Terms for Hours and Overhaul Alphabet soup!

Below are terms used in aircraft-for-sale advertisements showing the engine hours since the last overhaul were carried out are quoted. Hopefully this information will clarify what some of these terms mean and why it’s important not to confuse them.

Overhaul

Overhaul is a term used by the general aviation industry when an aircraft engine is cleaned, carefully inspected, and repaired or has parts replaced to meet service limits.

An overhaul is an overhaul as per the manufacturers specifications. There is no such thing as a major overhaul, just an overhaul, even though you will see the word “major” used to describe them.

Most overhaul’s are defined by the manufacturer with supporting documentation (usually Service Bulletins) that define what must be done and what parts must be replaced.

If an engine, for example, is advertised as overhauled, you have the right to ask how it was done. Was it done to factory new standards or to factory serviceable standards?

Only the very lower quality overhauls are done to factory servicable standards. It implies that many parts are reused instead of being replaced. This also applies to other components such as magnetos, carbs etc.

TSOH (Time Since Over Haul)

Time Since Over Haul is the number of flight hours since an Overhaul was performed.

TBO or TBOH (Time Between Over Haul)

Time Between Overhauls, an engine manufacturer’s recommended overhaul interval in hours, a rough and not guaranteed guide to life expectancy of an engine before it will need overhaul.

SMOH or TSMOH (Since Major Over Haul)

Since the overhaul process requires the engine to be taken apart, it is typically an expensive process. The value of a used engine decreases if it is close to requiring an overhaul, so used engines (and aircraft) typically list their time since overhaul or TSOH.

STOH (Since Top Over Haul)

Top overhaul is a term used by the general aviation industry when all the cylinders on the engine are overhauled or replaced with new, possibly due to corrosion.

TTSN, TSN, TT (Total Time Since New) or AFTT (Air Frame Total Time)

Total Time Since New is usually an airframe time reference for the total number of flight hours on a used aircraft.

TTAF/E (Total Time Air Frame/Engine)

Total Time Airframe and Engine(s) is usually an airframe time reference for the total number of flight hours on a used aircraft.

SFRM or SFRMN (Since Factory Re-Manufactured)

References to the time since the engines were remanufactured.

Blue skies!!!

I have taken a great deal of time in the last couple of years in examining aircraft ownership for myself. In this update I have outlined just some of the initial research steps involved in getting clarity before there is even a pre-buy inspection. I started down this road because I saw a 1969 Cessna 182 in VERY good condition and really wanted to KNOW WHAT I DIDN’T KNOW in order to sum up an aircraft which would NOT need an overhaul. The research starts out like this…

Use the N# to contact the FAA Registration office for records of ownership (registration) and maintenance. It is cheap ($10.00) and won’t take long to get.

http://aircraft.faa.gov/e.gov/ND/airrecordsND.asp

Use the N# on the NTSB site to see if there is any accident history.

http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/index.aspx

Use the N# to learn what year/model the aircraft is and who it is currently registered to.

http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Inquiry.aspx

Use the FAA free web site to download the Type Certificate Data Sheet (TCDS) for the plane.

http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgMakeModel.nsf/MainFrame

Use the FAA free web site to obtain a list of Airworthiness Directives (AD) notes on the major components of the aircraft (aircraft, engine, prop, mags, carb or fuel injection, vacuum pump, prop governor, etc)  that are listed on the TCDS, when you review the maintenance records you MUST be able to SEE PROOF that the AD notes have been complied with. If there is no proof than they will have to be compiled with as per the AD note instructions.

http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAD.nsf/Frameset

Now you will need information from the owner (real – matter of fact – backed by logbook information).

• When was the aircraft last annulled?
• When was the aircraft last flown?
• What are total times on aircraft, time since overhaul (TSOH) on engine, carb, prop and all accessories.

