mtrescott One of the best surprises I found at AirVenture 2012 in Oshkosh this summer was FlightLink, an iPhone/iPad app for the Lightspeed Zulu.2 ANR headset. I was surprised, as I couldn’t imagine what kind of app one might create for a headset. Fortunately the people at Lightspeed were more imaginative than I and they created FlightLink, an app for recording cockpit audio on your iPhone or iPad.
All pilots flying in the S.F. Bay area need a Plan B for dealing with the marine layer. To not consider alternatives ahead of time is reckless: the marine layer is a fact of life and if you fly long enough, eventually it will impede your flying. Recently I executed one version of a plan B I formulated decades ago and have taught to many of my students: I landed at Livermore and walked to a nearby motel. It was simple and easy with a guaranteed safe outcome.
Pilots are dying because they’re unaware that NEXRAD data is much older than the 1 or 2 minute “age” they see on the screen. the NTSB issued an alert warning “pilots using in-cockpit FIS-B and Satellite Weather display systems that the NEXRAD “age indicator” can be misleading. The actual NEXRAD data can be as much as 20 minutes older than the age indication on the display in the cockpit. The issue is discussed in detail in my Max Trescott’s Garmin G1000 Glass Cockpit Handbook. Chapter 8 is devoted entirely to Onboard Data Link Weather, such as the services provided by SiriusXM, previously known as XM Weather.
I’m excited. Flying is about having fun and the Icon A5 Seaplane promises to deliver more fun than most planes. But there’s more to the airplane than just fun. As a new video shows, it’s also a spin resistant plane that could make flying safer. Spin resistance isn’t new. One of the earliest planes to … Read more
On April 30, 2012, three seaplane pilots rescued a boater just before dark who’d had been thrown in the water. 20-year old Alexander James Higginbotham was already becoming hypothermic while treading water for 15-20 minutes in the frigid 45° water. He’d been in a 14-foot fishing boat when the bolts he used to attach a seat to the boat broke, sending him backwards into the water. Rusty Eichorn, an Itasca County Commissioner, owned the Cessna 180 floatplane that made the rescue and he was assisted by pilots Lynn Bohanon and Kenny Forst who were also on board.
The Aviators Guide to Ireland is a marvelous 400-page guidebook that includes detailed photos and information about 210 airstrips in Ireland. Even if you think it’s a long shot that you’ll ever fly a plane in Ireland, you’ll want to get a copy of this book and dream about flying around the Emerald Isle.
The Oregon State Marine Board is poised to ban seaplanes on Waldo Lake, even though a Federal court ruled in 2009 that the ban was arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion. I rarely ask anything of my readers, but I will now. Please take a few minutes to send a letter or email to the Oregon State Marine Board and oppose the provision of OAR 250-020-0221 and OAR 250-030-0030 that bans floatplanes from Waldo Lake. The Columbia River Seaplane Pilots Association has a Waldo Lake page that lists a number of reasons why Waldo Lake should remain open to floatplane owners.
The 1st annual Lake Berryessa Polar Bear Classic Splash-In, held February 4 in Napa, California was a hit, drawing a dozen seaplanes from northern California and Nevada. In addition to the video, you can view a photo album of the event.
The 145-page FAA reauthorization bill forces the FAA to speed up the introduction of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System, which will inevitably lead to more mid-air collisions. To date, UASs have been authorized solely along the Mexican border and within restricted airspace. In the near future, pilots may be sharing all airspace with these unmanned aircraft. At least one UAS has already had a mid-air collision. In August 2011, over the skies of Afghanistan, a 450-pound UAS hit a C130 cargo plane, damaging the plane and forcing an emergency landing. The drone was destroyed.
Would you like to help honor a WWII Triple Ace? Then sign up to attend the Aero Club of Northern California's Crystal Eagle Award dinner on October 22 at the Hiller Museum at San Carlos Airport. You'll find full details at http://www.aeroclubnorcal.org/CrystalEagle_Next.html At the dinner, you can also bid on many cool aviation items in the silent … Read more