ACE

YOUR
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INFLIGHT EMERGENCY:

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AT NIGHT P. 34

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Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.

Features

P H O TO BY A L A M Y

APRIL 2016
VOLUME 143 -- ISSUE 04

54
MAKING THE SHOW

ON THE COVER

It takes more than skill and a love for flying to

make it as a top airshow pilot.
By Grant Opperman

Cirrus has a new take on transition training.

Should other manufacturers follow suit?
By Stephen Pope

70
ACE YOUR CHECK RIDE
We help you fill the gaps between the written
exam and the FAAs new private flight test.
By Julie Boatman Filucci

The Cessna
CitationJet
made its first
flight on April
29, 2001, ushering in a new
era in personal
transportation.

Photo by Gary Blockley

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

64
UNIQUE APPROACH

25
YEARS
AGO

The fastest civilian piston single

finally gets a second door, plus a
slew of new upgrades.

0o3

TRUE TO OUR
HERITAGE OF SPEED,
WE EVEN MADE IT
FASTER TO BOARD.
INTRODUCING THE REIMAGINED MOONEY ACCLAIM ULTRA. Of all youve come to expect from the
worlds fastest production piston-powered aircraft, a pilot-side door was never among them. But
it doesnt take long to discover why we are so anxious to get you inside. This is the most extensive
interior redesign our certification would allow. Major avionics upgrades. And cabin enhancements
too numerous to list, including a composite shell for a quieter flight. Did we mention that four
extra inches of length on the aforementioned doors also make it easier for all occupants to exit?
Although, being a pilot, youll likely not want to.

P I LO T P E R F E C T

Departments
APRIL 2016

24

10

34 ILAFFT
Surviving
viving a total

12
Feedback from
our readers

in night IMC

14 Flying
Notebook

an approach

38

than planned
plans for 2016
Finally a wireless
aviation headset,

22 Gear
Our favorite swag for
pilots like you

snow removal
33

instrument

26 Project
Notebook
Mooney unveils the
M20V Acclaim Ultra

42 Everything
Explained
Are you sure your
airplane is legal?
46 Sky Kings
How to avoid setting
yourself up for
loss of control
50 Taking Wing
An adventurous tour
around the U.S. by
land and air
74 Unusual
Atitudes
From APS to SPM to
Im outta here

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

0o6

78 Gear Up
Yet another unexpected benefit of
general aviation

PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40612608

(CANADIAN REGISTRATION NUMBER 126018209RT0001)
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80 Jumpseat
Speculation madness: the mystery of
Flight MH370
88 Technicalities
A study of that Nazi
airplane in Raiders
of the Lost Ark
90 Sign Of
Let the airshow
season begin

Flying (0015-4806) (USPS 504-930), April 2016, volume 143, issue 4. Flying is published monthly by Bonnier Corporation, 460 N. Orlando
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P H O T O S A N D I L LU ST R AT I O N S BY M I C H A E L K R AU S, B RYA N C H R I ST I E D E S I G N

19 In Depth
The start of an
avionics revolution?

How It Works

We hear you. Introducing the Garmin GTX 345 series of transponders. ADS -B Out and optional WAAS
position source and ADS-B In. Displays on select Garmin avionics, portables and tablets using Garmin Pilot
and ForeFlight Mobile. And the same footprint as most existing transponders. Learn more at [Link]/ADS-B.

2016 Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries

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On Course

think occasional jealousy among pilots is natural.

The guy in the Skyhawk casts an envious glance
at the Bonanza owner pulling up to the pumps.
The Learjet captain secretly wishes he was ying
a Gulfstream. The B-17 crew looks longingly at those
gleaming P-51 Mustangs of the wingtip and dreams
of trading places for just one mission. Even the Wright
brothers, Im sure, harbored a certain amount of jealousy aimed at Glenn Curtiss for succeeding so well with the
whole aileron thing.
Elsewhere in this issue youll read about my experience undergoing transition training in the Cirrus SR22
in Duluth, Minnesota. A perk of visiting the factory was
that I also got the chance to y a 2016 SR22T. Its a sports
car with wings with a price to match. A fully loaded
SR22T has crossed over the $900,000 threshold for the
rst time. Packed with technology, the interior is on par
with any luxury car on the market, and the paint choices
are seemingly limitless in their variety and appeal.
I wrote about the enhancements on [Link]
recently. Some of the comments readers posted on
Facebook bordered on venomous. A common refrain

I
A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

010

Editor-in-Chief

P H O T O BY J I M KO E P N I K

AIRPLANE
ENVY

went something like this: How dare Cirrus charge so

much for an airplane I wouldnt buy anyway? Im not
sure I get that argument. Is that jealousy?
Lets face it, if youre in the market for a new SR22T,
money isnt your major concern. The day of my evaluation ight, a customer was scheduled to arrive on his
Gulfstream to y his new airplane home. Go ahead and
envy that guy, but dont blame Cirrus (or Gulfstream) for
creating a product he wants to own.
While understandable, jealousy in aviation can be destructive. It causes the have-nots to try to tear down the
haves. A prime example: Theres a persistent story going
around in online forums that the SR22 has a parachute
because it couldnt pass FAA spin testing. The story has
been around for so long that many take it as gospel.
In fact, the Cirrus with its cufed wing is harder to
spin than other general aviation airplanes. A side efect
of this aerodynamic design characteristic is that its also
harder to recover from a spin. Dale and Alan Klapmeier,
the brothers who founded Cirrus in the 1980s, knew they
were going to put a parachute on their airplane whether
they spin tested it or not. But since their design was spin
resistant, and they had a built-in recovery system in the
form of the parachute, they petitioned the FAA to skip
spin testing, which would have added millions to the
development costs. The FAA mulled it over and agreed
with Cirrus. So while its true the SR22 never underwent
FAA spin testing, thats not why the Cirrus has a parachute. Its the other way around.
Envy among pilots, and even aircraft manufacturers,
can also yield benets. I dont think anyone would argue that the Boeing 787 is such a technological marvel at
least in part because of the market success of chief rival
Airbus and its y-by-wire models. Dick VanGrunsven,
Im sure, sold a lot more RV-8 kits after pilots saw young
hotshots screaming around the pattern in RV-6s.
The desire to succeed is one of the higher-octane fuels that drives competition. Cirrus is probably the most
competitive manufacturer out there, striving to improve
its products year after year. More manufacturers should
take a hard look at what Cirrus is doing. Go ahead, be jealous. Get mad. And then go out and do something great.
If youre a pilot who sufers from the occasional case
of airplane envy, well, good. Let that motivate us all to do
something about it.

C E SSNA S KY L A N E
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Inbox

FRAN FESTA

The new look, commencing with the

March 2016 issue, is just remarkable.
The DC-3 was given a large and loving
tribute. Ive been reading for 28 years
now, and my favorite magazine is now
ready to rip for another 28. Well done!
JOHN D. GILBERT SR.

CHANGE IS
HARD

TIM JUST

I love the new format. Keep it up!

As an ol B-29 airman, magazines like Flying conrm and continue my

love of airplanes, especially those with round engines. But regarding
the apparently new format, its a dismal, poor feature of Flying . To be
frank, I think it stinks. My wife of 66 years says I dont like any change.
She may be correct! At my age, I frankly dont give a damn, my dear!
I think you folks should return to the format we know and love.
ANDY HOFFER

Really liking the new print layout in

@flyingmagazine. Latest issue makes
me want to fly the DC-3!

Birds Vs. Drones

STEVE CAWTHON

Visual Potpourri

New Approach

I applaud your courage in redesigning

Flying. It is always good to recalibrate in
a competitive environment, and you have
taken a bold approach. I feel compelled,
however, to offer the reaction of one
long-standing subscriber who was taken
aback by the new print offering.
The content was great as always
diverse, relevant, engaging and a good
read. Peter Garrison remains my absolute
favorite aviation writer, bar none. Perhaps
I am stuck in a time warp, but I find the
design to be a visual disaster. I find the layout and potpourri of graphic elements to
be a great distraction, which compete with,
rather than support, the articles. The
mixed bag of fonts in any one article is
hard on the eyes.
Sorry I could not be more enthusiastic,
but I thought I needed to share my views
with you. I hope this is of some value in
charting your path forward.

The new format is outstanding. From the

beautiful, display-worthy
cover to the new content,
the magazine appeals to all
pilots now, general aviation
and guys like me who fly
the 737. And just like Jerry
West as the symbol on the
NBA logo, having Charles
Lindberg as the avatar for
MARK LEWIS

Yes, lets send an animal against a flying

blender. What could go wrong?

SEND LETTERS TO:

DA1PaL1GUO@U'CFO

MARK JERNIGAN

DOG IS MY
COPILOT

the movie Airplane! where Leslie Nielson keeps poking his head
inthe cockpit and saying, Good luck, were all counting on you.

P H O T O BY J O N W H I T T L E

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

012

@BRIDGEROUTDOOR

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Flying Notebook

SWISS
PRECISION
The Breitling Jet
Team is fast becoming a fixture on
the U.S. airshow
circuit after making its debut last
year. The team,
featuring seven
L-39C Albatros jet
trainers, kicks off
the 2016 season
in Florida at the
Melbourne Air
and Space Show
in April, followed
by appearances
at Sun n Fun in
Lakeland, Florida,
and 13 additional
stops through
late October.

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

014
PHOTO COURTESY BREITLING SA

27.98767N 82.01483W
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A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

015

WILLIAM BAYLISS / SR. PILOT / GOODYEAR AIRSHIP OPERATIONS

CLASS OF 2014 / BS, AERONAUTICAL SCIENCE
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SkyNext
APRIL 2016

IN DEPTH
GEAR
TECH

P H O TO BY J O N W H I T T L E

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

Huntsville, Alabama, pilot and software engineer Mark Spencer is an innovator and
knows how to push large rocks up big hills because hes been there before.
Back in 1999, Spencer developed Asterisk, an open-source telephone PBX software
package that disrupted an established industry to become a successful alternative to existing proprietary telephone multiline oice phone systems. Asterisk drew the attention
of the entire telecom sector, and now Spencer wants to bring that level of innovation to

HOW IT WORKS

MARK
SPENCER

PROJECT NOTEBOOK

new Avilution
eXtensible Flight
System(XFS)
could change
the way we
think about
avionics.

019

SkyNext
In Depth

Mark Spencer

GEAR
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HOW IT WORKS

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A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

020

Flight schools are graduating more instructors and bringing in less students. This means
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Spencers flexible software-centric approach to

avionics design could make panel upgrades in the
future easier and less expensive.

sure it would work with XFS to have an entire retrofit

and OEM market available to them.
Spencer holds a multiengine ATP certificate, is
type-rated to fly an Eclipse 500 single pilot and occasionally flies a Diamond DA40. But its his highly
modified Zenith 750 experimental test airplane that
gets a workout most days. He is currently flying XFS in
the Zenith with plans to first bring this new concept of
avionics engineering to the experimental market and
eventually to certified aircraft as well.
The flexibility of Spencers software-based extensible avionics system means refinement can happen
fast. As we developed a program to control the target
rpm of the propeller governor based upon throttle position, we were literally able to switch from automatic
mode in XFS to manual mode, rebuild and reinstall the
software, then switch back to XFS and see how the new
software performed, all while still in the air, he says.
Nobody knows if Spencers experiments today will
become tomorrows avionics revolution or if the XFS
avionics system will end up in a future-certified airplane; only time will tell.
But when NASA engineers first began work on developing digitized displays in the 1970s, many in the
aerospace industry thought that replacing an airplanes
conventional steam-gauge panel with glass was neither
possible nor necessary.
And we all know how that story ended.

P H O TO BY J O N W H I T T L E

IN DEPTH

the world of avionics.

Spencers new Avilution eXtensible Flight System
(XFS) could change the way we think about avionics.
Built around redundant but easily attained (read less expensive) hardware and powered by an adaptable source
available software suite designed to be futureproof, XFS
can be configured easily to take the air data available from
the airplane and display it on glass panel displays, making
it compatible for use in most anything that flies.
With XFS, Spencer imagines a day when you will
download apps for your avionics suite to customize the information you see ... or to reprogram the system to meet
new FAA mandates. Think iPhone meets glass panels at a
fraction of the cost of todays avionics choices.
As a software developer, Spencer says, I frequently find myself frustrated by problems in technology that
could be resolved through relatively small software changes. When I began flying in 2007, I wondered if a more
flexible base of software could be developed that would
make avionics systems much more responsive, just as I did
in telecom. Within 10 years, Id love to see XFS achieve a
similar status as Asterisk did in telecom so it becomes the
platform upon which avionics are typically built. When
someone designs a new radio, he or she needs only make

SkyNext
GEAR

IN DEPTH

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TECH
PROJECT NOTEBOOK
A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

This month were featuring two cockpit must-haves.

Left undetected, carbon monoxide will deprive the
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P H O T O S BY M I C H A E L K R AUS A N D G E T T Y I M A G E S

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SkyNext
TECH

IN DEPTH

Look Ma,
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up in!

TECH
PROJECT NOTEBOOK
HOW IT WORKS

Lightspeeds new
Tango headset is the
first premium automatic noise reduction
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compatible, but the
communications link
is Lightspeeds own
special connection.
$899 MSRP;
[Link]

Rechargeable
lithium-ion
battery lasts
12 hours.

Reversible
microphone can
be placed right
or left.

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

024

With all the electronic gadgets

and accessories pilots fly with
these days, climbing into the
cockpit can be like stepping into
an overgrown forest of cords
and wires. Thats what makes
Lightspeeds new Tango wireless ANR headset so appealing.
We flew with a pair and can
report the sound quality is on
par with other top Lightspeed
models. The tech at the heart
of the Tango headset is called
Lightspeed Link. Its not Bluetooth and its not Wi-Fi, but
rather Lightspeeds own connection technology, which can
allow up to six Tango headsets
to operate simultaneously. The
one downside is youll have to
recharge Tangos lithium-ion
batteries every 12 hours of
use, on average, but for many
aviators thats a small price
to pay to finally be released
from the dreaded mess of the
cockpit-cord jungle.

