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BOARD UPDATE by Mike Atwood, Chairman Congratulations to our new board members! Nina Ashton and Jeff Swan were elected to two-year terms on the board, as at-large members. John Felleman was elected for the remaining one year of the seat vacated by the resignation of Andy Geosits. That seat is the one reserved for an aircraft owner. The first meeting of the new board will be on Wednesday, July 18, at 7:00 pm, in the classroom at PAO. The meeting is open to all members.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Solo
Private Checkride
Instrument Checkride
CFI
The Proud CFIs:
NEW MEMBERS
Eric Ponteri
FLEET UPDATES
A few of the aircraft on the flight line are up for sale and we would sure love to keep them.
N4714S is a 1980 T182RG - with new paint, interior, oxygen and 1900 SMOH. Basically this aircraft has all of the fundamentals with the addition of an IFR GPS; it would be a phenomenal cross country performer. The aircraft rental profile is long cross country trips. Price is in the $130K range.
N8171Q is a 2003 SR22 with only 400 hours total time. The aircraft flies very well on the flight line. The person selling is moving out of the area for a while and will need to put his aviation ambitions on hold. As a consequence, the aircraft is up for sale. Asking price is $319K. For more information contact Paul Flannery 925-470-6038.
4335K and 2919U are still both for sale. Please contact the GM if you are interested in either aircraft.
We are still in the hunt for primary trainers at E16 and a 152 at HWD. Please contact Josh if you are interested.
On Wednesday, July 25 at 6:00PM at the WVFC South County classroom, club GM Josh Smith will give a seminar on aircraft ownership and lease back business models. Josh will provide a presentation and be available for Q&A on specific aircraft models.
SUGGESTION BOX
Do you have a suggestion or a bit of feedback for the club? Send it to whatsup@wvfc.org.
THE FLYER
The Flyer is the monthly newsletter of the West Valley Flying Club. For more information about the club, please call our Palo Alto office at (650) 856-2030, our San Carlos office at (650) 595-5912, our Hayward office at (510) 781-0101, or our South County office at (408) 683-4102. For information about the newsletter, or to submit an article, contact the Editor at whatsup@wvfc.org.
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by Josh Smith, General Manager
First a reminder that the West Valley Flying Club Annual Report will be available on the web about mid-July. To find it go to the member services link under the members' home-page link. Just below the board meeting notes is a selection box that allows you to select by Fiscal Year the Annual Report you would like to see. This is the full version, which has much greater detail in the numbers but also includes statements by the Board Chair, Treasurer, and me. The key to this is that we lay out the overview of the organization in terms of where we have been and where we are going, what is actually going on within the club and what the club's actual plans for the future are. It is a great read as it would hopefully give insight to the actual running of the club and put an end to a lot of the conjecture.
Some really exciting news is coming down the pipe as well. Through some aggressive changes to our checkout procedures and with some negotiating we were able to get an average of 10% reduction in insurance rates for the aircraft owners. Although this may not translate into direct savings in rental rates, it will help to keep rates stable, and is one area which will keep the rental rate from climbing. We achieved very high marks when it came to our Maintenance audit, check-out rules and regulations, and sticking with minimum time requirements. To be more specific, a big concern within the insurance industry is the process through which pilots/members are checked out in the insured aircraft. They want to be assured that we are creating procedures, rules and requirements that work to reduce risk and increase safety. Even more important to the underwriter is whether we actually sitck to the rules that we promote or are we constantly granting waivers.
We are the trend setter for the underwriters and they complimented us on our efforts. They were very pleased with how we rolled out the Diamond Twinstars and our commitment to further evolve how we are handling all of the other aircraft.
At times it can be frustrating dealing with the requirements and rules as established; however, this emphasis on consistency and safety has led now to a less expensive aircraft policy, robust coverage and allowance for a variety of fleet aircraft that is not seen anywhere else.
We must remember at the end of the day that 95% of all incidents are due to pilot error. We must reflect on this, and as members and owners of this amazing club look inside of our owner personal flight bags to continue to enhance and evolve all of our own personal levels of safety.
Other items in the recent news… West Valley Flying Club Maintenance has become a full Diamond, Theilert, and limited Garmin Service Center. These additional services allow us to keep the costs lower to the Twinstar owners, which in turn is passed on to the membership. The training that was provided both from Thielert and Diamond has also added depth and knowledge to our existing maintenance procedures.
