I have had to use the emergency gear extension on airplanes several times. Is this a bad maintenance problem from an annual? Absolutely not. Gear problems happen. It happens because the underlying system has problems. In fact, in aircraft problems usually come in twos or threes. In certain airplanes “swinging” the gear is a major …
For Heavens Sake – Memorize Your Emergency Gear Procedure Read Full Article »
Just Start Doing Your Single Engine and Emergency Training in Your Twin Cessna The engine manufacturers are waiting with bated breath for you to start shutting down your engines and feather those props. Let’s fly along with that engine shut down. Let’s get the real feel of flying on one engine, THEN let’s start them …
Because We Have Been There, Done That, and the Pilots We Teach Reflect It. Here is a recent text that one of our instructors got from a professional pilot from Canada that took recurrent training: Hey Chuck! Matthew here. I did AST training with you just over a month ago. I had my first and …
Emergencies – How Do We Know What to Teach? Read Full Article »
Either in the plane (not good) or a full-motion simulator One of the items on the “checklist” to make you a better pilot is handling icing. Icing, next to getting caught in a thunderstorm, is probably one of the most serious things you will do. Icing is hard to forecast. What the weather guys do …
“I have ten billion piston hours in every piston plane made – why do I need the insurance company to tell me I need training – I know everything.” We get about one of these every twenty plus pilots that call in. There is a particular model of one manufacturer that pilot who buy one …
The Greatest Pilots In The World Crash Airplanes Read Full Article »
Pitot Heat & Static Ports Pitot heat probes and static inlet ports are primary safety devices in instrument conditions where moisture is present. Sometimes we get into a “temperature” mode when turning on these items but what we really need to focus on is moisture. We must remember that heat applied to the pitot/static system needs …
Heat Things Up – Working the Anti-Ice/De-Ice Equipment Read Full Article »
One of the major things we want you to get out of our course is when and why do you shut down an engine. We have consistently thrown this out at the very beginning of our recurrent and initial course and we never get consistent answers. One thing that we focus on in our courses, …
When Do You Shut Down an Engine? You Have to Know the Systems First. Read Full Article »
The brakes on small airplanes such as a Cessna 172 or Piper Warrior are very simple and easily operated. You push on the pedal and a pressure to the calipers and pads work their magic squeezing the brakes together. It is that simple Now we move up to the more complex brakes on heavier aircraft. …
Brakes, Very Simple But Extremely Complex and Hard to Understand Read Full Article »
I spent 18 years involved in tire and tire maintenance. I worked from dealing with simple tire situations up to large commercial vehicles and owned and operated a large retread facility and maintenance facilities. I worked with large commercial aircraft tires. I taught classes in aircraft tire maintenance as well as commercial tires. I was on a national …
Keep Your Aircraft “Shoes” in Great Shape – It Is All About Safety Read Full Article »
We are seeing some strange brake problems on the Twin Cessna line. This has recently shown up primarily on the 421 aircraft but we had a 340 aircraft showing the same problems. Having been in numerous businesses, I spent many years operating a large repair facility for vehicles all the way up to large trucks. I …
Out of Control Twin Cessnas – What is the Problem? Read Full Article »
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