THE FUTURE OF SNOW REMOVAL

A new concept called conductive concrete technology, developed by
professor Chris Tuan from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, may
ease the arduous process of snow removal in the future. By incorporating
electrically conductive steel shavings and carbon particles, the concrete can conduct electricity. A current can then be applied to produce
heat to melt the snow. The FAA is currently evaluating the technology
and financial feasibility for use in and around aircraft parking areas.

P H O T O BY I S TO C K

GEAR

FINALLY,
A WIRELESS
ANR AVIATION
HEADSET

Panel
interface links
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The tools of the IFR trade, trusted for more than 80 years.

Mobile chart apps

Training

Forums/webinars

Avionics data services

Fly your best.

Learn more at [Link]/whyjepp70

SkyNext
PROJECT NOTEBOOK

By Pia Bergqvist

IN DEPTH
GEAR
TECH
PROJECT NOTEBOOK

Designers at
Mooney have
been busy.
Theyve added a
second door and
upgrades galore to
the fastest civilian
piston single.

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

One of the biggest complaints Mooney has heard from its thousands of M20 customers is the lack
of a left-side door. While adding a second door to a decades-old design is no easy feat, the company
listened to the feedback. In February, Mooney announced the M20V Acclaim Ultra, which has a new
composite skin to enclose the cabins protective chromoly-steel roll cage.

P H O T O BY G A RY B L O C K L E Y

HOW IT WORKS
026

MOONEY M20V ACCLAIM ULTRA

Nobody rents a plane expecting a flight to end badly. Even if your FBO or flight
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SkyNext
Mooney M20V Acclaim Ultra

IN DEPTH
GEAR
TECH
HOW IT WORKS
A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

on the panel look and feel terric, and the

G1000 avionics can now be controlled
through Garmins keypad, mounted at
the bottom of the panel. While it is not
quite in the right spot for the armrest
position, it is within easy reach, and the
capability to type in xes and frequencies rather than twist the G1000s knobs
is a great improvement.
What has not changed is the
280 hp Continental TSIO-550-G engine. Mooney says the performance
numbers are not expected to change
with the Acclaim Ultra upgrades, with
the top speed remaining best in class at
242 knots. The typical useful load for the
Acclaim Ultra will be right around 1,000
pounds, and the range with the extended 100-gallon tanks can be stretched to
1,275 nm at a cruise speed of 175 knots.
New Acclaim Ultra airplanes are
already rolling down the production
line in Kerrville, Texas, and Mooney
expects to receive the sign of from the
FAA for the upgrades in the second
quarter of this year. The price tag for
the Acclaim Ultra is set at $769,000.
Mooney will also produce the M20U
Ovation Ultra for $689,000, the Ovation being a slower, nonturbocharged version of the Acclaim. Look for a
full ight review in an upcoming issue
of Flying.

During its assembly, the Mooney

M20V Acclaim Ultra
will roll down the
factory floor in
Kerrville, Texas,
where thousands of
M20-series airplanes
have been assembled for decades.
One of many modern
touches to this most
recent version is a
keypad (above) that
links to the Garmin
G1000 integrated
glass-panel avionics.

P H O T O S BY G A RY B L O C K L E Y

PROJECT NOTEBOOK
028

Not only was Mooney able to add the

second door to the composite enclosure,
the door design is a full 4 inches wider
than the previous version.
What that means for this singleengine speedster is that access to the
rear seats is now signicantly better.
And, of course, the addition of a door on
the left side of the fuselage allows the pilot to step right in the left seat without
having to awkwardly squeeze through
the entire width of the cabin.
Another benet of the new composite
skin is that the doors provide a tighter t
compared with the old metal versions.
This results in a quieter cabin and potentially less drag, Mooney says. Also,
the windshield and windows are slotted
into the composite from the outside, a
process that is much faster and will make
replacements a breeze compared with
the previous design. The tail cone and
wings remain metal, and the cowling was
already made of composites.
In addition to the new exterior,
Mooney modernized the cabin and panel to follow in line with the gorgeous
interior of the M10 three-seater. The
accented leather seats will come in two
color schemes: black and saddle brown,
and black and light gray. Mooney will offer four exterior paint-scheme options.
The new oversize soft-touch switches

UNPARALLELED PERFORMANCE

The KODIAK is the single

best handling non-aerobatic
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Foster Bachschmidt
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2015 U.S. National
Advanced Aerobatic
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[Link]

See the KODIAK at SUN n Fun

SkyNext
HOW IT WORKS

BY Bethany Whitfield

IN DEPTH

AVIATION TECHNOLOGY MADE SIMPLE

ACTIVATION
SYSTEM

GEAR

ROCKET
ASSEMBLY

TECH

PARACHUTE
ASSEMBLY

HOW IT WORKS

FORWARD
HARNESS

BRS
AIRCRAFT
PARACHUTE
Ballistic Recovery Systems claims more than
320 lives have been saved since its revolutionary
technology was first installed in a Cessna 150 more
than two decades ago.

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

030

According to BRS, tests have shown that its parachutes can

be pulled and still fully inflate at altitudes as low as 260 feet
and speeds as high as 187 knots. Individual pilots have testified that they successfully deployed their chutes below
100 feet. BRS does not provide a specific minimum-altitude
limitation (Cirrus recommends a minimum deployment
height of 580 feet in the latest-generation SR22), but that
doesnt mean pilots should wait to pull the handle. For your
best chance at a safe, injury-free landing, BRS encourages
pilots experiencing midair emergencies to pull the chute
sooner rather than later, with a 2,000-foot deployment
height being the norm.

HOW IT
WORKS
For pilots, BRS deployment is remarkably
simple; one pull of the
handle is all it takes. The
chain of events this action
sets into motion, however,
is far more complex. The
activation cable first
compresses the spring
of the igniting device,
and the system is cocked
like a gun. A hammer (or
electrical pulse in the
newest versions) is then
discharged into dual igniters, which consequently
ignite the solid fuel and
activate the rocket motor.
The now-activated rocket
motor propels the parachutes suspension lines
to full extension in mere
tenths of a second. While
the direction of firing can
differ among aircraft depending upon installation,
a rearward and downward
deployment is optimal for
most models. The parachute will always open
downwind, no matter
which direction its fired.

A ring-shaped slider
prevents the chute from
opening completely until
the aircraft has reached
a safe speed. Once this
occurs, the slider moves
down the suspension lines,
and the chute fully inflates.
As the canopy opens, the
aircraft experiences a
sharp pitch up, and its forward speed stems abruptly.
During this opening
shock, fliers can experience loads of 3 to 7 Gs.
Following this opening
shock, the nose drops, and
the airplane swings as if it
were a pendulum before
coming to rest beneath
the parachute in a slight
nose-down attitude. While
numbers differ depending
on the aircraft and environmental conditions, fliers of
a Cirrus SR22, for example,
can expect a descent rate
of about 15 to 28 feet per
second. How fast does
that feel for those in the
cockpit? Imagine jumping
from a height of 13 feet for
a comparable descent rate
to the ground.

I L LUS T R AT I O N BY B RYA N C H R I S T I E D E S I G N

PROJECT NOTEBOOK

FORWARD
ATTACH POINT

Its the ride

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When the sun meets the
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APRIL 2016

TRAINING

CHART WISE

&

ILAFFT
EVERYTHING EXPLAINED
SKY KINGS

RAIM
RAIM stands for
receiver autonomous
integrity monitoring.
Its not a type of
approach but rather
technology that assesses the integrity of GPS
signals. If, for example,
you fly an LNAV/VNAV
procedure and dont
have WAAS, you are
required to check predictive RAIM on your
GPS receiver before
starting the approach.

AFTERMATH

COURSE INDICATOR
The approach procedure and its waypoints
are shown in the
center of the plan view
of the approach chart.
The same procedure
and waypoints will
be shown once the
approach is activated
on your GPS, making it
easy to know if you are
on the right track.

FOR THE
INTERACTIVE
VERSION OF
CHART WISE, VISIT
[Link]/
CHARTWISE.

RNAV is more than just point-to-point navigation. All GPS RNAV approaches also have performance
parameters baked into the procedure (for instance, required navigation performance values and distance
holds instead of timed holds), allowing refinements to make them more accurate and efficient. The granddaddy of all GPS RNAV approaches is WAAS LPV, which offers similar approach minimums as ILS. Today
there are more than 3,600 WAAS LPV approaches in the United States serving nearly 1,800 airports.

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

THE RNAV APPROACH

033

I . L. A. F . F. T .
I LEARNED ABOUT
FLYING FROM THAT
CHART WISE
ILAFFT

NO. 902

AFTERMATH
EVERYTHING EXPLAINED

TOTAL
BLACKOUT
THE MOST HORRIBLE OF
EMERGENCIES: A NIGHT
FLIGHT IN EXTREME WEATHER
WITHOUT INSTRUMENTS

SKY KINGS

It was late August and I was in Goose

Bay in Labrador, Canada. For two
days, my time there had been spent
either at the local weather station or
in my hotel room, parked in front of
the Weather Channel.

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

034

had departed Bangor, Maine, two days before. My mission was to deliver a pretty red-and-white Maule M5 to southern Italy for its excited
new owner.
A seven-hour flight brought me to Goose Bay. The next stop was supposed to have been St. Johns, Newfoundland, the last point of land before
heading out over the Atlantic, bound for the Azores and then Portugal.
But the weather was bad. Really bad. A huge and nasty low-pressure system had stalled over the Atlantic, having persisted now for five days. It
looked to last many more.
But by the following morning the weather had improved to the north.
If I changed my route and flew over southern Greenland, Iceland and

Scotland, and down the east coast of

the U.K., I could make it. I departed at
4 a.m. into solid IMC.
I broke out on top at 5,000 feet on a
climb to 8,000. The Maule was a real
handful no autopilot or wing leveler. The ferry tank full of extra fuel
drove the CG well aft. No matter how
carefully I trimmed, the Maule would
try to roll over on its back within seconds of releasing the yoke.

I L LU S T R AT I O N S B Y B A R R Y R O S S

BY Joshua Crabtree

T&T
TRAINING & TECHNIQUE

Before departing Sywell, I

checked the oil, did a preight
and was of again, enjoying a stunning sunset as I headed south
toward the English Channel. I
knew the fair weather wouldnt
last though there was a storm
covering much of Western Europe,
which I would enter before reaching cruise altitude. I picked up
an IFR clearance and leveled at
8,000feet.
Fifteen minutes farther south
and the world changed. I was
now in IMC with precipitation so

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

I had to divert to Narsarsuaq,

Greenland, for fuel due to higherthan-forecast headwinds, but the
remaining ight to Reykjavik,
Iceland, went smoothly enough.
The next day I departed into low
ceilings and cold, blustery wind,
with the plan to make Germany late
that night and my destination the
following afternoon. The weather
improved some as I approached
the Faroe Islands, remaining VFR
all the way to my planned fuel
stop at Sywell Aerodrome near
Northampton, England.

heavy that all I could hear were sheets

of rain pounding the windscreen.
An hour into the weather, I was
handed of to Brussels Center. I
signed on and awaited a response,
but none came. A second attempt also
went unanswered. While keying the
mic for the third attempt, I noticed
a dimming of the instrument panel.
Hmm, thats odd, I thought.
But before any further contemplation was possible, the whole world
went black. And I mean pitch
black. Cave black. Cant see
your hands moving in front of
Fifteen minyour face black.
In the span of several sec- utes farther
onds everything had changed, south and the
and I was plunged into the world changed.
most horrible of emergencies I was now in
ying totally blind at night,
IMC with
in IMC, in a heavy rainstorm,
in a dynamically unstable air- precipitation
craft with no autopilot, and so heavy that
with only seconds left to react all I could
before death would be all but hear were
a certainty.
sheets of rain
Clutching my ashlight in
my mouth, I regained reason- pounding the
able control of the airplane. I windscreen.
was able to maintain my altitude and airspeed, so I gured
I must still have an engine,
though I couldnt hear it over the roar
of the rain. The tachometer was dead.
I had no engine instruments, no interior or exterior lights, no panel lights,
no GPS, no nav radios and no comm
radios. Not good.
I grabbed my portable navcom. Remembering the Brussels frequency, I
tuned to it and broadcast a Mayday,
but there was no response. I held
the radio up so I could read the display. Low Battery was all I could
see. Really?
Five minutes later, with fresh batteries installed, I once again tried
Brussels. This time they heard me.
Upon declaring an emergency, I was
given vectors for an ILS into Brussels. Negative, I replied. I have no

035

I . L. A. F. F . T.
TRAINING & TECHNIQUE

Total Blackout

CHART WISE
ILAFFT
AFTERMATH

navigation radios. Im requesting a PAR

or ASR approach. Brussels told me it
had no surveillance approaches and to
standby.
Moments passed that seemed like
hours. Finally, Approach came back with
a frequency change to Charleroi. Good
fortune smiled on me it was already
after 9 p.m., and Charleroi tower normally closed at 9. Only minutes later and
the controllers would have been gone.
Charleroi had a surveillance approach.
Brussels vectored me in that direction
and handed me of. The surveillance
controller calmly provided vectors and
stepped descents until I was at MDA on
nal approach minutes from the MAP,
still in solid IMC.
Approaching the MAP, I began to pick
up the glow of approach lights, illuminating the clouds but nothing else. I continued my descent, and, at about
75 feet agl, I caught sight of the runway numI grabbed
bers directly below the nose. I ared seconds
later and rolled to a mideld turnof, shutting
my portable
down at the base of the tower.
navcom.
It was only then that my body started to
Remembering
shake uncontrollably. I took a few moments
the Brussels
to compose myself and to grasp the fact that
frequency, I
I was still alive.
tuned to it and
Exiting the airplane into the downpour,
I climbed the stairs to the tower, wanting to
broadcast a
thank whoever was there.
Mayday, but
Upon entering the dark room, I saw two
there was
men, one large and tall, the other short and
no response.
much thinner. Both were scanning helpless-

EVERYTHING EXPLAINED
SKY KINGS

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

036

ly into the night sky with their binoculars.

