FALL 2012 - Redstar Pilots Association

Red ALERT
THE MAGAZINE OF THE REDSTAR PILOTS ASSOCIATION
FALL 2012
www.flyredstar.org
1
Red ALERT
Service Is Our Policy!
CONTENTS
Features
Proud sponsor
of the Red
Star Pilots
Association
8 USS Iowa Fly-By
Floating Museum
Fall 2012
Columns
4 President’s Message
Progress
7 New National Directors 10Contrails
Three Volunteers Step Up
12 Unload For Control
Warbirds
Charter Management
Classic Jets
Experimental Aircraft
Part 135 / Air Taxi
Airport Liability
Helicopters
Hangars
Pleasure and Business
Commercial Lines
Corporate Operations
Industrial Aid
Our Excellent Norwegian Adventure
15Say Again...
Stall Prevention
Did You Know?
15 Easton, MD Clinic
16 And There I Was...
Cruisin’
19 Make-A-Wish
Qualified?
18Gadgets
Children’s Dreams
Nanchang Brake Lock
28 Flight Helmets
22 Instructor’s Corner
34 Commercial Certificate
24Maintenance Hangar
36 Bird Strike
31Pits
39 Hoses
32Law Line
42 Raiders
46 Flight Lead Corner
Protecting Your Noggin
Getting Your Checkride In A Chang
Blood, Guts, Feathers
Don’t Hose Yourself
Jersey Boys Formation Team
Turn Circle Laboratory
Electronic Ignition
Old And New
Pilot’s Bill of Rights
Final Turn Stall/Spin
44 Rocky Mountain High
Mile High Airshow
PRESENTING SPONSOR 2012
Contact us today for all of
your aviation insurance needs
47 End Of An Era
WPAFB Aero Club Closes
800-851-2997
Member
2
Red Alert Fall 2012
www.CannonAviation.com
www.flyredstar.org
3
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
T
his is my 10th anniversary as an
RPA member. Since I got home from
Oshkosh, I have been ref lecting on the
tremendous progress we have made as
an organization, in both service to our
members and our stature in the warbird
community.
Ten years ago I attended my first Manitowoc (MTW), pre-Oshkosh clinic. It
was awesome! There had to be 25-30
airplanes. We did training f lights, check
rides (I got my wingman rating), aerobatics and mass formation training. The
location was also awesome! Manitowoc
was a quaint, little town with a quiet,
GA airport, located on the western shore
of Lake Michigan. I didn’t want to leave.
Then, AirVenture started. On day one,
we f lew over, f lew the Warbird Arrival
Show and then f lew back without landing at OSH. On the four, warbird airshow days, we f lew over in the morning,
briefed and f lew the show—then, some
of us landed at OSH and some returned
to MTW. After the airshow ended for
the day, those who landed at OSH had to
f ly a third sortie back to MTW and hope
one or two of the rental cars remained
at the hangar so they could return to
the hotel. On the one day there was no
warbird show, I drove 90 minutes to and
from OSH with three of my RPA buddies so we could take in the spectacle of
AirVenture. It was overwhelming and
impossible to do in one day!
Back then, our regional organization
was in its infancy. There were no clinics, like we have today, except for the
first All RedStar. Any formation f lying
or training we wanted to do was on a
pickup basis. Combine this with $1.99/
gallon 100LL and you can see why OSH/
MTW was so big. But, there were issues.
Our pre-OSH clinic at MTW, combined
with the week of OSH, was a 10-day
event—not including travel time. This
was very difficult for most guys to make
happen. As a result, we usually had only
six to twelve airplanes for the last two
warbird airshows. There were many
complaints about getting no respect
from the warbird community. We were
parked in the back 40 and were always
the high group in the airshow. Guys also
started pointing out all the things we
4
Red Alert Fall 2012
were missing by not basing out of OSH during the AirVenture week.
Over the next three years, more guys moved
to OSH for the AirVenture week and after
the CJ “50” pre-OSH clinic, we abandoned
the pre-OSH clinic altogether. I think there
were two primary reasons: gas prices started their exponential rise and the quality,
number and proximity of our regional clinics took off.
birds of America (WOA). The subject was
increasing the RPA presence at the 2012
and future AirVentures. This year, it happened in five areas. 1. WOA opened up
their Alternate Display Area, adjacent to
the warbird cafeteria. We were the day-one
featured warbird. 2. For the first time, the
RPA was featured in the Warbirds In Review venue. We featured three pilots and a
Yak-52TW, an L-29 and a Marchetti. 3. We
retained our day as the featured low group
and gained two additional days doing the
parade pass. 4. We provided a script for the
warbird tram crews to use while driving
spectators through the RPA parking area.
5. We were asked to coordinate our daily
non-airshow f lying with WOA for possible,
featured passes. I expect our 2013 visibility
to be as good and probably better.
During AirVenture week, I had the privilege of meeting some of our new, current
and potential foreign members. From Australia, I met three pilots who f ly a threeship Yak-52 airshow team as well as two
other “Down Under” members. I also met
one pilot from New Zealand and a delegation from China working on civilian ownership of CJ-6s and possible airshow team
f lying. I charged all of them to send us a
“Picture and a Paragraph,” so we can get
them in their magazine and feature the international membership of the RPA.
Over the last six years, I have based out of
OSH for AirVenture week and it has been
awesome! The RPA’s stature in the warbird
community has also been steadily improving. The primary reason is because of the
enthusiasm and professionalism of our
members. Our “Culture of Excellence” has
created our outstanding formation training materials, this magazine and our many
outstanding regional clinics. Another reason is all the energy our past and present
leadership/BOD members have put into
working with the warbird community. At
AirVenture, we are no longer always the
high group. For the last three years, we
have had our day as the featured low group
f lying the 300-foot parade pass. Our check
pilots have twice hosted the FAST check pilot meeting and the RPA once hosted the
FAST safety meeting.
This year at NWOC, I had a meeting with
Rick Siegfried, then President of War-
Over my 10 years in the RPA, I have seen the
“Red Headed Step Child” evolve into one of
the most respected FAST signatories. Our
stature within the WOA is rising significantly. Our regional clinics have replaced
the MTW pre-OSH clinic, which allows us
to nurture our participation in EAA’s AirVenture, the premier GA air show on the
planet.
See you in the Air!
Terry “Mags” Slawinski
yakski@earthlink.com
RedSTAR PILOTS ASSOCIATION
Editor’s Notes
VOLUNTEERS
OFFICERS
President Terry Slawinski yakski@earthlink.com
Vice President Scott McMillan aviatr@aol.com
Secretary David Jester djester@gjtbs.com
Treasurer Ron Lee ronlee@rjlpartners.com
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Southwest Scott Andrews onthegoaz@aol.com
Northwest Joe Griffith joegriff@chugach.net
Southeast Dave Jester djester@gjtbs.com
Northeast Rob Mortera robwork@robinhill.com
Northcentral John Shuttleworth jhnshuttleworth@yahoo.com
Southcentral Joe Wilkens yak52driver@aol.com
National Mike Carter beavcarter@cox.net
National Scott Glaser scott.t.glaser@defiantco.com
National Rich Hess hess737@aol.com
MANAGERS
Public Relations John Graham cubflyer1940@yahoo.com
Standardization Skip Slyfield norske@gmail.com
Maintenance Jill Gernetzke jill@m-14p.com
Aviation Physiology Roger Kemp, MD viperdoc@mindspring.com
RPA Store Byron Fox byronmfox@gmail.com
IT Kurt Howerton kurt@scitechsys.com
RPA/FAST Records Mark Weidhaas dicepilot@yahoo.com
RED ALERT
Editor Mike Filucci mfilucci@gmail.com
Associate Editor Alan Cockrell yakpilot@bellsouth.com
Associate Editor Robert Genat robertgenat@yahoo.com
Art Director Robert Genat robertgenat@yahoo.com
Contributing Photographers
Donna Davis donna44yk@gmail.com
Robert Genat robertgenat@yahoo.com
Tina Matuska Dale@Frii.com
Ryan Pastorino pastorino_r@yahoo.com
Tyson Rininger tyson@tvrphotography.com
Don Spering f4don@aol.com
Duane Trammell duane@atomicphizz.com
Mike Voss denverchef1@comcast.net
Graphics
Craig Barnett craig@schemedesigners.com
Robert Genat robertgenat@yahoo.com
We continue to lose friends in aircraft accidents at an
alarming rate. Jeff Morhet and his son, Jack, perished
in an accident on their way to AirVenture, Glen Smith,
of the Hoppers L-39 jet team, died in an accident at the
Quad City Airshow and we lost George Myers in an accident at the Moontown Airport just as this issue was going
to the printer. It’s always troubling when we lose a friend
in an accident but it’s especially troubling when we have
that uneasy feeling that it shouldn’t have happened-if
only the circumstances or the pilot’s actions had been just
slightly different on that particular day.
Material contained herein is published for examination and evaluation of the
reader. The RedStar Pilots Association has made no attempt to verify any of
the contents and accepts no responsibility for any items printed in this publication. Articles written and published in this magazine are for entertainment
only and are the opinion of the author(s). They are not intended to be instructional in nature nor promote deviation from a published flight procedure in any
aircraft or technical flight manual, FAR, law or other regulation. The contents
are not intended to be construed as offering legal advice or counsel.
We will continue our efforts to present material that will
provide the resources to make us the safest, most professional pilots possible, as we pursue our collective passion
for aviation and our Culture of Excellence.
Mike
Red Alert is your magazine and would not exist
without your input-your stories and experiences
are what bring the magazine alive.
ISSUE DEADLINES
Winter: 25 November
Spring: 25 Feb
SUBMIT MATERIAL TO:
Mike Filucci mfilucci@gmail.com
13047 S. Bonney St.
Parker, CO 80134
Errata: Summer Issue
Ignition Maintenance Part II: Distributor Cap Issues
paragraph-it is the magneto coupler, not the rotor, that
turns once for each two turns of the crankshaft. (This
statement has been corrected in the online version.)
