minimum operational network, over the airport information box. TRANSITION TO MON VORS The FAA is decommissioning a significant…

YESTERDAY I FLEW our Cessna Citation CJ1 single pilot from Austin, Texas, to Tampa, Florida. The weather was good at both ends, but a cold front with thunderstorms reaching upwards of 45,000 feet into the sky lay in wait across the route. At FL 390 only a minor deviation was required and our flight time was only a few minutes more than forecast. We were home safe by 3 p.m. Today I cannot make that flight as a single pilot. My almost 7,000 hours, of which 2,000 are in that type of jet—and the Wright Master Pilot Award, are of no help. My recurrent training, the FAR 61.58 single-pilot check ride, is only a month old, but the insurance industry has deemed me too old to fly single pilot. I…

AS AN IFR STUDENT again, I’m still honing some rusty skills for the practical test. Hand flying my “no-autopilot” 1956 Cessna 180 with original “steam” gauges has proved to be a lesson in practice, humility, and patience. After seven logbooks showing about 14,000 hours—including 6,000 dual given in a wild array of airplanes and lots more as an examiner—it’s humbling! Whatever, here I am, 40 years after my last check ride, struggling to master IFR procedures with a Garmin GNS 430 and ForeFlight on an iPad mounted on the yoke. So this morning’s reading at Mass, about an Old Testament figure, Naaman, hit home—vividly. A renowned and proud warrior, Naaman contracted leprosy and went to Israel where, supposedly, a prophet could cure him of the dreaded disease. But instead of…

THE CLASSIC BACKCOUNTRY hauler never did tuck in for the winter months—in fact, the de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver feels made for skis and glacier flying up north. FLYING featured a 1955 model on the cover of the February 1959 issue, a true “workhorse of the north” celebrated in its pages: “The Beaver illustrated on the cover is owned by Wardair, Ltd., a typical Canadian bush air service, in Yellowknife Northwest Territory. Its operations extend into the Yukon and consist of flying mine prospectors, fur traders, medical teams, as well as transporting entire beaver colonies, musk oxen, and the baiting of wolves.” The 1952 L-20A model shown above is flown out of Talkeetna, Alaska, by Sheldon Air Service and was originally designated a U-6A, flown by the U.S. Air Force until…

WE HAD ALL BEEN HERE BEFORE—hundreds of reporters from around the globe, waiting for the world’s most powerful rocket to ignite and begin humanity’s journey back to the moon. It was a peaceful evening on the Florida coast, despite the hurricane that had passed through just days earlier. NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) had experienced setback after setback, from its initial rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to the last moments before liftoff. Standing at 322 feet, taller than the Statue of Liberty, the SLS was designed to take humans farther than ever before. According to NASA, the rocket can send over 27 metric tons to the moon. In a single launch, it could carry the Orion spacecraft, with four astronauts and an abundance of supplies, to its lunar…

CONSIDERING A CAREER as a professional pilot? Would you like to get there sooner rather than later? If the answer is yes, an accelerated training program may be right for you. FLYING Magazine reached out to several providers to see how they go about training the next generation of aviators in the most expedient manner. These programs are offered all over the country. Some are designed to take someone from zero to 1,500 hours in approximately two years or less. Others offer finish-up or time-building opportunities. Accelerated programs often have a pipeline to air carriers that provide tuition assistance to cover the cost of training with the understanding the applicant will come work at that airline. These schools are not inexpensive—expect to pay roughly $70,000 or more, depending on the…

The mid-1950s were an interesting time for Cessna. The taildragger era was drawing to a close, tricycle gear was taking over, and the marketing team was hard at work identifying and addressing gaps in their product offerings. The small trainer role was evolving from the 120 and 140 to the 150, and the light four-place role was evolving from the 170 to the 172 and 182. This left the question of what to do for the larger, higher-performance single-engine market. After Cessna discontinued production of the big radial-powered 190 and 195 taildraggers in 1954, the company was left with the 180 and 185 to fill that category and saw there would be a market for large, capable piston singles with tricycle gear. Their solution? The retractable-gear 210, introduced in 1960,…

The town of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, may not be instantly recognizable to most. Some readers of FLYING Magazine may only fully understand its significance once I mention that it is the county seat of Lycoming County. Then it suddenly clicks. Yes, that Lycoming. Situated deep in the Pennsylvania Wilds Region, Williamsport is well known among the general public for hosting the Little League World Series each year. There is even a museum dedicated to Little League Baseball. Although the Lycoming factory may not make headlines, the company has quietly established itself as one of the cornerstones of general aviation. In an industry that has seen its fair share of entities rise and fall, the fact that Lycoming Engines not only still exists—but remains an industry leader—provides a testament to its brand.…

