Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2017 i Plane & Pilot

With the FAA’s adoption of Part 23 reform, a whole new era in general aviation development begins. What does it mean to us as consumers and to the industry? HOW DOES IT WORK? The new system will work like a more regulated form of what the Light Sport Aircraft regs introduced a decade ago. The regs are just for small planes, which the rewrite classifies using the accepted cutoff of 12,500 pounds. That’s the somewhat arbitrary but long-accepted weight divide between light aircraft, which are covered under Part 23 and Part 25 Transport Category aircraft (there’s a middle ground, too, the hybrid Commuter Category for planes heavier than 12,500 pounds, but with 19 seats or fewer). Most of the planes we think of as owner-flown (or potentially so) aircraft fit…

RAINBOW SKY REACH BUSHCAT 2 Uninjured The pilot reported that he took off in meteorological conditions after being weathered in for two days. He further reported that while en route to the destination he encountered deteriorating weather conditions and opted to land at a nearby field to allow the weather to pass. The pilot reported that the terrain looked “manageable and smooth enough to land on.” He landed using a soft field landing technique, but during the landing roll the nosewheel dug into the grassy terrain, which resulted in a nose over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported that there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. A review of the recorded data…

Because low noise is one of electric airplanes' biggest strengths, we might be looking at a Golden Age of quiet-aircraft development. Raron, Switzerland: This little Alpine village, also the final resting place of the celebrated poet Rainer Maria Rilke, is tucked away in the Canton of Valais. Here, you can almost hear him polishing his lines: “To write a single verse, you must first see many towns, people and things; you need to know the animals, and feel how the birds fly.” A few nautical miles from the mythical Matterhorn and Zermatt is theSwiss ex-Air Force base at Raron. The runway is now in civil use, bounded by steep mountains north and south within the narrow east-west section of the River Rhône valley. Here, you become immediately aware of why…

In my 30 years of medical practice, patients have been generally so appreciative and polite that it’s hard for me to find out if there are problems with my practice. I can’t fix what I don’t know about. Despite all the flak you get as President, I suspect people don’t offer much in the way of constructive criticism, either. Therefore, I will. First, to President Obama personally: Now that you’re no longer President and can visit the island without mangling our airspace, we hope that you’ll come back as President Clinton has sometimes done. We loved having you here and will love it even more without the hassle factor. To U.S. Presidents, present and future: Pilots I interviewed suggest that vacation is a wonderful time for new experiences. They understand…

“The 210 pilot again radioed that he had the Sea Fury in sight. As the Sea Fury got even closer while remaining slightly below and to the left, the 210 pilot radioed, “Oh, that looks beautiful...I’ve got to get a picture of this.” The Sea Fury pilot tried to discourage him with, “You will not have time.” Then, the 210 abruptly entered a roll to the left, exposing the top of the aircraft’s wing.” I’m going to tell you about one of those accidents where what happened is obvious, but why it happened isn’t, despite what the NTSB says. While two planes were flying close together, one underwent an unexpected maneuver and hit the other. The pilot of the plane that was hit managed to keep it flying and landed…

“When all is said and done, flying well is itself a form of mindful meditation, in that it forces us to stay focused and attentive in the present moment.” It is impossible to get from the bedroom to the bathroom in my house without stumbling across the word “mindfulness” on some book or magazine cover, which is an extraordinary feat because the bedroom and bathroom are connected. It seems as though you can do anything from making your bed to flying an airplane with this mindfulness thing, which, I guess, is the whole point. In the plainest English, mindfulness refers to the idea of being in the present moment, the “here and now” as we said there and then, with some kindness and compassion thrown in, to boot. Sounds simple,…

The aEro is an Experimental category composite single-place aerobatic-capable low-wing monoplane being developed to create a segment in aviation where young people can fly fun and capable airplanes at a much lower cost than is possible today. » WING SPAN: 24 FT » LENGTH: 20.37 FT » WING AREA: 93.97 FT² » WING LOADING: 9.63 LBS/FT² » LANDING GEAR: CLASSIC TAILWHEEL FIXED » PROPELLER: THREE-BLADE WOODCOMP, GROUND ADJUSTBALE » MOTOR: ELECTRIC, SIEMENS, 100 KW » MOTOR WEIGHT: 29 LBS » WEIGHT SUPPLEMENTARY INSTALLATIONS: 29 LBS » AIRFRAME WEIGHT: 308 LBS » BATTERY WEIGHT: 352 LBS » EMPTY WEIGHT (INCLUDING BATTERIES, ASSOCIATED FITTINGS AND MOTOR): APPROX. 683 LBS » USEFUL LOAD (PILOT, BAGGAGE): 242 LBS » MTOW: 925 LBS » LOAD FACTOR: + 6G / -4G » MOTOR POWER: 107 HP…

Okay, I admit it. I was introduced to flying in taildraggers. Almost by definition, that dates me to the middle of the last century. Today, there are a diminishing number of conventional-gear airplanes still in production, most targeted at the bush plane or aerobatics markets. When it came time to go shopping for that first airplane in 1966, the least expensive types available had the third wheel mounted beneath the elevator. Most of the immediate post-war candidates were built before 1950, when there were few nosewheel-equipped general aviation airplanes available. No, this isn’t another of those “Real pilots aviate in front of tailwheels, and only wusses fly behind nosewheels” diatribes. While there’s no question tricycle gear has a number of advantages over conventional gear, and versa visa, we’ll leave the…

The weather is not good tonight. Here at the Dakota border, the real temperature is 22 degrees below zero, wind from the west at 18 knots. Yes, the ceiling is unlimited and visibility is a lot farther than 10 miles, but it’s a hard night for flying. On television, the weatherman calls the evening brisk. I have no place to fly tonight, and even if I did I wouldn’t go. This isn’t the kind of weather that would find me up front. My experience is too small. Still, there are a thousand airplanes in the sky this evening. A cup of strong coffee in my hands, I can see them blink their way across the snowfields south of my home. There are passenger planes, cargo planes, charters and sightseers, too.…

Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 The next action cam in Garmin’s lineup is Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 HD, which comes in an aviation-specific edition ($499.99). This camera shoots high definition footage at 4K/30fps with 3-axis image stabilization to keep the video steady in all flight attitudes. Voice control lets the pilot tell the camera to start, stop, and the “remember that” feature allows for tagging specific moments for later ease of access. Other features include LCD color touchscreen, one-touch live streaming, and G-Metrix data capture. The in-cockpit bundle comes with a stereo headset audio cable to capture and embed radio communications in the video footage, a filter for eliminating propeller distortion, and a cage mount for cockpit attachment. The unit is capable of connecting with and receiving flight data from the…

Everest was meant to be climbed and the Antarctic explored. Pushing boundaries is what we do. People are motivated by lots of things—fun, money, the chance to be the first, to prove something to themselves or others, or just “because it’s there.” So, one might ask why would any sane person want to cut a ribbon with a turning propeller while flying 20 feet above the ground upside down? It’s a fair question, but I would reason that the fact that I’ve never questioned the sanity of doing an inverted ribbon cut makes me a perfect candidate to do it! My motivations were all of the above and I craved the challenge. A nice plus was that I would be the second woman in history to do it after Betty…