Índex per August 2017 a Flying

Editor’s Letter It has been said that summer offers the familiar reminder of life beginning over again, the fulfillment of renewal wrought after a hard spring. There’s something particularly apropos in this sentiment for those of us who relish the serenity that summertime flying can offer, especially those of us who live in northern climes. But not everyone is enjoying this particular summer in the same way. While many of you head out to the airport to forget about your earthly cares for a while, an unseen army of engineers and bureaucrats toils under fluorescent lighting in air- conditioned offices on twin initiatives that will impact the direction of general aviation for decades to come. By the final days of August, the rejuvenation will be complete; the aviation world will…

THE BEST OF WHAT’S NEW Activewear used to be only for workouts, but no more. Women these days are slipping into form-fitting yoga pants to go almost anywhere, even for a night on the town. The reason? Spandex just feels good. A new line of aviation-inspired performance wear from apparel maker Base Turn is the perfect way for aviation lovers to get in on the trend. The California company offers a range of pilot-themed workout clothing for women, including leggings, capris and headbands, as well as items for babies and kids. Styles with inventive names such as Wake Turbulence, Traffic Flow, Flight Levels, Radar Contact, and Stick and Rudder play on the aviation motif. baseturn.com…

Over the course of your flying career you’ll likely experience several technological advances that will change the way you fly. In the early years of aviation, these came in the form of new airframe design and propulsion innovations, such as the transition from tailwheel to tricycle landing gear and turbojet engines. Next came the development of sophisticated avionics, providing pilots with the HSI, loran and RNAV direct-to navigation. The biggest leap in this category took place in the mid-1990s, when GPS was opened up for civilian use, unlocking the modern form of navigation that we all depend on today. With each of these breakthroughs in aviation, pilots were sure to look back and wonder, how did we ever get by without this? That question runs through my mind on just…

There’s a line of weather, tops to Flight Level 450, directly in the path of the proposed flight. It extends a good 500 miles to the left of course and 300 to the right. The thunderstorms reach from Illinois to South Texas. I’m waiting for two people, whom I’ve never met, to join me in flying our Cheyenne from Oklahoma City to Tampa, Florida. At 25,000 feet, our airplane will be about halfway up the mountain of weather. I’m feeling uncomfortable. This flight seems like a metaphor for other pending events. There was only a handful of objectives before me in this new life of leisure called retirement. Last winter I sought to put to final rest my anxiety about the increased pressure in my left eye; to qualify as…

Think of the stick shaker/pusher found in transport-category aircraft as a bit of a lazy pilot’s angle of attack indicator. Should the flying pilot become distracted enough that they fail to notice an increasing angle of attack, to a point where the wing is about to cease producing sufficient lift, an airplane equipped with a shaker/pusher system will jump in to try to save the day by reducing the angle of attack. More precisely, the stick shaker acts as a stall-warning device, while the stick pusher’s job is one of stall avoidance. The shaker portion of an AOA indicator is nothing more than a specially created electric motor with a flywheel attached to portion of the control wheel. When the AOA information gathered from the angle of attack vanes on…

Sometimes it does take a rocket scientist. A NASA rocket scientist. Some ordinary sunglasses can obscure your vision by exposing your eyes to harmful UV rays, blue light, and reflective glare. They can also darken useful vision-enhancing light. But now, independent research conducted by scientists from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has brought forth ground-breaking technology to help protect human eyesight from the harmful effects of solar radiation light. This superior lens technology was first discovered when NASA scientists looked to nature for a means to superior eye protection—specifically, by studying the eyes of eagles, known for their extreme visual acuity. This discovery resulted in what is now known as Eagle Eyes®. The Only Sunglass Technology Certified by the Space Foundation for UV and Blue-Light Eye Protection. Eagle Eyes® features the…

In June 2010, a Cessna T310R crashed in fine weather while on final approach at Ruidoso, New Mexico. Five people perished, two survived. The survivors were 12 and 16 years old, and I suspect that they were probably in the aftmost seats. Another young person, an 11-year-old boy, was double- belted in the right front seat with his mother. Parenthetically, FAR 91.107, which concerns seat belts, does not explicitly forbid the practice of double- belting. The rule says everyone (except children under 2) must occupy a seat with safety belts, but does not stipulate that all passengers be in different seats. After this accident, the National Transportation Safety Board urged the FAA to amend the rule, but the FAA chose not to do so. The 310 is intended to carry…

