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Rejected takeoffs

As I write this, a business jet was just on the news for rejecting a takeoff at a small airport in California that led to a fire that, by all accounts, destroyed the airplane.

On the same day, I was evaluated during a flight by a check airman, and the rejected takeoff (RTO) procedure was a point of discussion—in our case because my captain, whom I have flown with before, does a more-detailed-than-typical briefing of the procedure. My airline requires a full briefing of the RTO on the first leg of a trip or during a crew change. The reason is simple: RTOs at high speeds are high-risk events.

The airlines typically use 100 knots as the threshold between “low” speed and “high” speed. In the high-speed regime, aborts are generally done for one of four reasons: wind shear; an engine failure; a fire of any kind; or the belief that the airplane is unsafe to fly.

Further, this procedure is practiced every time we visit the simulator, and we practice it during takeoffs from either seat. This is important, because it may be prudent for the first officer—technically the second in command, in a rare moment making a command decision—to initiate the maneuver. Most carriers would dictate that the captain will assume command of the airplane at a safe point in time. This is done not just because the captain is in charge, but also because the RTO checklist is very specific about who does what, and it is predicated on the captain being in control of the airplane as it slows down.

I don’t know what happened in the California event, but there are very few acceptable reasons for an RTO to lead to an airplane leaving the runway and getting consumed in a fire (in this case, thankfully, there were no injuries).

Further, I don’t have any idea what the background or training of the crew was. But that said, any pilot in a turbine aircraft of any kind should not only be proficient in the maneuver of an RTO, but also should brief the mechanical steps that will be executed in order to bring the aircraft safely to a stop on the remaining runway. Closing the thrust levers, activating the thrust reversers, verifying the deployment of the spoilers, and maximizing the use of brakes are pretty standard steps.

RTOs are high risk because they are likely to occur when the airplane is accelerating at an accelerating rate, and may even be close to V1 or rotation speed. Remember that once you reach V1, you are committed to taking the airplane airborne and troubleshooting in flight. In other words, the wings will be generating a fair amount of lift, and the weight of the airplane will not be fully set on the wheels. It’s important to destroy that lift as quickly as possible and get the weight back on the wheels in order for the brakes and the drag of the airplane itself to work to your benefit. Weight on the wheels also will allow the tires to better grip the runway, which will also slow you down.

The act of aviating is terribly unforgiving of indecision and delayed reaction, and arguably, the high speed RTO is the event with the smallest window of time in which a tremendous error in action and judgment can occur. Don’t let it happen to you. Prepare for it, brief it, and fly it.—Chip Wright

Why should the ‘Citizen of the World’ polar circumnavigation matter to you?

September 16, 2019 / Robert DeLaurentis / 0 Comments

Our Flying Thru Life company and community mission of “One Planet One People One Plane” is for the benefit of every person on the planet, including you. Our primary goal is to show a divided world that we are all connected. Just as our flight will connect the two places on the planet where peace actually exists—the South Pole and the North Pole—our vision and intention are to connect all people in between through a shared adventure that includes deeper peace and Oneness.

One of our Flying Thru Life core beliefs is that humans are already united in so many ways that we often forget about in our busy, fragmented lives. One of our commitments is to be a living example of all these connections as “citizens of the world” and explore new ways to expand and deepen these relationships. Here are a few examples of the ways we are already connected:

Technology

With the proliferation of new technology our vast world is fast becoming one large community regardless of the desire of some to maintain separation. Things like the internet, where we exchange emails across the planet almost instantly; our global economy, where products from different countries line our shelves; or the planetary communication system with 66 Iridium NEXT satellites that now encircles our planet and is a key component of the Citizen of the World polar circumnavigation flight.

Transportation

People are now moving between states and countries with less expense, greater ease, and increased dedication to reducing carbon emissions. Airline travel between countries has become more efficient and available to the masses. Inexpensive airfares can get you from the U.S. to almost any other point on the planet. Movement through the European Union no longer requires a passport. While there may be nationalistic political efforts to keep people from entering certain countries, there is an equal effort on the part of global citizens to keep travel open between borders.

The Environment

The issues that affect “our” world are now global, including greenhouse gases, pollution, disease, and nuclear proliferation. It is clear that the resolution of these issues will require a collective effort and that no single player or country can do it all alone. We must all come together as members of planet Earth in our vision for the future of our planet and for our role as humans and stewards of the earth and all of its living beings.

