What's Up - December 2012
This is “World Class” Stupid … And dangerous too!
By Larry Shapiro
Last month I shared with you about Hangar Flying on the CTAF and problems it can create. Here’s one more thing that can cause problems – at the same airport about the same time – an airplane on down wind decided to stop flying and ran out of sky before it made it to the runway. Nothing really newsworthy about that with one small exception … it was three years out of annual. Maybe I should have a contest and ask you to send in your comments on this one, we could all use a good laugh and my head is buzzing with a million silly things to say about this world class act of being really stupid. So? Any comments?
Commuting by Flying Versus Driving by Habit
And now Ladies and Gentlemen … the envelope please … and the winner is: flying! A few months ago we sold a really beautiful 172 to a young, overly energetic and motivated student pilot. I’ve checked in on him now and then and with less than four months of ownership, and still sitting on one of those yellow/beige tickets, I asked him how many hours he had logged. Anticipating a boastful 25-30 hours he casually answered more than 80! When I caught my breath and recovered I asked if he’d been home lately?
He informed me that he figured he saved three hours a day on the L.A. freeways by flying, and that his commute to work each day was about 22 minutes each way.
When I calmed down I actually found another SoCal pilot was doing the same commute and without taking off his shoes to count, he said it was actually more cost effective to fly to work rather than drive his car … I’d like to argue this point, but I can’t.
I know many airline drivers that commute from their majestic mountain homes in northern California hills to one of the local San Francisco area GA airports and then drive an airport “beater” (car) in order to earn a living at SFO, OAK, and SJC so that they can pay for that mountain home I mentioned.
So, I guess the bottom line is simply, if it works for you, “Go for it!”
“The Impossible Turn” Up-date and Follow up
The best way for me to judge how many of you actually read my column are the responses and challenges I get. I love that part. One more thing, I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it until I’m totally grounded and then some, airplanes don’t just quit, break or crash without sending the pilot a message of some sort. The big problem is that pilots forget to check or read their “mail.” So, here’s an update on the Truckee incident I reported a few issues ago.
An attempt was made to take off on the previous day and the take off was aborted.
The second attempt the next morning, with two medics on board, was also aborted. After the pilot dropped off his two passengers he was seen trying a third time. Presumably he thought he could fly off some of the fuel load before trying again with his PAX, but that’s conjecture. (Please keep in mind a very loaded airplane and density altitude.)
On the third attempt the nose was seen to be lifted two or three times before it was jerked off quickly; the plane took off in ground effect and immediately yawed off to the right zooming over three rows of hangars before dropping suddenly through the roof of a hangar. Thought it was apparently full of fuel there was no fire.
The plane was reportedly heavily loaded with medical supplies intended for South America where this doctor volunteered his services. It may have also had an aft C.G. His intended passengers were also medics but that is all I know.
We believe that he attempted to take off with insufficient airspeed. The long take-off run and high ground speed due to the high-density altitude situation (probably above 7,000 feet) could have led him to disbelieve his air speed indicator. Or maybe he did not look at it?
This high ground speed (maybe close to 70 mph) was enough to lift off the runway in ground effect. Above that the plane was mostly ballistic with little if any control available because once out of ground effect it stalled.
Immediately after the accident, the gas pump was shut down until a quality check could be made confirming its quality. SOP! I understand that it was soon reopened.
The whole row of hangars was temporarily quarantined due to the fuel spillage.
This apparently required digging out the floor of the damaged hangar and of the two adjacent hangars.
We applaud the airport personnel, police, firemen, NTSB and others who had to handle the immediate effects of this needless tragedy. It is never nice work.
Like I said, there were many messages to the pilot and he didn’t read his mail.
Here’s Another Reason to Love Aviation …
I’d like to tell you about an 85-year-old inspiration I had the joy of meeting a few weeks ago. Out of respect I won’t mention his name because you will all want to meet him and he just doesn’t have the time, he’s too busy.
I met him in his Northern California Hangar where he kept the love of his life, his 1946 Taylor Craft … loaded with almost nothing. It was pure joy just listening to him tell me about flying this little jewel around the USA and a trip he did in her to New York. He asked me to guess his average altitude for that flight. Any guesses? The answer was 250-feet AGL – and on 4.5 gallons of petrol (car gas). After all, how much octane do you need for a 75 horsepower engine? By the way, we are selling this treasure and donating the proceeds to a charity of his choice, which I believe makes buying it tax deductible.
While I’m At It … A Simple Ride!
I recently had a client from France visiting with me. We completed our business late on a Friday, Veteran’s Day weekend to be exact. I mentioned to him that if he had time and wanted to take a short flight around our area code that I was free to do that. Before the words left my mouth he was flashing his fresh new USA pilot papers – I mean ticket – he had just gotten that morning. Well then I said, “let’s test it and see if it works.”
We met up again the next morning, flipped a coin to see which airplane would have the pleasure of me sitting in it, and off we went into the lovely, always blue, northern California sky and headed for the nearest ocean. We considered a stop at HAF, but opted for the Golden Gate Bridge for some picture taking on the “ocean side” instead of the tourist side. It was a good choice and picture perfect.
When his heartbeat got back to normal he suggested we find a place for lunch, so we continued north to the wine country with a stop at Petaluma on our non-existing flight plan for some calories and indigestion.
As we were well into our final approach we couldn’t help but notice a plethora of every airplane of our dreams lining the ramp. Both of us were speechless, yes, even me.
Forgetting it was Veteran’s Day weekend we realized that one of us should land the airplane since we were both busy staring out through the windows and forgot 172s don’t land themselves … you know what I mean.
In his country, as he told me, one does not have this kind of access to airplanes unless they are in a museum. I doubt that he will ever recover from the next four hours of seeing, touching, photographing, and talking with all the very accessible pilots. We even met and visited the newest of the P-51s in the neighborhood belonging to one of the countries great airshow pilots and I won’t mention Eddies name because he’s so shy and unassuming.
As to Francois, well … his life changed that day and as I told him, as excited as he was seeing all these historic airplanes, my excitement came from watching him and the joy glowing on his face. I guess that’s what it’s really about; bringing joy to those not as fortunate as many of us are that are able to live in the world of aviation, and the thrill of watching others visit it.
I wish you could have been with us on our ride back to PAO. Again we passed the Golden Gate Bridge, this time on the tourist side, then over downtown San Francisco, and finished up by flying over SFO. Not bad for just a simple ride.
I’m Just Saying …
And now a few words about holiday flying: We eat (too much), we drink (too much) and we are usually in a hurry to get there and or get back from there. Sometimes we might be just a smidge over grossed because of warm clothes, gifts, and snacks of course. I have always chosen not to fly on special holidays like the ones coming up. I’ve always felt that I never wanted an unavoidable incident linked to a holiday. So with that in mind, please be extra careful out there and don’t end up with your name in this column. I say this with love because, I’m just saying …
On final …
I am still recovering from my Turkey hangover and I’ve found all the weight I lost while in a holiday rehab center. Now it’s time to gather all those we love and or tolerate and everything good and fattening. Lots of hugs and kisses, and a fair amount of hangar flying, will be shared and enjoyed. With all that is happening in other parts of our world that is not as happy, find a way to share this time with those that are without. As 2012 comes to a close, I thank you again for allowing me into your minds and private time. I look forward to spending another year with you and helping all of us find more things to smile about.
Until next time …
That’s Thirty!
“Over”