Upon seeing me, the larger one said in a heavy
French accent, Not now, we are having an emergency.
Yes, Im thinking I am the emergency, I said. He
looked at me quizzically. Look straight down, I said.
There, about 60 feet directly below them, barely visible through the rain, was the little Maule, dark and
drenched. But we did not see you land! the larger one
exclaimed. Since I had no exterior lights they probably would not have seen me no matter how hard they
tried. Suddenly, the larger man came running at me I
thought for a moment that he would punch me, but in-

stead he picked me up of the ground in a bear hug and,

with tears in his eyes, said, We thought we had lost you!
Its a moment Ill never forget.
The next day, my friend, Guy, who owned an FBO at
Charleroi, pulled the cowl and found the two bolts that
attach the tachometer drive cable to the engine block
had vibrated loose one was gone, the other was two
threads from being gone. The tach drive plate had pulled
away from the block, and this had allowed pressurized
oil to be forced out of the crankcase and down into the
alternator directly below, destroying it. In short order,
the battery had also died. I remember thinking then how
much I loved magnetos. Leaving Sywell, I had 12 quarts
of oil. After Guy drained the sump, 2 quarts remained.
How long can an engine run on 2 quarts of oil?
I have spent many hours pondering why I survived, replaying my options that night over Belgium 23 years ago.
Ive determined that every other scenario would almost
certainly have ended in a fatal and ery crash.
So is it luck that determines the path or length of our
lives? Or is it skill, hard work and preparation? Or is it,
perhaps, all of them?
That night they were all required for my survival. Had
I lacked any of them, I would have found myself in the
pitch black at 8,000 feet, knowing that I had seconds left
to live, never again to see another sunset.

E2 = Exceeding Expectations In Performance Upgrades

Bob Knueve, Lead Tech, Dayton

Chris Turner

From pre-purchase evaluation

to a Garmin G1000 installation,
Stevens is our King Air specialist.

Even though we have 75 techs who work exclusively on our helicopter

fleet, we went to Stevens for their expertise with the King Air. They are fast, efficient
and totally dependable. We have relied on them for everything from pre-purchase
evaluation four years ago and ongoing maintenance to installing a new interior,
winglets, Blackhawk engines and new props, additional FM radios and, most
recently, the Garmin G1000.
State-of-the-art performance upgrades for jets and turboprops in
propulsion, avionics, interior design and exterior airframe modification are a Stevens
Aviation tradition. We continually exceed our customers expectations by providing
diversified expertise in aircraft maintenance, modification and refurbishment,
aircraft sales, aircraft management, flight services, and fixed base operations.
Youll find our facilities in Greenville SC (GYH), Dayton OH (DAY) and
Nashville TN (BNA). For more information, contact Phil Stearns, Sales Manager, at
937-470-1851 or pstearns@[Link].

Chris Turner, President

CHI Aviation
Howell, MI

[Link]

Aftermath
TRAINING & TECHNIQUE

ACCIDENT

ANALYSIS
By Peter Garrison

CHART WISE

INTO THE SOUP

ILAFFT

THE APPROACH WAS BETTER

EXECUTED THAN IT WAS PLANNED.

AFTERMATH

TIME: 1145:55

EVERYTHING EXPLAINED

APP: Mooney 869, Runway 17L RVR touchdown

1,000, rollout 1,200.
869: Mooney 869, roger.
TIME: 1147:25

SKY KINGS

The following is an edited transcript of communications between

Colorado Springs Approach Control
and Tower and the pilot of a Mooney
M20E arriving on an IFR flight plan
from Rapid City, South Dakota.

APP: Mooney 869, heres a pilot report for ya.

We just had an MD-80 depart Runway 17L,
departing to the north, and in the clouds he
got light clear ice, and that again was an
MD-82, actually.
869: Mooney 869, understand, and, uh, the
plan is well attempt the ILS 17L. If we start
picking up anything were gonna pop back up
and go and shoot a missed, but if not were
gonna continue down.
APP: Mooney 869, 2 miles from AWONE, turn
left 190, maintain 9,000 till established on the
localizer, cleared ILS Runway 17L approach.
869: Left to 190, maintain 9,000 till
established, cleared ILS 17L approach,
Mooney 869.
APP: Mooney 869, Runway 17L touchdown RVR
800, rollout 1,000.
869: 69.
TIME: 1150:12

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

038

869: Springs Approach, Mooney 79869,

checking in 10,000 with Sierra.
APP: Mooney 79869, Springs Approach,
expect an ILS Runway 17L.
869: Expect ILS 17L, 869.
APP: Mooney 869, Runway 17L RVR touchdown
1,600, rollout 1,200. Is that gonna be good enough
for ya?
869: Mooney 869, affirm.

The airport lay under a blanket of freezing fog. The reported weather was 100 and 1/4, while ILS minimums
were 200 and 1/2, or at least 1,800 feet RVR.

APP: Mooney 869, just had another departure,

CRJ just departed, reported light rime ice
in the clouds. As soon as he rotated he
started getting it.
869: Mooney 869.
APP: Mooney 869, contact Tower 133.15.
869: 133.15 for 869 ... Springs Tower,
Mooney 79869 inbound for ILS
Runway 17L approach.
TWR: Mooney 78869 [sic], Springs Tower.
869: Mooney 869.
TWR: And Mooney 869, runway was reported
dry approximately 11 minutes ago. Taxiway connectors reported fair braking action.

P H O TO BY A L A M Y

TIME: 1138:14

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Aftermath
TRAINING & TECHNIQUE

Into the Soup

|

ACCIDENT

ANALYSIS

CHART WISE

869: 869 copies ... glideslope intercept,

ILAFFT

down to 63 or so.

TWR: Roger. Say flight conditions.

869: Currently VFR on top right now, Ill
let you know when we get into the soup.

AFTERMATH

TWR: Roger.
869: Mooney 869, in at 8,500 indicated.
TIME: 1154:02

EVERYTHING EXPLAINED

TWR: And Mooney 869, altimeter 3019,

verify altitude.

869: Mooney 869 currently going through 8,100

with 3019 set.

TWR: Roger ... Runway 17L touchdown RVR 1,000,

rollout 1,000, wind 150 at 9.
TIME: 1158:24

SKY KINGS

869: Mooney 869 is going missed. We got down

to 6,400 and nothing.

TWR: Mooney 869 roger, fly runway heading,

maintain 9,000.

869: 869.
TIME: 1159:54

TWR: Mooney 869, radio check ... Mooney 869,

Springs Tower.

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

040

The Mooney had gone silent. The airport immediately

closed to arrivals and departures, and ground personnel
began to patrol the runways and taxiways. At 12:10 they
found the burning wreckage beside the approach end of
the runway. It was conned within a small area and was
consistent with a low-airspeed and high angle of attack
impact. Both the pilot and his passenger were dead.
The National Transportation Safety Board traced the
accident to the pilots decision to initiate an approach
into weather conditions where the ceiling and visibility
were below the minimums for the approach, and where
reported icing existed in an airplane not certied for
ight in icing conditions, and his failure to maintain control of the airplane during the missed approach.
The pilot, 25, was a U.S. Air Force B-1B pilot who had
been rated exceptionally qualied on a ight review
eight months earlier. Theres a big diference between

a Mooney M20 and a supersonic swing-wing bomber with a gross weight of nearly half a million pounds,
and pilots of big iron are often awkward in small
GA airplanes; but this pilot had owned the Mooney
for ve months and logged 58 hours in it. He was also
a civilian instrument ight instructor. As is apparent
from the transcript, his demeanor was professional;
he ew the ILS accurately. In short, the approach seemed
to have been a textbook one except for its unfortunate conclusion.
One thing in the online docket that is remarkable is
a photograph of the propeller. Two of its three blades
are visible, and, while they are bent back near the root,
neither shows the tip damage, scraping, twisting and
curling that usually occur when an airplane hits the
ground under power.
Under Part 91, a pilot is entitled to have a look even
when the reported weather is below minimums. In this
case, however, there were two reasons not to do so. One
was the series of dismal RVR reports, which made a miss
nearly certain. The other was the reported icing of departing larger aircraft; anything more than a traceof ice
would have made a successful approach even less likely
and the miss more diicult. Since two large jets reported icing immediately after takeof, its likely that the
Mooney encountered it too.
If there had been no risk, or only a minute risk of
icing, it might have been worth giving the approach
a try however dim the prospect of success. If, on
the other hand, the chance of completing the approach had been good, then the risk of icing might have
been worth running. But the combination of a high likelihood of a bad thing icing combined with the low
likelihood of a good one landing made for a double
bad gamble.
The NTSB attributes the accident to both the pilots
judgment and his performance. The possibility of some
contributing malfunction, undetectable by investigators, is not mentioned. Nevertheless, the statement in
the accident report that the airplane was not equipped
with deicing or anti-icing equipment suggests that it
may not have had functioning pitot heat. Its possible
that rapid ice buildup, combined with loss of airspeed
indication, could have led to a stall as the pilot attempted
to rotate into a climb.
This is only speculation, of course. The only conclusion we are entitled to draw from the slender evidence
in the accident report is that even an exceptionally qualied pilot can sometimes get it wrong.

This article is based on the NTSB's report of this accident and is intended to bring the issues raised to our readers attention.
It is not intended to judge or to reach any definitive conclusions about the ability or capacity of any person, living or dead, or any aircraft or accessory.


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W W W. D A V I D C L A R K . C O M

Everything Explained
TRAINING & TECHNIQUE

AVIATION

REGS

IN

PLAIN

ENGLISH

By Richie Lengel
CHART WISE
ILAFFT
AFTERMATH

IS YO U R
AI R P L A N E
LE G A L ?

EVERYTHING EXPLAINED

EQUIPMENT
(MEL)

BASIC PAPERWORK
(MUST BE ON BOARD)

Airworthiness certificate
Must be displayed (91.203).
Registration Must be renewed every three years. A
temporary registration is not
acceptable for international
travel (47.40, 91.203).
Radio station license Not
required within the U.S. but
is required outside the U.S.
Operating limitations
Aircraft Flight Manual
[91.9(b), 23.1581, 25.1581].
Weight and balance data
Aircraft Flight Manual
(91.103, 135.185, 23.1581,
25.1581).
NOTE NO.1: The AFM
must be current and available in the cockpit (91.9).

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

NOTE NO.2: An approved

Company Flight Manual
(CFM) may be substituted
for the AFM.
Charts Are they in

ADDITIONAL
PAPERWORK
(COMMERCIAL OPS)

Load manifest (W&B)

Required for every leg with
cargo or passengers on
board (multiengine aircraft)
(135.63, 135.87 135.185,
121.693, 121.695, 91.525).
Dispatch release (aka
flight release).
Checklist (normal and
emergency) (135.83,
91.503, 121.315, 121.549).
MARKINGS AND
PLACARDS
The airplane must be operated in compliance with
the operating limitations
as set forth in the AFM and
any markings or placards
required by the AFM must
be installed (91.9).
A compass deviation
placard (aka compass card)
must be installed on or near

VOR EQUIPMENT
CHECK
Within the last 30 days for
IFR flight. Date, error, place
and signature (DEPS) in the
aircraft log or other reliable
record (91.171, AIM 1-1-3
through 1-1-8).
GPS
An IFR-certified GPS should
have a current database if
it is the primary source of
navigation (AIM 1-1-17).
ANNUAL
INSPECTION
Twelve calendar months.
An annual inspection is
acceptable to use as a
100-hour inspection, but
a 100-hour inspection
cannot be used as an
annual [91.409(a)].

is an ATP-rated pilot and

100-HOUR
INSPECTION
One-hundred flight hours
when carrying persons for
hire or flight instruction
for hire. The 100-hour
limitation may not be
exceeded by more than
10 hours while en route to
reach a place where the
inspection can be done. It
is acceptable to exceed
the 100-hour during a
commercial operation if
the aircraft is inadvertently
delayed (due to weather or
traffic). However, intentionally dispatching an aircraft
on a commercial operation
knowing that the 100-hour
limitation will be exceeded
is not legal. Commercial
operations must be halted
at the 100-hour point
[91.409(b)].
OTHER
INSPECTIONS
Annual or 100-hour inspections do not apply to aircraft
in an Approved Aircraft
Inspection Program, a
Progressive Inspection
Program, a Continuous
Airworthiness Inspection
Program or other inspection
programs listed in 91.409.

ILLUSTRATION BY TIM B ARKER

SKY KINGS

All equipment in the

aircraft must be in operable
condition unless allowed by
the aircrafts MEL (or CDL)
to be inoperative for the
pending flight.

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Everything Explained
TRAINING & TECHNIQUE

AVIATION

REGS

IN

PLAIN

ENGLISH
Is Your Airplane Legal?

ENGINE OVERHAUL
(TIME BETWEEN OVERHAULS)

For Part 91 operations,

time between overhauls is
a recommended time (for
reciprocating engines). TBO
recommendations also have
a calendar limit in addition
to the flight-hours limit.
For Part 135 operations,
engines normally must be
overhauled at manufacturers recommended TBOs
(an extension is possible).
For turbine engines, TBO (or
replacement of life-limited
engine components) is a
requirement, not a recommendation, whether it is
operated under Part 91,
135 or 121 [91.409(e),
AC 21-40, OpSpecs].

