DylanAviation

The greatest danger to a pilot when flying a light aircraft is himself. Studies show that almost every aviation accident lists poor decision making or loss of control as the primary or contributing cause of the accident. In the case of loss of control accidents, almost all involve a turn.

Airplanes have the propensity to roll; in fact that is what they are built to do. It is their nature. An airplane set in three dimensional space will rotate about its longitudinal axis when the ailerons are deflected from their neutral position. Some roll more quickly than others, but they all roll – it is just what they do.

April is my favorite month in Florida. If you are a pilot, Sun n Fun at Lakeland Fl. is your April destination! I look forward to flying my Decathlon into Lakeland’s airport under the watchful eyes of the world’s greatest air traffic controllers. I tie down and exhibit with other aerobatic aircraft at the IAC Hospitality Center, a choice location from which to watch the air shows and escape the direct sun in the shade from my large wings. I arrive a day before the fly in starts to secure a great campsite. Camping allows me to enjoy interesting evening programs.

I am glad that I was there for the 20th Annual Women in Aviation International Conference held in Atlanta February 26-28. It was up beat and relevant. It was well attended by enthusiastic young and “older” aviators and want to be aviators.
I was there to participant in the Ask the Masters event. It was a two hour session where conference attendees asked questions of Master Certified Flight Instructors. I was very impressed by the young women that I spoke with.

If you have experience sailing a boat, you know what I am talking about. If not, I will explain. The sail is what drives the boat, the engine if you like. When the wind increases the sail can develop too much power and the boat will go out of control or capsize. As the wind increases, sailors reduce the sail area, they reef the sails to maintain control of the boat. When the sailor waits too long to reef and the wind continues to increase, the situation becomes critical. A routine event can become a crisis.

Too many of us pilots seek to “minimize and avoid” our contact with the FAA. If you fall into that category you might not be familiar with the web site www.faa.gov. Please consider making that site one of your favorites. The FAA web site is one of the very best resources available to pilots. It offers a plethora of informative and helpful topics. You will want to discover them for yourself, but please take note of one very special section, the FAA Aviation News. This publication is available in printed hard copy for $21 a year or for free on the web site.

The cost of gas for the family car was recently over $4 per gallon. Life keeps you busy with things to do, and people to see. The market has gone to *#%!, and your 401K is on life support. Your kid’s future is tied to increasing college tuitions and your business is slowing down.
Now is there anything else that is causing you anguish? Oh yea, the government is going to solve all of your problems!

Life is stressful!
Stress hates fun!
That is why you should fly aerobatics.

Candidates for the Certified Flight Instructor rating are required by Far 61.183(i) to receive spin training. “He or she must be competent and proficient in instructional skills for training stall awareness, spin entry, spin and spin recovery procedures.” Very often this training is received in a non- aerobatic airplane such as a Cessna 152. Such an airplane is certified for spins, but does it provide proper training?

The National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) and the International Aerobatic Club (IAC) take pride in announcing a significant aviation accomplishment on the part of James L Alsip, an aerobatic flight instructor and a resident of Indiantown, Florida. Recently, Jim was designated a Master CFI-Aerobatic by NAFI and IAC.

Incessant radio calls babbling extraneous information on busy frequencies can endanger pilots who have something important to say.
It would seem that more and more pilots are trying to be safe and do the right thing at uncontrolled airports. They talk on the radio; but the more they talk the more it encourages others to talk and emulate the guy who doesn’t know why he is talking.