Civilization

As the interracial connections between humans become more common with global communities, we will ultimately see the evolution of people into one race. This global citizen will be a blending of all races. Like it or not, agree with it or not, we will ultimately start to look more and more alike, reflecting the common spirit of humanity that already exists within each of us.

Origin

While there are some who question how our planet and the cosmos began, science continues to discover facts that explain how the universe originated from the Big Bang Theory. You and I and every other human being are made from the exact same cosmic stuff. “Those people” on the other side of the planet are just as much your brothers and sisters as the people in your family—just ask anyone who has discovered unknown relatives of different races through DNA testing and ancestry sites.

After visiting 120 countries prior to my 2015 circumnavigation, and another 23 countries and territories during the flight, it became clear to me that there are more similarities than differences among people. Before I set out on this journey, I defined people by their color, race, political affiliation, and socioeconomic class. But this limited perspective ignored the uniting spiritual element that is at our core and connects us all—things like our desire for health, happiness, the safety of ourselves and our families, our desire to dream and explore this beautiful planet, our home.

This polar circumnavigation of Citizen of the World has been created to highlight all the above elements and qualities, desires, and dreams; it is the common thread that joins humanity together. We are dedicated to connecting the South Pole to the North Pole and everyone in between as “citizens of the world” on a mission of One Planet, One People, One Plane: Oneness for Humanity. We invite you to join us at www.PoleToPoleFlight.com and share the journey in whatever way you feel compelled.

Winter is around the corner

September 10, 2019 / Chip Wright / 0 Comments

If you’re considering a career in the airlines or even in the corporate world, this time of year is one in which you should get into the habit of moving your brain from summer to winter operations. As I write this, it is not yet Labor Day, but temperatures have started to cool after a difficult summer of unrelenting heat. In the northern states, the nights are much cooler, and by early October, there will be places that are getting regular bouts of morning frost, and that means that the deicing season has begun.

Hints of this have popped up already around the country, as I have noticed a number of airports have pulled their deicing trucks out of storage and begun to run them to make sure the truck portion works, to say nothing of the deicing equipment. Everything needs to be tested and calibrated, and each season there are new wrinkles added to deicing programs and protocols. These can include new fluid manufacturers, new procedures for both deicing crews and flight crews (a few years ago, a concept called “liquid water equivalent” was introduced, and to be honest, I still don’t totally understand it, but it is the new standard for determining deicing strategies and holdover times). New employees will also get trained, and that process is easy to recognize as you see deicing trucks spray water on airplanes.

Preparation by the airlines or even fixed-base operators for deicing operations, especially on a large scale, starts around June. But for flight crews, it is on the horizon as the school year starts, and winter ops present their own challenges. Getting sprayed to remove a layer of frost is generally no big deal, but it has to be done correctly and by people who are trained to do it. In the next few weeks, airlines will begin disseminating their annual revisions to the manuals across their systems reflecting changes for the upcoming season. While liquid water equivalent is the new standard for calculating holdover times, it isn’t available for everyone. However, with the proliferation of iPads and electronic flight bags, apps are available to help take some of the guesswork and error out of the process.

I personally make it a habit to review the Cold Weather Operations sections of our manuals each season, especially if I got lucky the previous year and didn’t have to deal much with bad winter weather (last year was one of those years for me—it was cold, but I managed to avoid most of the snow and ice). There are limitations for the airplane and the operation for cold weather ops, and some aircraft systems are used differently. Some airports have fairly simplistic deicing complexes, and others are straightforward and simple. The Canadians are masterful at deicing, but it’s up to us as pilots to know how their systems work in order to keep it moving; a good review of the appropriate Jepp pages well before you need them will go a long way.

The next few months offer some of the best flying of the year as summer storms give way to cooler weather and more stable air, but it is worth remembering that around the corner, Old Man Winter awaits, and he isn’t one to trifle with the rules. Study up, and be ready, because ice and snow are unique hazards all their own.

