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Plane & Pilot January 1st, 2024 Digital Back Issue Cover

Plane & Pilot January/February 2024 (Digital)

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16 Articles

Annual Inspection

By the time you hold these words in your hands, we will be turning the page on a new year. As I write—still slipping toward the close of 2023, preparing this first issue of the new year and mapping out those to come—I find myself dwelling on an image conjured from elementary school lessons, that of the dual-faced Roman god Janus looking forward and backward as the great calendar wheel tips forward into a new cycle. That’s an oversimplification of Janus, who presides over many slippery and/or intangible ideas, from in-between spaces to trading and shipping, gates and doors—beginnings and endings. I don’t typically mark the new year by making resolutions, but I recognize something of that elementary school image of Janus in myself at this time of year, looking…

Annual Inspection

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

Just Doing the Math While I enjoyed the article on the B-47 (“Incredible Plane,” November/December 2023), Frank Ayers asserted that the first flight of the Stratojet occurred on the 47th anniversary of the Wright brothers’ first flight. Well, the first flight was on December 17, 1903, and, according to Mr. Ayers, the first flight of the Stratojet was on December 17, 1947. If I remember my elementary school math, that means the first flight of the Stratojet was on the 44th anniversary of the Wright brothers’ achievement. Jerrold Seckler via email Editor’s note: Thank you for catching that typo, Jerrold. Remembering ‘Five-Dollar Frank’ I was intrigued by the letter from Doc Newell (“Share Your Thoughts,” September 2023) about the BD-5 windsock at WV59 (Fayetteville, West Virginia) and checked the location. If…

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

Van’s Enters Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Van’s Aircraft announced on December 4 that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company pointed to recent material and financial challenges and emphasized the move is crucial for its reorganization. The kitplane manufacturer said it will maintain operations, producing and delivering parts, servicing customers, and fulfilling kit orders, operating under court supervision for 90 days. Van’s cited recent contributing factors, including material challenges, such as a debacle with faulty primer that caused corrosion in many kits and problems with its transition to laser-cut parts. These challenges led to significant cash-flow issues. “During that time, Van’s built up a significant and high-value parts inventory,” the company said in a statement. “As we manufacture the additional parts needed to balance this inventory, we will leverage it to fulfill orders…

Van’s Enters Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Plane & Pilot PHOTO CONTEST

Submit your best aviation shots to us by the end of March for a chance to win! 1ST PLACE -David Clark DC ONE-X ANR headset -Flight Outfitters swag bag -$250 Flying Eyes Optics gift certificate -$100 Sporty’s gift certificate 2ND PLACE -$250 Flying Eyes Optics gift certificate -Flight Outfitters swag bag -$100 Sporty’s gift certificate & 3RD PLACE -$250 Flying Eyes Optics gift certificate -Flight Outfitters swag bag -$100 Sporty’s gift certificate TWO HONORABLE MENTIONS -$250 Flying Eyes Optics gift certificate -Flight Outfitters swag bag Check the Plane & Pilot website on January 1 for full contest rules and details.…

Plane & Pilot PHOTO CONTEST

ACROSS 1 Garmin’s solution to a pilot at the controls being unable to fly 5 The ÒMÓ in MSL 8 Engine power measure, abbr. 9 Radio transmitter at a known location used as a navigation aid, abbr. 11 Wind ___: abrupt change in the horizontal or vertical wind direction 13 Helper 15 It’s recorded in a log 16 Helicopter tour operator in Hawaii 18 Suffix with bull or bear 20 Relaxing destination 21 ___-flight checklist 22 Small part in a machine 24 Without difficulty 26 Compass point, abbr. 28 Great blue area 29 Balloon gas symbol 31 Air density given as a height above mean sea level, abbr. 33 Act of decreasing aircraft altitude 35 60 is the maximum for Part 121 operations 37 Initial interaction or "greeting" between two…

DO I REALLY NEED A BRIEFING?

