What do you think about solo time?

Only time for a quick post today, it's deadline week for FLYER magazine and there are a few things to do... anyway, a quick question. Is solo time valuable on the way to an airline career? If so, how is it valuable and how much solo time is needed to bring that value?

It's not a random question, but it seems that Europe and the USA could be moving apart on this one.

United States of Europe

I am used to finding this kind of thing in the USA, but this web site is aimed at the European market.

EuroFPL was launched by Travis Holland as a solution to the endless nights he spent in Iceland trying to get routes accepted to airports in Europe. As his hours available for sleeping were robbed by battles with CFMU's deep thought routing computer, Travis yearned for something like www.fltplan.com that would show acceptable and validated routes... and so in March 2009 the Eurofpl project was launched. It is currently supported as a public service of Holland Aero. The basic flight plan filing, route catalogue and weather briefing services will always be free. Premium subscribers ($EU100/yr) will have access to SMS service, JAR-OPS certified wx services, flight notifications, and other value added services.

Current features include: Route catalogue with search capabilities, built-in validation, guaranteed ACK within one minute of filing, RTEPOINTS from CFMU delivered via email, CTOT delivered via email, support for DLA and CNL from Blackberry or iPhone and the ability to send ARR from Blackberry or iPhone when landing at uncontrolled fields.

There are loads of other bits and pieces including internet-based live route tracking. Quite frankly it's a bloody great little website that makes European IFR flying that little bit easier.

Take a look www.eurofpl.eu

Electronic plates

I've done a little flying with the SolidFX Plate reader recently. It's based on an Irex ebook and comes loaded with software that's the fruit of a partnership between Jeppesen and SolidFX.

Initially it failed at the first hurdle, i.e. I had to have a quick look at the manual to get it to work. I didn't have any trouble displaying the plates, but rather the super-sensitive external controls kept scrolling and switching and doing all sorts of stuff that I didn't want. A quick read explained how to disable them.

Once I'd got to grips with the basics the unit worked well - the display size is slightly too small for my 47-year-old eyes to read easily, but a stylus enlarges and scrolls with ease.

There are price deals for the Jepp data if you already have a JeppView subscription and the unit itself sells for $1600 - not cheap. If you do a fair amount of IFR touring, the the ability to access plates in the air without having to carry bags full of laboriously updated books is worthwhile - I would still take printed copies of my departure, destination and alternate airports, but having anywhere else at hand in a small, lightweight package is a win, at least if it fits in with your kind of flying, and of course your kind of flying budget.

SolidFX10

Missing VG

I took the C182 to Henstridge today. The DME had been taken out and sent away to be fixed and was now ready for refitting. The 121.5 ELT is being replaced by an AmeriKing 406Mhz box, and the wings - black with dirt thanks to being parked near a train line used by diesel-powered freight trains for a few weeks - needed a bloody good wash.

Henstridge is a happening place these days with new hangars and both of the larger buildings now being completed. I parked next to my maintenance hangar and was kindly lent a water supply, electricity and a power washer. The wings were so dirty that it took ages to get them even vaguely clean. The paint, thanks to being exposed to sunlight and other elements is in poor shape. I fear a respray will be needed in the next year or so. While washing the aeroplane, I also noticed that one of my VGs has gone missing, not entirely sure how, but the job has been added to the To Do list. (The STC approval for the VGs states that the aeroplane can be flown with up to 5 VGs missing.) Justin (top A&p and IA) gave me a lift back to the strip and my car in the C182 - during the short flight it became obvious that the DME repair hadn't resulted in a functioning DME, so something else to sort out.

Hey ho, the fun of ownership.

Rotax Katana

I'll be spending some of the weekend writing up a flight test on the Diamond Katana. It's been at least thirteen years since I've flown a Katana, and back then it was one that was powered by an 80hp rather than 100hp engine.

As with all other Diamonds, the handling is solid safe - a fairly slow roll rate with those long wings, but very, very safe when it comes to stalling characteristics. The price for the DV20, which is certified as a VLA, in (very) basic form, is sub €99,000. That's more expensive than other VLAs, but I don't doubt that it will hold up better than some in the tough rental market.

Gyro back-up

I have been testing a back-up gyro for the last few days.

The eGyro is a fully portable, self-contained unit that provides attitude reference in case of failure of the primary instrument. It is powered by plugging in through the usual cigarette lighter socket, but battery power is an option.

The unit contains solid state gyros and accelerometers, and has no moving parts. No calibration is required, and according to the photocopied instructions that arrived with the unit, it only needs mounting with the right orientation. The unit will fit in the panel, but has no approval status (so homebuilt only). It can also be mounted, as here, by velcro.

