no vember/december 2006

N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 6

F E A T U R E S

1 I Rode the Mustang and Didn’t Get Thrown4 Modern Aircraft Electrical Systems

10 Aircraft and Black Holes Don’t Mix13 Is Your Airplane IFR Legal?15 The FAA Safety Team Takes Aim at Aircraft Accidents16 What’s Up Doc?17 Index of Articles 2005 – 200623 Frost—Pretty But Dangerous26 NTSB Safety Alert: Aircraft Icing28 Flight Service—A New Service Provider29 Tis the Season33 Meet Our New Writer, James Williams

31 Sport Pilot: Maintenance and Modificationof Light-sport Aircraft

34 FlightFORUM35 AvNEWS

BACK COVER Editor’s Runway

D E P A R T M E N T S

FRONT COVER: (Susan Parson photo)

BACK COVER:The HondaJet. (Michael W. Brown photo)

U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Aviation Administration

N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 6

V O L U M E 4 5 • N U M B E R 6

Mary E. Peters, Secretary of TransportationMarion C. Blakey, AdministratorNicholas A. Sabatini, Associate Administrator

for Aviation SafetyJames J. Ballough, Director,

Flight Standards ServiceJohn S. Duncan, Manager,

General Aviation and Commercial DivisionMichael W. Brown, Acting Manager,

Plans and Programs Branch

H. Dean Chamberlain, EditorLouise C. Oertly, Senior Associate EditorA. Mario Toscano, Associate Editor/DesignerJames R. Williams, Assistant Editor

The FAA’s Flight Standards Service, General Aviation andCommercial Division’s Plans and Programs Branch (AFS–805)publishes FAA Aviation News six times each year in the interest ofaviation safety. The magazine promotes safety by discussing cur-rent technical, regulatory, and procedural aspects affecting thesafe operation and maintenance of aircraft. Although based oncurrent FAA policy and rule interpretations, all material herein isadvisory or informational in nature and should not be construed tohave regulatory effect.

The FAA does not officially endorse any goods, services, mate-rials, or products of manufacturers that may be referred to in anarticle.

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A D O T / F A A F L I G H T S T A N D A R D S S A F E T Y P U B L I C A T I O N

✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳ 3–DIGIT 342FAN SMITH212J JUN05 R 1 423✳JOHN SMITH212 MAIN STFORESTVILLE MD 20747

I S S N : 1 0 5 7 - 9 6 4 8

It all started several months agowhen I asked if I could participateon a Flight Standardization Board(FSB). For those who don’t know,

an FSB is a designated group of oper-ations inspectors who determine typerating, certification, and training re-quirements for new or modified air-craft. I knew that there would be sev-eral opportunities to be part of an FSBbecause of the new light jets beingbuilt. I was pleasantly surprised whenI was assigned to the Cessna CitationMustang CE510 Board.

Now the work begins. Having al-ready read what our inspectors hand-book, FAA Order 8700.1, stated, I feltlike I had a good start on what part Iwould play on the Board. Like manythings we experience in life, it is neveras simple as it looks.

My first day on the job was in aclassroom in Wichita, Kansas, beingbriefed by our Board Chairman, who isfrom the FAA’s Aircraft EvaluationGroup (AEG), as to what was ex-pected of each of us during this

board. We had quite an interestingmix of inspectors. There were two in-spectors from Washington Headquar-ters, myself from Commuter On De-mand and Training Center Branch(AFS-250) and another inspector act-ing as an official observer from Certifi-cation and General Aviation Opera-t ions Branch (AFS-810); twoinspectors from the AEG office; oneinspector from Simulator CertificationBranch (AFS-205); and one inspectorfrom the Wichita Flight Standards Dis-trict Office (FSDO). We also had avery nice gentleman, who had retiredfrom the United Kingdom’s Civil Avia-tion Authority and was now with theEuropean Aviation Safety Agency. Hewas representing the Joint OperationalEvaluation Board (JOEB) as its Chair-man. When the briefing from ourBoard Chairman was completed, ourground school started.

Cessna has chosen Flight SafetyInternational (FSI) to provide theground school training. As soon asthe aircraft flight simulator is certified,

which should occur in early 2007, thesimulator training should follow soonafter.

Our ground school started, asmost do, with a basic introduction tothe aircraft. Next subject was theelectrical system which is all directcurrent (DC). This offers several ad-vantages, such as simplicity, overother aircraft which normally have DCand alternating current (AC) electricalsystems. By designing the electricalsystem for DC, Cessna eliminatedsome of the challenges that go withusing both AC and DC. The electricalsystem was followed by the aircraftlighting system. After that, our firstday was complete.

Our ground school training wasquite unique because the curriculumwas still as one inspector put it, “awork in progress.” Part of our job wasto evaluate the ground school pro-gram and make recommendations asto the content and the areas thatshould be changed, strengthened, oreliminated. As you can imagine with a

1N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 6

I Rode the Mustang and Didn’t Get Thrownby Harlan Gray Sparrow III

Cessna photo

classroom of FAA inspectors therewas no lack of input. The FlightSafety instructors were true veteransand worked hard to polish their prod-uct.

Day two of ground school startedout with the aircraft fuel system, whichturned out to be elementary. TheFlight Safety instructor used the “KIS”principle, “Keep It Simple.” Each winghas a tank feeding into the engine witha simple cross feed system in caseyou need to supply fuel to both en-gines from one tank or balance thefuel load in the case of single engineoperations. The next session involvedpower plants. The Pratt and WhitneyPW615F-A turbofan engines eachproduce 1,460 lbs. of thrust. Severalhours were devoted to explaining anddemonstrating the various parts of theengine. After engines came enginefire protection. This system has a sin-gle fire extinguishing bottle which canbe directed to either engine by thepilot. The aircraft flight controls arethe standard cable configuration,which are very smooth, requiring littleeffort to manipulate. The hydraulicsystem was next. Some aircraft havea very elaborate hydraulic system.However, the Mustang is not one ofthem. The landing gear is raised andlowered by a single hydraulic pump,located in the nose compartment. Ifthat pump should malfunction, there is

a manual backup sys-tem which has a nitro-gen bottle to providepressure. Finally we getto the brake system.The brakes are prettystandard with antiskidfor those with heavyfeet.

Day three wasgood old performanceand flight planning. Itincluded everythingthere is to know abouthow to get the mostout of the Mustang,when you take it intothe friendly skies. Be-cause there is a propermethod to load the air-plane, we rolled right

into aircraft weight and balance class.In an effort to cool us off after severalhours of numbers crunching, we dis-cussed air conditioning, which is asimple vapor cycle cooling system.

The afternoon was filled with dis-cussions on aircraft pressurization andhow to properly manage the system.If you follow the checklist during theinitial startup, it is almost “pilot proof”(definition: hard to mess up). The on-board oxygen system, which is foremergency use, is a simple dropdown system like the airlines use.Winding up the day was a lectureabout ice and rain protection. Thepilot windshields, or wind screens, areelectrically heated. The really impor-tant surfaces, such as the wing lead-ing edges and tail section, have inflat-able deicing boots, which is a simple,yet effective, deicing system.

Day four was devoted to avionics.The Garmin® G1000TM system will re-quire some new skills. I had donesome reading about the Garmin sys-tem and was fortunate enough to getsome instruction from Susan Parson,special assistant in Flight Standards’General Aviation and Commercial Divi-sion, before I came to Wichita. TheGarmin system is much more than anavionics system. Not only does thesystem handle all of the traditional in-strument and avionics functions, it in-teracts with all of the aircraft systems.

At first it seemed overwhelming, but Isoon learned there was a plan toteach us what we needed to know inorder to become proficient with thisnew marvel of avionics. All morningwas spent on breaking down thepackage into manageable pieces.There was a very logical process tolearning the system, but patience wasneeded on our part. After lunch werelocated to the Engineering Test Fa-cility where the “Iron Bird” resided.Cessna had built a basic cockpit inorder to test the functions of theG1000. Located on a table aboutthree feet high were two pilot seatsand a panel resembling the work placewhere we pilots are most comfortable.They had even built a simple visualsystem that was actually quite good.Some would call this an FTD (flighttraining device). However, it wasn’tbuilt for that purpose. Pilots goingthrough training won’t see this device.They will use an actual FTD and, whenthat training is completed, the simula-tor. The only reason we were allowedto use this device is because the sim-ulator wasn’t built yet. This devicewas a terrific help in allowing us to seewhat happens when we manipulatethe system buttons.

Monday was our first day to fly thenew light jet. Preflight was prettystraight forward. As is usual, youneed someone to show you whereeverything is located so you cancheck it. Cockpit prep was a newlearning experience. For those whoare used to round gauges you will bedisappointed to learn that most ofthem are gone. The world has gonedigital! They did take pity on us oldguys and left three nice round gauges,although they are for emergency useonly. It was nice to have a couple offamiliar instruments/faces. There I satwith three huge screens in place of thegood old instrument panel. This wasto become my new friend. Learn it orperish. Fortunately we had an in-structor that was an Ace with theGarmin® G1000TM . Later on, he didadmit that he didn’t know everythingabout it. I’m not sure the engineersdo either. Nevertheless, our expertwas the “resident genius,” and I for

2 F A A A v i a t i o n N e w s

Cessna photo

one was thankful for his expertise.Cranking the engines was as sim-

ple as starting a car. You push thestart button, move the throttle fromcutoff to idle and wait. The FADEC(Full Authority Digital Engine Control)takes over after starter release. Did Itell you the FADEC, which automati-cally controls the engine power set-tings by adjusting fuel flow, is now mynew best friend? Talk about simple.Takeoff requires you to push the throt-tles forward into the Takeoff detentand the FADEC does all the rest. Aftertakeoff you pull the throttles back tothe next lower Climb detent and youhave climb power. When you reachyour cruise altitude you pull the throt-tles back to the cruise detent. Life justbecame much simpler.

The Mustang handles l ike aCessna 182 that has grown some ad-ditional horse power, not to mentionanother engine. The controls are re-sponsive with no surprises. We wentstraight to 10,500 feet to do somestalls and steep turns. The stalls weredocile and the airplane recoveredwithout any secondary stalls. I flew ituntil we got a buffet, just to see what itfelt like. No big deal. The steep turnswere uneventful as long as I remem-bered to trim the elevator. Otherwise Ihad to pull quite a bit, just like manyother airplanes I have flown.

Now the easy part was over and Ihad to get back to work. They actu-ally expect you to use all of the sys-tems embedded within the Garmin®G1000TM. You guessed it; ap-proaches were next. We started outwith a GPS approach into Hutchinson

(KHUT), Kansas.It seems this air-port, which is notfar from Wichita(KICT), is a popu-lar place to gobecause it haslots of ap-proaches to offer.I was to find outin the next coupleof days the inti-mate parts ofeach approach.Our instructor

was determined for us to be as profi-cient as possible for our check ride.While I do agree with our instructor, itdid seem like we were trying to learn itall the first day. I was slaving away onone of the approaches when I wascleared to land, but with a caution. Itseems that there were several flocks—gaggles, herds, or whatever you callthem—of turkeys on the airport andthe tower warned us of them. As if Ididn’t have enough to do, now I wason turkey watch as well. Upon reach-ing the DA (decision altitude) I lookedup and found the runway right where itwas supposed to be. I also found theturkeys as well, gathered around theapproach lights. The rest of the ap-proaches were less eventful. I washappy to trade seats with my flyingpartner. Turkeys and approacheswere a full day for me—but hmm,Thanksgiving is coming. The rest ofthe day was spent in the classroomfinishing our ground school.

Tuesday we were scheduled to flythe morning and afternoon periods. Itseems that we were in store for moreof the same in the way of maneuversand, of course, endless approaches. Ilove flying; however I was one tiredaviator after the day was done.

Wednesday morning we spent atthe “Hot Bench.” This is another engi-neering tool that we were fortunate tohave for our use. Cessna had set upthe Garmin® G1000TM panel so thatthey could do tests on it. We were al-lowed to use it for practice. I waslucky to have my flying partner for amentor. She had attended the TAA(Technically Advanced Aircraft) training

at Embry Riddle University (this writer’salma mater) located in DaytonaBeach, Florida. This previous trainingwas a big help for both of us. Sinceshe had already been introduced tothe Garmin® G1000TM in a single en-gine airplane, we discovered therewere a lot of similarities with the Mus-tang’s G1000 system. The afternoonwas spent f lying many, many ap-proaches into Hutchinson. We werescheduled to take our final evaluationon Thursday. However, our BoardChairman decided to give us anotherday of practice. Though we felt readyto take our checks as originally sched-uled, none of us turned down the op-portunity to fly the airplane somemore. Okay, I admit it. We were hav-ing a lot of fun flying this new proto-type airplane. Besides, the extrapractice was put to good use. Itseems our instructor was determinedto give us a workout, so we did apractice check ride in preparation forthe real one on Friday.

Friday finally arrived and we alltook our final single-pilot check ride.The airplane can be flown with one ortwo pilots. We elected to do the singlepilot evaluation since we would be ex-pected to evaluate other pilots for thistype of certification. After working sohard in preparation, the final evaluationwas rather anticlimactic. It was notboring, we were just well prepared.

Our Board Chairman called a finalmeeting for our comments and rec-ommendations. Though the processof completing all of the other neces-sary Board requirements will take sev-eral weeks and possibility even a cou-ple of months, this phase wascomplete.

Reflecting back over the past cou-ple of weeks, I would have to say thatserving on this Board was a real eyeopener on what it takes to get a newairplane certified.

I wonder if they will let me do theFSB on the new Boeing 787. It neverhurts to ask!

Harlan Gray Sparrow III is an Avia-tion Safety Inspector with Flight Stan-dards Service’s Air Transportation Divi-sion.


5

Irecently realized that I have beenflying for over 30 years and I havebeen an A&P mechanic for 25 ofthose years. In all the time that I

have spent around aircraft and thepeople who love them, I have rarelyfound pilots who understood the elec-trical systems of their aircraft. Whyshould they, one might reason, sincethe manufacturers of most light gen-eral aviation aircraft did not provideenough accurate information to thepilot to make any difference until an al-ternator or generator failed. Until re-cently, a manufacturer was content toprovide an ammeter or a voltmeter,but seldom both. For a while, Cessnaprovided us with an over-voltage light,which, while coupled with the amme-ter, would supposedly tell us aboutcertain electrical malfunctions. In gen-eral, it wasn’t until we got into morecomplex aircraft or twins would we beprovided with enough accurate infor-mation about our electrical systemsoperation and health to make intelli-gent operational decisions.

With the introduction of Techni-cally Advanced Aircraft (TAA) outfittedwith sleek Garmin® G1000TM, Avi-dyne®, and other assorted glasscockpit panels and FAA/Industry Train-ing Standards (FITS) scenario-basedtraining techniques to help pilots flymore safely, the training industry hasfinally recognized that pilots must betrained to a higher level of understand-ing of the electrical systems that sup-ports all that equipment. This articlewill help pilots better understand howto evaluate these threatening situa-tions, if and when an electrical failureforces them to make load sheddingdecisions to complete the flight safely.

