Table of contents for May 2016 in Flying

The FAA at long last has unveiled a plan to overhaul outdated light aircraft certifi-cation rules. The proposal, which covers future general aviation airplanes certified with 19 or fewer passenger seats and weighing less than 19,000 pounds, calls for setting aside the old FAR Part 23 regulations and starting fresh with new ones aimed at substantially reducing aircraft certification costs, improving safety and hastening the adoption of new technologies spanning everything from apps for the cockpit to electric motors for propulsion. It’s about time. The last major rewrite of light aircraft certification regulations happened more than 50 years ago. Ever since, the aviation industry has been handicapped by inflexible rules developed with 1960s technological innovation serving as the prescriptive guide. Granted, we went to the moon in the 1960s, but…

GARMIN GTX 345 Aircraft owners looking to meet the FAA’s 2020 deadline for ADS-B Out compliance now have a new option in Garmin’s recently released GTX 345. The mode S extended squitter transponder features dual-link ADS-B and pairs with a range of different displays, including certain G1000 panels, to deliver traffic and weather in the cockpit. ALL-IN-ONE ADS-B FOR G1000 The GTX 345 offers optional WAAS integration for owners currently unequipped and looking for a single-step upgrade. In addition to traffic and weather info, the GTX 345 delivers backup attitude and GPS data. Pilots can access the info on Garmin Pilot and ForeFlight, along with portables such as the aera 795, thanks to wireless streaming. The transponder comes in a standard 1.65-inch form, allowing it to easily take the place…

The plain-vanilla ILS approach is about as straightforward as it gets, right? Except that with any given procedure there can be nuances that demand careful consideration. The ILS Runway 12 approach to Bozeman, Montana, for instance, includes a number of notes, symbols and verbage that you might not fully comprehend if you haven’t taken the time to study the approach plate beforehand. Have a look at the chart above and consider if any of these might impact how you would fly this procedure. CHART WISE: ILS ODDITIES COMPUTER NAVIGATION FIX Note the waypoint named [CFFFB]. This is a computer navigation fix (CNF). It can be identified by GPS but not radio. So to fly the HEBEV transition, you’ll also want an IFR GPS receiver. FEEDER ROUTE There are a couple…

EARLY ON IN EVERY PILOT’S LIFETIME THERE’S A MOMENT WHEN HE OR SHE IS FACED WITH THE YIN AND YANG OF FLYING ALONE. VIEWING THE MAJESTY OF THE SUN AS IT DISAPPEARS BELOW THE HORIZON FROM A VANTAGE POINT THAT NO ONE ELSE SHARES IS A REASON MANY OF US LEARNED TO FLY. THEN THERE ARE MOMENTS — SUCH AS WATCHING CHUNKY WALLS OF CUMULONIMBUS BUILD AROUND US FASTER THAN OUR AIRPLANES CAN CLIMB — WHEN WE ALONE MUST FIND THE SOLUTION. HEADY STUFF. Many pilots see their airplanes not simply as extensions of the romance and lore of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry but also as business travel machines and entrepreneurial extensions of themselves. With fewer aircraft to choose from, this group has begun chasing sophisticated airplanes, such as the Cirrus…

MELISE COURY HAPPY #INTERNATIONALWOMENSDAY2016 MARK BAKER, AOPA PRESIDENT Medical Reform I’d like to thank AOPA member and veteran airline pilot Les Abend for his comments about ALPA’s opposition to third-class medical reform [Jumpseat, March 2016]. Like AOPA, Abend “disagree[s] with ALPA’s premise regarding its fear that hordes of general aviation pilots will medically collapse at the controls.” This assertion is also supported by data as well as the FAA when it created the Sport Pilot standard of medical certification over 10 years ago, which allowed pilots to operate light sport aircraft without obtaining a third-class medical certificate. Since then, thousands of sport pilots have flown tens of thousands of hours and operated safely and effectively. Third-class medical reform will also save pilots, and even the FAA, millions and put tens…

