THE COMMUNITY OF FLYING
by Josh Smith, General Manager

Airport Day 2009 - was a smashing success. There are a lot of good reasons for the PAA (Palo Alto Airport Association) to throw an airport day, however nothing is more important than letting the rest of the public share and take pride in their community airport. This annual event allows us to share our little gem with the rest of the public. It would not have happened with a lot of help from our members who volunteered; Scott Stauter, Clark Harrell, Adam Steffes, Ted Tilton, Lindell Wilson, Greg West, Sue Ballew, Cory Burns, Cory Lovell and Patti Andrews. We would like to give a  special thanks to our heroes on the BBQ; Rick Hubble & Nariman Farsiae . And finally,  a huge thanks to Christine Kelly for her tireless work and help in organizing and a special thanks to the PAA for sponsoring the event and the great Chuck Byer for his chairmanship.

It was a great day for sure. It was great seeing alot of members come out and show off the airport and club to their family. There was a great turnout from the local area, a lot of great aircraft, local emergency crews and support, and many great displays to look at. Overall just a real nice atmosphere. My particular job that day was to be the ground boss, a job I shared with Michael Baum. My task was to shuffle aircraft into and around the dislay area. Although I don't think I will get to upgrade to a pink shirt as Oshkosh anytime soon, I really enjoyed the pace of the activity. I look forward to next go around, more than likely in 2011.

Thanks for your support.

FROM THE DESK OF THE CHIEF - PHASE CHECKS
WVFC Chief Pilot chief pilot@wvfc.org

A new phase for phase checks

This month I want to change gears and talk about West Valley Flying Club phase checks.  For anyone who has been at West Valley for any amount of time, they’ve likely been through some kind of phase check, whether it be a solo, cross-country, private, instrument, complex, commercial, tail wheel etc. etc.  I’ve always felt that the phase check process was a great asset to West Valley and it serves the membership well.  In my opinion, there are several key aspects that make the process useful:

1. A phase check is like a practice test i.e. it gets members ready for someone else, other than the primary instructor, being in the right hand seat.
2. It allows the member, primary CFI, and phase check instructor to check to see if any material has either been outright forgotten, or simply isn’t being applied properly on the day of the event.
3. It allows the club to monitor the “product” of  CFI’s and whether or not all of our CFI’s are doing a good job preparing students for their next level of flying.   Sometimes phase checks reveal mismatches between students and their primary CFI, and as a result of the phase check, changes can be made.
4. And there’s always that subtle “pressure” that occurs anytime someone has to perform for someone different.  It’s usually a good pressure because it gives the phase check instructor and the pilot a chance to see how they deal with it, and still manages to fly the plane in a safe and orderly fashion. This is huge confidence booster for both student and CFI.

When I took over as chief pilot, I perceived one major weakness to the process that definitely left room for improvement. This month, I want to talk about some major revisions that are coming to the phase checks starting in September.

While the FAA practical tests are what I call a linear list of tasks to be evaluated, real world flying really isn’t like that at all.  We don’t generally make a trip somewhere and along the way do a steep turn, slow flight, power-off stall, ground reference maneuver, simulated engine out, slip, and finish up with a no-flap landing.  Real world flying is generally flying a mission with a stated purpose that we want to complete in as efficient and safe as possible manner.  Now, maybe along the way, we might need to make a steep turn to avoid another aircraft, and we may need to fly really slowly in the pattern so that we don’t catch up with the Piper Cub in front of us and so on.  The bottom line is that we, and the FAA for that matter, have figured out that so-called Scenario Based Training (SBT) is probably a better way to go.  While the FAA practical tests are still the same way they’ve been for decades, West Valley has decided to take the plunge and make our phase checks much more scenario based than they were before.  Let me give you a couple of concrete examples.

The solo phase check.  Historically, the student would be told by the phase check instructor exactly where to go and what to do.  We would measure everything according the practical test standards and report back to the primary instructor.  The real problem with this approach is there wasn’t enough emphasis on the SOLO part of the equation. We really weren’t spending enough time looking at the decision making, and judgment being applied by the student pilot.   The problem was that the report might say that the student climbed 250 feet on their steep turn and that was considered unsatisfactory.  We basically got way too hung up on measuring performance as opposed to assessing safety.  At the end of the day, it’s my opinion that safety really trumps everything else and while it’s nice to do a steep turn within +/- 100 feet, it doesn’t matter if I’m doing the steep turn in a unsafe place, or I’m not looking out the window while I’m doing it because I’m too busy watching a Seinfeld show on the MFD. 

So the new solo phase check process turns the phase check instructor into a “fly on the wall”.  Basically, the student and phase check instructor agree to where the practice area is and then the student goes to their area, picks the spot and altitude, and runs through an agreed set of maneuvers.  The phase check pilot is simply looking for the flight to be assessed as either SAFE or UNSAFE.  If the phase check pilot has to take the controls to avoid airspace or the plane is about to drop out of the sky, it would be considered UNSAFE.  Now that’s not to say that the phase check pilot won’t comment that significant altitude was lost on a maneuver but that’s no longer the focus.  The student then brings the plane back to the home base airport and does three take-offs and landings to a full-stop.  The phase check instructor might cause some realistic distractions like stuck flaps, loss of airspeed indicator, or a simulated engine failure but other than that, their job is to shut up and observe.  There should be no coaching, commenting, or other body language expressing dissatisfaction unless it’s becoming UNSAFE.

