Training Notes and News

What's in AOPA Pilot: Here's what you're missing if you don't read AOPA Pilot, the association's flagship magazine published each month for certificated pilots: Technique: Push. Engine failure after takeoff? Here's your first, critical move. South of Here, East of There: Central America flying adventures--for any pilot. Glacier Pilot: Flying tours and transporting climbers in Denali National Park. Piper Creates the Colt: Remembering the beginning of a gutsy little trainer. On Display: The Garmin GPSMap 496. The latest handheld delivers more sight--and sound--to the cockpit. Diamond Aircraft DA42 Twin Star: Flying sports sedan. The first light twin to hit the market since 1983--and it has FADEC-controlled diesel engines. Are you ready to read about more advanced subjects as these? Just as pilots upgrade to more advanced certificates, it might be time to upgrade your magazine. You can convert your paid membership to AOPA Pilot at any time by calling AOPA toll-free (800/USA-AOPA). The November issue mails on October 16. Articles will be available at AOPA Online after that date.

Imagine coming home from work to hear a voicemail message informing you that you've won a brand-new airplane. It happened in September to Bob Meadows of Douglasville, Georgia, who came home to find a message from Sporty's President Michael Wolf.

When Wolf called him again, Meadows indicated that he had just heard the message and asked, "Is this for real?" Meadows, a commercial pilot with an instrument rating and an airframe and powerplant certificate, won a 2006 Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP equipped with a Garmin G1000 glass cockpit. He has more than 5,000 hours of flight time and was an aerial applicator for more than 12 years.

Sporty's has given away 24 Skyhawks in its annual Sweepstakes, but this is the first year that the company has given away a glass-cockpit-equipped airplane. The G1000 integrated avionics system combines all aircraft and flight information on two 10-inch high-resolution displays. The airplane is valued at $230,000.

CAPT program operator buys Cirrus airplanes

The Commercial Airline Pilot Training (CAPT) program, now operated by Flight Training Services International (FTSI), will begin training pilots in Cirrus SR20 aircraft. FTSI has taken delivery of the first of 30 SR20s and has options for another 20, according to Cirrus Design Corporation. "We chose Cirrus aircraft because it met the stringent requirements for the CAPT program, not only for the innovative technology but for the built-in safety features, such as the four-point harness restraint, airbags, side-yoke flight controls, advanced avionics, and the airframe parachute," said FTSI President and CEO Shawn Raker. Located at Flagler County Airport in Palm Coast, Florida, the CAPT program was formerly operated by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Long Island flight school marks 60 years

School News FedEx donates cargo plane to Purdue University FedEx Corporation donated a retired cargo airplane to Purdue University's Department of Aviation Technology. FedEx officials turned over the Boeing 727-100 in September at a ceremony held at Purdue Airport's Hangar 1 ramp. The freighter was taken out of service by FedEx in late July. Valued at $650,000, it will be used as an on-ground training lab that can be taxied by students but will not be flown. It will be the first jet cargo aircraft laboratory at the university, which also has a 1970s-era Boeing 737 and a Boeing 727 built in the 1960s that serve as nonflying labs. Rocky Mountain College gets glass-cockpit Archers Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana, has acquired two new Piper Archers equipped with Avidyne Flightmax Entegra avionics. The college also has obtained a Frasca Mentor flight training device equipped with the same glass cockpit. Rocky Mountain's bachelor of science degree program in aviation trains students in both traditional steam-gauge and glass-cockpit aircraft in preparation for aviation careers. Dowling College student receives scholarship Mike Curry of Ridge, New York, has been awarded the Phillip Doherty aviation scholarship at Dowling College. Curry is a senior at Dowling in Brookhaven, New York, and is pursuing dual majors in aviation management and aeronautics/professional pilot. He serves as a flight service technician through Dowling's work/study program. After graduation in June 2007, he plans to work as a flight instructor for Dowling and eventually as an airline pilot. The Phillip Doherty scholarship was founded by Thomas J. Doherty, vice president of eastern region domestic ground operations for FedEx Express, to honor the memory of his brother Phillip, who was a pilot.

A flight school on New York's Long Island celebrated its sixtieth anniversary in September. Mid Island Air Service, Inc., located at Long Island Mac Arthur Airport in Islip, New York, opened on September 22, 1946. The school is operated by the Mancuso family, which since the late 1980s has also owned the New York Jet Corporate Flight Center at Mac Arthur.

