Looks like 2017 is the year of legacy retirements. Last month the Indian Army elected to retire their fleet of HAL built Lamas and Alouette IIIs. Now it hits closer to home.
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Categories:
ROTORwrench
How convenient. Just as we start a year of Lama tips, one of the largest operators of SA315B and SA.316B type aircraft decides to retire their entire fleet. The Indian Army cited recent flight incidents and safety concerns as the reasons for grounding their fleet of approximately 44 aircraft.
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Categories:
ROTORwrench
I had let it go as long as I possibly dared. Longer.
I had given this Commercial Pilot every opportunity to recover. To get with the action. Hell, to blessed well get involved, even.
But no... Too busy waving The Royal Wave at his buddies. Too busy doing his Grand Fly By.
Too busy showing off…
I could hear the blade slap. I could feel the buffeting. I could sense what was about to happen. All the warning signals were there, all the harbingers of Truth, all the Reminders of the immutable Laws of Nature and Gravity... everything was lining up, trying to flash that little amber caution light in a good pilot's mind…
Remember the introduction?
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Moggy's Musings
A few months ago, I was conducting a commercial pilot practical test for an applicant in the South Florida area. At the beginning of the exam, the applicant held up his copy of the FAA practical test standards (PTS) next to his face and took a selfie with his phone. He then proceeded to request I “hold on a minute” so that he could post the picture on Facebook. At the time, I didn’t really mind as this moment was significant to him. Maybe it was his way of calming his nerves: no harm, no foul.
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Categories:
Rotorcraft Checkride
Have you ever accidentally done a loop in a helicopter on a moonless night at 1,000 feet on downwind leg to an airport because the pilot flying lost spatial orientation? I have. The sudden and abrupt transition from controlled flight to uncontrolled flight, when the pilot “lost it,” then fighting for control, took me as much by surprise as it did the poor pilot.
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My Two Cents Worth
Often times I receive comments from readers who have an observation or two about a column I’ve written. I recently received an email from a Captain Mark Sobaszko who flies for a major airline offering his 2 Cents’ Worth about my latest article, “Sully Welcome to our World”. As a former helicopter pilot, I find Captain Sobaszko’s comments quite interesting as he’s seen both sides of the coin. Here is what he had to say:
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Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
As I mentioned last month, we will be focusing on SA315B Lama tips and tricks. But first, a note from our sponsor: the Lama is technically an Alouette III. Believe it or not!
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Categories:
ROTORwrench
As we readied ourselves for another Tuna Boat take-off, I watched my... (student?)(candidate?)(ward?) carefully. My hands were very close to the controls. I knew, in my heart, that I didn't trust him. I wanted to, but bitter experience had placed me on guard. More and more, I found the thought of his flying alone off another Tuna Boat utterly frightening. I knew I had an uphill battle on my hands. My Boss was totally determined to have this fine fellow summarily checked out, and dispatched asap to the next available open slot on a Tuna Boat. That could come any day. Our pilot turnover was high. People burned out, or got into arguments with crew and captains.
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Categories:
Moggy's Musings
The FAA requires a Flight Instructor to renew their certificate on a 24-month basis. Why 24-months? I've posed this question many times to FAA types and the answer appears to be elusive. The most common answer is simply that a 24-month renewal period provides the FAA with a mechanism to evaluate a Flight Instructor on a recurring basis thereby ensuring their ability to consistently meet the high standards of the Flight Instructor Practical Test Standards (PTS). With all of the various methods to renew a Flight Instructor certificate, the least of which is taking a practical test, it would appear that logic may be flawed.
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Categories:
Rotorcraft Checkride
It's the STUPID little stuff that trips you up. The routine. If I can get that point across, I'll be thrilled. Here is an example, one which does not paint me as the great Sky God. But, hopefully, it can show you how easy, easy, easy, the stupid, simple stuff can bite you...
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Categories:
Moggy's Musings