How is the aircraft equipped? (Garmin 430, auto pilot, turbo charger?  etc) Begin looking at industry publications to try and find aircraft prices that are comparably equipped and same time. Use the AOPA listing or other blue book type listings.

http://www.aopa.org/members/vref/

Liens and Title

In the first step we talked about contacting the FAA Registration office for records of ownership (registration) and maintenance. You may request a copy of the aircraft record on a CD for $10 on-line at to review the record for outstanding liens yourself. However, this is no guarantee that a lien will be shown on the CD that you buy, especially if it’s a new lien. Keep in mind that the Aircraft Registration Branch does not do lien searches. For additional piece of mind you should contact a private company to do the search for you.  Under “AC Form AFS-750-55, List of Title Search Companies” you can find a list of companies and law offices that provide lien searches for a fee.

List of Title Search Companies

If you have any further questions, please contact the Aircraft Registration Branch directly at 405-954-3116 or 866-762-9434.  There are Legal Instruments Examiners on duty from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CST to answer your questions.

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.

For the time being my Cirrus training is on hold. The reality is that the cost of currency in a Cirrus isn’t that economical and I would be flying a 172 or a Cherokee anyway to avoid the $145 hr price tag on the Cirrus. It’s more important for me to fly more often than to fly glass. That’s not to say it wouldn’t be nice to have the option, but such is life and that’s all I’ll say about that. I don’t plan on doing more than keeping current over the winter, so the flying will be minimal. If my income changes than I’ll see  what happens and plan accordingly.

In all it took me 3.3 hours total for my checkout and BFR (biannual flight review). It was interesting being in a plane with no GPS.  Tracking a VOR was simplistic and worry free and I could keep my eyes outside the aircraft. True flight planning would be in order before I  would consider a cross-country in these aircraft, but there is something to be said about actual aviating and navigating without an autopilot or moving map.

I’m suppose to get checked out in the G1000 equipped Cessna 182 with the Civil Air Patrol…will see how that goes. The training is free but the plane is not and 182′s aren’t known for sipping fuel. That would also involve working in the Rochester airspace and getting use to ATC again. I should probably get the questionnaire for the aircraft completed and see what it would take schedule wise to make it happen. This time of year weather has the upper hand both mentally and physically. That’s all for now!

Around 10am I got a call from Gordy, my flight instructor / mentor who expressed an interest in taking the Cirrus up and going from Penn Yan (KPEO) to Rochester (KROC). There at KROC he wanted to do a few ILS approaches and figured that I might want to ride along. I thought it would be a nice flight and it wasn’t going to interrupt birthday plans, so I agreed. Gordy would pick me up in a couple hours and take us to Penn Yan.

During my wait I collected my log book and made a copy of my hours and endorsements and put them on file. I like to have another hard copy of things just in case I was to loose my log book or worse. When flying the Cirrus I want to make sure all my ducks are in a row. Why? Well as much as I like high tech gadgets, I am not a fan of advanced automation. I’m not against it…but too much of any good thing can be bad. I would love a large KILL switch that I could push to remove the autopilot, electric trim and so on…just in case the plane decided to do its own thing. The idea of “looking” for circuit breakers while I arm wrestle with a plane isn’t my idea of fun. The world is not moving in my direction, so I must move with it…which is why I am riding along.

On the way to Penn Yan between the normal chit chat sessions we talked about the Cirrus, ours is an SR-20 with an upgraded autopilot. Gordy mentioned that another member flew it and had to turn back near KSYR due to the cylinder head temperature on the #4 cylinder redlining. Apparently cylinder #4 went red in cruise flight and then calmed down. They brought the plane back and grounded it temporarily…until our flight. I don’t remember what happened between flights, but hearing this in route was not encouraging.

We got to Penn Yan in short order and took care of all the pre-flight and started our flight by heading northwest towards KROC. At around 3,500 ft and in cruise Gordy decided that we should lean the plane. So with me in the left seat I pressed “lean assist” and let him handle the mixture control. Generally we are pretty good at coordinating around each other and he found the first peak. I think we were trying to find lean of peak (or rich of peak), I forgot which at this point, but for some reason neither was working out. Gordy tried it a couple times, still no luck, so we just clicked “normalize” and contacted ATC to request a touch and go landing using the ILS on runway 22 at Rochester.

I was flying the plane in KROC airspace while Gordy handled the radios. We did the pre-landing checklist and with the ILS setup on the primary flight display I turned on a long final for runway 22. So far…so good…I trimmed as needed and tried to keep the glide scope where it should be on the PFD (primary flight display). This was starting to get fun! I was around 100 kts and pitching as needed to keep things centered. The runway was clearly in site, but I tried to ignore that fact and used the display as much as I could.