Say Again Column, question #1: the service life of rubber hoses (fuel, oil) was said to be 7½ years-there is a
more recent change that extends the life of these hoses
to nine years.
Cover
Red ALERT
THE MAGAZINE OF THE REDSTAR PILOTS ASSOCIATION
The arrival of the USS
Iowa to Los Angeles
gave a few RPA pilots
a rare opportunity to
fly past one of America’s most historic
ships. The story is on
page eight.
Photo by Speedo
FALL 2012
www.flyredstar.org
5
Jeff Morhet
I
n the late morning of July 21, 2012 the RedStar organization
lost one of our own. Jeff Morhet, age 43, and his oldest son,
Jack, are now forever f lying west as the result of an accident in
Southern Colorado. Flying a CJ-6A from Grand Junction, they
were scheduled to stop for fuel and meet up with three other aircraft at Spanish Peaks on their way to the 2012 EAA AirVenture
gathering.
Post Accident Reflection 2012
F
olks, I’m writing this just 30 hours after hearing that
Glen Smith, one of the Hoppers L-39 team members was
killed while performing at Davenport, IA. This is a small
community and almost everyone knows, or knows about,
everyone else. My heart goes out to Glen’s family. We will
all miss him.
We don’t know yet what happened. It is unlikely that a control issue was to blame, as he was flying perfect formation
just a moment before starting a “star burst” type maneuver.
Was it GLOC or a physiological problem? Perhaps-we’ll
never know for sure.
I
New National Directors
am pleased to introduce to you our three new National Directors. But, before I do, I want to thank our outgoing National Directors-Mark “Navy” Davis, Jim “Pappy” Goolsby, and Hal “Batman” Morely. For the last three years, their contributions to the RPA
have been spirited, thought provoking and grounded in our Culture of Excellence. The RPA is a better association because of their
service. On behalf of the RPA, I thank them for their service and extend to them a hearty “Well Done!”
Our new National Directors are Mike “Beav” Carter, Scott “Gomez” Glaser, and Rich “Mongoose” Hess. Their three-year terms
started on 1 August, 2012. As you will see from their biographies, they bring exceptional qualifications and valuable experience to
the RPA BOD. On behalf of the RPA, I offer an enthusiastic “Welcome Aboard!” Terry “Mags” Slawinski
I’ve been flying military jets since 1978 and I’m going to be
59 years old this November. Our recent loses of Tom Coble,
Doug Gilliss, Jeff Morhet and now Glen Smith have me doing
some hard thinking.
None of us are getting any younger. Face it-I know I’m not
the man I used to be. Does that impact my ability to fly formation or aerobatics? Or, do I use my considerable experience to make up for the old body? Maybe it’s a little of both.
A recognized leader in the biotechnology field, Jeff studied at Arizona State University and Harvard Business School. He was the
founder and CEO and of Diomics, a California-based company
that uses nanotechnology to help investigators at crime scenes
collect DNA evidence. In 2008, the Arizona Department of Commerce and then Govenor, Janet Napolitano, named him the Business Leader of the Year.
An accomplished pilot for many years, Jeff ’s happy love of f lying
and the infectious enthusiasm that he shared with his son, Jack,
will be sorely missed by all whose lives they touched. Eight aircraft performed a special memorial f light out of respect for Jeff,
Jack and his family. He is survived by his wife Deirdre and their
three other children Alexandra, Teddy and Gemma.
There are things we need to do to handle the rigors and risks
of warbird flying. Stay in the books. You can’t know your
aircraft well enough. Deep understanding of how complex
systems integrate may save your airplane or even your life!
Corner me at the bar someday and make me tell you about
the frozen elevator while leading a seven-ship formation of
Nanchang CJ-6s, or the landing gear that refused to lock
down in an L-39.
Take care of yourself. Eat well, exercise and try to keep the
rest of your life in perspective. If your company is going
through a hard time or your marriage is on the rocks, is that
really the time to go flying?
With that said, try to fly often. I averaged 300 hours per year
in my 26 years of flying for Uncle Sam, retiring with almost
8000 hours. I have flown an additional 2500 hours of jet and
prop warbird flying since I retired ten years ago from the air
force. That’s 250 hours per year! I may be excessive but the
point is how do you ever hope to be truly proficient if you
only fly once or twice a month?
Finally, be a professional even when flying is just a passion
for you. Don’t take chances. Set personal minimums. Make
every mission a training mission where you fly to practice
some needed skill. And take an instructor up on a regular
basis to practice the emergency procedures you might not
feel comfortable with on your own-such as spins or engine
out approaches.
Photo by Ryan Pastorino
Mark my words. The FAA is looking very, very hard at our
community because of our poor safety record. We can choose
to be professionals like the men and women who flew these
aircraft in their militaries, or we can wait for the FAA to
regulate us into oblivion. The choice is ours to make...
Richard “Mongoose” Hess hess737@aol.com
Mike “Beav” Carter
Scott “Gomez” Glaser
Richard “Mongoose” Hess
Mike is based at the Deer Valley Airport
(KDVT), in Phoenix, AZ and is a CJ-6
owner/driver with 13,000 plus hours in 18
different aircraft including the F-4, F-16,
CJ-6, Yak-52 and currently the B-737 for
Southwest Airlines.
Scott is a Yak-52 owner/driver based at
Rosamond, CA (L00). He holds singleengine, multi-engine and instrument instructor ratings and has an experimental
authorization rating in the Lockheed T-33.
Rich is based at both Calhoun, GA
(KCZL) and Gadsden, AL (KGAD) and
is a CJ-6 and L-39 owner/driver with
23,000 hours of f light time logged in a
variety of military and civil aviation aircraft. These include the A-10, F-15, T-37,
T-38, C-141, MIG-15, L-29, L-39, Alpha
Jet, Casa Jet, Paris Jet, Jet Provost, T-33,
Yak-52, CJ-6, T-34, DC-9, MD-88, B-727,
B-737, B-757, B-767, and B-777.
Mike was a top graduate or distinguished
graduate of every US Air Force f light
training course he ever attended, including the USAF Fighter Weapons School. He
also served as an F-16 instructor pilot and
f light examiner, as well as an operational
test and evaluation pilot at Nellis AFB,
NV.
Mike deployed on operational fighter
tours in the US, Germany, Japan and Korea and also served as Commander, 61st
Fighter Squadron, Luke AFB, AZ. He also
has Pentagon staff experience in special
(classified) programs development.
Mike is an RPA f light leader and patched
f light instructor-he has instructed at the
Falcon Field, AZ and All RedStar, CA clinics and was Red Air Commander for Desert Thunder VI and VII.
Currently, Scott is the Head Flight Test
Engineer for The Spaceship Company
working on the Virgin Galactic Space
Ship Two and White Knight Two commercial space vehicle projects. He also acts as
Director of Flight Dynamics Research at
the National Aerospace Training and Research (NASTAR) Center.
Prior to this, Scott held several aerospace
positions, including Lead Handling Qualities Engineer at the F-22A Raptor Combined Test Force, where he received the
US Air Force Award for Civilian Achievement and Lead Flight Controls Engineer
at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
on the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). Scott has been
principal investigator for several aviation research programs involving tactical air combat, upset prevention and recovery training (UPRT) and suborbital
spacef light (SOSF), in conjunction with
the USAF, FAA and NASA. He is also an
instructor for the NASTAR Center UPRT
and SOSF training programs.
Scott is an RPA f light leader and provides
type specific instruction in the Yak-52.
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Red Alert Fall 2012
Rich holds an ATP, CFII, single and muli-engine and FE certificates. He was also
an Air Force IP/EP for the T-37, T-38 and
C-141. For Delta Airlines, Rich served as
an FAA Designee and Check Airman on
the B-757/767 f leet.
Rich currently serves as a check pilot for
both the RPA and CJAA.
Rich owns International Jets which keeps
him very busy, however warbird f lying
is his passion-he tries to participate in
several shows and clinics each year including Waycross, Sun-N-Fun, OSH and
numerous local airshows.
He also f lies warbirds and military aircraft on contract in North America,
Europe and Africa. Rich has written
numerous articles on safety, training,
and f lying subjects for several Warbird
magazines.
www.flyredstar.org
7
Links for videos of this event:
tion on video from Scott Glaser’s plane.
https://vimeo.com/43309658
We were over the ship for almost 45 minutes, f lying a clockwise racetrack pattern.
The longer we were out there, the more the
weather was deteriorating. We called it a
wrap and headed back to TOR, with Scott
assuming the number five position. As we
crossed over the beach, we broke out of the
overcast. We approached TOR in a fiveship echelon for an overhead break. Once
on the ground we had a short debrief and
I headed home to look at my still images
and Sean King his video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peMtMgm
3h3g&feature=youtu.be
And there’s more...
On August 4th, the same group
of RPA aircraft did a fly-by for
a private charity event being
held on the USS Iowa. In addition, Darrin Moore joined the
group with his P-51 Mustang.
As luck would have it, we would not have
had a chance to do the f ly-by on any other
day as the next day the Iowa was towed
into port. On July, 7th it officially opened
as a museum.
The Iowa, in its glory days, with its 16” guns blazing
By Robert “Speedo” Genat robertgenat@yahoo.com
I
n January, Ron “Little Wood” Lee called
me and asked if I knew about the battleship USS Iowa being brought down to the
L.A. area, where it would be opened as a
f loating museum. I had not heard. He went
on to say that it was up in the Bay Area,
being readied for its journey south, some
time in May. He also thought it would be a
great idea to do a f ly-by/photo shoot with
some RedStar planes. Now my attention
was peaked.
We both kept our eyes on the Iowa’s website
(www.pacificbattleship.com) to track the
ship’s restoration progress and schedule.
We also had several discussions regarding
the number of aircraft that would be manageable for a photo shoot. We agreed that
too many planes would be a problem and a
single aircraft would not be as impressive
as a tight formation. Also, because of the
unique, offshore environment, with the
possibility of GA aircraft in the area, we
would need skilled pilots. We contacted
Scott Glaser, Gil Lipaz, Dan Delane and
Pete Fowler and they all agreed to participate.
