Both Carl and Len are airline pilots and go through a great deal of recurrent flight and ground training each year. As an airline Captain, Carl has recurrent ground training once a year and recurrent simulator every six months. As an airline First Office, Len has has the same except his simulator training is only once every 12 months.
As general aviation pilots, we’re only required to have a flight review every 24 months. Do you think that’s safe? Do you think that’s enough to maintain your proficiency for your flight certificates? During this episode, we spent a great deal of time discussing recurrent pilot training, how to stay proficient, and sharing co-host methods for staying safe in their respective aircraft including some excellent reasons why recurrent training is not only important, but extremely beneficial.
Pre-Flight
You may recall in a previous episode the announcement that Victoria was hosting a Women Fly it Forward event at the Frederick Municipal Airport, Frederick, MD KFDK on March 10th. This day is an opportunity for women of all ages to experience their very first airplane ride for FREE as a way to promote aviation to more women. Victoria is PROUD TO ANNOUNCE that ERA pilot Sarah Fraher of Flying Wild Alaska fame will be in attendance at Women Fly It Forward to help promote and share aviation with the ladies in attendance. Don’t miss this event on March 10th! Register today - seats are filling up fast.
Flight instructing from an island paradise is filled with wonderful moments but who knew today I would be learning a lesson in history. I had just completed a training session in the simulator under fluorescent lights and was enjoying the warm Florida sun while standing next to the small terminal building at Peter O. Knight Airport in Tampa.
I watched a Piper aircraft land and taxi to the terminal in front of me and shut down. An older gentleman stepped out of the aircraft and proclaimed “it is a wonderful day to fly!” to the first person who would listen, that person being me. I said to him it sure was but I had just spent most of my day inside and could not wait to get up in the sky.
With outstretched hand I said “Hi my name is Carl and I teach here”. He shook my hand and said “hello my name is Henry”. I then looked at him and said “this your plane?”. Henry then says with a look of a pride “it sure is”. I looked towards him and then said “being able to fly is wonderful. So how long have you been flying?” He then looks at me and said I flew in WWII. I was a Tuskegee Airman”.
“Wow World War II, I just finished showing Chester another WWII fighter pilot how to use our simulator!” I then looked at him and said “Pardon my ignorance what is a Tuskegee Airman?”. He looked towards me for one second and then said to me “when I was young, blacks where not allowed to become pilots in the military. That changed with our all black fighter squadron, the Tuskegee Airman.”
I said “Wow, I never knew that”. I wish I could have listened to stories about this fighter squadron called the Tuskegee Airmen but I had another lesson. I then looked at my watch and said “I need to get going to my next lesson, but I sure would like to hear more about your experience.” He then turned to me and said “look it up in the library, you might also want to look for information under the name Red Tails.”
He left me standing there with a puzzled and curious look on my face. I had to find out what this Red Tails thing meant. Later that day through the wonders of internet search engines I was able to find a bunch of information but it wasn’t until recently that I understood the personal struggles of the brave soldiers called “The Tuskegee Airmen.”
The movie Red Tails is the amazing story of the struggles of African American pilots to be accepted in a segregated military. I really enjoyed this movie because it integrated the story of the the individuals and their unique personalities with the historic events.
The cinematography was unique and while watching I had the feel of a Frank Capra film rather than a modern film with amazing special effects. I’m not sure if this was done on purpose but at one point in the movie in a scene where the pilots were being briefed before a battle I had a flashback to the black and white movies from the past.
I’m not sure if this was purposeful but the special effects especially during the aerial combat where reminiscent of the old movies I have been watching recently. The movie’s story outshines the special effects. However, I came to hear a story rather than watch airplanes, although the airplanes attracted me to this film.
For one who wants to understand the struggles of the black pilots and their acceptance into a segregated military this is a wonderful film. I was glued to the screen during the film imagining myself in the airfields of Europe. Everyone who wants to understand the Tuskegee airmen and watch an entertaining movie which has some wonderful airplanes, this is a must see.
