Before they climb into the cockpit of a jet, 150 Naval Academy midshipmen had a chance to get a feel for the controls in the whisper of engineless flight. The U.S. Naval Academy’s Summer Training Soaring Program began in 2009 as a way to introduce interested midshipmen to flying before they commit to a Naval aviation career path.
“This is a great way to expose folks to aviation,” said Cmdr. Brian Randall, the program’s chief glider and ground school instructor. Soaring gives the midshipmen a chance to focus on basic stick-and-rudder skills that will form the foundation of their training inside the cockpit, he explained.
There is no engine roar, no headsets, and no complex avionics, so the students can focus on mastering aerodynamic principles and weather patterns that keep them aloft without an engine. The summer program was run by the extracurricular Naval Academy Fixed-Wing Training Squadron and hosted by the Mid-Atlantic Soaring Association.
—Sarah Brown
Former flight students are new owners
Three students came to Nassau Flyers at Republic Airport in East Farmingdale, New York, to train for their private pilot checkrides. In August, they returned to the flight school as its owners. Don Socca, Don Vogel, and Doug Wohl saw each other in passing six years ago when they were earning their private certificates, but they didn’t become friends until they began training for instrument ratings. They began flying together, bought an airplane together, and this year purchased the flight school where they had been students. Socca and Wohl were business owners and Vogel was in finance, so the three decided to apply their expertise to their common passion. “We’d been successful in other businesses, so we wanted to try our hand in aviation,” Socca said. Since taking over the school on August 1, 2009, the new owners have added aircraft, a detail area and maintenance department for outside aircraft; glass cockpit technology; and a pilot shop. They retained the school’s 20 employees, including some of the flight instructors who were there when they were students. At an open house in September, the new owners welcomed close to 500 visitors and had 12 prospective students sign up. While it may seem crazy to buy a failing business in a bad economy, Socca said, they view it as an investment in the future. —Sarah Brown
What It Looks Like: Exhaust pipe soot
By Mark Twombly
Leaning the fuel/air mixture in a carbureted or fuel-injected aircraft piston engine is an important part of managing power. Proper leaning maximizes
fuel efficiency and performance, and is a key contributor to a long and healthy engine life.
Neglecting to lean the mixture in cruise flight, and even during the climb in certain conditions, makes for wasteful and expensive excess fuel consumption—and hastens engine wear.
One look at the spark plugs will tell a mechanic if the mixture is consistently being leaned properly, or not. A light gray ash coating on the plugs’ electrodes is a good sign; a sooty black coating is not. The black soot is a product of a too-rich mixture, resulting in unburned fuel collecting on the electrodes.
A less well-known indicator of leaning performance is the engine exhaust pipe. If the inside of the pipe is black and caked with sooty deposits much like a spark plug electrode, it’s a pretty good sign that the pilot, or pilots, are not doing a good job of leaning. Unburned fuel is being exhausted, and some of it is collecting on the pipe.
If, on the other hand, the inside of the pipe is a clean-looking light gray in color, it’s an indication that the pilot is conscientiously leaning the mixture. Whatever the phase of flight, the fuel/air mixture is consistently at the proper ratio for complete combustion.
Next time you’re at the airport take a look at the exhaust pipes on several aircraft. Find out who is flying lean and mean, and who is not.
What’s in AOPA Pilot?
Here’s what you’re missing if you don’t read AOPA Pilot, the association’s flagship magazine published monthly for certificated pilots.
- Bahamas Bound. Snow-white beaches, crystalline waters, and a laid-back atmosphere combine to bring you the best GA destination imaginable.
- Lone Star Flies Again. A Texas museum’s resurrection in the aftermath of a hurricane.
- Icing Intensities: What does it all mean? Why your airplane may not know the difference between “trace” and “severe.”
Are you ready to read about more advanced subjects such as these? Just as pilots upgrade to more advanced certificates, it may 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).
Pilots’ groups offer scholarships
The Eastern New England Chapter of The Ninety-Nines is offering four scholarships. The Martha C. Dunbar Honorary Scholarship and the Karla Carroll Memorial Scholarship, open to both men and women, are for $1,000 each. The William Bridge Scholarship for $1,000 is open to women with at least a private pilot certificate. The New England Section of the Ninty-Nines also offers a $1,000 scholarship in memory of Shirley Mahn, who died in 1975 in her Piper Aztec. All applicants must be either residents of the six New England states or studying in New England. Send an e-mail or a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Olga Mitchell, 10 Glory Lane, East Falmouth, Massachusetts 02536. Applications must be postmarked no later than January 31.
