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P I L AT U S O W N E R S A N D P I L O T S A S S O C I AT I O N
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HERE
COMES
ADS-B!
BE SMART
ABOUT DOWNBURSTS AND
WIND SHEAR
FLY LIKE A PRO
W I N T E R
2 0 1 2
P OPA
M AG A Z I N E
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CONTENTS
PILATUS OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION
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•
FALL 2012
•
VOLUME 15, ISSUE 3
8
14
22
28
DEPARTMENTS
6
FROM THE PRESIDENT
8
NEW & NOTABLE
12
ONBOARD LADIES CORNER
34
NEW CHANGES TO THE TAX CODE
IRS rules on depreciation for mixed-use charter/part 91 aircraft
BY JONATHAN LEVY
44
ASK LANCE TOLAND
Maneuvering through claims mitigation and settlements
BY LANCE TOLAND
46
MIPAD
E6B Apps
BY JOHN D. RULEY
48
FLY A DIFFERENT JET WARBIRD EVERY DAY!
If you’re a pilot who says you’ve never even dreamed of
flying a jet fighter… maybe your nose is growing?
54
MAKE IT AND TAKE IT
The man who taught us to “kick it up a notch” offers a great
gourmet finger food to take along on your next adventure!
EMERIL LAGASSE
FEATURES
14
WIND SHEAR: INVISIBLE KILLER
Predictive wind-shear detection comes to
General Aviation – sort of.
BY BILL COX
18
DO YOU FLY YOUR PC-12 LIKE A PRO?
Follow the safety steps perfected by “paid flight crews.”
BY JOHN MORRIS
22
HERE COMES ADS-B
A solution to current problems or merely the next
generation of FAA boondoggles?
BY PAUL K. SANCHEZ
28
CIRCUMNAVIGATING THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA
A high-tech trip through one of the lowest tech regions on
earth gives pilots a whole new understanding of Zulu Time.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY LYN FREEMAN
38
EIGHT TRAVEL TIPS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
BY BILL COX
50
VISITING THE GREAT BEAR RAINFOREST
Once you get there, you will not need to ask how the
area got its name.
From the President
P
POPA IS ALL ABOUT THE
SAFETY OF THE PC-12 FLEET.
POPA 16, our 2012 annual convention in Sarasota, Fla., June 7-9 was full of practical
aviation content and was well attended. Importantly, the pro pilot attendees as well as
owner-pilots were very complimentary of the two full days of presentations. Responding to previous requests, the agenda was respectful of the interests of both the legacy
and NG category aircraft with many topics common to all the pilots while a number of
category specific topics were covered in concurrent sessions.
Your board is ccommitted to having more PC-12 owners and pilots as m
members of POPA. A larger membership should prove beneficial as our safety message would
have a wider audience.
audie
Membership economic benefits
were enhanced during the past year, primarily with
the introduction of a POPA UVAir discount fuel card
where your savings could easily cover the annual cost
of a POPA membership. Also, insurance underwriters consider POPA convention attendance favorably
when pricing a pilot and aircraft policy. We have made
progress increasing our membership over the past year
as member aircraft now exceed 300.
Unfortunately, midday June 7, the day most people
arrived for the convention, a PC-12 crashed in Lake
Wales, Fla., with fatal injuries to a family of six. The
pilot was a new turboprop pilot and a first-time owner
of a PC-12. Fatal accidents are horrific but this accident
seems even more so, underscoring the continuing need
for Pilatus, Pilatus service centers, the aircraft underwriters and POPA to be ever vigilant that appropriate
training is assured for a transition to the PC-12.
All of us are fortunate to fly and especially fortunate
to fly a PC-12. We also know that an airplane is only as
good as the support provided by its manufacturer and
service centers. Last quarter, I mentioned that Pilatus
has the financial stability and commitment to continually improve its products. Pilatus is a very successful
All of us are
fortunate to fly
and especially
fortunate to fly
a PC-12. We
also know that
an airplane
is only as good
as the support
provided by its
manufacturer
and service
centers.
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manufacturer and has consistently received awards for
excellence. The most recent award is the 2012 Pro Pilot
Product Support Survey’s top slot in the turboprop
category. This prestigious award has been bestowed on
Pilatus for the 11th consecutive year. Additionally, Aviation International News announced that Pilatus took
first place for its current production of turboprops. We
congratulate all the employees of Pilatus Aircraft Limited in Stans, Switzerland, and Pilatus Business Aircraft
in Broomfield, Colo,. for their successful commitment to
the PC-12.
Next year’s convention, POPA 17, is to be held
in Monterey, Calif., May 30-June 1. This convention will be at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel
and Spa (Monterey.Hyatt.com) and our FBO host at
the Monterey Airport (KMRY) will be Del Monte
Aviation (dma.mry.com). We plan to continue to
provide practical presentation content as well as to
provide an enjoyable venue. One of many scheduled
highlights will be our Saturday night dinner at the
Monterey Bay Aquarium. Mark your calendars now
and plan to join us.
“POPA … We Elevate the Pilatus Experience”
FALL 2012 VOLUME 15/ NUMBER 3
POPA BOARD
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Laura Mason
Phone: 520.299.7485
Fax: 520.844.6161 Cell: 520.907.6976
[email protected]
PRESIDENT
Pete Welles
VICE PRESIDENT
Joe Howley
SECRETARY/TREASURER
Brian Cleary
BOARD MEMBERS
Jack Long
Dan Muller
BOARD ADVISORS
Ty Carter
Bob MacLean
Phil Winters
Piotr “Pete” Wolak
AJ PUBLICATIONS STAFF
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Lyn Freeman
MANAGING EDITOR
Michelle Carter
SENIOR EDITOR
Bill Cox
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Hans Lubke
EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS
William Henrys
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Nina Harris, Paul Simington, Katrina Bradelaw,
Paul Sanchez, Wayne Rash Jr.
ART DIRECTOR
Robbie Destocki
PHOTOGRAPHY
Paul Bowen, Mary Schwinn,
James Lawrence, Lyn Freeman, Jodi Butler,
Gregory L. Harris
PUBLISHER
Thierry Pouille
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
Sophie Pouille
PRODUCTION MANAGER, U.S.
Guillaume Fabry
ADVERTISING SALES
Thierry Pouille, +1 561.452.1225
AD SALES COORDINATOR
Anais Pouille, 1+ 561.841.1551
CORPORATE OFFICES
1931 Commerce Lane, Suite 5
Jupiter, Florida 33458
Telephone: (561) 841-1551 Fax: (954) 252-3935
FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS,
REPRINTS, BACK ISSUES
please log onto www.PilatusOwners.org
CONTACT THE EDITOR:
[email protected]
CONTACT THE PUBLISHER:
[email protected]
©2012 Pilatus Owners and Pilots Magazine is published quarterly.
All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form without written
permission from the publisher is prohibited.
Please send comments to the attention of the publisher.
PRINTED IN THE USA.
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New Products
NO MORE BAD HAIR DAYS
Few things can make a long cross-country flight more miserable than
the pain of a poorly fitting headset clamped across the top of your head.
And then there’s the way your hair looks after being “headband-ized”
for hours on end. Enter Aerous VX3. This new aviation headset installs
customized earpieces into the pilot’s ear, giving him/her the same high
quality sound demanded by the snootiest audiophiles you can find. Communications with ATC are crystal clear, and onboard audio files from your
MP3 are like nothing you’ve heard before. Check it out at Jhaudio.com.
Bring the Luxury Along
With the popularity boom of coffee products over the
last decade, plenty of us just aren’t comfortable facing
the day without our espresso. Thank heavens for the
Handpresso Wild Domepod. Add the ground coffee of
your choice, hold the unit over your aircraft’s demitasse
(!), and you’re in business. Start your brew at
Handpresso.com or at 888.389.4123.
3.
All-in-One Jacket,
Sleeping Bag,
Raincoat and Tent!!
DOG EARS
If yo
you’re concerned
enough
enoug about cockpit
noise to wear a headset,
imagine how
ho your dog must
feel. He/she has m
more sensitive hearing than you do. Enter Sa
Safe and Sound Pets, a
Maryland-based company
compan that dreamed and
designed Mutt Mu s. This c
canine ear protection
comes in fi ve sizes, and dog
d owners report a
high level of satisfaction. See
S more at
MuttMuffs.com.
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Now you can be prepared for just
about anything Mother Nature sends
nds
your way. The patent-pending JakPak
Pak
incorporates a waterproof sleepingg bag,
minimally structured tent and insect
ect
netting into a comfortable jacket, creating an instant getaway from inclement
ment
weather. It is also the perfect addition
ion to
the emergency equipment you carry
ry on
your airplane.
The sleeping bag folds down from
m
the back of the jacket. You then step
p
in and zip it up at the side. The hood
d
of the sleeping bag is pulled out from
ma
pocket on the back of the jacket and
d that, in
turn, is supported by metal tent rods.
ds. Weighing about
3 pounds, the JakPak is waterproof/breathable
the
/b th bl on th
front side, and completely waterproof on the back,
removing any worry you might have about staying dry,
even when you’re lying down. Go to JakPak.com, or
call 800.373.5593.
what pilots see
when they dream.
Step into an entirely larger world of possibilities with the Pilatus PC-12 NG
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VWULSV7REULQJIDPLO\DQGIULHQGVWRQHZGHVWLQDWLRQVKLGGHQIURPWKHPDLQVWUHDP2QHDLUFUDIWVWDQGVDORQHLQLWVDELOLW\WRPDNH
WKRVHGUHDPVFRPHWUXH¢WKH3LODWXV3&1*:LWKLWVOHJHQGDU\6ZLVVFUDIWVPDQVKLSVXSUHPHO\VSDFLRXVFDELQRXWVWDQGLQJ
HI¬FLHQF\DQGKDQGOLQJHDVHLW§VQRZRQGHUWKH3&1*LVWKHFKRLFHRISLORWVVWHSSLQJXSWRWXUELQHSRZHU&DOOWRGD\WR¬QG
RXWKRZWKH3LODWXV3&1*FDQKHOSWXUQ\RXUGUHDPVLQWRUHDOLW\
Call 1.800.PILATUS | PC-12RightNow.com
THE CRYSTAL CLEAR KAYAK
Every now and then you stumble across something that pegs the fun
meter. This is a perfect example. Clear Blue Hawaii makes the world’s
only transparent, foldable kayak. It fits in a small backpack or in the
back of your plane, weighing in at a modest 26 pounds.
The Napali is supported by a high-tech, durable and corrosionresistant internal carbon kevlar frame system that comes equipped with
a transparent military-grade urethane skin. Snap it together, sit in the
seat, and you’re the captain of your own glass-bottom boat ride!
The Napali’s overall design is so distinctive that it’s on permanent
display in New York City’s Museum of Modern Art. Learn more from the
company’s website, ClearBlueHawaii.com,, or call 707.202.8346.