If you’re like me, at some point in your pilot career, you may have asked yourself this: “Do I really need a weather briefing? The TAFs look like things will probably be fine. I’m not going that far. I’ll just get while the gettin’ is good, and I’ll be there before any bad weather moves in.” Most of us would probably admit that we have done this. I had this inner dialogue recently and found myself in some rough weather, and thought it was worth sharing some of the lessons that I learned through that experience. I was living at the time in western Kansas, where (put generously) there is not exactly a “thriving” flight training market. As a student trying to work through my ratings toward a CFI certificate,…

DO I REALLY NEED A BRIEFING?

ELECTRIC ATMOSPHERE

A new era of aviation is upon us. With innovations in sustainable fuels, airframe design, and safety, we may not recognize the machines that take us into the skies 20 years from now. Incredible resources are being poured into development of new technology at a rate not seen in 80 years—at least in the private sector. What’s surprising and inspiring is that much of the innovation shaping aviation across the board comes from the ground up—from general aviation—rather than trickling down from the airlines and military. Pipistrel, one of these key ground-up innovators, experienced humble beginnings as a tiny hang glider manufacturer a few decades ago. It grew gradually and strategically from its original home in a garage serving hobbyists to winning consecutive competitions for flight design at NASA—and eventually…

ELECTRIC ATMOSPHERE

YOUR MAGNETIC COMPASS REMAINS THE ‘OLD RELIABLE’

Of all the gadgetry in airplane cockpits, the magnetic compass is probably the least regarded, least used, and least understood. And yet, it deserves understanding and respect, because it is often the most steadily reliable navigational reference we have. Often referred to as the “whiskey compass,” “wet compass,” or “standby compass,” the magnetic compass is a required item per FAR 91.205 for flight in nearly every category and class of aircraft. It’s considered to be that important because being able to find your way across the surface of the Earth is crucial to the successful completion of a trip. The magnetic compass is utterly reliable because it has no power source to fail, so long as the Earth’s magnetic field endures. AHRS (attitude/heading reference system) units and spinning iron gyros…

YOUR MAGNETIC COMPASS REMAINS THE ‘OLD RELIABLE’

BUILDING A RUDDER AT ZENITH

When Zenith Aircraft CEO Sebastien Heintz invited me to attend the company’s annual home-coming event at its Missouri headquarters at the Mexico Memorial Airport (KMYJ) in September, he didn’t know I’d been eyeing the company’s designs covetously for over two years—long before I found an editorial home at Plane & Pilot. I eagerly agreed to attend. A death in my family rerouted my plans, but when Heintz extended a second invitation, this time to attend a rudder-building workshop the first week of October, I didn’t hesitate. I looked forward to visiting the premises (practically in my backyard, an hour’s drive from my house) to see the facility, meet more of the staff (I’d met only Heintz at EAA AirVenture last summer), and—what’s more American?—roll up my sleeves and rivet some…

BUILDING A RUDDER AT ZENITH

Reno, Nevada, has been home to the world’s fastest motorsport since 1964. Each September, it becomes the one place on the globe where all types of aircraft compete in a daring test of airplane and pilot, racing for gold in the desert. But, 2023 marked the last time. The Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority decided that the races could not continue at the Reno-Stead Airport (KRTS), owing to regional growth planned in the surrounding area. Being its last year, the 59th Reno Air Races saw a massive boost in attendance from both pilots and spectators. The week was full of memorable moments, leaving racers and observers hopeful and excited that the National Championship Air Races will continue for years to come. I have attended the event for the better part of 20…

ZEN & THE ART OF AIRPLANE OPERATION

I never understood aviation until the day I lost it. In the span of two weeks, I failed a flight physical with my increasingly weakened eyesight and found a tumor that was removed the following day. In that moment, as I lay on my bed pondering the potential loss of my entire professional life up to that point, it wasn’t the loss of money or experience or the prospect of entering the shrinking job market with little useful experience that truly scared me. What scared me was an existential loss—a loss of an experience. I flew again as a passenger before I fully understood my condition, and staring at the clouds out the Boeing 757 window, I came to a realization that I am only capable of in my most…