Pilatus has an extensive internship program in Stans, Switzerland, with about 110 apprentices at the headquarters at any time. This program is now being brought to Broomfield, Colorado. Pilatus Business Aircraft has selected a group of high school students in Broomfield to come for a week or two this summer. The top three candidates will start their apprenticeships in August. The kids will work 2½ days at the Pilatus facility and go to school 2½ days at Front Range Community College. Then they transition to three days of work and 1½ to two days of school. About 70 percent of young adults do an apprenticeship, says Pilatus Business Aircraft president Thomas Bosshard. Apprenticeships are available in nearly all industries: banking, healthcare, insurance, hospitality management and much more. They are funded…

For those who didn’t have the opportunity to read the April Jumpseat column, or for those who don’t recall, I conveyed a tale of woe regarding my airplane-buying experience. It had turned into a horror story. The 1972 Piper Arrow II I had purchased became a small nightmare when it was discovered by my observant mechanic friend that a prior repair to the gear-well area of the right wing was coming apart. Months later, I was hoping to write this story as a happy ending, but it became bittersweet. Apparently, my forehead has an imprint invisible to me that shouts, “Spend more!” I’ll explain in a moment. The improper repair inside the gear well could have eventually resulted in a collapse of the landing gear, a prospect that didn’t seem…

The pilot shortage so many have warned about for so long is finally a reality. Mass retirements by baby boomers reaching age 65, more stringent airline hiring rules and explosive growth in air travel are combining to create a perfect storm that is squeezing air carriers and making now the perfect time for a career in aviation. To help prospective pro pilots navigate the job maze, we’ll dedicate next month’s issue to aviation careers, with articles and columns focused on landing a good-paying flying gig.…

Garmin’s first foray into the 360-degree-action-camera market is turning heads. The Virb 360 shoots spherical, VR-compatible video in 4K/30 fps resolution through dual camera lenses (one in front, one in back) that the camera’s software stitches into a single 360-degree view. Pilots will love that the Virb 360 is compatible with the D2 Bravo watch and can be paired with Garmin’s latest audio panels to record sound without the need for a headset cable. It’s also compatible with Garmin Connext, so data such as pitch, roll, lateral acceleration, turn rate and more can be overlaid within the video from a G3X Touch display or Flight Stream unit. It’s also waterproof to 10 meters. $799.99…

I’ve been reading this magazine for two-thirds of my life, ever since I was an eager-eyed lad of 12. Back then, the arrival of Flying’s newest issue was a highlight of my month. I’d read Len Morgan first, then Gordon Baxter, then Mac McClellan, Dick Collins and Peter Garrison, and then everything else. I had no clue about half the stuff I read, but at least it got me familiar with aviation lingo. I drooled over and plastered my bedroom with spreads of all sorts of airplanes: GA, corporate and transport, props and jets, vintage and new, and bleeding-edge prototypes. If it had wings, I loved it and couldn’t read enough about it. I still remember a lot of the covers, and some of my favorite stories — like the…

While the PC-12 NG shines in unusual environments, such as dry lake beds, grass strips and on dirt, its missions are as varied as its paint schemes. The first customer of the versatile turboprop was the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Australia, which still provides medical services in remote areas, where it operates more than 30 PC-12s along with other types of airplanes. RFDS will add several PC-24s to its fleet once they are ready to deliver. With its large cargo door and sizable cabin, the airplane is ideal for emergency medical transportation, but it can do so much more. The executive configuration can seat up to eight passengers in the back. Up to four of those seats are quickly removable for those who want to load up oversize items,…

Recently a friend sent me a blurb from another aviation magazine about the restoration of a Beech Staggerwing — arguably the ultimate classic airplane — by the Kansas Aviation Museum. He knew I’d be interested in this particular D17S because it belonged at one time to my ex- and late husband, Ebby Lunken. Unfortunately, when it comes to hands-on experience with these magnificent creatures (Staggerwings, not husbands … well, maybe husbands too) I’ve always been a day late and a dollar short. Some years before I knew him, Ebby bought the airplane from Goodyear, but ended up selling the salvage after having an unfortunate and “complicated” (but injury-free) prang in Michigan. But I vividly remember the magnificent oil painting of the iconic Bimini-blue biplane in flight that hung in our…