Trikepilot Social

People who think GA's piston segment is dying are the same ones who think there's growth to be found in what's a long downward slide. According to AVweb's Paul Bertorelli, arguing that GA is dying is like saying a fat man on a diet is committing suicide. The game isn't over, but first we have to accept some basic facts. Paul takes a hard look at those facts in the latest installment of our AVweb Insider blog.

President Bush on Tuesday signed an Executive Order to mandate that modernizing our national airspace system remains a leading priority for federal agencies. "At an age when teenage drivers use GPS systems in their cars, air traffic controllers still use World War II-era radar to guide modern jumbo jets," Mr. Bush said. "That doesn't seem to make any sense to me ... Modernizing our aviation system is an urgent challenge." He also called on Congress to "help make our transportation system worthy of the 21st century," by providing incentives for the private sector to develop new technologies and investing in infrastructure upgrades. According to a White House fact sheet, the Executive Order will "help transform the national air transportation system and effectively implement the NextGen Initiative (Next Generation Air Transportation System) that utilizes satellite-based guidance technology, which is safer, more secure, affordable, and environmentally friendly." The action aims to strengthen the DOT's coordination with other federal agencies. But according to Doug Church, spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, "[The executive order] certainly appears like yet another new red bow on the same old box, which remains empty. Is the administration now saying modernizing our aviation system was NOT a leading priority up until today?"

A final rule issued by the Department of Homeland Security this week is not as bad as it might have been for GA pilots, but it still will have an impact on all across-the-border operations. That's the bottom line from AOPA's analysis of the rule published Tuesday by the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, which is part of the DHS. As initially proposed last year, the rule would have required pilots to file passenger manifests and other information via the Internet an hour before the flight, a problem for pilots who operate from remote and undeveloped airports where Internet access is not available. More than 2,900 comments were filed. "Thanks to pilot input, the CBP better understands the nature of GA operations and the remote areas that pilots often travel," Andy Cebula, AOPA executive vice president of government affairs, said on Tuesday. The final rule offers various options for pilots to file the required information. "Pilots didn't get everything they wanted," Cebula said. Concerns remain over the type of information required and possible delays in approving flights. But, Cebula said, the revisions in the final rule are "proof of how influential general aviation pilots can be when they unite."

Garmin's Jerry Smith was recently killed in the crash of his Cardinal. He knew everyone in the GA business, and everyone he knew will miss him, including us. AVweb's Paul Bertorelli remembers Jerry on the AVweb Insider blog.

"Video of the Week" returns after a brief hiatus to accomodate our AOPA Expo in-house video production — and we've got some nice clips in the hopper. First up, a video montage of two USAF demo teams paying a visit to Poplar Grove, Illinois's C77, courtesy of AVweb reader Scott Ross. (Click through to watch.)

We talk with Carl and Deb Boenig about building replica warplanes. W.A.R. Aircraft Replicas provide scale plans for many of the well known aircraft of WWII. Learn what it takes to get started and what goes into building a replica.

Jim Sweeney talks about the fatal turn-back. That's what pilots decide to do all too often when an engine fails or begins to fail after take off. Jim talks about why that can be the last decision a pilot ever makes and alternatives if you end up in that situation.

The problem with the concept of flying cars is what to do with the wing when you want to drive instead of fly. That problem is solved when you use a paraglider for the wing which folds up and fits into the trunk when on the ground. The Parajet Sky Car is coming closer to reality with a top speed of 80+ mph in the air. We talk with Gilo Cardozo about the project.

The Carpenters recently returned from Australia where they visited with the AIrborne company and taught a course. Carol Carpenter joins ust to talk about their trip, what they did, and what they learned.

Roy is getting ready to travel to Switzerland for the annual FAI commission meeting for microlight aircraft. He talks a little about what he's looking forward to doing and seeing on the trip.

Red Bull game along with our new SuperArcade!

Find more videos like this on www.jeffsflightlog.com
HD version on Vimeo, below
Trike flyby over the Caldron of Hell from jeffsflightlog on Vimeo. This is a short video of me flying with Paul, my hanger buddy and new sport pilot in New Mexico. The video was shot with an AIPTEK-1080P, in 720P 60HZ mode. It is a flyby over the "Caldron of Hell", one of the scenic wonders near Belen, NM Below is and example of the "wavies" discussed in the comments section
The Wavies AIPTEK 1080P, 30HZ from jeffsflightlog on Vimeo.

