Slogging through the Summer

It’s been hot. We have had almost a dozen days of above 90F degree weather here in Central, New York and we only recently got a well deserved break. To keep you up-to-day on current events I thought I would post a quick note on what’s happening now…enjoy your summer!

July Update

Back in May I suspended my flying club membership due to expenses at home and cut a few other expenses. To make up for it I have been focusing on flying (not piloting) on counter drug missions. I can’t blog about those for obvious reasons, but flying in a G1000 equipped Cessna 182 has been a good experience even though I am not the pilot.

On a personal note, a few weeks ago I was diagnosed with Basel Cell Carcinoma. Basal cell carcinoma is a type of nonmelanoma skin cancer. This was discovered when I decided to have a few lesion removed from my face after looking that them for years…decades actually. So I am not too concerned about them being worse than they are, but I have a biopsy scheduled for Monday and hopefully soon after I will have the results. Regardless, the lesions are being removed one way or the other which will cost me money, and will push back any hope of G1000 transition training for the foreseeable future.

I’ve been aggressively promoting on Indiegogo.com/seebarryfly to raise funds for flight training, which after 26 days has produced nothing. I’m not surprised by that, it’s much more exciting to fund a film project that flight training. The campaign will run its course and anything I get out of it will go towards CAP flying and training.

On a business note, I hope to have a new program in place for my business to help increase revenue starting in September. I am putting the pieces in place now and need to conduct a few phone conferences before it can happen.

Finally, my heart goes out to Aurora, Colorado. In May of 2005 I was at the Century 16 theatre watching the final Star Wars film. Aurora is a nice place with good people, so my thoughts and prayers are with them.

Blue skies!

Help Make a Difference in 120 Days

As many of you know who have been following me, I fly as money allows (and sometimes when I can’t afford it) to maintain currency. I don’t like talking about it much because we all have issues. I’m talking more about it today because I hope that what I DO with my flying will convince others to financially support my endeavour over the next 120 days through Indiegogo.com.

Below is the case that I  have put forth for my financing request. You can contribute by going to: http://www.indiegogo.com/seebarryfly

Every penny earned will go towards flying, from G1000 transition training, to commercial and instrument ratings, all of the hours used to reach these goals will help me achieve Mission and Orientation Pilot status in the Civil Air Patrol so that I can serve my community as a volunteer pilot.

Help Me Volunteer More with the Civil Air Patrol

My name is Barry Orlando. I am a recreational pilot, a Civil Air Patrol pilot and father of two living in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. I earned my Private Pilot certificate in October 2007. Three years later in October 2010, I earned my Advanced Ground Instructor certificate. Since then I have wanted to continue my training to earn commercial and instrument ratings, but this has been sidelined due to the economy and rising fuel costs.

I am looking to raise $20,000 to fund commercial and instrument flight training so I can do more with the Civil Air Patrol, such as become a Mission Pilot and an Orientation Pilot for young cadets. If you don’t know much about this fine organization and wish to learn more, may I suggest you visit their site at gocivilairpatrol.com.

My flying and volunteer work revolves around the following areas:

• Search and Rescue
• Disaster Relief
• Humanitarian Services
• Air Force Support
• Counterdrug / Homeland Security

The Civil Air Patrol does not pay for flight training or pay you to fly. Only specific flights such as real-life emergencies are paid for by the Air Force.

I WISH TO DO MORE…but to do that I need to meet certain hour requirements as a pilot. For example, to be a Mission Pilot, I need 55 hours of additional flight time and at $100 an hour for plane hire, it will cost at least $5500 or subsequently $8500 to fly enough hours to be an Orientation Pilot. As you can see, it adds up quickly just to be in a position to fly these specialized missions. I am hoping to make this a possibility by training for both my commercial and instrument ratings. So I will meet the requirements and have ratings that will allow me to fly in different conditions.

The Impact

Right now, there is a shortage of pilots to fly missions in addition to an aging population of pilots. Higher costs mean less young people are becoming pilots…who will fly these missions?