I finally had Gordy take the controls for the landing, it had been awhile and I didn’t want to kick the rust off on the main runway and be on TV if I screwed up. Gordy did just fine and we landed on 22 and just as quickly he brought in 50% flaps…away we went on the touch and go! We were climbing and turning right traffic for another ILS approach and didn’t have any issues as we headed outbound on a heading of 280 at 1,600 ft climbing to 3000 ft. We called up ATC and were now told to turn to a heading of 360.

By now the airspeed was between 115 to 120kts. Our oil temp was 171 F and the oil pressure was 50 PSI which is all within the GREEN.

Suddenly Gordy noticed a red light. He quickly turned the knob on the display on the MFD (multi-function display) to the ENGINE page and saw that cylinder head temperature on the #3 cylinder was at 468 F – REDLINE. Everything else was fine and the plane was cruising along as it should. We quickly went to full rich and reduced power and declared our condition to ATC.

MFD Showing a Redline on #3 (simulated)

As all of this was going through my head and as Gordy was talking to ATC, the CHT temperature began falling. We weren’t ready to declare an emergency just yet. We still had the airport in site and things were going from RED to Yellow and then back to GREEN all in about a minute’s time. Weird!

——————————————————

If you want to hear what happened, you can by clicking the link below. We are N8PY – Gordy is the first voice you hear with our request.

http://archive-server.liveatc.net/kroc/KROC-Aug-29-2011-1700Z.mp3

On the tape at 2:48 to 3:07 – We are told to turn 330 after being stepped on.

At 3:49 we are told to maintain VFR at 3,500 ft (as a plane flies below us).

At 9:22 we begin our decent to 2,500

At 10:30 we are told to turn left 250 maintain VFR cleared ILS 22 approach.

At 12:14 we are told to switch to the tower frequency.

At 12:51 we tell the tower where we are and we are cleared for a low approach. We request a touch and go and then another try at the ILS. Finally we are cleared for the touch and go.

At 12:14 we are told to switch to the tower frequency.

At 16:50 we’ve completed the touch and go and are climbing out, we are switching to departure for a second go at ILS 22.

At 17:31 we are at 1,600 climbing to 3,000 on a heading of 280. So far so good!

At 17:40 we are told to turn on a heading of 360.

At 18:40 we are asked how the approach will terminate – we respond at we will be flying direct to KPEO. We are cleared to fly runway heading maintain VFR after the touch and go.

At 20:09 we notice our REDLINE and we report that we have a problem with our engine and have a request that we go direct to Penn Yan. We are cleared direct to Penn Yan.

At 20:45 less than a minute from reporting a problem, the CHT is back in the green and report that a cylinder was overheating – we are instructed to turn to a heading of 100.

——————————————————

As you can hear, Gordy requested a heading to Penn Yan after the engines CHT returned to normal. We eventually turned direct to KPEO after leaving KROC airspace. On the way back Gordy wanted to see if we could lean the engine. I successfully negotiated that we don’t push our luck. I didn’t want my son’s birthday to be the same day his daddy (me) died. Gordy…to his credit…left things alone.

Back on sweet mother earth we grounded the plane. The plane was quickly scheduled to be looked at in Batavia to see what was going on. This was the second time that a cylinder redlined and returned to normal. This occurred with #4 before us and now #3. The leaning issue was the only other one reported besides Gordy feeling the engine running a little rough, he flies this aircraft more than me so I didn’t notice it like he did.

The Cirrus was flown by Gordy a few days later to Batavia for a checkout. Apparently each cylinder head has a discreet temperature probe. We had problems with the number three cylinder head temperature readout being hot…they switched the probe from the number three cylinder to the number five cylinder and the probe from the number five cylinder was placed on the number three cylinder….same for 2 and 4.

Cylinder Head Temperature Probe

So now when you go to the engine monitoring page on the MFD and look at the temperature readouts for the cylinders, things are not what they seem. The indicated temperature for cylinder three is actually cylinder five and vice versa, this will allow us to troubleshoot the probes.