There is a pilot magazine in the UK which always features a section called "I Learned About Flying From That". Each month an anonymously named "Pilot X" takes off into beautiful blue skies only to come to grief some time later. At the end of the article the author analyses the pilot's mistakes. On Tuesday I became Pilot X. I was flying my trike south through Malaysia after attending a fly-in north of the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. The airfield is about 215 nm from Nusajaya where I base my trike. The journey and the fly-in (organized by the EAA Malaysia) should be the subject of an entire article, so I won't get into that. However, after having a rough-running engine en route back to Kuala Lumpur and a day layover because of strong headwinds, I was getting anxious to get home. My wife was starting to sound very unhappy about me being away for so long and I already had to get one extension of my leave from my boss. It was therefore with great relief when I finally left Kuala Lumpur. The headwinds had died down somewhat and the flight to my first stop was quite enjoyable. I landed at my refueling stop in Malacca in beautiful, clear weather. During the landing at Malacca my brake cable snapped when I tried to stop in time to make the turnoff to the apron - I landed long to avoid holding up the other traffic on final. I knew I could land at Nusajaya without needing the brakes, so I didn't consider the aircraft unserviceable (after all Tiger Moths don't have brakes either and they're certified to fly!). As I was getting fuel from the petrol station, a thunderstorm rolled in quickly and grounded me for about 2 hours. After the rain stopped, a look at the weather radar showed that the storm had mostly blown out to sea although parts of it remained over the coast. However, the inland route to Senai Airport (an international airport close to Nusajaya) seemed clear. A friend of mine in Nusajaya confirmed that the sun was shining there so I decided to go for it. Once airborne, the sky was gin-clear with probably the best visibility I've seen in Malaysia. Unfortunately in the fantastic visibility I could also see the low, dark clouds across my path in the distance. Sure enough, after about half an hour of flying the weather deteriorated and Malacca Tower advised that the area towards my destination was IMC. I was reluctant to turn back to Malacca so I told Tower that I would make a precautionary landing and wait for the weather to improve. However, search as I may I couldn't find a suitable landing spot, at least not one from which I could take off again. While I was searching the weather improved so I decided to continue my journey instead. Soon afterwards lowering clouds forced me to descend to 1,000ft and eventually to 500ft. Forward visibility was still better than 3 km, it was dry and I was clear of cloud and in sight of ground. I relayed that message to Klang Tower and they cleared me into the area at "not above 500ft". As a safety precaution I decided to follow the main north-south highway which ran all the way to my destination. At the Senai TMA the weather took another turn for the worse and Klang advised that Senai Airport was reporting heavy rain. I felt that I really needed to land and told Klang as much. However, once again I could not find a suitable landing spot. There was a industrial estate full of newly constructed roads and no traffic, but all the roads had lamp posts along their lengths. In the turbulent air I didn't feel I could make an accurate enough approach and landing to avoid clipping a wing on a lamppost. At this stage the weather again seemed to clear a bit and the rain relented so I flew on. Klang handed me over to Johor Tower at Senai Airport, but I never managed to establish contact with them. Ten nautical miles from Kulai - which is a town about 5 minutes from the airport - the weather finally became too bad to proceed. I was now getting pelted by heavy rain and buffeted by turbulence. The forward visibility reduced so much that I knew I might not be able to see the high-voltage power lines that span the highway at regular intervals. At this point I knew I wanted to land regardless of any damage to the trike. I did a quick about turn and flew back to a rest stop next to the highway which I saw some time back. Flying around that area I spotted two dirt roads in a clearing along the highway. The two parallel roads ran uphill and were pointing into the wind. On the other side of the upslope was a small but steep downhill. That was to become my undoing. I went for a low inspection pass over one of the roads and very nearly collided with high voltage power lines running across the end of the roads! As the humming pylons suddenly loomed large through the rain I banked violently and the trike fell out of the sky. At that point I really thought I was going to die. I added full power and by some miracle