By reaching my goal I can do the following:

• fly critical and potentially life saving missions for the community
• fly cadets on orientation flights and introduce them to aviation
• fly in less than ideal conditions (emergencies don’t wait for good weather)
• help the next generation of pilots in the Civil Air Patrol
• become a flight instructor and earn my own way

Any financial assistance would be very appreciated but If you can’t help right now, please spread the word on Facebook and twitter.

Thank you and blue skies!

Barry

Flight Log 5/21/2012 – FORM 5 Completed

Sorry that this post is late…

On May 21, 2012 I completed my form 5 check ride for the Civil Air Patrol. My check pilot was Roland Zavada and I managed to torment him for 1.7 hours. This flight was not my finest piece of work. I’ve never been fond of check rides because as much as you are pilot in command you have someone who is telling you what maneuvers to do. The good news was that I didn’t fall for the “oh look…there’s deer in the farmers field down there” distraction on downwind. Sterile cockpit…please!!!

2001 Cessna 172S (N927CP)

The plane I used for my check ride was a 2001 Cessna 172S (N927CP) – It’s a nice plane but I only flew it 3 times (5.9 hours) before my check ride, so I guess I might know what I am doing. It matched the 172S in Microsoft flight simulator so I was familiar with the location of gauges and was quick to adapt to it. The GPS is a bit different than what I was use to and I only messed with it a bit as the last part of my check ride.

A form 5 check ride in CAP (Civil Air Patrol) is pretty much the same as any other private pilot check ride. Even though I am a pilot already, CAP requires a check ride before you are cleared to fly solo in their aircraft. By competing the check ride I am now considered a VFR Pilot in CAP and because I have over 50 hours cross country I am also cleared to be a Transport Mission Pilot which allows me to ferry planes and people around as needed for the squadron. As you gain more hours as PIC you can become a Mission Pilot at 175 hours PIC or a Flight Orientation Pilot at 200 hours PIC.

Flight Time to Date in Hours

PIC: 119.5
Cross Country: 65.4
Complex: 16.7
High Performance: 3.8
Night: 7.4
Simulated Instrument: 6.4

Total Time: 223.6
Take offs and Landings: 652 / 20 night

What’s Next…

I will be focusing next on flying along on counter drug missions and will be transitioning to a G1000 equipped Cessna 182 as funds allow.

If you care to help me acheive my goals, please let me know. CAP is a volunteer organization and many people like myself pay for our own flying time and the cost of fuel. Only approved missions are funded flights in CAP so the time I’ve spent in the air flying for CAP has been out of my own pocket and not the tax payers. I enjoy serving and hope that other pilots consider the Civil Air Patrol as an opportunity for themselves to server their community.

My CAP Uniform

Flight Log 5/8/2012 – Changing things…

Well after years of being an active member in my flying club, I needed to suspend my membership due to budget changes. I also haven’t flown there since July of last year and want to change things up and focus more on my role in the Civil Air Patrol.

My promotion to 1^st. Lt. was made official today and recently I was approved for CD missions. I am also trying to wrap up my form 5 check ride (if this weather gets with the program) so that I can finally become a CAP pilot, and then hopefully I can move on to become a transport and orientation pilot. The rest is all about building time and confidence to eventually be a mission pilot.

The plus’s are that I will be in newer aircraft and can also transition to a 182 G1000. No flying club has a 182 G1000 around here! And even if they did it would be very costly to operate. The other plus is that I would continue to be around other pilots, under a controlled airspace and piloting at a level that is more than recreational, but not commercial.

The minus’s are that I can’t take non-members up in aircraft, so no family flying here, but that could be remedied in other ways with a check ride here or there elsewhere. That’s about it.

So the focused has changed and I will keep you posted as things happen!

Working ATC Communication and My FORM 5 for CAP (Part 2)

After a run in with the flu I was finally able to fly my second flight toward earning my VFR Pilot designation with the Civil Air Patrol. With two flights down I am expecting one more before I take my Form 5 check ride.

