AOPA Online Members Only -- AOPA ePilot Custom Content -- Vol. 8, Issue 24

The following stories from the June 16, 2006, edition of AOPA ePilot were provided to AOPA members who expressed an interest in the particular subject areas. Any AOPA member can receive information tailored to their areas of interest by updating their preferences online.

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My ePilot - Piston Multiengine Interest
HANDLING AN ENGINE FAILURE ON TAKEOFF
Imagine you lost an engine on takeoff. What do you do? Two flight instructors crashed a Piper Seminole on the runway after losing an engine. They walked away, but the airplane was destroyed. E. Allan Englehardt, a designated pilot examiner who has given about 400 flight tests in multiengine aircraft, breaks down the pilots' actions in "The Multiengine Dilemma" in the June 2006 AOPA Flight Training. The key to knowing how to handle this type of situation lies in practicing it at higher altitudes. "If the airplane will climb satisfactorily at 3,000 feet agl [with one dead engine] it will only perform better when at a lower field elevation," he writes, later explaining, "You will know by your own tests and the single-engine climb charts whether or not the necessary climb performance is available."

My ePilot - Own/May Own Interest
AIRCRAFT OWNERSHIP RESOURCES AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
Want to know what's driving those avgas prices at the pump and how you can reduce the cost of flying? How about preventing aircraft corrosion, changing N numbers, selling an aircraft, or buying a supplemental type certificate? AOPA's Pilot Information Center discusses nearly 40 different aircraft ownership topics, including answers to these questions, in its online subject reports. If you want some advice from other owners, check out AOPA's Aviation Forums, which dedicates a special forum to aircraft ownership.

My ePilot - Other Interest
EMBRY-RIDDLE DESIGNS JET-POWERED DRAGSTER
A jet-powered dragster partly designed and sponsored by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) has reached 270 mph. It will be on display at EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh this year. Driver Elaine Larsen and Chris Larsen of Larsen Motorsports, the creator of the dragster, said it goes from zero to 60 mph in less than one second and is powered by a Pratt & Whitney J-60 jet engine. ERAU aerospace engineering and aviation maintenance students analyzed a previous Embry-Riddle-sponsored dragster, Miss-Ta-Fire, using computational fluid dynamics and made suggestions that were incorporated into the current design.

My ePilot - Student Interest, Training Tips
FIVE HAZARDOUS ATTITUDES
The June 9, 2006, Training Tips discussed how every flight-test applicant must be able to make competent decisions about whether to fly. An important element of your ability to make such decisions is whether you are prone to any of the hazardous attitudes associated with risky aeronautical decision making and certain kinds of accidents.

"The FAA's literature defines five hazardous attitudes that can undermine a pilot's aeronautical decision making. They are antiauthority, impulsivity, invulnerability, macho, and resignation. While these terms all have negative connotations, each really represents a trait or characteristic embodied in the psyche of every human mind. The key to maintaining a safe attitude is understanding the factors that influence each of these traits and recognizing situations when these traits may become prevalent enough to compromise our decision-making ability," wrote Robert N. Rossier in the September 1999 AOPA Flight Training feature "Hazardous Attitudes: Which One Do You Have?"

The five hazardous attitudes and related traits are described in detail in Chapter 16 of the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge. In discussing risk management, the chapter notes that hazardous attitudes can surface when a pilot evaluates changes affecting any of four risk elements found in every flight: the pilot, the airplane, the environment, and the operation. The danger, it notes, is that "hazardous attitudes can lead to poor decision making and actions that involve unnecessary risk."

This concept must be taught by flight instructors and is recognized by many individuals and organizations responsible for deciding whether a particular pilot is fit to fly, wrote Richard Hiner in the December 2001 AOPA Flight Training Instructor Report, in which he provided an excellent example: "I'm familiar with a flying club that requires all new members to submit their driving records. Those with an excess number of points for traffic violations are rejected for membership. The theory is that a member with a bad driving record displays the hazardous attitudes of 'antiauthority' and 'macho,' and the other members don't want them in their club. This seems to have served them well, because the club's safety record is remarkable."

Know the attitudes, know the risks, and know yourself when you head out to fly.

My ePilot - Student Interest, Training Products
'A FIELD GUIDE TO AIRPLANES': NOT JUST FOR AIRPLANE SPOTTERS
Have you ever been in the traffic pattern at a towered airport and been told to follow another aircraft-but you weren't familiar with the model and had no idea what kind of aircraft you should be looking for? Houghton Mifflin's recently released A Field Guide to Airplanes, Third Edition , includes descriptions and black-and-white sketches of more than 400 aircraft likely to be encountered at North American airports-whether civilian or military single- and multiengine aircraft or helicopters, regardless of vintage. The 304-page guide, by M.R. Montgomery and Gerald Foster, is current and includes such new models as the Symphony 160, Liberty XL2, and Diamond Star DA40. Only the emerging light sport aircraft and popular homebuilt models are missing. Text descriptions-and arrows accompanying the artwork-point out key differences between aircraft models with similar appearances. For example, the Beech Skipper and Piper PA-38 Tomahawk: The Tomahawk has a wraparound rear window, and its vertical tail extends slightly above the horizontal stabilizer; or the New Piper Archer III, in which a new cowling with circular air intakes distinguishes it from older versions of the PA-28. The price is $18.95.

Note: Products listed have not been evaluated by ePilot editors unless otherwise noted. AOPA assumes no responsibility for products or services listed or for claims or actions by manufacturers or vendors.

My ePilot - Student Interest, Final Exam
Question: What frequency, if any, can be used for air-to-air communications between two aircraft?

Answer: The Federal Communications Commission designates specific frequencies for aircraft and airports to use for specific purposes. For air-to-air communications, the designated frequencies are 122.75 MHz and 122.85 MHz. These frequencies also can be used for private airports that are not open to the public. For a list of designated frequencies for unicom and multicom frequencies, view Table 4-1-2 in the Aeronautical Information Manual. Learn more about what frequency you should use at AOPA Online.