ZEN & THE ART OF AIRPLANE OPERATION

It’s Not Worth Showing Off

WITH HIS PARENTS watching, an F-14A fighter pilot took off from the Air National Guard airfield adjacent to Nashville International Airport (KNBA) in Tennessee. He immediately pitched up more than 50 degrees, climbing up into the clouds in a noisy blaze of afterburners. The pilot became disorientated, lost control, crashed, and died. A Navy inquiry determined the nonstandard, steep climb was intentional. It found the aviator’s judgment was “influenced by his parents’ presence at the field.” An admiral said the pilot was “showing off” to his parents. This was back in 1996. A recently released National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report puts a modern twist on pilots showing off. It turns out we don’t need Mom, Dad, or a Tomcat jet fighter to bend our safety sense. We don’t even…

It’s Not Worth Showing Off

ADS-B, ARE YOU ‘IN’ OR ‘OUT’?

January 1, 2020, was a red-letter day in the transition to automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B). ADS-B Out was required in Class A, B (including the Mode C veil), and C airspace in the United States, as well as generally above 10,000 feet. However, unless general aviation pilots decided to go a step further and equip their aircraft for ADS-B In, their flight deck situational awareness was little improved. My epiphany on this subject of ADS-B occurred a couple of years earlier. I had flown our university fleet equipped with ADS-B In since 2003, but my pocketbook dictated the lower-cost Out option for our personal ride. Then, my attitude changed. Climbing east out of Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport (KMYF) in downtown San Diego, I switched from tower frequency to approach control and…

ADS-B, ARE YOU ‘IN’ OR ‘OUT’?

ACCIDENT BRIEFS

Cessna 172SP on floats Plover, Wisconsin | Sept. 1, 2023 Injuries: None The [aircraft was equipped with amphibious floats.] The pilot reported that while en route to his planned fuel stop, the engine experienced a slight hesitation. The pilot then changed course to the nearest airport and turned on the auxiliary fuel pump. The engine roughness stopped for about 15 seconds, then occurred again, and the engine subsequently lost total power. Unable to maintain altitude…the pilot conducted a forced landing to a roadway. During the forced landing, the airplane’s left wing tip struck a roadway sign, and the right float impacted a moving vehicle that was on the roadway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing rear spar. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the left fuel tank…

Meyers/Aero Commander 200

The Meyers/Aero Commander 200 was, and remains, a rugged, fast, and comfortable single-engine speedster. Loyal owners sing its praises, especially the solid construction and record-setting speed. It is a handsome airplane as well, with a hint of P-51 Mustang genes in its appearance. This elegant little airplane was born into a general aviation boom period, quite different from the high-cost, low-volume single-engine market of today. During the 1960s, nearly 9,000 light singles and twins were produced every year. In addition to the big three of the time—Cessna, Piper, and Beechcraft—the major defense airframe contractors were considering ways to enter this red-hot civilian market. There was both an easy way and a hard way. The hard way involved designing an aircraft from scratch and suffering the slings and arrows of a…

Meyers/Aero Commander 200

It was like “wrestling a cobra in a hurricane,” Helen Richey said. After nearly 10 days in the skies over Miami in December 1933, Richey, alongside fellow aviatrix Frances Marsalis, set the women’s in-flight fueling endurance record of 237 hours and 42 minutes. It was only one of Richey’s major accomplishments, yet it perfectly showcased her grit, determination, and, above all, skill that would make hers a name every pilot should know. Born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, in 1909, Richey was the youngest of five siblings. She could frequently be found outside, watching post office airplanes flying overhead. It was those aircraft that introduced Richey to aviation, as she took her first ride in between stacks of letters on their way to Cleveland. “I’m going to fly,” Richey was quoted telling…

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