Today we flew for 2.5 hours and focused on the following:

• Short-field Takeoff & Landing
• Soft-field Takeoff & Landing
• Power-Off Stalls
• Power-On Stalls
• Maneuvering During Slow Flight
• Steep Turns
• Clearing Turns and Collision Avoidance
• Normal Approaches and Landings
• Forward Slips to Landing
• ATC Communication

For the most part things worked out well, but strangely enough I was still coming in too high and fast. I am also not trimming much for my landings. I blame myself for not flying enough, for only flying this particular plane twice and for never going nuts on the trim. That’s not to say that I am NOT trimming, I am…but I’m not trimming it fully enough to just let it do its thing.

In the clubs 172 I use to squeak them on almost all the time. In fact I was doing really well compared to my instructor (Sir Trim a lot) – and I mean that with all respect. The result was…with a little or a lot of trim….same result. No big deal.

However since I also fly a Cherokee I got use to understanding the need for speed so we don’t sink too soon. This really meant an extra 10 knots during each phase of landing. I also don’t remember needing a lot of trim…I just keep flying it to the runway like I did with the Cirrus a few times.

So I got out of the habit of dealing with a falling leaf Cessna where 55 to 60 knots doing a short field is no big deal…so long as you keep flying the plane. Now I just need to get my head around this issue more which is why I will be playing with Microsoft FSX and practice landings before I get in the plane again.

Working ATC Communication and My FORM 5 for CAP

Civil Air Patrols 172 N927CP

On Sunday I took to the skies in the Civil Air Patrols 172 N927CP. This was my first time in this aircraft and the first time in over 6 years of operating from KROC and class Charlie airspace.

Flying the 172 may seem like the main event, but for me the excitement…or as some might say…the anxiety…comes from being at a controlled airport, in controlled airspace and having to listen to what’s going on and doing my part. For pilots who fly into Class C and B Airspace, this posting is NOT for you…but it could be good if you have students.

LiveATC Got You Down?

At some point in your flying you have probably been told to listen to LiveATC at: http://www.liveatc.net/ – to become familiar with ATC communications. And that’s a great thing to do, but because of all the commercial air traffic mingling with private pilots, it doesn’t offer the continuity that you may be looking for in order to learn what to do. That was my experience and frankly it didn’t really make things easier or instill confidence. In fact it probably increased my anxiety because everyone sounded like a fast talking expert (because they are) and there is no separation of the frequencies. In particular, approach and tower frequencies. Frustrating!

So before I leaped into ATC communications cold turkey (and there is nothing wrong with that) I documented and asked questions of CFI’s, commercial pilots and even updated a few documents based on my real world experience (and my own ATC recordings) to create three PDF files of ATC Communication for Private Pilots.

Below are my three PDF files of ATC Communication for Private Pilots starting with setting up a VFR departure from KROC (Rochester,NY) and the VFR arrival back to the airport. So there is 100% continuity from a flight out of and BACK to KROC…which is a Class Charlie airspace airport.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to plan ahead and organize in your head, what you are going to do before you leave and before you come back and talk to approach for permission to land. These documents are not written in long English sentences, but allow you to fill in the blanks and act as a script, except for the KROC frequencies…after all…I did make this for me.

If you want the Excel spreadsheet I used, please let me know and I can email it to you!

ATC Communication for Private Pilots

ATC-Script – Clearance – Taxi Procedure (.pdf)

ATC-Script – Departure Procedure (.pdf)

ATC-Script – Arrival Procedure (.pdf)

If you want to hear a few of my recordings, you can download the .mp3 files shown below. Unfortunately I just don’t want to devote a lot of time downloading and editing mp3 files to find everything that I did, so this is just a taste. Again, pardon my amateurish radio work…at least I was brave (or fool) enough to post a few of mine!

Radio Call to Clearance Deliver

Radio Call to Approach – Getting Back to KROC

Radio Call to Tower – Permission to land at KROC

Aircraft Renter’s Insurance: Don’t take off without it.

