Training Notes and News

As a college admissions representative, Pat Rinearson relishes the opportunity to promote Kansas State University to prospective students. What's especially satisfying is when he describes the school's aviation program and then gets to add, "Want to come out to the airport and see one of our airplanes?"

Rinearson, a 2006 graduate of K-State at Salina, was hired in October as its sole aviation admissions rep. Whereas other admissions representatives are assigned territories--say, the state of Texas--and promote the university as a whole, Rinearson travels around the country in a Garmin G1000-equipped Cessna Skyhawk, and the aviation program is his main focus. As the position is fairly new, he's still fleshing out the particulars, but he's intent on hitting some of the major airshows as well as the usual visits to high-school career days. In July, he'll join a contingent of K-State staff and students who are exhibiting for the first time at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

In the meantime, Rinearson flies the new Skyhawk to events at magnet schools, aviation camps, and aviation clubs, as well as high schools and community colleges. The airplane becomes a part of the presentation as its pilot demonstrates the cutting-edge avionics. "It's a really good way to get them jazzed about aviation and flying," he says. "You can go in and make a classroom presentation, and that's great, and I do. But you can say, 'By the way, when you guys get done with class, come out to the airport and I'll show you the airplane.' You bring the college to them when you do that, and they can really get a good feel for what the program's about." For more information about the aviation program at K-State Salina, see the Web site. --Jill W. Tallman

Bush's budget sets stage for tax hike, user fees

President Bush released the fiscal 2008 budget proposal on February 5, and in doing so confirmed what AOPA has feared: The possibility of tax increases and user fees for general aviation are upon us.

The $2.9 trillion spending plan would radically alter the funding mechanism for the nation's air traffic control system, and would slash airport funding by $1 billion.

The budget sets the tone for the FAA's coming reauthorization bill, which needs to be enacted by the end of September. That bill will determine who pays what and how much the FAA will receive in its budget. Department of Transportation Secretary Mary Peters has said that she cannot overstate the importance of "getting a financing bill that ties revenues to costs and allows us to manage the FAA more efficiently."

According to Washington insiders, her comments are code for user fees, which would directly tie revenues to costs. The bill could propose, for example, that you be charged nearly four times as much in aviation fuel taxes; or, it could impose a fee each time you filed a flight plan, flew an instrument approach, or talked to an air traffic controller.

The FAA authorization bill has a long road ahead, and you can be sure AOPA will provide key testimony during those hearings. Both the House and the Senate may come up with their own versions of an FAA funding plan.

Right now, AOPA is gearing up for those committee hearings, which are the great forums for all those with stakes in the bill's outcome. AOPA will leverage the political clout of its more than 410,000 members.

To read more detailed articles on this subject and view accompanying multimedia, see AOPA Pilot Online. For more information on FAA funding, see AOPA Online.

Sporty's Academy produces five Master CFIs

Five flight instructors from Sporty's Academy in Cincinnati, Ohio, have been designated master flight instructors. They are Eric Radtke, president of Sporty's Academy; Ben Roller, chief flight instructor; Paul Jurgens II, vice president; Bret Koebbe, check airman and flight instructor; and Mike Puehler, assistant chief instructor and designated examiner. The Master CFI designation is granted by the National Association of Flight Instructors and is given to flight instructors who have earned national accreditation through continuing education and peer review.

What It Looks Like

Vacuum pump

New drivers learn to steer a car so that they stay in the proper lane and avoid other cars. New student pilots learn to control heading and attitude--pitch and bank--to keep the airplane under control.

The eyes, fixed outside the windshield, are the best way to gauge heading and attitude, provided the visibility allows. At night, however, or in reduced visibility or clouds, pilots must rely on their heading and attitude indicators. That's why the vacuum pump--the device that powers the heading and attitude indicators--is such an important component.

The standard among light aircraft is an engine-driven vacuum pump that sucks air though a filter mounted on the engine firewall (it could be on the engine side or the cockpit side of the firewall), through a line routed to both the heading and attitude indicators and the suction gauge on the panel, and then is discharged from the pump. The suction passes over gyroscopes inside the attitude and heading indicators, causing them to spin at high speed and produce the proper indications.

A few aircraft employ a pressure pump system that forces positive pressure, rather than suction, through the lines to spin the gyros. High-performance aircraft may use an electrically powered heading indicator, as do glass-cockpit airplanes.

Vacuum pumps are relatively simple in design. The main internal component is a carbon-graphite rotor that holds carbon vanes. The engine crankshaft turns an accessory gear that turns the vacuum pump rotor and forces the vanes against the elliptically shaped aluminum outside wall of the pump. The constant opening and closing of the slots between the vanes creates the pump action that produces pressure.