Hunting for glaciers

September 8, 2019 / Garrett Fisher / 0 Comments

I have a personal protocol that seems to have developed over time. When I must move the PA-11 to a new location, I put my “cross country” hat on, even if that means flight literally crossing into other countries, pick a good day, avail myself of planning and resources, and execute a point A to B flight, with some photos taken merely to augment the transportation narrative taking place. Once I get to a new location, I then start “nibbling,” taking progressive flights of increased perception of danger, visiting peaks and terrain in a growing radius from the new home base.

I have often found this concept somewhat odd. When the “cross country” hat is on, I will seemingly valiantly fly grand distances into unknown areas, relying merely on my flight calculations as a basis for making it happen. When safely settled in a new area, I then see nothing but danger, and take a more iterative approach, even though I am closer to resources, my home base, comfort zones, and the like. I later came to understand that this protocol applies to mountainous home bases. For the occasions where I have based on the coast, I tend to be less cautious and just go flying.

Nonetheless, I decided to turn this approach on its head when I came to Switzerland last year. No longer would I valiantly plunge into the heart of the Alps on my first flight, only to recoil and treat every successive flight as though it was the working of some miracle. I decided to attack an accepted list of the highest peaks in the Alps first, and then nibble at lesser-known things later. I seem to have failed to take into account that I waited until basing in the highest, most vertical, most glaciated mountain range that I had ever flown in to turn caution upside down. What is the human mind but a thing of irony?

Well, that project is done, which left me searching for motivators. I took two flights that defaulted to my protocol of basically covering ground and seeing an area, for the sake of exploring what is there. I wandered over to Geneva and in areas visible from the chalet, and that just wasn’t cutting it. Then a switch went off in my mind: “You like glaciers, and summer is the time to see them without annual snowfall.” How many ways can I emphasize “duh?” I had this information last year, and it didn’t seem to sink in.

That set off a full-on assault. I elected to restrict my wanderings to the Bernese Alps, as they are the closest to the current base, happen to be mind-blowingly vertical and tall, and happen to have the largest glacier in Europe, along with the most glaciated section of the Alps. In examining in greater detail what I could find on satellite images, I noticed that I missed quite a few massive glaciers in the eastern Bernese Alps, as they were covered by annual snowfall in the image, and I failed to appropriately zoom in to notice glaciated texture.

What I found in the last month was an overwhelming playground of glaciers upon glaciers spilling down from towering peaks, hiding in shadows, or hiding in plain sight. When one thinks that everything has been seen in an area, just fly around the bend or over the next ridge, and another basin or cathedral opens, filled with jaw-dropping scenery. I also bothered to read the Swiss VFR Manual, and found that one key restricted area is subject to activation, which means that it’s not restricted most of the time (I had been avoiding it altogether). That contained another treasure trove, some of which appears in a video below.

The weather turned already, with temperatures down at 2,000 feet msl down in the 50s Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius) for a high, with brooding Pacific Northwest skies and rain. Webcams indicate snowfall almost down to timberline, so perhaps summer glacier flying is over, or maybe it will warm back up and I’ll be back at it.

I seem to have figured out how to get a successful HD video from the Cub. It has been a year of tinkering and aggravation, though I think the output is worth it.

Saanen, Switzerland, along the north side of the Alps to the Triftgletscher, Rhône Glacier, Uri Alps glaciers, then the eastern large glaciers of the Bernese Alps. 43 min HD, glaciers begin at 11 minutes.

Saanen, Switzerland, south to the Bernese Alps, east to the Aletschgletscher (largest in Europe), and west along the Alps. 27 min HD.

And some photos for good measure…..

Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau, from the northwest. White “snow” in the distance are moderate-sized glaciers. Much larger ones lurk on the other side of the peaks.

Blechgletscher

Series of glaciers beneath Nesthorn. It was slightly vertical in here.

Gauligletscher, one of them classically “hiding” under snowpack satellite shots.

Rosenlauigletscher

Triftgletscher—flows to the Rhine.

Rhône Glacier—over the pass from Triftgletscher. To the left are the headwaters to the Rhône River, which terminates in the Mediterranean.

Bietschhorn. The glaciers beneath this peak are so dwarfed by nearby ice masses that the mind determines it is not even worth noting when looking at satellite shots.

Unders Mönschjoch, at the top of the Ewigschneefäld, which feeds the Aletschgletscher.

Äbeni-Flue, looking toward the Oberland and Swiss Plateau. Flight altitude is 12,500 feet, with a nearly vertical drop off in excess of 6,000 feet on the other side.