When I was a student pilot I did buy renters insurance for a little while, but sometimes I felt that flying was expensive enough so why add salt to the wound? The truth is that unless you have the FBO or Flying Club policy in your hand and you know for a fact that the premium is PAID and the policy is current and up-to-date, you are assuming too much risk. As 2012 approaches it might be time to re-think this behavior and opt for more protection. Here is some useful information from the AOPA Insurance site located at: http://www.aopaia.com

Aircraft Renter’s Insurance: Don’t take off without it.

This insurance is for your personal and non-commercial use of non-owned fixed wing, non-pressurized, land aircraft having a non-turbine single engine of 450 horsepower or less (including non-powered sailplanes) and capacity of no more than seven (7) total passengers and/or seats (1 pilot and 6 other passengers), and a standard, experimental, restricted, or light sport aircraft certificate, and not furnished to you for more than thirty (30) consecutive days. Multi-engine and rotor wing aircraft are not included in this coverage. For multi-engine and rotorwing nonowned coverage, please contact AOPA Insurance Agency at 1-800-622-2672.

Why should I buy a non-owned policy? My FBO tells me they have coverage.

FBO has coverage for them. Some FBO policies have provisions which will cover students and renters for liability coverage and provide a waiver of subrogation, but without seeing a copy of the policy you will never know what rights you have (if any) under the FBO’s policy. You are much better off having your own coverage.

What is non-owned liability coverage?

It is a liability insurance policy to protect you against claims arising from bodily injury and property damage for which you are legally liable, caused by an occurrence arising from your use of a non-owned aircraft. This coverage does not apply to the non-owned aircraft you have borrowed or rented. Physical Damage to your non-owned aircraft must be purchased.

I do not rent aircraft, but occasionally I borrow an aircraft from a close friend. I am named on their policy as an approved pilot, don’t I have coverage?

The policy is intended to cover the owner of the aircraft not the user of the aircraft. Depending on the policy and insurance company you may be held responsible to any damage you cause to the aircraft.

Will a non-owned policy provide coverage for a borrowed aircraft that doesn’t have insurance?

If you purchase physical damage to your non-owned aircraft coverage, the policy will provide you with liability coverage while using someone else’s aircraft. Your non-owned coverage is not a substitute for the aircraft owner buying their own coverage to protect their interests.

What type of aircraft am I permitted to use if I purchase a non-owned liability policy?

Non-owned coverage is for your personal and non-commercial use of non-owned fixed wing, non-pressurized, land aircraft having a non-turbine single engine of 450 horsepower or less (including non-powered sailplanes) and capacity of no more than seven (7) total passengers and/or seats (1 pilot and 6 other passengers), and a Standard, Experimental, Restricted or Light Aircraft Certificate, and not furnished to you for more than thirty (30) consecutive days.

Does the AOPA Insurance Agency offer any type of insurance for rotorcraft or multi-engine aircraft?

Non-owned coverage is available for multi-engine and rotorwing aircraft, however, it is not available through the website. Please call the AOPA Insurance Agency for more information about these products at 1-800-622-2672.

What limits of bodily injury and property damage liability should I carry?

There is no standard recommended amount of liability coverage you should carry. You need to consider factors such as your personal assets, earnings, whom you carry as passengers, and how much insurance you can afford or that is available. We recommend buying the most coverage you can reasonably afford and that is available.

What limits of aircraft damage liability should I carry?

For non-owned physical damage coverage, it depends on the value of the aircraft you typically rent and whether or not you want to fully be covered in the event of a total loss.

Does my immediate family or I have protection if we’re injured?

This policy covers bodily injury to others including immediate family, but does not include the named insured on the policy.

Is there a deductible on the aircraft damage liability coverage?

Non-owned coverage does not have a deductible.

What effect does pilot experience have on non-owned insurance premiums?

None. Premiums are based on the limits of coverage you select.

Who should purchase a non-owned policy?