When I teach these FITS/TAAground school pilot programs, I startwith a definition of the ultimate worsecase scenario: Apollo 13 and its dra-matic return to earth after sufferingcatastrophic damage resulting in crip-pling power failure. Most pilots nodtheir heads as they remember TomHanks playing the role of Jim Lovell inthe blockbuster movie which memori-

alized that day when Americans, andin fact people from around the world,were glued to their TVs and radioswatching and listening to the missioncontrol experts trying to figure out howto get power out of the remainingcharge left in the ship’s batteries. Inthe same way, we as pilots may oneday be called to make similar deci-sions (without the world watching) inorder to get our aircraft and our pas-sengers to safety after suffering a sim-ple alternator belt failure. As withApollo 13, our aircraft battery has a fi-nite capacity of power and it becomesour job to make decisions on the re-striction or limitation of the aircraft’spower consumption that allows us tomake it to safety.

Now many pilots think this willnever happen to them. Ask any groupof pilots for a show of hands who intheir aviation career have suffered anelectrical failure and you will almost al-ways get one half of the group to ac-knowledge and are quick to offer upsome hair-razing story about their ad-


Modern Aircraft Electrical SystemsHow well do you know your aircraft?

by Michael G. Gaffney, NAFI MCFI

Garmin photo

Garmin® G1000TM Panel

venture. Further ask them to describethe specific defects they suffered andyou would expect to get a list of an-swers ranging from dead batteries andbroken alternator belts to brokenwiring terminals and popped circuitbreakers to dead short-circuits toproblems with regulation and powercontrol devices. Surprisingly, many ofthem cannot even tell you what hap-pened because “it just went dead”and the mechanic never told themwhat they found. It is amazing, in anindustry that depends upon electricalpower to keep life simple in the cock-pit, that pilots and the flight instructioncommunity are so nonchalant aboutunderstanding the central nervoussystem of the machines we fly.

Electrical System Basics for Pilots

Let us start with a few basics andthen we can see what a pilot needs toknow to be ready for the day when thescreens start to go dim. The electricalsystem of every modern vehicle has anumber of key components: A batteryfor storing power, a generator or alter-nator to produce power after engine

start, regulation equipment to controlthe power output and provide a trickleof that power back to the battery tokeep it at peak charge, circuit break-ers to protect systems from abnormalpower draw arranged into logical sys-tem groups called buses, power con-suming devices located throughoutthe aircraft otherwise known as “appli-ances,” and wiring to direct powerfrom the circuit breaker bus to the ap-pliances via the switches and thenback to ground completing a circuit.That is essentially the design of every-thing from motorcycles to spacecraft.The only difference is in the details in-corporated by engineers to providesafety and redundancy based uponthe vehicles mission needs. An autoor motorcycle can pull over to the sideof the road so very little redundancy isbuilt into the system. A spacecraftand an airliner have secondary andtertiary systems built into the systembecause failure tolerance must beminimized.

A general aviation aircraft, de-pending upon the intention of that air-craft to accept adverse conditions aspart of its mission profile may have

secondary portions of its systems toprovide redundancy. The more so-phisticated (expensive) the aircraft,the higher the chances that it will beflown in “hard” IFR, mountainous ter-rain, night-time, or over-water condi-tions, the more likely the electricalsystem will have backup componentsto protect the pilot. As general avia-tion continues its venture into offeringglass cockpit panels and TKS anti-icesystems, you start seeing correspon-ding increases in electrical compo-nent redundancy. Mooney, Columbia,Cirrus, and Beechcraft all are outfittedwith dual alternators and dual batter-ies. Symphony, Diamond, andCessna are outfitting their G1000 andAvidyne equipped aircraft withstandby batteries providing varyingamounts of protection to the pilot incase of electrical problems.

So if the systems are designed byengineers to be safe and redundant,then what goes wrong? We canbreak failure modes into a number ofcategories. This in turn can help pilotsdevelop a strategy for combating thefailures. The main failure modes are:battery decay and failure, alternator or


generator internal or drive failure, regu-lation and control failures, popped cir-cuit breakers caused by system over-loads, wiring issues caused by wearand tear or insulation breaches, switchfailures, or appliance internal failuresthemselves.

Make it SimpleSo what exactly does a pilot need

to know, one might logically ask them-selves? Pilots are not mechanics andthe last thing they need to know to flyis a lesson in Ohm’s law. I hear it allthe time. Pilots want to simplify theirlives, not make it filled with technicaldetail. OK, let’s make your life simple.There are two things that a pilot needsto know about electrical systems dur-ing normal operations: system voltageand alternator output (amps). Youkeep these items in your scan flowand ensure that voltage and currentare in proper parameters and you canfocus on the rest of the mission profile—getting safely to your destination.Short of a G1000 or Avidyne® Ente-gra panel flashing warnings at the pilotletting them know that something isawry, what parameters of performanceare we looking for? Basically, the pilothas control over key aspects of sys-tem performance prior to receiving acautionary alert from the system. Let’slook at the key areas the pilot can in-corporate into their Aeronautical Deci-sion Making (ADM) knowledge base.

The BatteryAlmost all IFR certified aircraft

manufactured since 1990 are 28 voltsystems. That means the battery hasan internal voltage of 24 volts. Thenwhy is the system 28 volts and whydoes this matter? The first 24 voltsprovides the voltage required to run allthe aircraft appliances and the lastfour volts provides the push necessaryto trickle charge the battery keeping itat a peak charge ready for the nextaircraft start (or restart) or to standready as the reserve for running thesystems should the alternator or itssupport systems fail. How long will abattery stay at 24 volts should the al-ternator fail? Batteries are rated interms of amp/hours—in other words

how many amps will the battery sup-ply for one hour in order to supply arated amount of voltage. The average24 volt GA battery installed in a pro-duction four-place IFR capable aircraftprovides about 15 amp hours ofpower at a full charge (usually until apreset voltage limit such as 20 voltsfor a 24 volt battery). That begins todiminish as soon as the battery isplaced into service. That also dimin-ishes rapidly in cold temperatures.The state of charge of the battery atthe time of the alternator failure willdetermine the number of minutes thebattery can keep the systems goingbefore screens go dim. The pilotshould be wary as the amp hour rating(even at a full charge) is not necessar-ily linear. As the battery starts to workto power everything in the aircraft,such as might occur with a failed alter-nator, the voltage also starts to dropand many radios and other appliancesdrop off line at particular voltages, butlong before the battery is actuallydead. The G1000 has built in loadshedding capabilities. At reducedvoltages, say below 22 volts, thetransmitter outputs are reduced auto-matically from 16 watts to 10 wattsand the screen brightness is drasti-cally reduced. Below 20 volts, manyappliances simply cease to function.

If the pilot attempted to takeoffwith a discharged battery, such asmight occur after a prolonged depar-ture delay with all lights aglow with theengine at idle, the battery may onlykeep the systems going for a few min-utes and that would just get worse incold temperatures. Nota place that a prudentpilot wants to be, is it?Another avoidable situa-tion is when pilots at-tempt a takeoff immedi-ately after gett ing ajumpstart. That batteryhas not had a chance toful ly be restored to areasonable charge level.A prudent pilot would re-quest a proper charge(in accordance with thebattery manufacturer’srecommendations) prior

to attempting a departure. To not doso is asking for trouble. The rule ofthumb is that if the battery is notstrong enough to start the engine,then it is definitely not ready to sup-port the needs of the flight should thealternator fail. In fact, many FAA in-spectors would argue that the aircraftis not airworthy without a properlycharged battery prior to flight.

This leads us to the concept of“crit ical idle speed.” Crit ical IdleSpeed (CIS) is defined as the mini-mum speed at which the aircraft en-gine can be idled so that the alternatorwill provide the power to completelypower the systems and still replenishthe battery back to full charge. Thisspeed is definitely not the minimumidle speed of the engine. Take for in-stance a Cessna C172SP. TheG1000 panel does a great job of let-ting us know both the system voltageand the current (amp) draw at alltimes. If the pilot is waiting for takeoffclearance and sits with the throttlepulled all the way to the stop with justthe beacon light on, the RPM wouldbe about 675 RPM. Look at the am-meter and you would see that you aredrawing a negative current of about -9.0 amps. Push the throttle forwardslightly to about 900 RPM and thepilot would see the amp draw ad-vances to +1 amps. The point wherethe amp draw switches from negativeto positive is defined as the “criticalidle speed.” If pilot should allow thebattery to be drawn down by a nega-tive charge situation prior to takeoff,the battery is in a disadvantaged con-


dition. Other than taxiing, the pilotshould use this or even higher RPMspeed, as the minimum idle settingawaiting takeoff release. On a Dia-mond aircraft or on Pipers where theammeter starts at 0 and only showspositive, the critical idle speed is thespeed at which the voltage reaches 28volts, if a voltmeter is installed. Onthese systems, when the speed isidled too low, the voltage falls from 28volts and the ammeter only reflectssystem consumption. Our G1000equipped Diamond DA40 requires anidle speed of over 1,000 RPM in orderto ensure a fully charged battery con-dition. These idle speeds will vary withequipment turned on and the temper-ature outside. The worse case sce-nario will be a cold night flight. Thiswould require the highest idle speedto keep the battery at peak chargeprior to brake release.

Load SheddingAny failure in the charging system

would result in a fallback to the rawbattery voltage of 24 volts (on a goodday) and would require the pilot tostart the process of “load shedding” toeffectively conserve power until a safelanding can be made. Load sheddingis defined as deciding what systemsto shut down and in what order to re-

duce the power consumption of the fi-nite power remaining in a battery.Some systems can be shut downusing the appliance switch, such aspressing the power button off on theautopilot, and some may require atoggling of another system controlswitch such as the avionics masterswitch (or 1/2 of it) or the alternatorside of the master switch. A pilotmust avoid the use of pulling a circuitbreaker for the purposes of removingpower.

How does the pilot know what toturn off and in what order? This is agreat question and the answer leadsto the reason why this training is sofundamental to safely flying TAA air-craft. The answer to this questioncomes directly from my friend and col-league Gregg Maryniak, Executive Di-rector of the XPRIZE Foundation andExecutive Director of the St. Louis Sci-ence Center McDonnell Planetarium.“If it spins, heats, or lights – turn it off,”says Gregg, an electrical engineer andspace scientist. The simple truth isthat nonessential (at that moment)electric appliances such as lights,gyros, flap and gear motors, autopilotservos, and fuel and gear pumps arethe heaviest consumers on the vehicleand must be the first to be eliminatedto buy time and reserve power needed

later in the flight. Because of the de-sign of these systems, simply turningoff the power switch may not beenough. A great example is the au-topilot. When the average autopilot isturned off at the panel on/off switch,there may typically still be power flow-ing to remote sensors, trim servos,and feed circuits. In order to stop allthis power flow, it may be necessaryto pull the circuit breaker. Another ex-ample is the alternator side of themaster switch. In a condition wherethe alternator were to fail or the drivebelt were to break, leaving the ALTswitch on may result in a consump-tion of almost 1.5 amps of powerflowing to fill the coil windings of thedevice and the regulators and othercontrol boxes of the system. Consid-ering that the average aircraft batteryonly has 15 amp/hours available on anew battery with a full charge, that 1.5amps could be used elsewhere suchas one last radio transmission or hav-ing enough power to extend the flapsright before landing.

One of the things that we havelearned with the introduction of theG1000 and Avidyne® Entegra panelsand the digital electrical system dis-plays that support them is exactlywhat power consumption each appli-ance uses. We used to hear instruc-


Garmin photo


tors teach pi lots to turn off thetransponder first after an alternatorfailure—it is the highest power con-suming appliance because it both re-ceives and transmits. That may havebeen true in the days of the older ana-log style transponders, but it is nottrue anymore. What we now see byswitching on and off these solid statecomponents is that the transponderand each of the other radios of thesystem only consume about .5 to .75amps of nominal power where a land-ing light and a taxi light each take al-most seven amps. That means thatafter a failure of an alternator, a pilot’sjudicious load shedding of externallights could almost triple the amountof time the battery could support theradios. Now we are getting at someuseful information that a pilot can use.

Power Buses Traditionally, general aviation air-

craft had two banks of circuit break-ers: the main bus powering everythingelectrical on the aircraft, and theavionics bus powering the radios.These systems provided a simple sep-aration of the two groups of systemsby an avionics master switch. As air-craft avionics grew more complex, wesaw a trend where the avionics panelwas split into multiple groups andwere powered by multiple avionicsmaster switches. This provided a veryquick way to isolate or load shed agroup of essential avionics from agroup of nonessential ones. As theelectrical needs of these modern air-craft have evolved, the manufacturershave again split circuit breakers in themain group into several groups to givethe pilot ever more control over theelectrical systems that power their air-craft’s systems. The most commonapproach is to split the main bus intoa main bus and a secondary bus or tosplit it into an essential bus and a mainbus to make it easier for pilots to ac-complish load shedding during anemergency. What is happening is thatthe power is being split so that undernormal conditions, all appliances areavailable, but under emergency condi-tions or in situations where the aircraftsecondary battery or alternator is

being used, the “load-shedded” sys-tems or faulty components can be iso-lated from essential parts of the sys-tem to avoid current draw orsecondary failure implications on theremaining system. In many aircraft,these busses are separated by whitelines on the circuit breaker panel tohelp the pilot understand what appli-ances are on which bus. This alsohelps the pilot develop a load shed-ding strategy in the event of an electri-cal emergency. The pilot of these air-craft must take the time to study thesebus arrangements so that when thetime comes, they have a defensiveplan to get home safely.

Standby Battery Arrangements

We mentioned before that manymanufacturers of Technical ly Ad-vanced Aircraft are outfitting their air-craft with standby batteries. How dothese work and how much time doesthis provide us should an alternatorand primary battery fail? In somecases, the second battery is not a fullsize battery, but in fact may be only afraction of the capacity of the originalwith an intent to provide just enoughtime for the pilot to fly for an extra 20-30 minutes under a severely dimin-ished system availability. A great ex-ample of this is the Cessna standbybattery installed on the C172, C182,and C206 G1000 equipped aircraft.The second battery provides enoughpower to run the essential bus for upto 30 minutes. What many pilots whoare being introduced to these aircraftmay not know is that there is no wayfor this battery to power any externallights, flaps, pumps, or other systemsdeemed non-essential. These non-essential systems are simply not con-nected to the backup battery. Theonly way to know this is to read themanual or to actually study the layoutof the essential and the main bus lineson the instrument panel. What doesthis mean to the pilot? It means thatin an actual electrical emergency, suchas an alternator failure, the pilot mayneed to make a decision to isolate themain battery and exhaust the standbybattery FIRST and then turn the main

battery back on at the last minute inorder to extend flaps or illuminate anyexternal lights for landing. This wouldbe helpful information for the pilot toknow prior to having a failure. It wouldnot be a good time for that pilot to bereading the pilot operating handbookwith a flashlight gripped in their teeth.

Diamond Aircraft uses a differentstandby battery arrangement. Theyuse a standby battery similar to anELT battery to power the standby atti-tude indicator and LED panel lights.The pilot must activate the emergencybattery switch by lifting a switch cover.This battery is not charged by the al-ternator, but by design provides powerfor up to 90 minutes. After the mainbattery is exhausted, the standby bat-tery cannot power any radios or air-craft systems. It simply is there toallow the pilot to use the standby in-struments to find a VFR airport andland.