Cylinder Head Temperature Probe Closeup

If the probe for cylinder three reads high again, the probe is probably bad because it is actually reading the temperature of cylinder five. If the probe for cylinder five reads high, then it is actually cylinder three overheating and the problem is probably not probe related.

So the saga continues! Is it the temperature probes or the cylinders? I guess we will find out eventually once some lucky Joe flies the plane and replicates the proble

This article written by Jeremy Jankowski that outlines what might be considered “Best Practices” in our approach to learning and becoming a true student of Aviation. – Enjoy!

Ten Things Your Flight Instructor Wishes You Knew

We all want to get through training as quickly and efficiently as possible. Yet some student pilots fly through training (no pun intended), and others end up spending a great deal more effort, money, and time to reach the same levels as our peers. What’s the difference?

Though frequency of training and personal learning styles can have an impact, removing only a few common roadblocks from your training can reduce the hurdles encountered in the process. Here are ten things that will undoubtedly make you stand out as one of your flight instructor’s favorite students.

1. Look Outside!

With the proliferation of “gizmos” in general aviation aircraft — tied so closely to the rapid expansion of the computer and electronics industries in the past few years — every pilot has had to grapple with the temptation to fixate all of his or her energy on the latest technology. Student pilots in particular have a great deal of difficulty keeping their attention outside of the cockpit, since all of the instrumentation in the cockpit (even the relatively simplistic stuff) is new to them. However, any pilot who has just trampled through the instrument rating will confirm that it’s a lot easier to precisely control the aircraft by looking outside, and most of the things that will hurt you in an airplane aren’t found inside the cockpit. If you feel like you’re having trouble, ask your flight instructor to cover up some instruments for a few lessons to force your attention outside the cockpit. Remember: A lot of airplanes don’t have attitude indicators, radios, or GPS, and their pilots do just fine.

2. Be on time

In fact, be early if you can. Getting ready for the flight (pre-flighting the aircraft, getting the weather briefing, etc.) before your scheduled time with your flight instructor allows him to concentrate the bulk of his attention on teaching new things or working on the areas that need the greatest amount of review. As it turns out, though, students often show up on the scheduled minute of arrival, spend half an hour getting ready to fly, and then have to hurry through a particular lesson to ensure that the aircraft and the flight instructor make it back on time for the next student. Sometimes the aircraft may not be available if you arrive early, but at the very least you can spend 20 minutes looking over the maneuvers you were supposed to know when you arrived.

3. One hour of studying at home can save two hours of training in the airplane

Most people fly for fun and studying hasn’t generally been regarded as the most enjoyable of all activities. Particularly for those with busy schedules or who haven’t been in a classroom for a while, study habits may be downright poor. However, students who progress most quickly through training (and folks, the most fun stuff comes after you get the Private Pilot Certificate) are generally those who spend at least an hour intimately close to the books between flight lessons. In particular, knowing the procedures for the next lesson’s maneuvers and radio phraseology saves a tremendous amount of training time. Ask yourself if you could do any of the maneuvers you’ve done with your instructor on at least three occasions from memory and without help; if you can’t, you’re probably spending a lot of time with your instructor in the airplane going over the procedure step-by-step, when you should be working on the execution of the maneuver itself.

4. The checklist is required

The Practical Test Standards, the “cheat sheet” for check rides, couldn’t possibly be more clear when it comes to the subject of checklists. Nearly every Area of Operation listed requires that the applicant “completes the appropriate checklist.” Yet with many student pilots, proper checklist discipline falls short, and it typically results in things consistently getting missed. Is your landing light on when it should be? Forget to turn on the transponder again? Mixture not rich for landing? If you’re using the checklist, that should never be a problem.

5. Asking questions makes a CFI’s job easier

Anyone whose tried to teach anything to a person who refuses to participate in the process knows how frustrating it can be to determine the degree of understanding gleaned from the lecture. Yet many students, even those who are normally active and outgoing, act like a tree whenever the instructor asks, “Does that make sense?” If it doesn’t, say so. Say it again if you have to. If you make learning an interactive process, you will pick up the material more thoroughly and more quickly than someone who take notes that only somewhat make sense to them. Often flight instructors find new ways of looking at things themselves through the questions that you ask!