Any pilot who rents or borrows someone else’s aircraft should purchase a non-owned policy. Even if you are receiving dual flight instruction and not acting as pilot in command in a non-owned aircraft, you may be held responsible for any damages or injuries arising from your negligence.

When should I purchase a non-owned policy?

We recommend you purchase a non-owned policy as soon as you start your flying lessons. You may be held legally liable for any losses that may occur.

Will a non-owned policy protect me if I use a non-owned aircraft for other than my own pleasure and business use?

No. Non-owned policies do not provide coverage if the non-owned aircraft is being used for or in connection with:

Aerial advertising, towing, photography or connection with; hunting, herding or spotting of animals of any kind, including birds and fish; patrol or surveillance of any kind, including powerlines, pipelines, traffic or fires; skydiving or parachuting; closed course racing; flights off-shore in support of fan off-shore business or operation; external transportation of persons or property, including wire stringing, or construction.

My employer allows me to rent aircraft to travel on company business, can you cover my employer on the non-owned policy?

Your employer may be added as an additional insured under the non-owned policy

What payment plans are available?

We require annual payment at the time the policy is bound. You can purchase your policy online at www.aopaia.com with a credit card or pay with a check with your application by mail or phone 1-800-622-2672.

What is the term of a non-owned policy?

One year.

If I have a non-owned policy and I later decide to purchase my own aircraft, can I cancel my non-owned policy?

Yes. We will cancel your non-own policy and transfer your credit to your owner policy.

Does your non-owned aircraft policy include “loss of use” coverage?

Yes. As a result of destruction to tangible property to others, loss of use is covered.

Does a non-owned policy provide coverage for losses in excess of the limits on our flying club’s policy?

This insurance is excess insurance. If there is other insurance available to you, it will apply first.

Does your policy have any exclusion against landing on a private grass strip?

NO. However, the policy does exclude coverage when the non-owned aircraft is operated into, on or from an area that is not designed, maintained and used as an airport except a landing due to a recorded emergency. This exclusion will not apply to a forced landing due to emergency flight conditions.

Can I fly outside the continental US?

The non-owned policy covers flights within the political boundaries of the United States of America, Mexico, Central America, Canada, the Islands of the West Indies (excluding Cuba), and while enroute between places therein.

I am a CFI – Why do I need a non-owned policy?

The Comprehensive CFI policy covers your negligence arising from your personal use of non-owned aircraft, covers your negligence while instructing in non-owned aircraft and provides coverage for claims that may arise out of your professional liability as a CFI. Although few have been sucessful in suing a CFI for their bodily injury or property damage arising from alleged negligent instruction the Comprehensive CFI policy provides you with defense coverage (legal fees) which can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I fly for the CAP – Does your policy cover this?

Yes – an endorsement can be added to the policy to cover CAP flights.

I am not interested in liability protection, can I only purchase the liability for aircraft physical damage option?

No – The company will only package the policy with liability for bodily injury, property damage and physical damage to non-owned aircraft. You may purchase liability for bodily injury and property damage only though.

My spouse is learning to fly as well, can I add him/her to my policy?

The non-owned policy covers only one individual, your spouse must buy their own policy to cover their use of non-owned aircraft.

How do I purchase coverage?

Visit Renters Insurance or call 1-800-622-2672.

Back Seat Rider

View from 5000 ft at the end of Canandaigua Lake

This past weekend I went on my second Civil Air Patrol mission and completed my Mission Scanner requirements.

A Mission Scanner, along with a Mission Pilot and Mission Observer make up a flight crew. The Mission Scanner’s job is to take photos of targets on the ground from the backseat just behind the pilot. There is a window I can open in order to take the photographs needed. We are to document what we are looking at, the direction we are looking and the location. Once we arrive back at our base we upload the photos for review.

This mission was a success in that we found our two targets, took photos, and got back safe. Completed missions are always the best once you get back on the ground since they can be on the long side. My first flight was 5 hours, this second one was 2.4 hours – but bumpy!

BTW…if you want to see larger photos, please contact me.