GREAT NEWS, FRIENDS: This week, my airline agreed to a record-breaking pilot contract. Among other golden nuggets, it contains an eye-watering 88 percent raise for new first officers and a nearly-as-impressive 61 percent raise for captains! Now, before you rush down to your local Western Union to wire congratulatory telegrams, I should clarify that this agreement does not apply to yours truly and my fellow mainline pilots, but rather to the small-jet crews at our wholly-owned regional airline. I’m quite happy for them, mind you, because they’re a hardworking team. I did their job for a decade for a lot less pay, and I know they’ve earned everything coming to them. But the fact remains that I’m flying under a contract that expired back in 2019, and while the contract in…

IF 2022 REPRESENTED the return to normal, how would you describe the year ahead? I can think of four themes that will capture our focus this year. In many ways, they are continuations of trends that stretch back for years. However, with business and general aviation’s accelerated growth over the last three years, these things are now more urgent. SMS Mandate One priority is the need for widespread adoption of safety management systems in business aviation, as in airline travel. Presently, Part 91 and 135 operators who offer commuter and on-demand operations, and some conducting air tours with various aircraft types, are subject to different requirements. While business aviation has a low accident rate—comparable to airlines—when there is an accident or incident in the business aviation industry, the ensuing corrective…

What compels us to fly, to load up an airplane and strike out for adventure? It’s not just the call of the places we long to fly to, but also the confidence inspired by having a machine matched to the task. One that takes us—and our closest companions and their gear—further and faster and into those special places. There’s a visual pleasure to an airplane that’s well made, too. The effective translation of function into form makes a considerable impression when you approach a well-designed aircraft on the ramp, for one. There’s also the exterior design, enhanced by the choice of paint scheme—and the paint itself. Looking at the Daher Kodiak 900 as I prepared for my demo flight, I couldn’t help but think “frosted cranberries,” though the trade name…

WHAT POWERS THE LATEST AIRCRAFT? Though we’ve answered the question in the pages of FLYING over and over through the years, we’re truly at a crossroads as we begin 2023. While real alternative power sources—such as electric motors enabled by evolving battery solutions or liquid hydrogen—remain firmly in test mode, for the first time since the jet engine debuted, pilots can find new technology in both piston and turbine powerplants in operation on the flight line today. Under the cowl of light sport aircraft, you’ll find a wide range of economical and lightweight engines, including the Rotax 912 series. The German OEM has moved into heavier aircraft with its 915 series, going faster and higher than previous models. Continental has developed its “Continental Diesel” or CD series of Jet A-powered…

AS AN EARLY TEEN I was captivated by images of Rosie the Riveter. She impacted me on multiple levels. For starters, I wanted to marry her, and alongside Linda Carter, of Wonder Woman fame, elicited my earliest feelings of…well, you know. Something about those coveralls, the rivet gun, and her ability to do what was traditionally a man’s job. But she also hit me in another way. She gave me a larger sense of wonder about human beings and our ability to adapt and work together (even though we were at war with another group of humans—my reasoning was still squarely in its nascent stages). This idea that we could achieve gargantuan objectives by first innovating and then cooperating, struck a chord. A slight libertarian streak formed in me. Innovation…

WHEN WE RECEIVED the invitation for the October wedding of our friends’ daughter in Charlottesville, Virginia, the decision to fly our Piper Arrow to the event from Florida was easy. Asking my wife also to ponder a month-long sojourn—connecting with old friends and historic sites before and after the wedding—required further consideration. Despite the Beverly-Hillbillies-with-wings aspect in terms of the bags we’d need, the journey would take us through leaf-peeping season, something we missed after moving out of the northeast. Although I miss having the resources that were available in my airline life, I enjoy the challenge of being my own dispatcher, meteorologist, and travel agent. I’ll admit to being a jack of all trades and master of none. Barring the need for a nap, my favorite copilot is not…

I’VE ARGUED AD NAUSEAM that battery-electric propulsion is poorly suited for most full-scale aircraft applications. To deliver a certain amount of power for a certain length of time requires a weight in batteries 15 times that of conventional fuels. Batteries may serve for flights at low speeds over short distances, such as an hour of student instruction, but they don’t lend themselves to passenger- or cargo-carrying trips of many hundreds of miles at hundreds of miles an hour. For that, you need fuel. Among potential aviation fuels that are not hydrocarbons like gasoline and ethanol, hydrogen is currently the most promising. Seated at the head of the periodic table, hydrogen is the lightest element, a minimalist atom consisting only of a proton and an electron. It is not scarce: three-quarters…