Lelystad (EHLE) is a great destination for GA pilots in the Netherlands. It’s very GA-friendly but still has customs on site and (relatively) cheap landing fees compared to Schiphol or Rotterdam. The aviation museum, pilot shop and cafe with terrace make it a nice place to spend a day if you’re a pilot or aviation enthusiast.
Four tips for better takeoffs
Chris Findley, a flight instructor in the Nashville area and the founder of myFlightCoach.com, has written an interesting post on the Let’s Go Flying blog containing four tips for better takeoffs. Chris began by writing that takeoffs are often neglected as a maneuver and are often treated simply as a mechanical action without much thought (unless of course there is a crosswind). He then added that takeoffs have become very “Cro-Magnon” as in “Come plane. Now we fly, ugh ugh…” rather than the gentle finesse associated with landings.
However, Chris then gave the following four tips (along with plenty of further details for each tip) as to how you can improve your takeoffs:
1.) Mentally begin the takeoff prior to moving onto the runway and be aware of the takeoff environment.
2.) Line up on the centerline, insure the nose wheel is straight and the ailerons properly deflected to account for the wind. Apply full power steadily and smoothly.
3.) Easy on the rudder/nosewheel.
4.) Use control deflection to help the airplane do what it wants to do.
Chris concluded his post by reiterating that takeoffs should not be overlooked and as a maneuver as they require practice in order to be done both smoothly and well. He also included a link to the following video about takeoffs shot in a Cessna 172 that is well worth watching.
The future of online dating
I read this out at my wedding. For some unfathomable reason it didn’t go down as well as I expected it to. Plus, my wife doesn’t have a plane, hangar or any navigation skills. Still, I think it’s funny in a post-modern, pro-feminist, ironic sort of way.
Scary landing with crosswinds video
If you want no better example of why crosswind landings can be tricky, check out this video that was posted by David Parker Brown on his Airline Reporter blog. According to David, the video appears to actually show two different aircraft, a SATA International Airbus A320 and a SATA International Airbus A310, attempting to land in the Azores under tricky (and downright scary) crosswind conditions. Both the attempted landing and the final successful landing could have easily ended in disaster.
A few reminders before disembarking
Flight attendant announcement:
"As you exit the plane, please make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses.”
"Also, the last one off the plane must clean it."
The 10 most important pre-flight checks
Checklist are a staple feature in aviation and the most important and longest checklist of them all is the preflight checklists. Hence, a recent post by Vincent on his Plastic Pilot blog is well worth reading as he outlined the top 10 most important pre-flight checks that you want to be sure not to miss. These pre-flight checks are:
- Ignition off – you don’t want the engine to start while you inspect the aircraft. This could cost you a hand, or more
- Oil level – you don’t want to come back because of an high oil temperature or high oil pressure indication. Even if you do, you can’t add oil in a warm engine
- Cowlings free of birds nests – you don’t want a nest on fire under your engine’s cowling
- Prop free of cracks – you don’t want to loose a blade and have an unbalanced prop make your engine fly away
- No droppings – you don’t want an aircraft that can’t break, looses oil or fuel
- Tires – you don’t want a tire to explode on landing and loose control of your aircraft
- Ailerons free and opposite – you don’t want an uncontrollable aircraft, and as you really don’t want it you’ll check that during the pre-take-off check as well
- Fuel caps – you paid enough for your fuel, you don’t want it sucked out of the tanks
- Pitot / Static free – you don’t want a blocked altimeter or an airspeed indicator acting as an altimeter
- Baggage doors latched – you don’t want to have to land back because of an unlatched baggage door, nor do you want to loose it in flight
Vincent noted that no matter what type of aircraft you are flying, the above checks will always be key. He also pointed out that for almost all aircraft types, the checklist is organized as a gigantic flow pattern – another interesting aspect about checklists which he blogged about last year.