TRANSPONDER AND
MODE C
Tested and recertified
within 24 calendar months
(IFR or VFR) (91.215,
91.411, 91.413).
ALTIMETER AND
STATIC SYSTEM
Tested and recertified
within 24 calendar months
(for IFR in controlled airspace) (91.215, 91.411).
ELT BATTERY
Must be replaced or
recharged when in use for
more than one cumulative
hour or when 50 percent
of useful life has expired
[91.207(c)].

ELT INSPECTION
Inspected within 12 calendar months [91.207(d)].
NEXT AD DUE BASED
ON DATE OR TIME
As published in AD (Part 39
Airworthiness Directives).
OXYGEN
Supply adequately for the
mission, and the bottle(s)
are within dated limits.
PORTABLE FIRE
EXTINGUISHER
As marked on unit. If a
portable fire extinguisher
is installed, it must be
operative (25.851, 91.213,
91.513, 121.309, 121.417,
135.155, AC 20-42C).

FAA regulations could change at any time. Please refer to current FARs to ensure you are legal.

FLOTATION DEVICE
As marked on unit for
overhaul or inspection
[91.205(b)(12), AC 20-56A,
AC 91-70]. Required when
operated for hire over water
and beyond power-off gliding distance from shore.
PYROTECHNIC
DEVICE
As marked on unit but
no more than 42 months
from date of manufacture
[91.205(b)(12), AC 91-58A,
AC 91-70]. Required when
operated for hire over water
and beyond power-off gliding distance from shore.

Sky Kings
TRAINING & TECHNIQUE | FLYING Opinion
By Martha King
CHART WISE
ILAFFT
EVERYTHING EXPLAINED

WHEN YOU ASK FOR TOO MUCH

SKY KINGS
A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

It was the slightest of rumbles. Both John and I felt it.

John, who was at the controls, eased the yoke forward
slightly and the rumble stopped. We landed and taxied
to the ramp. We had an airplane full of pilots, but no one
else had felt the rumble. It was the aerodynamic warning
of a stall in our old Falcon 10. With hydraulically assisted,
irreversible controls in this airplane, the pilots dont get
feedback. The rumble was the only warning we would
receive. Had John reacted diferently, the aircraft could
well have stalled, and the aviation community would
have racked up one more loss of control tragedy.
We had been on our way to Oshkosh for AirVenture.
Ironically, we were diverted to Appleton, Wisconsin, due
to the loss of control crash of another jet. The pilot was
on approach to Runway 18 at Oshkosh and had been given instructions to slow for traic on the runway and keep
his approach south of Runway 27. These are the exact
circumstances that John and I had escaped some years
ago with a go-around.
Our diversion left us scrambling. We quickly briefed
our approach, but at the last minute the tower directed us to another runway. The rumble occurred during
Johns maneuvering with a steep turn from base to nal
to get lined up with the new runway.
What these situations have in common is that they
were setups for loss of control. The National Transportation Safety Board includes loss of control on its
most-wanted safety-improvement list and for good reason. Loss of control is a big deal. Almost half of all general
aviation fatalities are caused by loss of control, and they
are almost always fatal.
I confess I have had a hard time wrapping my brain
around the subject of loss of control. It has become the
safety issue du jour, but it is a huge category. I mean, you
could say there are only two conditions in which an aircraft can crash either in control or out of control. I am
not sure that learning that a crash happened as a result

The actual moment of loss of control can happen in an

instant, underscoring the need for knowledge and wellhoned risk-managment habits to avoid classic traps.

of loss of control gives us much actionable information.

Plus, I have a tendency to see loss of control as a result
rather than a cause. Having said that, if we as a community could crack the code to eliminating these types of
accidents, we could save thousands of lives.
Loss of control can occur anytime the aircraft does
something you dont want it to do, and you dont take
swift corrective action. That can happen whenever you
expect too much of either the aircraft or yourself as the
pilot asking one or the other to do something it just
cant do. For instance, asking an airplane to y with too
much load factor will result in loss of control. Yet pilots
do it on the turn from base to nal with regularity.
There are many ways to lose control, and pilots can
be very creative about it. What they all seem to have in
common is that almost all loss of control accidents occur in repeating scenarios; with perfect hindsight you
realize the pilot should have seen it coming. The idea
behind learning the habit of risk management is to turn
that perfect hindsight into foresight for pilots when it
counts. It means knowing whats happening now and
what bad thing might happen next if you dont do something aboutit.
Looking at it that way, loss of control accidents are
the result of a failure in risk management. When a pilot does manage to avoid an accident, it is hard to know
whether it might have been superior risk management

ILLUSTRATION BY TIM BARKER

AFTERMATH
046

LOSS OF
CONTROL

Sky Kings
TRAINING & TECHNIQUE | FLYING Opinion
Loss of Control

or superior skill that saved the day.

On our approach to Runway 18 at Oshkosh, it could
be said that I executed a go-around so that I didnt have
to use superior skill, although cleaning up and doing a
go-around in a highly wing-loaded, swept-wing jet from
low altitude is not without its challenges. On Johns approach to Appleton, it could be said that Johns slight
forward pressure on the control yoke in response to the
rumble was a demonstration of superior skill. But with
all due respect to John, it didnt take much skill to apply
that slight forward pressure.
The important point in each case is that a successful
outcome required the knowledge and risk-management
habits to recognize a scenario that was a setup for stallspin and also to identify the mitigation needed. In
addition to knowledge and risk management, skill was
required to execute the response. Thats why the Airman
Certication Standards, which in June will replace the
Practical Test Standards for the Private Pilot and Instrument Rating tests, will require pilots to display all three.
Learning risk management, in this case for stall-spin,

requires practice at recognizing scenarios that can lead

to stall-spins and coming up with mitigation strategies.
The specic scenario in the traic pattern that most
often leads to loss of control is the very one we had at
Appleton turning from base to nal with lots of distractions. In this case there was also a last-minute runway
change, requiring maneuvering to get lined up. Add in a
tailwind from base to nal and an overshoot, and it becomes an almost irresistible temptation to steepen the
bank and maybe even add some bottom rudder.
The ideal is for pilots to become so practiced at identifying risky scenarios that they develop the ability to
smell trouble and do not allow themselves to get into
situations that might lead them to ask themselves or the
airplane to do something impossible.
The problem with any kind of loss of control is that
while it may take considerable time for the situation to
develop, when it comes to the actual moment of loss of
control, it can happen quickly. When things have progressed to that point, it is diicult to recover. The best
recovery is not to need one in the rst place.

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By Sam Weigel

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

Dawn and I departed Eden Prairie, Minnesota (FCM),

early on Christmas morning and put in a long weather-delayed day to Jamestown, New York (JHW), followed the next morning by a pleasant three-hour leg
to Chester, Connecticut (SNC). We ended up spending
two nights there, and then transited New York City, New
Jersey and the Delmarva Peninsula to Elizabeth City,

North Carolina (ECG). The next day we flew overland

to Myrtle Beach, Florida, and then followed the curve of
the coast to the Spruce Creek Fly-In community (7FL6)
near Daytona Beach. From there it was a scenic two-hop
day down the beaches and via the Overseas Highway
to Key West (EYW), the most southerly airport in the
continental United States. On New Years Eve we backtracked to Homestead (X51), stashed the Pacer, and rang
in 2016 with my cousins on Key Largo before taking the
airlines home for post-holiday family engagements.
The following week I returned to Florida alone and
spent four days dodging weather, visiting friends around
the state and procuring routine but necessary maintenance for the Pacer. We flew the third stage of the
trip over Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend. On
a windy, bumpy Friday I repositioned to Destin, Ever since that
Florida (DTN), and picked Dawn up from her air- trip, Ive wantline flight into Pensacola the next day. We enjoyed
ed to reprise
surprisingly respectable groundspeeds and ended
up in Waco, Texas (CNW), that evening. Sunday my tour by
was cold and clear, and we again clocked good air, preferably
progress in light northerlies across the Guadalupe in something
Pass to scenic Las Cruces, New Mexico (LRU). basic, low and
That left a short last day to cover 300 gorgeous
slow. Luckily,
miles to Chandler, Arizona (CHD), which is where
I now own
the Pacer sits as of this writing.
Any wintertime trip in a basic VFR airplane exactly such
guarantees weather challenges, and we had our an airplane.
share; in fact, three of the first four nights were
spent elsewhere than planned. Our easting was
made between two large, fast-moving cold fronts,
the second of which dumped a foot of snow across the
upper Midwest, scrubbed our planned overnight in
Cleveland, and then stranded us in Connecticut for an
extra day. In its wake we enjoyed a 30-knot push down
the Eastern seaboard, but a persistent band of low
ceilings over the Carolinas halted our quick progress.
Overnight a warm front passed through, the temperature in Elizabeth City rose by 20 degrees, and the wind
clocked 180 degrees to the southwest. We spent a long
day bashing windward, much of it at only 500 feet to
avoid the worst beating and keep the groundspeed up
around 80 knots. The ride improved over the coast, and
the afternoon turned sunny and warm past Savannah,
Georgia, but our progress remained stubbornly slow all
the way to Key West the following day.
During my solo week, I discovered that even sunny Florida is subject to winter weather, as I attempted
to fly between alternating waves of low ceilings, cold
downpours, gusty winds and persistent fog. The trip

051

Taking Wing

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

westward was comparatively easy; we only encountered

one cold front on the Louisiana-Texas border, and skirted
its southern edge as daylight faded. We were originally aiming for Dallas, but scud-running at night is neither prudent
nor much fun for anyone involved, and so I followed better
weather to Waco. I had built a homemade Stratux ADS-B
receiver for this trip, and it proved an invaluable resource.
The weather delays and diversions caused us to miss
friends in Cleveland and Dallas, but staying exible allowed
us to meet up with many others. In Connecticut
we visited my former student, Johnny Gioeli,
Any winter
and his family (Rock Star Johnny, November
trip in a basic 2014), and explored the colonial villages of
Essex and Old Saybrook when IFR conditions
VFR airplane
kept
us grounded the next day. That precludguarantees
ed
spending
the night at our friends Jeremy
weather chaland Crystals house, but we were able to stop in
lenges; three
Monmouth, New Jersey (BLM), to have breakof the first
fast with them and their four rambunctious
four nights
boys the following morning. At Spruce Creek,
Mike and Traci Farley welcomed us with muchwere spent
appreciated cocktails after a long bumpy day,
elsewhere
and we spent several enjoyable hours visiting
than planned.
with other AirVenture Cup Race alumni at Tuesday Night Darts in Keith Phillips hangar (The
Worlds Fastest Cub, December 2014). In Sebring, Florida,
my friend, Tim Bohan, arranged for me to tour the Lockwood
factory and y an AirCam; what a fantastic airplane! Its the
perfect union of motorcycle and ying machine. In Orlando
I toured the Flying editorial oices and took several stafers
ying, and while in Tampa I attended a dinner party at Dick
Karls place. The good Dr. Karl, besides being a ne writer
and perfect gentleman, proved to be a warm and witty host
with an eclectic group of interesting friends.
Other highlights included a bittersweet cruise past the
ruins of Chicagos Meigs Field, a spectacular early-morning

052

A Grand Tour

ight down the length of Manhattan at 1,000 feet via the

Hudson River VFR corridor, and the starkly beautiful desert and mountain scenery of New Mexico and Arizona. I
barely resisted landing on the wide tidal beaches of the
Carolina and Georgia coasts, while the aquamarine patchwork of the Florida Keys practically begged for low-altitude
exploration. The imposing buttress of Texas Guadalupe
Peak, a prominent landmark of childhood road trips and a
memorably cold day on my BMW, welcomed us to the vast,
rugged West. All along the way our little Pacer got a warm,
hospitable reception with the Elizabeth City municipal
FBO, Pensacola Aviation Center and Southwest Aviation
in Las Cruces deserving special mentions and we were
repeatedly handed the keys to wonderfully dilapidated
airport cars to seek out lunch in quaint small-town diners.
When we started the trip, Dawn had four states left to visit: Delaware, Alabama, Mississippi and New Mexico. She
bagged her 50th when we touched down in Las Cruces.
All told, thus far, weve covered 4,215 nautical miles over
13 days and 46.7 tach hours, including several local ights.
Our 63-year-old Pacer has been a paragon of reliability, never missing a beat. Thats comforting because our onward
itinerary will be taking us to some spectacularly remote,
wild places: Baja California, the Montana and Idaho backcountry and far-of Alaska. With that in mind, Im making
sure shes getting the care she deserves. I changed the oil
before leaving Minnesota; in Florida, Dick Karls longtime
mechanic, Bill Turley, got us into his busy shop for another
oil change and compliance with a recurring airworthiness
directive. In Arizona I had Chandler Aviation x a minor
oil leak, and, in doing so, they discovered a cracked oilcooler bracket, a fractured generator mount and a few other
squawks. It was a bit of an expensive pit stop, but understandably so; airplanes are going to break when you get out
and y them. The only thing worse, I suppose, is leaving
them in the hangar.

FROM NEW YORK HARBOR to the rugged West, Sam and Dawn enjoy a slow-and-low tour of America.

P H O T O S C O U RT E S Y S A M W E I G E L

FLYING Opinion

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Step inside the world of the airshow

performer where the difference between
fame and fortune or merely scraping by
can be measured in equal parts skill,
luck and adrenaline.

PHOTO COURTESY RED BULL

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

055

M A K I N G
T H E S H O W

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

056

Whether aviation was in their bloodlines or a zeal

developed in adulthood, these airshow pilots are
truly passionate about their sport. Their backgrounds are as varied as the airplane types they
fly, but they all share one thing in common:
They are absolutely fanatical about flying.

ANNA SERBINENKO

MICHAEL GOULIAN

SAMMY MASON

KEVIN COLEMAN

Not your average

A Red Bull Air Race

Mason soloed in

By age 16, Coleman

aerobatic pilot,

pilot, Goulian is one

a glider at age 14

had 350 hours flying

Serbinenko started

of the worlds top

and started flying

with the legendary

flying in 2008.

airshow performers.

airshows at 16.