I've only flown with it once so far, and after powering it up the unit self-aligned within a few seconds - in flight, however, it was very, very twitchy in pitch - so much so that it was necessary to mentally 'damp' the oscillations to gain any benefit.

I'll fly some more with it over the weekend to see if a different position will improve things. I shoud add that the black bar in this picture is a result of the photography, and when viewed without a digital SLR, the screen displays correctly.

A day trip to Wycombe

I spent a large part of the day at Wycombe Air Park. It's not my first time there by a long way, but I was once again struck by what a nice place it is. From my PPR phone call to every last bit of r/t the place was welcoming and friendly, with the guys at the pumps being particularly helpful and cheery.

The airfield was buzzing with training, gliding and some corporate entertainment too. It was all taking place harmoniously and without the need for jobsworths. Brilliant.

We (I was there with FLYER contributor Nick Lambert) grabbed a drink and a late(ish) lunch at The Pad. The sign on the door was appropriate.

That apart, it was good to see an aviation facility buzzing with aeroplanes and happy people.

SkyCatcher nearly here

The Kings have taken delivery of the first customer SkyCatcher, (nicknamed Flycatcher or Spincatcher by some) and the first Chinese-built example has made its first flight. The SkyCatcher should offer a decent(ish) cruise, bags of room, modern instrumentation, i.e. glass cockpit, and that 'new aircraft experience'.

Before long, deliveries will start en masse - over 1,000 have been ordered - and the face of aviation training will change, or will it? If clubs and schools have decided how much they're going to charge for an hour in the SkyCatcher, they're playing their cards close to their chests; but whether in the UK or US, it's going to have to offer a decent saving over the new C172s that are on offer.

Talking of the UK (the SkyCatcher is an LSA in the US), Euro versions will either have to be certified, or go down the EASA LSA route. That will mean a Permit to Fly until EASA gets it all sorted. It'll be interesting to see how conservative Cessna deals with this issue. Deliveries over here will probably start in the next three to six months.

Gone cycling...

Sorry, back with more on Monday 21st

Want to fly over the Grand Canyon?

I'm glad to say that I've flown over the Grand Canyon twice. With a bit of luck I'll do it again at some stage, but recent mumblings from the US have me a little worried.

For a while now, and when I say a while I mean eight years, there's been a GCWG (Grand Canyon Working Group) meeting and talking about the future of scenic tour operators flying over the Canyon. The discussion has been driven by the desire to reduce aircraft noise over the national park. The FAA has recently withdrawn from the group, leaving the job to the NPS (National Park Service).

The NPS has a reputation for being somewhat sympathetic to the environmentalist cause; in terms of aviation over the Grand Canyon, that translates to a 'substantial restoration of natural quiet'. Last September the NPS explained what that actually means, which is...

Noise from aircraft operations at or below 17,900ft msl should be reduced over 50% of the park. The reduction in noise should be between 75 and 100% all day, every day. The 50% of the park is the minimum target.

Should that happen, and right now the NPS is working on a proposal for the FAA to consider from a safety point of view, it's clear that aerial operations from fixed- and rotary-wing traffic will be severely curtailed. Non-commercial traffic, which is already subject to some operating rules, will also be affected. AOPA US and others will no doubt work with the NPS and the FAA to try to protect access, but if you want to experience the view from above, you might not want to wait too long before planning that trip.

..and the doors are closed

The Dublin show has been and gone. I'm glad to say that it went well, and that the numbers were good. There are still a lot of people considering a career on the flight deck, although many of them are, for now at least, hanging on to their money.

A common question at the show - apart from 'How do I pay for the training?' - is 'When should I start my training?' Of course, the real question is 'When should I finish?' Everyone wants to finish in time for an economic upturn. If you can predict that with any accuracy and offer a guarantee (+/- six months is fine by me) I'd like to hear from you!

The doors are open

We opened the doors at 9.30.

I really don't enjoy the waking hours before the show opens. My recurring nightmare is to have a hall full of exhibitors, but through one simple mistake, such as the wrong date on a ticket or an advert, get not one single visitor. It's never happened, but I suppose we all need something to worry about from time to time.

This morning, thanks to that unrealistic concern, I was as stressed as usual, but obviously there were visitors when the doors opened. I don't yet know what the total visitor count will be; the professional pilot training market is down on last year. But the show is taking place under sunny skies - something they haven't seen in Dublin (over a weekend) for a good few weeks. Talking to the exhibitors before the show, and at the drinks reception last night, it seems that while overall enquiries are down, those making them are slightly older, and (in the main) have their financial ducks in a row.

Marking out

Marking out the floor the day before the night before the exhibitors arrive is a strange experience. The huge spaces are often cluttered with chairs, tables and other hotel detritus, but what will (hopefully) be a heaving room in a few hours is eerily quiet. I must get myself one of those indoor radio-controlled aircraft...

