Some stories come together quickly. They form as whole entities and find their way into print almost overnight. Others take more time.
This particular story is in that latter group. It started in 1915. It came together just today. If you don’t have a calculator handy, that’s 104 years. Quite a gestation period.
[Read more…]In July’s column we took a look at why captains sit in the left-hand seat, which ended up generating a lot of reader speculation that it might have had something to do with right-of-way rules, which in turn generated a lot of requests that we look at the origins of today’s right of way rules.
Right on!
Here in FAA land, 14 CFR § 91.113 lays out the law of the air above the land, saying that if two planes are approaching more or less head on, each “shall alter course to the right.” Similar language is found in ICAO Annex 2, “rules of the air.”
Them be Da’ Rules. But where did they come from? What logic is there to them?
[Read more…]How do you brief a flight to an airport or an area you’ve never been before? Do you brief that trip at all?
Back when I learned to fly in the 1980s, a sectional chart and maybe a road atlas were all we had.
[Read more…]“Aviate. Navigate. Communicate.”
Every pilot hears those words in that order during their initial training. They hear them again and again throughout their flying career. This is, after all, the order of operations for any situation you might find yourself in while airborne.
Then one day, out of the blue, we find ourselves sharing this exact lesson with newer, less experienced pilots. Somehow, each of us becomes the old hand. A respected elder. The experienced flyer who has wisdom to share. So we do our best to fulfill that role.
Fortunately for the easily tongue tied, the less than verbose, or the not particularly witty speaker, the industry has collected an enormous number of aviation-centric expressions to pass along at the drop of a hat. With that in mind, let’s review a few to see if they might come in handy around the ramp or coffee pot.
[Read more…]I have just returned from EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2019 and really enjoyed the show.
So, what is the state of the general aviation industry as judged by things at Oshkosh? It seemed to be the normal good news/bad news thing.
Let’s get to the bad news first: There is still a shortage of technical people in many of the exhibitor booths.
But there’s much more good news.
[Read more…]Q: Paul, my Lycoming O-320 B2A s/n L-504-39 looks like it has a hollow crank.
It also has an available accessory pad below the right magneto. And a 1/4″ plug on the right forward case in front of the #1 cylinder.
Am I able to run a constant speed propeller on this engine? It is on an Acrosport II.
Guy Juntunen
[Read more…]I have three children. One boy and two girls. They range in age from 20 to 35 years old. All of them have flown. None of them are pilots. None of them work in the aviation industry. They’re all aviation enthusiasts, however. I count that as a big win.
My youngest is a hairdresser, if that’s still the proper term. She cuts and colors and generally tweaks the tresses of women in our region. She enjoys it. She’s good at it. Yet she will occasionally engage me in conversation about aviation or aerospace, especially in the historic sense. She’s particularly intrigued by Sputnik 2, which sent Laika the space dog where no living thing had been before. That fascinates my daughter.
My girl is unusual in her friend group in that she knows a fair amount about aviation and space flight. That is almost certainly because she is the granddaughter of an airline pilot, the daughter of a general aviation pilot, and a native of Florida. She’s been watching spacecraft blast into orbit since before she can remember.
She’s not a pilot, but she knows how to fly, and she’s an avid enthusiast. She’s pro-aviation. In that respect she’s very similar to her older sister and brother.
[Read more…]As the fledgling U.S. Army Air Service was still figuring things out, in 1924 it created the C-Class of aircraft to include cargo and personnel transport, doing away with an earlier T-series that indicated Transport.
And C-Cargo it has been ever since, starting with the original Douglas C-1 biplane, introduced in 1925.
[Read more…]Q: I have a Lycoming O-360-A1A that had a prop strike and was rebuilt at Western Skyways. I was told by my test pilot to change the oil after five hours of flight.
Is this correct? If not, at what hourly interval should I change the oil to safely monitor the break-in?
Chuck Hohos
[Read more…]Sunday morning came with bright sunshine, calm winds, and clear skies. I was being lazy, lying in bed, taking my time before getting up to feed the chickens, tend to the dogs, and make a large pot of coffee. Then my phone went off.
Time to get rolling.
One of my flying club buddies sent a message reporting that one mag on our C-182 was running rough, with a big drop in RPM, and the occasional backfire. As the club’s maintenance officer, those calls come to me. Not constantly, but it’s not a rarity, either.
Things break.
[Read more…]