8
Red Alert Fall 2012
As with most events there’s a schedule and
then there’s the real schedule. This one
was a moving target, with certain dates
announced and then changed the next day.
The Iowa was supposed to be anchored
off of the coast of Long Beach for several
days in May, but left the bay area late. It
finally arrived on Wednesday, May 23rd.
Lee scheduled the f ly-by for the morning
of Friday the 25th. The brief was to be at
TOR at 10 am, with the f light shortly after. While most people think California is
all sunshine and surf, the months of May
and June are famous for “May gray” and
“June gloom”-the costal overcast that
makes these months dreary, at best. Early
in the week the weather had been unusually clear, but it held to its ugly form on the
25th, with the f light being pushed back a
couple hours. By noon the skies over Torrance had cleared and at 1 pm, we were all
seated for the briefing.
The plan was to do two, four-ship f lights
past the Iowa. The first was to be led by
Scott Glazer with me in Ron Lee’s back
seat, taking still photos. On the second
pass, Scott and Ron would switch lead.
Videographer Sean King would be in
Scott’s rear seat. Ron and I did a singleship takeoff and headed out to find the
Iowa. The local newspapers did a good
job of mapping it out so we knew exactly
where to look. As we headed for the coast,
we could see that the 1,000-foot overcast
was just off the shoreline. We made our
first run past the Iowa to see which way
it was facing and determine which side
of the ship we should f ly past for the best
light. I determined that, while there was a
small difference, the starboard side of the
ship was lit best. Shortly after, we made visual contact with the f light of four as they
approached.
We let them know which side of the ship to
f ly past and Scott Glazer led the f light by
several times in different four-ship configurations. When it was time to swap photo
ships, Ron joined the formation and Scott
turned the lead over to him. We made several passes leading the four-ship past the
Iowa while Sean King captured the forma-
First launched in 1942, the USS Iowa BB-61 is 887 feet long and displaces 45,000 tons.
www.flyredstar.org
9
contrails
By Rich “Mongoose” Hess hess737@aol.com and Paul “Stone Bank” Keppeler PbKepp@aol.com
Our Excellent Norwegian Adventure
The T-33’s European adventure included f lying in
formation with a pair of de Havilland Vampires.
This is now the only f lyable T-33 in Europe.
R
ichard: Sometimes you just get lucky.
What else can you say when you get
a call to ferry a Canadair CT-133 Silver
Star to Norway? The call came from Paul
Keppeler in early May, about three weeks
before the Sola airshow celebrating 100
years of the Norwegian Air Force. Paul
was a T-33 owner, but it wasn’t his plane
that needed to be ferried. It was Martin
Tesli’s, a Norwegian Air Force F-16 pilot
who had just bought it in Rockford, IL.
to fit into the T-33’s front-seat pack.
Paul: I knew Rich personally, so I was
familiar with his resume and decades of
experience as a former USAF pilot, current airline and warbird pilot. Since he
had demonstrated the ability and insanity
to successfully ferry four L-39s across the
Atlantic, trail-blazed the bureaucratic and
permit process and is wildly entertaining
at Happy Hour, he was the right choice to
join me on this mission.
Richard: The importance of altitude cannot be over-emphasized as a T-bird is a
thirsty beast. It burns about 1800 lbs per
hour at FL270 and cruises at 360 KTAS as
opposed to 1500 lbs per hr and 420 KTAS
at FL350.
Richard: I accepted immediately, but I
knew a regulatory process that normally
takes four to six weeks would have to be
completed in three weeks in order to make
it in time for the airshow. Once again, I
used Skyplan for the ferry coordination,
f light plans, weather forecasts and NOTAMs. They didn’t have a T-33 in their computer system so we used a Cessna Citation
500 as a substitute for the f light plan times
and fuel burns. This time, I bought most
of the survival gear, instead of renting it
and Paul borrowed a raft that he managed
10
Red Alert Fall 2012
Paul: The aircraft was overhauled and the
avionics upgraded by the Canadian Air
Force in 1998. It had VHF & UHF radios,
TACAN, VOR, ILS and ADF. However,
there was no GPS or autopilot. The VHF
radio was not 8.33 equipped for EU airspace, nor were we RVSM compliant. So,
we would be restricted to below f light level
(FL) 290 unless we could sweet-talk ATC
into allowing us to climb higher.
But, on our first leg to Quebec, ATC would
not give us the higher altitude. We landed with 30 minutes of fuel. Still, we had
plenty of divert options since that leg was
over land. That would be the tightest leg
for fuel for the rest of the trip.
The second leg, to Goose Bay, was uneventful by comparison. ATC allowed us
to f ly at FL330. We found Goose clear and
cool and turned in for the day.
Paul: Rich adapted quickly to the T-Bird.
He got to know the old “Skunk Works” jet
a little more and wiggled the touchy ailerons less with each leg.
Richard: Day two found us, once again,
restricted to FL270 on our way to Narsar-
pencil.
suaq, Greenland. We
longed for an autopilot, but Paul and I
worked well together, spelling each other from f lying this
sensitive
machine
at altitude. The ailerons are hydraulically boosted and
become more sensitive the higher you
f ly. Paul has owned
an identical T-33 for
10 years and his precise control was a joy
to watch.
Paul: Hand f lying a
T-33 at high altitude
is like balancing a
bowling ball on a
Richard: When out of range of VOR/
TACAN we navigated with ForeFlight for
the iPad. Paul and I imported all the European approach charts we needed from an
EU website right into the program. With
moving map GPS we both had a wonderful tool.
Paul: We had good weather at Narsarsuaq.
The arrival requires you to meander up a
fjord, then turn sharply right to land on
a steep uphill runway. We lingered there
only long enough to visit the men’s room,
file our f light plan and eat a power bar.
Just walking around, performing pref light
and refueling duties in those heavy, bulky
suits sapped a lot of energy and we had
to take care to stay hydrated and nourished—a reminder why the military hires
22 year-olds to do this stuff!
The takeoff out of Narsarsuaq took cautious planning. It was downhill with the
icy fjord lying just off the end. The possibility of a high-speed abort concerned us.
We had a detailed discussion of “what ifs“
and concluded that we may have to override the landing gear downlock, sucking
up the gear to get stopped.
The takeoff went normally and we made
a 180° turn, overf lew the airfield and began our climb out to Kef lavik. We saw an
unbelievably scenic vista of glaciers and
snow and ice-capped mountains. It was
a sensory overload that, in other circumstances, might give way to daydreaming
about the origins of the good Earth.
Richard: We arrived to more great weather
at Kef lavik and bedded the T-Bird down.
We thought the aged RCAF jet must have
felt at right at home parked on Kef ’s old
military tarmac, with the ghosts of old
Cold War fighters lurking about.
We awoke to another beautiful, North Atlantic day. But the weather was forecast
to be rainy at our next refueling stop, the
Faroe Islands. The runway at Vagar Airport is quite short and the T-33, at 15,000
lbs, with full fuel, baggage and two pilots, is not the best performer. So we really didn’t want to go there unless it was
absolutely necessary. We also wanted to
avoid EU airports, because they would
require significantly greater liability insurance. Therefore, based on favorable
forecast winds and good weather at destination and a little help from Martin Tesli,
the jet’s new owner, we decided to bypass
the Faroes and make a dash straight for
Stavanger, Norway, 870 nautical miles distant.
Martin, who was waiting in Norway, made
some phone calls to Bodo Oceanic and
Stavanger Control, asking them to give us
FL350. When we got airborne from Kef,
we passed the request to Iceland Control
and were quickly approved.
Paul: Flight Level 350 is the happy place
cruise altitude for the T-33. At that altitude, it enjoys a range of about 1,000 nm at
430 knots/.70 mach and burns an efficient
230 gallons per hour.
Richard: The last leg turned out to be our
toughest—from a physiological standpoint. A pressurization problem arose
and the cabin altitude went to over 30,000
feet. The aircraft’s oxygen system began,
as it was engineered to do, force-feeding
us oxygen, making it very cumbersome
to breathe. After an hour I was ready to
descend to FL270, but Paul and I talked
about it and hung on at FL350 for two
hours. Then I noticed we were using oxygen at too-fast a rate. Paul found that the
pressurized oxygen was blowing out the
sides of his mask. He could only stop it by
holding the mask tightly to his face with
one hand while f lying with the other. Obviously we didn’t talk much.
We arrived at Stavanger with a healthy
1600 lbs of fuel but with only 60 psi of oxygen. We were both thankful to have that
leg behind us. It wasn’t a bad trip for a 54
year old, single-engine, jet aircraft. The
only squawk was an intermittent canopy
electrical problem which we finally traced
to the micro switches on the nose doors.
A little lubricant and that problem was
fixed!
Paul: Weather for our arrival was excellent VFR, and I shot a straight-in behind
a German Air Force C-160 Transall. We
were greeted by enthusiastic, retired and
current RNoAF personnel as well as Sola
Air Show volunteers. The only f lying T-33
based on the European continent had arrived!
THE SOLA AND BODO AIRSHOWS
Richard: Now that the pain of the predeparture planning and the actual ferry
were behind us, we needed to get ready for
the airshow. Unfortunately Paul’s daughter was graduating from high school that
weekend so he had to leave. He was disappointed, but family comes first.
My old friend, Rolf Meum met me on
Thursday morning after our arrival. Rolf
and I were squadron mates in the mid 80s.
I gave him his re-qual and he gave me my
DA (low altitude waiver) for all of Europe.
Then he and I f lew to a fiord that afternoon and formed up with an F-16 f lown
by the new owner, Martin TinTin Tesli.
This was the first time Martin saw the
aircraft that he bought sight unseen from
Mark Clark! A trusting soul, I’d say we
didn’t disappoint TinTin. It is also now
the ONLY T-33 in Europe and Martin already has a number of invites to airshows
this and next year.
I f lew the T-Bird once each day for the Sola
show. The weather was 1500 overcast on
Saturday, making for a challenging performance, but Sunday was crystal clear.