Vacuum pumps wear out for a variety of reasons, including normal wear of the carbon vanes as they rub against the aluminum wall. Flying in thin air at high altitudes can accelerate wear, as can over-revving the engine and rapid throttle application. Improper installation of the pump can cause premature failure.

Vacuum pump failure can be difficult for a pilot to immediately recognize. Typically, a failed pump gradually loses rotational speed, which means the vacuum gradually decreases in strength. That means the heading and attitude indicator gyros spin down slowly, leading to increasingly erroneous indications.

One of the foundations of IFR flying is maintaining a good scan of the primary flight instruments--and the suction gauge--so that a problem with the vacuum pump can be detected before the heading and attitude indicators become dangerously out of kilter.

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 and may be found on p. 19.

1. After landing at a tower-controlled airport, when should the pilot contact ground control?

1. A) When advised by the tower to do so.
2. B) Before turning off the runway.
3. C) After reaching a taxiway that leads directly to the parking area.

2. Under what condition is pressure altitude and density altitude the same value?

1. A) At sea level, when the temperature is 0 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. B) When the altimeter has no installation error.
3. C) At standard temperature.

3. During the runup at a high-elevation airport, a pilot notes a slight engine roughness that is not affected by the magneto check but grows worse during the carburetor heat check. Under these circumstances, what would be the most logical initial action?

1. A) Check the results obtained with a leaner setting of the mixture.
2. B) Taxi back to the flight line for a maintenance check.
3. C) Reduce manifold pressure to control detonation.

1. A) A 70-foot increase in indicated altitude.
2. B) A 70-foot increase in density altitude.
3. C) A 700-foot increase in indicated altitude.

5. Every physical process of weather is accompanied by, or is the result of, a

1. A) movement of air.
2. B) pressure differential.
3. C) heat exchange.

6. The most frequent type of ground or surface-based temperature inversion is that which is produced by

1. A) terrestrial radiation on a clear, relatively still night.
2. B) warm air being lifted rapidly aloft in the vicinity of mountainous terrain.
3. C) the movement of colder air under warm air, or the movement of warm air over cold air.

7. With certain exceptions, safety belts are required to be secured about passengers during

1. A) taxi, takeoffs, and landings.
2. B) all flight conditions.
3. C) flight in turbulent air.

8. Who may perform preventive maintenance on an aircraft and approve it for return to service?

1. A) Student or recreational pilots.
2. B) Private or commercial pilots.
3. C) None of the above.

Final Exam Answers

1. The correct answer is A. After landing at a towered airport, you should contact ground control on the appropriate frequency only when instructed by the tower. The tower may do this before you turn off the runway or after you reach a taxiway that leads to parking.

2. The correct answer is C. Pressure altitude and density altitude are the same when temperature is standard for any given altitude. Standard temperature at sea level is 59 degrees F, or 15 degrees Celsius, and decreases at a rate of 3.5 degrees F or 2 degrees C per thousand feet of altitude gain.

3. The correct answer is A. If you notice a slight roughness that is not affected by a magneto check but grows worse during the carburetor heat check, you should try leaning the mixture. At a high-elevation field, the air is less dense and the application of carburetor heat increases the already-too-rich fuel-to-air mixture. By leaning the mixture control during the run-up, the condition should improve.

4. The correct answer is C. The indicated altitude on an altimeter changes about 1,000 feet for every change of 1 inch of mercury (Hg) in the altimeter setting window. If the altimeter setting increases by 0.7 inches Hg, the change in pressure will be equal to 700 feet, not 70 feet of altitude. Density altitude is not affected by changing the altimeter setting.

5. The correct answer is C. Every physical process of weather is accompanied by, or is the result of, a heat exchange. Differences between the temperatures of two air masses causes a differential in pressure, which in turn causes movement of air. Heat exchanges occur constantly resulting in melting, cooling, updrafts, downdrafts, and wind.

6. The correct answer is A. An inversion often develops near the ground on clear, cool nights when the wind is light. The ground loses heat and cools the air near the ground while the temperature a few hundred feet above changes very little. This results in warmer air at higher altitudes and cooler air near the ground.

7. The correct answer is A. FAR 91.107 states that each person on board a U.S.-registered civil aircraft must occupy an approved seat or berth with a safety belt and, if installed, a shoulder harness, properly secured about him or her during movement on the surface, takeoff and landing. Interestingly, airline pilots usually turn the seatbelt sign on in turbulent air, but Part 91 does not require seatbelts in turbulent air.

8. The correct answer is B. FAR 43.7(f) states that a person holding at least a private pilot certificate may approve an aircraft for return to service after performing preventive maintenance. Preventive maintenance means simple or minor preservation operations and the replacement of small standard parts not involving complex assembly operations.

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