The family has been involved in the aviation business for more than three generations. In fact, its aviation connections go back to World War II, when Louis Mancuso accumulated thousands of hours as a flight instructor in Florida, training British Royal Air Force cadets. After the war he returned to Long Island and established the Deer Park Airport and Mid Island Air Service.

Mid Island trained hundreds of military veterans under the GI bill. A satellite operation was launched in 1964 at Brookhaven Airport in Shirley, New York, where Mid Island continues to provide flight training, aircraft rental, and fuel sales today. Increasing real estate taxes caused Mancuso to sell the Deer Park property in the early 1970s and move the school to Mac Arthur Airport.

Around that time, Louis Mancuso Jr.--a certificated flight instructor who had earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Dayton in Ohio--joined the business, and in 1974 became Mid Island's president and sole stockholder.

Today, Lou Mancuso serves as CEO. His younger sister, Gail--a private pilot and FAA-certificated aircraft dispatcher--is vice president and general manager. And his son, Michael, who graduated from Ohio State University with an aviation management degree and is well known on the U.S. airshow circuit--where he flies the Extra 300L aerobatic monoplane--also is a partner in the business.

Bob Osinski, Mid Island's chief pilot, has been training and nurturing young instructors since 1965, and has logged more than 20,000 hours. He has been a designated pilot examiner since 1968.

Mid Island offers standardized training and uniformly equipped aircraft. Its fleet includes several Cessna 152s and 172s; a Cessna 172SP with the Garmin G1000 glass cockpit; and a Piper Seminole.

"We steadily improve our procedures and processes by soliciting input from our employees, customers, and suppliers," Lou Mancuso said. "We also strive to make our customers ecstatically happy, while maintaining the dignity of the entire family of Mid Island employees."

Recent changes at Mid Island Air and New York Jet include a renovated flight-planning room, a new kitchen, and a 35-foot glass atrium reception area. Pilot amenities include wireless Internet access, Cadillac crew cars, satellite television, and a refreshment lounge. --Mike Collins

ATP places eight with Pinnacle Airlines

Pinnacle Airlines, a regional carrier based in Memphis, Tennessee, has hired eight pilot applicants from a pool of 11 from Airline Transport Professionals, ATP said. The eight first officers were chosen for mid-September class dates. Each had 300 to 600 hours of logged flight time. Graduates can receive job offers with specially reduced minimums through ATP's Pinnacle hiring alliance letter. Based in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, ATP offers accelerated professional multiengine flight training with an emphasis on pilot career development at 22 locations nationwide.

What It Looks Like

Alternate air

By Mark Twombly

Scuba diving, like flying, is all about safety. Divers--like pilots--are taught to go about their activity with safety top of mind.

One safety feature that divers depend on is an alternate air source--a second regulator from which they can breathe underwater in the event the primary regulator fails.

Airplane engines also must be able breathe under normal and adverse conditions. Like divers, airplane engines are equipped with an alternate air source in the event the primary source of induction air fails to deliver.

Under normal circumstances, induction air--air that is mixed with fuel for combustion in the cylinders--enters from the outside of the engine cowl through a duct. From there it is directed through a paper filter before it enters the carburetor or, on a fuel-injected engine, the throttle body. If the air flow is obstructed because of blockage in the induction system or ice on the air filter, the engine is starved of air and will lose power or possibly even quit. Thus the need for an alternate air source.

Depending on the airplane and whether the engine has a carburetor or is fuel-injected, alternate air may be obtained through the use of the carburetor heat control, a manual alternate air control, an automatic control, or a combination of manual and automatic.

The photos show the air filter box for a fuel-injected Piper Turbo Arrow with the air box cover off (top) and on. The filter sits inside the air box; the alternate air door is on the box cover. A wire cable leading from the cockpit control opens and closes the alternate air door.

If the pilot notices a loss of power and suspects induction air blockage, alternate air should be applied. Opening the alternate air door allows air from inside the engine cowling to enter the induction system. On some airplanes the alternate air door is spring-loaded. If the primary induction system is obstructed, suction will pull the alternate air door open to admit air.

Activating alternate air admits unfiltered air into the induction system and from there into the cylinders. That means alternate air should be used sparingly while the airplane is on the ground--on the pretakeoff check only--or else dust and dirt could enter the induction system.