It was a really neat show with some truly
different airplanes. We saw a host of Saab
aircraft including the Viggen which has a
license-built P&W JT8D, with afterburner
and reverse thrust! They also had the new
Grippen and a Euro Fighter as well. The
Turkish Stars in their F-5s and the NoAF
F-16 performed incredible shows.
putting the T-33 through its paces. All the
Saab aircraft f lew, as well as the Belgian
F-16 and Italian Marchetti demo teams.
On Sunday evening, Martin and I were
invited to f ly on the Red Bull DC-6. This
was once Marshall Tito’s executive transport. Both the DC-6 and the P-38 Lightning that Red Bull brought to the show
were absolutely pristine, inside and out.
We f lew over a glacier with the most incredible scenery. I will never forget that
f light.
After the DC-6 ride, Martin and I fueled
the T-bird and f lew it to Orland Airport,
about 215 nm south of Bodo. It was now
2300L and still amazingly light, with the
sun 20 degrees above the horizon. We f lew
low-level VFR and I think we visited every
glacier, mountain peak and little airport
on the f light south. We landed at the military field and were met by a half dozen of
Martin’s friends.
This really was an excellent adventure.
The airplane performed wonderfully. The
scenery was amazing. The people could not
have been nicer. It’s a country of only five
million people. They are very much like
Americans in terms of humor and commitment to defense. I truly enjoyed spending time in Norway and look forward to
going back. What really impressed me
were how many former Air Force people
f lew or maintained this type of aircraft. It
meant something to them to have one f lying again. Of course, they want Martin to
paint it in NoAF colors!
The airshow circuit is alive and well in Europe in spite of high operating costs and
heavy government oversight. It is gratifying to see the same passion for warbird
f lying as we have here in the US.
Fly safe and always check six!
A week later Martin and I f lew the T-bird
555 nautical miles to Bodo. The weather
was undercast for the first half of the trip,
but nice and clear thereafter. As planned,
a pair of de Havilland Vampires joined on
our wing for a photo shoot.
The weather was quite good, with at least
a 5000 foot ceiling each day and I enjoyed
www.flyredstar.org
11
Mongoose & Stone Bank
UNLOAD FOR CONTROL !
It is interesting to note that at less than 1 G, the stall speed decreases. This is why the unload maneuver works. At zero G, we
are not asking the wing to do any work (lift) and we could, theoretically, f ly along in a ballistic trajectory at zero G and zero airspeed, with only gravity pulling us toward the ground, eventually. In reality, about 0.5 G is an optimum unload for acceleration
or stall recovery, as it allows a good compromise between wing
performance and engine operation (positive fuel and oil pressure). How do you know if you have unloaded the wing? We have
already discussed that the left side of the curve is dependent on
many factors, but the wing will always stall at the same angle
of attack (AOA). AOA gauges are very nice to have, but most of
our aircraft are not so equipped. Later in this article, I will talk
about recognition of accelerated stalls and seat-of-the-pants cues
of the unload maneuver that are more useful than staring at an
AOA gauge.
By Mike “Beav” Carter beavcarter@cox.net
B
asic aerodynamic stall and stall recovery are taught in all initial pilot training programs and, as an airline pilot, I must
demonstrate proficiency in stall recovery at every simulator
check ride. However, how many of you have practiced accelerated stalls (stalls at other than 1 G) in different configurations,
all the way up to spin entry or unusual attitudes, and learned the
proper techniques for recovery? Whether you f ly cross-country,
formation, or aerobatics, it’s important to learn and use these
time-tested techniques to allow us to get the most out of our aircraft, safely.
In military pilot training, we were introduced to the concept
of accelerated stalls, aerobatics and unusual attitude recoveries from our very first sortie in the program. We were taught to
recognize signs that the aircraft was approaching its limits and
how to return the aircraft to controlled f light before we exceeded
those limits. With our CJ-6, Yak-50/52 and L-29/39 warbirds, we
basically have the same type of aircraft and performance capabilities as any military student pilot. What I will discuss in this
article are some of the training techniques that the USAF and
USN teach in basic and advanced pilot training courses, tailored
to our RedStar aircraft.
H istory
I borrowed the title of this article from a famous USAF training
film about out-of-control recoveries in the F-4E (which we were
required to review annually). The F-4 was a notoriously difficult
aircraft to f ly on the margins and, with the addition of the longer
nose and heavy M-61A1 gun in the F-4E, the USAF could not
rely on previous Navy F-4 stall/spin testing. The USAF decided
to put the aircraft through a standard stall/spin trial at Edwards
AFB in 1971. Shortly after the program started, Maj Jerry Gentry
(of NASA lifting body test fame) and Capt Colin “Mac” McElroy
ejected from an F-4E after deliberately spinning the aircraft for
three full turns. Neither the standard departure procedure nor
the spin chute worked during the subsequent f lat spin. The ejection and crash was documented by a chase aircraft and was used
as the dramatic opening footage of the training film. Starting
over, with the help of a young USAF f light test engineer named
Burt Rutan, the Edwards community amended their test philosophy to recognition and prevention of out-of-control, rather than
intentional spins and recovery. The mantra “Unload for Control”
came from paraphrasing the F-4 out-of-control boldface procedure and was used as procedure for every subsequent fighter aircraft. The “unload” maneuver was also taught when I f lew the
F-16, even with the extra safety margins built into the f ly-by-wire
system.
Accelerated Stalls
We have all seen a V-n diagram, but let’s dissect it a bit, with the
emphasis on the far left edge of the diagram, where stalls live.
Remember, a V-n diagram is good for only one weight/altitude
combination. And those variables make it impossible to use a
specific indicated airspeed to recognize an accelerated stall. A
representative CJ-6A, V-n diagram is shown here.
12
Red Alert Fall 2012
The vertical axis is load factor in G units, both positive and negative. The horizontal axis is indicated airspeed, or KIAS. The left
side of the V-n diagram, or lift limit, indicates the maximum
load factor this aircraft can generate at a specified airspeed. The
curvature of this boundary primarily ref lects the variation of lift
capability with the square of the airspeed value. Along this line,
the aircraft is operating at maximum positive lift in the upper
half of the diagram and maximum negative lift in the lower half.
The upper and lower boundaries of the diagram depict the structural limits of the aircraft in the positive and negative directions
for both design load and ultimate (failure) load.
The intersection of the positive aerodynamic boundary (lift limit) and structural limit defines a speed that is crucial to maximum aircraft performance. This is known as maneuvering speed
or “corner velocity.” At this airspeed, the aircraft attains its maximum instantaneous turn performance. At corner velocity, the
aircraft’s limit load factor will be reached at the lowest possible
airspeed. At any airspeed below this speed, the airplane cannot
be overstressed, it will stall before the limit load factor is reached.
Corner velocity is the airspeed at which highest level-f light bank
angle can be achieved at minimum airspeed-thus, minimum
turn radius and maximum rate of turn will be realized.
Next, let’s talk about maneuvering f light. While performing aerobatics or extended trail, we are rarely pulling Gs in level f light.
With f luid maneuvering, the parameters are constantly changing. If we are rolling and pulling at the same time (think barrel
roll), then we are subjecting the aircraft to rolling G (see figure
below). It is possible to encounter a situation where one wing is
in an accelerated stall, and the other is still f lying. When we talk
about recognition of accelerated stalls, you’ll see that this situation is easy to sense and correct. The thing that is not so good,
and potentially dangerous, is overstressing our aircraft. We have
very strong, Communist-designed and built aircraft. Structural
failures are very rare (except for older Yak wing spars), but there
is a real danger in rolling and pulling an indicated 6 Gs simultaneously in your CJ or Yak. A good rule of thumb is to use approximately 2/3 of placard G as your rolling G limit to prevent
structural failure.
7 Gs
5 Gs
3 Gs
An accelerated stall is defined as any stall that is not at 1 G. The
relationship of stall speed (Vs) to accelerated stall speed (Vas)
and G-load is calculated using the formula:
Vas=Vs √G
Using a typical, clean CJ-6 at standard takeoff gross weight and
sea level, this table shows the approximate speeds that will produce an accelerated stall in level f light.
G-load
0
0.5
1
2
3
4
5
6
stall speed
0
46
65
92
112
130
145
159
Clean CJ-6 stall speed vs. G-load at sea level and takeoff gross weight
R ecognition and R ecovery
A quote straight from a military pilot training manual states:
“No pilot can escape from an accelerated stall event if there is
insufficient altitude, but prompt recognition of the incipient
stall and fast corrective action can save the day.” Now that we
understand the dynamics of an accelerated stall, how do we predict when one is about to happen? Are there any clues given to
us by the aircraft? How do we recover once the accelerated stall
is recognized?
We all know the primary warnings of an approaching, normal
stall are decreasing airspeed and increasing AOA. Other indications may include light airframe buffet and decreasing control
effectiveness. Accelerated stalls will exhibit more severe characteristics and progress much faster than normal stalls. Many
times, a “secondary stall” that occurs while recovering from a
normal stall, is an accelerated stall. Such a stall can be caused
by the rapid addition of power, rapidly increasing the aircraft
AOA, or inducing a stall at a higher than normal airspeed, and
G-loading.
The different wing designs of the Yak-50/52 and the CJ-6 mean
that the aircraft will talk to us in slightly different ways. On the
Yak, the constant airfoil section, straight wing and large-span
ailerons make for a faster roll rate than the CJ, with excellent
normal and inverted f light characteristics. The Yak will let you
know when you are in an accelerated stall by a lack of nose tracking or turn rate, feedback through the airframe (a “thumping”
feel, or f low separation on the wing) and just prior to the full
stall, a tendency to develop a rotation opposite the desired turn
direction because of adverse yaw from the large ailerons. Unlike
the CJ, however, the Yak can quickly go from an accelerated stall
to a pre-spin or full spin, to include snapping on its back (inverted spin). Practice and exposure are the best teachers, which
is why we will design some maneuvers in the last section of this
article for you to try at a safe altitude until you become familiar
with your particular aircraft’s characteristics.