Today I will be at the National Air And Space Museum Book Signing event. George Norfleet author of "A Pilot’s Journey – Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman, Curtis Christopher Robinson" will be signing books from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
George Norfleet recorded a series of interviews with the late Curtis C. Robinson, a Tuskegee Airman fighter pilot and a member of the 99th Fighter Squadron. The interviews are the basis for the book, "A Pilots Journey". George was a National Air and Space Museum's best selling author in 2009.I am excited to meet George today!
For more information about the book and other book signing events click below:
As a flight instructor and Captain with the airlines I noticed there are certain aspects of instrument flying which challenge pilots of all levels. I have written about these topics in past blog posts and have placed some of the top challenges into a presentation for the FAA Safety Team.
For a more extensive discussion and a list of reference materials on each topic I have included links to each section discussed in the presentation. Click the titles below to view the blog posts associated with each section of the presentation.
To Download the powerpoint presentation Click Here.
In Episode 17 we announced that our Stuck Mic AvCast co-host Carl Valeri would be in attendance at the 2012 US Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, FL. After 3 days of visiting with venders, watching speakers, and most importantly meeting you folks in the field, we’ve compiled an entire show around his Sebring interviews.
This is the second in a series of videos discussing Constant Speed Propellers. In part one we discussed the purpose and the operation of a constant speed prop. Today we are going to learn the mechanics of how the propeller works. If you have not done so I encourage you to watch part one of this video by clicking here.
Why The Constant Speed Prop?
As a review from Part 1 the the constant speed prop is a device which allows us to efficiently convert power from the engine into thrust. Remember a constant speed propeller is attempting to keep the engine at a constant RPM by adjusting the blade angle and therefore the pitch of the propeller.
Propeller “pitch” is the distance in inches which the propeller would screw through the air in one rotation. When changing the blade angle we change the pitch of the propeller and use the term controllable pitch propeller. Therefore when we change the blade angle we are changing the distance the propeller would screw through the air and are controlling the pitch of the propeller. Therefore we call them controllable pitch propellers.
It really is a simply operation to control the RPM of the engine if you simply think about the blade angle and the results of changing the blade angle using the propeller control in the aircraft. First we have an engine which converts its power to turn large shaft which is attached to the propeller. This turning or rotational force is called torque. When you open a jar of peanut butter you are converting energy from your muscles into a rotational force or torque.
The amount of torque depends on the size of your muscles and the tools you use to open the jar such as a plastic jar opener. If you have a very large jar of peanut butter to open you will be using much more torque to get the jar open. In much the same way if you have a larger blade angle you will need a much larger force to turn the propeller through the air which is producing resistance similar to the lid on the jar but we just can’t see the air with our eyes, but we know it is there.
If you reduce the blade angle of the propeller there is less air resistance and less torque needed and the RPM of the engine speed will increase slightly. Now if you increase the blade angle the amount of torque needed increases and the propeller slows causing the engine to slow down, or decrease the RPM of the engine.
The propeller is constantly changing pitch to keep the selected RPM setting we chose for our condition of flight. For instance we would want a low pitch setting so that the engine can produce the highest RPM during takeoff and go around but in cruise flight we would want to set the pitch higher and therefore reduce the RPM thus reducing the fuel burn and decreasing the amount of slippage. For a description of propeller slip view part 1 of this series on constant speed propellers.
Changing The Propeller Pitch
Let’s now look at how the propeller changes the pitch of the propeller. To do this I am going to use one of my favorite free brochures from McCauley Propeller Systems. There is a link to the brochure located at my website and I highly recommend you keep it for future reference. Another great reference is Rod Machado’s Private Pilot Handbook where Rod’s wonderful illustrations make it easy to understand complex topics. Todays topic is
The propeller uses a device called a governor to maintain the speed of the engine through varying the blade angle and pitch of the propeller. A governor is a mechanical device which controls the speed of the engine by varying the pitch of the propeller to match the selected RPM.