The aforementioned dropoff….

Aletschhorn with clouds from a low pressure zone over northern Italy.

Tschingelgletscher

Remembering Capt. Al Haynes and CRM

September 3, 2019 / Chip Wright / 2 Comments

As I write this, it has been less than 24 hours since the family of Capt. Al Haynes has announced his passing. Haynes was famously in command of United Flight 232 in the summer of 1989 when the DC-10 suffered a complete loss of hydraulic power after a fan blade on the number two (center) engine failed and caused the engine to disintegrate. Using differential thrust from the remaining two engines, the crew was able to exercise a modicum of control and bring the jumbo jet to a controlled crash in Sioux City, Iowa. While the accident resulted in 111 fatalities, 184 passengers and crew survived.

It didn’t take long for the stories about United’s cockpit resource management (CRM) training to make headline in the news. Historically, airline cockpits were run with concept of the captain being autocratically in charge, and there was no obligation to solicit input on anything from other pilots on the flight deck. It didn’t matter what their experience or perspective was. If the captain made a decision, that was it. Today, it’s hard to believe that such an environment not only existed, but was encouraged.

United was pushed into developing a CRM program from a previous accident involving a United aircraft. United Flight 173 crashed in Portland, Oregon, in 1978 after running out of fuel while the crew tried to troubleshoot a problem with the landing gear. The NTSB cited the crew’s inability to work together as a contributing factor to the accident. This accident followed the 1977 Tenerife collision between Pan Am and Lufthansa 747s, the worst aviation accident in history. With prodding from NASA, United began training its pilots on CRM, and eventually included the flight attendants as well.

I was fortunate enough to attend a few of Capt. Haynes’ presentations about the 232 accident. He readily acknowledged the value of the CRM training, and when asked if he or his crew could have been as effective without it, he quickly said, “I doubt it.” CRM encourages authority with participation by the captain, and assertiveness with respect by the remaining crew. In other words, captains are encouraged to solicit and genuinely consider input from other crew, and the first and second officers are encouraged to speak up when they see that something is wrong or unsafe.

In the years since, every U.S. airline has developed and implemented CRM training, and it often extends to dispatchers and mechanics as well. The Flight 232 accident has become a classic case study in numerous businesses and industries when it comes to dealing with time-critical, high-pressure emergency situations. Capt. Haynes was an early advocate for acceptance of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in noncombat traumatic events, because he openly discussed his own PTSD. He said giving his speech was the most effective method he had found for dealing with his PTSD and keeping it at bay.

The full effect and value of CRM was proven in the minutes after United Flight 232 suffered that engine failure. It has since been used to avert all sorts of incidents and accidents, large and small. Every pilot should be grateful for its inception, and they should definitely raise a toast to Capt. Haynes for his willing embrace and implementation of it in the summer of 1989.

Experimental Alaska weather product predicts clouds along routes

September 2, 2019 / Tom George / 0 Comments

Update: October 10, 2019–This experimental period has been extended another 30 days, and will be available through November 8th.

A new generation of weather satellites is making it possible to help Alaska pilots anticipate weather along their route of flight. An experimental Cloud Vertical Cross-Section (CVC) Product shows the estimated extent of cloud cover along a route, as well as whether the clouds contain ice, liquid or supercooled water. These products are available on an experimental basis from September 11th to November 8th. Check them out, and help provide feedback!

Background
Imaging sensors on new NOAA weather satellites are supporting R&D activities by NOAA and Colorado State University’s Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere to create a number of new weather products for Alaska. While the rest of the country relies primarily on geostationary satellites, parked some 22,000 miles above the equator, they don’t provide very detailed information as you go toward the poles. At Alaska’s latitudes, we are better served with polar-orbiting satellites that make multiple passes per day sweeping over the state a little more than 500 miles overhead, capturing swathes of imagery as they fly by. Image data from these passes are extracted, processed and used to create a new generation of weather products for Alaska. Starting in mid-September, one set of these products is available to users for evaluation.

Entry page to the Experimental Cloud Vertical Cross-Section Product. Click on the highlighted link on this page to see what satellite passes covered Alaska.