I slowly taxied to my tiedown spot. Totally spent, I sat in the cockpit as the wind buffeted the airplane, feeling lower than I ever had in my life. How did the flight I had looked forward to making for so many years go so terribly wrong? “I LEARNED ABOUT FLYING FROM THAT” I now have thousands of hours in my logbooks, but despite my best efforts, none represent a perfect flight. Many come close, but there was always something I could have done just a little bit better. So I reflected on the opposite type of flight entry: Which one represented my worst flight? That would be easy. Hands down, it was my first solo flight in the first airplane I ever owned. After months of research, I had…

II COMMEMORATIVE AIR FORCE CAF WARBIRDS CAF’s fleet of around 165 warbirds includes both American and international aircraft types, mostly from the World War II era. Here is a sampling of the models. SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE / RAF GRUMMAN F8F BEARCAT / USN ON MAY 8 OF LAST YEAR, WASHINGTON, D.C., CAME TO A STANDSTILL. BUT ON THAT DAY, IT WASN’T THE REGULAR GRIDLOCK OF RUSH-HOUR TRAFFIC THAT FORCED PEOPLE TO STOP IN THEIR TRACKS. INSTEAD, TENS OF THOUSANDS PAUSED TO WITNESS A STEADY FLOW OF ROARING WARBIRDS PARADING OVER THE U.S. CAPITAL IN THE ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY WORLD WAR II VICTORY CAPITOL FLYOVER. Drivers, motorcyclists, bikers and pedestrians craned their heads to the skies as military trainers, combat fighters, bombers and reconnaissance aircraft made their way over the city in…

AVIATION TECHNOLOGY MADE SIMPLE The cost and hassle of complying with the FAA’s 2020 ADS-B Out mandate is vexing many aircraft owners, but quite a few of us are already enjoying the benefits of ADS-B In: real-time weather, Nexrad radar and traffic information, all for free. There are a number of feature-rich portable receivers on the market, like the Appareo Stratus, Garmin GDL 39 and Dual XGPS170. And for do-it-yourself types or die-hard cheapskates, now there’s an open-source homebuilt option for under $100: Stratux. Stratux consists of a Linux-based microcomputer called Raspberry Pi and a software-defined radio (SDR) antenna. Its inventor, software engineer and pilot Christopher Young, originally posted instructions and code to aggregator website Reddit, and since then he’s simplified the process considerably. Today you can even purchase all…

FLYING Opinion As the Boeing 737 descends through 25,000 feet, we break through a thin overcast layer over the Columbia River and a stunning Cascades panorama appears before our eyes. It’s an unusually clear day for early spring, and from my jumpseat perch there are incredible views from Glacier Peak all the way south to the Three Sisters. The pilots are Atlanta-based bubbas who don’t get out this way much; for their benefit, I name the various snowbound peaks, verdant valleys and historic Oregon Trail settlements spread before us. I once lived, worked and flew in this enchanted corner of the country, and on periodic returns to visit friends, I am reminded just how much I love and miss it. Sometimes I wonder why I ever left. MOVING ON In…

IN SPITE OF OUR BEST EFFORTS, THE WEATHER IS STILL A PROBLEM. Though we have better access to weatherfocused graphics, both through aviation sources as well as those for the general public, confusion reigns when it comes to interpreting that data and displaying that knowledge on a check ride. In other words, everyone knows about the weather, but few seem to know quite what to do with that information. KNOW THE CODE PA.I.C.S3: Weather information and go/no-go decisions PA: Reference to the ACS for Private Pilot Airplane I: Area of operation, “I” for Preflight Information C: Task, “C” for Weather Information S3: Defines the specific task element, in this case to “correlate available weather information to make a competent go/no-go or diversion decision.” These codes will help you and your…

My father was handsome. He had the Paul Newman look and knew it. He came over here from Germany in 1936. He said that he taught himself English, starting on the Red Star Line steamer, by reading The Forsyte Saga. I found that a little hard to believe, but, however he did it, he eventually spoke and wrote English perfectly, though his pronunciation retained an indefinable middle-European flavor. I think he knew there was something seductive about his subtle accent, and I doubt he had any wish, since he was something of a ladies’ man, to rid himself of it. He chain-smoked Players — “Navy cut,” whatever that means — with eventually fatal effect and dressed with casual elegance. As a child, I found the leather patches on the elbows…