6. A weather briefing is a necessity — even on nice days

It’s a clear blue sky outside, visibility unlimited, and the winds are calm. Who needs a weather briefing? You do! It’s not only a legal requirement (see FAR 91.103), but in this day and age of temporary flight restrictions (TFRs), airports across the country constantly under construction, communication frequency outages, and aging navigation facilities, it’s an absolute requirement that you get the full standard briefing. Either call the Flight Service Station or connect to DUATs. (If you don’t know how these work, this would be a great question to ask at your next lesson. See #5).

7. Safety, precision, smoothness

In that order. Students often try to be the next ace when they’re learning a new maneuver, and smoothness is a requirement for being considered ready to take the practical test. However, at some times, there are things more important that being soft on the controls for the sake of the hypothetical people in the back. Concentrate first on doing a maneuver safely (which means looking outside for other traffic!), then within the altitude, heading, and speed requirements, then work on doing both gently. You’re expected to be a little rough at it first, but with experience, you’ll find your corrections will get smaller and the “smooth hands” will follow.

8. Fly it like you own it

At first, every one of us needs to be walked through a new procedure, maneuver, or operation, because, quite frankly, we haven’t ever done it before. Loosening the leash after that can be a difficult task for the instructor, and most students aren’t sure what they’re allowed to do on their own — they wait until they’re told to put out the flaps, or reduce the power, or run the checklist, or call the tower. Take the initiative and ask your flight instructor if you can try doing a maneuver without his help, and have him critique you after you’ve completed it. The more responsibility you take on, the more comfortable an instructor will be letting you tackle the aircraft by yourself.

9. Keep your instructor in the loop

One thing that every flight instructor hates to hear after giving an instruction to a student is, “I was just about to do that.” It can be difficult for an instructor to predict what a student will do next, and sometimes a flight instructor has to assume that the student has forgotten a step or needs to be prompted for a particular action. When you tell your flight instructor what you plan to do and when, he can tell if you’ve forgotten, because you haven’t done what you said you would do. This allows him to give you more responsibility to make decisions on you own, and short circuit a plan that may not work for one reason or another before you are in the midst of executing it.

10. Keep your eyes on the big picture

The most important thing that any flight instructor wants to see in a student is safety. Most student pilots tend to evaluate their performance on how softly they land, how precisely they execute a maneuver, how accurately they memorize procedures. In the real world of flying, though, poor decisions about weather, equipment, or pilot skill are generally what cause accidents — not a bad steep turn or a firm landing. Make your goal to be a conservative, current, and well-informed pilot, and the rest will fall into place!

Pilots now have an unprecedented amount of information available at their fingertips. Electronic flight instruments use innovative techniques to determine aircraft attitude, speed, and altitude, presenting a wealth of information in one or more integrated presentations. A suite of cockpit information systems provides pilots with data about aircraft position, planned route, engine health and performance, as well as surrounding weather, traffic, and terrain.

Unless you started training with a Technologically Advanced Aircraft, these modern avionics systems may present three important learning challenges as you develop proficiency:

• How to operate advanced avionics systems
• Which advanced avionics systems to use and when
• How advanced avionics systems affect the pilot and the way the pilot flies

If you are starting your transition training to a Technologically Advanced Aircraft, then you should consider checking out several FREE publications on this topic:

AOPA – Technologically Advanced Aircraft: Safety and Training
http://www.aopa.org/asf/publications/topics/TAA2007.pdf

FAA – Advanced Avionics Handbook
http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/aviation/media/FAA-H-8083-6.pdf

Assuming Risk

Glass cockpits don’t make us invincible, however they seem to allow us to assume more risk than either the plane or our experience is ready for when it comes to weather. Seeing weather on a display is not a license to fly closer than 20 NM to it or a reason to consider flying a sucker hole between two storms. Remember, we are flying single engine GA aircraft, not a Boeing or an Airbus with much more power and performance. Yes, modern avionics can allow you to fly closer, thread the needle and some GA pilots may consider that common practice. Is it safe? That depends on the conditions, the aircraft in use and the pilot’s experience, and one other thing called luck.

