Executive Flyers February 2005 Newsletter
Congratulations to:
Zack Ruland and Spencer Smith for soloing; Karl Schwendinger for passing his certified flight instructor – instrument flight test and Scott Foster and Zach Ruland for winning the monthly drawing of an hour of instruction or a month’s dues.
Welcome
Our newest instructor is Neal Davis. Neal did his training with Executive Flyers and has his CFI, CFI-I and MEI license and ratings. He is an excellent pilot and eager to start working with students. Ask for him on your next BFR or aircraft checkout.
FAA meetings
Two FAA aviation safety meetings coming up – “Aircraft Accident Review 2004” at Sac Exec conference room on February 10 at 7:00 pm and “Emergency procedures and operations at towered airports” at the Aero Union break room in the Aero Union building, Chico airport on February 16 at 7:00 pm. You can sign up for either course at http://faasafety.gov/. When you register at this site, you can also get on the mailing list for future meetings in the area.
Aircraft Oil
Please keep the oil level in the airplanes up to one quart below full. This will help to cool the engine. If we get into the habit of keeping the oil "one quart down" in the winter, we'll really help the engines in the summer. When you put the oil filler dip stick back in, don't overtighten it. The o-ring swells when it gets hot and makes it really difficult for the next pilot to remove. Just finger tight is fine.
Breaks in the weather
We're starting to get breaks in the foggy, rainy weather. If the wind’s not too strong, and you've decided to come out of hibernation, this is a great time of year to go up with an instructor and shake the cobwebs off of your flying skills. Review the normal and cross wind landings, check out in a plane you haven't flown before or work on learning and using the GPS systems that are showing up in more and more of the rental aircraft. There are also autopilots in several of the planes and these make cross country flying even more enjoyable. However, they do take some time to learn to use. We can make you a CD ROM of the manuals for any of the GPS and autopilots that we have in the planes. Drop an email to Ed or leave him a message in the office and he'll get one for you.
Foggy Weather
Even though the weather is improving, we may have some more foggy days before things clear up. If you are a student pilot, you may be able to go up with an instructor, climb out through the fog and go to one of the foot hill fields to practice. This will keep you from being grounded for several months and losing your touch. Check with your instructor to see if he or she is instrument current and keep you flying going. Like any other hand-eye skill, flying requires regular practice.
Special VFR clearances
If you are a private pilot or better (student pilots CANNOT use this procedure because they have to have at least 3 miles visibility in flight) you can use the “Special VFR” procedure to get in to or out of some Class B airports and all C, D and E airports. When you have received a special VFR clearance into one of the airports airspace, you can fly with one mile visibility and clear of clouds and often take off or land safely in conditions that are below the normal VFR minimums.
There are several restrictions that you should be aware of when using special VFR. The first is that you must request it, by name, from approach control or the tower - they cannot offer it to you. Secondly, the one mile and clear of clouds applies only in the B, C, D or surface based E airspace around the airport. You must be in normal VFR conditions when you are outside that airspace. Thirdly, and most often violated, you MAY NOT fly through or in clouds under this clearance. You must remain, “clear of clouds” to be legal.
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last modified February 8, 2005 by Ed Callaway