Plane & Pilot June 2016

“The biggest factor that creates new planes and new pilots, however, is always the same: new technology.” The new Plane & Pilot stands for a lot of things the old brand did, including our embrace of low-and-slow and alternative forms of committing aviation. Beyond that, we stand for a few more beliefs that bear comment, some of which are right in line with what P&P has always believed and shouted that fact loudly. Others are things we always believed, but never said out loud, and still others, as you see, approach flying from a different perspective. Here you go, and please, after you’re done, I’d love to get your feedback. My email address is rgoyer@madavor.com. WE’RE ABOUT THE FLYING While others lose their way into the worlds of drones and…

Total number of “airports” in 1903: 1 Total number of U.S. airports in 2014: 19,299 Total number of U.S. airports in 1980: 15,161 Number of public-use airports in 2014: 5,145 Number eligible for federal funding: 3,300 Number of public-use airports in 1980: 4,814 Number of airports used by U.S. in support of WWII: 2,308 State with the most public-use airports: Texas, 393 State with the fewest public-use airports: Rhode Island, 7 Oldest U.S. active airfield: College Park Airport, Maryland (KCGS), established in 1909 Oldest U.S. continuously operating commercial field: Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, Minnesota (KMSP), since 1920 Busiest GA airport: Van Nuys, California (KVNY), 250,000+ annual operations Number of towered U.S. airports in 2014: 516 Number of towered U.S. airports in 1974: 417 Highest-elevation airport in the 50 United States:…

Pilot POV The lightweight 360fly camera ($399.99) makes it simple to share your unique view of the world from the cockpit—you can wear it or mount it to just about anything—providing an immersive 360º HD video of your flight. With WiFi, a Bluetooth interface and included 360fly app (download required), you can edit content, instantly or later, to share from a mobile device to social media. The tiny, rugged 360fly is resistant to sweat, rain, liquid, sand and dust. The camera features a built-in mic and 32 GB of internal storage, and includes a USB cable, tilt mount, lanyard and neoprene pouch. iOS 9 and later/Android 4.4 and later are supported. • 360fly.com  • sportys.com/pilotshop Glare Killer We love using our iPads in flight, but the glare from tablets can render them…

In what’s one of the most intriguing pilot gear product introductions of the last several years, Lake Oswego, Oregon-based innovator Lightspeed Aviation is now shipping its Lightspeed Tango wireless headset ($800). You may have read a review of the headset in a major aviation magazine, one that concluded that wireless was a great idea, but that the Tango headset proved the technology wasn’t there yet to support the concept in the electronically busy and spatially challenging space that is the cockpit of a small plane. I’ve been using Lightspeed headsets for a long time now, and I know they have set the bar high with their remarkable Zulu PFX active noise-canceling headset, so I was surprised and curious to see what the deal was. To the airport! I conducted the…

AVIAT A-1C HUSKY 1 Uninjured The pilot reported he was practicing touch-and-go landings. When the airplane touched down on the runway, the airplane veered to the right, he applied left rudder, but had applied too much and the airplane veered to the left. The pilot reported that he applied right rudder, but had once again used too much and the airplane ground-looped to the right, and departed the runway surface. The left main landing gear collapsed and the left wing impacted the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left aileron. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. PROBABLE CAUSE: The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll, which…

“It’s okay to say no. For any reason. Even if it’s just that you’re too tired to do the flight, say no. If the airplane has an equipment problem...say no.” Imagine yourself with a flight planned for the morning that will take you from Michigan to Texas and back in the same day. You expect icing along the route, but you’re flying a known-icing-equipped aircraft; however, it won’t climb above the weather. There will be thunderstorms along the route that you hope will be out of the way before you get to that section of the route. After the stop in Texas, your return trip is going to bring you back to a different place in Michigan that was experiencing a snowstorm at the time of your original departure—in fact,…