Cloud Vertical Cross-Section (CVC)Product
Shortly after a satellite passes over a portion of the state, data from the sensors is extracted and processed to created a cross-section product. Four routes that have been defined, to estimate cloud conditions between the cities of Anchorage and Bethel, Fairbanks and Juneau, plus a route from Fairbanks to Barrow (Utqiagvik). With each satellite pass that covers some or all of these routes, a cross-section product is generated and made available through a website:

http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/ramsdis/online/npp_viirs_arctic_aviation.asp

This window shows an animation of satellite passes over Alaska, used to create the CVC Product. It also provides an overview of synoptic weather pattern motion.

Navigating the CVC Product
To get a sense of how these products work, click on Pop-up Loop on the Overview with Flight Routes panel. This animated loop will show the progression of satellite passes that covered the state, and which passes cover the defined routes. It also provides a good depiction of the cloud cover over the last day or so. Use the controls on this window to change the animation speed, or to step through individual frames for an overview of weather system motion across the state. Times are listed in both UT and Alaska Daylight Time for your convenience.

A sample product from Anchorage to Fairbanks, depicting cloud conditions expected along the route.

Using the Route Product
After pursuing the overview, select a route of interest. Either the HTML5 Loop or the Pop-up Loop launches an animation that steps through the products available for the route you picked. Here too, the animation speed can be adjusted. Or one can hit STOP and step through each frame individually. This product is highly derived and is pulling data from several intermediate products that estimate cloud height, the cloud base, as well as the type of cloud they think will be present (water, ice or supercooled liquid). Notice that at times there is missing data, color coded as light gray. In this case the product is not able to make a prediction. The cross sections also have a backdrop of the terrain along each routes, and an estimate of the freezing level.

How you can help
As described, these are experimental products, and your help is needed to validate them. First and foremost, please file Pilot Reports when you are flying anywhere within 50 miles of these routes. During this experimental period, PIREPs are needed to help the science team learn about their accuracy. Since they forecast the cloud base, as well as top, PIREPs for better than forecast conditions are needed, as well as those associated with icing, and cloud tops. In addition, if you have questions or specific feedback, there is a Feedback link on the site which will put you directly in touch with the researchers involved in this effort.

This is an exciting step forward in providing weather information for aviation. Please try out these new products during the 30 day experiment, and do all you can to help the science team understand how their products are working!

Alaska’s Fire Season isn’t over yet: Check for TFRs

August 29, 2019 / Tom George / 1 Comment

With the unusually dry weather in south central Alaska, and rash of late season wildfires, Temporary Flight Restrictions are again popping up in different areas. DNR has observed numerous light aircraft flying thorough TFR’s along the Parks Highway.

Please check TFR’s and stay clear when they are active. While sources like SkyVector.com and tfr.faa.gov make it easy to see a visual representation of TFR’s and the scheduled active times, give a call to Flight Service for the current status.

The mid-air collision (or FAA infraction) you avoid, may be your own!

An example TFR display on SkyVector.com showing the associated active times. Check with FSS for current status.

GA Safety in Alaska: A conversation with Robert Sumwalt and Richard McSpadden

August 27, 2019 / Tom George / 0 Comments

Robert Sumwalt, Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, is himself a pilot with extensive experience in the airline world.

The Alaskan Aviation Safety Foundation and Alaska Airmen Association are continuing their Hangar Talk seminar series with a conversation on general aviation safety in Alaska. Taking advantage of having NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt and AOPA Air Safety Institute Executive Director Richard McSpadden in Alaska, you are invited to join us for a discussion on this topic. Moderated by the Airmen Government Affairs Liaison, Adam White, this session provides an opportunity to explore how Alaska aviation safety compares with the rest of the country, the unique challenges we face, and possible mitigations to help increase aviation safety in the state. It also provides a chance to understand how NTSB and the AOPA Air Safety Institute function and address aviation safety challenges. Bring your questions and join the conversation!

Richard McSpadden, Executive Director of the AOPA Air Safety Institute, has a strong background in GA, corporate and military aviation.

The session will be held on Thursday, Sept. 5, 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Alaska Airmen Association Building on Lake Hood. Refreshments will be served. The session will also be broadcast by the Airmen on Facebook Live.

This event precedes the NTSB Roundtable: Alaska Part 135 Flight Operations, which takes place the following day, Sept. 6. For information on that event see the NTSB Notice.