For the cross country phase check, the scenario based concept gets even better.  The student plans and flies an actual cross country to an unfamiliar uncontrolled airport slightly more than 50nm from their home base airport.  What a concept – a cross country on a cross country phase check!  Again, the phase check instructor on the way there will be a “fly on the wall” simply observing and making sure that the flight is safe from start-up to shut down at the destination.  If the outbound leg goes well then, on the way back, the phase check instructor can throw in some realistic distractions like low-visibility, home airport closed requiring a diversion etc.

For the private pilot phase check, unfortunately, we’re somewhat limited by the contents of the FAA check ride and, as such, have kept the phase check as close to a dummy check ride as possible which still isn’t very scenario based (yet).

We’re also working on redoing the more advanced phase checks over the next few months.  And the really good news is that we’ve shrunk the paperwork for all the new phase checks down to a single double-sided electronic form.  This is to go along with all the other single page forms that we’re starting to create for other aspects of flying at West Valley.

I’m looking forward to rolling out these new phase checks and am hoping to get lots of feedback on how we can further improve them over the coming months.

Safe Flying.

AS THE WRENCH TURNS
by your friendly maintenance department, maintenance@wvfc.org

I really appreciate those who have been taking time to fill out the squawk sheet completely. I know that it is asking for a lot of extra detail, however, this information is helpful in diagnosing aircraft correctly. For example, if someone was to write "A/P intermittent"  there is really nothing to follow-up on.  With additional information/detail (time, temp, situation, use,etc..) we may have a fighting chance to duplicate the circumstance and more appropriately diagnose it. We really appreciate any and all additional information. Also feel free to E mail us directly at maintenance@wvfc.org with information relevant to squawk follow-up.

Lights. We need to stop using landing lights and nav lights on the ground during the day, please, pretty please! Taxiing around during the day, with all these lights on just does not make sense, and to be frank, it is wasteful. These are intermittent-use systems and as such, they are not supposed to be on all the time.

Your Friendly MX Department

Annual Membership Meeting and Quarterly Board Meeting
by WVFC BOARD MEMBER Mike Atwood

The next open board meeting is scheduled for October 21, at 7:00pm.  It will be held in the Palo Alto classroom.

As specified by the bylaws, this meeting will also constitute an open meeting of the West Valley Flying Club Membership.  All members who wish to speak and be heard at the meeting are urged to attend.  If a quorum of members are present, business may be transacted at the members meeting.  See the bylaws for details, or post a query on the "Board Sounding Board" section of the BBS.

Look forward to seeing many of you there.

Mike Atwood
Chairman

After you’ve dipped your toe into the water only to discover that it’s a lot colder than you thought, there are a couple of classic approaches to swimming.  Some people want to get it over quickly and just dive in.  It can be a real shock to the system, but you’re swimming very shortly after the process starts. 

Another approach is to ease into it, which is my preferred approach, timid person that I am.  The good news is that the process isn’t nearly the shock to the system that the dive-right-in approach is.  The bad news comes in two parts.  First, it takes longer to get in, so the total time spent in the cold water is actually longer.  For the second part, you almost have to get poetic and think about the pain of anticipation, and the shudders as the cold approaches various rather sensitive parts of your body. 

I suppose you could just scrap the whole thing and sit down beside the pool and bag some rays. 

At this point, you probably have a mental picture that isn’t totally related to flying, but (believe it or not) we’re actually going to get there.  Let’s go back in history (for most of you), or forward if that’s appropriate.  What did you want to do as soon as you got (or as soon as you get) your pilot’s license?  Somewhere in the process, flying all the way to the East Coast, or up to Alaska might be on the list for some of us.  Flying to a little mountain strip in Montana or Canada might be the thing for others of us.  Flying acro would be the thing for still others. 

Whatever the objective, and however much you are a dive-right-in person, grabbing the 152 the day after the ink dries on your newly minted license and heading all the way to Florida probably isn’t the brightest idea.  I find it more than interesting that people who want a PLAN to follow to get a license suddenly become 1960s free spirits when it comes to what to do after the license.  Does it really make sense to take that big a bite when with a little planning and easy steps, the process can be more enjoyable, to say nothing of being a lot safer? 

And if the process works better for a brand new pilot, it also works well for a pilot freshly checked out in a particular airplane.  Just because you’re checked out in an airplane, doesn’t mean that you’re on top of your game in it, that the operations are completely natural, or that your comfort level is what you need for a really good cross country flight.  The insurance companies have this one right (there are many things they do that drive me crazy (a short trip, some would claim), but they have this one right).  In complex airplanes, they won’t let the pilot fly solo without some time in type.  In a Malibu, for example, they want to see at least 25 hours time in type in addition to the factory-approved training.  Most turbo-props are even more stringent, and jets even more than that.  Most folks new to jets don’t get to fly their planes solo until they’ve had 200 hours and one year of flying in type.   