Pilot Journey launches foreign flight student program

Pilot Journey, a flight training marketing company based in Nashville, Tennessee, has launched FlyUSA, designed to assist international students locate and apply to U.S. flight schools. It covers not only career flight training, but also specialty training such as two-week instrument courses, seaplane ratings, and mountain flying courses. Pilot Journey works with the individual to prepare all of the required paperwork to attend a flight school. For more information, see the Web site.

Final Exam

Final Exam is composed of questions similar to those a student may expect on the private pilot knowledge test. Answers are researched by members of the AOPA Pilot Information Center staff.

1. When landing behind a large aircraft, the pilot should avoid wake turbulence by staying

1. above the large aircraft's final approach path and landing beyond the large aircraft's touchdown point.
2. below the large aircraft's final approach path and landing before the large aircraft's touchdown point.
3. above the large aircraft's final approach path and landing before the large aircraft's touchdown point.

2. Airspace at an airport with a part-time control tower is classified as Class D airspace only

1. when the weather minimums are below basic VFR.
2. when the associated control tower is in operation.
3. when the associated flight service station is in operation.

3. An airport's rotating beacon operated during daylight hours indicates

1. there are obstructions on the airport.
2. that weather at the airport located in Class D airspace is below basic VFR weather minimums.
3. the air traffic control tower is not in operation.

4. The wind condition that requires maximum caution when avoiding wake turbulence on landing is a

1. light, quartering headwind.
2. light, quartering tailwind.
3. strong headwind.

5. How can a military airport be identified at night?

1. Alternate white and green light flashes.
2. Dual peaked (two quick) white flashes between green flashes.
3. White flashing lights with steady green at the same location.

6. If the control tower uses a light signal to direct a pilot to give way to other aircraft and continue circling, the light will be

1. flashing red.
2. steady red.
3. alternating red and green.

7. Where is the "Available Landing Distance" (ALD) data published for an airport that utilizes land and hold short operations (LAHSO)?

1. Airport/Facility Directory (A/FD).
2. 14 CFR Part 91, General Operating and Flight Rules.
3. Aeronautical Information Manual.

8. What causes variations in altimeter settings between weather reporting points?

1. Unequal heating of the Earth's surface.
2. Variation of terrain elevation.
3. Coriolis force.

Final Exam Answers

1. The correct answer is A. A large aircraft's strongest wingtip vortex turbulence occurs when it is heavy, clean, and slow--and tends to sink after it is generated. That's why you should always stay above a large aircraft's flight path and land beyond its touchdown point.

2. The correct answer is B. Class D airspace is automatically in effect only when the associated part-time control tower is in operation, regardless of weather conditions or availability of flight service. When the tower is not in operation, the airspace reverts to Class E.

3. The correct answer is B. Operation of the airport beacon during daylight hours often indicates that weather is below basic VFR minimums--less than a 1,000-foot ceiling and/or three statute miles' visibility. There is no regulatory requirement for daylight operation of a beacon, but this is standard practice for control towers in controlled airspace.

4. The correct answer is B. A light, quartering tailwind will cause the vortices to be pushed in front of the aircraft creating them. Even if you use proper procedures and land beyond its touchdown point, the tailwind can push the vortices into your touchdown zone.

5. The correct answer is B. Military airport beacons flash alternately white and green, but are differentiated from civil beacons by two quick white flashes between green flashes.

6. The correct answer is B. A steady red means to give way to other aircraft and continue circling. To an airplane in flight, a flashing red signal means that the airport is unsafe--do not land. The alternating red and green light always means exercise extreme caution.

7. The correct answer is A. ALD data is published in the special notices section in the AF/D. LAHSO requires familiarity with the available landing distance at a particular airport. Before you accept a land-and-hold-short clearance, it is very important to know the landing distance available because you are expected to be stopped before reaching a specific point on the runway. If you have any doubts at all, decline the clearance.

8. The correct answer is A. Unequal heating causes differences in air pressure, which is reflected by differences in altimeter settings between weather reporting points. Altimeter settings are not affected by terrain elevation. The Coriolis force is the turning of winds caused by the rotation of the Earth and does not affect altimeter settings.

AOPA members can discuss these or any aviation questions with Pilot Information Center staff by calling 800/USA-AOPA or sending an e-mail.