Inhoudsopgave van October 2017 - Flying

PILATUS PC-24 ENGINE CERTIFIE Pilatus Aircraft recently leapt over the last major hurdle toward the certification of the highly anticipated PC-24 Super Versatile Jet as Williams International achieved certification for the FJ44-4A-QPM engine. Two of these engines will power the airplane, the first business jet in Pilatus’ fleet. The QPM in the engine’s name stands for Quiet Power Mode, an alternative to the auxiliary power unit, which can produce a lot of disturbing noise on the tarmac. Williams claims the QPM provides quiet and economical power from one engine to the electrical system for such things as heat, air conditioning and avionics systems to allow the crew to comfortably set up the cabin and get the flight plan going without the need for a separate APU. This is the first…

They say a pilot never stops learning. But that’s not true. Complacency can set in right around the time we’ve forgotten what flaming tomatoes have to do with flying airplanes. We realize that most flights go just fine, and without a healthy spook now and then, we reach a learning plateau. My first spook hit me on a bright spring day over suburban Phoenix. There are two certainties about bright spring days in that airspace. It’s warm, and it’s crowded. Combine several large flight schools training foreign airline cadets with a Class B international airport and you’ll learn the limitations of see-and-avoid. Departing Falcon Field (KFFZ) en route to Yuma, Arizona (KNYL), I opted to squirm out from under the Phoenix Class B airspace by heading south-southwest over Chandler (KCHD).…

Making a good aviation product better is a concept as old as capitalistic ingenuity itself. OEMs release improved versions of their best airplanes and power plants, each perhaps a bit faster or more versatile than its predecessor. Not everyone can afford the latest edition of a machine, of course, nor does everyone want one. Some operators get as comfy with an airplane they’ve spent years breaking in as they might be with a favorite jacket or pair of running shoes. But most wish their airplane could deliver better performance. That’s where modification companies stand ready to make that good airplane even better. Consider recent production figures from Textron’s Beechcraft unit showing nearly 7,500 copies of the rugged King Air turboprop delivered since its introduction more than 50 years ago. Any…

One of the staple features of cities of the future, if we can believe the artists and filmmakers who provide us with images of them, is the airborne taxi that whisks people from one strangely shaped building to another, heedless of the — presumably congested — streets below. These agile and convenient people pods, levitated, like Marty McFly’s hover board, in unspecified ways, combine the best features of Manhattan’s swarming yellow cabs and the helicopters that carry a select subset of weekend commuters from downtown to the Hamptons. The Jetsons had one. Maybe two. The idea is not new. It occurred to the U.S. Army 60 years ago, and three firms — Chrysler, Curtiss-Wright and Piasecki — produced competing test-beds for a “flying jeep” that was presumably expected to be…

In its most basic form, a yaw damper inhibits movement of an aircraft around its vertical axis, performing like an automated set of feet on the rudder pedals. A yaw damper pulls aircraft movement information from a series of accelerometers or rate sensors in the rudder and translates it into the proper amount of calming rudder inputs. In a single-engine airplane, the yaw damper smooths out the left-right movements of the vertical stabilizer, often referred to as fishtailing, creating a more comfortable ride for passengers. The yaw damper on a sweptwing aircraft, especially one with a T-tail, also inhibits the Dutch roll tendency, a wallowing combination of yawing and rolling motions of the wing. When a Dutch roll occurs on an aircraft without a damper, any yawing motion can create…

1. Q codes are basic three-letter telecommunications codes designated in the early 1930s, back when Morse code was still the most popular form of long-distance information exchange, to facilitate the transmission and reception of common questions and answers. 2. QNH — The barometric pressure as reported by a particular station (local altimeter setting). QNH is the altimeter setting that most general aviation pilots are familiar with when operating in the United States and Canada below 18,000 feet msl. This setting causes the altimeter to read field elevation (above sea level) when the aircraft is on the ground. Most overseas airports give altimeter settings in hectopascals (hPa), aka millibars (mb). Therefore, it is imperative that pilots are able to convert inches of mercury to hectopascals and hectopascals to inches of mercury.…

Ah, summer, the season of the good life. The season of verdant, rolling hills speckled with lazily grazing catt le, of smoky backyard burgers and grilled corn on the cob, of golden beaches replete with giggling children, bronzed skin and the tangy bouquet of salt air and sunscreen. I hope you enjoyed the summer just passed as much as I did — the months of supremely peaceful early morning daybreaks, listless afternoons in blazing sunshine and smothering humidity, and sublime cool, breezy evenings that last and last, until finally climaxing in a crescendo of crickets and fireflies. For pilots, this is the season of the dawn patrol, and of bumpy afternoons spent dodging towering lines of thunderstorms. For sailors like Dawn and me, it is hurricane season. In June, we…

THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF TALK ABOUT THE POTENTIAL FOR GENERAL AVIATION IN CHINA, AND IT APPEARS THAT CHINESE ENTREPRENEURS ARE HUNGRY FOR AMERICAN AVIATION COMPANIES. IN THE PAST DECADE, ESTABLISHED AMERICAN GA BUSINESSES SUCH AS CIRRUS, MOONEY, GLASAIR AND CONTINENTAL MOTORS HAVE BECOME SUBSIDIARIES OF CHINESE COMPANIES. However, very limited infrastructure, strict airspace restrictions and a general lack of understanding of aviation have hindered the potential growth of GA within the country itself. Before my recent trip to China, I had the misconception that government regulations of general aviation were so restrictive that GA flights were essentially nonexistent in the vast Asian country. And while the regulatory environment makes flying on anything but the airlines onerous, such flights are not prohibited. I had a chance to experience firsthand…

CONSIDER THE OPERATING ENVIRONMENT AROUND AN ILS APPROACH Most ILS approaches are constructed pretty much the same way. The environment in which a pilot might fly them can vary widely, however, and is important to consider. At an airport like New York’s La Guardia, which sees 375,000 annual takeoffs and landings, the ILS Runway 13 at the airport is used often. These traffic numbers should serve as a reminder to any PIC that when some of the best of New York’s controllers are vectoring aircraft for the approach, their instructions are often spewing out at near warp speed. Woe then to the pilot who hasn’t closely studied this approach plate before making their first radio call to New York Approach. FOR THE INTERACTIVE VERSION OF CHART WISE, VISIT FLYINGMAG.COM/CHARTWISE…

THERE'S A COMPELLING CASE YET TO BE MADE FOR ACIATION'S BEST-SELLING TURBOPROP, WHICH REMAINS ATOP ITS THRONT AFTER ALL THESE YEARS Settled into the left seat at our final cruise altitude of 26,000 feet, we were showing a true airspeed of 304 knots and burning about 700 pounds of jet-A per hour. As the lush rolling landscape of central Pennsylvania slid by far below, a nagging question had entered my mind. What is it about the Beechcraft King Air family of twin turboprops, I asked myself, that keeps these airplanes rolling out of the factory in Wichita, Kansas, more than 53 years after the first one emerged? I always thought I knew the answer to that question, but there in the confines of the King Air 250’s cockpit a quiet…

I am always thankful for the days when the only major task performed is to safely fly the airplane — and the biggest decision is whether to have the chicken or the steak. Those days of pure simplicity rarely occur. My trip back from London in the middle of May was no exception. The day began with the typical lively British banter between our company’s Heathrow Operations agents and myself. Another captain, flying our 787 trip to Chicago, conveyed a disturbing story about a 23-year-old seated in the first-class cabin the night prior. This successful young man (his status discovered through a Google search) had consumed more than his share of adult beverages and became belligerent enough for the captain to intervene such that he was forced to remain in…