Maintenance stuff - please aware as we are moving into the warmer months that aircraft performance will change. How we monitor and use airplanes must also change. As an example, during the last heat wave in June we were seeing an increase of 12-15 degrees Celsius in ambient temperatures. These warmer temps inhibit the engine's ability to cool. Special attention must be placed on letting the engine "rest" between maneuvers, (putting the aircraft into normal cruise power and holding a stable attitude), stage climbing, and in general just allowing for cooling time if you see the temps get high. Remember, during slow-flight, stalls and climb-outs we are increasing the angle of attack and reducing the speed and amount of wind over the engine. This combination increases engine temps, reduces the engine's performance and can lead to damage and/or failure. Signs of overheating are reduction in oil pressure, increase in oil and cylinder head temps, pinging and/or detonation. As the pilot, you have control over how the aircraft is operated and can prevent the engine from over-temping.
As during winter and cold weather start procedures, familiarize yourself with hot start procedures. The hot start procedures will be in the pilot's operating handbook. If you are flying a fuel injected plane, please note whether someone has flown the aircraft prior to you. Often, the engine is still warm and a hot start procedure is required.
Thanks for your time this month; stay safe.
THE CHIEF'S CORNER: SUMMER FLYING
by Lucy Geever-Conroy, Chief Pilot
With the passing of the summer solstice we have officially launched into the busiest flying season, a time to review summer flying operations. For many of you, this will be review and review can be a good thing, so I hope you'll take the time to keep reading.
In all flights there are three main components: The pilot, the machine, and the weather. Let's review each in relation to summer flying.
The Mighty Pilot!
Summer heat can be a killer. You need to beware of the toll heat can have on you and your ability to make clear decisions. As PIC you need to keep an eye on your health status and that of your passengers as you move about on hot airport surfaces and lounge in hot cockpits. Do you know what the signs of heat related illnesses are?
Heat exhaustion is a mild, yet serious form of heat-related illness that can develop after several days of exposure to high temperatures and inadequate or unbalanced replacement of fluids. Recognizing heat exhaustion warning signs may include:
The sun can sure wear a pilot down on those evening flights home that usually have us flying directly into the sun. Be sure to have sun glasses and a ball cap to minimize the glare.
For long flights, it is advisable to leave early in the morning. Convective activity from the sun is at minimum in the wee hours of the day. Make your plans and as much as practical stick to them. Arrange all your details so that you begin your flight on time or understand the ramification of a change in your plan. If it gets too late in the day you may need to delay the departure for the next day. Don't get bitten by the get-there-itis bug, there is nothing so important that you can't be late or plain miss it altogether.
Be honest with yourself; are you really trained and current to meet the challenges of your mission. Yes, you have had that mountain checkout, but have you flown in the mountains recently? Would a flight to the mountains with your favorite CFI be prudent?
Stay in tune with your body and be honest with yourself about the ramifications of your decisions.
The Mighty Machine!
During high temperature operations, expect a higher oil temperature associated with lower oil pressure due to higher oil viscosity. How are our engines cooled? That's right, they are air cooled, and even the few airplanes in the fleet that are liquid cooled can rely to some extent on air cooling. Thus giving due consideration to how the air flows over the engine can go a long way in taking good care of your equipment. Make sure to check the status of those engine baffles on your preflight. Avoid prolonged ground run-ups and taxiing as this can contribute to high oil temperature on climb out. During climb out a shallow climb at a higher airspeeds can improve engine cooling and keep you in the green. If you see any rise in temperatures, lower your climb out angle, reduce RPM and richen the mixture.
When you are practicing slow flight, stalls, etc., be sure to set the mixture properly, monitor engine temperatures and give the engine a "cool off period" if you are working it hard. The high performance airplanes that are tightly cowled, for example the Cirrus, are designed to minimize drag so you can fly fast from point A to B. They are not designed to provide the greatest engine cooling on a hot day in slow flight, so keep this in mind and take it easy on the engine when you are there training.
