Innholdsfortegnelse for January - February 2017 i Plane & Pilot

In many ways 2016 was a challenging year for aviation. Sales were down, not catastrophically, but down nonetheless. The numbers of pilots and active pilots continue to decline, and the prices of new airplanes continue to climb, though the features and build quality continue to climb, as well. None of these circumstances is ideal, but these are things that are subject to longterm trends. They can’t be fixed with a single new-pilot program, a quick rule change by the FAA or a couple of big sales to flight schools. Those are good things, granted, but the big problems in aviation are generational, cultural and economic. They are, in short, the kinds of problems that defy emergency solutions. But the good news is this: The solutions for all of those problems…

BELLANCA 7ECA CITABRIA 1 Uninjured The private pilot reported that, during the attempted takeoff from the turf airstrip, the airplane was not at the expected airspeed three-quarters of the way down the runway, and he decided to abort the takeoff. The airplane became airborne momentarily as the pilot applied brakes and aft control input. Once the airplane settled, he was unable to stop it before it overran the end of the runway, and the airplane then impacted two ditches, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. The pilot was departing with a left crosswind and during high density altitude conditions. It’s likely that the density altitude coupled with the turf runway increased the distance required to attain the necessary speed for takeoff. Further, the slight balloon of the airplane as…

The search for the perfect plane is as old as personal flying itself. The difference between today and 1930, to use a random year as an example, is that instead of being limited to a handful of models, there are choices galore for pilots looking to get into a good pair of wings. A surge in flying and airplane building throughout most of the 1960s and 1970s is largely to thank for the tremendous supply of good used airplanes, as is the fact that airplanes, unlike many hard goods, can be fixed and updated in much the same as houses can. Examples of perfectly restored planes from 1903 to present around the world are proof that good airplanes don’t fade away if there’s someone willing to put the effort and…

Piston Twins The market for multi-engine piston planes isn’t a big one, and the number of options for pilots looking to fly with two mills instead of just one is somewhat limited in number, though not in variety. The selection ranges from the four-seat Piper Seminole twin, which is almost exclusively sold as a training solution with its pair of Lycoming O-360 engines, all the way up to the $1.2 million Diamond DA62 diesel twin with FADEC Austro turbocharged diesel engines. In between are just a few new planes, though all of them are remarkable designs in a number of ways that set them apart from their competition. Tecnam P2006T Niche: Training/Utility Base Price: $440,000 Competitors: Piper Seminole, Diamond DA42 Specs SEATS: 4 MAIN CONSTRUCTION: METAL ENGINE/HP: ROTAX 912 S3/100…

“By this time, the airplane was flying at only about 114 knots, with 45 degrees of flaps creating a lot of drag. As soon as the first officer reacted and pulled back, the stall warning stick shaker activated. Several seconds later, the CVR picked up the first sounds of impact.” When NTSB Chairman Christopher A. Hart addressed other board members and staff at a meeting last October, he offered scathing indictments of those who contributed to the crash of a Hawker jet at Akron, Ohio. The accident took place on November 10, 2015, while the British Aerospace HS 125-700A was on a localizer approach to Runway 25 at the Akron Fulton International Airport (KAKR). The airplane hit a four-unit apartment building and burst into flames. All nine onboard were killed;…

“We need experienced instructors to run flight training programs, provide advanced instruction in advanced aircraft, work for federal agencies... Every one of these options requires experience as an instructor that can result in a well-paying career option.” Many see working as a flight instructor as just a low-paying job that a pilot does until they can get enough flight time to take a real job flying an airliner or a business jet. While it may be true that some CFIs see the work as a stepping stone to an airline or a corporate gig, there are many alternate career opportunities for CFIs. These can result in otherwise unrealized aviation career benefits, especially for someone who really enjoys teaching and helping others experience the learning process of becoming a pilot. WHAT…

Welcome to the Plane & Pilot 2017 Aviation Buyer’s Guide issue. As you’ll soon see, in this year’s guide we approach the market in a slightly different way than in years past, focusing on major players in some of the different market segments we cover and sticking with products that are outstanding performers over the years, like the Bose A20 Aviation Headset, or that for some reason have earned special attention. This recognition might be due to a product having innovative features (like the Lightspeed Tango 2 wireless headset), making a noteworthy impact in their segment (like the new CubCrafters XCub) or simply by generating excitement in the market (like the Diamond DA62). So think of the Plane & Pilot Buyer’s Guide for 2017 as a greatest hits collection of…