Circuit Breaker, Switch,and Wiring Issues

Less prevalent, but still worth ourconsideration, are the issues that canoccur related to the connective por-tions of the electrical system betweenthe power buses and the appliancesthemselves. The circuit breakers areinstalled in a circuit to prevent currentor voltage overloads from traveling toan appliance that is not designed toaccept such a load. What wouldcause a device to suddenly receive asurge from the power bus? Anytimethat a device or a wiring fault occursthat allows a direct flow of currentfrom the power bus to ground willcause such an overload. The risk ofthis to a pilot is twofold. One is thathigh current causes excessive heat tobuild up along its path. That heat cancause wires or components within adevice to melt or flash-arc to adjacentwires. The second is that the meltingof the wire insulation or coating andthe other components can causesmoke or even spark a fire in the en-gine compartment, under the panel, orsomewhere in the cabin. Neither ofthese leaves the pilot any choice butto shut down the electrical systemsand start immediately looking for land-

ing options. The circuit breakers of acircuit are designed to interrupt poweranytime that rated current is exceededeven for a moment to prevent an over-heating of the wires, switches, or theappliance itself. There are two type ofcircuit breakers currently used in avia-tion. These are “trip-free resettable”some with plungers and some with-out. When the pilot can selectivelypull a circuit breaker, it creates the illu-sion that it is a switch. In most cases,this practice is discouraged by FAAAdvisory Circular 43.13 because thedevice could have its internal contactsworn over time so that it no longercould effectively serve its true purposein the event of excessive current draw.

In TAA glass cockpit training weare faced with a dilemma. We need toteach the pilot to completely under-stand what the panel looks like whenan air data computer or AHRS unitfails so that they respond correctly.Short of dimming screens, there is noother realistic way to selectively failcomponents during training other thanto use the circuit breaker. We urge in-structor pilots to use ground trainingdevices and paper tiger trainers ratherthan to risk the integrity of the circuitbreaker panel itself.

The circuit breakers of the powerbuses are supposed to be labeledwith an appliance description and anumber representing an overload rat-ing. In most cases the circuit breakerlabel is self explanatory, such as land-ing light, taxi light, starter, fuel pump,

etc. The problem is where circuitbreakers are added by avionics shopsover time on older aircraft and the la-bels are missing or unreadable. Itshould be the focus of the IA on eachannual inspection to make sure that allplacards and markings of the aircraftnot only be present, but also be legi-ble. Should a pilot fly an aircraft with acircuit breaker that serves an unknownpurpose? Title 14 CFR §23.1357 (d)requires that all circuit breakers andother protective devices be clearlyidentified in order for the aircraft to beairworthy. If the pilot cannot determinewhat a circuit breaker does, the air-craft should not be flown.

Failure ManagementThe pilot of a modern aircraft must

understand the layout and the opera-tion of their electrical system in orderto have peace of mind in the event ofan electrical failure. The systems ofour currently produced aircraft are socomplex that “hop in and learn as wego” training should no longer be prac-ticed by flight instructors and shouldbe prevented by flight training andrental companies. This might haveworked for simple training aircraftmanufactured in the 70’s, but simply isnot consistent with prudent risk man-agement strategies today. The flightinstructor, armed with the knowledgeof FITS training techniques, shoulduse emergency scenarios to train theresponse of the pilot in training to un-derstand the electrical system down


cold. In the modern world of flighttraining, we call this to practice to theManage Decide Level of FITS accom-plishment. The pilot in training shouldknow the systems just like they dolanding procedures or engine out glideto landing procedures.

ConclusionThe principles discussed here are

not limited to TAA glass cockpit air-craft but can apply to any aircraft withan electrical system. The pilot musthave a working knowledge of the elec-trical system and its essential, main,and avionic bus layout in order to havethe highest chance of combating anelectrical system malfunction in otherthan day VFR conditions. The easiestway to learn the layout is to read thePOH and study the white lines or logi-cal divisions of the circuit breaker pan-els. Keep the circuit breaker panelsand the electrical system indicators inyour scan flow just like you would theother engine indicators. If the aircraftis outfitted with backup alternators orbackup batteries, be aware of the limi-tations that these may place on youroperation of systems and have a goodidea of how long you can effectivelyoperate the aircraft in the backup sce-nario. I can only urge you to reallygive the aircraft a complete going overon the first flight of the checkout orpilot recurrency check flight. Now, ifyour next trip turns your aircraft intoApollo 13, you will be ready to returnto earth safely and with confidence!

Mike Gaffney is an FAA Aviation Safety Coun-selor, A&P mechanic, ATP pilot with a CFI, CFII, andCFMEI and over 3,200 hours to his credit. He is theauthor of the ASA software course “The CompleteG1000” and is a FITS Accepted Instructor (CFAI) forthe Garmin® G1000TM in Diamond and Cessna air-craft. He was designated a Master CFI by the Na-tional Association of Flight Instructors, and is thePresident of Skyline Aeronautics and Beuco SupplyCompany at Spirit of St. Louis Airport. He can bereached a <[email protected]>.

3

Recently, I read an article in thenewest publication from the FlightSafety Foundation called Aviation-Safety World. The article, titled “NightVMC,” written by Dan Gurney, says itis the “First in a series focusing on ap-proach-and-landing incidents thatmight have resulted in controlled flightinto terrain but for the timely warningsby TAWS.” The article was about awidebody aircraft’s flight crew thatmisread the published approach pro-cedure while doing a night visual ap-proach. Descending below the pub-lished glide path, the aircraft mighthave been a controlled flight into ter-rain (CFIT) accident, if the crew hadnot been alerted by the onboard ter-rain awareness and warning system(TAWS). The article reminded me thatit has been several years since wewrote about this subject from a gen-eral aviation perspective. We want tothank AviationSafety World for remind-ing us of the need for such an article.

As we transition from summer fly-ing into fall and winter, one of the im-portant considerations that generalaviation pilots have to adjust to is thereduced number of daylight hours. Orto say it a different way, we all have toadjust to the increasing number of

“dark hours” or the increasing numberof hours of night flying late fall andwinter poses.

Although an aircraft doesn’t knowif it is being operated in daylight ordarkness, the impact on a pilot flyingat night can be critical (no pun in-tended). Since this article is only fo-cusing on the risks of night flight, wewill leave the risks of preflighting andflying during winter operations to an-other article that focuses on winter fly-ing and the risks posed by ice andsnow.

Although an aircraft may performbetter at night due to lower density al-titude—for example, than during themidday heat—for the majority of gen-eral aviation aircraft, the greatest im-pact of night flight rests on the pilotflying the aircraft. Simply stated; atnight, pilots lose many of the benefitsthat daylight vision provides. In thecase of the widebody aircraft in the ar-ticle mentioned, it was flying a night vi-sual approach “…to a major airport ina geographically remote area.” I thinkit is safe to say, had the crew been fly-ing the approach during daylight con-ditions, they would have noticed theirdescent immediately. However, theyhad the onboard equipment to remind

them of the low descent. Other crewshave not been so lucky. There was aCanadian military flight involving anight visual approach accident thatwas later made into a movie. In thecase of the Canadian accident, the“black hole” CFIT accident highlighteda potential problem faced by many pi-lots. The Canadian flight, if I remem-ber correctly, cancelled its instrumentflight plan within range of the airfieldand continued its flight visually. Theproblem was the “black hole” betweenthe flight and the airfield. In the caseof the Canadian flight, the black holewas the high ground that the plane hit.

As one of my aero club friends,who was also a flight instructor, oncesaid on a night flight from Californiaback over the mountains and deserttowards Arizona, “There is a reasonthere are no lights out there.” Hemade the statement while we were fly-ing over the mountains east of SanDiego en route to Yuma, Arizona. Ashe pointed out, in many cases, thelack of lights is because people can’tbuild there. This usually means asteep hill, mountain, or water is at thecenter of the black hole. Of course,depending upon where you are, therejust may be a lack of people in the


Aircraft And Black Holes Don’t Mixby H. Dean Chamberlain

Ken Peppard photo


more remote or open areas of thiscountry, but there is only one way forpilots to be sure. Before flying at nightover an area you are not familiar with,do your homework.

All of this presupposes you arementally and physically able and readyto fly. In a March 2003 FAA report ti-tled “A Human Error Analysis of Gen-eral Aviation Controlled Flight Into Ter-rain Accidents Occurring Between1990 and 1998” (by Scott A. Shappell,Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, FAA,and Douglas A. Wiegmann, Universityof Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Insti-tute of Aviation), the authors dis-cussed factors relating to CFIT acci-dents including the pilots’ mental andphysical conditions. I think, basedupon some of the statements made inthis report, it is safe to say that, if youhave had a long workday, you arestressed out, you are tired, and youplan a long night flight from Point A toPoint B, you have a greater risk ofhaving a night CFIT accident. I thinkthis is especially true if you are flyinginto a strange airport. The reportnoted the importance of pilots havingthe required flight skills and being ableto make good, sound decisions. Ithink this can all be summed up by thecliché about good decision makingcan prevent you from having to useyour excellent flight skills to recoverfrom a problem of your own making.

So how do you reduce the risk ofa night CFIT accident or incident? Ifyou are an instrument-rated pilot flyingon an instrument flight plan, don’tcancel your flight plan until you aresafely on the ground. Even if you arefiling an instrument flight plan, do youcarry an FAA sectional chart for thearea you will be flying over? The sec-tional chart shows you terrain flightrisks better than an instrument chart.In case you are wondering what Imean, if you are flight planning an in-strument route, the instrument chartsspecify the minimum en route altitudesalong your route. However, there maybe more than one route to your loca-tion. One may be over rough terrain,water, or even mountains that mightmake an off-airport landing risky. Butthe alternate route might be over more

friendly terrain and might even havean airport or two within easy glidingdistance along the route. The routechoice is yours whether you are flyingon an instrument flight plan or a visualflight plan. If you are flying a high per-formance multiengine aircraft with adrift down altitude that is higher thanthe en route terrain, no problem. Ifyou are flying a multiengine airplanewith a drift down altitude that is belowthe rough terrain peaks, or if you areflying a single engine aircraft with azero drift down altitude, then youmight want to consider the morefriendly route at night when the risk ofan off-airport landing increases. Thisis just one consideration when flightplanning at night.

Another consideration is opera-tions in the terminal area. Since everystudent pilot has to study many of thevisual limitations of the human eyeduring ground school, we will not re-publish the Aeronautical InformationManual (AIM) and the FAA’s Pilot’sHandbook of Aeronautical Knowledge(FAA-H-8083-25) sections aboutaeromedical issues involving night vi-sion, spatial disorientation, and illu-sions that can occur during nightflight. However, we do want to high-light a section from the handbook. Onpage 15-5 in the Pilots Handbook, itstates, “Various surface features andatmospheric conditions encounteredin landing can create illusions of beingon the wrong approach path. Land-ing errors from these illusions can beprevented by anticipating them duringapproaches, inspecting unfamiliar air-ports before landing, using electronicglide slope or VASI systems whenavailable, and maintaining proficiencyin landing procedures.”

The handbook continues by say-ing, “A narrower-than-usual runwaycan create the illusion that the airplaneis higher than it actually is, while awider-than-usual runway can have theopposite effect, causing the pilot toflare too high or overshoot the run-way.”

“A runway that slopes up, or up-sloping terrain, can create the illusionthat the airplane is at higher altitudethan it actually is and downsloping

runways or terrain can create the op-posite effect. Rain on the windshieldcan create the i l lusion of greaterheight, and haze can make distancesappear greater than they are.”

These visual effects are real. Sowhat can anyone do to reduce therisk of a general aviation night CFITaccident or incident? First, if youhave access to the Internet, you cansearch the Internet for additional infor-mation. In my search, I found bothnon-government and government arti-cles and information about night flight.Of particular interest was the amountof FAA material involving helicopteremergency medical services (HEMS)operations. As a January 2006 FAASafety Alert for Operators (SAFO)stated, “HEMS operate in a demand-ing environment.” The SAFO notedthe number of commercial HEMS ac-cidents from January 1998 throughDecember 2004 that involved CFIT,night operations, and inadvertent flightinto instrument meteorological condi-tions (IMC). Of the 21fatal HEMS ac-cidents noted, the SAFO said 21 oc-curred during night operations.

I am not implying that the averagegeneral aviation pilot faces the uniquerisks the HEMS crews face whenlanding on a highway somewhere topick up an accident victim. But thevarious FAA HEMS reports do pointout some ideas that GA pilots can useto reduce their night flight risks.

Some of those ideas includegood decision making. The first deci-sion every pilot must make whenplanning a night flight is, should theflight be made. When applying goodrisk analysis, the right decision maybe to delay the flight until the nextday.

Another factor is, how proficientare you flying at night? This involvesthe perennial question of legal cur-rency versus proficiency. You may belegal, but are you safe. Please note,to ensure night currency involvingbeing pilot in command (PIC) whilecarrying passengers, your requiredlandings must be to a complete stopin the same aircraft category, class,and type, if a type rating is required.For a complete list of night currency


requirements to be PIC carrying pas-sengers at night, you should reviewTitle 14 Code of Federal Regulations(14 CFR) section 61.57(b). If you arenot comfortable flying at night, youshould arrange for some night instruc-tion with a qualified and night currentflight instructor.

The SAFO also pointed out theneed for ground and flight training inaircraft system malfunctions and theimportance of good aeronautical deci-sion making including the decision todivert, continue, or terminate the flight.

For those aircraft so equipped, theSAFO pointed out the benefit of usinga radar altimeter if available, the use ofenhanced vision systems, and the useof a Terrain Awareness Warning Sys-tem. These are all tools to increasesafety which reduces your flight risk.Some of the new GPS-based terrainawareness tools being developed offera lot of promise.

The SAFO emphasized the benefitof a good weather brief and the possi-bility of raising your own minimumweather minimums to increase yoursafety. The need for a completeweather brief and updating that infor-mation in flight was also highlighted.

As noted earlier, the need to re-view significant terrain and obstaclesalong your route of flight starting fromyour departure airport to your destina-tion and any required alternate airportscannot be emphasized enough.

One item I don’t remember everseeing before was a recommendationto, “Make pilot compartment, to theextent possible, free of glare and re-flections. Ambient light may havebeen a factor in some of the night ac-cidents.” Although the report was re-ferring to helicopter operations, I thinkthis recommendation makes a goodpoint.

Pilots should also reduce personaldistractions when taking off and land-ing. The airline sterile cockpit conceptof only operational conversations dur-ing takeoff, and below 10,000 feet forsome, is one way to reduce potentialdistractions.

I found another important recom-mendation searching the Internet. Itwas in an art icle written by Ken

Steiner posted on the San Carlos Air-port Pilots Association Aviation SafetyPage. In the article Steiner (the articlesaid he was the Claims Manager andAssistant Vice President for the SanFrancisco office of the United StatesAircraft Insurance Group and active inaccident investigation) told of one ac-cident that “…took place on a crystalclear, moonless night at a remotedesert airport. Although visibility wasotherwise excellent, witnesses de-scribed conditions as pitch black withno visible horizon. The 2,000-hour, in-strument pilot took off from a lightedrunway. Within half-a-mile of the run-way departure end, the aircraft wentinto a 90 degree left bank. The leftwing tip struck the ground causing theaircraft to cartwheel resulting in thedestruction of the aircraft and two fa-talities.” Steiner said this was a clas-sic black hole accident where, on adark night visual references are limitedor non-existent, a pilot must be ableto transition from VFR conditions toinstrument conditions in, as he said, ablink of an eye.