Before we learn how this governor changes the blade angle of the propeller and therefore the pitch we need to first learn how the propeller angle is moved. Also to further simplify our discussion since changing the blade angle directly changes the pitch I will use the the term pitch to mean changing the blade angle for the remainder of the discussion.
Again, any time we change the blade angle of the propeller we are changing the pitch of the propeller. Furthermore we will be discussing propellers used on most general aviation airplanes which are non feathering. Look for a discussion on full feathering propellers in an upcoming episode.
First lets look at the forces acting on the propeller and on our constant speed propeller. As the engine rotates the propeller since it is not fixed there is a twisting force, called the centrifugal twisting moment, which makes the propeller go to a low pitch pitch if it was not attached to anything else. But the propeller is attached to something which allows us to move it and overcome this twisting moment.
To move the propeller blades we attach each blade to a piston inside a dome containing oil. The linkage between the piston and the propeller is called and actuating link and is attached to either end using pins. When the piston moves the actuating link then moves the propeller. To increase the pitch of the propeller oil is pumped into the dome creating more pressure which then moves the propeller. To decrease the pitch oil is simply drained.
Additionally, there is a spring attached to the piston which pushes the piston towards the the dome and is thus moving the propeller to a low pitch setting. Therefore, when we pump oil into the dome and move the piston we are moving the piston and overcoming two forces, the force of the spring, we are compressing the spring, and the centrifugal twisting moment of the turning propeller.
When the desired engine RPM setting has been reached the system is in equilibrium and there is neither any oil being pumped into or drained from the propeller dome. If any condition of flight changes such as if we push the nose down and increase the airspeed the RPM on the engine will begin to increase which causes the governor to pump more oil into the dome thus increasing the pitch of the propeller.
Understanding the mechanics of a constant speed propeller is easy once you can understand the basic concepts of how the propeller moves. I have found most people must review this material multiple times to understand the concepts thoroughly. I encourage you to review this video again and envision yourself using the propeller control system. You will know when you have truly mastered an understanding for the constant speed propeller once you
In the next section I will discuss the system which pumps the oil into the dome and how the propeller governor works. I also will be discussing some abnormal system operations such as what will happen if you lose oil pressure or the engine quits running. I also will discuss cold weather operations and running up the engine prior to takeoff.
I hope you have enjoyed this video and it has helped you understand how a constant speed propeller works.
Heads turned skyward in unison. Some seem oblivious to the conversation they abruptly interrupted. A sleek figure whose existence is a melding of both mechanical ingenuity and artistic beauty appears on the horizon. Its presence is announced by the high pitched whirring of a modern propeller.
Along with the crowd gathered at the US Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, FL, I watched intently as this sleek machine sliced through the air above. My skyward gaze slowly lowered to view an even more astounding site, the smiles of those attending.
It is at this time when I realized why we are here. Some have yet to step inside an airplane while others are seasoned pilots with thousands of hours flying through the skies above. Every pilot in attendance from seasoned airline pilot to those looking towards obtaining their wings have one thing in common. We all begin flying in a small aircraft similar to the ones over our heads today. The US Sport Aviation Expo will kindle our flying passion since for all of us Flying Begins Here.
For those of you attending the Expo, I hope you will stop by and say hello. I will be in a white Stuck Mic AvCast T-shirt carrying a microphone. If you see me gazing skyward entranced by a small plane flying by, please interrupt me an say hi. I would love to talk about airplanes and our passion for flying.
Today’s show was spurred by a listener email that had to do with the pros and cons of flying for fun versus flying for work. There’s a lot of opinions out there on the Internet and aviation forums, some from disgruntled airline pilots, other from passionate aviators looking to fly heavy iron.
Since Carl and Len are both airline pilots and Rick and Victoria fly for pleasure, what not a better group of people to discuss these issues with.