From How to Wow: Saying Yes to Opportunity

August 20, 2019 / Jolie Lucas / 0 Comments

Welcome to Oshkosh 2019

2019 was my tenth year attending EAA Airventure in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. I have flown commercially twice, but normally fly myself in my 1965 Mooney M20E, Maggie. It never fails to amaze me that I can leave the beaches of the Central Coast of California fly over the desert, up and over the Rockies, through the Great Plains, and then in to rich farmlands. What a gift to have the freedom to fly.

Kick your Bucket List to the Curb

I love brain stuff. I study motivation, personality, flexible thinking and communication in order to help folks lead their best lives. I like working with people who are feeling overwhelmed, have high stress, or are unable to do the things in life that they want to. I know it can be daunting to live a life that is out-of-balance. So I help my clients around the country get ready for the next phase of their life. In my presentation Exit the Holding Pattern I explain how to identify new way points, set a new course, and hit ENTER on your life plan.

In life there are “How” people and “Wow” people. Wow people are passionate, excitable, full of energy and see possibilities in life without knowing exactly how they are going to get there. How people are the folks who like to plan, measure, follow procedures and manage. Sometimes the How person gets stuck because they cannot see the path to their goals. I believe strongly that we are all given gifts. It is our job to determine the best use of those talents. For me, I had to change my experience of How into Wow for Oshkosh. Let me explain. A few weeks before I was to leave I found out that about 80% of my work had vanished. So I was left with the reality of having a pretty empty schedule and pocketbook from purchasing stock for my booth. After an initial, “What the heck?” I decided to re-calibrate my gyros and take advantage of opportunities that in years past I had to refuse because of work duties. I decided to turn the “how”, as in “How am I going to afford a week off work, paying for the apparel purchased, and expectations from others into a “wow?” Well it turned out that the Wow was pretty spectacular. I thought I would share some of the events that can only happen through aviation. Airplane people are the best people. My hope is that you might be inspired to strive to make more Wow moments in your life.

En route: Santa Maria, CA- Banning, CA-St. Johns AZ-Borger TX-Kansas City.MO-Middleton, WI

I was invited to a cool party called Rock the Ramp [Middleton, WI] by Cory Robin. Cory is a founding member of the STOL group the Flying Cowboys. The Cowboys are aviation ambassadors, no doubt about it. And from the looks of it, Wow people.

I had never been to Middleton, and never been to a party featuring the fun-loving Cowboys, so I did what every person committed to saying “yes” does. I booked a room at Middleton and flew IFR to the quaint airport just outside of Madison.

Chris Muntwyler and me

The airport was hopping, mostly with high wing bush planes. But soon enough I had landed and taxied up to the FBO. It was about 93 degrees and 100% humidity, but inside the FBO was air-conditioned and comfortable. The crew car was out, but I called the hotel and they said they would come and get me in the next 20 minutes or so.

Sitting on the couch was a friendly looking fellow with a European accent and next to him a younger fellow with a long beard. As is the case in most airports, a conversation ensued, and business cards were exchanged. My card has a photo of my airplane taken over OSH on a pro photo shoot. Chris Muntwyler, the Swiss living mostly in Sweden, said, said, “This airplane looks just like a Swedish girl I know.” I said, “Pia Bergqvist? She is one of my best friends. Our planes were both painted by ArtCraft Paint in Santa Maria, CA.” Chris has an extensive aviation background having served on the boards of Swiss Air and Pilatus. We took a selfie for Pia. Just like that, with a smile and a selfie, a new friendship was sealed.

Rock the Ramp

Rock the Ramp was a total blast. What a slice of GA. The fire department had a couple of different engines on display, there was a great BBQ, lots of bush planes, helicopter tours were buzzing, and a Polka band was playing. I got to visit with Chris bit more and he gave me a tour of an Aviat Husky. I also met up with Scott Lysne who is a long-time volunteer at Oshkosh. He asked if I wanted to volunteer on the smoke-oil team for the airshow performers. Guess what my answer was.

The Aviat Husky

Approach in to Appleton in Actual

This year I decided to fly into Appleton and park at Platinum Flight Center for the week. This was another IFR flight in actual conditions. There was a combination of very unstable air, turbulence and clouds. I asked for the ILS to runway 30. Little did I know but this would be my first approach in actual down to minimums. I know it has been said before, but when I looked up and saw the clouds part, and that runway right in front of me, it was like OH YEAH.