This accident illustrates the factthat night flight operations can bedeadly immediately upon takeoff forthe unprepared. Add in the risks enroute, such as inadvertent flight intoclouds or IMC and the possibilities offog or other obstructions to vision atthe landing airport, and you can beginto see that night flight requires extrapreparation and planning. In onecase involving a turbojet departingfrom the San Diego area several yearsago, the pilot decided to pick up hisinstrument flight plan after takeoff.Departing visually at night, the aircrafthit a mountain top east of San Diegokilling all onboard. The pilot failed tosee and avoid the mountain top hid-den in the “black hole” east of the city.

The risks are real. Preparation isthe key to a successful flight. Anothertechnique that can reduce night land-ing accidents is to know the publishedaltitude of the field. Rather than de-pend upon your eyes alone in flyingyour approach, you should base yourapproach altitude upon that of the air-field. This is one way to minimize thevisual affects of wide, narrow, or slop-

ing runways. Another technique is touse all available approach lights, suchas VASI and other runway lights. If theairport has pilot controlled lighting, beaware that the lights may switch off ifyou activated them early in your arrivalprocess. You might want to key theactivation code again on base to finalor on final approach. The FAA Air-port/Facility Directory (AFD) for the air-port will tell you how to key the pilotcontrolled lighting. The AFD will alsolist what other flight aids will be avail-able. For example, the Laurier, Wash-ington, listing for Avey Field includes aremark that “Rwy marked with retro-reflective devices.” Examples for otherairports include recommended nightlanding runways, types of warninglights, and the lack of lights. An im-portant risk to consider at smaller air-ports is unlit towers. Notices to Air-men (NOTAM) may report thoselighted towers near airports that areout of service. The best defenseagainst all towers is to check yourcharts for any listed towers and tomaintain your en route altitude as longas possible.

A final recommendation is to useall available navigation aids and infor-mation. Any type of glide path guide,whether electronic or visual, will keepyou out of the trees at the end of therunway. If you have access to the lat-est approach procedure for the air-port, the published data will provide al-titude information throughout theapproach. A through review of theAFD for the airport will also provide im-portant information. A final check forany NOTAMs is important. You don’twant to arrive at the airport expectingto use runway lighting, if the lights areout of service.

These are only a few safety rec-ommendations for night operations.The key to having a safe flight is ade-quate preparation and a qualified, cur-rent, and rested pilot able to makegood decisions. Have a safe seasonof night flying. Remember to file aflight plan if going VFR, and be carefulwhen flying near black holes, youdon’t know what might be lurkingthere. What you don’t know, can killyou.


correctly in a reliable record? Of ifsomeone else made the entry, is itcorrect? If you rent the aircraft you fly,do you routinely check its paperworkfor currency? No, I am not talkingabout the required 24-month checksfor its transponder and static system,as appropriate. Nor am I talking aboutthe annual inspection of its emergencylocator transmitter (ELT), i f soequipped. I am asking if you checkthat its annual inspection is current.Do you know if the aircraft has to havea 100-hour inspection? If so, is the100-hour inspection current? Can a100-hour inspection cover a 105 hourperiod? Is so, how? If the aircraft hasan FAA-approved IFR GPS installed,does it have a current data base if youuse it IFR? If so, was a proper recordmade of the data base installation?Finally, if the aircraft is legal, are youlegal to be pilot in command?

These are important questions. Ithink most of us tend to forget the im-portant issues involved in these ques-tions. Obviously, flight safety is the

most important. However, failure toproperly record the results of these in-spections can result in enforcementactions against the pilot in commandfor operating a non-airworthy airplane,as well as exposing the aircraft owneror operator to possible enforcementaction as well as possible insuranceproblems in the event of an accident.

In researching the proper formatfor recording a VOR operationalcheck, which is found in Title 14 Codeof Federal Regulat ions (14 CFR)§91.171, VOR equipment check forIFR operations, I thought this wouldbe a good time to review the VOR re-quirements for operating a civil aircraftunder IFR using the VOR navigationalsystem. In describing how a VORsystem can be checked, subsection(2) of that regulation states, “Has beenoperationally checked within the pre-ceding 30 days, and was found to bewithin the limits of the permissible in-dicated bearing error set forth in para-graph (b) or (c) of this section.”

The rule then lists the permissible

H ow do you know? Intoday’s GPS world, do youstill think about using theVOR navigation system any

more? Most IFR approved GPS sys-tems installed today were approvedunder Technical Standard Order(TSO)-C129a for supplemental use.This supplement use limitation re-quires alternate navigation equipmentto be available onboard the aircraft.As noted in the Aeronautical Informa-tion Manual (AIM), as long as yourGPS uses RAIM for integrity monitor-ing, you don’t have to be activelymonitoring your alternate navigationequipment, but if you lose RAIM or ifRAIM is predicted to be lost, youmust use your alternate equipment.That other equipment might be yourVOR. If you have VOR capability, andmost airplanes that file instrumentflight rules (IFR), probably have atleast one onboard, when was the lasttime you checked its accuracy? Moreimportantly, if you did check its accu-racy, did you enter the required check

Is Your Airplane IFR Legal?by H. Dean Chamberlain

errors. In summarizing those errors, atthe departure airport using an ap-proved radiated VOR test signal ordesignated ground test point, a maxi-mum error of plus or minus four de-grees. A maximum of plus or minussix degrees of error is permissibleusing an airborne procedure as out-lined in the rule. Using the procedureoutlined in the regulation for checkingone independent VOR receiver againsta second unit in the aircraft permits amaximum of plus or minus four de-grees as acceptable. The regulationprovides complete details for doingthe respective type of tests. [The ap-propriate FAA Airport/Facility Directoryfor your area lists VOR receiver check-points and VOR Test Facilities (VOT)you can use for the checks.]

The key to your use of an aircraftusing a VOR system for IFR flight iscontained in subsection (d) of the rule.That subsection states in part, “Eachperson making the VOR operationalcheck, as specified in paragraph (b) or(c) of this section, shall enter the date,place, bearing error, and sign the aircraftlog or other record.” If a test signal isused as part of the test, there is arecord requirement for the test signal.

If there is an FAA-approved IFRGPS installed in the aircraft, do youknow who is authorized to update thedata base? Are you? Once the database is updated, do you know how tocheck if the signoff was done cor-rectly? If not, you might want to re-view 14 CFR part 43. The authority toupdate the GPS data base is con-tained in Appendix A to Part 43, Majoralterations, major repairs, and preven-tive maintenance, subsection (c) Pre-ventive maintenance (32). Subsection32 says, “Updating self-contained,front instrument panel-mounted AirTraffic Control (ATC) navigational soft-ware data bases (excluding those ofautomatic f l ight control systems,transponders, and microwave fre-quency distance measuring equip-ment (DME)) provided no disassemblyof the unit is required and pertinent in-structions are provided. Prior to theunit’s intended use, an operationalcheck must be performed in accor-dance with applicable sections of part

91 of this chapter.”Part 43 explains who may con-

duct the operational check and howthe results of that check must berecorded. The following are excerptsfrom part 43. Anyone interested inperforming any of work outlined in part43 must review the entire contents ofthe rule to ensure compliance. Theseexcerpts are only intended to providea quick overview of the rule. If you area sport pilot or the work involves alight-sport category aircraft, you needto review the rules that apply to sportpilots or light-sport aircraft.

Q. Can a pilot perform preven-tive maintenance?

A. Yes. “The holder of a pilot cer-tificate issued under Part 61 may per-form preventive maintenance on anyaircraft owned or operated by thatpilot which is not used under Part 121,129, or 135.”

Q. What is involved in approv-ing an aircraft for return to serviceafter performing preventive main-tenance?

A. Section 43.5, Approval for re-turn to service after maintenance, pre-ventive maintenance, rebuilding, or al-teration, states in part, “No personmay approve for return to service anyaircraft, airframe, aircraft engine, pro-peller, or appliance, that has under-gone maintenance, preventive mainte-nance, rebui lding, or alterat ionunless—

(a) The maintenance record entryrequired by Sec. 43.9 or Sec. 43.11,as appropriate, has been made.”

Q. Who can approve an aircraftto return it to service?

A. Sec. 43.7,Persons authorizedto approve aircraft, airframes, aircraftengines, propellers, appliances, orcomponent parts for return to serviceafter maintenance, preventive mainte-nance, rebuilding, or alteration, statesin part, “A person holding at least aprivate pilot certificate may approve anaircraft for return to service after per-forming preventive maintenance underthe provisions of Sec. 43.3(g).” Sec-tion 43.7(g) and (h) explain what sport

pilots and holders of a repairman cer-tificate (l ight-sport aircraft) with amaintenance rating may do concern-ing light-sport aircraft.

Q. What must the requiredrecord contain?

A. Sec. 43.9, Content, form, anddisposition of maintenance, preventivemaintenance, rebuilding, and alterationrecords (except inspections performedin accordance with part 91, part 123,part 125, Sec. 135.411(a)(1), and Sec.135.419 of this chapter), states inpart, (a) Maintenance record entries.Except as provided in paragraphs (b)and (c) of this section, each personwho maintains, performs preventivemaintenance, rebuilds, or alters an air-craft, airframe, aircraft engine, pro-peller, appliance, or component partshall make an entry in the mainte-nance record of that equipment con-taining the following information: (1) Adescription (or reference to data ac-ceptable to the Administrator) of workperformed. (2) The date of completionof the work performed. (3) The nameof the person performing the work ifother than the person specified inparagraph (a)(4) of this section. (4) Ifthe work performed on the aircraft, air-frame, aircraft engine, propeller, appli-ance, or component part has beenperformed satisfactorily, the signature,certificate number, and kind of certifi-cate held by the person approving thework. The signature constitutes theapproval for return to service only forthe work performed.

Although the above informationmay be more than you wanted toread, the information provides the reg-ulatory basis for performing the re-quired operational checks for VORand installing a data update to a GPSsystem.

For more information about alltypes of repairs, you should check thevarious appendixes to part 43 whichdefine what are major repairs, majoralterations, preventive maintenance,and the various types of inspections.Part 43 also provides definitions of thevarious types of maintenance and whois authorized to perform that mainte-nance.


5

On October 1, the FederalAviat ion Administrat ion(FAA) ushered in a new ef-fort to help aircraft owners,

pilots, and aviation maintenance tech-nicians avoid mistakes that lead to ac-cidents. Called the FAA Safety Team,or “FAASTeam” — the program is de-voted to decreasing aircraft accidentsby promoting a cultural change in theaviation community toward a higherlevel of safety.

The Team uses a coordinated effortto focus resources on particularly elu-sive accident causes. The program fea-tures data mining and analysis, team-work, instruction in the use of safetymanagement systems and risk man-agement tools, and development anddistribution of educational materials.

Safety in the NumbersThere’s plenty of data available on

aircraft accidents, but it’s often difficultto determine exactly what the datasays should be done to reduce acci-dents. The FAASTeam is developing aWeb-based “Data Mart” specifically togive each FAASTeam program man-ager the correct data for his or her ge-ographic area. This will include acci-dent data for airmen who live in onearea, but actually had an accident inanother area.

This is an important new concept.Previously, accident data was summa-rized by where the accidents oc-curred. Programs to address thoseaccident causes were developed anddelivered in that area — but many air-men who had the problem, and otherslike them, were not there to receive it.The FAASTeam will reach these air-men on their home turf, not in the areaof the accident site.

FAASTeam program managers arebeing trained to analyze the data andextract system and human factorsproblems. The issues identified will becombined with information from local

FAA inspectors who certify and per-form surveillance on airmen and airoperators. Together, the data and in-formation becomes the program man-ager’s “source data.” They will usesource data to develop topics andtasks that will be woven into an annualplan of action.

Regional FAASTeam managerswill coordinate and prioritize the ac-tions of their program managers into acohesive and efficient regional plan. Allthis effort is designed to make sure re-sources are devoted to activities thatwill have the biggest impact on thesafety culture and accident rate.

The “Team” in FAASTeamTeamwork will allow the FAA to

multiply its efforts beyond what theprogram managers can do alone. TheFAASTeam will develop symbiotic rela-tionships with individuals and industrygroups that have a vested interest inaviation safety. These individuals,called FAASTeam representatives, willwork closely with the program man-agers to deliver our safety message toairmen on a local level. The coordi-nated effort of all these FAASTeammembers is what will cause the safetyculture to tip in the right direction.

Grassroots System SafetyThe FAASTeam will bring the con-

cept of system safety to segments ofthe aviation community that have notexperienced it before. Aviation opera-tors such as flight/mechanic schoolsand repair stations identified to havehigher risk levels will be provided withtraining on how to develop their ownsafety management systems, includ-ing the tools necessary to set up theirown system. The FAASTeam will pro-vide risk management training andtools to individual airmen and organi-zations via live seminars conducted byFAASTeam Members and online train-ing found on the FAASTeam’s Web

application <FAASafety.gov>.

Innovation = BehaviorChange

The Team is developing new prod-ucts for airmen and air groups, focus-ing on showing airmen how they canchange their behavior to be consistentwith the new safety culture. Many ofthose products will be developed byworking with industry FAASTeammembers. Others will come from ourNational Resource Center, collocatedwith the FAA Production Studios inLakeland, FL. This facility can take newproduct ideas from FAASTeam mem-bers and turn them into safety prod-ucts in a variety of media, which canthen be duplicated, stored, andshipped (or beamed via satellite) wher-ever needed.

Decades of Safety AdvocacyFor more than 36 years, the FAA

has had a program to improve aviationsafety. The effort began as the Acci-dent Prevention Program on June 30,1970. That program introduced theconcept of a joint effort sponsored bythe FAA and the aviation community toreduce the aviation accident rate. Overthe years, the endeavor evolved intothe Aviation Safety Program, and con-vincingly demonstrated that the gen-eral aviation accident rate could be re-duced. In the 1990s, the programexpanded to include aviation mainte-nance technicians.

While highly successful, the Avia-tion Safety Program took a “shotgun”approach, educating airmen on alltypes of safety subjects that success-fully reduced accidents in the past.But today, the easy-to-fix accidentcauses have all been addressed. TheFAA has created the FAASTeam totake aviation safety one step further.

Les Dorr, Jr., is a Media Specialistin FAA’s Office of Communications.


The FAA Safety Team Takes Aim at Aircraft Accidentsby Les Dorr, Jr.

5

N ot a very original way ofgetting someone’s atten-tion, but it worked for yearsfor a famous cartoon char-

acter. But will it get the attention ofsomeone entering the traffic patternat your neighborhood non-toweredairport on a busy Saturday after-noon?

I think not. The topic of how tocommunicate with your fellow aviatorstarts with your first day of flight train-ing. The problem is how many pilotscont inue to use the FAA recom-mended communication proceduresonce they no longer are student pi-lots. I still have not found the phase“You were stepped on” in the Aero-nautical Information Manual (AIM).However, if you are reviewing com-mon phases used on Citizen Band(CB) radio, you will hear the phasefrequently. The common usage ofthe phase means someone else wastransmitting on the CB radio whileyou were trying to talk. The result isyour transmission was disrupted tothe point it was unintelligent to theperson you were trying to communi-cate with. But, the reason I men-tioned the phase “stepped on” is be-cause I want to remind everyonetrying to communicate on a radio orin person to listen before trying totalk. As Ray Stinchcomb, an aviationsafety inspector (operations) here atFAA Headquarters said, “When peo-ple are talking, they are not listening.Someone who enters the traffic pat-tern and constantly announces theaircraft’s position around the patternmay not be listening. It is one thingto announce your position, but it isalso important to listen for other air-craft in the area about to enter thepattern and to give those other pilotsa chance to talk.”