Marion Cole.

Its a crisp December morning in Las

Vegas, and hundreds of the worlds top
aerobatic pilots gather. None of them
are flying, despite clear weather.
Instead they pack the Rio Hotel and
Casinos Brasilia ballroom to listen to
a motivational speaker. Live lives of
adventure and purpose, the speaker
encourages them. Stretch yourself
beyond your comfort level. When others stop working hard, those who excel
keep going.
As if this group needed the prodding. Then again, these performers
might benefit from a nudge beyond
the expected if they want to stand out
in this crowd. Its opening day of the
International Council of Air Shows
annual gathering. Over the next few
days, airshow producers will shop for
acts to thrill their audiences through
the warm-weather months ahead.
After the keynote ends, the exhibit
hall fills with hopeful performers
from the well-known and iconic to
the obscure all trying to define their
own place in the worlds airshows.
The airshow acts sort into rough
categories: There are the patriotic and warbird shows at the
pinnacle, the Navys Blue Angels,
Air Forces Thunderbirds and

Canadas Snowbirds. Farther down,

some MiG Fury Fighters, a Pearl
Harbor re-enactment act and the
Commemorative Air Forces P-51
Mustang Red Tail Squadron. Then
there are individual performers: an
F4U-4 Corsair, a World War II-era
North American T6 trainer and
assorted Yaks.
Looking for something a little different? Try novelties, aisle 2: performers like the Alabama Boys comedy act
starring Greg Koontz, a staged hoax
featuring a country farmer who steals
a Piper Cub for his first flight lesson.
Or theres the Geico Skytypers skywriting team, or Matt Younkins Twin
Beech 18, rocking its wings 90 degrees
with flaps and gear down in a sequence
known as the Elephant Waltz.
Of course, the aggressive-tumbling,
smoke-and-pyro crowd is well represented too.
Altogether, these acts add up to a
rush of adrenaline, a circus and a sideshow carnival. But how does an airshow pilot stand out?
Michael Goulian, one of the worlds
top airshow performers and a Red
Bull Air Race pilot, has seen it all in
his 20-plus years of performing. He
says the difference between becoming

an airshow star and fading into relative obscurity can be measured in

all the practice hours when no one is
watching, the financial sacrifices and
cross-country trips to small-time gigs.
From the outside, the airshow
business appears to be really sexy,
Goulian says. You fly these awesome
airplanes in front of people, and it
seems like the best job in the world.
Truth be told, it is the best job when
you get there. It just takes tons and
tons of passion.
THE OUTSIDER
At the fringes of the show, Anna
Serbinenko works her aerobatic box
for the day, a 10-foot tabletop booth
in the very back of the exhibit hall.
Friendly but intense with long, dark
hair and a cant-quite-place-it accent,
she shows hints of pilot swagger without fully showing her cards.
Nothing about her resume makes
sense. Born in Ukraine, Serbinenko
lived in Switzerland, Germany and
Brazil, where she had zero exposure

P H O T O S C O U RT E S Y R E D B U L L , A N NA S E R B I N E N KO, I S T O C K

THE
PILOTS

a pilot with smoke on make a

heart in the sky. It was a maneuAnna Serbinenko
ver called an avalanche, a simple
has a PhD
inside loop with a snap roll at
in financial
the top to form the heart. To
mathematics
me, that was love at first sight,
and speaks six
Serbinenko remembers. I said,
languages. But
Next year, I will be up there.
the excitement
Never mind her lack of expeand beauty of
rience. Or the fact that she still
aerobatics got
had a significant fear of spins.
her hooked
Or that there were exactly
zero female, Canadian airshow
on airshows.
pilots. Or that she built her
act around a 180 hp American
Champion
8KCAB
Super
Decathlon. You can worry about being
different or you can embrace it. For
Serbinenko, different has become
her brand.
Serbinenko did not want to compete with gyroscopic performers in
high-performance Extra monoplanes.
There are enough of those on the

one year, Serbinenko says. I literally lived at the airport. I was working
at night. Then I would drop my son at
daycare, go to the airport, do my training, pick him up, spend the evening
with him, then two hours of sleep and
back to work.
That first year, she happened to be
at the airport for an airshow and saw

airshow circuit, she says. I didnt

want to be like everyone else.
Serbinenko started with the avalanche, still her opening maneuver.
Then she built a deliberately slow,
graceful routine to the accompaniment of classical music, Franz
Schuberts Ave Maria. She bills
herself as the Sky Dancer, and the

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

to aviation. She has a PhD in financial mathematics, fluency in six

languages, and day jobs teaching in
universities and developing software
for brokers and the foreign exchange
market. Not your typical airport rat.
It was only after moving to
Vancouver, Canada, in 2008 that
Serbinenko took her first flying lesson.
Even then, she was more interested
in learning to fly for travel than for
tricks. But I went for that first flight,
and then I took lessons for my private,
commercial and instructor rating in

057

M A K I N G
T H E S H O W

Michael Goulian
flies his Edge
540 above the
Geico Skytypers,
who paint the
skies with
their North
American SNJs.

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

058

idea has worked in a classic example

of counterprogramming.
Its a challenge to design a routine in the Decathlon with its limited
power. Whatever energy you have,
you have to preserve, she says. Still,
she follows the avalanche with a series
that includes inverted moves, outside
maneuvers and a hammerhead that
transitions into an outside loop.

Its funny too how practice piled on

top of practice can look like good luck.
After an initial performance at her
local airport, Serbinenko was invited
to a larger show with 5,000 spectators. From there, she has worked her
way to Brunswick, Maine, where more
than 10 million watched her on TV; to
Washingtons Tri-City Water Follies,
performing in front of 200,000; and
Vancouvers annual Celebration of
Light fireworks festival. That one was
just her and a half-million spectators
no warm-up acts and no one after
her, except the fireworks.

family member, Coleman recalls.

So from the age of 5 or 6, Kevin
would go out with the grownups in his
familys Decathlon. Hed beg them to
do aerobatics until they nearly ran out
of gas. And, when Coleman reached
the age of 10, Cole shifted him to the
front seat and taught him how to fly
aerobatics. By the time I was 16 and
ready to solo, I already had about 350
hours of instruction from one of the
best aerobatic pilots who ever lived,
Coleman recalls.
Around the same time, Coleman
went with his dad to Oshkosh and
became inspired by an unknown,
first-year performer named Michael
Goulian. After the show, the pilot
took a picture with him, standing on
the flight line in front of his airplane.
That was it for Coleman, his picture

PHOTOS COURTESY GEICO SKYTYPERS, RED BULL

THE KEEPER OF THE FLAME

William Shakespeare once
wrote that some are born great,
some achieve greatness and
others have greatness thrust
upon them.
Can all three be true for the
same guy? Maybe, if youre
aerobatic pilot Kevin Coleman. To
talk with Coleman is to walk through
aerobatics history, though hes just
24 years old. Coleman understands
his world in relation to the airshow
worlds legends especially Marion
Cole, an airshow pioneer.
Colemans dad flew aerobatics as
a hobby, and Cole was a fixture at the
family home. He was at the hospital the day I was born. He was at all
my birthdays. He was pretty much a

Michael Goulian
has proven himself
as one of the best
performers in the
airshow world, having received three
of the industrys
top showmanship awards. He
performs a heartpumping airshow
routine in an Extra
330SC. His relentless pursuit of
perfection in the
cockpit has also
earned him a spot
on the Red Bull Air
Race World Championship circuit.

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059

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

060

for the future. From then on,

he wanted to fly an Extra just
like Goulian. His flying style
would be crisp and precise just
like Goulians. Hed compete
in the IAC Nationals just like
Goulian. Someday, hed fly in
Kevin Coleman
the worlds biggest airshow and
comes from a famtake photos with the kids, just
ily of airshow pilots
like Goulian.
and started flying
But Coleman has also spent
aerobatics at age
his life around airshows and
10. In 2007 he was
around performers, so hes
the highest-ranking
added others to his mental mix
debutant in the U.S.
tape from years of watching
National Aerobatic
and listening.
Championship,
Coleman throws in some
and this year he is
Sean Tucker to the mix: Sean
performing in the
is the definition of showmanChallenger Cup at
ship, he says. He has this
the Red Bull
choreography the whole
Air Race World
sequence that flows.
Championship.
And Coleman also adds a
little Bill Stein for his deep
understanding of aerodynamics and his gyroscope maneuvers.
The funny thing about achieving greatness, though, is it adds up to more than
the sum of its parts. Now theres a Kevin
Coleman style, and its got all three of
those guys in it, he says. You can still see
their influence, but its me now.
Now, with his friend and fellow
performer, Rob Holland, Coleman is trying to figure out how to push airshow
performances to a new, millennial style.
When the two met, they discovered
that each had been at work trying to
perfect the same new move, a so-called
inside tumble.
In a more common outside tumble, the
airplanes tail flips forward over the nose.
Both Holland and Coleman, though, were
trying on their own to understand how
they could use gyroscopic precession and
P-factor to flip the airplane backward
nose over tail. Rob has made the inside
tumble famous, Coleman says. Hes figured out how to do it better than me. So
probably that inside tumble is the most
significant thing to come out of our new
era of aerobatics.

At age 26, Coleman is still closer to the

start of his career than the end, but hes
starting to see things come around full
circle. This year after he and Goulian performed at Oshkosh, they took a picture
together in front of the flight line. Its the
fully developed image from 20 years ago.
To be sure, there are many challenges
still to come. I havent had any plateaus,
Coleman says. Its been awesome, awesome, awesome, and then awesome. Im
nervous about whats going happen when
my career levels off and its just stable.
No chance of that. The day after we
talk, a press release hits my inbox. Kevin
Coleman will join the Red Bull Air Race
Challenger Cup for 2016.
Its another awesome to add to his
resume. And, once again, hell be just
like Goulian.

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

Coleman flies an
Extra 300SHP,
which produces
you guessed it
300 horsepower. If you
dont recognize
Colemans
airplane, it may
be because he
changed the
paint scheme
last year from
a primarily lime
green and white
pattern to this
striking canary
yellow and blue.

THE NATURAL
Its July 23, 2015. Sammy Mason flies
the hold at Oshkosh, preparing to dive
into the aerobatic box and begin his first
performance at the iconic airshow. As he
waits, Sammy thinks about the great aviators before him who waited in this same
patch of sky. I couldnt help but get goose
bumps thinking about how many amazing aerobatic pilots had been in that same
situation, their first time at Oshkosh in
the same hold, you know? he recalls.
[Gene] Soucy, [Tom] Poberezny, Tucker,
[Charlie] Hillard, Goulian it was pretty,
pretty intense. I was nervous but also
kind of in awe.
Awe-inspiring doesnt half begin to
describe Masons ascent in the world of
aerobatics. With the rugged good looks
of a Southern California beach kid and a
laid-back Jeff Spicoli speaking style, he
projects the casual fluency of someone
who has been flying all his life. Which
is true, even if that doesnt add up to so
many years yet.
Since I was little, all I wanted to do
was fly aerobatics and airshows, Mason
says. So, although he was just 21 years old
as he prepared to take on AirVenture 15,
he had been single-mindedly focused on
his goals for a long time. Mason soloed

PHOTOS BY MIKE SHORE

M A K I N G
T H E S H O W

061

M A K I N G
T H E S H O W

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

062

a glider on his 14th birthday, the

youngest possible age, and began
aerobatic training in a motor glider
shortly after.
Flying from the Santa Paula,
California, airport, where his mother With both
is airport manager and his father parents involved
restores classic airplanes, Mason professionknew what he needed to do. There ally in aviation,
came a point where I didnt want to Sammy Masons
go to school anymore because it was dream was to fly
taking so much time away from all aerobatics and
the flying and sports I was doing, airshows. Mason
Mason recalls. So I convinced my learned the trade
and started
parents to home-school me.
By 16, Mason headed for world- performing at
famous airshow pilot Sean Tuckers local airshows at
Tutima Academy in King City, age 16. In 2015,
California, for advanced training at age 21, he
in a Pitts S-1S biplane. From there, made his debut
he began flying local airshows and at AirVenture
entering aerobatic competitions. Oshkosh.
There was also a lot of banner towing
and corporate flying to pay the bills.
And Mason learned to cultivate sponsors. His current one, 5G Aviation, is a
California aerobatic aircraft dealer, for
which Mason ferries airplanes from the
factory and gives demo flights to prospective customers.
It also helped that Mason placed fourth
in the International Aerobatic Clubs
2014 U.S. Nationals advanced-power contest higher than any other Pitts, and the
first in a long time to rank so highly in a
four-cylinder S-1S.
All that practice and experience comingled with some luck. In 2015, Oshkosh
celebrated the 70th anniversary of the
Pitts Special and was looking for a performer to fly a routine in a stock airplane.
And that happens to be Masons current
specialty. What he had been practicing and perfecting back in Santa Paula
turned out to be just what the airshow
world wanted.
He recalls Michael Goulian telling him:
Hey, we just got done with this Oshkosh
planning meeting, and we were looking
for a stock Pitts. I recommended you.
Masons immediate response: Heck
yeah. Thats a dream come true.

MARION
COLE

An inductee of the IAC Hall

of Fame, Marion Cole was an
airshow pioneer. He became
a military flight instructor at age 18 and flew his

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

first airshow in 1946. Cole regularly flew inverted

ribbon cuts in a variety of airplanes, including a
Beechcraft Bonanza. A terrific aerobatic performer,
competitor and instructor, Cole also invented several
modifications that ease aerobatic flight.

I L LUS T R AT I O N BY T E R E S A S TO K E S , P H O TO S BY E VA N B Y R N E

Sammy Mason
flies a Pitts S-1S.
Unlike many airshow airplanes,
Masons Pitts
has not been
modified and is
powered by a
180 hp Lycoming
engine. Mason
pushes the
airplane to its
limits to provide
a terrific airshow
that blends tradition with new
maneuvers.