Mother Nature

Several years ago, I flew into OSH with the Mooney Caravan mass arrival. I made my own tie downs using 12-inch tent stakes nailed, crisscross, into angle iron and tied with ratchet straps. Maggie was parked in the number one grass spot just behind a hangar row, and there was a culvert right behind. There were about a half dozen airplanes tied down my row. We knew a storm was brewing, but not the magnitude. Mother Nature was going to give us a show.

I headed over to OSH thinking I would be announcing the Mooney Caravan arrival, but the impending storm kept them safely on the ground in Madison. I went by the Mooney booth, dropped off a few things, then the storm hit. I was in the car backing out when cement blocks started flying, and sheets of rain pounded down. After lunch, the storm had passed and I felt I needed to drive back to Appleton to check on Maggie. I was greeted at the door by the same line guy who helped me tie down. “Maggie is fine” he said. One look at his face told me that something was terribly wrong. Arriving at the line, indeed my airplane was still firmly tied down. The story for the brand new XCub and Carbon Cub was not a happy one.

They had become airborne in their tie-downs when the wind shifted direction. Both planes tore loose and flipped over into the culvert. He said several of the line guys were trying to hold the airplane down until the wind changed direction. The owners of the planes were out surveying the damage and watching the mission to get the airplanes back on their wheels. Everyone was in good spirits, all pitching in. Metal and fabric could be replaced.

Smoke Oil Team

I met Scott Lysne at the Weeks Hangar [where many of the air show performers are located]. I received some safety equipment and a briefing and we were off. We filled up the Aeroshell Aerobatic Team, Sean Tucker, Kyle Franklin and a few more. It was such a hoot to be driving down the taxiway and to meet some of the performers. I know the thousands of volunteers needed for an event as large as Oshkosh, but it never occurred to me that smoke oil delivery was one of them. I ran in to Julie Clark at the Weeks Hangar and told her I what I was up to, “God bless you!” she said. Julie’s last performance at Oshkosh was stunning and moving. Since she is retiring from airshows, she told me she wanted to become more active in California Pilots Association of which she is a life-time member.

Toot Sweet: EAA Airventure Concert Band

I have played alto sax in the EAA Concert band for 8 or 9 years, I have lost count. There were 70 of us this year. Directed by Elton Eisele the band performs before the Tuesday airshow and have a Wednesday evening concert. We played music from the Greatest Showman, Captain America and the Avengers among others. I suppose my favorite part of being a volunteer in the band is when we perform Salute to America’s Finest a medley of all the armed forces hymns. As we play their tune veterans rise and the audience applauds. I always tear up and sometimes it is hard to continue playing. The camaraderie in the band is beyond compare.

Exit the Holding Pattern

The birthday girl, on her way to getting her PPL.

For the past few years, I have presented a one-hour workshop This fast paced, multi-media presentation explores human factors, brain science, and personality in decision-making, motivation, and follow-through. I had a lively audience at AOPA on Saturday, full of folks who wanted to become a pilot, get an airplane, earn a new rating, or make a business move. Exit the Holding Pattern has generous support from King Schools and Lift Aviation for door prizes. Malonie Ayers, who works at Sun ‘n Fun attended and it happened to be her birthday. She has always wanted to become a pilot, but as with many of us, the How got in the way. Malonie received a Wow birthday gift from King Schools in the form of a certificate for her Private Pilot course.

My computer decided that the 90 degree weather was just a bit much and it started lagging. I am pretty picky about my audio visuals, sound etc. with any presentation. The gremlin that was plaguing my system wasn’t about to give up. Instead of fretting, I decided to make the flaw an example of how humans prefer to think in known-patterns. Flexible thinking can be quite difficult. Our brains like to go down well-worn goat trails of thought. “Practice what you preach”, my Dad used to say to me. So with sweat on my brow, we laughed and soldiered on, saying yes to experience even when it wasn’t my preference.

Infinity and Beyond

Prior to Oshkosh I planned to go on holiday sometime in September. One of my best buddies from Oregon was going to come up with three possible destinations. Her only marching orders were: 1) must use passport; 2) must be beautiful; 3) cannot be Mexico or Canada [too close to home]. As the result of saying yes to life, friendships borne of Oshkosh, and generosity of my aviation family, we received a lovely invitation to go to Switzerland, do some GA flying in an Aviat Husky and maybe a Mooney, tour the Pilatus factory and head to the South of France to stay in a 200 year-old farmhouse. We leave in early September. If that isn’t wow, I don’t know what is.