Panoramic Possibilities
BUSH PILOT
COURSE
Being able to put your airplane down on a 400foot gravel bar in the middle of a river or on the
meandering rollercoaster of a backcountry airstrip
is truly an art. So many components are at play —
winds, altitude, animals and runway potholes big
enough to hide an elephant. Don Lee is a lifelong
Alaskan bush pilot willing to share his decades of
experience in the wilds with you. Lee runs Alaska
Floats and Skis on Christiansen Lake just outside
of Talkeetna, Alaska. Students come to him from
around the globe to master flying in the bush. They
learn how to fly on floats, skis or tundra tires, all of
which add immeasurably to their flying skills.
Lee’s base of operations puts his airplanes within
a few a minutes’ flight time of Denali National Park,
home to the 20,320-foot Mount McKinley, the tallest point in North America. He offers float-plane
ratings, bush-pilot training and ski flying. Park your
TBM and learn to land skis on glaciers, to fly floats
into remote mountain lakes or, after installing Don’s
31-inch bush tires, to safely set down in places
you’d never imagine an airplane could go.
The fee for the Alaska Floats and Ski courses
includes lodging, ground and dual, a check ride
and the examiner’s fee (to get your float rating),
if required. One thing is certain: you’ll learn more
about flying than you could ever imagine.
For more info, go to Don’s website at
AlaskaFloats.com or call him at 907.733.4500
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Now That’s
Entertainment
If you’re tired of lugging your
laptop along on your flying adventures, or frustrated about trying
to use your fat fingers to navigate
the internet on your phone, here’s
a great new solution from Sony.
The Dash can streamline your life
using its Wi-Fi connectivity to deliver gmail, Twitter and Facebook.
More than 1,000 apps are currently
available for the Dash, and more
are being added every day. You can
also use the Dash to access sites
like NetFlix, YouTube or a variety
of internet radio stations that allow you to customize your tunes.
Listen via the built-in speakers or
plug in your headsets. The new
Dash is one of Sony’s best new
offerings! Get the 411 at SonyStyle.
com or dial toll free, 877.865.7669.
If you’ve ever marveled at the beautiful
images the Mars Rovers have sent back
to earth, then you have an idea just how
unique and defining high-resolution
panoramic photos can be. The same technology (developed in collaboration with
NASA and Carnegie Mellon University)
that brought us pictures from the surface
of Mars is now available to all of us via
the GigaPan EPIC Pro, a revolutionary
robotic camera mount designed for DSLR
(Digital Single Lens Reflex) cameras.
The GigaPan EPIC robotic mount
empowers cameras to take hundreds, even
thousands, of photos which are combined
to create one highly detailed image with
amazing depth and clarity. GigaPan Stitch
software (included) blends all the photos
seamlessly into one brilliant panorama.
Learn more at GigaPanSystems.com.
Q&A
By Ted Otto
SUMMER 2012 QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS
Question #1: What is the dynamic speed bug?
Question #1 Answer: The dynamic speed bug is a new
presentation of V-stall, instead of the AOA pointer. It still
receives information from the AOA system but is shown as
a speed on the airspeed indicator.
Question #2: When does the oil quantity CAWS of CAS warning
come on?
Question #2 Answer: Oil-quantity warning comes on
when the oil quantity is four quarts low and the engine
is not running.
Question #3: What is the Max demonstrated X-wind for take off
and landing?
Question #3 Answer: Max demonstrated crosswind varies
between 15 and 30 knots, depending on the flap setting.
They are the same for takeoff and landing, except there is
no 40-degree takeoff. Note: These speeds are not a limitation.
Question #4: What are the landing distance factors for landing
with less than 40 degrees of flaps?
Question #4 Answer: Factors for landing distance with flaps
not set to 40 degrees are found at the beginning of the
performance section of the POH. Factors are multiples of the
40-degree landing distance. 0 degrees: Multiply by 1.83; 15
degrees, 1.31; and 30 degrees, 1.22.
FALL 2012 QUESTIONS
1. What is the range of the lightning sensor system and how often does is update?
2. CAS caution (AP hold LH wing DN) means what?
3. How many waypoints can we install in a FMS flight plan?
4. What are the stages of extended storage of the PC-12?
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OnBoard
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Today’s flying conditions require
a higher level of finance expertise.
©Pilatus Aircraft Ltd.
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To learn more, visit pnc.com/aviation or call 1-888-339-2834.
WIND-SHEAR DETECTION
WIND SHEAR:
INVISIBLE
KILLER
N
PREDICTIVE WIND-SHEAR DETECTION COMES TO
GENERAL AVIATION – SORT OF Q By Bill Cox
o one questions that thunderstorms are the
worst weather phenomenon a pilot can encounter. They strike down amateurs and professionals alike, newly licensed private pilots
and 20,000 hour ATPs.
One of the most publicized recent accidents
involving a thunderstorm was the death of famed
X-15 test pilot Scott Crossfield in April 2006. Crossfield was returning home
from the 2006 Sun ‘n Fun Show in Lakeland, Fla., when his Cessna 210 penetrated extreme convective activity over Georgia and was torn apart.
If severe turbulence is perhaps the most feared hazard of thunderstorms,
it’s only one of many. The other ills of CB activity have been well documented – hail, strong winds, airframe icing, torrential rain and lightning.
One characteristic nearly all those problems have in common is
that they’re usually visible. Most of the time, you have to be inside a
thunderstorm or at least skirting the edges of one to be affected by it.
In contrast, wind shear is often invisible and not nearly so discriminating. Though it can be closely related to strong convective activity
such as thunderstorms, wind shear may be generated by a number of
other weather phenomena, topographical as well as meteorological.
As retired TWA Capt. Barry Schiff explained in his excellent book
Proficient Pilot, “Wind shear is a variation in wind velocity (speed and/
or direction) that occurs over a relatively short distance. Airspeed is
affected when an aircraft is flown from one wind condition – through a
wind shear – into another wind condition in less time than groundspeed
can adjust to the new environment. The consequences can range from
annoying power and attitude corrections to complete loss of control.”
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Wind Shear: Invisible Killer
Wind shear is, by nature, insidious and rarely predictable. You can be
flying in what appears to be good VFR conditions and still run afoul of
wind shear. In more than 40 years of aviating, I’ve encountered the phenomenon a half-dozen times. None of them were fun, but I’ve somehow
managed to escape without damage to anything other than my ego. I had
a new Piper Seneca that almost bit the dust – literally – on an approach to
Mobile, Ala., in the early 1980s, but that’s as close as I’ve come.
If there’s any good news about shear conditions, it may be that the
phenomenon isn’t as common as a thunderstorm’s better-known hazards.
Wind shear has nevertheless brought down nearly three dozen aircraft
(that we know of) in the last 50 years. Airliners are especially susceptible
because they’re heavier and have more inertia. They often demand more
time to recover from severe downdrafts.
Accident investigators have long suspected wind shear as a probable
cause of hundreds of otherwise unexplained General Aviation accidents,
but the lack of voice or flight recorders has made that case difficult to
prove. Without evidence to the contrary, the NTSB is left with the stereotypical probable cause – pilot error.
Wind shear can manifest itself in both horizontal and vertical components, shifting in random directions. Downbursts and outbursts are
extreme wind conditions that may be present in varying degrees of
strength, some related to thunderstorm activity, others simply associated
with frontal activity or terrain features.
As the name implies, a downburst is a sudden downdraft that may strike
the ground and bounce back up, often in a cone-shaped configuration. An
outburst occurs when a downburst hits the ground and turns horizontal,
sometimes generating instant horizontal winds of 40-50 knots.
The Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta demonstrates a mild form of topographic wind shear each October when 700-1,000 hot air balloons gather
for the world’s largest mass ascension. The phenomenon is called, simply,
“the box.” Balloons begin their ascent from Albuquerque’s Balloon Park and
drift south with the prevailing low-level wind. Then, at about 500 feet, they
turn east as the wind turns westerly. When the box is working, they turn
north at 2,000 feet AGL, drifting toward Santa Fe. Another 2,000 feet of
height provides an easterly wind to turn the balloons toward the west, and
a rapid descent over the Rio Grande can send them south again. By managing altitude properly, a talented hot air balloon captain can sometimes drive
his air bag in a square pattern and land back near his departure point.
Certainly, the more dramatic and dangerous effects of wind shear are
manifest in the vicinity of unstable weather, most typically, thunderstorms.
A series of airline accidents in the ‘70s and ‘80s, primarily takeoff and landing crashes, brought the subject front and center with accident investigators.
Accident investigators have long
suspected wind shear as a probable
cause of hundreds of otherwise unexplained General Aviation accidents,
but the lack of voice or flight recorders
has made that case difficult to prove.
Without evidence to the contrary, the
NTSB is left with the stereotypical
probable cause – pilot error.
One crash in particular, the 1985 downburst accident of a Delta L-1011
TriStar on approach to Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, provided impetus to
study the detection and recovery from wind shear. Sadly for the passengers
and crew of Delta’s flight 191 from Ft. Lauderdale to Dallas, the crash was
the result of an extreme, thunderstorm-generated downburst. The accident
occurred when a thunderstorm began to form near the ground on a hot,
humid, August day just north of the threshold of DFW’s runway 17L.
A large cone of descending air dropped from the building CB and ricocheted off the ground, causing updrafts moving outboard around the outer
wall of the cone. The first officer of the Delta Tristar flew into those updrafts
and had to push the nose over and pull thrust to idle to stay on the glideslope. All three crew members watched airspeed increase from the 149-knot
ref speed to 173 knots as the airplane tried to rise above the glideslope.
The more experienced captain was immediately suspicious of what was
happening. The Tristar flew through the outer wall of the downburst and
transitioned into the descending air toward the middle. The captain said,
“Watch your speed. You’re gonna lose it all of a sudden. There it is.”
Airspeed suddenly plummeted to 133 knots in seven seconds as updrafts turned to severe downdrafts. “Push it up, way up, way up, way up,”
the captain shouted, but it was too late. “Hang on to the son of a bitch,” the
captain yelled as speed dropped to 119 knots, and the TriStar hung on the
edge of a stall. Strong downdrafts shoved the Lockheed toward the ground,
at one point reaching 5,000 fpm.
The TriStar slammed into an open field a mile short of the runway,
struck two, four-million-gallon water tanks and disintegrated; 136 of the
163 people aboard were killed. Predictably, the NTSB cited pilot error as
the primary probable cause, with lack of an adequate wind-shear detection
system as a major contributing factor.