Fueling:
Fuel from the trucks is cooler than fuel in the wing. When cooler fuel is added to the hotter wing, the fuel will expand and may overflow through the tank vents, spilling fuel onto the tarmac, and in some cases it may even enter the wing and fuselage allowing dangerous fumes to vent into the cabin compartment. When possible, do not overfill or top off the tanks, instead leave a couple inches below the tank filler if you aren't going far. If you are only going for a few spins around the patch you don't need carry a whole load of fuel. Adding less fuel can provide two benefits: one, you are less likely to have a fuel spill on the tarmac and two, the less weight you load onto the airplane for all of those touch-and-goes, the less stress you will put on the airplane.
When you are fueling, think weight and performance.
If you are flying in the hot mountains you must carefully plan your take-off and climb performance based on your weight. There have been too many accidents in high-density altitude situations due to pilot error. The stories are similar:
It was a hot summer day at a mountain airport. The pilot loaded the airplane to max gross weight w/full fuel, passengers and cargo. The pilot was unable to climb out and crashed on take-off.
Sometimes, the only strategy is to depart a hot mountain airport with just enough fuel, plus you personal reserve, to get you to another airport where you can add fuel to continue on your journey. Remember, on a hot summer day in the mountains you can't expect your airplane to behave as if it were flying out of a sea level airport - this is always true, but is very exaggerated in the summer time.
And please, always fuel for your mission!
Performance
Battery Life:
Starting a Hot Engine:
Weather!
For cross county flights, plan your departures for early in the day and if flying in the mountain depart really early. By mid-morning, convective currents are on the rise and they will continue to strengthen throughout the day. By mid afternoon, areas with sufficient moisture may have convective cells and by evening there could be violent thunderstorms. Avoid flying at night when there are areas of thunderstorms. Always stay far away from thunderstorms; thunderstorms chew up and spit out airplanes.
If you're headed east, be on the look for fast moving cold fronts. A fast front can move at speeds of 25 knots or more. Some of nature's most violent weather, turbulence and squall line thunderstorms can spawn ahead of these fronts. Never try to fly through a fast moving cold front; instead, park yourself and relax. Once the storm passes you can enjoy the lovely weather it leaves behind.
Planning a successful trip in hot weather demands assessing yourself, your equipment and the weather. Once airborne re-assess often. If you see the need for a change in your plan, think through the ramifications of a change and use you best judgment. It's a beautiful world out there - enjoy!
As with all flights be sure to complete the IMSAFEE checklist - Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigues, Emotions, Eats (are you nourished?) If you fail on any of the above will you nix the flight? If not, what risks are you taking? Are you being honest with yourself in this assessment? What level of risk are you willing to take?
Heat stroke is a more severe type of heat related illness. Different people may have different symptoms and signs of heat stroke. Recognizing heat stroke warning signs may include:
Be sure to keep hydrated and carry extra water for you and your passengers. If you are planning long legs, for example a trip to Oshkosh, you may also want to carry portable toilet devices appropriate for yourself and passengers, i.e. a boy device and/or a girl device. If you don't do that, make sure you have alternates ready for those unplanned, very urgent, bio stops. (Don't forget to remove your used bio devices from the airplane when you get to your destination - leaving them for the next pilot is a definite no-no.)
Airplane performance can not escape the influence density altitude. Does density altitude decrease or increase during the hot summer months?
Tending to Your Machine
As the ambient temperature increases and the air density decreases, the pilot needs to set the mixture control to maintain a proper air/fuel ratio. Leaning should be completed slowly and incrementally allowing the EGT (or RPM) to stabilize between each twist of the mixture control. If you are flying in the hot mountains, be sure you have a procedure for setting the proper fuel/air mixture for taxi, takeoff and landing! It's a bummer to have that engine quit after a greaser landing.
When you fuel, think temperature.
Be sure to check you airplane performance data before takeoff and then add an additional margin for safety.
Battery performance deteriorates with temperature extremes, which can contribute to difficult starting. So protect your battery by minimizing the drain during preflight; consider testing only the lights and equipment essential for the flight mission. Do not use the airplane's battery for ground avionics training, which is prohibited at WVFC.
Hot start procedures vary from airplane to airplane, so be familiar with the hot start procedures for the airplanes you fly. Some ways to avoid hot starts include shutting down only when necessary, allowing for cooling between start-ups, and avoiding start-ups during the hottest times of the day.
Always get a full standard briefing, and if you launch, get inflight weather updates and offer FSS updates so other pilots can benefit from what you see.