Failure to listen on the desig-

nated frequency effectively “cuts offcommunication” when it is neededmost. That need is greatest on aclear, visual flight rule day at a non-towered general aviation airport.This is the type of day when you areat the greatest risk of having a mid-air collision. Failure to effectivelycommunicate could resu l t in adeadly situation. It is important toremember that talking is not effec-tive communication. Words must beheard, understood, and the desiredaction initiated before effective com-munication has taken place. How-ever, there is one caveat. Not everyaircraft has a radio onboard, andthere is always the possibility thatone that does have a radio onboardmay have had a radio fa i lure enroute, and then there are alwaysthose few pilots in aircraft with ra-dios that never turn the radios on.

“I tawt I taw a puddy tat. Idid, I did see a puddy tat!”

This is why Tweety Bird’s famousexpression is so important. As out-lined in Title 14 Code of Federal Reg-ulations part 91, Right-of-way rules:except water operations, subsection91.113(b) states in part, “General.When weather conditions permit, re-gardless of whether an operation isconducted under instrument flightrules or visual flight rules, vigilanceshall be maintained by each personoperating an aircraft so as to seeand avoid other aircraft.” All pilotshave a responsibi l i ty to see andavoid other aircraft whether or notthe aircraft involved have functioningradios. As Tweety Bird feared, the“puddy tat” he failed to see might behis demise. The same is true of theaircraft you fail to see when in visualconditions.

So what can be done? First, pi-lots can rev iew the FAA recom-mended communication model in theAIM. Too much radio “chatter” is asbad as too little self-announcement.Second, we can all learn to listen.For example, i f you monitor ap-proach control, if one is available foryour local airport, you can listen toits aircraft position reports to in-crease your situational awareness ofnearby aircraft. In addition, you canmonitor the designated airport fre-quency while inbound to get an ideaof any aircraft in the pattern or in-bound or outbound to the airport.Obviously, if someone is not talking,unless you see the aircraft you willnot know it is there. That is why it isa good idea to transmit in the blindfor anyone monitoring the commontraff ic advisory frequency (CTAF)when you are inbound to a non-tow-ered airport. The key is not to trans-mit so much that other pilots cannotannounce their positions and inten-tions.

AIM paragraph 4-1-9, Traffic Advi-sory Practices at Airports Without Op-erating Control Towers, says in sub-paragraph 4-1-9 (a)(1), “There is nosubstitute for alertness while in thevicinity of an airport. It is essential thatpilots be alert and look for other trafficand exchange traffic information whenapproaching or departing an airportwithout an operating control tower.This is of particular importance sinceother aircraft may not have communi-cation capability or, in some cases, pi-lots may not communicate their pres-ence or intentions when operating intoor out of such airports. To achieve thegreatest degree of safety, it is essentialthat all radio-equipped aircraft trans-mit/receive on a common frequencyidentified for the purpose of airport ad-visories.”


What’s Up Doc?by H. Dean Chamberlain


Dave Clemmer photo

AEROMEDICALCarbon MonoxideWinter Cometh—Keeping Warm on a Cold Winter Day 9-10/05

Deaf PilotBreaking the Sound Barrier 7-8/05

HealthDeep Vein Thrombosis and Travel 1-2/05Saropenia—Muscle Wasting 9-10/06Seasonal Allergies or Sinus Infection? 5-6/06

MedicalDenial of Health Insurance and Medical Certification,

Are They Mutually Exclusive? 11-12/05The Dreaded Medical 9-10/05

VertigoIt Can Happen to the Best of Us 5-6/05

AIRCRAFTBalloonsThe FAA and How Balloons Fly—from Liftoff to Landing 9-10/05Tales of an ASI: Up, Up, and Away! Or Watching

the Experts Run a Really Big Show 1-2/05

FSBI Rode the Mustang and Didn’t Get Thrown 11-12/06Tales from an FAA Inspector: A Safety Task Often Overlooked 5-6/06

Light Sport Becoming a Sport Pilot Examiner 9-10/05Breaking the Code 3-4/06Designated Pilot Examiners Seeking Sport Pilot Examiner Privileges 7-8/05Experimental Light-Sport Aircraft Q & As 1-2/05Flight Instructor Responsibilities for a Sport Pilot Proficiency Check 5-6/05Light-Sport Aircraft/Sport Pilot Timelines Are Approaching 5-6/06Maintenance and Modification of Light-sport Aircraft 11-12/06Sport Pilot Flight Instructor Privileges, Limits,

and Record Keeping Requirements 3-4/05

RegistrationAircraft Registration Starts Heating Up 1-2/06

SafetyCreative Aircraft Ground Safety 3-4/05Is You Aircraft Winterized? 9-10/06Tis the Season 11-12/06

Single-Seat AircraftGoing Solo 1-2/05

Technically Advanced AircraftBreakthrough Technologies for Situational

Awareness—One User’s Experience 1-2/05From the Logbook: 200-knot Airplane Meets 90-knot Mind 11-12/05Modern Aircraft Electrical Systems 11-12/06“No Going Back” 7-8/06

UAVDid You See the UAV? 3-4/05FAA Certificates First Commercial Unmanned Aerial Vehicle 11-12/05My Last Flight of 2005 3-4/06

UltralightWhat Part 103 Is Not 7-8/05

VLJSo What’s All This about VLJs? 7-8/06

AIRPORTSApproachesCircling Approaches and their Conduct

during Instrument Proficiency Checks 1-2/05Tales from an FAA Inspector: Airports with Over Water Approaches 7-8/05Tales from an FAA Inspector: Correction and Beseeching Time 9-10/05

Emergency PlanningEmergency Planning for General Aviation Airports 1-2/05

PromotionsMay I See your Passport, Please 3-4/06

SafetyAn Airport That Cares 5-6/06Creative Aircraft Ground Safety 3-4/05Minden-Tahoe Airport: All a Matter of Planning 5-6/06

AIR TRAFFICAFSS ContractFlight Service—A New Service Provider 11-12/06Preparing for the Future:

Automated Flight Service Stations and A-76 1-2/05Transition of Flight Services 11-12/05


ATCThe Ice Man, Heath Wells 9-10/06Introducing Revised ATC Terms for

Describing Radar Weather Echoes to Pilots 3-4/06Weather to Go 7-8/06

FSSFrom the Logbook: Understand your Briefing? 9-10/06Preflight Weather: What to Expect from Flight Service 3-4/05Thunderstorms/Pilots/AFSS and ATC 7-8/05

CommunicationDetermination, Communication,

and the Worst Disaster in Aviation History 11-12/05Did You Know your Airplane Has a Phone for

Calls to AFSS or Clearance Delivery? 11-12/05

NOTAMsDistant Versus Local NOTAMs 1-2/06

TFRFAA Fact Sheet: Security Restricted Airspace 9-10/05Tales from an FAA Inspector: Temporary Flight Restricted Areas 5-6/05Tales from an FAA Inspector: Correction and Beseeching Time 9-10/05A “Three Strike” ADIZ Violator 1-2/06

INSTRUCTIONDPESport Pilot: Becoming a Sport Pilot Examiner 9-10/05Sport Pilot: Designated Pilot Examiners

Seeking Sport Pilot Examiner Privileges 7-8/05

FITSFAA/Industry Training Standards Program Update 3-4/05FITS and Scenario Development 7-8/06FITS-based Scenario Training: Are We Ready for This? 11-12/05FITS Is Here 3-4/06FITS: What Users Think 7-8/05Yank and Bank vs Push and Manage 5-6/05

IACRAYour Guide to IACRA 1-2/06

Instructor/InstructionDo You Know the Difference between

Being Legal and Being Proficient? 9-10/06FITS and Scenario Development 7-8/06From the Logbook: 200-knot Airplane Meets 90-knot Mind 11-12/05From the Logbook: CFI/Flight Instructor—Is There a

Difference? Which Are You? Which Do You Need? 5-6/06Sport Pilot Flight Instructor Privileges, Limits,

and Record Keeping Requirements 3-4/05

Sport Pilot: Flight Instructor Responsibilities for a Sport Pilot Proficiency Check 5-6/05

System Safety in Modern Flight Training 1-2/06Teaching Kids to Fly with a Joystick 1-2/06

PTSTransforming Science into Art 7-8/05

Single-Seat AircraftGoing Solo 1-2/05

System Safety System Safety in Modern Flight Training 1-2/06What You Do in Systems Thinking 1-2/06

TAAAll That’s Old Is New Again 7-8/06FITS-based Scenario Training: Are We Ready for This? 11-12/05From the Logbook: 200-knot Airplane Meets 90-knot Mind 11-12/05“No Going Back” 7-8/06Yank and Bank vs Push and Manage 5-6/05

MAINTENANCE/AVIONICSAC 43-16Aviation Maintenance Alerts: Agusta; A 109E;

Cracks in Vertical Stabilizers; AT 5530 1-2/06Aviation Maintenance Alerts: Beech 58; Pneumatic

Deice System Contamination; ATA 3010 9-10/06Aviation Maintenance Alerts: Beechcraft A-36; Imploded

Tip Tank, ATA 2810 3-4/06Aviation Maintenance Alerts: Beechcraft G33; Loose

Nose Gear Steering Rod-End; ATA 3250 11-12/05Aviation Maintenance Alerts: Cessna 172S;

Worn Aileron Control Cable, ATA 2710 5-6/06Aviation Maintenance Alerts: Cessna A185F;

Freezing Brakes; ATA 3243 9-10/05Aviation Maintenance Alerts: Double Flameout BE-400 1-2/05Aviation Maintenance Alerts: Double Flameout BE-400 comments 3-4/05Aviation Maintenance Alerts: Kolb; Mark III 7-8/05Aviation Maintenance Alerts: Throttle Control Cable 5-6/05

AvionicsAll That’s Old Is New Again 7-8/06Breakthrough Technologies for Situational

Awareness—One User’s Experience 1-2/05Does Anyone Remember What V-O-R Stands for? 5-6/05GPS: We’re Hooked! 7-8/06GPS Approach Minima—“How Low Can You Go?” 7-8/06Is Your Airplane IFR Legal? 11-12/06Modern Aircraft Electrical Systems 11-12/06“No Going Back” 7-8/06The Snow That Went “Bump” in the Night 9-10/05



ELTELT Update—Limit your 406 MHz Testing Time 3-4/06PLB—Is One in your Future? 3-4/06

FuelAvoiding a Most Unpleasant Come Down 7-8/05The Causes and Remedies of Aviation Misfueling 7-8/05Draining Fuel Sumps—It Is Not As Simple As I Used to Think 5-6/05Fuel Low 7-8/06

Light-SportMaintenance and Modification of Light-sport Aircraft 11-12/06

TiresHow Old Is This New Tire? 3-4/05

Unapproved PartsUnapproved Parts Notification: Aircraft Propellers 9-10/05

Weight and BalanceSafety First: A Weighty Matter 9-10/05

MISCELLANEOUSChild RestraintsChildproof your Flight 5-6/05

Editor’s RunwayAir Show Season Begins 5-6/06Everybody Is Talking about… 5-6/05FAA Aviation News: A Time of Change 1-2/05 A Few Thoughts about Knowing before You Buy 7-8/0545 Years and Counting 1-2/06It Has Been a Long Winter 3-4/05 A Reminder, Buyer Beware 3-4/06Share your Love of Aviation before It Is too Late 9-10/06Thank You—! 11-12/05Welcome Aboard 11-12/06What Happened to Summer? 9-10/05You Can Make a Difference 7-8/06

InternationalCooperation with China Passes the 10-year Mark 5-6/05Transborder U.S./Canadian Flight Requirements 3-4/05

PersonalitiesAaron Tippin—Singer, Pilot, and A&P 7-8/06Dr. Jon Jordan, the Federal Air Surgeon, Retires 1-2/06FAA’s New GA Manager Envisions Lowering

Accident Rate, Peter Dula 5-6/05The Ice Man, Heath Wells 9-10/06Make a Difference in Aviation Safety 7-8/06

Meet Our New Writer, James Williams 11-12/06“Ode to a Jump Seat” 9-10/05Prescription for Successful Ballooning, Dr. Carol Rymer Davis 9-10/06

Safety ProgramAaron Tippin—Singer, Pilot, and A&P 7-8/06Courses, Sources, and Resources 9-10/06The FAA Safety Team Takes Aim at Aircraft Accidents 11-12/06Introducing the FAA Safety Team 3-4/06Introducing the Federal Aviation Administration Safety Team 7-8/06Uncle Sam Wants You –Becoming an Aviation Safety Counselor 9-10/05

Special EventsAir Show Survival Tips 3-4/05AirVenture 2006 7-8/06Balloon Fiesta 2006: “Out of the Blue” 8-10/06“Come Touch the Sky” with Albuquerque

International Balloon Fiesta® 2005 9-10/05Countdown to AirVenture 2005 7-8/05Countdown to Reno 7-8/06Mid-/Atlantic Fly-In Holds Second Annual Fly-In 5-6/05Our 45th Anniversary Issue Reprinted January 1961 Issue 1-2/06Reno 2005 7-8/05Reno Air Race Memories 9-10/06Sun ‘n Fun Fly In 2005 3-4/05Sun ‘n Fun 2006, Mark your Calendars 3-4/06Sun ‘n Fun Highlights 5-6/06Tales of an ASI: It’s Air Show Time Again! 3-4/05Tales of an ASI: Up, Up, and Away! or Watching the

Experts Run a Really Big Show (Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta) 1-2/05

OPERATIONS/PILOT TECHNIQUESAeronautical Decision-makingBeware V-squared: Friend or Foe Measure of Risk in Aviation 1-2/06Cockpit Courage and Preflight Pragmatism 1-2/05Determination, Communication, and the Worst

Disaster in Aviation History 11-12/05Getting the Maximum from Personal Minimums 5-6/06Modern Aircraft Electrical Systems 11-12/06Practical Risk Management in Flight Training 5-6/05System Safety in Modern Flight Training 1-2/06What You Do in Systems Thinking 1-2/06

ApproachesMisunderstanding Part 91.175 11-12/05Circling Approaches and their Conduct during

Instrument Proficiency Checks 1-2/05GPS Approach Minima—“How Low Can You Go?” 7-8/06N.I.G.H.T. 11-12/05Tales from an FAA Inspector: Airports with Over Water Approaches 7-8/05


CFITAircraft and Black Holes Don’t Mix 11-12/06Lake Tahoe 11-12/05Me? Lose Control? You Gotta Be…Uh Oh! 5-6/05N.I.G.H.T. 11-12/05The Snow That Went “Bump” in the Night 9-10/05

CommunicationDetermination, Communication, and the

Worst Disaster in Aviation History 11-12/05Did You Know your Airplane Has a Phone for

Calls to AFSS or Clearance Delivery? 11-12/05“Now Hear This!” 1-2/05What’s Up Doc? 11-12/06