The grim remains of Delta flight 191
Illustration shows the effect of
wind shear on approaching airliner
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Unfortunately, at that time, wind-shear detection systems were in
their infancy and not always effective. There was a device known as
LLWAS (Low Level Wind Shear Alert System) that used a network of
anemometers located at strategic points around major airports. Data
from the anemometers was fed into a central computer which looked
for specific wind direction and velocity trends and warned the tower if
conditions were suggesting wind shear. (Ironically, an LLWAS was installed at Dallas in early 1985, but it didn’t sound an alert until AFTER
flight 191 had crashed.)
The Dallas tragedy inspired NASA’s Langley Research Center to begin
studying more accurate methods of detecting wind shear. After several
years of research on the subject, NASA selected a Boeing 737-300 aircraft
as a test article and installed a succession of predictive shear systems.
Specifically, NASA investigated three different sensors: Microwave radar
that relied primarily on “wet” wind shear – radar waves bounced back
to the receiver from raindrops; infrared that analyzed the change in
temperature of air; and LIDAR – Light Detection and Ranging, a system
that used laser beams to measure the speed of aerosols and dust particles
in the atmosphere.
NASA flew the big Boeing on some 140 missions and encountered
shear conditions 80 times. To avoid putting the airplane at risk, NASA’s test
pilots flew profiles at Vref plus 70 knots and added at least 1,000 feet to all
approach altitudes.
Two types of systems were analyzed – predictive and reactive. Predictive systems were developed to offer warnings 10 seconds to one minute
ahead of actual encounters. Reactive systems were eventually discarded
as unusable since they only served to warn you of what you were already
experiencing.
At the same time, NASA was experimenting with an airport warning
system known as Terminal Doppler Weather Radar. This looks for the
specific characteristics of downbursts or outbursts and alerts control-
lers when wind shear may be present or developing. Today, WSR88D S-band Doppler radar systems are installed at 159 major airline
airports. These are gradually being upgraded to dual polarization units
that will better be able to differentiate between rain, ice pellets, hail,
birds, insects and ground clutter.
NEXRAD (Next Generation Radar) represents the backbone of the
severe-weather warning system and offers a variety of upload delivery
packages for all levels of aircraft. Garmin, Avidyne, Bendix-King and
several other companies offer options that allow a pilot to receive weather
information in the cockpit. Technology that was once reserved for airline
and military jets has gradually trickled down to the middle rungs of General Aviation.
For General Aviation pilots, the obvious question is how to avoid wind
shear/downburst conditions and what to do if you encounter them. Since
most non-airline airports aren’t equipped with either LLWAS or Doppler
radar, your only hedge may be to subscribe to a NEXRAD uplink service
and stay well ahead of the airplane. NEXRAD isn’t real time, but it’s updated every five-six minutes, so you may be able to form your own picture
of the weather ahead. If there are thunderstorms or frontal instability near
your destination, ask Flight Watch for any pilot reports of shear conditions
at other airports within 30 miles.
If you encounter a strong updraft during an approach, consider pulling up to Vy and using max power for the missed approach to escape
the potential downdraft. If you have an angle of attack indicator, use it
over airspeed, but be aware that AOA can become unreliable in severe
turbulence.
Wind shear is one of the most dramatic of hazards for pilots flying aircraft of all types, regardless of whether you fly behind one or two turbine
engines. Like practically everything else associated with thunderstorms,
the easiest solution is to avoid penetrating extreme convective weather of
any kind – assuming you can recognize it.
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PC-12 SAFETY TIPS
DO YOU
FLY
YOUR PC-12
LIKE A
PRO?
FOLLOW THE SAFETY STEPS PERFECTED BY ‘PAID FLIGHT CREWS.’
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Q
By John Morris
A
few months ago I had a discussion with some individuals
about purchasing one or more PC-12s for a Part 135 endeavor. The principle investor was not a pilot but had done extensive study on the type of aircraft to use for this enterprise.
He had narrowed his choices down to the PC-12 and
the Hawker Beechcraft B-300 (350). His choice of the
B-300 was, in no small part,
due to its safety record. He reasoned that the B-300 had a near
perfect safety record because of
its manufacturing design that did not fail. To be fair (and not the least
bit partial), my first response was that the PC-12 and the B-300 are quite
different airplanes and that the B-200 would be the “better” comparison,
since many of us generally equate the PC-12 as the single-engine B-200. So
with just basic information about the B-300, I suggested that it is not only
the design that contributes to its safety record, but the required two pilots, due to the higher (than the B-200 family) gross weight/seating and
the usual type of operation with this larger twin turboprop.
What I should have added was that since the B-300/350 weighs
more than 12,500 pounds, the pilot will be required to have a type
rating for the aircraft (the B-300 family is for the most part approved
for single-pilot operations). Getting a type rating in any aircraft increases the amount of training, with the inclusion of actually having
a checkride in the aircraft or approved simulator to FAA completion
standards versus non-type rated aircraft completion standards set by
the insurance-approved training source.
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Fly Your PC-12 Like a Pro
Aircraft type
Total Built:
Approx to date /
production end
B-350 (300)
850 +
B-300 / LW
231 + / 1994
B-250
20 +
B-200/GT
637 +
B-200
1501 / 1994
PC12 (all)
1140 +
Currently
registered
In USA
481
684
Annual hours
flown (1)
314
300
370
370
Fatal (USA)
Accidents - 1 pilot
since 1995 (2)
Fatal (USA)
Accidents - 2 pilots
since 1995 (2)
1
0
1
2
6
1
380
701
410
(1) Aircraft Bluebook Summer 2012 (2) NTSB Database – final reports/airborne related
This requirement alone generally tends to increase the overall flying competency for the remainder of the pilot’s time in this type of
aircraft. I do not know for certain, but I believe that the vast majority
of B-300 aircraft flying in the US are flown with two pilots (insurance
requirement, not FAA). Two-pilot “professional” crews in a Part 135 or
equivalent operation usually equate to a safer flight environment but,
from a business point of view, can be an obstacle to a profitable Part 135
operation. Of course, this is not to say that two pilots are the only way to
operate complex turbine aircraft since the B-300, PC-12 and many other
turbines do not require two pilots. But when in doubt two is better!
As I was preparing to write this, I read an article online from NBAA
Update titled “Key Jet and Turboprop Segments Report Zero Fatalities
in First Half of 2012.”
“It is important to note that turboprops operated by U.S. companies
with paid flight crews experienced no accidents during the recent
period, a truly commendable achievement,” the article said.
I found it interesting that the phraseology “paid flight crews” was
used in this article twice, instead of “professional.” Is this because the
term “professional” is too strong? Political correctness? What does it
take to be a “professional?” Webster’s dictionary defines “professional”
as “having engaged in a profession or specified occupation for pay;
profession — an occupation requiring advanced academic training, as
medicine, law, etc.”
I have to admit that many times I have felt that calling myself a “professional” might be a stretch, as it pertains to flight competency only,
since I am not flying 70-90 hours a month, as most full-time Part 121
and scheduled Part 135 pilots are. I am, however, flying monthly as an
instructor-pilot and contractor to a better than satisfactory level (FAA
speak but to me the “stretch”). Otherwise, I am a professional since this
is my full-time profession, and I continually teach/seek academic training to maintain my status as a professional.
Does this mean that the only way to obtain professional status is to
continue advanced academic training and be paid for it? No. For the
aviation world anyway “professional” should be, at a minimum, a state
of mind. Besides, isn’t every owner/operator of the PC12 “paid?” Isn’t
maintaining the aircraft a form of payment with the payoff being the
availability and performance of the aircraft when needed? After your
initial training, aren’t you then required to receive annual recurrent
(academic/flight) training?
So the only motivational difference between a “paid” flight crew
member and a professionally minded pilot is actually receiving (monetary) compensation? It shouldn’t be! Where I do see the greatest difference between the “pros” and the average owner/operator is what I have
written about flight competency, currency and myself. Since the FAA
only requires (Part 91) the minimum three takeoffs/landings every 90
days and instrument competency at six-12 months, the owner/operator
can easily be legal but how “professional” are he/she?
20 I
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If you look at the cost of attempting
to actually fly/schedule on your own
versus setting up the training, either
in-aircraft or via FTD, there is no
comparison/compromise for safety.
Plus, if this path is chosen, you should
reap a benefit from your insurer due
to the extra diligence, which can
offset the additional expense.
The chart above shows the average hours flown annually for the aircraft
in this discussion and whether one or two pilots were crewing the aircraft
involved in fatal accidents. The majority of the owner/operators that I have
worked with over the years average fewer than half of the average hours
shown for the PC-12. That does not equate to many flight segments or takeoffs/landings per month, but it is what it is — normal (Part 91) operations.
What does it take to be “professional” when not flying for a Part 135
or equivalent operation? To maintain “professional” competency, the
owner/operator can seek academic materials such as publications from
the FAA, AOPA Air Safety Foundation and others to help sustain an advanced level. The flight segment portion is always the larger problem due
to cost/time. For nearly all my instructional career, I have recommended
to ALL owner/operators, singles or twins, that if they are only flying 100125 hours a year, they should seek recurrent training twice a year.
If you look at the cost of attempting to actually fly/schedule on your
own versus setting up the training, either in-aircraft or via FTD, there
is no comparison/compromise for safety. Plus, if this path is chosen,
you should reap a benefit from your insurer due to the extra diligence,
which can offset the additional expense. If that is not an option, then
seek out a CFI, preferably one familiar with the PC-12, to fly with you
to evaluate and/or educate. Also, be professional by using the Part 135
standards for flight operations with one large caveat: YOU DO NOT
HAVE TO GO. If conditions — whether personal, weather-related or
whatever — do not seem right, change your plans.
Whichever method you choose, being a “professional” can be as
simple as electing not to go when the weather is not good as well as
additional continuing education/training. Be smart, be safe — then you
are a professional.
John Morris was with Simcom Training Centers-Orlando for 14 years. He started teaching
the PC-12 in 1999 and served as PC-12 program coordinator from 2000 until resigning in
2007 to start ACFT Services
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WHAT ADS-B CAN DO FOR PILATUS OWNERS
HERE COMES
ADS-B
A SOLUTION TO CURRENT PROBLEMS OR MERELY THE NEXT GENERATION OF FAA BOONDOGGLES? QBy Paul K. Sanchez
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Well, after nearly 20 years in the making, FAA does almost weekly press releases about how Automatic Dependent SurveillanceBroadcast (ADS-B for not-quite-so short) is the cure-all for every
aviation problem known to the FAA. And like all things in aviation, it is easier to put out a press release that very few people outside the FAA understand than it is to install TSO-d equipment
that aircraft owners can actually make use of.
In this article, we’ll take apart what ADS-B can do for the Pilatus
owner, given the installation of remote equipment or the acquisition of portable equipment.
What ADS-B can do for Pilatus Owners
A TOWER OF BABBLE
Indeed, why, if ICAO is insistent on English being the operational
language for Air Traffic Control, did the FAA, in their infinite
wisdom, decide on two (yes, two) separate frequencies for ADS-B
aircraft and ground transmitters?
