Generally, I like the advice. I do not like the bit about heels off the floor! Heels on the floor to assure that you're off the brakes! I agree that a full stall is not needed, and should not be the objective in a landing flare in a tricycle aircraft, though if you're close enough that the plane set...

turboprops that the only vacuum instrument is my t&b There's your hint, the design of the instrument power supplies meets the following requirement (my bold): Sec. 23.1331 Instruments using a power supply. (a) For each airplane-- (1) Each gyroscopic instrument must derive its energy from power sour...

Why couldn't they mandate an alternate AH ( Electric ) and force the industry to sell them at the same cost as a turn coordinator ! Problem solved ! 'Cause the electric ones are way more mechanically complex to self erect. And, as we know, the aviation industry can't really be "forced" to do anythi...

Who flies around with 1 magneto these days? Anyone who flies a Lycoming IO-540 with a D6LN-3000 "dual" magneto. I disassembled one at the engine shop I used to work at, to find that the single gear which drives both magnetos had two consecutive teeth missing. Anyway.... One of the occasions where I...

Nylon webbing will stretch more than 20% to take up its rated load. So I tie down with 1000 pound ratchet straps cinched nicely tight. If the extreme load comes, they will stretch somewhat to prevent shocking the aircraft structure. I have seen chains as permanent tiedowns provided by the airport. W...

For practical purposes GA aircraft will not accumulate frost in flight. They could, however, accumulate impact ice, but you'd have to be flying in icing conditions for that to happen. Regulations make no allowance for pilots to knowingly takeoff with any adhering frost/ice or snow to critical surfac...

One of my early projects was the repair and installation of a set of PK 3500 amphib floats on a friend's Cessna 185. Not long after, I had to fly one of his planes to Maple. He flew down in the 185 amphib to Maple to pick me up, with the promise that I could fly it back to Pottageville. This was my ...

Smaller airport service in Canada is like comparing a drunken beggar to a millionaire FBO The last two times I have been at a "large" Canadian airport, only wheel chocking was possible, if I brought my own chocks, and the sum of the landing and parking fees exceeded $75 for the visit. My small airp...

A story will follow.... The POH for most 100 series Cessnas from the late '50's to the mid '60's, in section IV, "Care of the Airplane" contains the following statement: "... Tie sufficiently strong ropes or chains (700 pounds tensile strength) to wing, and tail tiedown fittings...". So, I like 700 ...

30 degrees off at 30 minutes out means 20 minutes extra flying

I have trouble telling time to within a minute, so flying to within a degree of heading is outside my worry zone entirely!

Thanks for the reminder PlanePaully, I'll have to break a 43 year habit of calling Buttonville tower!

The 30 degree off track idea is not new. We applied a variation of the concept back in the 70's for our solo cross country flights. Our destination was Goderich, which when approached from the east, brings you to the shore of Lake Huron, perpendicular to the shoreline. If the airport is not in sight...

What do you do to guarantee finding the airport? The described conditions suggest that your poor preparedness and fuel planning prevents your guaranteeing finding the airport for yourself (though Airframe's method would be the best hope). So, should you run out of fuel, the guarantee will best be f...

right to pull over cars WITHOUT due cause and demand a breathalyser check Hey, often times, when I buy a ticket, and go through security to ride in someone's big jet, I get randomly selected for a secondary inspection. It's random , no due cause (I did not trigger the walk through machine). If I ca...

It appears that this thread drifted off topic from the very first post, could we please get back to discussing Cessnas!

Oh my, the sarcasm was lost here. I detected the attempt at sarcasm.... Possibly because it stopped being funny when it was posted for the 578th time This. When you're looking at some scrape damage you've done, it won't seem so funny. No one takes off planning to damage an aircraft, sometimes we do...

I took a check flight last February at WM Aero, and was quite happy. One thing to say about the smaller schools is that you will get more personal service, and probably a lot more flexibility to your training needs.

Take away is get it very close to the ground, then just gently bring it to the cruise attitude, hold that, and it lands like a dream Well the nose may be a little higher than "cruise attitude", but otherwise, yes! Hold the plane in an attitude at your approach speed, in which it is not descending, ...

That'll buff right out

And you'll release the aircraft back to service after you "buff that out"? I expect that Air Canada will assure a proper proper repair.

If this lady actually can't sit for two hours without a squirrel in her lap then she really, really should seek some professional help prior to traveling in public alone again. Hear, Hear! I find gentle "pet" type animals very relaxing, and I admit, that during a multi month stay in hospital, when ...

taxi from Customs at the north end I used to keep the 310 on the apron at Field at the north end, just across Kilo from the customs circle. I'd shut down in the circle to clear customs, and often have a challenge starting it again to taxi 100 feet to the parking spot. I begged Customs to allow me t...

Doug Ronan's to Skywagon City, 1/3 mile (Google earth) liftoff touchdown.

The area where the plane stopped -- called an engineered materials arresting system Pueto Plata, in the Dominican Republic had something like that in the apron area decades back when the ground crew marshalled one of our DC-8-63's across. The plane sank through the thin pavement, into the sand, and...

maybe the TSB shouldn’t put any resources at all into making general aviation safer, For my experience, the TSB investigators have a pretty good idea when to dig deeper into an investigation, and when there's nothing more to learn. Often they interview as possible, and decide not to issue a report ...

I personally support these types of systems as questions can be answered and causes can be found, educating other aviators and families alike. Certainly you're free to install such systems if you see the value or importance in doing so. On day, such a system will provide useful data, which otherwis...