Hat tip to WhichAirline.com for posting this video from the Australian comedy show “The Chaser’s War on Everything” which shows just how bad (and perhaps how lax…) airport security has become.
A Cessna 150 (literally) freezes on the tarmac
Hat tip to Sylvia from the Fear of Landing blog for finding and posting this video of a Cessna 150 that literally froze on the tarmac. According to the Youtube caption for the video:
After a night of freezing rain, this is what we showed up to. Almost an inch of pure ice on almost every surface of the plane. Even the antennas were completely cased in ice.
However, there was no mention of where or when the video was taken (it was uploaded earlier this month) but we can probably assume it was recently taken in some very Northernly latitude.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWk8mUYOO2k&w=480]
Just how exposed are pilots to civil and criminal proceedings?
Its probably a good time to revisit pilot exposure to both civil and criminal proceedings in the wake of the Costa Concordia grounding off the coast of Italy. And while a guest post on the Thirty Thousand Feet blog by Michael W. Johnson, the President and CEO of Paramount Aviation Resources Group, does not mention the recent maritime tragedy, the post was motivated by the conviction for involuntary manslaughter of Continental Airlines mechanic John Taylor for the crash of the Concorde flight AF4590.
Specifically, Michael noted that one of the interesting (and perhaps even scary) aspects of this case was the fact that Taylor, who is an aircraft mechanic living and working in Texas, was both charged and convicted of the crime despite the fact that he has never entered the jurisdiction of the court that ruled on the case. Michael then cited other examples of pilots or aircraft crew being held liable for accidents, including:
- A court in Lebanon convicted the captain of UTA Flight 141 in October 2010 and jailed him for 20 years after a December 2003 crash after his aircraft took off 20,000 pounds over the maximum allowable gross takeoff weight.
- A court in Italy convicted and gave jail sentences to both the captain and co-involved in the 2005 Tuninter Flight 1153 crash off the coast of Sicily after ruling they failed to take adequate emergency measures prior to the crash.
- A court in Brazil charged two American corporate pilots following a mid-air collision that caused the 2006 crash of a B-737 over Brazil – despite evidence that places the blame for the tragedy on Brazilian ATC.
- A Japan Airlines (JAL) pilot was indicted for professional negligence in the death of a crewmember and for 14 passenger injuries after a 1997 in-flight turbulence incident. Although the pilot was found not-guilty, his career and reputation were irreparably damaged.
Michael then made the point that pilots and crew members can never be complacent – especially given how much the law can vary from one jurisdiction to another and how all crew members can be held accountable for the actions or inactions of another. Michael also provided a list of good operating procedures that can help to mitigate the potential exposure to legal liabilities by pilots and crew members.
Hence, Michael’s entire post is a must read – whether you are a commercial pilot, a private general aviation pilot or involved in aviation some other way.
More people are searching for private jets online
Dan Robles has written a very interesting post on Plane Conversations about using data from Google Think Insights to determine that more and more people are searching the Internet on terms such as private jet, jet charter, jet charter cost, VIP travel etc. Specifically, here is the data that Dan found from Google Think Insights:
Plus these related searches:
(Note: All the data is from January 2008 and December 2011 and for the USA)
So what does this tell us about the state of the private jet or business jet market along with the economy? One way to look at things is that people just happen to be using the internet more to find information about renting private jets. On the other hand, the data could also suggest that more people are also interested in renting private jets as well because after all, there are plenty of good reasons to do so given the state of commercial aviation (e.g. delays, security hassles, lack of flying options to smaller markets etc.).
For his part, Dan noted that Social Flights has long suggested that there are opportunities to increase private charter shuttle services between key locations as well as for companies to share private aircraft scheduled to fly between regions. He also concluded that search term trends are important because they can indicate the intentions of the market as well as new opportunities to serve it.
At the very least, the Google data does look interesting and bodes well for the private jet market in the USA.
Paying for flight training tips
Learning how to fly and especially the actual flying time spent in the cockpit is an expensive endeavor for most pilots. Hence, a question posted by Kevin Jones on the Ask a Flight Instructor site along with the responses it generated are well worth reading. Specifically, Kevin noted that he began taking flying lessons about 10 years ago until school and work took over. However, he is not set on becoming a pilot but not on taking out loans or using credit cards to do so. Hence, he asked:
Is it more normal for me to wait and save up the money over time or take lessons as I have the money along the way. I have such a desire to get into the air and don’t really want to wait. Any Pros or Cons would be helpful in making my decision. I am afraid if I wait and slowly save up the money something else will come up that I will have to use the money for. So…. is it normal for students to pay as they come up with the money?
Micah responded by saying that he will usually tell his students not to start flight training unless they have enough money saved up in order to complete the training. Otherwise, he would suggest that once someone has a good idea of the budget needed, he or she should save up a significant portion ahead of time under the expectation that the rest will be set aside before the flight training is finished.
Michael Ladd then noted that in many cases, “paying as you go” will end up meaning flying a couple of times a month rather than a couple of times a week. However, he noted two things that he did which helped him considerably:
- He saved up a good chunk (about 1/3) of the funds ahead of time.
- His flight school offered “block time” where if you pre-paid 10 hours, you could receive an hour free.
Meanwhile, Earl Kessler pointed out that training sporadically is like going to the gym once a month – while its better than not going at all, its not much better.
Finally Jim Foley wrote that he flew whenever he had the money but this meant that he also had to repeat many flying lessons. Moreover, many of his flight instructors were just out of college trying to build up their hours – meaning they were coming and going and he ended up having 8 instructors during his training with his first or second flights with each one being so that they could find out what he knew. In addition, his flight school was also buying, selling and leasing back aircraft – which further threw off his training.
However, we want to ask you our readers, especially any based in the UK or in Europe, any tips you may have for keeping flight training costs down. In other words, have we left anything out?
Surviving after a winter plane crash
Alyssa Miller has recently written a great first-person account for the AOPA Pilot Blog about participating in the Surratt Winter Survival Clinic in Marion, Montana. As part of the winter survival clinic, Alyssa spent one night inside an icy fuselage and another night in a survival hut to simulate what it would be like to crash in winter conditions and have to stay outdoors waiting to be rescued.
In this particular simulation, Alyssa got to choose the aircraft she would “crash in.” She opted for a Cessna 182 because in theory, the extra padding and insulation for noise reduction would also keep her warmer.
Thanks to plenty of warm clothes and a mummy sleeping bag, Alyssa wrote that she did not actually get too cold but it should be noted that sheltering inside a downed aircraft’s fuselage may not be your best option as its too large of a space to heat.
In fact, Alyssa wrote that she was warmer the next night in the survival hut but much lonelier as she was alone there. Hence, she noted that a key to surviving in such a situation would be to keep one’s mind occupied. In addition, she noted that having one’s back up against some kind of solid structure for security, even if it’s the cold fuselage or the side of a survival hut, will also help.
Nevertheless, Alyssa also said in the short video piece she made from her survival hut that she hopes never to have to put the skills she learned to practice in a real emergency. After all, spending a January night outside in Montana is not particularly fun!
Photo by Cameron Lawson