DylanAviation

If you are into sailing, the Bahamas call in April with gentle winds, sunny days and moderate temperatures. If you are a pilot, Sun n Fun at Lakeland Fl. is your destination! I love to fly my Decathlon into Lakeland 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.

That is a myth and not fair to the great sticks who fly conventional gear aircraft. Maybe taildragger pilots just have more fun.

Why would you insist on take offs and landings in the sand? What happened to situational awareness and common sense?
Some days I sit on the front porch of the FBO at Indiantown Airport and watch airplanes land and take off on the grass runway. It is a great place to pass the time and work on my hanger stories with other so inclined pilots.

Another U.S. Sport Aviation Expo was successfully held in Sebring Fl. Jan 17-20. I try to attend each year for several reasons.
• The developing Light Sport Aircraft industry is exciting and undoubtedly a most important factor in contemporary general aviation.
• I love the Sebring airport. It is well operated, has a great restaurant, there is a fabulous hotel one mile away and it is adjacent Sebring International Race Track (you gotta love the sound of racing automobiles).

Teaching pilots to fly tail wheel aircraft and teaching aerobatics is very similar. The pilot must have command of the airplane to do either. Most pilots I fly with are safe and they are good sticks – or so they think. I introduce a student to The Dutch Roll early during the first flight and we review the exercise on every subsequent flight.
The Dutch Roll is simply rocking the wings, right? The Dutch Roll can destroy your self esteem.

A funny thing happened as we plummeted towards the ground.
A pilot without recent spin experience can become confused and disoriented in a spinning airplane.

I frequently sit on the front porch of the FBO at Indiantown Airport and watch airplanes land and take off on the beautiful 6300 foot grass runway. I have noticed too many pilots in tricycle gear aircraft do not hold their yolk full back when taxing. If you own a Cessna, consider that your nose gear is “taking a beating” as you allow the airplane to bump along during your taxi on grass. Drop that nose gear in an armadillo hole and you really have a surprise.
Taxi with your nose light, or even in the air. Save a plane.

Sven, a former spin and upset recovery student of mine, did his professional pilot training at Ari-Ben Aviator in Ft. Pierce Fl. Aviator is a great place to earn twin time and ratings flying the Beech Duchess. Sven wrote me a letter describing how one of his students aggravated a power on stall putting the Duchess into a spin. Sven wrote that after wrestling the controls away from his student, the recovery was just like in his spin training with me, and he added that “the Duchess spins well”.
Please, do not try this at home!

Do you own a copy of Stick and Rudder, by Wolfgang Langewiesche? If yes, how many times have you read it? Is it time to revisit this great book? Stick and Rudder should be in every CFI’s library, and it should be required reading for every student pilot.

Another great aerobatic contest has just concluded in Sebring Fla.
This year's spring contest was conducted by:
Vic Britt, contest director; Joe Brinker, volunteer coordinator;
Nancy Gaylon and Carol Brinker, registrar and score keeper;
Contest Chief Charlie Harrison was assisted by Fred Weaver with the usual suspects as chief judges:Stark, Ramirez and Reinhardt.
Damon Wack sponsored the awards and did a great job presenting them among the top three competitors in each of five categories contested.