The CJ-6 was designed to be stable and highly spin resistant with
a span-wise wing twist, lower lift airfoil sections on the outer
wing panels and a prominent dihedral. The CJ will “talk” to
you more as you approach the accelerated stall. While many of
the clues are the same as a Yak, the CJ is more docile. The nose
will stop tracking and appear to “hang up,” the wing will thump
loudly, and the controls will become sloppy. Aileron control approaching and during a stall is much better than the Yak, because
of the CJ wing design. Even with the main portion of the wing
fully stalled, the wing twist ensures that the ailerons are still effective and adverse yaw is much less than the Yak, yielding better
lateral control. Rotation because of engine torque may happen,
especially in right turning stalls, but un-commanded rotation
and inadvertent spins are rare.
If you have no intention of stalling the aircraft and stall warnings
described above are experienced, you must take immediate action to avoid the stall. If such warnings are ignored, subsequent
departure and post-stall gyrations are inevitable. Misapplication
of stall recovery controls may result in a spin. We can now recognize an accelerated stall, so let’s work on the recovery. The simple
steps for an accelerated stall recovery are:
1. Reduce back stick pressure, up to full forward stick, if required. “Unload for Control!”
2. Use aileron and rudder, as required, to regain wings level
f light.
3. Simultaneously, advance power smoothly, up to full power,
if required.
4. Recover smoothly from any unusual attitude.
Sounds simple, right? With practice, it is! We want to recogwww.flyredstar.org
13
Photo by Duane Trammell
nize and recover
i n s t i n c t i v e l y,
which is why we
need to practice
these
recoveries regularly to
maintain
proficiency. These
steps must become second nature. Let’s break
down the steps.
1. Reducing back stick pressure will let the wings produce lift
again and should keep the nose tracking in the desired direction. During aerobatics or extended trail, this simple move
may be all that is required and maneuvering may be continued. A stick full forward is normally not required, just
reduce the AOA until the wing f lies again. However, in extreme cases of accelerated stalls, full forward stick may be required to break the stall. Notice that the procedure does not
reference “pushing the nose down” as is taught with normal
category aircraft, since we may be inverted or in any attitude
when the stall occurs.
2. Rolling to wings level rapidly points the lift vector in the
desired direction-above the horizon. At high-G loadings, do
not make this a simultaneous “roll and pull,” as the problems
of asymmetric rolling G may come into play, as discussed
previously. If you are low to the ground, however, as in a final
turn accelerated stall, this roll must be accomplished quickly,
to reorient the lift vector up, and get the recovery pull started
ASAP (an over-G is impossible at pattern speeds).
3. Adding power is important, especially in a low thrust situation, as in a final turn stall. It allows us to gain or maintain
airspeed for the recovery pull and have sufficient airspeed to
avoid a secondary, accelerated stall. Remember to coordinate
the power advance with anti-torque rudder inputs and avoid
a very rapid power increase. The sudden torque effect may
induce a rapid rolling moment and contribute to a secondary stall.
4. Finally, the recovery from any resulting unusual attitude
needs to be smooth, to avoid a secondary stall. Close to the
ground, do not delay this step. Our aircraft are earth seekers because of our large radial engines and will lose altitude
quickly if a nose up input is delayed.
Practice D rills
Both the Yak and CJ maneuver guides outline a set of training
procedures for becoming familiar with stalls, both normal and
accelerated. I will cover two exercises here. There are many more
scenarios that you can work on besides these. For any stall exercise, be sure to have a clear working area, a defined horizon and
at least 3000 feet AGL of altitude. I like to recommend f lying
with another pilot in your rear cockpit to help debrief the maneuvers, and the back-seater will gain valuable experience while
observing.
Let’s start with what I call the “aerobatic stall.” Begin this ma14
Red Alert Fall 2012
neuver with at least 125 KIAS, 75% power and level f light. Roll
the plane into a 70° to 80° bank and smoothly pull to about 4 Gs.
(Use less airspeed and G if you are uncomfortable at 4 Gs) Do
not allow the nose to fall and watch for the signs of an accelerated stall. If you let the nose fall too much before any indications develop, simply unload slightly, roll out of some bank, and
pull again. Let the stall develop a bit, and note the indications
such as a loss of nose tracking. Recover using just the “unload for
control” mantra by easing off the backpressure to get the plane
f lying again. Make the next entry more aggressive, or at a lower
starting airspeed, and note any differences. Finally, pull to a full
stall, note any rolling tendencies, and perform the full recovery.
Note that there is no single airspeed that the aircraft will stall at.
Look outside and “feel” the stall. You can even perform this maneuver at the top of a loop, or at the apex of a slow-speed wingover for some variation and unusual attitude recovery practice.
The next maneuver is one I know you’ve done before, but now we
are armed with more knowledge of “why” this occurs. This will
be the “final turn stall.” Using the same safe starting altitude,
configure the aircraft, first with the f lap out (n/a for Yak-50), and
then with the f lap up. Pick a simulated field elevation (at least
3000 feet AGL), and begin a final turn from 1000 feet above that
value. It helps to have a road or other feature to maintain simulated runway alignment. Begin a normal final turn, and then increase back stick pressure and bank angle as if compensating for
an overshooting final turn or crosswind. Do not let the nose fall
too much, and note any pre-stall indications. At the first indication of a stall, ease off the stick and note the aircraft reaction.
Now pull until you feel a full accelerated stall. Immediately perform the recovery procedure, and do not be concerned with runway alignment. As above, concentrate on the “feel” of the stall/
recovery, but you may be surprised at the airspeed at which the
stall occurs. It will likely be much greater than our typical final turn airspeed. In one of your practice final turns, stall the
aircraft and continue to “salvage” your approach to the runway.
Note the position of the nose (probably very low) and your sink
rate (probably very high). This should be an eye-opener if you’ve
never performed this before. (It will be for your backseater!) As
you drive home from the airport after this exercise, mentally prepare for the day when you will experience a final turn stall and
how you will overcome the addition of a “startle factor” and execute the proper recovery.
say again, you’re coming in broken...
1. With respect to the traffic pattern, what is an overshooting
crosswind?
7. Where can you find information that will aid in determining a
hard deck?
2. What adjustments should you make to your traffic pattern 8. There is a change that supersedes the previously published, 7½
when you have an overshooting crosswind?
year service life of rubber hoses (fuel, oil) for the Yak aircraftwhat is the most recent service-life limit?
3. Why should the flight leader brief a downwind airspeed?
4. On the 360°-overhead approach, what and where is the perch 9. Why is it so important to have 22 volts minimum for starting the
5. Why is it important to maintain traffic-pattern altitude on
10. Why is it critical that the T-33 nose door latches be carefully
6. What do you consider when you are determining a hard deck?
(Answers on page 33)
position?
downwind until reaching the perch position?
L-39 engine?
checked for a locked condition during preflight?
Easton, MD Clinic
Conclusion
This article has been a back-to-basics look at accelerated stalls.
We own and operate high performance aircraft and it is vital to
know how they will perform when pushed against the left side
of the V-n diagram. By understanding, recognizing and recovering from normal and accelerated stalls, we become safer pilots
and can gain more enjoyment from our warbirds. Recent history
is full of pilots who did not recognize impending or full stalls.
The Fairchild B-52 and Elmendorf C-17 accelerated stall airshow
practice crashes, the Colgan Air 3407 normal stall crash in Buffalo, NY and the Air France 447 high altitude high AOA stall
over the Atlantic are all examples of pilots who either did not
recognize impending stall conditions, or executed incorrect recovery procedures. With practice, and your mantra “Unload for
Control!,” you’ll be ready for the unexpected. Fly safe.
In June, we had an informal, formation-training weekend at the Easton, MD Airport (KESN). Aircraft participating included the
usual Yaks and CJs, an Extra 300, T-6s, and numerous RVs. We f lew many sorties with “mixed” aircraft types. This photo shows
all the guys and gals cruising the Chesapeake Bay aboard Warren Steven’s 95 foot yacht after another fun day of f lying.
www.flyredstar.org
15
ANd there I was...
By Bill “Maddawg” Geipel czech6@mesanetworks.net
There’s Qualified and Then There’s Qualified
J
anuary 1969. My first f light. Cessna 150
over the Pacific Ocean. My instructor
and I had taken off from, what was then,
Orange County Airport. Today, he was going to demonstrate a stall. What did that
mean? Was he shutting off the engine? I
had no idea what was going to happen.
The next thing I see is the nose pointing
high in the sky, the airplane is shuddering,
then, look at that-the Pacific Ocean spinning around in the windshield! I started
praying. I knew we were going to die. I
have never been that scared.
For many years after, stalls have always
made me nervous. Now, after 43 years of
f lying, I have finally overcome that fear.
Imagine what difference a simple, fiveminute briefing would have made. But he
was an instructor, he was well qualified.
There I was, a few thousand hours later,
in the Air National Guard-we had F-102s.
That was fun but the Air Force thought a
better airplane would be the O-2, Cessna
Skymaster. So I am getting a familiarization f light from one of our former fighter
pilots. We were out “FACing” (forward air
controlling) around and the next thing I
see is the nose pointing high in the sky, the
airplane is shuddering, wow look at thatthe Mojave desert spinning around in the
windshield. I started praying. I knew we
were going to die. I remembered being
that scared once before. Imagine what
difference a simple, five-minute briefing
would have made.
There I was, a brand-new f light instruc16
Red Alert Fall 2012
tor. I’d been shopping for an airplane to
buy. Something small, economical, with
the nose wheel on the wrong end. I found
a 1946, Aeronca Champ. The airplane was
located in Palastine, Texas. So my best
buddy and I f lew to Texas to pick up the
airplane and bring it home to California.
We did the paper work, filled it up with
gas and said good-bye. Oh, I forgot, I
bought it sight unseen and, by the way, I
had zero tailwheel time. However, I am a
f light instructor and I’m sure I was well
qualified. In fact they asked if I wanted to
take her around the patch
a couple times before we
left. “Nah, how bad can it
be, f lying at 65 mph?”