Headsets The state of the art in headsets has advanced tremendously since many of us started flying, thanks to the work of longtime and startup headset makers, some of whom got their start in fields other than aviation and others who have been on pilots’ heads forever. These days the leading headsets feature active noise cancellation, to electronically cancel out exterior noise in ways that are innovative and effective. High levels of noise attenuation used to mean bulky earcups and high clamping forces, but no more. Thanks to their use of new materials and designs, headset manufacturers have made their products more comfortable than ever. Here’s a rundown of the top headsets and a few great lower-cost alternatives. AKG AV100 Specs PRICE: $850 TYPE: ACTIVE NOISE-CANCELLING WEIGHT: 12.16 OZ. NOISE…

I know. Before you spool up your Mac or activate your Acer, yes, I’m the guy who has recommended repeatedly that everyone fly higher in the interest of better fuel economy. As the writer of a dozen or so stories on how to save fuel and continue to fly in an era of $5/$6 avgas, I’ve stressed over and over how you can nearly always reduce your fuel consumption (and, therefore, your operating cost) by 10% to 20% if you simply fly higher, where 55% to 60% power is all there is. That means operating at 9500 feet MSL or higher pretty much all the time. Well, perhaps not all the time. I had my early introduction to flying in a remote section of America where we regularly flew quite…

Life-changing moments form memories in vivid Technicolor. That’s how I remember the moment that changed my life. The moment that changed my life trajectory happened over 40 years ago at Maryland Airport (2W5) just south of Washington, D.C. I was 25 years old. It was a lazy weekend summer day. My partner and I were flying, cleaning, polishing and generally fussing over our 1947 Taylorcraft, N6614N, a BC12-4-85. I was a private pilot with about 300 hours total time and no instrument rating. My partner was learning to fly in our airplane—cheaper in the long run than renting (if nothing goes wrong). The moment struck after a comment I made, a thoughtless comment, really, but one launched from a silo hidden deep in my heart—a primordial prayer, formed in an…

A Good Fit The Icom A220 panel-mount transceiver is proving a popular GA option, especially with experimental and light sport pilots. The TSO-approved air-to-ground transceiver works with all certified Part 23 aircraft, and with both 8.33 kHz and 25 kHz channel spacing frequencies. The A220’s bright OLED offers high-contrast visibility and readability, with a wide viewing angle, so a display backlight isn’t required, and the auto dimmer function adjusts for optimum brightness, day or night. The unit also offers a built-in 2-station intercom, 12- or 24-volt compatibility and automatic squelch. Among its many other additional features are a built-in voice-activated intercom function that allows the pilot and co-pilot to talk via headset, easy channel selection, one-touch access to 121.5 MHz emergency frequency, and automatic weather channel scanning and receiving. icomamerica.com…

Single-Engine Piston Planes New to this year’s Plane & Pilot Buyer’s Guide are a couple of airplanes that are major updates of existing singles, as well as an all-new, newly Part 23-certificated model by CubCrafters. The product that continues to dominate the market is the Cirrus SR22 G6, which this year boasts its best panel yet, the updated G1000 NXi. Despite relatively low levels of sales against historic figures, the number of different options for potential buyers of singles remains impressive. You can get anything from a 120-knot taildragger with big tires to a pressurized six-place screamer, and most everything else in between. Here’s our selection of the leading piston singles on the market. Piper M350 Niche: Pressurized piston retractable gear Price: $1.15 million Competitors: None Specs SEATS: 6 MAIN…

Hot Light Sport Aircraft Since the debut of the Light Sport category more than a decade ago, the segment has grown into one that has proven its promise of opening up manufacturing to many, many more companies by the common-sense easing of certification standards for light and modest-performing models. The real surprise to many has been the incredible variety of models that emerged from the rules. Truly, would-be LSA owners can find an airplane type to suit their needs, from amphibians to folding-wing trainers to hot-performing backcountry dream machines. The name that dominated press coverage of the LSA market for the last few years, ICON Aircraft, is not in our guide after it announced a year’s production delay, though it has delivered a few airplanes. We look forward to its…

We stand, shoulder to shoulder, gazing up at the sky. With a hand shielding our eyes from the sun, we watch the smoke trail of an airplane flying up, up and over into a perfect loop. A vertical circle in the sky, a loop is a loop, whether flown by a biplane or a Bearcat. Diving for speed, the pilot pulls the stick back and the airplane goes up. It floats over the top and gravity brings it back down, the pilot pulling to level flight. There’s some controversy about who actually flew the first loop. Credit goes to two early aviators, a Russian by the name of Pyotr Nesterov and a Frenchman, Adolphe Pégoud. In 1913, Nesterov flew a loop in a Nieuport IV monoplane at an airfield near…