Pre-Flight
Our Stuck Mic AvCast co-host Carl Valeri of ExpertAviator.com, will be attending the Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, FL on January 19th and 20th. The event, which runs January 19th through January 22nd, focuses on Light Sport Aircraft and the Sport Pilot Certificate. Look for Carl in his Stuck Mic AvCast t-shirt armed with his video camera and audio recorder making his rounds at the Expo! He’s super nice and fun to talk planes with so make sure to catch him if you can.
The next announcement today is in conjunction with Women of Aviation Week, the second annual Women Fly It Forward event hosted by our very own Victoria Neuville of Aviation Insurance Resources. The event will be held at KFDK Frederick Municipal Airport, Frederick, MD on March 10th, 2012 and promotes aviation for women. Last year, Women Fly It Forward shared the gift of flight by providing free airplane rides to 185 women of all ages. The only requirement is that it must be your first time in a small plane. There’s also a chance to win a flight award for money and discounts towards flight training. Will you be there?
Cruise Flight
Intro to flying for fun vs flying for hire
Why we became pilots
Decisions to fly
Training choices
Desired outcomes
College education paths
Time off for other life pursuits
Pros and cons of flying for hire vs flying for fun
Flying as a hobby
Flying as a job
Co-hosts regrets and what’d they do different next time
Today I want to take you along on an educational and entertaining flight from Tampa’s Peter O. Knight Airport to Ocala, Florida. This is a first in a new series of videos to entertain, educate, and promote your passion for flying.
In this video you will discover :
Some advantages and disadvantages of obtaining your Instrument clearance in the air after departing VFR.
How to navigate around Class Bravo airspace while waiting to receive your IFR clearance.
Transitioning from VFR to IFR and some clearances that can be confusing.
How to operate using the new control tower at Ocala airport.
A great place to have breakfast or lunch at the Tailwind Cafe.
The purpose of our flight was to practice filing an IFR flight plan and flying in the air traffic control system. Additionally we simply wanted to enjoy the scenery and find a good airport restaurant for breakfast since we were both hungry.
We called ahead to the Tailwind Cafe to verify the restaurant was open. From past experience we have departed for a hundred dollar hamburger only to find the restaurant recently closed. Luckily this cafe has been open for a long time because it not only relies on airport traffic but locals to come visit.
After obtaining a weather briefing we filed IFR for two reasons first for the practice and second since Ocala was marginal VFR due to low visibility. At our departure airport we could have picked up our IFR clearance but from past experience this can take some time and the weather along our route was VFR.
We departed runway 04 and climbed to one thousand feet. After clearing the traffic pattern at Peter O Knight we called Tampa approached control and stated “Tampa Approach Cessna 12345 is off of Peter O. Knight ready to copy IFR to Ocala.”
Tampa Approach : “Cessna 12345 squawk 3537, maintain VFR at or below four thousand”.
We read back, “Maintain VFR at or below 4000, squawking 3537.” After the transmission I could see my student turn to me with a puzzled look which started a discussion as to whether we could climb to 4000 now. The answer is no because we were still operating below the class bravo airspace and we have not been cleared into class bravo.
Even though we requested an IFR clearance we are still operating VFR. Additionally, we never heard the key words “cleared into class bravo airspace”
Shortly afterwards we received an additional clearance form Air Traffic Control (ATC), “Cessna 12345 maintain one thousand six hundred, cleared into bravo airspace”. We read back “up to one thousand six hundred, cleared into bravo” and begin our climb.
Now we are cleared into bravo airspace but must still maintain VFR until we receive our IFR clearance which comes shortly after we climb to sixteen hundred with the following communication:
ATC : “Cessna 12345 are you ready to copy your clearance”
Cessna : “Cessna 12345 ready to copy”
ATC “Cessna 12345 is cleared to Ocala airport as filed except maintain five thousand”
Us: “Cessna 12345 as filed except maintain five thousand”.
ATC : “Cessna 12345 climb now to five thousand”
Cessna: “Climb to five thousand, Cessna 12345”
We are on our way and in the IFR system. The flight was smooth and uneventful but with the approaching cold front I was glad we filed IFR since a layer of haze reduced our visibility.