The National Gay Pilots Association has designated $15,000 to be awarded in scholarships in 2010. Scholarships of between $3,000 and $4,000 are available to students pursuing an aviation career as a professional pilot. Scholarships are merit based; criteria include demonstrated academic ability, financial need, and active participation in matters of social justice and the betterment of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. Awards will not discriminate on the basis of an applicant’s sexual orientation. Applications are due March 1. See the Web site.
School News
UND Aerospace adds Cessnas
The University of North Dakota’s (UND) John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences took delivery of six Cessna 172 Skyhawks in December. UND has added 44 new Cessna aircraft in the past 18 months. The total training fleet is 140, which includes 108 airplanes, eight helicopters, six UASs, and 18 flight training devices. UND Aerospace flew approximately 125,000 hours this year, the school said.
Embry-Riddle buys Waco that was part of its history
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, recently welcomed back one of its own: a 1928 Waco biplane that had once belonged to one of the university’s founders. An Indiantown, Florida, man refurbished and sold the Waco to the university for more than $50,000, according to TCPalm.com. The biplane, which still has its original N number and logo, will appear at airshows and other venues, but it won’t be used for training because the forward seat does not have a full set of controls.
Helicopter degree offered at San Juan College
San Juan College will offer helicopter flight training in partnership with Enchantment Helicopters of Albuquerque, New Mexico, in January 2010. The program will be an associate of applied science degree in helicopter technology and will cover four semesters. Graduates of the program will have logged 200 hours in rotary-wing aircraft and will have obtained private, commercial, and flight instructor certificates.
Flying without boundaries
By Julie Summers Walker
With vision and imagination, we can achieve anything we set our sights on, says inspirational speaker Jessica Cox. Cox, who was born without arms, earned a sport pilot certificate in October 2008, flying an Ercoupe. She is the first person without arms to earn the certificate.
Cox, of Tucson, Arizona, says she had wanted to fly since she was a child, and had explored learning in a Cessna Skyhawk but quickly realized she wouldn’t be able to solo it. An Ercoupe on the cover of the March 2006 issue of AOPA Pilot caught her eye, and she contacted AOPA, who put her in touch with the owner. He helped her to get started and eventually to find a sport-eligible Ercoupe to finish her training.
Cox’s first challenge in the Ercoupe was fastening the four-point harness, and she says she met that challenge using the same type of “out of the shoe” thinking that she used to learn to tie her shoes as a child. She uses her toes to tie and untie the shoelaces on her sneaker and then slips the shoes on once they are tied. In a similar fashion, she learned to buckle the airplane harness loosely, slide into the seat, and tighten the belt.
Other challenges the 26-year-old pilot faces include putting on her headset. She mastered that too, and says, “I have faced this all my life. I have learned to use my feet just like you use your arms. In fact, I ‘talk’ with my feet just like you ‘talk’ with your hands.”
Jessica Cox demonstrates how she puts on and adjusts her headset with her feet.
For more information on Jessica Cox, visit her 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. Pilots are more subject to spatial disorientation if
A) they ignore the sensations of muscles and inner ear.
B) visual cues are taken away, as they are in instrument meteorological
conditions (IMC).
C) eyes are moved often in the process of cross-checking the flight instruments.
2. Completion of an annual condition inspection and the return of the aircraft to service should always be indicated by
A) the relicensing date on the registration certificate.
B) an appropriate notation in the aircraft maintenance records.
C) an inspection sticker placed on the instrument panel that lists the annual inspection completion date.
3. What does the heavy dashed line that forms a large rectangular box on a radar summary chart refer to?
A) Areas of heavy rain.
B) Severe weather watch area.
C) Areas of hail one-quarter-inch in diameter.
4. Under what condition, if any, may a pilot allow a person who is obviously under the influence of drugs to be carried aboard an aircraft?
A) In an emergency or if the person is a medical patient under proper care.
B) Only if the person does not have access to the cockpit or pilot’s compartment.
C) Under no condition.