The idea of 978 MHz being used to broadcast weather/NOTAM/
special use airspace schedule/temporary flight restrictions/traffic is
a great one. Three hundred and ninety-eight out of 800 (scheduled
completion by end of 2013) ITT ground-based transmitters put out
a tremendous amount of data but, alas, only if the aircraft has a 978
MHz receiver to make use of it — and, even worse, no traffic information unless the aircraft is actually broadcasting its position on 978
MHz or through the mode-s transponder on 1090ES MHz.
transmitter site. If the other aircraft in the pattern are broadcasting
their tail number/position/pressure altitude/track/ground speed on
978 MHz, you’ll receive it directly, and the same if the other aircraft
is broadcasting their ADS-B out on 1090ES MHz.
The Garmin GDL 39 is portable, which sits on the dashboard, or
you can use its remote antenna. It works with the following other
portable equipment.
As you can gather, the coverage for weather (978 MHz broadcast)
and traffic (978 MHz and 1090 MHz broadcast) does look fantastic in about 50 percent of the continental U.S. and horrible in the
other 50 percent. What this means is that even though
POPA owners are required to have 1090ES MHz out (all
aircraft conducting operations ≥FL180) by year 2020,
the opportunity of seeing the other 978 MHz aircraft
that are seeing you is quite slim unless both of you are
within reception height of one of the ITT ground-based
transmitters (both 978 MHz and 1090 MHz). Fortunately, there are manufacturers who realized this FAA
design flaw and have a solution.
LISTEN TWICE AS MUCH AS YOU TALK
On July 16, Garmin announced two brand new
ADS-B products, the portable GDL 39 and the remote
mounted GDL 88.
Garmin GDL 39 portable ADS-B receiver (for use
with iPad/GPSMAP396/496/696/Aera/etc),
$800 and $0 for installation
Garmin remote-mounted ADS-B
978 MHz transceiver with 1090ES
MHz reception as well (starting
at $4k without internal WAAS
GPS)
The idea, of course, is why
depend on the airport you are
landing at to be <45 nm away
from the nearest ITT ADS-B
24 I
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DISPLAY
TIS-B
TRAFFIC
FIS-B
WEATHER
CONNECTION
TargetTrend™
Capable
Garmin Pilot
app
30 targets
Yes
Bluetooth
Yes
G3X
30 targets
Yes
Cable
No
aera 795/796
30 targets
Yes
Bluetooth2
or Cable
No
aera 500
series
30 targets
Yes
Cable
No
GPSMAP
695/696
30 targets
Yes
Cable
No
GPSMAP
495/496
8 targets1
No
Cable
No
GPSMAP
396
8 targets1
No
Cable
No
1
Displayed using TIS-A Format
Garmin GDL 39
portable ADS-B
receiver
2
Future capability expected in Fall 2012
Reception of traffic through the ITT 978 MHz
ground transmitter is limited to 15nm radius and
30 targets or more if
your aircraft is broadcasting its position
(ADS-B out) with
1090ES MHz.
For the remote-mounted
Garmin GDL 88 ADS-B
transceiver (yes, it does transmit
on 978 MHz as well as receive on
978 MHz/1090 MHz), the following
panel-mount equipment will harness to it.
ew es
N ur
at
Fe
Listen.
“The Whisper Prop”
5-Bladed PC-12 Propeller
Key Advantages:
New Nickel Option Includes:
s3IGNIlCANTNOISEREDUCTIONnINSIDEANDOUT
s2EDUCEDGROUNDROLLDISTANCE
s)MPROVEDCLIMBPERFORMANCE
s6IBRATIONFREEPROPnREDUCESFATIGUE
s3CIMITARLIGHTWEIGHTNATURALCOMPOSITEBLADE
s0RECISION'ERMANDESIGNANDENGINEERING
s&!!AND%!3!CERTIlCATION
s.ICKELWIDECORDLEADINGEDGE
s)MPROVEDBOOTSmUSHMOUNTED
PROVIDINGBETTERAIRFOILEFlCIENCY
s"LACKCOLORISSTANDARD
s)MPROVEDCRUISEPERFORMANCE
Newn3PINNERINPOLISHEDALUMINUM
!VAILABLEASNOCOSTOPTION
Contact Chris Finnoff at +1.303.444.0552 or chris@finnoff.com
WWWMTPROPELLERCOMsWWWlNNOFFCOM
American Distributor for the PC-12 MT Propeller
What ADS-B can do for Pilatus Owners
DISPLAY
TIS-B
TRAFFIC
FIS-B
WEATHER
TargetTrend™
Surf
GTN Series*
60 targets**
Yes
Yes
Yes
GNS WAAS
Series*
8 targets***
NEXRAD,
METARs, TAFs
No
No
*Compatibility expected Q4 2012 with new software.
**Receives up to 30 airborne and 30 ground traffic targets
***TIS-A Symbology
Another manufacturer offering TSO’d remote-mounted equipment is
Free Flight Systems. Their product is the FDL-978-TRX which includes
the WAAS GPS receiver for reception of traffic from a nearby ITT
ground-based transmitter.
Free Flight Systems FDL-978-TRX (about $8.5k plus installation)
Other manufactures offering portable receivers include:
Manufacturer
Product
Application
Price
Appareo Systems
Stratus1 978
MHz receiver
ForeFlight (*4.5
version) on
iPad
$800
Skyradar
Radenna LLC
Skyradar D22
WingX Pro
$849
ForeFlight was very nice to create a table of XM weather versus
ADS-B weather
Data
ADS-B via
Stratus
Sirius XM via
Garmin GDL 69
METARs
Yes. Low
altitude stations
provide data
within 250500nm. High
altitude stations
provide wider
coverage
Yes, nationwide
TAFs
Yes, within 250500nm
Yes, nationwide
Winds/Temps
Aloft
Yes, within 5001,000nm
Yes, nationwide
PIREPs
Yes, within 250500nm
Yes, nationwide
Yes, for CONUS
and some local
U.S. regions
elsewhere
Yes, for CONUS, Canada,
and PR
Satellite Clouds
No
Yes
TFRs
Yes, within
100nm
Yes, nationwide
NOTAMs
Yes, within
100nm
No
AIRMET/SIGMET
Yes, within 250500nm
Yes, nationwide
Special use
airspace status
Yes, within 250500nm
No
Users allowed
Unlimited
Multiple
displays such
as Garmin
GMX200
Reception
coverage
See latest map
for enroute
coverage
CONUS,
ground or
airborne
Radar
1
ForeFlight with Stratus does not currently display traffic
SkyradarD2 is a dual 978 MHz/1090 MHz receiver but aircraft would need ADS-B out
(transmitting on 1090ES MHz) to get relay of traffic.
Notes
ADS-B
NEXRAD is
5nm x 5nm resolution outside
250nm ring,
plus six color
gradients rather
than 16, and no
cell-movement
boxes
2
ADS-B OR NOT TO BE, WHETHER IT IS MORE NOBLE
TO RECEIVE XM OR FIS
Now we get to the more common question for POPA owners to
answer for themselves. What do I get — or not get — with the “free”
ADS-B weather versus $50/month for XM Aviator subscription?
I already discussed the limit of trying to get your weather on
the ground while the average distance to the ADS-B transmitter is
40 nm away. Since many of us have iPads, getting weather on the
ground is not an issue if we decide to discontinue our XM Aviator
subscription ($600/year). A better question is what weather do we
get — or not — even when at the minimum reception height for the
nearest ADS-B transmitter?
Free Flight Systems FDL-978-TRX
WAAS GPS
Yes
No
Device battery
Yes, up to 8
hours
No, requires
ship's power
Device form
factor
1 box, optional
remote antenna
2 boxes connected by USB,
remote antenna
for data
Device cost
$799 (Stratus)
$5.1k for Garmin GDL 69
Cost per month
Free
$35 - $55
ADS-B generally available
above 2,500
foot AGL but
gaps exist
In closing, it looks as if, from a portable aspect, getting weather from
ADS-B 978 MHz broadcast sites is a great way to go. Displaying traffic
on the iPad or other portable device is not quite so beneficial as most
of us have active traffic systems which would create our own radar
environment 2 x second up to a 20 nm radius.
As for the idea of discontinuing our $50/month XM Aviator subscription and depending on lesser content, I recommend no. We can’t
even start our aircraft engine for less than $50 (with operating costs of
>$500/hour), and we are deciding not to receive a lot of better-quality
weather content.
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Victor
ia Fa
lls
Dawn on the Zambezi River is always an event. As the sun climbed out of the tree line,
lions roared, hippos snorted their approval, and the flocks of tiny yellow Mask Weavers
sang their hearts out from the tall grasses. A group of American aviators was hiking a
winding trail that descends to the cliff tops which stand watch over Victoria Falls, one
of the world’s Seven Wonders. It seemed like only a moment ago they had take off from
Quebec City, Canada, crossed the pond via Greenland and Iceland, then headed south
through Prague and Venice and Santorini, over to Aqaba and then on down to Kenya,
Tanzania and Zambia. The goal was to reach the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa,
then turn north toward Namibia and continue up the west side of Africa and home.
It was Day 26 of a 54-day, 21,00nm flight to circumnavigate the entire continent of
Africa. Equally remarkable was the fact after reaching the halfway mark, no pilot
had
used
h
ad u
sed a ssingle
in sheet of paper in the cockpit.
p
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Victoria Falls
“That’s because of this,” Thierry Pouille said, holding up his iPad. He is
so enchanted by the iPad that it’s often on the required equipment list for
traveling with Pouille’s Air Journey.
Air Journey has been taking pilots on escorted trips for more than a dozen
years. The company chaperones groups flying to the Caribbean, Central and
South America and Europe. It even offers a trip where you can fly your own
airplane around the world. And guess what, you’re going to need your iPad
if you want to come. Pouille is such a techno-maven that he’d brush his teeth
with an app if he could only find one.
While his group was on a big-game viewing
WHEN THERE’S
drive, Pouille was adding the finishing touches
MORE THAN ONE
to the afternoon’s flight briefing. He was asElephants—herd
sisted by a professional weather analyst workGiraffes—journey
ing from Air Journey’s headquarters in Jupiter,
Hippopotamus—pod
Fla., but Pouille has been double-checking the
Leopard—leap
information. In addition to Jeppesen’s valuable
Rhinoceros—crash
weather service, he’s been looking at data
Lions—pride
from the South African MET office, a British
Hyenas—clan
concern that does a great job at looking south
Warthogs—sounder
of the equator. Winds aloft come from NOAA
Crows—murder
Baboons—parliament
in Washington, D.C., and TAFS and METARS
Zebras—dazzle
come from an app called Aeroweather.