The trip to Dublin (Ryanair rather than C182) worked, assuming you define working as arriving in time.

Ryanair do a good job of getting you from one airport to another at a competitive price (in this instance it was about 50% of the next lowest fare), but there's not a great deal of joy involved. I always get the feeling that Michael O'Leary's staff have their hands in my pockets when buying online - £10 for web check-in, £20 debit card charge... The airport experience is OK as far as it goes, and once on board it's efficient enough, although there are often no smiles from the cabin crew (I guess I failed to tick that cost plus option when booking).

The end result was that after three hours and five queues we were in Dublin, car hire keys in hand, which is, I suppose, what I signed up for.

The troubled path to the flight deck

I'm heading to Dublin later today to get ready for the third Professional Flight Training Exhibition on Saturday.

I'm very happy to say that all of the stand space has been sold and ticket sales are looking healthy.

With the route to the flight deck being long, tortuous and expensive it is no surprise that any dedicated airline pilot-to-be (and frankly, if you are not dedicated and tenacious you should find another career) wants to avail him or herself of the best information possible.

Quite apart from anything else, choosing the right school is bloody important, and these events give future students the opportunity to talk with schools from all over the world. They also provide a forum to meet fellow students, and cadets, and to talk directly to airlines (Aer Arann will be in Dublin) about the kind of thing they look for when recruiting.

What the events can't do (sadly) is to guarantee future pilots a job when they qualify, or an easy way of paying their way through flight-training. Now if I could do that...

Award for Norman

I went to a BDFA committee meeting last Saturday. After the usual business (I'm discovering that committee meetings have certain similarities whatever the subject matter) we all gathered on the terrace at Lasham to enjoy a BBQ and the last of the summer wind and rain.

During this pleasant meal, Norman Tench, a BDFA Trustee was given an award in recognition of his hard work and dedication. Norman is one of those tireless people who just gets things done. He's focussed, persistent and not easily fobbed off.

One of Norman's current battles is lung cancer, and he's fighting that in the same way that he fights anything else, head on and with a huge amount of determination.

For now at least Norman's got his hands full, so he's reluctantly decided to sell his beloved aeroplane. If you're in the market for a Gardan Horizon, take a look at this example. You can bet that it has been well looked after.

Rotax thefts

Lock up your Rotax. It seems that they are being targeted by teams of thieves. Three engines were stolen in Staffordshire, with another engine being stolen from Croft Farm near the Malverns.

The thefts aren't restricted to the UK. Philip de Winter had his aeroplane savaged when thieves stole the engine, and in France, after establishing a countrywide task force, three Romanian nationals were arrested last year after being caught stealing engines and avionics from microlight hangars.

In the UK, DNA evidence has been secured and Staffordshire police would like to hear of other similar thefts. See this thread for details.

Sharing our passion

I've been doing a little bit of work with the BDFA and am honoured to have recently become a trustee. As a small example of some of the work they do, here's a video shot at Elstree on February 26th where a group of people from Barnet Mencap come along to fly. The weather turned bad (much worse than it looks in the video), but despite no flying actually taking place, the day really did make a difference to everyone.

If you're wondering what you can do to help, then start by coming to the Aviator's Ball (there's an ad for it on the right of this page), or get in touch with me or the BDFA.

BDFA AT ELSTREE AERODROME from Focus On Events on Vimeo.

LAA Revival Rally

I went along to the LAA Revival Rally today, and I was quite impressed.

The history of the 'revival' event has been a little turbulent. The LAA was... planning to run the event, then it wasn't, then it was off, then it was on, and eventually Sywell stepped in and decided to run the event, taking the financial risk on its shoulders.

The weather was good. Yesterday, there were 500+ aircraft, mostly LAA types. There were a few stands and a bunch of interesting aircraft. The FISO (how many were there?) did a decent job, almost everyone was friendly, and it ran smoothly with the minimum of hassle.

So where now? Assuming that Sywell didn't somehow catch a big financial cold, I imagine that next year's event will be the LAA Revival plus a little bit.

Congratulations to everyone from the LAA and Sywell.

...and another issue is finished

This is how the office looked at 1800 last night. At the time there were a dozen or so pages of the October issue of FLYER still to go. Some were waiting to have corrections done, some had gaps waiting for pictures to be dug out of dusty digital libraries, and others were in the queue to be made into a pdf, or uploaded to the printer's server.

Things were sufficiently under control for us to break out some cold beers (courtesy of Ian Waller).

Ollie (Art Ed.) will be in later today to check the pages on the printer's server. Assuming that all is well, the plates will be made and sometime on Monday the presses will start to roll. By the time they do, we'll have already started work on the November issue.

If you are planning to fly to Sywell on Sunday, come and say hello.

More Part M woes on the way?