Compensation and HireAre You Flying for Dollars? 3-4/06

Density AltitudeLake Tahoe 11-12/05

Flight ReviewsWhat to Do for a Flight Review 3-4/06

IFRImportant IFR Rules and Reporting Requirements 5-6/05Is Your Airplane IFR Legal? 11-12/06Thunderstorms/Pilots/AFSS and ATC 7-8/05

NavigationBreakthrough Technologies for Situational

Awareness—One User’s Experience 1-2/05Does Anyone Remember What V-O-R Stands for? 5-6/05

Night FlyingAircraft and Black Holes Don’t Mix 11-12/06N.I.G.H.T. 11-12/05Night Flying 1-2/05

ProficiencyCircling Approaches and their Conduct during

Instrument Proficiency Checks 1-2/05Do You Know the Difference between Being

Legal and Being Proficient? 9-10/06Sport Pilot: Flight Instructor Responsibilities

for a Sport Pilot Proficiency Check 5-6/05Tales from an FAA Inspector: Use It or Loose It,

Hangar Talk and Currency 1-2/06

PreflightCockpit Courage and Preflight Pragmatism 1-2/05Courses, Sources, and Resources 9-10/06

Distant Versus Local NOTAMs 1-2/06Draining Fuel Sumps—It Is Not As Simple As I Used to Think 5-6/05Frost—Pretty But Dangerous 11-12/06Fuel Low 7-8/06From the Logbook: Understand your Briefing? 9-10/06Iced Tea and Other Gold Drinks 9-10/06Lake Tahoe 11-12/05Nature’s Protected Areas: A Potential Risk to Aircraft 9-10/06NTSB Safety Alert: Aircraft Icing 11-12/06Preaching the Preflight Gospel, Preparing

your Passengers for That Next Flight 5-6/05Preflight Weather: What to Expect from Flight Service 3-4/05Thunderstorms/Pilots/AFSS and ATC 7-8/05Transborder U.S./Canadian Flight Requirements 3-4/05Safety First: A Weighty Matter 9-10/05Weather Decision-making for GA Pilots 7-8/06Weather to Go 7-8/06

Runway Safety Corner10 Ways to Help Prevent Runway Incursion 1-2/05

SafetyChildproof your Flight 5-6/05Creative Aircraft Ground Safety 3-4/05Hazmat Corner 5-6/05Parachutes—Or How to Let Yourself Down Gently 5-6/06Think before You Ship or Pack: What Is Hazardous Material? 9-10/05

Stall/SpinNo More Stall/Spin Accidents 5-6/06

Tales of an ASI/FAA Inspector Airports with Over Water Approaches 7-8/05And All I Wanted to Do Was Go Have Breakfast! 11-12/05Correction and Beseeching Time 9-10/05It’s Air Show Time Again! 3-4/05A Safety Task Often Overlooked 5-6/06Temporary Flight Restricted Areas 5-6/05Up, Up, and Away! Or Watching the Experts Run a Really Big Show 1-2/05Use It or Loose It, Hangar Talk and Currency 1-2/06


WinterFrost—Pretty But Dangerous 11-12/06The Ice Man 9-10/06NTSB Safety Alert: Aircraft Icing 11-12/06Winter Cometh—Keeping Warm on a Cold Winter Day 9-10/05


REGULATIONSCanadaTransborder U.S./Canadian Flight Requirements 3-4/05

CFRAir Tour Update 5-6/05Do You Know the Difference between Being Legal

and Being Proficient? 9-10/06Important IFR Rules and Reporting Requirements 5-6/05Misunderstanding Part 91.175 11-12/05Nature’s Protected Areas: A Potential Risk to Aircraft 9-10/06What Part 103 Is Not 7-8/05

Aircraft RegistrationAircraft Registration Starts Heating Up 1-2/06Light-Sport Aircraft/Sport Pilot Timelines Are Approaching 5-6/06Sport Pilot: Breaking the Code 3-4/06


WEATHERAccidentsChallenge and Response: Weather-related accidents in GA 3-4/05

The Ice Man 9-10/06Me? Lose Control? You Gotta Be…Uh Oh! 5-6/05The Snow that Went “Bump” in the Night 9-10/05

BriefingAircraft and Black Holes Don’t Mix 11-12/06Iced Tea and Other Gold Drinks 9-10/06Introducing Revised ATC Terms for

Describing Radar Weather Echoes to Pilots 3-4/06Preflight Weather: What to Expect from Flight Service 3-4/05Tales from an FAA Inspector: And All I Wanted to Do

Was Go Have Breakfast! 11-12/05Weather Decision-making for GA Pilots 7-8/06

IMCIs Your Airplane IFR Legal? 11-12/06It Can Happen to the Best of Us 5-6/05Me? Lose Control? You Gotta Be…Uh Oh! 5-6/05The Snow that Went “Bump” in the Night 9-10/05

ThunderstormsThunderstorms/Pilots/AFSS and ATC 7-8/05

WinterFrost—Pretty But Dangerous 11-12/06The Ice Man 9-10/06Is your Aircraft Winterized? 9-10/06NTSB Safety Alert: Aircraft Icing 11-12/06Safety First: Winter Icing Conditions 1-2/05The Snow That Went “Bump” in the Night 9-10/05Winter Cometh—Keeping Warm on a Cold Winter Day 9-10/05

We have a limited number of back issues

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issue that you would like to receive, con-

tact us at (202) 493-4958 or e-mail

<[email protected]>.

F rost—it makes interestingpatterns on windows, looksgreat on pumpkins, is hardto scrape off your car’s

windshield, and is potentially danger-ous on your airplane. This is also thetime of the year when you can expectto find frost or ice on your airplane.

The frost photographs in this arti-cle were taken in September 2006 atTruckee-Tahoe Airport in Truckee, Cal-ifornia. I went to Truckee, elevation5,900 feet mean sea level, hoping totake some ice or snow photographsto illustrate a winter safety article Iwanted to include in this issue. As Idrove west from Reno, Nevada, alongInterstate 80 into the mountains, I real-ized the weather was not cooperating.I had hoped for snow like last year, butI quickly realized I was not going tofind any. Frankly, the weather was justtoo nice. It was cold, but there wasno chance of snow. But since I haveyet to find an airport I didn’t like, I

drove to Truckee to see what I couldfind.

Imagine my surprise when Iparked my car and saw a pilot, ClintBazzill from El Granada, California,using the sun to remove frost from hiswhite Kitfox airplane. As he workedon the aircraft, he would move the air-craft around to expose particular areasof it to the most direct rays of the sun.In talking to him, he was aware of thedanger frost posed to his safe depar-ture. He wanted a clean, dry aircraft.

Then to my surprise, I saw a largebusiness jet, a Cessna 680, parkeddown the ramp. From the sounds Iheard, either an engine or an auxiliarypower unit was running on the jet.Seeing people walking around the air-craft, it was obvious the crew waspreparing for a departure. As Iwatched, I saw an airport pickup truckdrive up to the jet. A man took a tallstepladder off the truck and set it upnear the tail of the aircraft. Then in a

scene that would make the grumpiestFAA safety inspector happy, one of themen near the aircraft climbed the lad-der to physically inspect the T-tailedhorizontal stabilizer for frost. Some ofthe photographs in this article showthat inspection.

I thought that crew was trulyshowing its professionalism as one ofits members inspected the aircraft forfrost. Frankly, it was not easy to do.The airport office had to be contacted.Someone had to go and get a laddertall enough to reach the tail, and finallya crew member had to climb the lad-der to check for frost and possibly ice.

If it had been your aircraft, wouldyou have done it? Even if it was yourtypical low-wing Mark I family flyer,would you have walked around theaircraft to physically inspect and touchthe aircraft’s surfaces for contamina-tion?

The sad thing is some crews havenot physically checked their aircraft’s


Frost —Pretty But Dangerousstory and photos by H. Dean Chamberlain

surfaces, and that failure has con-tributed to accidents. Surprisingly, ac-cording to one report I read, jet aircraftseem to be more susceptible to frostand wing contamination than someother types of aircraft. When I pho-tographed the aircraft shown in thisshort article, it was my intention just toremind everyone of the need to checkyour aircraft for frost, ice, or snow.But as I started talking to people hereat Headquarters about the article, sev-eral pointed out important safety ma-terial that I should review and consideradding to what at one point was goingto be a short photo essay on the dan-gers of frost.

The first source is a September2006 Safety Alert from the NationalTransportation Safety Board (NTSB)warning pilots of the dangers of air-craft icing. The Alert (SA-06) titled“Aircraft Icing,” includes a subtitle thatsays, “Pilots urged to beware of air-craft upper wing surface ice accumu-lation before takeoff.” The sidebarwith this article is the complete text ofthe Alert.

Another good source of informa-tion I was told about is a NASA Inter-net Web site that has a video trainingcourse on it. The URL for the site is

<http://aircrafticing.grc.nasa.gov/courses.html>. The NASA site has twovideo courses of benefit to general avi-ation pilots. The first is titled “A Pilot’sGuide to Ground Icing.” The secondone is titled “A Pilot’s Guide to In-FlightIcing.” The NASA site also providesdetailed resources for the courses aswell as review material, media files, ac-cident reports, and other icing relatedmaterials. NASA has done a lot of re-search on aircraft icing. You can findthat information on its Web site<http://icebox.grc.nasa.gov>.

FAA has published many docu-ments and advisory circulars (AC) onwinter operations, such as frost, icing,freezing rain, and snow. Althoughmuch of that material addresses aircarrier and commuter operations, thematerial provides important informa-tion for other types of flight operationsas well. My initial FAA search returned27 AC titles on the word “frost.” In re-viewing several of the ACs, one ACnoted that “Most pilots are aware ofthe hazards of ice on the wings of anaircraft. The effects of a hard frost aremuch more subtle. This is due to anincreased roughness of the surfacetexture of the upper wing and maycause up to a 10 percent increase in

the airplane stall speed. It may alsorequire additional speed to producethe lift necessary to become airborne.”The AC, AC 61-84B, also said, “Onceairborne, the airplane could have aninsufficient margin of airspeed abovestall such that gusts or turning of theaircraft could result in a stall.”

AC 135-16, titled “Ground Deicingand Anti-Icing Training and Checking,”was written for the Title 14 Code ofFederal Regulations (14 CFR) part 135community. However, the AC madeseveral important points that all GA pi-lots can benefit from. The first is the“Clean Aircraft Concept.” This sum-marizes regulatory guidance in 14CFR parts 121 and 135 that says noperson may takeoff an airplane whenfrost, ice, or snow is adhering to thewings, control surfaces, or propellersof the airplane. The AC states, “Therationale behind this concept is thatthe presence of even minute amountsof frost, ice, or snow (referred to as‘contamination’) on particular airplanesurfaces can cause a potentially dan-gerous degradation of airplane per-formance and unexpected changes inthe airplane flight characteristics.” TheAC also defined ground icing condi-tions as any time conditions are such



that frost, ice, or snow may reasonablybe expected to adhere to an airplane.The AC defined frost, including Hoar-frost, as a deposit of interlocking icecrystals formed by direct sublimationof water vapor on an object or aircraftsurface, which is at or below 32 de-grees Fahrenheit or 0 degrees Celsius.

What I found interesting in the ACwas the statement that frost or ice canform on an aircraft’s wing surfaceswhen the temperature is above freez-ing. Although we normally think offrost forming as a result of freezingtemperatures at ground level, the ACsaid frost or ice can form on a wingwhen the wing is “cold-soaked” andencounters high humidity, rain, drizzle,or fog, even though ambient tempera-tures are above freezing. A good ex-ample of this is a cold aircraft landingfrom the sub-freezing temperature of

high altitude down through the aboveweather conditions. The aircraft couldexperience frost or ice forming on itssurfaces. The AC also said cold-soaked fuel can also cause frost toform over the fuel tank areas in theabove conditions.

AC 135-16 highlighted an impor-tant safety point. In its detailed sec-tion dealing with deicing and anti-icingfluids and the proper way to apply anduse them, the AC said, “Some fluidsmay not be compatible with aircraftmaterials and finishes and, some mayhave characteristics that impair aircraftperformance and flight characteristicsor cause control surface instabilities.Use of automotive antifreeze for deic-ing is not approved. Its holdover timeand its effects on aircraft aerodynamicperformance are generally unknown.”The AC lists several ways to deice an

aircraft including several good refer-ences regarding winter operations.For your smaller GA type aircraft, oneof the best ways is a heated hangar.Regardless of how you remove frost,ice, or snow from your aircraft, be itheat from the sun, deicing f luid,scrapping, or another method thatworks for you, a critical element is toensure that the contamination doesnot refreeze back on your aircraft.This is especially true on a criticalcontrol surface or operating area suchas a control hinge that might preventthe operation of that control surface.

Failure to properly check for anysurface contamination such as frost,snow, or ice and to properly removethat contamination could result in youbecoming a test pilot in an aircraftthat might not be able to fly.

Have a safe winter. 5

Whether you fly a small kit-built aircraftsuch as this Kitfox, photo on the left, ora large turbojet, such as this Cessna,you need to inspect the aircraft forfrozen surface contamination. If con-tamination is found such as frost, snowor ice, you need to follow the appro-priate procedure for removing it.

O n February 1, 2005, theFAA awarded LockheedMartin Corporation (LM) acontract to perform flight

services in 58 Automated Flight Ser-vice Stations (AFSS) in the lower 48states, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. TheAFSS Contract was a result of a pub-lic/private competition following OMBCircular A-76 guidelines. The scopeof the public/private competition didnot include flight services delivered inAlaska. A little over one year ago, onOctober 4, 2005, LM assumed re-sponsibility to deliver flight services tothe flying public.

Should I have noticed a differ-ence? Not really. Services continueto be provided from 58 AFSSs in theContinental U.S., Hawaii, and PuertoRico. The change in service providershould be transparent to the user, asLM staffed all the AFSSs with incum-bent employees and continued to pro-vide flight services following the samepolicies and procedures used by theFAA on October 3, 2005.

The FAA Flight Service Organiza-

tion continues to provide oversight onall flight services delivered to the flyingpublic. The contract with LM is a per-formance-based service contract thatestablishes verifiable Acceptable Per-formance Levels (APLs). APLs aremetrics (21 total) established to enablethe government to measure contractorperformance. These metrics arebacked up with financial incentivesand penalties. The process for collec-tion, measurement, and analysis ofAPLs is governed by a Quality Assur-ance Surveillance Plan (QASP) as exe-cuted through a Quality AssuranceEvaluator (QAE) organization.

LM is expected to make systemimprovements by implementing a newsuite of equipment, Flight Services 21(FS21), providing information to flightservice specialists and pilots. TheFS21 system includes a new networkenabled voice communication suiteand integrated hardware and softwareautomation tools. LM’s last site in theintegration plan is expected during thefourth quarter of fiscal year 2007 (July-August time-frame). FS21 will also uti-

lize the Internet more effectively. Forthe f irst t ime, Internet users andbriefers will be able to see the sameinformation.

Over a 36-month transition periodthat started October 2005, LM willconsolidate the services provided bythe existing 58 sites into three newHubs (located in Leesburg, Virginia, Ft.Worth, Texas, and Prescott, Arizona)and 17 refurbished existing facilities.

How are they doing? LM is nowonline with a new Web site:<www.afss.com>. You can providefeedback directly to them on the serv-ices they are providing by registeringon the site.