Hand prop and off we
go! Look at me, airplane
owner, CFI-proud as
can be. Cruising along
1000’ agl. The smell of
avgas filling the cockpit, the wind whistling
through the cheap, Plexiglas windows. Man, we
were something. It was
relatively early, so it was
a nice, smooth morning.
We approached Waco,
our first fuel stop. My heart was pounding
pretty good by now as I had been sweating the landing for an hour. It was a perfect, three-pointer. We bad! Tanked up,
hand prop and off to Brownwood, Texas.
The airport was like a ghost town. Tumble
weed blowing across the ramp, the beacon
broken and hanging off the tower, hanger
doors f lapping in the breeze. Weird!
Not a soul in sight. We walked up to
a door that looked like it may lead to
somewhere, knocked-no answer. I
turned on the door step and looked
around. When I looked back at the
door, about six inches from my face
was a giant, one-armed man. I started praying, I knew we were going to
die. Okay so he wasn’t really a giant
but he could have been. Nice guy,
with one arm. More gas. Hand prop.
Sun’s up pretty high and it’s bumpy.
The smell of avgas wafting through the
cockpit and the bumps-not a good combination. Heading for Midland, I noticed
the little f loaty thing in the gas cap was
not f loating. Must be stuck. Short final
over the golf course, engine got real quiet.
Perfect three-pointer. 100 degrees, stuck
on the runway a mile from the terminal.
We can push it in. Look at that, the door
handle is gone. Wonder where it went? I
think I can get out through the cheap
Plexiglas window. Next thing I see is the
ground rising up to meet my head. I got
out the now broken window, foot got stuck
between the seat and side wall. So there I
am hanging upside down. Look what Pat
found, the door handle. Pat’s my buddy.
anyway, better start a little f lare. Oops!
That gear has a pretty nice spring to it.
Second landing was much better although
a little sideways. So, off we go. The airplane had brand new fabric on it. Only
through silver, though. Pucker-brush and
mesquite didn’t seem to care-cut a nice
slice from the front to the back on the bel-
More gas. Windy
day here in Deming.
“You know Pat, I’m
tired of this adventure. It’s too windy
to taxi way out there,
watch this!” Yep, took
off right there on the
ramp. I started to
pray-somebody just
shoot me down.
Next stop is a short hop to Odessa for the
night. We met a nice guy with a P-51. Told
him of our adventures and he offered his
hanger so we could work on the airplane.
Nice guy.
I’m feeling pretty cocky now in my taildragger-besides, I’m a f light instructor.
So I say to Pat, “Pat, how’d you like to f ly
in the front seat?” Pat was my student. Of
course, he said yes.
Man, I can’t believe how low you sit in the
back seat. Flying along at about 200 feet,
following the freeway, a white convertible with three blondes catches up to us.
Pat, a skirt chaser, shameful at his age, put
his entire arm, up to the elbow, out of the
already-cracked window to wave and be
downright neighborly. An arm sticking
out of an already-cracked window does
amazing things to the airf low. I’ve never
seen Plexiglas explode like that! All that
air blowing in helps to rid the cockpit of
the avgas fumes, though.
Vanhorn, Texas straight ahead. I’m doin’
that CFI thing, talking Pat through his
first tailwheel landing. Over the runway,
we’re getting pretty low, from where I sit
could. I felt safer taxiing the extra 15 minutes it took. We parked on the f lightline
with a dozen other airplanes-warbirds,
homebuilts and show-airplanes. Yup, we
parked on the airshow line. Lots of people
looking at the little zebra-stripped Champ.
“Hey, you boys part of da show, a comedy
act or something?” Yeah, that’s us, a comedy act or something.
ly. Almost ripped my new f lyin’ britches
when it came through the cockpit. We
came to a stop about 100’ to the left of the
centerline. Unfortunately, the runway was
only 75’ wide. We sat there for a moment
to ref lect on our trip thus far, then decided
we best look around and make sure no one
saw this perfect, three-pointer-both of
them.
Pride intact, we pushed her back onto
the runway, started up and taxied to the
single-wide mansion of the airport manager. Sunday morning, 8:00 am. Not a lot
of action around the old f lyin’ yard. Nice
folks. We got several rolls of duct tape, a
pair of pliers and set to work.
Round and round we went-she looked like
a zebra when we finally ran out of tape.
The pliers? Well my brand new wooden
prop with the shinny brass leading edgethose pliers made short work out of the
bent brass. Little bend here and there, they
looked pretty good. I never felt such soft
squishy wood like that before. Maybe it’s
just soft under the brass?
More gas, off we go. I decided to take command. Safety first, you know. On the way
to Deming, New Mexico. Cruising low
and slow, as they say. Deming used to be
a military base-it’s big. A little gun shy,
tired of the fumes wafting through the
cockpit, tired of the fresh breeze blowing
everywhere, tired of bumps, and just tired,
I landed as far away from civilization as I
Blythe, California has
a nice, big runway
pretty much aligned
with the 25-knot wind. I think I’m an instructor, barely qualified. In the pattern
with 500 German-speaking wanna-be Lufthansa pilots. Success. Taxied in, shut her
down. Ramp guy approaching-6’ 13” tall,
wearing overalls. Good service, he came
right out as soon as we got there. His first
words, “Get that unairworthy piece of
crap off my ramp.”
Well, bumpy, hot,
tired, smell of avgas
wafting through the
cockpit and f lowing out the broken
window-an entire
day of f lying to go
and this is how this
yahoo
welcomes
me to Blythe. I was
ready with my best
in-your-face attitude. My call sign, “Maddawg.” Why, cause I earned and deserved
it. You don’t pick your call sign-it is given
to you.
I began to share my feelings about him
and his mother. Didn’t care that he was
the only mechanic on the field. Pat? Oh,
he’s hiding under the back seat, door handle at the ready. So we fueled her up-hand
prop, hand prop, hand prop.... Why won’t
this thing start? Did I mention that the yahoo was the only mechanic on the field?
And what a lovely mother he has! Pat was
a financial banker. Good with people and
kissing a lot of tail pipes. So into negotiations he goes. The nice mechanic says the
impulse spring in the mag is broken. It
will start if you turn it fast enough. So all
6’ 13” of this guy spins the prop, tach goes
off scale and she’s purring like a kitten. I
really did wave good-bye. Really.
One more fuel stop in Thermal. The command decision was made to hot fuel because of the aforementioned impulse
spring. Of course, you know, the fuel tank
is in the nose about a foot and a half from
my nice shattered wooden prop with the
shinny brass. Pat didn’t volunteer.
Landed in Corona. Never saw the airplane
for six months. Didn’t care. At the very
beginning, what a difference a little brief
would have made.
Didn’t die, prayed a lot, hired a CFI, he
was well qualified.
A moral to the story? Just an entertaining read. Or I guess it would be, it doesn’t
matter if you were military or civilian
trained, airline or corporate, there are
those that are and those that think they
are well qualified. Just because you are the
student, doesn’t mean you can’t recognize
something that just doesn’t feel right or
look right. You are both pilots, act like it.
I know civilian-trained pilots that I would
put up against military pilots any day. As
we say at the freight hauler I work for,
“Don’t hope, don’t hint.” Just reach over
there and slap him right upside the head
and make him listen to your briefing or
suggestions.
He may be the f light instructor, but he
may not be well qualified.
www.flyredstar.org
17
gadgets
By Robert Genat robertgenat@yahoo.com
Nanchang Brake Lock
J
ohn “Lost” Long is not only a skilled pilot and CJ owner, but
he’s also a design engineer who owns a machine shop. As with
most design engineers, the wheels are always turning on how to
improve something mechanical. One of the frustrations Long
found with his CJ was the lack of an effective brake lock. He, like
so many others, used a Velcro strap-a simple, but a less-thanelegant solution to the problem of holding the brakes. He put on
his engineer thinking cap and got started.
By Olivier Langeard Olivier.Langeard@falconjet.com
O
n July 21st 2012, The Dassault Falcon Jet Wilmington Corporation service facility organized a “Summerfest” party to
recognize and celebrate the recent, positive results of its maintenance, service and alteration activities.
Dassault Falcon Jet Wilmington is part of the Dassault Aircraft
Services (DAS) network, a premier provider of maintenance and
services for the Falcon Jet f leet. The DAS network includes three
majors sites-Wilmington, Little Rock and Reno and two satellite
sites-West Palm Beach and St Louis.
Long says, “I knew a brake lock needed to be light, but strong
enough to withstand abuse, heat and vibration. My first step was
to figure out all the relevant components, so I disassembled my
stick and brake actuator and made cad drawings. I calculated how
much travel the hand-actuated brake lever required to hold the
aircraft. My first design resulted in a split collar slipped down
over the stick below the brake lock mechanism. I installed it on
my own Nanchang and it worked terrifically. I made a few more
and gave them out to a few friends with mixed results. Some never
got installed mainly because it required an effort to disassemble
the stick, often with ancillary wiring for smoke, comm and guns
[guns??? editor].” One of Long’s friends insisted that he needed to
redesign the unit so it did not require disassembly of the stick.
With thinking cap in place, Long came up with the current
split-clamp, rotary-lock design. He distributed several prototype
units to friends with CJs, for field testing, resulting in positive
feedback. Long found that this design worked exceptionally well
except it requires a consistent stick diameter to properly clamp.
“The problem with the sticks from multiple years of use was that
it was unlikely they would be dimensionally consistent,” says
Long. “Additionally, some sticks may have 20 coats of paint or,
in some cases, the stick is deformed because of over-torquing of
the cross-assembly bolts. As with most installations, adjustments
can be made for many conditions, but not all.”
This is a non-anodized, pre-production lock, installed on a Nanchang CJ-6A
stick. The small, black component, on the top, slides under and retains the
brake lever, holding the brakes.
18
Red Alert Fall 2012
This party was held at the Wilmington Airport with the amiable
cooperation of the Delaware River and Bay Authority (DRBA)
and the local FAA.
This Summerfest was a family-oriented event with activities for
all, including a mechanical bull, zip lines, bouncing castle and
other attractions. The main event was a concert featuring Brooke
Eden, a country singer who participated in American Idol.