Weather showed the largest negative difference when comparing a TAA like a Cirrus to the overall GA fleet, with nearly one-third (31 percent) of all Cirrus accidents involving weather, compared to 4.7 percent for GA overall. Weather proved to be uncommonly deadly in the Cirrus, accounting for nearly two-thirds (61.5 percent) of fatal accidents. In the overall GA fleet, weather was identified as the cause in 16.4 percent of fatal accidents.

I’m not picking on Cirrus. And we are pretty sure that storms don’t seek out and attack Cirrus aircraft. Could it be that a radar screen doesn’t do justice to the actual flight conditions near a storm? Could it be that a TAA like the Cirrus is more likely to fly a business flight fully loaded with get-there-itis? Could it be that all this technology gives us a false sense of security? My guess is…all of the above…and few we didn’t mention. Is this bad? Yes, if we ignore how we can be lulled into a false sense of security and leave it up to the plane to use its discretion instead of our own to fly the plane.

My home base is the Penn Yan Flying Club located in Penn Yan, New York, but I live on the downwind of runway 13 in Canandaigua, New York where I am the AOPA ASN Representative. I am also a 2nd Lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol for Rochester Senior Squadron in Rochester, New York.

As part of my Cirrus Transition training we are required to complete the Cirrus Workbook in order to become more familiar with the aircraft performance and the systems onboard the aircraft. You can download the Cirrus Work Book if you are interested in seeing it.

Besides the workbook, I have been trying to use the CATS software mentioned in my previous article in order to learn more about the Cirrus SR-20 aircraft. Sadly, after going a few rounds with UND Aerospace Foundation, the CATS software still fails to save my progress and the aircraft configuration. I have spent more time on dealing with this issue than actually using the software for training. In disgust, I am forging on without UND Aerospace Foundation and have expressed my frustration to Cirrus. For a $299 outlay you would think that the software would function as advertised, but even during the installation I received a permission error…which I fixed. This technically won’t stop me from going through the sections and taking quizzes, but it forces me to re-configure my aircraft every time I launch the software.

As for my transition training in the plane, that will be a slow go. There is no substitute for being in the real plane and flying. However, it is clear that the more you learn on the ground, clearly translates into less thinking and time wasting in the air if a warning light were to comes on and so forth. As in all planes, knowing how to deal with the loss of an engine or an engine fire top the list of things you should know how to handle without a checklist. In the Cirrus other items to consider are: run-a-way trim or a rogue autopilot. It’s important NOT to create an emergency out of something that at the moment might not be an emergency.

Hopefully more Cirrus flying will be coming in the future!

As for flying, I have kept my commitment of flying at least once a month in the Piper Cherokee. The reason for that is because it’s a low wing like the Cirrus, its speed is similar to the Cirrus in the pattern and it has a fuel pump, along with left and right fuel tank management responsibilities. A Cessna 172 is just too easy…like flying a kite, almost boring by comparison.

Now with my head floating, the interactive training software called CATS is here and installed on my computer. So at this time I have started working on learning all about the Cirrus SR-20 and plan to complete the workbook that I started with my instructor and continue on with my transition training.

I am hoping that an opportunity that presented itself to me this week might mean that by mid-August, funds will be available now and on an ongoing basis for training. I am hoping for the best!

CATS - Cirrus Aircraft Training Software

CATS lets you explore and learn your Cirrus aircraft like never before. Practice checklist procedures, calculate performance, and explore aircraft systems all at the click of a mouse.

Configured to Your Aircraft

Configuration options include:

Aircraft Type: SR20 or SR22

Engine System: Normally aspirated or turbonormalized

Environmental System: G2/G3/air conditioning with selectable optional equipment

It’s Interactive…

• Practice normal and emergency procedures anytime, anywhere, using interactive cockpit controls and checklists.
• Learn the systems of these technologically advanced aircraft (TAA) with animated, interactive schematics and simulations.
• Navigate through the software using a familiar Pilot’s Operating Handbook format.
• Explore and learn at your own pace using “free play” simulations and an unrestrictive menu system.
• Test your knowledge with over 40 multiple-choice quizzes.
• Monitor your progression through the content and quizzes with integrated progress tracking.

Six Sections with Subsections with Quizzes

The Power Plant

Weight Specifications