managed to avoid the wires, the trees and stall/spinning the plane into the ground. After the adrenalin settled I recovered and started to plan an approach. I knew a go-around would be out of the question because of the power lines and high trees on either side, but this was still by far the best landing spot I've seen. I therefore had to make sure I landed first time and at the bottom of the upslope. Because of the turbulent air I decided to carry a bit more speed and fly the trike firmly onto the road. In my defence I have to say I did just that and the landing was actually very good. Unfortunately the speed carried me over the hill and without brakes I was unable to slow down. The trike topped the hill and began to run away with me. I tried to steer the trike off the road into the soft mud on the side but that caused the trike to overturn. The plane ended up on its right side in a crumpled heap of bent tubes and sail. I got out as fast as I could, but fortunately there was no fire. I was bleeding from the nose and I could see my right foot was badly cut (down to the tendons in fact). Fortunately the trike landed with the left side facing up. It was in the left-hand pocket that I kept my medical and survival kit. My phone and personal locator beacon ("PLB") were in my rain jacket which I was wearing. I also managed to retrieve my water bottles. I washed the foot and dressed it as best I could and after covering it with a plastic bag, I walked to the highway. I knew I had to move quickly before the pain set in. Fortunately it was less that a three minute walk to the highway. Unfortunately it took 30 minutes before someone actually bothered to stop to pick me up. My phone got too wet during the flying (even though it was in the pocket of my rain jacket) and was not working so I couldn't call for help. At one point I really felt like activating my PLB. The guys who picked me up drove me to a clinic where I received 20-odd stitches in my foot and made a police report. What went wrong? I keep asking myself what I should have done differently. 1. Flying without brakes might have been a mistake. However, the drum brake on my trike is extremely weak even in dry conditions. In the wet it would have been as good as trying to stop with your feet. I really don't think the brake would have been able to stop the trike at that speed on wet ground, but I will never know. 2. Should I have flown on into deteriorating weather? The obvious answer should be "no", but then thunderstorms don't usually last long and I was flying slowly. It may well have been that by the time I got to an area the weather would have improved. I had at least an hour of fuel remaining at Kulai so I could waited for a while. On hindsight perhaps that is what I should have done, but by that stage I was becoming fatigued and frightened and perhaps not thinking clearly. 3. However, I think the real mistake was assuming that I could land a microlight anywhere. I thought if the weather got too bad, I would simply land and wait it out. As it turned out landing off-airport in bad weather is not easy. It is for real emergencies only and should never have been part of my game plan. I should have turned back to Malacca and waited for the weather to improve. Gethomeitis claimed yet another victim… Practical Tips Here are some of the practical things I learned: • Wear proper shoes. You want to avoid foot injuries which could leave you stranded. • Wear a helmet. It really saved my head. • Wear basic survival stuff on your person and not just in the plane. You may not be able to get to it. • I should have activated my PLB before trying to land in case I got knocked unconscious. • Wear your PLB outside your jacket so you can reach it in flight without fiddling too much. • Wrap your phone in plastic to keep it dry. My mobile did not work when I needed it most because it was wet. • Make sure you can get to your medical/survival kit. If my plane landed on the other side, the kit would have been difficult to reach. For that reason I also kept duplicable medical supplies under the seat (my wife's idea!). • Plastic shopping bags, lots of water and a mirror are vital equipment for medical kits.

Trike Dog

I had too many pictures. And my AIPTEK-HD video worked great giving me thousands more to choose from. I finally finished the flightlogs for my trip to Alamosa and Creede Colorado in July. Here are some direct links. You need Flash installed to view them. Outbound Creede Return Or go to my www.jeffsflightlog.com and click on "2008". The Alamosa trip is at the top. Enjoy the flight

Taos Gorge

Mountain lake

Santa Maria Res.

Dawn return

Taos Gorge Bridge

Hello, i wanted to ask opinions about comparing the Airborne XT-912 Tundra to the Pegasus Quick. Seems to me u can get a 912S { in the Quick} for the same price of a 912{ in the XT Tundra. A bit of a difference i think. Thanks for any comments. Good Day!