To recognize and emphasize the Dassault employees’ passion for
mechanical excellence, quality of work and aviation, several displays of antique cars, racing bikes and airplanes were organized.
Since RedStar aviators have a strong presence in the North East
region, they were well represented in the static display area with
two Yak-50s, a Yak-52, an L-39 and a Mig-21.
John Long’s CAD drawing and installation instructions for his CJ brake lock.
With a good working design Long had to decide if it was
marketable. He sent one of the units to Doug Sapp and asked
if he wanted to retail them, because Long’s business is not set
up for retail sales. Sapp loved the unit and agreed to sell them.
“Pricing became a bit of an issue,” says Long. “Some saying $100
was way too much, some saying it was way too little.” As with
all elegant designs, getting there is a long road. In this case, it
required multiple setups on CNC machinery. Then, the potential
market is limited to CJs.
I had to look at what kind of liability I could ultimately incur,” says
Long. “There’s the safety aspect of designing anything to do with
aircraft-what happens if the units slips off, or allows the aircraft
to creep forward, for example, on a propeller run up? What if the
plane gets away and runs into another aircraft? What if, what
if. Yes, we can have a disclaimer written, advertised, and pasted
onto the device, but can we make it idiot-proof as well as accident
proof?” Having said all this, Long decided to make a production
run and let Sapp sell them. “If you do elect to install one,” says
Long, “PLEASE, PLEASE remember to hand-hold onto your
brake during your run up because they work so well, it’s pretty
easy to assume Murphy won’t be in the cockpit with you.”
Dassault Falcon Jet, in cooperation with Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Mid-Atlantic, came up with a unique and novel way
to better merge the family activities and the aviation activitiesraise awareness for the Make-A-Wish foundation activities while
involving everyone in an “aircraft painting” activity.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Mid-Atlantic was founded
in 1983 and has granted the wishes of over 7,000 children with
life-threatening medical conditions such as cancer, pediatric
AIDS, cystic fibrosis, Duchene’s Muscular Dystrophy and heart
disease. The Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Mid-Atlantic is affiliated with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation traces its beginning to one boy’s
wish to be a police officer. To date, more than 250,000 wishes
have been granted to children with life-threatening medical conditions in the United States and its territories.
There are Make-A-Wish Foundation chapters serving all across
the United States, as well as international affiliates spanning five
continents. Each chapter is responsible for granting wishes for
eligible children within its designated geographic area and for
raising the funds to fulfill those wishes.
The idea was to use an airplane as a backdrop to illustrate the donations made to Make-A-Wish foundation and involve everyone
in hand painting an airplane. And by hand painting, we literally
mean “hand painting”-each participant was able to make a colorful hand imprint on the airplane.
In order to implement this idea, one of the static display aircraft
was chosen. Thanks to its racy looks, the Yak-50 came out on top
of the list. Dupont gave the paint and Dassault the labor, and the
Yak-50 was stripped, anodized and painted white, following the
same process used by Dassault on Falcon Jet aircraft.
This white canvas became the perfect backdrop for more than
270 hands imprints, including the ones of the Governor of Delaware on the more official side and a four-week old baby at the
other end of the spectrum.
This activity and the generosity of other industry sponsors, such
as Rockwell Collins and Honeywell, contributed to raising $2,600
for Make-A-Wish foundation.
To further raise awareness for this event, the aircraft was displayed at the IAC booth at the EAA Airventure, 2012 event.
How wishes are granted?
Every wish granted represents a unique collaboration between wish families, medical professionals, volunteers and donors.
Wish-granting truly is a magical, yet comprehensive and dynamic process.
The magic of wish-granting usually begins with a referral call to our chapter office by a physician or social worker, however,
the family or even the child himself or herself may submit the referral. A wish-referral form is completed with relevant information about the child. After the Make-A-Wish Foundation® has been contacted, a medical authorization form is sent to
the child’s primary physician. Upon medical approval, a team of volunteers will schedule an initial visit to discover the child’s
wish. Then our staff and volunteers work the magic for the child’s wish to come true. There are four steps to granting a wish.
Each step builds on the next to help create the amazing experiences that delight wish kids and their families. A wish experience is frequently a source of inspiration for children undergoing difficult medical treatments and a positive force that helps
them overcome their obstacles.
A wish experience is often more than a dream come true-it’s the catalyst that rekindles their belief in themselves and the
promise of their future.
www.flyredstar.org
19
Tyson Rininger is one of the nation’s best aviation photographers and a frequent Red Alert contributor. He had the
opportunity to capture the Make-A-Wish Yak-50 in dramatic
style, while at Oshkosh this year.
20
Red Alert Fall 2012
www.flyredstar.org
21
INSTRUCTORS’ cORNER
By Terry “Mags” Slawinski yakski@earthlink.com
Turn Circle Laboratory
Y
our Grasshopper can maintain acceptable fingertip formation
straight and level and while maneuvering up to about +/-45 degrees of bank. Route formation and cross-unders are also acceptable. Therefore, you have decided to begin teaching rejoins on the
next 2-ship training mission. This article will give you my thoughts
and techniques on how to teach this very cool skill set.
Your building block approach should utilize the demo/do technique.
Your trainee should master the following skills, in order, before progressing to the next, more complex task:
1. The straight ahead rejoin
•
•
I repeat each of the above three training sorties until the trainee
masters the designated task before progressing to the next sortie.
•
On sortie two, I always include at least one straight ahead rejoin. On sortie three, I always include at least one inside the TC
rejoin. This will refresh muscle memory and give the trainee a
mastered skill to use as a warm up.
Now, here are some of the additional demo/do exercises and techniques I use to teach turn circle concepts and rejoin skills:
2. The inside the turn circle (TC) rejoin
1. Straight Ahead Rejoins. This is a demo/do exercise on rejoin sortie one.
3. The overshoot
•
4. The outside the turn circle rejoin
Do not prematurely progress to the next skill level. Without a solid
skill set to build on, you will needlessly introduce frustration, possibly corrupt the new skill set and prolong the learning process.
With few exceptions, your trainee will not be able to learn all four
skill sets in one sortie. Therefore, I suggest the following three-sortie approach:
1. Straight ahead and inside the TC rejoins. I don’t teach overshoots on this sortie because it is too much to introduce and I
don’t let an overshoot situation develop. The trainee also has
not had enough experience in this environment to recognize
and react in the appropriate manner.
2. Inside the TC rejoin and overshoot. The overshoot is just another turning rejoin skill. There are multiple warning signs,
procedures and techniques to learn and practice to master this
skill. However, inside the TC rejoins must be mastered first so
the trainee gets use to the rejoin environment and knows what
a proper rejoin looks like. The overshoot also has some skills
directly applicable to the last skills set.
3. Outside the TC rejoin. In the 2-ship, I have the trainee use the
six and nine second break interval to rejoin to the number three
position. I like to master the outside the TC rejoin in a 2-ship
because in a 4-ship, the trainee will only have to learn how to
adjust his rejoin to compensate for the errors of the other wingmen.
In planning and executing a rejoin sortie, I do the following:
•
Have the trainee review Turn Circles Part I (Red Alert, Winter
2011), Turn Circles Part II (Red Alert, Spring 2012), Turn Circle
Practice Exercises (Red Alert, Spring 2012), and the rejoin chapter from the RPA formation manual. If possible, I review this
material with him prior to the briefing to ensure he has a basic
understanding of concepts, procedures and techniques.
•
On rejoin training sorties, all I do is work on rejoins. The trainee will get enough fingertip, route and cross-unders, going to
and from the training area.
22
Red Alert Fall 2012
to decrease the AA to a sucked position. You should repeat this
exercise using additional pitch outs as required.
•
At standard formation speed, use a standard pitchout and a
three-second break interval (BI). After calling “in,” the f light
leader rocks his wings for a straight-ahead rejoin. Using the
leader’s wing span and a point in space on the horizon, I demo
moving out laterally two to four ship-widths to the left or right
side, moving the leader’s aircraft no more than a fist width
above the horizon to establish a slightly stack low position, and
increasing airspeed +10%. This shows the trainee how to use
a known formation position to establish sufficient lateral and
vertical offset to get a good oblique view of the leader’s aircraft
to facilitate keeping sight and judging closure. As I approach
route, I will demo how fast the aircraft will slow down when using idle and a slip. My technique when slipping is to step on the
rudder away from the leader. If the Leader is on the left side of
my aircraft, I will slip using right rudder.
I now have the trainee f ly several straight ahead rejoins. I have
him f ly them using airspeeds from +10% up to whatever he can
get at max continuous power. This allows him to gain straight
ahead rejoin proficiency and learn how to slow his aircraft from
various speeds/power settings using both the throttle and f light
controls.
•
•
To demonstrate an outside the TC sight picture, execute a normal pitchout using a nine-second BI. When ready, call “in.” The
leader should then turn left or right at 45 degrees of bank/1.4 G.
The trainee will see the leader’s AA immediately and continuously increase. Without increasing power, point at where the
leader started his turn and f ly toward that point. As the leader’s
AA increases through 90 degrees, his line-of-sight (LOS) rate
will begin to increase and start moving aft in your windscreen/
canopy. As the AA increases through 140 degrees, the rate of
AA increase will begin to slow and the LOS Rate will continue
to increase. About 18 seconds after the leader started his turn,
his AA will be almost stopped at 180 degrees and you will be on
the opposite side of his TC. If you roll into a 45 degree bank, you
will stabilize his AA and remain across the circle from him in
a classic Luf bery position. Call “terminate,” have the leader roll
out to 20 degrees of bank to enable you to complete the rejoin.
For a more dynamic demonstration, pitchout using a six second
BI. Have the leader use a 60-degree bank/2 G turn. Point and f ly
toward the leader’s TC the same way. Everything will happen
much more quickly and you will reach the TC/Luf bery position
in about 12 seconds.