FAA’s Flight Service Organizationis now online at <http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_of-fices/ato/so/fs/>. You can find infor-mation on Flight Services today, thebackground of the AFSS contract,links to helpful sites, and a direct feed-back link to both LM and the FAA.

Look for additional information onthe upcoming transition in a futureissue of FAA Aviation News.


What does this mean to me?from Air Traffic Organization’s Flight Services

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Flight Service - A New Service Provider

This article was written beforeSeptember 11, 2001, and published inthe November/December 2001 issueof FAA Aviation News. The authorasked if we could reprint it, as “peoplestill remember that holiday article andit continues to add a little more to theholiday spirit, especially for those whoare in our business.” —Editor

In the field of aviation our past in-cludes two extraordinary brothers whodemonstrated that powered, con-trolled flight was possible. On Decem-ber 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, NorthCarolina, Wilber and Orville Wrightmade history. Their first controlled,sustained flight lasted twelve secondsand covered approximately 120 feet ina heavier-than-air craft. That sameday these famous brothers madethree more flights with each flight ex-tending the time and distance flown.The last flight of the day carried Wilber852 feet and lasted 59 seconds. As

inventors, builders, and flyers they fur-ther developed the “aeroplane,” taughtmen to fly, and opened the era of avia-tion.

By 1914, airplanes became one ofthe more valuable tools of World War I.When the war ended in 1918, the U.S.Government found an importantpeacetime role for aviation—deliveringmail. The U.S. Army initiated an ex-perimental mail service program inMay 1918. Within months, airmailservice became the domain of theU.S. Post Office Department. In 1925the Air Mail Act was passed makingthe carriage of mail by air a private op-eration under a system of competitivebidding.

Several entrepreneurs started thecommercial aviation business in thelate 1920’s and early 1930’s. Daringbusinessmen l ike Pan Am’s JuanTrippe, United’s Walter Varney, andAmerican’s Cyrus Smith were able touse these great heavier than air flying

machines to carry mail. Later, thisbusiness expanded to include cargoand passengers. As the fledgling aircarriers grew, it became apparent thataircraft had great potential and couldproduce enormous revenues, butthey also carried substantial risk.After all, these early aircraft were notdeveloped with the technology wehave today and were not built or op-erated with safety as a priority.

The commercial air transportationbusiness has evolved over the yearsproducing aircraft to satisfy customerand business needs. Larger, faster,more reliable, more efficient, econom-ical, and comfortable aircraft continueto be produced by aircraft manufac-turers. However, because of the in-herent danger, especially in the earlyaircraft, concerns over safety becamean important part of this transporta-tion evolution. Early aircraft were sim-ply not well-constructed and had nu-merous mechanical failures. Aircraft


‘Tis the Seasonby Salvatore Scalone

safety issues actually date back to1908 when Orville Wright brought theFlyer to Ft. Myers, Virginia, (see photoon page 29) and won a military con-tract for the world’s first military air-craft. Later that year his plane experi-enced a propeller failure and crashed,seriously injuring him and killing hispassenger. It was these concerns inthe early years of aviation that helpedestablish the priority of “safety first” asa standard for this industry. Peoplewere willing to accept this “new” formof transportation, but wanted assur-ances that it was safe to fly.

In the United States this on goingevolution has created a unique safety-related partnership between the aircarriers, manufacturers, and regulatoryauthorities. It is this partnership thathas formed the basis for the rapid ad-vances we have experienced in aircraftdesign, manufacture, inspection,maintenance, and aircraft operation.Additionally, these advances helpedgain the confidence of the governmentand the general public. In a continu-ous working relationship these threegreat forces combined businessneeds with the latest technology in aframework of safety. This unique and

successful partnership has becomethe envy of the world.

However, occasionally we are re-minded that even with the success ofbuilding bigger, better, and safer air-craft, these great flying machines stillcarry risk. Until we are able to manu-facture aircraft that are completely riskfree, we must continue to rely on thestandard we established for ourselves.This standard provides for the protec-tion of life by making safety the singlemost important priority in our com-mercial air transportation system—apriority that must not and can not beaffected by business cycles or issuesof profit or loss.

The United States of America hasthe largest and safest commercial airtransportation system in the world.Additionally, we build and operatesome of the largest and safest aircraftfor both passenger and cargo trans-portation. Air transportation has be-come one of the primary strengths ofthis country providing numerous serv-ices for passengers and cargo andsteady employment for millions ofAmericans. It has also helped buildand strengthen the economies ofother countries around the world. We

discovered this method of transporta-tion, set the pace for its growth, anddeveloped the standard necessary tomake it safe and keep it safe. All thiswe shared with the world.

We have come a long way sincethat first successful f l ight at KittyHawk. In just over one hundred yearswhat started as an experiment hasprogressed as an important part of ourculture. Today the skies are filled withaircraft leaving and arriving at airportsaround the world, carrying millions ofpeople and tons of cargo to almostevery point on the globe.

During this Holiday season, let’stake a moment to thank those individ-uals who contributed to the growth ofour air transportation system. Thosehard working men and women whohelped build the foundation of thecommercial aviation business havegiven us the tools we need to continuethe progress and growth we have en-joyed. They have earned an importantplace in our history and deserve to beremembered.

Salvatore Scalone is the Managerof the Farmingdale (NY) Flight Stan-dards District Office.


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One of the early air carriers that also provided aflight attendant. She had to be a nurse to qualify, andwas also considered excess baggage if the pilotdetermined that the airplane was overweight.

text.Title 14 Code of Federal Regula-

tions (14 CFR) §21.190, Issue of aspecial airworthiness certificate for alight-sport category aircraft, is the in-dustry developed consensus stan-dards and is the basis for certificationand complied with by the manufac-turer. Compliance is recorded andsubmitted on the FAA form 8130-15“Statement of Compliance.” Themaintenance and modification require-ments are given in the applicable sec-tions of 14 CFR parts 43 and 91. Fora light-sport category aircraft, it isfound in §91.327. The maintenanceand inspection requirements for air-craft are usual ly in §91.400s, so§91.327 is not a typical place wheremechanics and operators would look.In addition, the operating limitationsthat are issued with the special airwor-thiness certificate have maintenanceand inspection requirements. Thehighlighted areas are the requirementsfor modification of a “special light-sport aircraft.” These modification re-quirements are different from what themechanic and operator have compliedwith in the past. They place the man-ufacturer in control of any modificationor repair beyond the scope and detailof the maintenance manual. Themodification or repair is authorized bythe manufacturer, and a letter from themanufacturer must be included in theaircraft records.

Maintenance is one of the lessglamorous facets of aviation, but it isone of the most important. This is nodifferent in the sport pilot arena. Thegoal of this ongoing series of articles isto provide you with information aboutdifferent areas important to this stillvery young community. This articlecovers the area of maintenance andmodification.

There are two ways of certifying alight-sport aircraft. It can be certifiedas either a special light-sport aircraft(SLSA) or as an experimental light-sport aircraft (ELSA). Each is certifiedunder different sections of Title 14Code of Regulations (14 CFR) part 21,and therefore have different mainte-nance and modification procedures.

The following excerpts highlightregulations that differentiate the twotypes of light sport aircraft. Dependingon how your light-sport aircraft is certi-fied, you could face very differentmaintenance requirements. The infor-mation to follow starts with a short ex-planation of what each of those certifi-cations is and l ists appl icableregulations covering maintenance andmodification. As always with regulationissues, the regulations listed here areup to date at the time this article waswritten, but for current regulations youshould check the Web at<www.gpoaccess.gov/ ecfr> underTitle 14, Aeronautics and Space, parts21 and 91, sections cited later in the

14 CFR Section 91.327

Aircraft having a special airworthi-ness certificate in the light-sport cate-gory: Operating limitations.

(b) No person may operate an air-craft that has a special airworthinesscertificate in the light-sport categoryunless-

(1) The aircraft is maintained by acertificated repairman with a light-sport aircraft maintenance rating, anappropriately rated mechanic, or anappropriately rated repair station in ac-cordance with the applicable provi-sions of part 43 of this chapter andmaintenance and inspection proce-dures developed by the aircraft manu-facturer or a person acceptable to theFAA;

(2) A condition inspection is per-formed once every 12 calendarmonths by a certificated repairman(light-sport aircraft) with a mainte-nance rating, an appropriately ratedmechanic, or an appropriately ratedrepair station in accordance with in-spection procedures developed by theaircraft manufacturer or a person ac-ceptable to the FAA;

(3) The owner or operator com-plies with all applicable airworthinessdirectives;

(4) The owner or operator com-plies with each safety directive appli-cable to the aircraft that corrects anexisting unsafe condition. In lieu ofcomplying with a safety directive an


Maintenance and Modification of Light-Sport Aircraft

by Edsel W. Ford Jr.


owner or operator may- (i) Correct the unsafe condition in

a manner different from that specifiedin the safety directive provided theperson issuing the directive concurswith the action; or

(ii) Obtain an FAA waiver from theprovisions of the safety directivebased on a conclusion that the safetydirective was issued without adheringto the applicable consensus standard;

(5) Each alteration accomplishedafter the aircraft’s date of manufacturemeets the applicable and current con-sensus standard and has been au-thorized by either the manufacturer ora person acceptable to the FAA;

(6) Each major alteration to an air-craft product produced under a con-sensus standard is authorized, per-formed and inspected in accordancewith maintenance and inspection pro-cedures developed by the manufac-turer or a person acceptable to theFAA; and

(7) The owner or operator com-plies with the requirements for therecording of major repairs and majoralterations performed on type-certifi-cated products in accordance with§43.9 (d) of this chapter, and with theretention requirements in §91.417.

(c) No person may operate an air-craft issued a special airworthinesscertificate in the light-sport categoryto tow a glider or unpowered ultralightvehicle for compensation or hire orconduct flight training for compensa-tion or hire in an aircraft which thatpersons provides unless within thepreceding 100 hours of time in servicethe aircraft has-

(1) Been inspected by a certifi-cated repairman with a light-sport air-craft maintenance rating, an appropri-ately rated mechanic, or anappropriately rated repair station inaccordance with inspection proce-dures developed by the aircraft manu-facturer or a person acceptable to theFAA and been approved for return toservice in accordance with part 43 ofthis chapter; or

(2) Received an inspection for theissuance of an airworthiness certifi-cate in accordance with part 21 of thischapter.

(d) Each person operating an air-craft issued a special airworthinesscertificate in the light-sport categorymust operate the aircraft in accor-dance with the aircraft’s operating in-structions, including any provisions fornecessary operating equipment speci-fied in the aircraft’s equipment list.

Experimental light-sport aircraft(ELSA) are certificated under 14 CFR§21.191 and have three options toqualify under. The maintenance re-quirements of part 43 are not applica-ble to aircraft issued airworthiness cer-tificates under §21.191(i)(1) and (2).However, §43.1(b) states, “this partdoes not apply to any aircraft forwhich the FAA has issued an experi-mental certificate, unless the FAA haspreviously issued a different kind ofairworthiness certificate for that air-craft.” This is referring to the SLSAthat has been converted to an ELSA.The FAA has issued a previous certifi-cate, so part 43 would still apply.However, the maintenance require-ments of §91.237 would not apply.Aircraft having experimental airworthi-ness certificates are covered under§91.319 and the operating limitationsissued to the aircraft.

14 CFR Section 21.191Experimental certificates.

Experimental certificates are is-sued for the following purposes:

[Note: The experimental certificateis not a category but a purpose of op-eration.]

(i) Operating light-sport aircraft.Operating a light-sport aircraft that-

(1) Has not been issued a U.S. orforeign airworthiness certificate anddoes not meet the provisions of§103.1 of this chapter. An experimen-tal certificate will not be issued underthis paragraph for these aircraft afterJanuary 31, 2008;

[Note: This option is for the aircraftthe FAA has been calling the “existingfleet.” However, this can be applied toany aircraft that meets the definition oflight-sport even if the aircraft wouldtypically be amateur built.]

(2) Has been assembled- (i) From an aircraft kit for which theapplicant can provide the informationrequired by §21.193 (e); and (ii) In accordance with manufacturer’sassembly instructions that meet anapplicable consensus standard; or

[Note: This option is not availableat the time of this writing. The kitconsensus standards are just nowcomplete but have not been acceptedby the FAA. When you look up thedictionary definition of a kit, it says abox of parts that assembled into anaircraft would be defined as a kit.However, in the case of light-sport,the kit is required to have a kit state-ment of compliance and be a bolt forbolt copy of a special light-sport air-craft at the time of original certifica-tion. A box of parts today that is as-sembled into an aircraft would beconsidered to be part of the existingfleet. Modification of the “light-sportkit” aircraft can be at will after originalcertification.]

3) Has been previously issued aspecial airworthiness certificate in thelight-sport category under §21.190.]

[Note: This option is for the spe-cial light-sport that no longer meetsthe consensus standards and themanufacturer’s statement of compli-ance. This aircraft can be modified atwill and then certificated as experi-mental. The only way that this aircraftcan be converted back to a speciallight-sport aircraft is for the manufac-turer to issue a new statement ofcompliance.

The maintenance and modifica-tion of light-sport aircraft has changedthe method with which a mechanic orrepairman should approach the job.There are many new things to learn asthe industry delivers more aircraft tothe market. Also, the number of ex-perimental certificated aircraft that willbe added to the general aviation fleetwill present mechanics and repairmenalike with new challenges.

Edsel W. Ford, Jr., is an AviationSafety Inspector with Flight StandardsService’s Light Sport Aviation Branch,AFS-610.

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Meet our New Writer, James Williams

My first introduction to the world of aviation was around thetime I was 10 years old, when my father decided to get his pri-vate pilot’s certificate. That first ride could have gone better (Ihad bit of motion sickness), but it did spark an interest. I nexthad a chance to fly at age 12 with an instructor in a CessnaCardinal. Looking back, the one event that really turned me to-ward aviation as a career happened when I was 15; flying withmy father from Gaithersburg, Maryland, to Yellowstone NationalPark. The park was great, but what really stays with me was thecross-country journey there and back. While I didn’t fly againuntil college, I knew I wanted to be in the aviation industry.

When the time came to look at colleges, I knew it was goingto be a tough choice. There are many very good programs outthere. I narrowed my choices down to three programs that I feltwere the best. In the end it was a very tough decision. TheFlorida Institute of Technology, College of Aeronautics, in Mel-bourne, Florida, was my pick for two major reasons. First, it wasa smaller university where I would get to know my professorsand peers. Second, the weather in Florida sure beats that of thefar north. Even weathering a few hurricanes hasn’t changed myopinion on that. There’s something very wonderful about study-ing at the beach in January in shorts and a T-shirt.

While pursuing a degree in Aviation Management, I earnedmy private pilot certificate and instrument rating. My course work consisted of a good mix of aviation and busi-ness. I studied everything from airport design to economics. With my private pilot certificate earned, I joined theFlorida Tech Flight Team. During my four regional and three national competitions with the team, we flew fromMelbourne, Florida, to Grand Forks, North Dakota; Columbus, Ohio; and Grenada, Mississippi, among otherplaces. The competitions were fun and terrifying all at the same time. Between the long distances traveled tocompetition and the actual events, there are always good stories produced. Looking back now with more experi-ence and wisdom, we probably made some mistakes, but I learned a lot and I’m sure it’s made me a better pilot.