My routine is in a 70s-era biplane,

and it has all the stuff people were doing
[then] in the Pitts. But it also has some
stuff that you dont think of a stock Pitts
as being able to do, Mason says.
When, for example, is the last time
you saw a Pitts S-1S doing Harrier-like
hovers? Or spiraling towers, a corkscrew
climb on the vertical to stall speed and a
flat spin at the top?
For Mason, Oshkosh is the culmination of about five months of specific
practice for one show. First, theres the
basic sequence design, then determining
altitudes and airspeeds for each maneuver and devising an out in case anything
goes wrong. What if I lose an engine here?
What about a control failure there? You
have to think about that for every single
maneuver. Then you have to put all those
together and compensate for wind drift
and density altitude for each sequence.
Its really complicated, he says.
In the end, all those variables come
together in a single moment, place and
set of conditions. In the hold above
AirVenture, Mason waits for his clearance from the air boss and thinks about
everything that has brought him here.
He steadies himself, knowing how many
times he has done this before. Every
runway looks the same, and youd like to
think that every performance. You just
focus down the runway and on flying
your performance, not worrying so much
about the crowd.
Then the signal comes. Mason dives into
the box. His thoughts all go away, and its
just business as usual being safe, hitting
numbers and doing my job.

063

CIRRUS APPROACH

RETHIKING
TRANSITION TRAINING
BY STEPHEN POPE

CIRRUS AIRCRAFT
H AS C H A N G E D T H E
WAY I T T R A I N S
P I LOTS , Y I E L D I N G A
D R A M AT I C SA F E T Y
I M P R OV E M E N T T H AT
S P E A KS FO R I TS E L F.
S H O U L D E V E RY
M A N U FAC T U R E R
BE DOING IT
T H I S WAY ?

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

065

CIRRUS APPROACH

SPECIALIZED FLIGHT TRAINING HAS

LONG BEEN PART OF THE TYPICAL
TRANSITION PROCESS FOR PILOTS
MOVING UP TO EVER-FASTER AND
MORE CAPABLE AIRPLANES. A RASH
OF FATAL SR22 CRASHES IN 2012,
HOWEVER, FORCED CIRRUS AIRCRAFT
TO GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD
AND COMPLETELY RETHINK ITS
APPROACH TO TRAINING.

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

066

Nothing was out of bounds, from the extra emphasis Cirrus decided to place
on flying technique, to the greater attention to operations that demand special
attention, such as engine management, to the way pilots are taught to react
to emergencies.
The result of this shift in thinking is called Cirrus Approach, the manufacturers series of highly specialized transition training courses introduced three
years ago that aim to ensure SR series pilots are safe and competent masters of
their domains.
The success of the program speaks for itself. The Cirrus line of airplanes
today enjoys one of the best safety records in the industry. It has been a dramatic turnaround. A decade ago, the Cirrus fatal-accident rate, at about 2.6 fatal
crashes per 100,000 flight hours, was nearly twice the industry average. Today
the figure, less than one fatal accident per 100,000 flight hours, is just half the
industry average.
How did Cirrus achieve such dramatic results so quickly? One of the big
changes was a renewed emphasis on training to use the SR series standard fullairframe BRS parachute, known as CAPS or Cirrus Airframe Parachute System.
When we looked at the accident data, we were surprised to find that pilots
who should have pulled the chute never did, Cirrus co-founder Dale Klapmeier
says. Why not? The best we can tell is that it never occurred to them in an emergency to use the one piece of safety equipment that could have saved their lives.
Thats a sobering thought. But, thankfully, it was also an easy problem to
fix. Cirrus Approach focuses on CAPS use on every training flight, as well as in
dedicated simulator sessions where pilots are put into hopeless situations that
require CAPS deployment to survive. The message leaves no doubt in the pilots
mind: CAPS saves lives.
I recently went through the transition training course at Cirrus headquarters
in Duluth, Minnesota, and came away a bigger believer in CAPS than I already
was. While online dissenters continue to debate the safety advantages of parachutes and cling to nonsense such as real pilots dont need parachutes, Cirrus
SR22 owners whove been through the training know better. Unless youre 100
percent certain you can get your airplane back on the ground in one piece in an
emergency, Cirrus pilots are taught to pull the chute and live to fly another day.
In the turbocharged SR22T I trained in, that meant calling out CAPS available on every takeoff passing through 580 feet agl, the minimum height deemed

necessary in this model to successfully

pull the chute and safely float back to
terra firma. The sim sessions were the
real eye-openers. They transformed
emergencies, such as engine failure in
IMC and loss of control due to severe
icing, from potentially deadly events
to controlled descents under the BRS
parachute canopy after pulling the big
red handle in the ceiling.
I headed up to Duluth for the threeday Cirrus Approach course for the
SR22 in late January. Not only did it
give me the chance for a proper introduction to the Cirrus and the new
training concepts, but Id also be flying
in challenging conditions, including
snow, icing, strong crosswinds and
operations from iced-over runways.
When I arrived at the Cirrus headquarters at Duluth International
Airport to meet my instructor,
Nigel Beaulieu, I was already wellacquainted with the SR22 from an
academic standpoint. Before starting flight training, Cirrus provides
students with a comprehensive
online training course, covering
performance, aircraft systems, avionics, instrument procedures, CAPS
use and much more. Theres even a

Pilots who come to Duluth for

transition training spend time
in the simulator, honing their
reflexes to deal with
emergency scenarios that
require deployment of the
full-airframe parachute.

THE
TRAINING
01
The factory
transition course
starts with online
home study.

02
Pilots start
flying almost as
soon as they arrive
in Duluth.

03
One-on-one
ground school
reinforces pilot
knowledge.

04
An avionics
procedures hot
bench lets
students explore.

05
Simulator
sessions focus on
use of the CAPS
parachute.

06
Refresher
training is part of
the standard
cirriculum.

CIRRUS APPROACH

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

068

helpful module on how to properly

land a Cirrus.
The transition course that I took,
focusing on the Garmin Perspective
avionics system and SR22T turbocharged model, included about
10 hours of at-home study, including
quizzes at the end of each section. The
modules and accompanying course
material and videos are well-done,
and, surprisingly, the online course is
a pretty enjoyable experience overall.
Of course, nothing compares to
going out and actually flying, and
thats what I was looking forward
to when I arrived in Duluth. Heavy
snow was falling and winds gusted to
40 knots out of the north. Mercifully,
the airplane Id be flying, a 2012 model
SR22T, was inside a heated hangar,
which made the preflight easier than it
would have been out in the elements.
We departed into the snow from
Duluth Internationals Runway 27
and were enveloped by the ice-laden
clouds at 400 feet. The SR22s TKS
weeping-wing ice protection system
did its job to 8,500 feet where we
broke out into glorious blue skies that
are the special reward of IFR-rated
pilots and, in this case, those flying a
FIKI-equipped airplane.
We requested VFR on top so I could
accomplish the usual dance card of

flight maneuvers, including slowflight,

stalls and steep turns, before we
headed back into the murk to shoot
approaches. Descending into the tops
of the clouds, we experienced extreme
icing conditions at least, extreme for
a piston single. The TKS system could
not keep up with the ice accumulation,
which built rapidly despite the flow
of deicing fluid over the wings being
set on maximum. At lower altitudes
conditions became less severe and we
started shedding our ice load.
By the next day the snow had pushed
east, but freezing rain the night before
left a sheet of ice on the runway at
Richard I. Bong Airport in Superior,
Wisconsin, where we headed to do

takeoffs and landings. I didnt realize

just how icy the runway was until I
was rolling out after a no-flap landing
that followed several touch-and-goes.
Attempting to make a slow-speed
180 on the runway, I was no longer
in control as the Cirrus began sliding
sideways. On the next departure, I
tried in vain to demonstrate a shortfield takeoff, but we began sliding on
the ice the moment I applied power,
even with my toes pressing firmly into
the brake pedals.
Crosswind landings on the icedover runway were interesting. My
track was straight on touchdown,
but, as soon as all three wheels were
planted, I could feel the strong wind
pushing the Cirrus sideways across
what might as well have been an ice
rink. Full power from the SR22Ts
beefy
Continental
TSIO-550-K
engine ensured we were airborne

The Cirrus
Approach factory
transition training cirriculum
includes a mix of
real-world flying,
online learning
and simulator
time, including
use of the Garmin
Perspective avionics procedures
trainer, below.

While I was in Duluth, I met

another Cirrus pilot who was going
through a more thorough course than
mine. Ed Watters is a Cirrus flight
instructor who completed the Garmin
Perspective and Avidyne Entegra
CSIP (Cirrus Standardized Instructor
Pilot) program, which allows him
to head back to his home base in
Pinehurst, North Carolina, and train
Cirrus pilots to the identical standards they receive in Duluth.
Watters told me he spent between
50 and 100 hours flying instrument approaches in a FlyThisSim
Entegra simulator, plus many more
hours practicing with the Garmin
Perspective desktop trainer to ensure

training every six months. My main

takeaway after completing the Cirrus
Approach course is that every GA
aircraft manufacturer ought to be
offering this kind of transition program or, at the very least, teaching
factory-approved instructors to a common standard that is this thorough
and rigorous. Theres no doubt in my
mind this is the right way to train GA
pilots flying todays high-performance
piston airplanes.

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

again in seconds flat. A real crosswind

landing on that iced-over runway
would not have been advisable.
All told, I spent about six hours
flying the Cirrus (including an evaluation flight in a brand new and very
nice 2016 SR22T) and came away
with a certificate of completion for
the VFR SR22T transition course with
Garmin Perspective avionics, plus a
fresh instrument proficiency check.
I also spent a morning in the SR22
Frasca sim, practicing emergency
scenarios, some of which required
parachute deployment and others a
return to the airport. I had the chance
to pull the parachute a half-dozen
times, once in severe icing when I ran
out of TKS deicing fluid. I pulled the
chute at 2,000 feet agl when I realized
that maintaining altitude was impossible. A minute or so later, I ended up
safe and sound, resting in a snowy field.

he gained maximum value out of

his course, which he said included
10hours of flying, lots of ground work
in the classroom and on the Garmin
hot bench procedures trainer, two
written exams, and a fresh flight
review and IPC, all for the price of
around $4,600.
Now hell be able to pass along his
knowledge to local pilots in North
Carolina. Once Cirrus opens its new
customer center later this year in
Knoxville, Tennessee, all customer
training will move there. It means
Cirrus owners wont get to experience
the ice and snow in Duluth, but, for a
great number of SR pilots, Im sure
that will suit them just fine.
As part of the training, I will undergo
a refresher flight with a CSIP instructor in 90 days to ensure I havent forgotten what I learned, plus recurrent

069

PREP FOR THE RIDE: PART ONE

ENGINE FAILURE
ON TAKEOFF
FOCUSED ON TURNING BACK?
Y O U R E M I S S I N G T H E P O I N T.

BY JULIE BOATMAN FILUCCI

070

I L LUS T R AT I O N BY B RYA N C H R I S T I E D E S I G N

ON ANY GIVEN CHECK RIDE, EMERGENCY

SCENARIOS CAN TRIP YOU UP. HOW WELL YOU
MANAGE CHECKLISTS AND HANDLE EMERGENCIES
INDICATES HOW WELL PREPARED YOU ARE FOR
THE REALITIES OF PILOTING AN AIRPLANE.

PREP FOR THE RIDE: PART ONE

hen you took the exam to get your pilot

certicate, you were asked questions
that perhaps did not relate to the realities of everyday ying. You got the written
test out of the way and promptly forgot the
stuf that didnt seem important.

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

Now, with new test standards due out

soon, theres a solid link between the
bullets of info needed for the knowledge
exam and the skills required to pass
your check ride and elements of both
that make you a competent pilot. How
did this happen?
Four years ago, the FAA brought
together members of the training industry, advocacy associations (such as
the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) and instructor groups (NAFI and
SAFE) to evolve the way we assess pilots. The outcome is the soon-to-launch
Airman Certication Standards (ACS),
which will replace the Practical Test
Standards for each certicate and rating, and improve upon the knowledge
tests learning statement codes. Both the
knowledge exam and the check ride cover the same areas and now it should be
a little more obvious that they do.
Well show you how this works by example. In this series, we focus on the areas that prove the toughest for aspiring
pilots and strive to help you in your
real-world ying after youve aced the
check ride. Well look at areas that brew
the most failures on the check ride itself.
Weve polled examiners and instructors
who are currently giving check rides to
ensure were covering topics you may
nd the most challenging.
One of the most critical areas examiners test on a check ride is emergency
procedures. While new pilots consider

072
P H O T O BY G E T T Y I M A G E S

landings to be among the toughest

maneuvers, the takeof holds more
hazards and we see this reected in
accident reports. A pilot loses engine
power after takeof and cannot cope
with the situation. The pilot either tries
to turn back or gets caught in the panic
of the moment and lets the airplane
stall. No matter which way it ends, this
failure to cope inevitably ends badly.
However, the new way of testing gives
us a road map for handling the situation
with grace and competence. Instead of
rote memorization of a single checklist,
pilots should master several concepts
along with the elements of skill that
come into play.
In order to deal with an engine failure after takeof, you need to cover the
following elements:
Preight planning: You must assess aircraft performance, airport
conditions, runway parameters, the surrounding environment, and the wind
and weather.
Before-takeof checklist: Your emergency brieng will be part of this on
every ight in order to make the grade.
Loss of thrust on takeof: The main
event can be practiced both in ight with
an instructor and in virtually any kind
of ight simulator at every altitude and
conguration until it becomes a lowpanic situation. For the practicalities,
lets take a deeper look at each element
on the next page:

Understanding what
examiners
are looking
for under the
new Airman
Certification
Standards
(ACS) can
mean the
difference
between
pass and fail.

