Golf Hotel Whiskey

Golf Hotel Whiskey: for pilots and aviation enthusiasts

Just what kind of pilot are you?

Dan Johnson, the pilot blogger behind ByDanJohnsons.com, a sport pilot and LSA website, has recently written an interesting essay for General Aviation News where he observed that there are two types of pilots: Those who fly to “get up” and those who fly to “go long.”

The pilots who “go long”

Dan wrote that so-called “go long” pilots are those who want to go some distance in their aircraft. These are the cross country flyers, or if they are pilots based in a small country like the UK, they fly to destinations outside the country.

In Dan’s case, he has logged hundreds of hours of cross country flying all over the USA and beyond for a variety of reasons. He also noted that by his rough calculation comparing flying with driving, flying was up to three times as fast for about twice the cost in fuel.

The pilots who “get up”

On the other hand, Dan then wrote that he is also a “get up” type of pilot. In other words, he gets bored and uncomfortable just flying for hours at a time in a straight line. He also added that he does not need to fly particularly fast either as he enjoys actually having the opportunity to “see the planet from above.”

Moreover and based on conversations that he has had with other pilots at airshows over the years, it would seem that many pilots are actually “get up” pilots as many flights take off and then land back at the same airport. 

So what kind of pilot are you?

Dan ended his essay by writing that if you are the type of pilot who wants to go places, fast is good because speeds of 200 mph will “gobble” up the miles for regional travel. However:

The trouble is that when going national in our great big country, 200 mph still isn’t that fast. Even in a jetliner at 500 mph, America is a vast expanse that takes hours to cross.

Hence, we want to ask our pilot readers one simple question: What kind of pilot are you?

The E6B calculator verses iPad and smartphone E6B apps

John Ewing, the blogger behind Aviation Mentor, has written a lengthy post comparing the traditional E6B calculator or slide rule with some of those new fangled E6B apps for the iPad or smartphone. John began his post by writing that for older traditionalist pilots:

…the E6B is synonymous with "slide rule" and the mere mention of electronic E6B calculators and smartphone apps will get them on their soapbox in a heartbeat, praising the slide rule and preaching against the dangers of new-fangled electronic contraptions. Young upstart pilots, having likely never used a slide rule, may find this attachment a bit odd. Frankly I do too.

Nevertheless, John quickly added that even though electronic E6Bs are becoming widespread, there is “still a place for the old fashioned E6B slide rule.”

The pros and cons of the E6B calculator

E6b-slide-ruleJohn then wrote what he thinks is good about an old fashioned E6B – namely that it does not require batteries, is lightweight and can do a huge variety of calculations. On the other hand, he also pointed out that a user must provide most of the problem-solving context (which can be difficult when in a stressful flying situation) plus use an old fashioned dose of common sense when using one as the device is not completely fool proof.

Enter E6B apps for the iPad or smartphone

For non-traditionalist pilots, John noted that there are at least 30 E6B apps available from the iTunes store with his favorite iPhone/iPad E6B app being the PFMA thanks to its simple and shallow menu structure. However, he also pointed out that student pilots will not be able to bring any new fangled electronic device that runs such apps into an FAA knowledge test session.

Moreover, John ended his post by writing that:

There’s a undeniable pride student pilots feel once they have mastered basic calculations with an E6B. That’s understandable because acquiring slide rule prowess is like learning a magic trick. Your friends are bound to be impressed, especially if the E6B you use is contained on the face of a flashy pilot watch. Pushing buttons on a calculator? Anyone can do that!

Hence, he will still continue to teach his students how to use paper charts and a slide rule E6B. However, he will also not discourage his student pilots from embracing new technology like E6B apps if they so choose to.

Holding Patterns? There’s an App for That.

HoldHere_PatternEntryCalcPat Flannigan, New York based airline pilot and blogger behind AviationChatter.com, has created Hold Here, a mobile app for instrument pilots now available in the iTunes App Store.

Hold Here takes the guess work out of holding patterns with an intuitive holding pattern entry calculator. It gives pilots a clear top-down view of the correct holding pattern entry to be flown which is suited for flight as well as classroom use.

The app also includes a bugout time calculator which provides pilots with a clear answer to the question “how long can I hold?” Having a solid bugout time in mind is crucial to pilots in a holding pattern who are burning precious fuel while making no progress on their flight. Exceeding the bugout time can be the difference between making it to the alternate airport and an in flight emergency. Hold Here makes that calculation easy.

Hold Here works on all Apple Devices, including iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad and is available in the App Store for $1.99. For more information or to get the app, visit the iTunes App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hold-here/id447714566?ls=1&mt=8

Fuel imbalance leads to a Beech crashing

General Aviation News will occasionally reprint excerpts or summaries of US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident reports – including this one from July 2009 about a Beech C35 crash in Weslaco, Texas that led to one death and one serious injury.

According o the accident investigation, both the Beech C35’s left and right main tanks plus the left tip tank were filled with fuel right before the aircraft departed. However and when the pilot was fueling the right tip tank, the fuel nozzle ended up falling into the tank. Hence, no fuel was added to that tank and the aircraft took off with a fuel imbalance between its tanks.

Thanks to the fuel imbalance, the aircraft had a left rolling tendency and the pilot (who was with a student pilot) headed to the nearest airfield to land so that the aircraft could be configured with 10° of flaps – contrary to the STC.

While an attempted landing, the Beech C35 bounced and drifted leftward. Hence, a go-around with a turn to the left to enter the downwind pattern was performed but during the left turn procedure, the pilot lost control of the aircraft and crashed.

The student pilot, who survived the crash, told investigators that the pilot was at the controls but investigators were not able to determine whether the flight was instructional and just who was at the controls at the time of the accident. It was also noted that:

…fracture and bending signatures on the throw-over style control column and hub were consistent with the controls being positioned toward the left seat during the accident sequence.

The NTSB ruled that the probable cause of the accident was the pilot’s failure to maintain control of the aircraft while operating with a fuel imbalance. Of course, the root cause of the accident was flying to begin with when there was a fuel imbalance.

Goodbye heavy flight bags as more commercial pilots start to use iPads

Lately, there have been a growing number of news reports that commercial pilots are increasingly replacing their flight bags with the much lighter iPads. Specifically and back in June, Terry Maxon reported on the Dallas Morning News’ Airline Biz Blog that American Airlines’ pilots had begun a test on two trans-Pacific flights in which they would keep all of their charts and other documents on iPads. The test would last for 6 months on American’s flights from Los Angeles to Shanghai and Tokyo Narita.

iPadTerry also noted that Alaska Airlines had announced back in May that it would distribute iPads to all of its pilots by mid-June and the iPads would contain all of the pilots’ flight manuals. Alaska Airlines was also looking at putting its navigational charts on the devices as well.

Meaning, the “Wings Stayed On!” blog has pointed out that Alaska Airlines’ two initiatives, dubbed “Bye, Bye, Flight Bag,” is also environmentally friendly as they will save 2.4 million pieces of paper.

However, I have just one question: What happens if a commercial pilot forgets to recharge his iPad?!!