A NOTE FROM OPERATIONS
by Shannon Doyle
Happy Summer everyone! We are in the process of planning the events for the summer; please make sure you check the WVFC calendar as each event will be posted as they come across my desk. If you are interested in any particular events, please let me know so we can get them on the calendar; any and all ideas are welcome. The following are a few events that are already on the calendar; we hope to see all of you there.
Airport Day is coming up on Sunday, September 9; my goal is to bring in many different types of aircraft. If you have any Warbirds or unique planes you are interested in displaying please let me know soon so I can reserve a space for you. We are very excited about this event, please let me know as soon as possible if you would like to participate!
I will be putting some fly-ins on the calendar for the summer and would like to get some member feedback. Please send me an e-mail with your requests for specific locations you may have been before or ones you are interested in visiting. I am excited to organize these events for the members and am hoping to get enough people. The club has been and is very interested in doing many events for the members; we have the budget and are excited to make them happen. Our goal is to get those who are interested in fly-ins and events to come forward and share your ideas with us.
All summer long we are having barbecues at PAO, SQL and E16. Palo Alto will start on July 8 and will continue every second and fourth Sunday of the month from 12:00 to 3:00, SQL happens consistently every first and third (afternoons) Saturday and E16 has theirs from June 8 every Friday. (Look for flyers at all locations!) If you plan it right, you can have a barbecue meal every weekend while hanging out with your friends! I am looking for volunteers to help with the Palo Alto barbecues so if you are interested please let me know.
There have been a few issues with the log sheets at the front desk; please double check your numbers before entering them into the book. Do not just follow the person in front of you, please check the Hobbs and Tach in the plane to make sure it is accurate. In addition, there have been some members who only fill out a couple of sections on the log sheet and/or just the last few numbers of Hobbs and Tach. Please fill out each section in its entirety; it makes it a lot easier for the front desk. And last, please write legibly; there have been numerous entries that have been completely illegible. Thank you for your attention to these important details.
I just ordered more factory copies of the DA42 Manuals (they were made available to us last month) so for those who are learning in the Twin Star you can purchase the book from the Pilot Shop at PAO for $40 and the checklist for an additional $10. Check in with me if you would like a checklist.
If you have any comments or suggestions for the front desk I would love to hear about them.
Happy flying everyone!!
MINIMUM TIME FOR A RATING
by Dave Fry, Aviation Safety Counselor
NOTE: This article will probably tick some of you off, and may result in lots of e-mail to me, but I welcome your comments - even the negative ones. However, my object isn't to torque your jaws, but to challenge you to a safer way of thinking about flight qualifications.
The FARs are full of things that are mandatory, such as minimum cloud clearances, visibilities, maximum airspeeds, minimum altitudes… I find it interesting that pilots who wouldn't consider flying in 3 mile visibility and 1500 foot ceilings, or 1 mile and clear of clouds in special VFR, would push the boundaries of currency requirements or minimum qualifications, and if not the FAA's version of these topics, then at least the WVFC currency and checkout requirements.
Private, instrument, commercial, instructor and ATP all have minimum experience and training requirements, and how many of us have gotten our ratings in minimum times? I had a student once who completed his private rating in less than 50 hours, but he flew every maneuver to private pilot standards the first time (except for landings, and that took a couple of lessons).
I'm proud to tell people that I got all my ratings, and finished all my aircraft checkouts in the minimum time. But by that, I don't mean the FAA minimum requirements, but the first time at which I was actually ready. For example, my private pilot glider took 1.5 times as long as the minimum required by Part 61, but I simply wasn't ready for the license until then. And my ATP (which requires 1500 hours) didn't actually happen until I had about 7000 hours. And I REALLY don't want to talk about how long I took to get my helicopter ratings! I was too busy proving how much of a klutz I can be. So much for being a natural pilot!! As I have continued to learn more about flying, I've often wondered exactly how ready I really was for the ratings I earned.
Why then, I often wonder, do people expect to check out in an airplane in a single flight? Why does a pilot schedule a checkout to begin the day before he or she wants to use the plane on a long cross-country to Kentucky? Why does a pilot think it's OK to fly the required maneuvers but not meet the Private Pilot Practical Test Standards for those maneuvers? Why does a pilot argue against a required phase check or length of checkout?
OK, shortening the process would make it cheaper (at least in the short term), but good pilots are striving for a level of performance, a level of excellence, and a few extra dollars and a few more hours or days is a small thing in comparison.
