PlasticPilot.net

I’m not sure of the reason why, but persons planning airports like to put them in challenging places. Look at this Google Earth view of Nice airport. Not only there’s always crosswinds because of sea-breeze, but there are hills in the axis and mountains on the north side.

There is no other option than having all departures and arrivals on the sea side, resulting in rather complex procedures. Typically, all departures include a right turn at 420 feet. This is easy in a light aircraft, but in a jet, this means a turn less than 30 seconds after departure.

The rest of the procedure is also a piece of engineering: multiple navaids, heading segments, radial change, and to make the whole thing worse, the navaids are not located on the airport. One of the turns must be done at 8DME from a certain beacon, which is located… at 8 DME from the airport. The procedure includes an initial turn followed by a leg which passes abeam the beacon. It’s only after passing the beacon, and being 8NM away that this turn at 8NM takes place.

If you have access to a Jeppesen, look at the LONSU and EPOLO departures. You can also download the official French AIP pages here.

Bern (LSZB) is also a good example of airport surrounded by significant hills. The initial departure includes a left turn at the end of runway to climb in a valley, then a left turn to a beacon located by the runway end. Another left turn is required after this very short homing to fly the outbound leg of the parallel entry to a holding. This holding is with right turns, with an inbound heading opposite to runway direction. Clear ? If not have a look at the FRI departures from RWY 14 (no free version available in Switzerland… sorry).

I don’t know if it is possible to design simpler procedures. In both cases the presence of cities that can’t be overflown in close vicinity makes the situation more complex. I don’t know who designed these procedures, but some require more engineering skills than flying skills.

For pilots used to clearances like “Maintain runway heading, climb to 8′000 feet”, flying a complex SID could create a serious overload. Not that I think there are pilots out there unable to fly them, but it requires a detailled briefing. The navigation setting must also be well thought and prepared.

Napoleon said that war is a simple art, of simple execution. This applies really well to instrument procedures. Be well prepared before opening the throttle, and you’ll be fine. No place for improvisation in instrument flying. Particularly when the pointy rocks are involved.

During the breaks of the IFR theory classes, we used to walk by the tarmac of the airfield where the courses were held, and look at planes. One one particular day, an instructor was beside the runway with his hand-held radio. We immediately though “first solo”.

As we got closer, we did not heard the kind of things an instructor can say to a student. He was talking rather in a very calm way, but his words immediately alarmed us: “Now you must extend the flaps. This is the big lever on the ceiling, between you and the pilot. Pull until the first notch.” Then came “Push the power lever more forward, and lower the nose. Try to stay aligned with the runway.”

We were all quiet to let him concentrate, until he literally “talked” the plane down, guiding the inexperienced passenger through a landing. Surprisingly, it was not a crash-landing, but a very good one. The plane then taxied back rather quickly, and the passenger jumped out, smiling. Another instructor jumped off the plane… from the left seat. He did not looked incapacitated, and the passenger / pilot did not looked scared. At this moment we understood that it was the “Pinch Hitter” course day ! Everyone was then relaxed again…

The objective of such a course is simple: give a non-pilot sufficient skills to bring the aircraft back on ground in a survivable way in case of pilot’s incapacitation. It addresses pilot’s partners who fly regularly and want to play a safety role without having to get their own license.

They cover use of radio, auto-pilot if present, basic principles of flight, and a few hours of practice with a “dead” instructor on board. Various schools are offering this kind of courses, and any instructor can probably do that. As a pilot, you can also train your frequent passengers.

Teaching basic radios can be a life saver. How to tune a frequency (probably 121.5), which intercom button to press, and the push-to-talk. Not more, but enough to make ATC aware of the situation. If the plane is equipped with a two axis autopilot, a minimum of training (AP - HDG - ALT and power setting) is sufficient to make your passenger fly vectors at constant altitude. No more stall / spin risk. And if your passenger is tech-savvy, why not teach to approach mode, and explain how to request an ILS approach.

Don’t try to teach flare and landing, but rather survivable impact. It’s much better to approach too fast than stall on final. This is obviously not something one can practice, but if someone can get a plane lined-up with a runway, and cross the number at 10 feet, flying at a credible speed and with a nose-up attitude, the chances are rather good.

Being a pilot has some less-than-fun aspects, and this is probably one of them. My favorite motto ? “Plan the worst, expect the best”. This applies really good to aviation…

Thielert, the German company producing the diesel engines that equip the DA40 and the C172 TD, is facing up with a severe financial crisis. I don’t understand all the details of such things, but the recent events are not good: the CEO (Mr. Thielert) has been put aside, then the board has been revoked, and now the company filed for insolvency.

The Thielert share at Frankfurt stock exchange closed at a very low 0.43 EUR, and the last press release are all about restructuring activities, and so on. All information is available on their website, www.thielert.com.

When I saw the first bad signs, I decided not to write about it. It sounded like a move from family to financial business. But now the situation seems much more serious, and the future of the company could be at risk.

It’s strange to think that a company with a good product, matching the real need of numerous customers can be threatened by financial errors. There is probably nothing to do as pilot to change the situation, but I sincerely hope this product won’t just disappear.

Thielert has been the vector of one of the last major changes in general aviation. Yes they have competitors, and I’m sure that even if the company disappears, the technology will survive.

Opponents to aero-diesel engines will probably use this financial mishap to feed their flow of critics, but fans and “evangelists” like me will continue to support the modernization of general aviation engines. Anyway, with an oil barrel at 120USD, we’d better have to find economical solutions…

I wish the best possible future to Thielert. The next months won’t be fun, but keep doing a good job, and you’ll find a way out of this bad financial situation !