As we approached Ocala we listened to ATIS on our number two radio and began to set up the GPS for a visual to runway 18. Even though it would be a visual approach it is a good idea to load an approach into the GPS for additional conformation that we are landing on the correct runway.
The control tower at Ocala was completed in May of 2011 and was put in place due to the demand from the local horse trade and in hopes of increasing business now that it does have a tower. The tower is a simple but attractive design keeping with the style of the area.
While approaching Ocala air traffic control told us to expect the visual to runway 18. We said we had the runway in sight and they subsequently told us to contact tower.
We contacted tower by saying “Ocala tower Cessna 12345 is with you for the visual 18.” Ocala tower does not have radar so they asked us if we would prefer the left or right downwind to runway 18. We asked for a right downwind and kept it in tight so I could bring you this video of the tower and the runway.
After landing we turned off the runway and were asked to contact ground. After clearing the runway we completed our after landing checklist and then contacted tower saying “Ocala ground Cessna 12345 is clear of one eight and we would like to taxi to the restaurant” The control asked “are you familiar”. We then stated that it has been a long time since we had been here and need directions.
The controller then told us to taxi down alpha to alpha 3 and the restaurant is on the ramp near the Shell sign. After entering the ramp I began looking for the Landmark FBO frequency but luckily there was someone on the ramp that guided us into a parking space.
After securing the aircraft we walked into the Landmark Aviation FBO past a unique display of jockey figurines lining the concrete walkway. Inside we were greeted with a warm smile from the person behind the counter who took our tail number and told us to enjoy our lunch. No landing fee if you eat at the cafe.
The Tailwind Cafe is charming and brings back many memories of my bringing students here to have lunch on one of the many cross countries I did to this airport. One of the wonderful things about flying is that we can pick up and go to these small out of the way places for lunch in under an hour.
One interesting item which adds to the nostalgic charm is the many wings which flight crews have given to the cafe to put on the cork board behind the counter. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and watched airplanes out the large window highlighted by a hawker jet pulling up to the entrance before we paid the bill.
The Return Flight.
We filed IFR and asked for direct to destination on the way back to Peter O. Knight. We started the engine, listened to ATIS and asked for our clearance from ground control. Since there is no clearance delivery at Ocala we use the ground control frequency for our clearance. We received the clearance “...Cleared To Tampa Peter O. Knight Airport via Ocala Victor 481, DADES, Direct, Maintain two thousand, expect four thousand ten minutes after departure, squawk 3845.
This is different from our original filed flight plan so I put it into my flight planning and charting software, Fore Flight, and noticed only a few minutes extra in our planned flight time with us still landing with over three hours of fuel so we were go to go.
When you are given a reroute you should always recheck your fuel burn to determine if you will need any extra fuel. Also, one of the benefits to using an electronic charting system such as Fore Flight is the ability to simply enter the new route and you will get a navigation log with the current winds provided you are connected to the internet.
The other important thing to remember is you must now program your flight plan into your database in your GPS. There are of course a few options in our case, we could have simply tuned the VOR frequency and then dialed in the radial, departed and then put the remainder of the flight plan in our GPS.
There are two reasons I caution against operating this way. First, we have filed our flight plan with an equipment suffix of “/G” and we must be able to quickly navigate direct to a waypoint if given an ATC clearance to do so. Second, we should be concentrating on flying the plane while in flight and looking for traffic instead of with our head down looking at the GPS and programming a route we could have entered on the ground.
Since today there where two pilots in the airplane my job was to program the GPS and my flying partner was flying. I was in charge of placing the flight plan into the GPS. We taxied out to runway 18 and were soon after cleared for takeoff.
One thing you should review if you have simply been using your GPS for direct to navigation is how to activate a leg in a flight plan. This may sound trivial but while you are being radar vectored during a climb is the worst time to be experimenting with how to activate a leg.