PREFLIGHT
PLANNING

BEFORE-TAKEOFF
CHECKLIST

LOSS OF THRUST
ON TAKEOFF

You normally fly a single

model of airplane during your initial flight
training, or perhaps you
transition once along the
way. Still, its easy to get
complacent regarding
your understanding of how
the airplane will perform
when it feels like you know
it so well. What happens
when you get a heavier
passenger, for instance, or
you have a different fuel
load than youre used to?
Problems determining the
proper weight and balance
calculations crop up during
check rides, according to
the instructors we polled.
What about flying from a
different airport, or from
a wet or slick runway?
Failing to consider changes
in a standard profile can
lead pilots astray on
takeoff and compounds
the problem if an emergency occurs.

New pilots stay fairly

methodical when it
comes to preparing
the airplane for flight,
easily running line by
line down the printed
checklist. But youre
just reading through the
checklist if you dont
deliberately pause at
each item and this
can lead you to rush
your way into the sky. If
youre going through the
motions but not really
seeing what youre looking for, completing the
checklist is just a wasted
exercise. For emergency
procedures when there
isnt time to consult
the checklist, you need
to have crucial action
items memorized.

Entire articles cover the

nuances of the so-called
impossible turn. Actually,
what examiners look for
on your check ride is your
understanding of the main
problem in such a scenario. If your engine loses
thrust on the runway, you
need to take immediate
actionsto get stopped on
the remaining asphalt. But
if that loss of power comes
in the climb, youve gone
from piloting an airplane to
a glider, and your understanding of aerodynamics
must be correct. Your first,
most important move is
to preserve control by
pitching for the right glide
airspeed and pointing the
airplane at the most forgiving surface in front of you.
Your examiner wants to
know that you get this and
that you have the airplane
under control not that
you have mastered lowaltitude steep turns.

KNOW
THE
CODE
[Link].A.R14: Plans
for engine failure
after takeoff
PA: The reference to
the ACS for Private
Pilot airplanes
IV: The area of
operation, IV, or
takeoffs, landings
and go-arounds
A: The task, A,
or normal takeoff
and climb
R14: Defines the
specific task element or, in this case,
Plans for engine
failure after takeoff

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

These codes will

help you and your
instructor track any
areas you missed
on the knowledge
exam and ensure
youre prepared for
them on the check
ride; they will be the
same for both. The
ACS can be found on
the FAAs website.

073

Unusual Atitudes
FLYING Opinion
By Martha Lunken

APS TO SPM TO
IM OUTTA HERE
DECIDING WHEN TO HANG IT UP

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

After my purgatory in West Chicago and three mostly

great years in the Indianapolis FSDO, the FAA ofered
a transfer to Cincinnati. It was a bittersweet decision,
and my boss, Jay Peterson, rather obliquely suggested
I might want to stay put. He understood I was anxious
to get back home, but he also knew the Cincinnati
managers reputation for being a hard ass. Jay was a
good man and an excellent supervisor, and he was
genuinely concerned about me and Capt. Queeg.
Maybe he was right I liked Indianapolis, and it liked
me. But it had been a long struggle to get home, and I
hoped it was because the Cincinnati manager wanted me; in my heart I knew the deciYou dont need
sion had likely come from the regional oice.
to wear polyThey needed to ll the accident prevention
ester pantsuits specialist (APS) slot at Cincinnati and proband speak
ably gured I wouldnt be too much trouble
there (which, of course, I would prove wrong).
importantly
from a podium. The APS job wasnt seen as an upwardly mobile career path certainly not the road to
Its far more
supervisory and managerial positions in the
effective and
agency. In truth it had become a place to park
valuable to
inspectors who were slackers, troublemakers,
without medicals, old or just plain incompetalk simply
and from your tent but who couldnt be red because well,
cmon, this was the government.
heart.
The program had its roots with a wonderful guy named Pete Campbell, a World War
II B-24 veteran who joined the agency in the
early 1960s. Working at the FAA Center in Oklahoma
City, he was concerned with the dismal safety record of
ight instructors and formed teams of FAA ight and
ground instructors who created and conducted those
ight instructor refresher courses still in place today.
In Petes rst seven years his team conducted more than
200 courses with more than 16,000 CFIs trained, and
the accident rate was cut by an amazing 50 percent.
In 1971 he organized and became director of the FAAs
Accident Prevention Program, which placed specialists
in each of the nations 85 general aviation district oices
now FSDOs.
I saw him in action only once or twice but learned
valuable lessons, like how you dont need to wear
074

polyester pantsuits and speak importantly from a

podium, addressing a bunch of pilots or mechanics with
a formal speech. Its far more efective and valuable to
talk simply and from your heart, tell stories and encourage a two-way dialogue. I always envied Pete with his
rich, smooth and slow Tennessee accent.
The upside of an APS job was it allowed the specialist
to plan and run his own program, but, by my time, far
too many were doing far too little. The downside was the
position was capped at the GS-13 level, but, heck, when
I ended up as a GS-13 step 10, you taxpayers were paying me an annual salary well over $100,000. The job title
had been changed to safety program manager (SPM),
which sounded grander, but the work and the pay were
the same.
I poured myself into it, and, OK, part of this frantic activity lots of seminars and lots of check rides was to
avoid the oice as much as possible. Part was because I
truly enjoyed the work. Id go in for free on Saturdays
and Sundays to knock out the paperwork, and it wasnt
long before there were phone calls from my counterparts in the Columbus and Cleveland oices who were
ticked of, convinced I was trying to put them in a bad
light. Im simply genetically incapable of sitting in an ofce or cubicle, trying to look busy.
Although maybe because the programs and I were
popular, the guy who would be my boss for 13 years was
not happy about his lack of control over a lady he saw as
a loose cannon. Hed threaten to take over the planning
of my programs, refused the governments authorized
rate for use of personal aircraft (so I ew for 11 cents
per mile), issued verbal and formal letters of reprimand
when I wore jeans to hangar meetings and DC-3 check
rides, and actually made daily Martha reports to the
regional oice. I couldnt work ex time, but I had to submit multiple leave and comp-time requests each time I
had an evening seminar. It was a nightmare.
One truly comical aspect of the safety program was a
short-lived mandate to conduct Pilot and Aircraft Courtesy Evaluation (PACE) programs.
We did two PACEs one at Johnny Lanes Lebanon
Warren County Airport where he coerced a few ying
farmers into showing up.

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Unusual Atitudes
FLYING Opinion

APS to SPM to Im Outta Here

The airworthiness contingent managed to ground

four of the ve airplanes and a rather ample lady
inspector inserted herself, albeit reluctantly, into the
lone survivor a Piper Tri-Pacer. Even though it was a
cold day, the engine red right of, but then the airplane
sat there for a while and abruptly shut down.
This oil pressure is nearly at red line, righteously declared the inspector.
Well, yeah, thats because the oils cold. If you give it
a few minutes to warm up, the temp gauge will start to
move and the pressure will drop. They all do that when
its this cold.
With no little diiculty she uninserted herself from
the Tri-Pacer, climbed into the G-car, announced that
all the airplanes should be grounded, and headed back to
Cincinnati. I talked to John, a safety program counselor
and IA, and climbed in. Within a few minutes everything
was in the green, so we went aviating, and I signed the
pilots PACE certicate.
No surprise to nd another reprimand letter in my

growing le. The lady inspector, who later became the

oice manager in Atlanta, complained that Id undermined her authority. Damned right, I had!
We tried one more at the Lunken FSDO with free hot
dogs and pop, but only a swarm of honeybees showed up.
Toward the end of my 28-year stint with the FAA,
somebody decided the program needed an overhaul. I
knew that would end face-to-face contact between local
pilots, mechanics and inspectors at meetings.
But I wasnt quite ready to give up, so I presented myself at the Chicago regional oice one wintry January
morning. At a large rectangular table a rather grim, dour
team of managers interviewed me for the Ohio position.
I was snotty but enthusiastic because our program in the
southern part of the state had been successful. But enthusiasm didnt cut it, and it became clear that I wasnt
what the FAA had in mind. When I considered returning
to operations work reviewing manuals, conducting
inspections, processing violations and handling waiver
requests I thought, no, it was time to hang it up.

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Gear Up
FLYING Opinion
Dick Karl

A BABYS
FIRST
FLIGHT

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

078

Josephine Marie was supposed to be born in mid-May,

but she got into an argument with her mother long before then. As January ice-walked into February during
a cold Boston winter, the argument grew testy and
then became life threatening. Kelly, her mother, reluctantly took to bed and soon thereafter submitted to
hospitalization at Brigham and Womens Hospital, one
of the best in the world.
Kelly, with a doctorate in neuropsychology, was
well aware of the risk to her pregnancy but less able to
sense the risk to herself. By the rst week of February,
Kellys liver had begun to fail and her platelets, those
little tiny chips in our blood that allow us to clot when
injured, were falling to precipitously low levels. Kelly
had a syndrome called, appropriately enough, HELLP
(hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelet
count). This is how women used to die in childbirth.
Kelly wanted to hang on as long as possible to give
her baby girl a chance. But when I saw her, I hoped for
an immediate C-section. Kelly, you see, is my daughter.
Josephine was born early on a February Monday
morning a micro preemie. A visit from the neonatal staf was not reassuring. I heard words like redirect
care, cremation and burial. I knew Kelly to be capable of erce application when challenged, but I was
struck with wonder as I watched her ght for her baby.
She sought counsel from another neonatal expert,
a friend of hers, and he had a more hopeful outlook.
Kelly and her husband, Chris, decided to press on. The
baby had a breathing tube for months, sufered from
hemorrhages into her brain, and required an operation
for necrotizing enterocolitis, a disease of premature
infants that can cause perforation of the intestine. If

it werent for total parenteral nutrition, surfactant,

modern antibiotics and the ceaseless dedication of her
caregivers, she would have died many times in the rst
days of her life. One hundred and eleven days after she
was born, Josephine went home on oxygen.
What does any of this have to do with Flying magazine, especially a renewed and rejuvenated one, which
is all about airplanes and those who y and maintain
them? It turns out that GA in its many forms can provide things that we might not often think about and
that may have a profound efect on our lives.
Yes, my wife, Cathy, and I are privileged to own a
Cheyenne turboprop and, yes, we have homes in New
Hampshire and Florida, and, yes, though we like to
think we worked hard for these things, our lives have
been unbelievably fortunate (blessed!), and we like to
think we know it and we show how grateful we are for it.
So fast-forward almost two years to last January.
Kelly and Chris wanted to get out of the cold and
bring Josephine to Florida, but her pulmonologist forbid travel on an airliner. It turns out that premature
infants are especially susceptible to lung infections

P H O TO S C O U RT E S Y D I C K K A R L

YET ANOTHER (UNEXPECTED)

BENEFIT OF GENERAL AVIATION

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

during their second winter of life. By then they are

mostly of oxygen, and the focus is on growth, learning
and physical therapy. This is when parents can decide
that a ight on an airliner with 150 other people cant
be all that risky. The next thing you know, one of those
passengers has passed on an uncommon pathogen to
an unsuspecting, helpless, premature child.
So if we wanted to give the family a chance to warm
up in Florida, our Cheyenne would have to ride to the
rescue. After consulting with Josephines pulmonologist, a cabin altitude of 6,000 feet (about 2,000 lower
than most airliners) was deemed safe. Our 35-yearold airplane can do that while cruising at Flight Level
230. How, we wondered, would the baby do?
For that matter, how would I do? While in New
Hampshire for the holidays, we planned to bring
Kelly and her family with us to Florida in the
Cheyenne. The weather in New England was below seagull minimums for four days in a row.
I had hoped for a January 1 ight to Tampa, but I
needed the weather gods to smile upon us. After so
many days of fog, freezing drizzle, ice and pestilence,

the forecast called for 5,000 broken and headwinds of

manageable proportions.
W e picked the kids (I should say parents) and
Josephine up in Norwood, Massachusetts. The weather was good. Despite headwinds, we were refueling in
Newport News, Virginia, before two hours were up.
Everybody seemed ne. Josephine played and had a
snack. There were high hopes for a nap on
the next leg, the longer one, to Tampa. We
were lucky; we were home before dusk
ebullient and pleased with ourselves, the
baby and (in my case) the airplane.
Chris had to y back to work in Boston
commercially, but we enjoyed a full 11 days
with Kelly and Josephine. The dire predictions of the babys growth and development
have so far proved to be overly pessimistic.
She calls me Pop and herself Jo-feen. Im
Josephines first
good with that.
six months were
The return to Norwood looked good for
a life-and-death
struggle, so a litMonday. Tailwinds were predicted, but that
tle private-plane
happy circumstance came with winds at the
service seems
destination forecast to be 270 degrees at 17,
well deserved
gusting to 35. Nobody would sleep through
and enjoyed. Her
these classic postfrontal passage gusts.
mother, Kelly,
[Link] put our trip at FL 230 at
grew up riding
three hours and 42 minutes over a distance
around in the
way back of a
of 1,037 nautical miles. This is probably the
Cessna 210.
best tailwind component Ive experienced
over this route. We were slated to burn just
1,694 pounds of jet-A, leaving a cushion of
750 pounds (110 gallons) of reserve good
enough for almost two hours of ying. This, I must
proudly point out, is to go from almost the bottom of
the United States to almost the top of the country.
Sure enough, the winds were gusting to 34 when we
started the visual to Runway 27 at KOWD. The Cheyenne does best when I y the approach at 120 knots,
look to cross the numbers at 100 knots, and touchdown at 94 knots. That day I kept an extra 5 knots at
each phase but wait, was that the stall warning I
just heard? It was. Our shear was plus-minus at least
10knots. We landed without guile and taxied in.
The return from Massachusetts to Florida was another matter; it took ve hours plus 44 minutes and
3,500 pounds of gas. Good thing I was alone.
But the job was done. The airplane gave us a gift I
never would have imagined we would need when we
bought it 16 years ago. Back then we had no grandchildren and plenty of hopes. What a ride it has been.