The Chief Pilot (both current and past) has established minimum requirements for aircraft checkout, both in terms of total time/experience and time in type. These are under pretty constant review, as are the requirements for phase checks. Yet there are lots of our club members sufficiently proud of their own flying skills that they believe they can check out in a plane at the minimum or even in less. And in one sense, they can - their minimum, like mine - the time they require to reach the required proficiency is larger than the West Valley minimum.
Insurance companies uniformly have minimum requirements for PIC in various types of aircraft. Take the Pilatus PC-12, a plane in which I have about 1000 hours. When I had 25 hours time in-type and the required school, the insurance company said I could be PIC. At around 100 hours, I felt pretty comfortable in the plane, like in a pair of well-worn jeans. But even jeans take some wear before they're comfortable. You really can't hurry the process, however much you want to. I should point out that the first 100 hours were all flown with a co-pilot in a very disciplined and controlled crew environment. Another 100 hours later I felt pretty comfortable flying the plane single-pilot. Despite the fact that I am approved by several insurance companies to do the required annual recurrent training, I go to annual training myself.
All this may lead you to some tentative conclusions:
Both of the above easily fit in the denial category
There are far too many examples, both among WVFC members and in the broader flying community, of hurried checkouts and less than proficient pilots running into trouble when the spaghetti hits the fan. And the results are often disastrous - bent and totaled airplanes, injuries and worse.
Demand excellence of yourself. You might even get it.
And that's the challenge I want to pose. Don't accept a standard of mediocrity for airplane checkouts and for your personal flying. Challenge yourself with a standard of excellence, try to meet it, and ask for help if you are falling short. In our working environments we rarely (and then not gladly) accept less than best efforts and excellence from our subordinates and co-workers. Why should we accept less than that from ourselves when our lives and those of our friends and family depend on us?
ZAON FLIGHT SYSTEMS ADDS NEW FEATURE TO PCAD XRX TO DISPLAY TRAFFIC ON GARMIN 396 and 496
by Jim Blum
I reviewed the ZAON PCAD XRX (Portable Traffic Detection system) in a previous newsletter. Well, they have added a feature whereby you can connect their XRX model to a Garmin portable GPS 396 or 496 and the traffic will be displayed on the main map. If the traffic becomes dangerous, then a pop-up appears on whichever screen you are on, to notify you (similar to the terrain pop-up). CLICK HERE for details. Also, I want to correct an error I made in the last review. I said the direction of traffic is not indicated on the second and third traffic boxes on the XRX. Well, it is indicated with a small single arrow with 90 degree quadrants (12 o'clock for traffic ahead; 6 o'clock for traffic behind; and 9 and 3 o'clock for left and right traffic).
EVENTS & ACTIVITIES
Please update yourself on the latest club activities by going to the membership calendar located at http://www.wvfc.org/b/calendar.php
OPEN BOARD MEETING
BEALE HIGH-ALTITUDE TRAINING
NORCAL TRACON TOUR
July 18, 7:00 pm, PAO. Meet the new board members at the next open board meeting. Contact Mike Atwood, Chairman, with any questions, aaatwood@sbcglobal.net.
July 24, 2007. Join West Valley CFIs and pilots for High Altitude Training at Beale Air Force Base in Sacramento. The training consists of a ground session on the effects of altitude, followed by time in a pressure chamber that simulate the effects at altitude. The training should help you recognize more quickly what are your unique symptoms of altitude exposure to make you a safer pilot. Cost: $75 (covers training and ground transportation at Beale) To reserve a spot, contact Dan Dyer (dan@dkdyer.com) in San Carlos for sign-up information and to coordinate rides. Space is limited to first 14 people that sign-up. Be smart! Reserve yourself an airplane now!
August 18, 2007. A group of pilots, instructors, and other club members will be taking a tour of the FAA NorCal TraCon facility in Sacramento, organized by Dan Dyer. Unfortunately, the tour date filled up shortly after it was announced. Due to the interest, we plan to organize additional tours to NorCal in the coming months so that more members can get this valuable insight into the world of air traffic control, and meet the voices on the other side of your radio. Contact Dan if you are interested: dan@dkdyer.com.
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Reproduction in whole or in part in any form without the express written permission
of an officer of the club is strictly prohibited.