If I asked you to explain how to activate a leg in your GPS and you cannot immediately respond I encourage you to get out your manual and review the procedure. Keep in mind there may be a few ways to activate a leg in your GPS similar to the GNS 430 we use. If you have a simulator on your computer I encourage you to get it out after this video and practice activating a leg in your flight plan. Interestingly you would be surprised how many people don’t know how to activate a leg in their electronic navigation system so don’t feel bad if you don’t remember. Simply review it now.
After we reviewed how to activate a leg in our GPS in case we were told to intercept the airway we were given the simple clearance to climb to five thousand and direct DADES. At least we were prepared to intercept the airway.
It was a beautiful day to fly! We learned a few things on this fun flight to Ocala for breakfast and I hope my sharing this flight with you today has been both informative and entertaining. If you are instrument rated and current I encourage you to file an IFR flight plan next time you fly even if it is a clear VFR day.
First, by actually flying in the system and talking to air traffic control you will gain much experience talking to ATC which is something we all could benefit from. Second, when we file a flight plan, whether IFR or VFR, and you have a problem and land off airport, search and rescue will first begin searching along your route. Even better if you pick up your IFR clearance and operate in the system it is like having VFR flight following at all times and you are sure that search and rescue will be dispatched immediately by ATC if you were to land off field. Third, if you are flying IFR and you see a cloud you will not have to alter course due to VFR cloud clearance.
I file an IFR flight plan every time I fly even if I don’t pick up my clearance. With the new electronic flight bags and planning software such as Fore Flight I can quickly put my flight plan in my iPad, get a weather briefing, and file my flight plan all with a few simple key strokes.
My name is Carl Valeri aviation blogger and co host of the Stuck Mic AvCast. I hope you enjoyed coming with me on this flight to Ocala and the Tailwind Cafe. I have links to the images shown on this video at ExpertAviator.com where you can also find links to the airport restaurant and the charts mentioned.
This is a first in a series of educational videos I will be presenting where I take you along with me on a flight. My purpose is to both entertain and educate you. For a transcript of this video and links to items mentioned in this video visit ExpertAviator.com. You also will find links to the Stuck Mic AvCast and aviation podcast about learning to fly, living to fly, and loving to fly!
I hope to see you again soon. Clear skies and safe flying!
Aircraft hanging from the cavernous hall seem ready to fly through the glass windows enclosing the exhibit. At the end of a hall in an exhibit area hang large photos of jet airplanes whose size give the appearance of being able to flying out of the picture. The National Air and Space Museum is awe inspiring and is a fitting venue for an exhibit of such a grand scale.
AirCraft : The Jet as Art is a photographic typology of jet aircraft as they are landing. Most photos taken from the vantage point of passing overhead. The most impressive photos are taken head on as if we where standing at the end of the runway and the plane was about to land on top of us.
The scale and detail of these photos are what initially impressed me. Against a white background the planes seem to jump out of the frame. The photographer Jeffrey Milstein photographed most of the aircraft near runway 24R at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
Milstein’s challenge while taking these photos was to get the perfect lighting and position of the aircraft. Much research and patience was required for the capturing of these wonderful photos. To plan ahead for the picture Milstein would listen on his iPhone using an App that relays air traffic controls communications.
Milstein’s fascination with aircraft was fostered by growing up close to LAX. From his backyard he was able to build an inexpensive telescope to identify the aircraft. Later as a teenager he filmed aircraft with an 8mm movie camera at the Santa Monica AIrport. Eventually his interest in aviation grew and he obtained is private pilot certificate at the young age of 17.
The collection of 33 photographs depicts the beauty and incredible power of these large engineering wonders as they gracefully fly through the air. The exhibit is on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum until November 25, 2012. If you can’t make it to the exhibit there is a wonderful coffee table book which I highly recommend.
As a flight instructor and Captain with the airlines I noticed there are certain aspects of instrument flying which challenge pilots of all levels. I have written about these topics in past blog posts and have placed some of the top challenges into a presentation for the 
