Table of contents for July 2016 in Flying

You might be confused when you flip to page 34 of this issue and see the article by AOPA Pilot columnist Rod Machado. Don’t worry, you didn’t pick up the wrong magazine — and Rod hasn’t defected to Flying. This month we’re collaborating with our friends at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association to bring you the epic AOPA Pilot versus Flying “dogfight” as we argue the merits of the FAA’s newly adopted Airman Certification Standards (ACS). As you probably know — especially if you’ve been reading our “Prep for the Ride” series of articles over the last three months — the ACS officially replaced the FAA’s Practical Test Standards in June, finally ridding us of those useless written test questions (such as mindboggling interpolations required to calculate a 2-knot…

The standard instrument departure (SID) is a published flight procedure that pilots flying IFR follow immediately after takeoff to transition from the terminal environment to the ATC route structure or, in the case of the SID above, directly into other nearby airports. The procedures can get complicated, making it crucially important to read and understand the full chart and review all notes. Have a look at this SID out of Dallas Love Field Airport (KDAL) and consider how you might plan for your departure. CHART WISE: STANDARD INSTRUMENT DEPARTURE TRANSITIONS This SID incorporates several transitions, many of which allow you to depart KDAL and fly directly to other nearby airports without entering the ATC route structure. COMPUTER FILING CODES Each transition has its own computer filing code, which is assigned…

If you want to ensure your engine has the best chances of reaching TBO and beyond, here’s advice that could end up saving you big time: Stop listening to all the supposed “experts” in airport coffee shops and online forums who claim they know it all. There’s a good chance they don’t — and the wisdom they spout could be the polar opposite of how you should be caring for one of your biggest aviation-related investments and the one piece of equipment you literally can’t afford to have fail at the wrong time. One of the easiest ways to ensure your engine has a long and healthy life is to follow the manufacturer’s recommendations, not what the guy in the hangar next door says works for him. Proper maintenance is…

You’ve made the executive decision. Pampering your airplane is front-and-center in your life, and likely to stay that way. Your career is either winding down, or in the right place for a change of domicile (maybe your flying is part of the reason you can live where you want, rather than where you have to). Finances are right to make a move. You’ve talked it through-and-through with spouse and kids, who may or may not still be “in the nest.” And your flying friends all agree, it’s the right thing to do. Yes, you’re moving to a place where the houses come with not just bedrooms, baths and a garage…but also a hangar. Living at an “airpark” or “fly-in community” has to be on any pilot’s wannado list. When you…

This photo was taken while over South Bimini, heading to land at MYBS. I spent more money on entry fees than I did on fuel! I had no idea that all I needed was a 30-minute flight to take me to an exotic destination. JOHN CAHNERS Scud Run In May’s Aftermath column, a very experienced and current IFR pilot crashed while attempting to scud run through Southern California’s Banning Pass rather than file IFR to Chino. Peter Garrison wondered why the pilot didn’t file IFR instead of taking the chance he took. As a California pilot, I can offer a possible explanation. You can’t file IFR in that area without filing for an altitude way above the 4,000-foot level, which puts you right in icing conditions. In fact, there are…

Aviation News and Notes   EXTRA UNVEILS ELECTRIC 330LE Extra Aircraft showed off a wild aerobatic test bed for Siemens’ new SP260D electric propulsion system at Aero Friedrichshafen in Germany this spring. The prototype Extra 330LE is based on the German-built Extra 300L tandem two-seater. Siemens intends to use the 330LE for flight test and optimization of its 280 kW (375 hp) electric motor. Endurance at wide-open power is probably not more than 15 to 20 minutes, but that’s plenty of time to complete an airshow routine — albeit one absent of the usual growl of the Extra’s Lycoming IO-540. FAA TESTS DRONE DETECTION SYSTEM The Federal Aviation Administration tested a drone detection system this spring in the skies around New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport using five unmanned…

