Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2018 i Plane & Pilot

Most popular car in United States, 1977: Chevy Impala Number built: more than 250,000 Cost: $4,876 Most popular airplane, 1970: Cessna Skyhawk Number produced: 759 Cost: $12,500 Average salary United States, 1970: $6,186 Average U.S. salary, 1979: $11,479 Cost of an hour of flight training w/instructor in 1970: about $100 (adjusted to 2017) per hour Average cost in 2017: about $150 per hour Planes produced in 1978: almost 18,000 First true single-pilot capable bizjet: Cessna Citation 500, 1971 Certificated Pilots in the United States in 1970: about 710,000 Certificated pilots in the United States by 1980: 827,071 Student pilots in 1970: approximately 200,000 Student pilots by 1980: about 210,000 Year of Susquehanna flood that wiped out Piper’s Lock Haven, PA, plant: 1972 Casualties of the flood: PA-24 Comanche abandoned, tooling…

A recent accident that claimed the lives of several young “Instagram stars” might hold important lessons for those of us who need to hear them. Which is all of us. Any loss of life in an aviation accident is tragic, but it seems even more so when those we lose have a lot of life in front of them. By now, everyone in aviation has surely heard about the horrible crash in Scottsdale, Arizona, in March in which six young people lost their lives. Several of the occupants have been described in the tabloids as “Instagram stars.” Instagram, for those not familiar with it, is one of the most popular social media apps in the world. Users create a profile and then post photos or short videos of themselves, often…

I’ve always loved fashion. As a young girl growing up in Japan, I drew outfits and gowns and thought that someday I might become a clothing designer. We all had dressmakers there, and my mom and I would pick out designs we liked in fashion magazines and have them made for us. Planning ahead what outfits to wear and accessorize was so much fun. How things have changed. My day-to-day informal uniform consists of jeans, shorts, tees and Teva sandals, with the occasional flight suit. So, what happened?! I chose a life of flying airplanes. Gone from my regular wardrobe are the cute skirts and platform shoes, dangling bracelets, long necklaces and big earrings. My casual outfits today are simple and functional because I have dug many an earring out…

GARMIN BRINGS G1000 NXI TO PHENOM LIGHT JETS Hundreds of Embraer Phenom 100 and 300 aircraft will soon have the opportunity to upgrade to Garmin G1000NXi, which offers the advantages of visual approaches, runway monitoring and map overlay within the HSI. Flight testing of the $60,000 upgrade will begin this fall, with certification expected in spring of next year. BENDIXKING INTRODUCES BUDGET PFD FOR EXPERIMENTALS BendixKing officially branched out into the experimental market in April, when it unveiled the xVue Touch, a 10.1-inch PFD featuring synthetic vision and ADS-B weather. The $5,499 display integrates with the company’s KSN series as well as Garmin’s GTN/GNS series and Avidyne’s IFD navs. HOUSE PASSES FAA REAUTHORIZATION BILL A five-year funding bill that would provide $4.35 billion per year to the Federal Aviation Administration…

Epic Eagle Head Up Display The Eagle Head Up Display from Maryland-based Epic Optix is a portable device that projects key flight data such as airspeed, altitude and vertical speed into a pilot’s line of sight in the cockpit. The HUD works by connecting to either an Android or Apple device and capturing video of any aviation app—such as ForeFlight or Garmin Pilot—and then relaying that data in full color and high definition in front of the pilot. With a brightness level greater than 20,000 nits and a protective glareshield, the Eagle provides a clear display in bright VFR conditions. Priced at $1,999, the Eagle aims to bring the benefits of HUD technology long enjoyed by military pilots—such as increased situational awareness and a reduction in head-down time—into the realm…

Christa, my flight instructor at Atlantic Airways in Leesburg, Virginia, didn’t just teach me how to fly—she taught me how to be a pilot, and for that, I will always be grateful. She was always giving me these little tips and bits of advice that have, over the years since, turned out to be absolute gems. Today, thanks to an ice storm, I had to scrub plans to sneak out of work early and fly the wife up to Nemacolin Woodlands Resort for an early dinner, so instead I made do with making sure my log book was up to date. As I browsed over past entries, one of Christa’s little gems made me smile. “When you log your time, don’t just jot down the bare statistics—aircraft, route, hours, landings—make…