Answers
1. The correct answer is B. Our sense of balance and spatial orientation (i.e., knowing which way is up) is highly dependent on visual clues. (If you would like to experiment, try standing unassisted on one leg with your eyes closed.) Answers A and C are incorrect, since they are both part of the solution to maintaining spatial orientation when visual cues are unavailable. During instrument training, pilots are taught to trust the information provided by the flight instruments using a visual cross check, and to ignore the false sensations that they may receive from their other senses.
2. The correct answer is B. According to FAR 91.417(a), the annual inspection must be properly recorded in the aircraft’s maintenance log including a description of the work done, the date of completion, and the signature and certificate number of the person approving the aircraft for return to service. Answer A is incorrect, because the registration certificate shows the name of the current owner, and is not a maintenance record. Answer C is incorrect because annual inspection stickers for aircraft do not exist.
3. The correct answer is B. According to Aviation Weather Services, the boxes outlined by heavy dashed lines are weather watch areas that indicate possible tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. Answer A is incorrect because areas of heavy rain are depicted within the second contour line of the shaded areas. Answer C is incorrect because one-quarter-inch hail, or pea/marble or greater size hail, is depicted within the third contour of the shaded areas.
4. The correct answer is A. Only in an emergency or for a patient under medical care may a pilot allow a person who appears to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs to be carried on an aircraft (see FAR 91.17 [b]). Answer B is incorrect because it is not required to prevent access to cockpit, although it would be a good idea to ensure that the person would not be able to interfere with the safe operation of the aircraft. Answer C is incorrect because the regulations do allow for the two specific situations listed in answer A.
AOPA members can discuss these or any aviation questions with Pilot Information Center staff by calling 800-USA-AOPA or sending an e-mail.
Legal Briefing
Can I get slapped for an old violation?
By Kathy Yodice
Q: I’ve been a pilot for more than 25 years, and I have maintained my logbook all those years. Even though I only fly for personal pleasure and don’t really need to keep track of my hours, I enjoy keeping track of all of my flight hours and activities for nostalgic reasons. And, of course, I use it to keep track of my currency requirements. In a nostalgic moment, I was reviewing my logbook and happened across a time period when it looks like I flew for a couple of months beyond the expiration of my flight review. This happened almost 10 years ago. Could the FAA take a violation action against me now?
A: When the FAA takes a legal enforcement action against an airman for violations of the FARs, the airman is entitled to appeal the FAA’s action to
the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB has a procedural rule called “the stale complaint rule” which provides that the FAA’s legal office must notify you of the FAA’s intention to take an action against you within six months of the date of the alleged infraction, or the FAA’s action will be dismissed as stale.
There are a couple of exceptions to the rule. One exception is when the FAA alleges that an airman lacks qualifications requiring the revocation of his or her airman certificate(s). The other exception is for “good cause,” which is not a standard that is specifically defined but it is an exception that is often relied upon by the FAA when it does not find out about the infraction contemporaneous with its occurrence. Hence, in your circumstance, the FAA would not know that you flew without a current review until it reviewed your logbook and found it for themselves, maybe not until years later—if at all—and maybe only because someone reported it to them, or an FAA inspector was reviewing your logbook after an accident or incident or before giving you a checkride.
Even then, the FAA doesn’t have another six months to act; rather, the FAA must act faster, putting your case ahead of other cases, and notify you of its intention to take legal enforcement action in a more expeditious manner. The burden is on the FAA to establish that it acted with due diligence in moving forward with your case without delay once the facts were discovered.
So, the FAA is precluded in some cases and discouraged in other cases from taking action on a matter that happened long ago. In those instances when the FAA has the option of proceeding based on events that occurred years ago, the FAA has to exercise appropriate prosecutorial discretion in assessing its present ability to prove the violations and any necessity in doing so at that late date.
Send your legal questions to [email protected] and we’ll answer the best in upcoming issues.
Kathy Yodice is an attorney with Yodice Associates in Washington, D.C., which provides legal counsel to AOPA and administers AOPA’s legal services plan. She is an instrument-rated private pilot.
Abeam the numbers
20: The number of simulator hours that can be used to satisfy the requirements for an instrument rating, if not taken at a Part 142 school.
8: The minimum number of hours required between consuming alcohol and flying.
4: The number of terminal area forecasts issued at each station in a 24-hour period, one every six hours.
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