Up-to-the-minute weather information is
then added to the Air Journey flight briefing
that already includes the day’s flight plan, all approach plates and area
charts from Jeppesen, plus DPs, STARs, contact numbers for the hotel, a
picture of the destination airport and more.
“And thanks to a magical little device called an Air Stash, voila, the entire
flight briefing is instantly transmitted wirelessly to all the other pilots’
iPads,” Pouille said with a Cheshire cat grin.
“It’s the most amazing preflight briefing I’ve seen,” said Dale Thuillez,
who brought along his Pilatus PC-12 from upstate New York. “When
Thierry showed me the amount of information I’d have along the way, I
was sold on the trip instantly.”
“Now I only use electronic charts because of Thierry,” said Steve Walenz,
a techno-convert who was flying his TBM 850 and carrying his wife Judy
and his son Brian. “I had never seen most of this stuff, but all these gizmos he
has makes this all so simple.”
Proof of the pudding came later that afternoon when the group took off out of
Livingston, Zambia, to overfly nearby Victoria Falls and see from the sky where
an hour ago they’d been standing. After spending a little more time orbiting the
falls than had been planned, Pouille needed to let his handler in South Africa
know that the group was running a wee bit late. Not a problem. With Spot
Connect, Pouille sent a 41-character message to the man’s cell phone with an
updated arrival time.
“There are so many places in the world that don’t have cell coverage, especially
in an airplane, but with this, you just send a message up to a satellite and you’re
done,” Pouille said.
Pilots flying an N-numbered airplane don’t have to get an African
pilot’s license. Our FAA certificates are welcomed around the world.
Step out of the U.S.-registered aircraft and onto the controls of a local
airplane, and all bets are off. You will likely get to spend a few days
dealing with red tape before you can push the throttles forward.
It is also common for pilots and crew — even passengers — to wear
white shirts and
epaulettes while
QFACTOID
flying in Africa.
Many pilots reQNH is an acronym for radio
transmission that means “Query
port more expediNewlyn Harbour.” Newlyn
ent service going
Harbour in Cornwall, U.K., is
through customs
home to the National Tidal and
and immigration
Sea Level Facility which is a baseafter putting on
line reference for mean sea level.
the stripes.
ef,
To our reli
in
an
m
n
gu
the
er
pt
co
the heli teriwas a ve ith a
narian w ing
tranquiliz
dart. A rhino
they were was
circling s
having it
annual and
checkup more.
nothing
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Circumnavigating the Continent of Africa
,
Cape Towfnric
a
A
South
But when it’s all said and done, flying
in Africa is not all that different from flying in the United States. Radar environments can be few and far between, requiring
IFR position reporting. There are a few
phrases and terms that may leave you scratching your head for a moment, but nothing too
serious. For example, the barometer setting
you put in the Kollsman window is referred to
as QNH or QNE depending on altitude. In the
United States, we set our altimeters to 29.92
(standard pressure) above 18,000 feet, and in
Africa you dial in the same value in hectopascals (used to be millibars), or 1013.25 (QNE).
When descending, aircraft here switch over to
the QNH — the local barometric pressure —
at the runway where they’re landing.
Communications with ATC are occasionally challenging. Though controllers all speak
some level of English, add a local accent and
it becomes challenging. For example, in South
Africa, they not only speak English, but Afrikaans, a triumvirate of languages that blends
Dutch and German and Swahili. Repeating
the controller’s request and asking for the
instructions to be said more slowly is usually
all it takes to solve the problem.
Cape of Goo
d Hope
Pilots will also deal with Africa’s disease
prevention measures. The majority of malaria
cases in the world occur in sub-Saharan
Africa. Pilots typically take xxxx or xxxxx and
still operate as pilot-in-command. Another
concern in Africa is yellow fever, a viral infection also borne by mosquitoes.
Landing in South Africa, pilots and crew
are escorted to line up in front of what looks
like a security camera. One by one, we stepped
up to the line and let the camera have a long
look at us. We all assumed it was a facerecognition system tied to the immigration
processes. We were all surprised to learn that
the camera was reading body temperature,
looking for someone with Yellow Fever. One
of our group showed an abnormally high
temperature and was escorted away to a physician waiting in another building. Turned out
it was a false alarm, but it is a good indication
just how serious they are about preventing the
spread of Yellow Fever in Africa.
Of course, just mention the word Africa
and people think of the animals, especially
the Big Five (a term coined by white hunters)
— the elephant, cape buffalo, leopard,
rhinoceros and lion.
Sadly, the animals that support a
healthy tourism industry are in trouble.
A recent British and United Nations study
found that the large animal population has decreased by almost 60 percent over the last 40
years. Some areas are even worse. A study of
Kenya’s Masai Mara reserve, an über popular
tourist destination, indicates the local giraffe
population has declined by 95 percent since
the beginning of the 1990s. The culprits in the
equation? Loss of habitat and poaching.
One day on a morning game-viewing driving, the group witnessed an R-44 helicopter
appear over a hilltop and dive steeply toward
the savannah. It was no big deal until we all
noticed a man hanging from the chopper door
with a rifle in his hand.
Illegal hunting has decimated the African
elephant population, with animals being
killed purely for their ivory tusks. Now the
rhinoceros is in danger. Poachers get $250 for
a rhino horn and leave the rest of the animal
to rot. Horns are sold in Asian markets as an
aphrodisiac. To control poaching of elephants,
governments agreed to release all their
confiscated ivory, thus flooding the market
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Circumnavigating the Continent of Africa
and making poaching unprofitable. A similar
effort was attempted with rhino horn, but the
demand was so high that the released contraband was hardly noticed.
To our relief, the gunman in the helicopter
was a veterinarian with a tranquilizing dart. A
rhino they were circling was having its annual
checkup and nothing more.
In addition to poaching, animal populations are continually feeling the push of
burgeoning people populations. Our guide
pointed to a lone coconut palm standing on a
hill. “Elephants used to migrate from one end
of Africa to another,” he told us. “They would
sometimes eat coconuts and the seed would
come out of them later. That’s why there are
coconut palms along the original migration trail. But now there are fences, and the
elephants can’t go.”
The group moved south to Cape Town, the
crown jewel of post-apartheid South Africa.
Beautiful beaches, big buildings, city buses, all
quite a contrast to the Masai and Zulu huts that
group had witnessed. It was here in 1967 that
Dr. Christian Barnard successfully transplanted
the very first human heart in the world, a
procedure that’s nearly commonplace today.
The Cape Town area is also home to dozens of
wineries whose varietals and blends bring back
awards and accolades from around the world.
A short drive out of Cape Town is the Cape
of Good Hope, the most southwestern point
on the African continent. Next landfall from
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there is Antarctica, a chilly 6600nm south.
There’s even a colony of penguins that live in
South Africa if you need a reminder just how
far south you are.
The Cape was a place for the group to
reflect about their trip, thinking of the 10,000+
miles they’d flown since they started down
Africa’s eastern shores and dreaming of the
places yet to visit. This was halfway through
their trip and tomorrow they would be off to
Namibia, the first stop on their trip back north
and their flight back home.
“At first I thought I’d just go halfway, but
then I decided I wanted to see this and I didn’t
want to miss that…and here I am!” said Judy
Walenz, leaning on her pilot husband Steve.
“Seeing all the animals was pretty cool,” said
Brian Walenz.
Pouille, who was looking at the electronic
compass needle on his iPad to help him get a
fix on the exact direction to South America.
“We should do this kind of trip around all of
South American continent,” Pouille mused.
For a moment the group was silent.
“The world is so much smaller when you
can fly like this,” Dale Thuillez said.
“Yes, it is,” Pouille smiled back. “Yes, it is.”
Air Journey’s next trip to circumnavigate Africa is
scheduled for Sept. 5- Oct. 23. For more information go to AirJourney.com.
PILOTS ON THE TRIP USED THIS SOFTWARE
AIRSTASH A portable hard
drive that can store documents,
music, videos, etc, then broadcast
those files via its own Wi-Fi.
AirStash.com
GOODREADER Read almost
anything on your iPad. itunes.
apple.com/us/app/goodreader
JEPPESEN MOBILE FD
subscription-based electronic
charts Jeppesen.com
AEROWEATHER PRO
Worldwide database for TAFs
and METARs. AeroWeather.ch
WUNDERMAP worldwise WX
from the Weather Underground
WunderMap.com
INTELLICAST HD US and
European radar, including
hurricane, typhoon and cyclone
tracking, with information from
50,000 locations around the
world. Intellicast.com
GOOGLE LATITUDE share
your location with whomever
you choose. Google.com/latitude
Finance
NEW CHANGES TO
THE TAX CODE
F
IRS RULES ON DEPRECIATION FOR MIXED-USE
CHARTER/PART 91 AIRCRAFT
By Jonathan Levy
For owners of business aircraft who find themselves flying fewer hours per year than their aircraft can reasonably
support, an attractive option is often to contract with a
Part 135 charter company to use the excess capacity of the
aircraft to sell flights to the public. Such an arrangement
can create a valuable revenue stream from charter customers, which often serves in addition to the owner’s primary
reason for the aircraft — enhancement of the owner’s business through Part 91 flights to meet with customers, solicit
prospects, manage business operations, etc.
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However, incorporating Part 135 use into an aircraft
structure may have surprising effects on the calculation of aircraft tax depreciation. The IRS Chief
Counsel’s office on July 13 released a ruling (CCA
201228036) holding that the “primary” use of an
aircraft governs its depreciation schedule and, if
the aircraft is primarily used for charter purposes,
then that necessitates following the slower depreciation method dictated for commercial air transport
property, rather than the faster method allowed for
non-commercial aircraft.
COMMERCIAL VS. NON-COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT
DEPRECIATION SCHEDULES
The tax law establishes two different classifications
for aircraft and aircraft equipment. The first addresses
“airplanes (airframes and engines), except those used
in commercial or contract carrying of passengers or
freight, and all helicopters (airframes and engines)”
— a classification that typically applies to Part 91
aircraft. The second addresses “assets (except helicopters) used in commercial and contract carrying
of passengers and freight by air” — typically charter
or airline aircraft. (Emphasis added.) Under most
circumstances, the depreciation period for
non-commercial aircraft will be five years,
while that for commercial aircraft will be
seven years (noting, however, that some
circumstances can extend these periods to
six years and 12 years, respectively).
Recently, this distinction between commercial and non-commercial tax depreciation schedules has received more media attention than ever before, owing to President
Obama’s much-discussed proposal to move
all aircraft to the longer, commercial schedule. The future of this proposal remains
uncertain; although if it were adopted, it
would render moot this Part 91/Part 135
depreciation distinction.
