If you are dreading your morning and evening rush hour commute, take a look at this short video segment with the Wall Street Journal’s Adam Thompson about Harbor Air – a sea plane commuter service between Victoria and Vancouver in British Columbia. According to Harbor Air’s website, the trip only takes about half an hour – shorter than many other commutes nowadays. Not only that, commuters actually save money as one commuter commented in the video segment that it costs her about C$6,000 a year to commute via the seaplane service – considerably less than having to own a second car or a house in Vancouver itself. And then there are the stunning views outside the window to look at! No mention in the segment what happens in the event of bad weather though.
Seven great CFI iPhone applications
If you are a pilot with an iPhone, you are probably aware that there are countless aviation related applications out there specifically meant for pilots. Hence, a recent post by John Ewing on Aviation Mentor that reviews seven great aviation related iPhone applications is a must read.
The applications he reviews are actually part of a suite of reasonably-priced iPhone apps from CFI Tools that are each meant to do one task and to do that one task well. These applications include:
- The Crosswind Calculator: For US$1.99, the Crosswind Calculator will let you enter reported surface winds and the runway heading and then it shows you the crosswind and headwind component.
- Holds Pattern Calculator: For US$2.99, the Holds Pattern Calculator comes with two slider controls that will let you set your aircraft’s current heading and the holding course.
- VOR Viewer: For US$3.99, the VOR Viewer is a useful learning tool for student pilots to help them get their head around VOR navigation.
- Weight & Balance: For US$5.99, the Weight and Balance tool will help to ensure that you never fly over gross weight or outside the allowable CG range.
- Mvx Tracks: For US$7.99, the Mvx Tracks application will allow you to save ground tracks from your flights in order to analyze flight maneuvers - so long as your iPhone is not in airplane mode as the built-in GPS will be disabled.
- Takeoff & Landing Distance: For US$4.99, this application will provide you with takeoff and landing data for nine popular GA aircraft.
- Area Wx: For US$6.99, the AreaWX app will display a list of surface observations for airports within a specified radius of a particular airport.
As usual, John does a great job of doing a detailed review of all of the above iPhone applications – making his post a must read for any pilot with an iPhone.
What do I do after an aircraft accident or incident?
Most pilots will never be involved in an accident or an incident involving an aircraft. However, flying an airplane, like driving a car, is not without the risk of having an accident or an incident that could lead to aircraft damage or much worst.
Hence, a recent article posted on GlobalAir.com by Darryl Abbey of Salem Five Aviation about what to do after becoming involved in an aircraft accident or incident is well worth reading. In the article, Darryl outlined some weather radar training and the six basic steps you should take and these steps included:
- Report the accident: As soon as possible, the accident needs to be reported to your broker or insurance carrier and if the accident or incident was significant enough, it needs to be reported to the proper aviation authorities.
- Capture the event and damage: Carry a disposable camera on board with your emergency gear and be prepared to record in writing all of the facts that occurred before and during the accident or incident.
- Protect your aircraft from further damage: Depending upon the seriousness of the accident or the incident, you may or may not be able to move your plane right away. However, it is important that no matter what the situation is, you will need to protect your aircraft from further damage.
- Cooperate with your Insurance Carrier: If you want to get back in the sky earlier, you will need to cooperate and work with your insurance carrier.
- Use a repair shop that you trust: Shop around and find the best repair shop. If your insurance carrier bulks at the cost of a repair with the best shop available, be prepared to foot some of the bill yourself.
- Consider this a learning experience: After the repairs are done, ask yourself what you need to do differently. In other words, ask yourself whether or not you need more training or perhaps you need to pay more attention to aircraft maintenance.
In other words, an accident or incident involving an aircraft should be treated in much the same way that an accident or incident involving an automobile should be treated – as a potential risk and an important learning experience.
Just keep trying
Parachute expert: "And I’d ask you to remember that if at first you don’t succeed, maybe sky diving is not for you!"
Amazing near midair collision video
Here is segment from CNN that includes an amazing video taken by a German Pilot who was flying a small two-seater 1,000 feet above the French countryside when he had a near miss with another airplane. Unfortunately, his propeller got caught in the cable used by the other plane to tow a glider and the pilot was forced to turn off his engine, pull the plane’s parachute and land in an orchard – walking away without a scratch.
CNN then quoted Ballistic Recovery Systems in St Paul Minnesota as saying that their parachute devices for aircraft have saved at least 199 lives since their development. They also noted how parachutes for aircraft have evolved from being accessories for hang gliders, then ultralights, then light sport aircraft and now increasingly standard pieces of equipment for new general aviation aircraft. In fact, they are now standard for new Cirrus aircraft models
As for that German pilot, he credits the parachute for saving his life. He also rebuilt his own aircraft and of course – got a new parachute for it.
How do I know if my flight training is on track?
Given the amount of time and money that flight training can take, it is important for would-be pilots to stay on track and to know whether or not they are on track. Hence, a short post by Jason Schappert is well worth reading.
According to Jason, there are three ways to know if your flight training is on track:
- Transfer of Responsibility: At first, the instructor will solely be responsible for the safety of the flight. Eventually though, the instructor will start to transfer responsibility over to you the student pilot and during each flight, you should notice a steady gain in responsibility.
- Types of Questions Asked: If you aren’t studying, your flight training will not stay on track. Hence, your flight instructor will be asking you questions to see if you are keeping up with your studies when you are not with him or her in the cockpit.
- The Post Flight: Upon completion of a flight training session, you should at least be walking away feeling like you learned something. In fact, Jason even pointed out that “if your not walking away feeling that you could have done something better you’re not learning enough!”
Jason ends his post stating that you should never be afraid to ask your flight instructor a question (in a nice way of course!). After all, some day you will be all alone in that cockpit!