I’m not suggesting that everyone (or anyone) needs to fly a club plane with an instructor for a specified` number of hours after checkout before being able to fly solo.  What I AM suggesting (rather strongly) is that you discuss your post-checkout plans with your instructor and agree upon a safe, incremental way to get there. 

Ease into it and enjoy the process; it isn’t nearly as painful as easing into cold water and far less of a shock than just diving in.

AIRSPEED CHANGE
by Nick Ulman WVFC CFI

Airspeed changes can be made easily, promptly and precisely with proper technique. People who change airspeed inelegantly usually do so because they fail to appreciate how slowly their airplane accelerates.  Also, many people do not realize that the throttle is only one of two things that control RPM in an airplane with a fixed-pitch propeller.  These subtleties lead to cumbersome airspeed changes that require much more fiddling around and adjustment of the throttle than necessary.  That leaves less time for other things like looking out the window and learning new maneuvers.

The real difference between level flight at different airspeeds is that the angle of attack is different.  However, to maintain altitude at the different speeds, different amounts of power are required.  This is because drag depends on airspeed [and more airspeed does not always mean more drag]. So in the end you have to change power setting to change airspeed.  

Two things determine the power output of the engine.  One of them is controlled by throttle position and the other is RPM.  Throttle alone does not control RPM.  In an airplane with a fixed-pitch prop, RPM is determined by the throttle and the airspeed.  You can demonstrate this on your next flight.  At constant throttle, pitch up to fly slower; the RPM will decrease.  Pitch down to fly faster; the RPM will increase.

To change airspeed promptly the key is to over- or under- shoot the power so as  to achieve the desired airspeed and then set the required RPM.  If the airspeed is where you want it, then the throttle is the only thing that needs to be set.  Suppose that your airplane requires 1800 RPM to fly level at 75 knots and 2400 RPM to fly level at 100 knots.  To go from 75 to 100 knots, first open full throttle.  Then wait for the airspeed to reach 100 knots.  This can take ten seconds or more! Once you reach 100 knots, use the throttle to set 2400 RPM.  Further adjustment will not be required. To slow down from 100 to 75 knots, first close the throttle to well below 1800 RPM; 1400 RPM would be a good choice.  Wait for the airplane to slow down to 75 and when it does, only then set 1800 RPM.

This may seem like a long discussion for a simple operation, but if you do not wait for the airplane to accelerate before reducing power, you may find your self making lots of small power adjustments to keep the RPM around 2400 as the airplane speeds up. Anticipating the effect of control changes along with proper technique will make your flying more precise and allow you to be way ahead of the plane.

THE OWNERS CORNER
by John Felleman WVFC OWNER

This months column addresses the club policy and practice regarding minimum flight time for overnight rentals.  There have been some changes in the way billing is handled and I know that has resulted in confusion.  I will try to shed some light on the existing policy and the way that it is applied.

Owners generally want their aircraft to fly more hours.  This helps to defray the fixed costs of ownership such as tiedown fees, insurance and cost of capital.  When members take a plane for an overnight trip, it means that the plane is not available for others to rent.  For some aircraft, which have the potential to fly several times a day, especially on weekends and holidays, this leads to a loss of revenue.  The member regulations address this by imposing a minimum of 2 flight hours (3 hours on weekends) for each 24 hour period of a rental.

The minimum flight hour rule is not new.  However, club practice for many years was not to charge the member unless the owner discovered the flight and requested that the member be billed.  During the course of the last year, the owners discussed this practice among ourselves at our owners meetings.  Our conclusion was that the practice put the burden of applying an existing member regulation on the owners, rather than club management.  It also created a difficult situation, because most of us had been reluctant to go back to a member after the fact and ask that they be billed for the minimum hours.  We asked the management to change the billing process.

As a result, the club now reports cases of overnight flights that don't meet minimums to the owner.  It is then up to the owner to decide whether to bill the member.  Their decision may depend on a number of factors, such as whether the member is a loyal renter of their aircraft, or whether the plane is one which typically draws a lot of business.  The change was discussed at an open board meeting, but many members may not be aware of it.  Even though the regulations were not changed, this may mean that more members are actually being billed than before without realizing there had been a change.

My advice is that anytime you plan to take a plane for an overnight flight, you contact the owner ahead of time.  Explain your intention, and let him know how many hours you plan to log.  Many owners are happy to accommodate your request.  Either way, establishing an understanding ahead of time will avoid an unpleasant situation later, when the bill arrives.  In the event that you don't make a prior arrangement and get an unexpected bill, don't despair.  Contact the owner.  Perhaps they will be open to a refund, or will apply some of the amount you paid to upcoming flights in their aircraft.  If you have questions or comments about club regulations, it is a great excuse to get involved by coming to public board meetings, reading the BBS, and posting your thoughts.