Aircraft owners considering partial Part
135 use, but wary of the potential adverse
depreciation consequences, may find some
comfort in the following analysis of the
actual, economic cost of the move from
five-year to seven-year depreciation. The
analysis below assumes an income tax rate
of 35 percent, and a time-value-of-money
interest rate of 5 percent. Using these
assumptions, it is possible to determine
the economic impact of the depreciation
change as a percentage of the aircraft price
by discounting future tax savings according
to the assumed interest rate. This analysis
compares the maximum percentage of aircraft price that can be depreciated each year
under the five-year and seven-year schedules, uses the assumed tax rate to determine
the maximum tax savings that could result
from the depreciation, and then discounts
to present value these future tax savings.
For simplicity, an aircraft cost of $1 million
is assumed, although this amount does
not alter the value of the five-year versus
the seven-year schedules, as measured as a
percentage of aircraft price. (One potential
point of confusion in the chart on the next
page, due to an accounting convention, the
actual depreciation deductions for any piece
of property are taken over a period equal to
one plus the property’s life — for example,
six years for a five-year asset; eight years for
a seven-year one.)
Thus, with an actual economic effect of
about 1.2 percent of the aircraft value, the
difference between the seven- and five- year
schedules should not generally dictate the
decision whether to place the aircraft on
charter — although it will be a relevant
consideration.
PRIMARY USE GOVERNS
In its July 2012 Chief Counsel ruling, the IRS
held that the primary use of the aircraft, determined on a year-by-year basis, will govern the
aircraft depreciation schedule. Primary use is not
swayed by the aircraft owner’s thought process in
deciding to acquire the aircraft; rather, it simply
looks at the actual flights of the plane, disregarding, in many cases, the fact that the owner’s motivation for ownership is to use the aircraft for Part
91 flights in furtherance of his or her business,
with the Part 135 flights being an incidental way
of profiting from the aircraft’s excess capacity. No
allocation of the aircraft cost is made between
Part 91 and Part 135 use. The primary use gov-
erns entirely; an aircraft used 51 percent for Part
135 is subject to the same depreciation schedule
as one used 100 percent.
The determination of primary use can be
made in “any reasonable manner,” although the
only methods the IRS Chief Counsel appears
willing to consider are flight miles or flight hours
during the year — two calculation methods that
will almost invariably arrive at the same result.
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Finance
AIRCRAFT COST: $1,000,000
Year
7-Year
Schedule
5-Year
Schedule
7-Year
Depreciation
Tax Saved
7-Years
5-Year
Depreciation
Tax Saved
5-Years
Present Value
7-Years
Present Value
5-Years
1
14%
20%
$142,900
$50,015
$200,000
$70,000
$50,015
$70,000
2
24%
32%
$244,900
$85,715
$320,000
$112,000
$81,633
$106,667
3
17%
19%
$174,900
$61,215
$192,000
$67,200
$55,524
$60,952
4
12%
12%
$124,900
$43,715
$115,200
$40,320
$37,763
$34,830
5
9%
12%
$89,300
$31,255
$115,200
$40,320
$25,714
$33,171
6
9%
6%
$89,200
$31,220
$57,600
$20,160
$24,462
$15,796
7
9%
$89,300
$31,255
$23,323
8
4%
$44,600
$15,610
$11,094
Aggregate % Difference in Value 1.19%
YEAR-TO-YEAR VARIATION
With the depreciation schedule governed by
primary use, it is possible for a single aircraft to
fluctuate between schedules, year-after-year, as
its usage profile fluctuates around to 51 percent
charter cut-off. The tax rules for such fluctuations create an insidious trap that, without
proper handling, could significantly extend the
depreciable lives of changing-use aircraft.
When property undergoes a change in use,
resulting in a shift from a shorter deprecia-
tion schedule to a longer one, the depreciation
starting in the year of the change is determined
as though the property had been subject to
the longer depreciation schedule ever since
the taxpayer first placed it in business service.
Simply stated, if a five-year, Part 91 aircraft is
converted to seven-year, Part 135 use, the effect
of that change will be that any remaining future
depreciation will be recalculated and stretched
out over an additional two years.
However, when property changes from
a longer schedule (such as seven-year) to a
shorter one (such as five), the default rule is
to evaluate the un-depreciated basis of the
property in the year of the change, and then
depreciate this remaining basis from that point
forward as if it was initially placed in service
in the change year, under the new schedule.
This, in effect, takes the remaining basis of the
aircraft and “starts over” the depreciation on
the shorter schedule. The following examples
illustrate this trap:
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Example 1: An aircraft is purchased and
placed in service in Year 1 and is depreciated
under the five-year, Part 91 schedule up until
Year 4, at which time it is transferred to the
seven-year, Part 135 schedule. This results in a
recalculation of depreciation, and the remainder of the aircraft cost is depreciated according
to the extended schedule, such that it becomes
fully depreciated in Year 8 (exactly when it
would have become fully depreciated if it had
initially been placed in service under Part 135).
Example 2: For Years 1 through 5, the
aircraft is depreciated under the seven-year,
Part 135 schedule. In Year 6, it is transferred to
the five-year, Part 91 schedule. The default rule
would treat this as if the aircraft were placed in
service anew, under the five-year schedule. As
a result, the depreciation would occur over a
total 10-year period: the 4 Part-135 years, plus
the depreciation life of the new five-year asset.
Fortunately, the tax law provides an election to escape the time-extending feature of
conversions of property from longer to short
depreciation schedules. This election has the
taxpayer ignore the change in use and continue
to depreciate the property under the longer
schedule, meaning that the taxpayer neither
reaps a benefit from the conversion in use, nor
is punished through a longer recovery period.
CONCLUSION
decision to place your aircraft in charter use.
The primary use in each year will govern the
depreciation schedule, with no allocation made
for a secondary type of use. Although commercial aircraft are depreciated more slowly, the
true economic effect of the difference will often
not be so large as to change the commercial
decision for the aircraft owner. This article is
not intended as a comprehensive treatment of
its subject matter, and there may be important
other considerations that have not been raised.
Always seek out a qualified adviser.
ae
e ess
With the depreciation
schedule governed by
primary use, it is possible
for a single aircraft
to fluctuate between
schedules, year-afteryear, as its usage profile
fluctuates around to 51
percent charter cut-off.
The tax rules for such
fluctuations create an
insidious trap that,
without proper handling, could significantly
extend the depreciable
lives of changing-use
aircraft.
Jonathan Levy, Esq., Legal Director, Advocate Consulting Legal Group, PLLC Advocate Consulting Legal Group,
PLLC, is a law firm whose practice is limited to serving the
needs of aircraft owners and operators relating to issues
of income tax, sales tax, federal aviation regulations and
other related organizational and operational issues.
IRS Circular 230 Disclosure. New IRS rules impose
requirements concerning any written federal tax advice
from attorneys. To ensure compliance with those rules,
we inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained
in this communication (including any attachments) is not
intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the
purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under federal tax laws,
specifically including the Internal Revenue Code, or (ii)
promoting, marketing or recommending to another party
any transaction or matter addressed herein.
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The disparate rules governing depreciation of
commercial versus non-commercial aircraft
should be a consideration weighed in any
thetrendgroup.com
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TRAVEL
EIGHT
TRAVEL
TIPS
FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
Story By Bill Cox
Senior Editor Bill Cox made his
first international trip in 1977,
flying a new Piper Chieftain
from Lock Haven, Pa., to the
Paris Air Show at Le Bourget
Airport north of Paris. Since
then, he’s made another 210
trips to Europe, Africa, Australia, South America, the Middle
and Far East and “a few other
places no one else wanted to
go.” Here’s some of what he’s
learned (at least, what he can
remember).
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Eight Travel Tips
1
FLIGHT PLANNING: When I began flying international deliveries in the ‘70s,
flight planning was mostly point and
shoot. We laid out charts, drew course
lines, measured distances, calculated wind
triangles and figured times between checkpoints. We reported position as if we knew
where we were.
Most of the time, we didn’t. Yes, there was
the occasional VLF/Omega-equipped airplane, but GPS hadn’t been invented yet, and
inertial was outside the province of most private/corporate aircraft. These days, the advent
of computerized flight planning and GPS has
greatly improved the process. Dozens of companies offer flight planning service across the
oceans. When properly primed, these services
will provide everything from altitude, speed,
ETA, FIR crossing times and time enroute to
sunrise/sunset times, phases of the moon and
your personal biorhythms.
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Primary among the flight planning services
are Jeppesen, Universal, Aeroplanner, Atlas
Aviation, AOPA and Sky Plan. Many of the
same companies can even make up gen decs
in advance.
wasting hours trying to get into the air. That
can be especially critical when you’re eastbound, planning to jump three or four time
zones and must arrive before a specific closing
time.
2
TRAVELING BETWEEN COUNTRIES:
With the advent of the Electronic
Automatic Passenger Information
Service in the U.S. two years ago,
pilots from all over the world were introduced
to American bureaucratic overkill. The post9/11 era fostered a need to know everything
about every flight, regardless of the logic of
such extensive information.
Shortly after the program was introduced, I
was hired to ferry a Grand Caravan from Los
Angeles to Seoul, Korea, and the combination of mechanical and weather delays in
Hawaii before the leg to Majuro, Marshall
Islands, meant revising the eAPIS form several
PLAN AT LEAST 12 HOURS AHEAD:
One rule I learned early on was
always to service the airplane prior to
servicing yourself. That usually meant
getting everything possible done the night
before a flight — fuel, TKS, charts, flight plan,
catering, provisions, iPod, customs advisory
and anything else that could expedite departure the next morning.
If you don’t get as much done as possible
the night before a flight, especially if you’re
launching from popular jumping off spots
such as Wick, United Kingdom; Goose Bay,
Labrador, Canada; or Reykjavik, Iceland, you
might get caught in the queue and wind up
3
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Eight Travel Tips
times. It was a nightmare of computerized
frustration, constantly having to rework and
sometimes completely rewrite the government
forms. Somehow, I got through it without getting arrested, but I’m still not sure how.
Fortunately, the process has become
progressively more streamlined over the years,
and today, Thierry Poule of Air Journeys
(Easy-AirJourney.com) sells a software package that makes filing and modifying an eAPIS
at least tolerable, if not exactly fun. Poule is
an expert on international travel by private
aircraft. His company leads caravans of pilots
to destinations around the world, and Poule
recently introduced the online eAPIS application to make the process easier for individual
pilots.
4
THE REAL COST OF SURVIVAL GEAR:
Flying internationally doesn’t
always involve extra survival
equipment, but if you’re operating
with several passengers across the North
Atlantic, remember that you’ll need a full
exposure suit, vest and provisions for each
passenger.
That may compromise payload significantly. And even if it doesn’t, it may demand
so much additional storage space, you’ll
need to reduce the passenger load. A six/
eight seat airplane may shrink to a three/five
seater with full survival gear on board. Also,
remember that raft size shouldn’t reflect the
exact number of passengers and crew on
board. I carry a four-person raft for flights
with one or two people, an eight-to-ten person raft for up to six folks total. Small rafts
are not a good idea; they’re less stable on the
ocean and more difficult to get into.