After graduation I began working on a Masters Degree in Applied Aviation Safety. The course work includedclasses in human factors, accident investigation, physiology, and other topics. That work gave me a chance toexamine a few of the issues facing the industry today. From how to display weather information in the cockpit forpilots to the presentation methods of any possible Air Traffic Control Data link system. These are just a couple ofthe multitude of issues that face everyone in the aviation industry. While many advancements are first seen in mili-tary or high end civilian aircraft (such as Glass cockpits, composite construction, GPS, etc.) they have rarely beenavailable to the average general aviation user. This latest boom of technology is finally catching up with us in therest of the aviation industry. That makes right now an exciting time to be in this business. Safety is even more im-portant in these times of rapid change.

When it came to looking for work, it’s hard when you don’t have an exact job title like accountant, engineer, orcomputer analyst. One of my professors had worked for the FAA and suggested I check and see what openingthey had. After a couple of searches I found several possible positions that looked interesting. So I began theprocess of applying to the government which, if you’ve never had the pleasure, is not exactly the most enjoyableexperience ever. The one thing that drew me to the FAA was a chance to work for an organization that leads anddirects the entire industry and a chance to have a real effect on the safety record.

Joining the magazine staff will allow me to continue research into safety issues and hopefully to aid the flyingpublic. I think my background as a general aviation pilot and experience in safety and human factors will help mefind crucial issues to address. My goal here is to provide you, our readers, with information that is useful, current,and that adds to the overall safety and enjoyment of your flights.

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This is a very good photograph ofa scale model J-3 Piper Cub. It lookslike a full flight control radio controlmodel. The giveaway was the woodprop and Mylar wing cover. By theway, the builder of the aircraft pickeda good “N” number, at least as oftoday 10/2/2006, in the data base. Ithought possibly it might have beenan aircraft the modeler either ownedor once flew and the “N” number stillexisted.

Thanks, read FAA Aviation Newsall the time.

Jim

It’s a scale model, probably RC,of a J-3, with a four stroke model en-gine. How many people do youreckon will not look closely at the pic-ture, look up the “N” number, and tellyou it’s a J-3 owned by Aaron Mills?Give us something a little more chal-lenging next time.

Al

The photo appears to be a RCscale Piper Cub, possibly a GreatPlanes Model. The Cub’s engine is aSaito four cycle glow engine.

Very nice model.Frank

The aircraft on the back cover ofthe September/October 2006 is a J-3C Piper Cub.

Steve

We want to thank everyone whosubmitted comments about thephoto. To answer our first responder;yes, it was a trick question. The fol-lowing is the explanation provided bythe builder

The aircraft in the FAA AviationNews photo is a Radio Control model.It is a Piper J-3 Cub assembled froma Great Planes® kit. It has a wingspan of 80 inches and has a Saito®.90 twin cyl inder engine to moreclosely represent a full scale Cub.The “N” number was changed fromthe supplied number to the pictured

number since I learned to fly (and laterinstructed) in N70255.

• Not a Derrick

I must commend you and yourstaff for another outstanding issue ofAviation News. However the photo-graph on the top right-hand corner ofpage 7 is not captioned correctly.We, out there in the oil patch, wouldcall the incorrectly captioned picture a“steel cowboy doing’ the watusi,” cor-rectly named a pump jack.

A derrick is the high steel towerfor the drilling apparatus. The derrickprecedes the pump jack.

Thomas J. ForchtnerFormer “Wildcatter”

Thanks for keeping us Beltwayfolks in line. I’ll rope the culprit and in-form him of the mistake.

• Kudos on “No Going Back”

Just wanted to say great article inthe July/August issue. When speakingof the new integrated avionics sys-tems in the context of training, I haveoften referred to raw data skills be-coming a lost art. You’re right on themoney. Like you, I was trained in, andhave flown, conventionally-equippedaircraft for many years. I also sharethe same enthusiasm when it comesto the new glass systems and love thetremendous amount of informationprovided by them. I myself am findingit hard to “go back,” having flown withthe enhanced situational awareness,traffic, weather, etc., of the newer sys-tems. But with these tremendous ca-pabilities comes even greater respon-sibility. I think your article will helpbring this to the fore and maybe vali-date the point for some pilots whomight have known it all along, butcouldn’t quite associate their gut feel-ing with a tangible concept.

Thanks again for the great insight.Fred Zanegoodvia the Internet

•September/October’s Back Cover

Editor’s Note: In our last issue,we ran a photo on the back cover andasked if anyone could identify the air-plane. It certainly generated some in-teresting answers.

Answer to your back cover ques-tion—is this a trick question? It’s a1948 J-3 Piper Cub. Data baseshows it is registered to Aaron Mills ofRochester, NY.

Allen

FAA AVIATION NEWS welcomescomments. We may edit letters forstyle and/or length. If we have morethan one letter on the same topic, wewill select one representative letter topublish. Because of our publishingschedules, responses may not appearfor several issues. We do not printanonymous letters, but we do with-hold names or send personal repliesupon request. Readers are remindedthat questions dealing with immediateFAA operational issues should bereferred to their local Flight StandardsDistrict Office or Air Traffic facility.Send letters to H. Dean Chamberlain,Editor, FAA AVIATION NEWS, AFS-805, 800 Independence Ave., SW,Washington, DC 20591, or FAX themto (202) 267-9463; e-mail address:

[email protected]


The FAA and Transport Canadahave signed an agreement that allowsU.S. and Canadian pilots to obtain li-censes and certificates from eachother’s countries. Private, Commercial,and Airline Transport Pilot certificates;and Single-engine land, Multi-engine-land, and Instrument ratings are cov-ered by this agreement. Sea and Rotor-craft ratings are not yet available underthis new procedure. By presenting theircurrent certificates and logbooks andtaking a short “air laws” differences testfor the new certificate, U.S. pilots canobtain a stand alone Canadian licenseand vice versa.

This is a significant leap forwardfrom the previous method under Title14 Code of Federal Regulations (14CFR) §61.75, Private pilot certificateissued on the basis of a foreign pilot li-cense, which only allowed for grantinga private certificate. Under 14 CFR§61.75 the certificate issued is basedon the foreign pilot’s license and isonly valid so long as the foreign li-cense has not expired, been revoked,or suspended. Under this new Imple-

mentation Procedure for Licensing,the certificate or license issued is acompletely valid stand alone license. Itis not dependent on the original li-cense or certificate after issuance.Formerly this would mean that when aCanadian license would expire, theholder’s U.S. certificate would be-come invalid, as it was based on thatoriginal license. Under the new proce-dure, that U.S. license would be acompletely separate certificate, not re-quiring the holder to maintain Cana-dian certification.

This is the first such agreementever to allow full privileges for foreignpilots between two countries withouthaving to redo all or most of a pilot’straining. Officials working on the pro-gram hope this is the first of manysuch agreements with other nationswith similar standards of licensing.

This new Implementation Proce-dure for Licensing becomes effectiveDecember 6, 2006. We will have a fullarticle on this procedure when the Ad-visory Circular is published outliningthe process.

NEW SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION MARY E. PETERS SWORN IN

On Tuesday October 17, Mary E.Peters was sworn in as the 15th Sec-retary of Transportation after beingconfirmed by the U.S. Senate on Sep-tember 30. President George W. Bushwas on hand to witness the ceremonyalong with other dignitaries.

Secretary Peters has more than20 years experience in transportationin both the private and public sectors.In the private sector Peters was thenational director for transportation pol-icy and consulting at HDR, Inc., amajor engineering firm. In the publicsector she served from 1985 to 2001in the Arizona Department of Trans-portation (ADOT). In 2001 she wasappointed director of that agency.

In 2001 she was appointed byPresident Bush to lead the FederalHighway Administration (FHWA). Inthat position she placed special em-phasis on finding new ways to pay forroad and bridge construction, includ-ing innovative public-private partner-ships that help build roads faster andat less expense.

Secretary Peters comes to DOTwith an excellent track record andrecognition in the transportation indus-try. She was named Most InfluentialPerson in Arizona Transportation bythe Arizona Business Journal and won2004 National Woman of the YearAward from the Women’s Transporta-tion Seminar.

One of the key areas the Secre-tary targeted in her speech was mod-ernizing America’s transportation sys-tem. Peters vowed “…to find 21stcentury solutions for 21st centurytransportation problems.”

The Department of Transportationhas almost 60,000 employees and a$61.6 billion budget and is responsiblefor overseeing air, maritime and sur-face transportation.

Mario Toscano photo

U.S. AND CANADA SIGN LICENSING AGREEMENT

Flight Standards Director Jim Ballough, left, watches as Transport Canada’s Director ofAircraft Maintenance and Manufacturing, Don Sherritt, signs the agreement.

as applied to airmen, manufacturers,repair and maintenance facilities, avia-tion schools, operators, aviation agen-cies, individuals and organizations. It iscomprised of the Flight StandardsService, Aircraft Certification Service,Office of Aerospace Medicine, Officeof Rulemaking, Office of Accident In-vestigation, Air Traffic Safety OversightService, Suspected Unapproved PartsProgram, and the Office of Quality, In-tegration, and Executive Services.With a budget of $948 million, the or-ganization employs over 6,400 peoplein the FAA’s Washington Headquar-ters, nine regional offices, and morethan 125 field offices throughout theworld.

ISO is the world’s largest devel-oper of voluntary international stan-dards with a current portfolio of morethan 16,200. The ISO 9000 family ofstandards makes a positive difference,not just to engineers and manufactur-ers, but to regulators, consumers andend users, by targeting quality man-agement. For more information onISO, go to <www.iso.org>.

NEW YORK’S EAST RIVERFLIGHT RESTRICTION

After a review of operations andprocedures in the Visual Flight RulesCorridor over the East River in NewYork City, the Federal Aviation Admin-istration (FAA) announced on October13 that it is excluding fixed-wing air-craft from the corridor for safety con-siderations, unless they obtain authori-zation from and are being controlledby air traffic control.

The announcement, which camein the form of a Notice to Airmen(NOTAM FDC 6/3495), noted that therestriction is effective immediately andwill remain in place pending further re-view of current guidelines by the FAAand its government and industry part-ners.

Seaplanes operating in and out ofthe New York Skyports Seaplane Base

will be permitted to continue opera-tions in the corridor, which extendsfrom the southwestern tip of Gover-nor’s Island to the North tip of Roo-sevelt Island, below an altitude of1,100 feet. Helicopter operations inthe East River corridor are not affectedby this change.

NEW FAA FORUM TO REVIEWAGE 60 RULE FOR PILOTS

On September 27, Federal AviationAdministration (FAA) Administrator Mar-ion C. Blakey established a forum of air-line, labor, and medical experts to rec-ommend whether the United Statesshould adopt the new International CivilAviation Organization (ICAO) standardthat will allow one of the two pilots inthe flight deck to be over age 60. Theforum also will determine what actionswould be necessary if the FAA were tochange its rule.

“The FAA must ensure that any fu-ture rule change, should it occur, pro-vides an equal or better level of safetyto passengers,” said Blakey. “I’m look-ing forward to hearing from the ex-perts so the FAA can make informeddecisions as the ICAO standard is im-plemented and Congress considersthis issue.”

Since 1959, Title 14 Code of Fed-eral Regulations §61.3(j), Age limitationfor certain operations, prohibits pilots,who are over the age of 60 and work-ing for 14 CFR part 121 operators,from serving as a required pi lotcrewmember.

On November 23rd, ICAO, theUnited Nations’ aviation organization,will increase the upper age limit for pi-lots to age 65, provided that one ofthe two pilots in the cockpit is underage 60.

The Age 60 Aviation RulemakingCommittee has been tasked to com-plete its work within 60 days. Commit-tee members will represent airlines,pilot unions, medical experts, and theFAA.


FAA SAFETY ORGANIZATIONTAKES OFF WITH ISO 9001

On October 16, the Federal Avia-tion Administration’s (FAA) AviationSafety organization was recognized asthe first federal agency to achieve cer-tification to the prestigious Interna-tional Organization for Standardization“ISO 9001:2000” quality managementstandard. This single corporate man-agement system covers multiple serv-ices, including national and interna-tional sites.

At the ceremony, FAA Administra-tor Marion C. Blakey said, “…You’reholding yourselves to the same stan-dard that we require of the industry weserve. You’re raising the bar for therest of the federal government. You’reshowing that the FAA is the interna-tional standard for safety….”

The Aviation Safety organizationbegan working toward ISO 9001:2000registration in 2001 and now operatesunder a Quality Management System(QMS) that provides consistent, stan-dardized processes that assure con-tinual improvement, value employeecontr ibutions, and respond tochanges in the industry.

As a global leader in aviationsafety, the FAA is operating like an in-tegrated business to ensure that eachFAA safety office around the worldprovides consistent service and prod-ucts to customers. It is vital that thegovernment’s aviation safety businessis held to the same high standards asthose it regulates.

While many individual governmentoffices have achieved registration, theFAA’s Aviation Safety employees haveaccomplished this across a complexand diverse line of business world-wide. They have raised the agency’sstandards and are now pacesetters ingovernment.

Under the leadership of AssociateAdministrator for Aviat ion SafetyNicholas A. Sabatini, the organizationpromotes aviation safety and overseescompliance with Federal regulations

Editor’s Runwayfrom the pen of H. Dean Chamberlain

Welcome Aboard

It has been more than 16 years since the FAA Aviation News has added a new writer to its staff.I was that writer. The year was 1990. Since then, the magazine has only added one other personto its staff. That person was Mario Toscano, the magazine’s designer in 1993. Although we all haveother duties, we, Mario, Louise Oertly, and I, think of the magazine as our primary duty. But frankly,at times our other duties limit the amount of time we can spend researching new material for themagazine. That is why we encourage you, our readers, to take an active role in promoting aviationsafety by submitting material and ideas to the publication. To help better serve you, our readers,help has arrived.

It is my pleasure to announce the arrival of the newest member of the magazine’s staff, JamesR. Williams. A graduate student completing his degree requirements at the Florida Institute of Tech-nology for a December Masters Degree in Applied Aviation Safety, James brings to the staff a freshperspective on aviation and aviation safety. As a private pilot with an instrument rating, he alsobrings to the staff an insight into what his generation of 20-something year olds are thinking andhow they perceive aviation.

James reported for duty on October 15. Although he will be kept busy learning his new dutiesand completing certain training, we are looking forward to his contributions to the magazine. As weintroduce him to aviation and the FAA, if you happen to see or meet him at an aviation meeting orevent, please help us welcome the newest member of the staff by saying hello to James. Welcomeaboard James.

Although it was exciting being involved in the hiring process of our newest staff member andwaiting for him to start work, we also had a sad moment as our branch manager, Ms. Copper Perry,left. She accepted a position in the FAA’s Human Resources Management organization. We willmiss her, but we are thankful she was able to select James as one of her last acts as our branchmanager.

As we wrap up this last issue of the year, we want to take a moment to thank you, our readers,for your support and help over the past year. We especially want to thank those who submittedstory ideas and material for publication in the magazine. As a non-commercial government safetymagazine, we don’t have a budget to pay for articles. So when you see a great article from some-one from the aviation community published in the magazine, please remember that person submit-ted that material as a public service. Thank you.

The staff of FAA Aviation News, Louise, Mario, James, and myself extends our best wishes to allof you for a safe and happy holiday season. And don’t forget to keep the blue side up. Have a safe2007 flying season.

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Federal Aviation Administration

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