079

Jumpseat
FLYING Opinion

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

080

Having reached the two-year mark, the disappearance of

MH370 can certainly be called the greatest mystery since
Amelia Earhart. But after talking with colleagues, friends
and acquaintnaces, Ive stumbled on another mystery.
Despite scientic evidence that proves otherwise, many
of these educated people are emphatic in their belief that
a 650,000-pound airplane is hidden in the desert of a
terrorist-harboring nation with a stan at the end of its
name. The airplane will be own out fully loaded with
weapons of mass destruction in true 9/11 style.
The search area is being dened by the extensive and
complex data analysis of satellite communications company Inmarsat. The calculations for this analysis exceed
my pilot math comprehension, but suice it to say that
the clever use of geometry, the Doppler efect, satellite
and ground-station relationships, airplane performance
assumptions, and 777-simulator scenarios have all been
part of the equation. Other methodologies outside of the
investigation team have also been utilized, all reaching
the same basic conclusion.
The bottom line? The airplane is in the Indian Ocean.
The aperon found on the French province of Reunion
Island last July validates this theory, in addition to reinforcing the plausibility of the high-probability search
area. Four vessels equipped with towed, side-sonar equipment are scanning the ocean oor.
None of this number crunching is occurring in a

vacuum. As a matter of fact, the International Civil

Aviation Organization protocol for accident investigation
is being followed just as it would in the United States. At
the request of the Malaysian government, the Australian
Transportation Safety Bureau has been leading the
search. As parties to the investigation the Malaysians
have included Boeing, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch of the
U.K., the Defence Science and Technology Organisation of
Australia, the Malaysian Department of Civilian Aviation,
Inmarsat and the U.K. division of Thales Corporation.
More parties may be included once the 777 is located.
The investigation participants comprise a diverse
group of intelligent people with only one agenda: locate
MH370 and determine a probable cause. Period. Despite
the understandable emotional outcries of coverups, it
would seem a rather diicult task to accomplish such a
conspiracy while the entire world observes. Why would
some very credible organizations and governments invest
their eforts and extensive nances in a wild goose chase?
So what happened? First, Id like to approach the question from the perspective of what didnt happen, in my
humble opinion. For me, a nefarious act seems unlikely. Why? If a terrorist threat originated from the cabin,
it would require a multitude of people to commandeer
an airplane the size of a 777 in todays current climate of
passenger self-preservation. At least two terrorists would

P H O TO S BY A L A M Y, M AU L A NA C R E AT I V E

After many
conversations
with airline
collegues, aviation friends,
neighbors,
workout buddies and
bartenders, Ive
uncovered a
new mystery.

Jumpseat
FLYING Opinion

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

082

have to be located in the rst-class cabin to observe the opening of the cockpit door in order to rush in and take control.
With the assumption that the ight was proceeding normally up until the now infamous Good night, Malaysian
three-seven-zero as it transitioned into Vietnams Ho Chi
Minh Center, why would one of the pilots choose that moment to open the cockpit door anyhow?
Apparently, all passengers were investigated and none
were found with connections to terrorism. Only two passengers were suspicious, having used stolen passports with
the intent of traveling elsewhere.
Could one crazed lunatic have barged through the door?
Sure. But Im certain that, between the passengers and
crew, the individual could have been subdued before incurring havoc to the airplane.
How about a nefarious act of collusion from both pilots?
An investigation has determined that neither had a relationship with each other outside the workplace, nor did
they make a deliberate attempt to y the trip together.
Consider the copilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid. He was at
the top of his game. At 27 years old he was ying one of the
biggest and most sophisticated airliners in the world. It was
reported that he had been contemplating marriage. Hijack
his own ight? Doesnt seem likely. Suicide? Hamid just
doesnt quite t that prole.
And Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah? Rumors abound regarding his support of Malaysias opposition party leader who
was sentenced to ve years in prison for sodomy just before
the ight, with assertions that it may have prompted Shah
to jump of the deep end. The purpose of his in-home ight
simulator has been subject to scrutiny, and Capt. Shahs
family relationships have been probed, but, to my knowledge, nothing substantial has been discovered. He had been
a loyal 33-year veteran of Malaysian Airlines with approximately 18,000 hours of ight time.
So if the captain had become suicidal or terrorist-minded,
why y the airplane for seven hours until fuel exhaustion
into the middle of the Indian Ocean? I could think of more
spectacular ways to make a statement than an airplane
disappearance. Why not y the 777 into Kuala Lumpurs
Petronas Towers, one of the tallest building structures in
the world? Or perhaps wait until the approach into Beijing
to make a statement?
In July 2011, Egyptair Flight 667, a Boeing 777-200
parked at the gate in Cairo, sufered substantial damage from a re determined to have originated as a result
of non-Boeing-designed electrical wiring contacting the
copilots oxygen mask hose that was connected to the entire pilots emergency system. The extreme heat of the re
from the electronics bay below created a hole in the side
of the fuselage about the size of an auto trunk lid just below
the copilots sliding window.
If a similar event had occurred on board, an explosive

The Disappearing 777

At least two
terrorists
would have to
be seated in the
first-class cabin to observe
the opening
of the cockpit
door in order
to rush in and
take control.

depressurization may have resulted, but the fact that a rapid descent
wasnt initiated seems to negate that
theory. With the emergency oxygen
system destroyed, the pilots would
have developed hypoxia if the loss of
pressurization were insidious over
a greater period of time. The lack of
oxygen and the slipstream would
most likely have extinguished the re,
but not before damage was inicted to some portion of the electronic
ight control system. Before the crew
became incapacitated, perhaps a diversionary airport was entered into
the ight management computer, explaining the initial
westbound turn.
With the autopilot still maintaining a mostly stable ight
regime, degradation of the ight control system could explain the bizarre turn northbound over Malaysia, and then
the nal turn southbound over the Malacca Strait toward
the Indian Ocean. Or a ight attendant carrying a walkaround O2 bottle could have managed to enter the cockpit
and attempted to steer the airplane by use of the autopilots
heading select knob until he or she succumbed to hypoxia
when the oxygen supply was depleted from the bottle.
My other scenario involves a re in one of the cargo compartments. The re could have originated from lithium
batteries documented to have been on board. The FAA is still
studying the efects of lithium-battery thermal runaways.
The batteries were transported earlier in the day via a
Malaysian Airlines 737 from the resort island of Penang and
then loaded onto MH370. Could the packaging have been
damaged, allowing high outside temperatures and even hotter baggage-compartment temperatures to cause a thermal
discharge? Or could the packaging have been inadequate?
If the crew used the cargo-compartment re checklist, the extinguishing process would have been initiated.
Recirculating fans and supply valves providing air to the
compartment are shut down as part of the process. Two of
ve Halon bottles would have discharged initially.
The behavior of lithium-battery res is such that they can
reignite after appearing to be extinguished. If the re were
re-energized after the crew was rendered unconscious because of hypoxia or fume inhalation, the three remaining
Halon bottles would have eventually discharged as part of a
timed automatic cycle. This would explain how the airplane
stayed airborne for almost an additional seven hours.
Do I have holes in my theories? Absolutely. Hopefully
the cockpit voice recorder and the digital ight data recorder will provide answers. That said, the one aspect I am
condent about is that we shouldnt be concerned with the
airplane nding us but rather with us nding the airplane.

Int S
ro ho
du ck
cto in
ry g
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Technicalities
FLYING Opinion

REMEMBER
THE GERMAN
AIRPLANE?
ALL HOLLYWOOD
REALLY CARED ABOUT
WAS THE PROPELLER.

The final concept by artist Ron Cobb had four

engines. By the time the airplane hit the screen,
it was down to just two.

N-1M, and by an abortive German

project of a twin-engine ghter,
tagged Li P.04-106, conceived by the
inventive Alexander Lippisch.
Both were twin-engine pushers.
The downward-turned wingtips of
the Cobb creation probably came
from the original conguration of
the Northrop airplane, the nal version of which, with unbent wings
and a brilliant yellow paint job,
may today be found in the UdvarHazy facility of the National Air and
Space Museum. The strange dip
in the center section, on the other
hand, must have answered to some
requirement that actors be able to
jump onto, or from, the wing, since
it makes neither historical nor aerodynamic sense.

For the eponymous Ark of the

Covenant, production designers
had only to consult the Old Testament, which provides detailed
instructions for its construction.
I must have been getting popcorn
when the reason for the Nazis interest in acquiring the Ark, or the
Allies in retaining it, was explained.
Generally speaking, the Germans
displayed little interest in Hebrew
memorabilia, and the Allies displayed little interest, until it was far
too late, in rescuing European Jews.
Screenwriters, however, are paid
not to reproduce reality but to create alternative versions of it.
Apart from the strange center
section and the unlikely placement
of the vertical ns atop the engine
nacelles, the Reynolds design, or
contrivance, looked more or less
airworthy. Needless to say, it never

I L LUS T R AT I O N RO N C O B B

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

088

Early this year my son, who was

screening a series of classic lms for
friends, put on the 1981 Spielberg
pulse-pounder, Raiders of the Lost
Ark, which came out in the year
he was born and, therefore, stood
to him, in terms of the history of
lm and the decline of taste, as
Casablanca does to me.
My son, showing that when it
comes to sesquipedalianism, the
fruit does not fall far from the tree,
texted me: Is the airplane whose
prop eviscerates a large bald man in
Raiders of the Lost Ark a real plane
or is it a contrivance?
No, I replied, it was not real. But it
was interesting nonetheless.
The airplane was dreamed up by
production artist Ron Cobb. Designing a historically plausible and dramatic-looking Nazi airplane was not
diicult, since the German aircraft
industry was by far the most innovative of its time and came up with
many stranger-than-ction designs.
The Reynolds airplane, a ying wing,
seems to have been inspired both by
an early Northrop prototype, the

By Peter Garrison

ew, nor was it intended to. It suffered, instead, the unseemly fate of
most large movie props. Exposed
to the elements on the abandoned
Tunisian set and pillaged by souvenir hunters, after 10 years it was
nally demolished by a bulldozer.
BUT THAT WAS NOT THE END OF
ITS STORY.
About a decade after the release of
the lm, the German airplane and
its associated evisceration became
part of a show called The Indiana
Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular at

into booms supporting two vertical ns. The shape of the original
wing, which with its sagging center section, uplifted middle and
downturned tips resembled an indignant seagull, remained. Thanks
to the general insensitivity of the
nonspecialist public to the appearance of technical things, many
visitors to the Florida show probably left unaware that they had seen
not the original, grand and now
pulverized German airplane, but a
shrunken impostor.
To the occasional bemused

DESIGNING A DRAMATIC-LOOKING
NAZI AIRPLANE WAS NOT DIFFICULT
BECAUSE THE GERMAN AIRCRAFT
INDUSTRY CAME UP WITH MANY
STRANGER-THAN-FICTION DESIGNS.

specialist, however, the question

occurred: Could they have own,
and if so, which would have been the
better design?
The two wings were broadly similar. Cribbed from real ying-wing
designs, they were tapered and
swept, as is usually done in the absence of an empennage, to allow not
only roll but also pitch attitude to
be controlled by what would be the
ailerons of a conventional airplane.
The placement of the vertical ns
atop the engine nacelles of the original version was structurally tricky
but not impossible. However, it was
aerodynamically senseless because,
to the extent that the vertical surfaces were to have any stabilizing
efect, they ought to have been as

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

the Walt Disney World Resort in

Florida. Now, the original airplane
was or was soon to become dust
in Tunisia, and, at any rate, it was
probably too big to t in the new
shows stage. A new, more conveniently proportioned German
airplane was required, and, incidentally, it needed to have tractor
rather than pusher propellers and
a much larger cabin so that human
actors could still be accommodated
in the much smaller craft and could
conduct their ght which ended with the disappearance of the
German in a puf of red mist in
the space between the airplane and
the audience.
A revised version was duly produced with a bulging greenhouse
cabin reminiscent of the famously
asymmetrical Blohm & Voss BV 141
and with tractor nacelles elongated

far aft as possible, and, therefore, to

have been placed near the wingtips.
A more serious diiculty and
this is a challenge for any tailless
design was the position, rather
far aft, of the engines themselves.
Tailless airplanes have narrow CG
ranges and require careful balance;
placing the engines too far from
the center of gravity makes balance
impossible. The Northrop airplane
solved the problem by burying
its engines within the wings and
driving the propellers through extension shafts.
The Mark II German airplane
was little better in this regard. Its
engines were too far forward. The
aft extensions of the nacelles put
the vertical ns in a much more
favorable location but could not
have been heavy enough to balance
the engines unless some massive
xed equipment had been installed
in them perhaps two remotely
aimed gun turrets.
By the same token that a wing-only airplane in German, a nurflgel
has a narrow CG range, it has relatively weak longitudinal stability.
Tractor propellers are destabilizing;
when the nose comes up, a tilted
propeller, by bending a stream of
air downward, tends to pull it up
farther. Tractor props are, therefore, not a good choice for a ying
wing, especially one with powerful
engines like the 1,200 hp DaimlerBenz V-12 that would have been the
Luftwafes likely choice, had this
airplane really existed.
Were these German airplanes
really airplanes or just contrivances? All things considered, its
probably best that no one tried to
take to the air in either of them. But,
to be fair, they served their purposes,
and, after all, its not so bad to be a
mere contrivance. Airplanes are
contrivances too.

089

A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | F LY I N G M A G . C O M |

090

PHOTO BY JON WHIT TLE

Sign Of

Let the Airshow Season Begin

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To see the world from a
different perspective.
Jamail Larkins, Pilot // Aviation Ambassador

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