5
CHARGE IT: Several years ago, I
contracted to deliver a fully restored
421 to Johannesburg with the owner
in the right seat. He was a successful
surgeon in the process of stepping up from
a Malibu.
I’d made perhaps 20 trips to Africa in the
previous half-dozen years and thought I’d
learned most of the tricks. I hadn’t appreciated one of the most valuable, however. The
good doctor taught me to use credit cards
as often as possible in Africa. He traveled
around the continent on a regular basis and
used his MasterCard and Visa whenever he
could. (He didn’t even try to use American
Express, as it’s less likely to be accepted
because of its high fees.)
Like most people who charge to credit
cards on a regular basis, he kept careful
track of his expenses, and he said his
monthly billing statement was often less
than his personal tally, sometimes by several
hundred dollars. It seems some charges
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become lost in the system, never to be seen
again. That was especially true on his home
continent of Africa.
6
ECONOMICAL ROUTING: If you
haven’t flown a particular trip before,
be wary of automatically accepting
ATC’s recommended routing. A
common flight plan between Reykjavik, Iceland, and northern Scotland, for example, (to
destinations Stornaway, Wick or Edinburgh)
routes through 61N 1234W.
If you follow that flight plan, however,
you’ll fly through a small slice of Shanwick
Airspace between Iceland and Scottish control. Though you’ll only be under Shanwick’s
guidance for a few minutes, you’ll pay the
same charges as you would in Iceland or
Scottish. The alternative is to fly slightly
farther east through 61N 10W, thereby
avoiding the additional FIR (Flight Information Region) charges and adding only a few
additional miles to the flight.
I’d made perhaps 20
trips to Africa in the
previous half-dozen
years and thought I’d
learned most of the tricks.
I hadn’t appreciated
one of the most valuable,
however. The good doctor
taught me to use credit
cards as often as possible
in Africa.
7
CUSTOMS NOTIFICATION: You’ll
always be required to file a flight
plan between countries, but don’t
assume that that will satisfy the
need to advise Customs of your arrival.
Sometimes, yes; sometimes, no. Assume
always no.
Once, while flying a Cheyenne II back to
the States from Brussels several years ago,
weather forced a deviation north to Sondre
Strom Fjord, Greenland, rather than routing through the more direct Narsarsuaq.
I’d been playing tag with an MU-2 across
the ocean, and we met again at BGSF. The
airplane’s new owner and his instructor
were ferrying the Mitsu to Ohio, and the
weather had pushed them north, as well. We
both filed our flight plans for Frobisher Bay,
CYFB, and I filled out a CANPASS Customs
form for Canadian entry and faxed it to the
Customs office at Fro Bay.
On the short, 500 nm flight across the
Labrador Sea, the Mitsubishi pilot and I
traded comments about the ocean. About
30 minutes out of Frobisher, the MU-2 pilot
suddenly asked, as if it had just occurred to
him, “Gee, does my flight plan suffice as Customs notification for Canada?” I didn’t think
it did and was a little surprised that he hadn’t
faxed the required form from Sondre Strom.
Sure enough, when we landed at CYFB,
the Canadian Customs agent was waiting
for me at no charge, but my friend in the
MU-2 paid a $400 Canadian fine for not
having filed the required advance Customs
notification. Don’t even ask how severe the
penalty is for landing in the U.S. without
prior Customs notification.
8
ALWAYS CALL AHEAD: Several years
back, I delivered a 421 from Kansas
City to Subic Bay in the Philippines.
The airplane was to go into service as
a corporate transport around Southeast Asia.
Two years later, the same client called and
asked if I could pick up the airplane in Subic
and return it to the U.S. When I asked what
had caused the return flight, the company’s
corporate pilot told me they’d made a trip to
a remote airport in the Philippines, only to
discover that the FBO was out of avgas and
they were stranded.
In hindsight, the pilot said he’d checked
for NOTAMs but admitted he hadn’t called
ahead to check on fuel availability. As a result,
the company elected to sell the 421 and buy
a King Air E90 because jet fuel is virtually
always available.
For that reason, I make it a point to call
every future destination before departure.
I carry a current copy of the international
Ac-U- Kwik everywhere I go overseas, and
I also have my own personal stash of phone
numbers that sometimes work when Ac-UKwik doesn’t.
No matter what the appropriate NOTAMs
suggest, I make it a point to verify hours of
operation, any ppr concerns, availability of avgas or jet fuel, prist, oxygen, TKS fluid, de-ice,
overnight hangars, catering or anything else.
I’ll also check on unusual holidays to make
absolutely certain the airport is open. In
Greenland, for example, all airports are closed
on National Day, June 21, the Summer Solstice
with 21 hours of daylight. I once went through
Narsarsuaq in summer in a Pilatus PC-12 with
a P-51 on my wing (headed for the Duxford,
U.K., Airshow). We landed at 1 a.m. on a
Sunday night. The airport had been closed all
day, and I think the fees for waking everyone
up, opening the airport, landing and service
were something like $3,500 U.S., plus the cost
of fuel.
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Ask Lance Toland
MANEUVERING
THROUGH CLAIMS
MITIGATION AND
SETTLEMENTS
By Lance Toland
During the course of my initial conferences
with new PC-12 clients, I feel it’s necessary to
discuss what to expect in the event of a physical damage loss. And, as many POPA members
have heard me say repeatedly over the last 16
years, no two underwriting companies or insurance contracts are alike contractually when
it comes to claims mitigation and settlement.
A partial loss, depending on the severity, can
become a rocky road if you do not have a solid
understanding of what the companies’ obligations are in the event of an insured occurrence.
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YOUR AIRCRAFT POLICY’S
APPRAISAL CLAUSE AND DEFINITIONS
DETERMINE A TOTAL LOSS.
Under the terms of most aviation policies,
your aircraft is considered a total loss if the
cost to repair the physical damage “equals or
exceeds the insured value of the scheduled
aircraft.” Physical damage means “direct
and accidental physical loss of — or damage
to — the scheduled aircraft, spare engine,
spare part or mechanics’ tools” but does not
include loss of use or any residual decrease
in value after repairs have been made.
IF YOUR PLANE IS FOUND TO BE A
TOTAL LOSS, THEN UNDER THE POLICY,
DEFENDANT “SHALL PAY THE INSURED
VALUE OF THE SCHEDULED AIRCRAFT...”
Most aviation insurance policies include an
appraisal clause that generally states: If the
policyholder and the insuring company fail
to agree as to the cost to repair the physical
damage, either may, within 60 days after
proof of loss is filed, demand an appraisal.
In such event, plaintiff and defendant shall
each select a competent appraiser, and the
appraisers shall select a competent and
disinterested umpire. The appraisers shall
assess the cost to repair the physical damage and, failing to agree, shall submit their
differences to the umpire. An award in
writing of any two shall determine the cost
to repair the physical damage. The policyholder and the insurance company shall
each pay its chosen appraiser and shall bear
equally the other expenses of the appraisal
and the umpire. The policy holder shall not
be held to have waived any of his or her
rights by any act relating to appraisal.
It is rare that a company will invoke
an appraisal; it is more common for the
policyholder to pursue this challenge on
repairs that are seen as not bringing your
aircraft back to a standard it held before the
insured loss occurrence. This is a very slippery slope for someone who is challenging
his or her underwriting company to a pistol
duel, as challenge of coverage is exclusively
a judicial question. If a court decides that
coverage exists, the dollar value agreed
upon under the appraisal process will be
binding upon both parties. Thus, where
there is a demand for an appraisal under
the policy, the only “defenses” which re-
main for the insurer to assert are that there
is no coverage under the policy for the loss
as a whole or that there has been a violation
of the usual policy conditions such as fraud,
lack of notice and failure to cooperate. As
the policyholder, you might find yourself
holding the bag on additional legal costs
that might have been otherwise absorbed
by the insurer during the repair process.
Plus you will find yourself funding the extra
appraisal and legal cost of arbitration.
Each loss case is unique and requires
special expert claims handling, so it is
wise to select an insurance broker who is
not pitching premium savings but rather
who has actual experience and standing
with the companies he or she represents
to guide you through the process if you
damage your equipment. Query your
broker on this point as it is one of the most
important factors to weigh in the insurance
component. Another caveat: If the loss is
a third-party loss, there are many other
issues to consider, including diminution of
value, which I have addressed in the past.
This decrease will be subject to value and
marketability.
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MiPad
ELECTRONICS
ning a flight to West Yellowstone (KWYS), both with field
elevations above 6,000 feet. With temperatures rising, what
density altitude could I expect? Most flight planning apps
calculate density altitude for you, based on field elevation
and currently reported weather at fields with ATIS/ASOS,
but that doesn’t help if you’re starting out in the morning
and trying to estimate what conditions will be after lunch!
Here are three apps that offer a full range of E6B functions (and a few more Dalton never thought of!)
SPORTY’S PILOT SHOP has offered electronic E6B calculators for quite awhile, and their E-6B iPad app includes
almost two dozen functions, all accessed through a simple,
menu-based interface. Tap the menu button, pick the
function (pressure and density altitude, for example), and
you get a display with the fields required and a simple
calculator keypad. Punch in the required numbers and the
app presents the results. By default, it expects altitude in
feet, temperature in °C, speed in knots and fuel in gallons,
but these can all be changed in the app settings. The app
also offers 20 conversions between different units. Sporty’s
E-6B for iPad will set you back $9.99. For details, browse
Sportys.com/pilotshop/product/14849.
Sporty’s E6B app offers a simple, forms-based interface for aviation calculations and conversions.
A
E6B APPS:
By John D. Ruley
It’s a 90-degree day at a high-elevation airport, and the ATIS
says, “Check density altitude.” How do you find it? You’re flying
into a significant crosswind and about to make a turn that will
put the wind on the nose. What will that do to your time enroute? You’re flying into an area with a NOTAM for GPS outages
on a day with continuous chop. You know it’s possible to
compute ground speed from the time between two checkpoints,
but with all the bumps, it’s hard to work out on paper.
Back in the 1930s, a U.S. Naval aviator named Philip Dalton was faced with these problems and came up with the familiar E6B flight computer, a mechanical device (technically
a circular slide rule) with which a pilot could easily work out these problems – and quite
a few others. Since then, generations of pilots have learned to use the Whizz Wheel in
primary flight training. Today, most of the time, the routine computations are done automatically (unless there’s a GPS outage, you don’t need to calculate ground speed) but there
are still occasions when a quick calculation can be awfully handy.