It was a sunny Friday afternoon as I gathered my friends at our usual meeting point, the local airport coffee shop. We were off for a weekend of fun and leisure after a long week at the office. We departed San Fernando International Airport in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in a 1980 Baron B55 and headed northwest 150 nm to Rosario to see a concert that same night. The plan was to depart from Rosario International Airport the next day and head to a weekend house by the river in Carmelo, a paradise spot in Uruguay. Although it was my first time flying this particular route, I had flown dozens of times from Buenos Aires to Carmelo, so I knew the destination like the back of my hand.…

Modern commercial aviation marvels us daily with its enviable safety record. Pioneers such as Donald Douglas, William Boeing and Dutch Kindelberger pursued passionately the operational consistency and reliability we see today as the world of commercial aviation continues to improve upon its stellar safety record with each passing year. The ultimate achievement? A virtually accident-free system. The current crop of airliners, known as the Fourth Generation for their highly automated architecture and flight-envelope protection, plays a large role in the quest toward perfect safety. While not quite within our grasp in general aviation, we would all like to see similar improvements in safety and dispatch reliability translate into our everyday flying. To this end, our own cockpits have become increasingly automated as aircraft and avionics manufacturers and industry experts identify…

GARMIN AERA 660 Even with the iPad’s rise, there’s still a place in the cockpit for portable GPS navigators. Case in point: The new Garmin Aera 660 GPS navigator features a compact 5-inch touchscreen, Wi-Fi, built-in synthetic vision technology, and compatibility with Garmin Connext technology for beaming flight plans from the onboard avionics. Priced at $895, it can be paired with Garmin ADS-B units to display traffic and weather. It can also receive flight plan data entered into a GTN 650/750 or GNS 430W/530W, and HD video from Garmin’s Virb XE camera can be streamed directly to the Aera 660 screen. The database includes charts, SafeTaxi airport maps, and terrain and obstacle alerts. PERRIQUEST LASER DEFENSE EYEWEAR PerriQuest’s line of high-tech eyewear is designed to block disorientating laser light shined…

AVIATION TECHNOLOGY MADE SIMPLE A quick turn of the key is all a pilot usually needs to start the engine and go, but have you ever wondered what’s really going on beyond the fire wall to excite those spark plugs? The aircraft components that make it happen, of course, are the magnetos — simple and highly reliable electrical generators. Here’s how magnetos work: REDUNDANCY Airplanes have two magnetos, left and right, each of which fires one spark plug per cylinder, creating a redundant system that allows the engine to operate at full power independent of the engine-driven alternator. VOLTAGE CREATION Each magneto features a permanent magnet on a rotor that spins in close proximity to a high-output coil of wire with two windings: a primary winding made of heavy copper…

As a flight instructor for 43 years, my primary ambition is seeing that a qualified person can earn a private pilot certificate at a reasonable cost and with a minimal regulatory burden. Until now, the Practical Test Standards supported that enterprise. In my opinion, the new Airman Certification Standards do not. The PTS is a simple document, forged using instructor feedback and insight over a 30-year period. It’s Spartan by design, easy to understand and practical to use. However, the ACS committee (i.e., the FAA and industry participants) opted to replace it with the ACS. The ACS literally doubles the verbiage of the PTS by adding an assessment of risk-management skills and knowledge-specific elements to the mix. The ACS now looks like the flip side of a rental car contract.…

I COULD SMELL THE PINE TREES BELOW AS I TURNED BASE AND THE NOSE OF THE LITTLE TAILDRAGGER I WAS PILOTING POINTED TOWARD A SHEER ROCK WALL. WHEN I TURNED FINAL, THE RUNWAY WAS STILL INVISIBLE. IT WAS AT THE END OF A NARROW GORGE THAT FOLLOWED DOWN THE MOUNTAINSIDE. Tracking that line, I continued my descent, skimming the treetops of the dense forest. Finally, it appeared — the beginning of the scenic 2,500-foot-long grass strip of Tieton State Airport (4S6), located on the shoreline of Rimrock Lake’s Lonesome Cove in the Wenatchee National Forest in Washington. I monitored my airspeed closely, keeping it right at 50 knots, and continued this challenging and exhilarating approach through the confining gorge. As I dropped below the treetops that surrounded the runway, my…