I was talking to an aeroplane operator today. His maintenance organisation has just told him that his fixed-pitch propeller has to be sent away for an overhaul.

According to his engineer, the CAA has told its surveyors to ensure that propeller time-in-service limits are strictly adhered to. It's an area on which they'll be focusing apparently.

Neither of us is 100% sure the information that's been passed on is correct, so I'll be contacting the CAA early next week to do a little digging.

While I'm talking about Part M and its associated ARCs and controlled (or uncontrolled) environments, I have to say that I'm hearing a lot of complaints from owners about repeatedly high maintenance bills as a result of the changes. Time for a bit of a survey I think.

If you know anything about the prop. situation, or if you are 'enjoying' unusually high invoices as a result of Part M, please leave a comment, or send me an email if you prefer.

Rain, and lots of it

I hate this weather. Not because it's cold, not because it's wet, not even because it turns flying into a pure mode of transport (IFR) rather than a semi-recreational scenic tour. I hate this weather because I hate the thought of the aeroplane sitting out in the wind and rain with no protection other than a Cambrai cover.

The cover's fine, but it isn't a replacement for a nice, dry hangar. I know that I could move the aeroplane to an airfield with hangarage, and I know the decision to become a strip flyer was mine, but it doesn't stop me feeling somewhat sorry for the collection of aluminium bits that I've shared many adventures with.

Birmingham landing fee: £3.80* One day only

Birmingham Airport is celebrating its 70 birthday - and to celebrate the anniversary, the opening of a new pier and the arrival of the Airbus A380 they're offering a landing fee of just £3.80 for any vintage aircraft flying in on September 9th. What's more the landing fee even includes handling by Signature!

*You'll need to pre-arrange a slot by calling or emailing Andrew Davies on 0121 767 7073 or email andrew.davies 'at' bhx.co.uk
This has to be done by September 4th. No aircraft will be accepted at this special rate without an official slot number.

Here's the full press release

Auster, de Havilland and Miles, all names synonymous with the exciting, glamorous early days of flying in Birmingham.

For one day only, Birmingham Airport is inviting classic aircraft to visit on September 9th, to help celebrate the Airport’s 70th anniversary, the opening of the new International Pier and to contrast with the arrival of the Airbus A380, the world’s biggest airliner at Birmingham. And the best part is the price; help us celebrate for a landing fee of just £3.80, including handling by Signature Flight Support – a super jumbo bargain!

For seven decades the Airport has served the UK’s second City, as well as the wider region, and while Birmingham is now home to some of the most environmentally-efficient fleets, it all started off with a Dragon Rapide touching down at what was the old Elmdon terminal.

There are a number of events planned to help mark what is a true milestone in the history of Birmingham Airport and you could be part of what will be a memorable day. In fact there might even be a surprise or two in store as well!

Paul Kehoe, Birmingham Airport’s Chief Executive Officer, explains, “September 9th promises to be a significant day in the history of Birmingham Airport as we celebrate our 70th anniversary and the opening of the International Pier. At £45 million the Pier represents the biggest single investment the Airport has made in the last 20 years and it is fitting that its opening coincides with the marking of our seventh decade.

“It would be great if, on the day, people were given the opportunity to see some of the aircraft that were once regular visitors to the Airport in the early days of operations. We are all anticipating a day to remember and we hope those with interesting old aircraft can make a visit.”

So, if you think your aircraft could help set the scene on Birmingham Airport’s 70th anniversary and opening of the new International Pier then get in touch. To request your slot and operational details contact Andrew Davies on 0121 767 7073 or email Andrew.davies 'at' bhx.co.uk, no later than Friday 4th September. No aircraft will be accepted at this special rate without an official slot number.

and the weather for the LAA weekend...

...at Sywell is looking, err different every time the BBC update their forecast. Yesterday they were predicting rain on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, but today it is looking like sunshine which will be nice...

Norwich joins Strasser scheme

As a result of the following from CAP 667

“There were a number of fatal accidents where a timely diversion or precautionary landing could have avoided an accident. In the UK there is a ‘culture’ of pressing on and hoping for the best rather than accepting the inconvenience and cost of a diversion. This ‘culture’ needs to be changed, firstly by educating pilots and secondly by persuading Aerodrome owners that there should be no charge for emergency landings or diversions. It is recommended that all Aerodrome owners be persuaded to adopt a policy that there should be no charges for emergency landings or diversions by General Aviation aircraft.”

Charles Strasser, AOPA rep for the CI launched a project to get airfields to comply. Norwich recently became the 203rd airfield to join (although some see that as a cynical move to go along with their requested airspace grab).

The scheme applies to all unplanned diversions (i.e. it doesn't apply to flight-planned alternates), and in theory at least removes any financial consideration from the diversion decision.