I faced this myself last summer on a flying vacation at Jackson Hole, Wyo., (KJAC), plan-
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PFMA’S $5.99
E6B is an iPhone
app that also
runs on the iPad
and presents a
user interface
that looks much
like a flight
management
system. The top
level menu lets
you choose from
a wide range
of functions,
including not
only the usual
E6B calculations
but also holdingpattern headings
and times, sunPFMA’s E6B iPhone/iPad app offers the look
and feel of a flight management system.
rise/sunset times,
rate of turn, mach
number and corrections for cold temperatures. Once you
select a calculation, enter whatever figures are required, using the calculator keypad, and press the button associated
with whichever field you want those figures in. Once you
enter the necessary data, the app automatically populates
the other fields. I personally found the learning curve for
this app a bit steeper than the others. A big plus for this
app is an online Quick Reference Handbook, which can
be downloaded from infonor.com/pfma/downloads/
pfma_e6b_handbook.pdf.
MODERN PROGRAMMING, INC. takes a slightly different
approach with MyE6B, which offers not only a full range
of E-6B functions and conversions, but also weather information including METAR/TAF, AIRMETS/SIGMETS,
Pilot Reports and a plain language decoder for European
SNOWTAM runway condition reports. All functions and
conversions are selected from a drop-down
menu, from which you’re presented with a
form and the usual calculator buttons. Fill in
the required fields, and the value you’re looking
for will be calculated automatically. MyE6B
includes some unusual functions – including
hydroplaning speed and decimal matrix cal-
MyE6B offers traditional aviation calculations plus
weather and some unusual features.
culations – that may be of interest to corporate
pilots. MyE6B sells for $8.99, and more information is available at MyE6B.com/.
If you’ve read this far, you may be wondering
what I use for E6B calculations. In the air, I usually
use the calculator functions of the Garmin GNS530 in N4696K, but I also keep an old fashioned
metal Whizz Wheel in my flight bag. It doesn’t
need batteries and won’t break if it’s dropped on
the ramp. I think of it as cheap insurance!
John D. Ruley is an instrument-rated pilot, freelance
writer, and recent graduate of the University of North
Dakota Space Studies graduate program. He is also a
volunteer pilot with LigaInternational.org, which operates
medical missions in northwest Mexico, and Angel Flight
West (AngelFlight.org). You can reach him by email to
[email protected].
PC12 Training ½ Your Aircraft, your Avionics
½ You pick the time / location
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John K. Morris
Owner/Instructor
407-721-7442
www.acftservices.com
½ Training with Active,
Full Time - 13 year
PC12 Instructor/Pilot
Providing training exclusively
for all PC12’s since 2007
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Over the Top
FLY A DIFFERENT JET
WARBIRD EVERY DAY!
T
IF YOU’RE A PILOT WHO SAYS YOU’VE NEVER EVEN DREAMED OF
FLYING A JET FIGHTER… MAYBE YOUR NOSE IS GROWING?
The end of the Cold War in the 1990s brought a sigh of relief
to much of the world. The end of the arms race between the
Soviet Union and United States delivered a welcome downsizing of many military assets. For pilots, that meant the first
time in history that a selection of jet warbirds were available
for civilian use.
While the Cold War was winding down, Larry Salganic was busy teaching aerobatics in a T-34 Mentor. As the first foreign aircraft began to arrive in the US, he expanded
to include instruction in Nanchang CJ6s and then Yaks. His embrace of these more
exotic aircraft put him in an ideal position to catch the first wave of jet fighters coming
to America. Today, Salganic has more hours instructing in these orphaned military jets
than anyone else in the world. And thanks to his Jet Warbird Training Center, pilots can
spend a week in Santa Fe (SAF), N.M., and fly a different jet fighter every day!
Jet Warbird Training Center operates and offers instruction in the German/French
Alpha Jet, the Czechoslovakian L-39 Albatros, the Russian MiG 15, the American T-33,
the French Fouga Magister, the Czech L-29 Delphin and others. There are other places in
the world to learn to fly these aircraft, but there is no other place where you can fly them
all from the same runway.
Consequently, pilots from around the world come to fly at the Jet Warbird Training
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Center. “One reason for that is we really have it good in
this country,” Salganic said. “Regulations here in America
make it easy to own and operate a jet warbird. Many of
our customers don’t have the opportunity to fly these
aircraft in their countries.”
“We had a customer recently from Japan,” he said.
“A taxi driver with just a private pilot’s license who had
saved his money to come here and fly. He would bow to
the MiG before each take off ! And he always had the biggest grin on his face when we came down from a lesson!”
Jet Warbird’s customers range from current military
pilots to ex-military pilots, Cessna 172 drivers to airline
captains. Salganic has even trained NASA astronauts to fly
his classic jet warbirds.
Many of Salganic’s students are seeking a rating — the
FAA’s Authorized Experimental Aircraft Rating (AEAR)
— to fly a particular jet warbird. This rating replaces the
Letter of Authorization previously required to fly these
jets. The AEAR is then added to one’s pilot’s license not
unlike other ratings, multi-engine or seaplane rating or
the like.
Some students have such a great time getting their rating
that they ask Salganic to find them a jet of their own. And,
of course, he does that too. Classic jet warbirds like those
at the Jet Warbird Training Center are relatively abundant
now and certainly a bargain compared to their original cost.
Not that long ago, you had to enlist (or be drafted!) to fly
these jets. Now you don’t even have to go to boot camp! Just
send yourself to New Mexico and fly all the jet warbirds you
want. And tell ‘em TBMOPA Magazine sent you.
For more information, call 505.471.4151 or log onto JetWarbird.com.
EAGLE
AVIATION
contact Karen Nelson
@ PH: 803-822-5586 for more information or visit our gallery at
www.eagle-aviation.com
located at Columbia Metro Airport
CAE in West Columbia, South Carolina
Because the details
do matter...
R
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ULTIMATE ADVENTURE
ONCE YOU GET THERE, YOU WILL NOT NEED TO ASK HOW THE AREA GOT ITS NAME.
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B
y late August, the salmon begin arriving in the Great Bear Rainforest, one of the world’s
most intact ecosystems. On the banks of one of British Columbia’s most pristine rivers
sits a floating ecolodge, powered only by solar and wind energy. Guests come by sea plane
from nearby Port Hardy, B.C. As the salmon run begins to peak in the early fall, the lodge
becomes one of the most remarkable places in the world to see the brown bear.
Brown bears have the same DNA as the grizzly bear but, because of a diet rich in
salmon, browns grow to be significantly larger. Toward the end of the spawn, a brown
bear has doubled his weight since emerging from hibernation by gorging almost around the clock on fresh
fish. Weighing only a pound at birth, a mature male bear can weigh more than 1,500 pounds by the end of
the salmon migration. On his hind legs, the brown bear stands about 10 feet tall.
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Ultimate Adventure
The Great Bear Nature Tours offers one of the
most thrilling off-the-grid adventures anywhere.
In addition to the floating ecolodge, guests can
relax and set up their cameras in a river blind
where bears are dining just a few yards away.
Should the bears select a different spot to feed,
Great Bear Nature Tours will take you there by
boat. No effort is spared to put you face-to-face
with the wildlife. In fact, National Geographic
Adventure selected GBNT as one of the Best
Adventure Travel Companies on Earth
In addition to the high concentration
of bears, the surrounding 8 million-acre
temperate rainforest is home to wolves, deer,
mountain lions, otters, eagles, songbirds and
migrating waterfowl. The area sports more
than 50 bird and animal species, including
48 species of amphibians and reptiles, plus
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25 tree species. For visitors, the show never
stops. Fall bear viewing is the best time to
see a sow and her cubs. The Great Bear Rain
Forest is also home to the Kermode or Spirit
Bear. These black bears aren’t black at all, but
white, due to a rare genetic trait.
Brown bears tend to be most active in the
early morning and late afternoon. Midday
guests can go on a guided sea-kayaking tour
of the inlet or a boat cruise to explore the
glacier-carved inlet. A resident biologist can
also arrange splendid nature hikes to and from
the lodge.
The charming floating lodge has five
bedrooms with a maximum capacity of just
10 guests. The common area is a comfortable
place for relaxing and listening to natural history presentations from a wildlife biologist.
Each bedroom has a washroom, with hot
showers located downstairs. Meals are a treat.
Great Bear Nature Tours harvests the freshest
possible local ingredients and all organic
food when it is available. A typical dinner
might feature freshly caught salmon roasted
on a cedar plank with a marinade of maple
syrup, mustard seeds and balsamic vinegar.
The salmon run can continue all the way
to December, but by the end of October,
the bears begin their long winter hibernation. You can make arrangements for fall
bear viewing now by logging onto GreatBearTours.com or by calling 888.221.8212
to bring you the trip of a lifetime. Their
personalized service can accommodate tours
from two to 10 days in length.
Airport: Port Hardy, B.C., Canada (CYZT).
Make It and Take It
RECIPES
VIETNAMESE-STYLE
POOR BOYS
(Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, courtesy
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc.)
Ingredients
• 5-lb. bone-in pork shoulder
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp. Creole or other whole
grain mustard
• 1 tbsp. chile paste
• 2 tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 loaf French bread
(about 24 inches long)
• 2 cups julienne carrots
• 2 cups julienne cucumbers, (peeled and seeded)
• 1 cup chopped scallions
(green onions)
• 1 cup loosely packed fresh
cilantro leaves
• 1 medium fresh jalapeno, thinly sliced
PREPARATION
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
EMERIL LAGASSE
THE MAN WHO TAUGHT US TO ‘KICK IT UP A NOTCH’ OFFERS A GREAT
GOURMET FINGER FOOD TO TAKE ALONG ON YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE!
Chef Emeril Lagasse appears on the Food
Network and reaches more than 85 million
homes daily. He is the host of the Essence
of Emeril and Emeril Live which is now
in syndication. The former has been
nominated for numerous Emmy Awards
and was voted by Time magazine as one of
the Top 10 TV Shows. Chef Emeril is also
the food correspondent for ABC’s Good
Morning America.
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Season the shoulder with salt and pepper. Place on
a baking sheet and roast for one hour. Reduce the
temperature to 300 degrees F and continue to cook
for three hours, or until the meat falls off the bones.
Remove from the heat and cool completely. In the cup of a food processor, combine the egg, lime
juice, mustard, chile paste and sesame oil. Season with
salt and pepper and process until smooth. With the
blender running, slowly drizzle in the oil and blend.
The mixture will be thick. Season with salt and pepper.
Remove, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour. The
mixture will keep for up to two days.
To assemble, slice the roast pork and cut the bread in
half. Spread the chile mayo over both halves of bread.
Layer the pork over one half the bread and set the
other half aside. Continue layering with the carrots,
cucumbers, scallions, cilantro and jalapeno. Place the
remaining bread half on top and press slightly. Slice the
sandwich into individual pieces and serve.
Makes eight servings.
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