A lesson in “Diversity” for every pilot

August 13, 2019 / Robert DeLaurentis / Comments Off

Diversity: Understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences

With 7.71 billion people on our planet it’s hard to imagine we are all unique, especially when you consider that everything in the universe came from one unimaginably small singularity—the Big Bang. Even so, most of us look, sound, and act differently than anyone else.

Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) equipped aircraft are similarly unique, as each has an individual identification code derived from the aircraft’s registration number. This code is transmitted by each aircraft’s ADS-B device, along with position, altitude, speed, direction, and other data. This information is received, processed, and retransmitted by dedicated ground stations, allowing others to recognize and follow us wherever we go. The Citizen of the World will be tracked globally during her polar circumnavigation using ADS-B.

Neil Aviation, San Diego

Matt Desch, the CEO of Iridium, explained that in order for the Citizen of the World to be tracked at all times during her world peace mission connecting the South Pole to the North Pole and everywhere in between, she will need “diversity.” Diversity is implemented by installing a second ADS-B transponder antenna on the top of the airplane in addition to the antenna installed on the bottom. This will allow her to be tracked over the oceans (and any other location where there are no ground stations) by the constellation of 66 Iridium NEXT low earth orbit satellites that came online earlier this year.

Allow me to nerd out for a brief second. Real-time flight data is sent from the ADS-B transponders to the Iridium NEXT satellites, and through a partnership with Aireon the data is sent to ground stations for use by air traffic control and other entities. This data is also used by our friends at FlightAware.com, a website where you type in an aircraft’s registration number and can track its altitude, speed and location. Iridium NEXT has made possible a “100 percent” global air traffic surveillance system that will increase safety, enhance efficiency, improve predictability, expand capacity, and lower costs. These benefits will, in turn, result in a significant reduction of carbon in the atmosphere—the equivalent of removing 300,000 cars a year from the roads. This is a true win-win situation.

To showcase this capability, the Citizen of the World will be the first aircraft to be tracked globally using ADS-B during a polar circumnavigation.

Now do I have your attention?

While this seems simple enough in concept, in practice it is not. Although very few transponders are currently capable of diversity, the Lynx NGT-9000 from L3 is. It’s a very compact, yet robust system that provides ADS-B Out functionality along with ADS-B In traffic and weather. It has a bright, high resolution touchscreen and also offers terrain avoidance and active traffic. The NGT-9000 is packaged as either a transponder-sized panel mounted instrument or a remotely mounted box. Amazing!

Canada will soon require that all aircraft operating in specified airspace have ADS-B Out with diversity. This will enable them to use Iridium NEXT for air traffic control without the expense and complexity of ground radar installations and the associated infrastructure. You can see the writing on the wall. It’s just a matter of time until every country on the planet requires this.

Adding diversity capability to the Citizen of the World will not be straightforward because the antenna installation must pass through the pressure vessel, requiring extensive documentation by an FAA Designated Engineering Representative. These documents will be then be submitted to the local FAA Flight Standards District Office for approval.

Acquiring the ADS-B diversity equipment and designing and documenting the installation are relatively easy. The hardest part these days is finding an avionics shop that has time for an installation. Most shops are already booked to the end of the year with aircraft trying to meet the January 1, 2020 FAA mandate for ADS-B Out.

Neil Aviation in San Diego installed the panel on my former airplane, the Spirit of San Diego, as well as the Avidyne panel on the Citizen of the World. The owner, Garrett Neal, has stepped up once again to help me with diversity. Garrett saw the importance of our mission of One Planet, One People, One Plane, and realizes that the Citizen will have very high visibility as it undertakes its unique journey. He went out of his way to make time for this project. For that, I am incredibly grateful.

Is there a downside to ADS-B In/Out besides the initial time, cost, and frustration to install? There is speculation that the data collected might one day lead to changes in how the airspace system operates but we’ll need to wait awhile and see.

With respect to being unique, there are certainly advantages and disadvantages for both airplanes and for people. Only time will tell if the benefits outweigh the costs.