IT DIDN’T LOOK GREAT FOR SUN ‘N FUN THIS YEAR. First, the weather was lined up to cause havoc for early arrivals. On top of that, a tragic, fatal crash of a United States Air Force Thunderbird F-16 in Nevada just a week before the Florida event grounded the precision flying team, forcing it to cancel its planned Sun ‘n Fun appearance as the Air Force looked into the mishap and scrambled to find a replacement demonstration for Sun ‘n Fun. The show announced that it was dedicating the event, said Sun ‘n Fun CEO John Lites Leenhouts, “to supporting the Thunderbird family and honoring their fallen teammate.” The weather did indeed cause issues. The first day of the show was low IFR, meaning that the skies were quiet with…

We taxied onto the runway at Nellis AFB near Las Vegas, and Lt. Col. Tim O’Keefe asked over the intercom, “Are you ready for this, Bill?” “Yes sir, Colonel,” I said. O’Keefe pushed the F-15B’s twin thrust levers up to max military power, and the airplane strained against locked brakes. (In the brief before the flight, O’Keefe had commented that you couldn’t go to full afterburner with brakes locked, or you’d roll the tires against the rims.) The pilot released the binders, and the Eagle’s twin 25,000-pound thrust, P&W F-100 engines launched us down the runway with the enthusiasm of a ZR1 Corvette. O’Keefe rotated the nose and lifted the airplane off the ground in about 500 feet of runway, then lit the afterburners and let the Eagle accelerate at…

ACROSS 1 Most popular GA planes (two words) 7 One of two things a VOR might be telling you 8 A portmanteau for Gary Burrell and Min Kao’s baby 9 A type of cloud or plane 10 Single-engine land, single-engine sea, helicopter, etc. 12 Optional for VFR 14 Purchase 15 Could be monocoque or welded tubing 17 Energy-saving light 18 Approached 21 Military rank grading 23 Key executive, abbr. 24 Southwest’s stock symbol 26 _____ ____ parachute system, 2 words—goes with 13 down 28 Aircraft’s nerve center 29 What parts use the brakes 30 Neat 31 Bombardment proponent, Le ___ DOWN 1 It appears in a bank 2 Not prepared for takeoff, say 3 They form the great blue yonder 4 Engine gauge 5 Areas hardest hit by airline mergers…

Another sparkling day for flying pierced the curtains. Day two of a three-day trip found me in West Texas, rested, walk-ably close to El Paso airport, and excited for an upcoming Bahamas cruise—then only two days away. The fact that I’d braved snowman-cold walking to and fro was no matter. Four legs, and I’d be in Kansas City and only a day away from bon voyage; a simple plan. Only a madcap plot from my Boeing steed—displaying anti-nautical sentiments, perhaps—could make two days feel like two dozen. In the glory days, our fleet consisted of planes built during Duran Duran’s heyday to present-day Georgia losing every conceivable national sports championship. The fact that a “classic” aircraft might have some “issues” was expected and appreciated—it had earned its stripes. Bathrooms not…

Grass strips are magical, I know. We all know that. But it wasn’t just any grass strip. It was a special one, South Lakeland Airpark, just a few miles removed from the din of Sun ‘n Fun, which was at that very moment at full tilt boogie with F-16s putting on a display of sound and fury for tens of thousands of airshow goers. In contrast, at South Lakeland, the only sound was that of a few airplanes flying overhead and an ultralight in the pattern. I was with Tom Peghiny, who for years has handled the U.S. market for Flight Design general aviation. Years before Flight Design came to America, Tom and I would hang out at X49, as he’d show me the moves of the ultralights and microlights…

MY HOME IS LOCATED ON A PUBLIC USE airport in a Colorado mountain valley at an elevation of 8,300 feet. When I step out my front door, I can count seven peaks within seven miles that top 14,000 feet. I also have a clear view of the run-way, parking ramp, fuel pump and runup areas. While watching airplanes come and go, I have become concerned by the number of pilots I see who obviously lack even the most basic understanding of high country operations. Many times I see visiting pilots start their engines and taxi to the run-up area where they may spend 20 or 30 minutes running their engine, alternating between high power and low power. When I see an extended run-up of this nature, I can only assume…