This last exercise is graduate level, very dynamic, and will hone
all rejoin skills to a razor’s edge. It should only be done once the
trainee is proficient at both inside and outside the TC rejoins to
the #2 and #3 position. Execute a normal pitchout using a ninesecond BI. After calling “in,” the f light leader wing rocks for
the rejoin and establishes the turn direction. However, instead
of establishing a standard 30-degree bank/1.14 G rejoin turn,
the f light leader varies the bank angle during the rejoin from 15
to 45 degrees until the wingman is 150-200 feet out. Then, the
f light leader sets a standard 30-degree bank/1.14 G rejoin turn
and the trainee completes the rejoin either to the #2 or #3 position. As the leader’s bank angle/G varies, the rate and radius
of the turn also varies from eight degrees/second and 1600 feet
at 15 degrees to 11 degrees/second and 1200 feet at 45 degrees.
This lack of a stable rejoin target will eliminate any “rote” habits
the trainee may have developed and force him to expeditiously
react to the changing visual cues telling him where he is relative
to the TC and rejoin aspect angle/bearing line.
Rejoins are one of the most challenging and fun formation skills
we learn. These building block sortie suggestions and exercises will
provide not only trainees, but all of our current formation pilots,
with dedicated, graphic, challenging and rewarding opportunities
to acquire and maintain a solid rejoin skill set. They will truly enable all of us to “be the Turn Circle!”
9 sec
3L
4.5 sec
2L
4L
13.5 sec
Look Angle &
Aspect Angle
LA 90° AA 90°
1L/5W
LA 49° AA 85°
4W
LA 21° AA 68°
3W
LA 5° AA 38°
2W
LA 0° AA 0°
1W
5L
18 sec
PARAMETERS
speed: 115-120 KIAS/130 KTAS
altitude: 5000’ msl
bank: 45°
G load: 1.4 G
break interval (BI): 9 seconds
trail interval (TI): 18 seconds
Leader rate of turn: 10°/second
turn circle radius: 1255’
NOTES
1. aspect angle (AA) measured from
Lead’s 6 o’clock to wingman’s
position.
2. look angle (LA) is measured from
wingman’s nose to Lead’s position.
3. At the start of the exercise, the
wingman is in trail at the 1W position
and the flight leader is at the 1L
position.
2. Aspect Angle (AA) Recognition Exercises. For new trainees, these are primarily demos. For qualified f light leaders and wing
men, they are excellent refreshers.
Explanation of Graphic
•
Using standard pitchout procedures and a 9 second break interval, the wingman rolls out behind the leader at a trail interval of 18 secs/3942 feet.
•
When f lying inside a leader’s TC, the leader’s AA will stop increasing and stabilize somewhere from low AA (about 10-20
degrees) to high AA (180 degrees). The time it takes to get inside the leader’s TC determines the AA at which the leader will
stabilize-the longer it takes, the higher the AA.
To demonstrate an inside the TC low AA sight picture, execute
a normal pitch-out using a three-second BI. When ready, call
“in.” The f light leader should then turn left or right at 30 degrees of bank at 1.14 G. The trainee will see the leader’s AA
increase to about 10-20 degrees, then stabilize. Without increasing power, you can stabilize the leader’s AA by turning to follow
him in trail. To repeat the exercise, call “terminate.” The leader
should roll out. You should roll out when in trail. When ready
to repeat, call “in” and the leader will repeat the turn. When
finished with this exercise, demo an inside the TC rejoin. If desired, you can include a bearing line demo by pulling excessive
lead to increase the AA to an acute position, then, pull less lead
When the wingman calls “in,” without a wing rock, the leader rolls into a 45 degree bank/1.4 G turn. The wingman continues straight ahead, pointing at where the leader was when he started his turn. The wingman maintains 115-120 KIAS.
Position 1 represents the wingman’s roll-out position behind the leader. The AA is 0 degrees. Since the leader is not turning, the LA is also 0 degrees.
At position 2/4.5 seconds, the AA has rapidly increased to 38 degrees, definitely indicating the wingman is outside the TC. However, the LA only
increases to 5 degrees. This gives the wingman a low LOS rate, further reinforcing his position well outside the TC.
At position 3/9 sec, the AA continues to rapidly increase. It is now 68 degrees, but starting to slow down. The LA has increased to 21 degrees. It
shows that the leader is still in the windscreen with a slow, but starting-to-increase LOS rate.
At position 4/13.5 seconds, the AA has increased to 85 degrees, but the rate of increase is dramatically slowing down, with only a 17 degree increase
in the last 4.5 seconds. The LA has rapidly increased to 49 degrees, which appears as a marked increase in the LOS rate. These indications tell the
wingman he is still slightly outside the TC but getting close to it.
At position 5/18 seconds, the AA increase rate has dramatically slowed to a stop at 90 degrees. The LA has exponentially increased from 49 to 90
degrees with a corresponding increase in the LOS rate. Both indications tell the wingman he is on/inside the leader’s TC.
From position 4, the wingman could begin his rejoin. The rate of increase in the AA would be almost imperceptible. However, the very fast LOS rate
with the AA at 85 degrees tells the wingman he will have the required back side of the TC entry. However, this will be a challenging rejoin because
of the initial, very high AA.
www.flyredstar.org
23
maintenance hangar
By Craig Payne cpayne@joimail.com
Electronic Ignition Systems for Radial Engines
I
n today’s piston powered world, Electronic Ignition (EI) is the
standard. Standard everywhere, except in the aviation world,
where magnetos still dominate. Magnetos survive because they
generate their own power and require no external power source.
Some of today’s EI systems can now say the same thing-but all
aircraft EI systems still require some external power to start,
even if it is a small 9-volt battery.
The case for EI is superior sparking from high voltage and timing control, light weight, and the ability to build in features such
as RPM limiting, manifold pressure (MAP) regulation of timing,
and monitoring of various engine conditions.
The Stock System
Both the Huosai and Russian engines come with conventional
radial engine ignition systems. These magnetos are large, heavy
and do a good job of providing spark to two spark plugs in nine
cylinders that turn up to 2900 or more RPM. If maintained properly, the stock system will last the life of the engine. “Maintenance” includes keeping the wires, spark plug wire fittings and
elbows clean and dry as well as cleaning spark plugs that cost
from $17 to $37, each.
To address maintenance and cost issues, some folks, like Dennis Savarese, have made a do-it-yourself, aftermarket, wire and
automotive spark plug conversion kit available. With help from
Richard Goode, these sets have European Aviation Safety Agency
(EASA) approval in the European Union. In the U.S. no such explicit approval is required and hundreds of kits have been installed worldwide.
To be fair, there are experts who work on these engines that believe such modifications are not necessary. While I can agree
with that position, I am still in pursuit of greater efficiencyit’s what I do. I also agree that the average CJ-6 or Yak operator does not need any more performance than the stock airplane
provides. But, of course, we have needs and then we have wants.
As pilots, we all want more power but as owners we like better
fuel economy and lower operating costs. Somewhere in between
is the compromise.
Modified Engines
One of the recent trends I have seen at events, like formation
clinics and Oshkosh, is that more owners are having their engines reworked to improve performance over the stock engines.
The trend is towards custom pistons, higher compression ratios,
custom exhaust, automatic advance magnetos on M-14s with automotive spark plug conversions and other modifications. Some
owners have gone to aftermarket fuel injection and dyno-tuning
as well.
While all of this is taking place, the stock magneto system, even
with racing wire and motorcycle spark plugs isn’t keeping up with
the potential these engines offer. Set the spark plug gap too wide
and misfiring occurs at altitude. Proving the value of EI is easy,
24
Red Alert Fall 2012
simply switching to a higher energy system on a stock engine
yields a smoother, and slightly higher RPM idle on the electronic
system, compared to the magneto. I have found that replacing
only one magneto is all that is needed to obtain a good benefit. At
takeoff power, another 30 to 50 RPM develops, perhaps requiring
a governor and/or blade angle adjustment. Performing a spark
plug “read” is more telling-even the plugs on the magneto side
run cleaner and develop that nice tan color that engineers like.
This is the result of cleaner burning and better fuel efficiency
which also results in cleaner oil as well since there are less combustion by-products to contaminate the oil.
System Features for Flat Engines
• E-Mag
• Light Speed Engineering
• Electroair
Most of these systems have certified and experimental models
and are of the distributor-less, “wasted spark” type. Each cylinder fires on both compression and exhaust strokes from coils
installed on a cylinder pair. Only an even number of cylinder
configurations are supported. Rotax engines have a similar system built in.
Battery power is required to start each, but the E-Mag will hand
prop using a nine-volt battery. The E-Mag generates its own power after start and will run without external battery power while
the Electroair and Light Speed systems use battery/alternator
power to run. Manifold sensors on each unit help regulate spark
timing. Timing is retarded at start-up and advances to about 24°
to 28° before top dead center (BTDC) at full power settings. Manifold pressures under 24”, such as those found at economy cruise
at altitude, will further advance spark 39° to 43°, depending on
the system. This is what the old vacuum dashpot did on automotive distributors. Lean and low air density mixtures burn slowly
and require a lot of spark advance to keep peak cylinder pressure
at 11° after top dead center (ATDC).
The E-Mag offers multiple strikes through 20° of spark plug firing, up to five strikes at idle. The Electroair system fires a continuous spark. Voltages of 70 KV are typical, firing spark plug
gaps of up to .035.” The Electroair draws about 1¼ amps while a
running. E-Mag takes no battery draw. Light Speed has a six-cylinder unit that draws up to 2.1 amps and outputs 120 millijoules
of spark energy. Either single spark or multiple spark units are
available from Light Speed.
Other features include RPM limiting, and monitoring of unit operation. Spark advance programming is usually done at the factory to engine specs and is not field programmable. Manufacturers claim that 75% to 85% of EI benefits are achieved with only
one of the units installed with a magneto. Additional benefits
from dual EI systems don’t manifest themselves unless operating
in mid-teens f light levels, where thinner air requires a powerful
spark. Note that these systems cost as much and more than the
magnetos they replace.
The Nine Cylinder Problem
Basically, the market is too small to justify a lot of investment.
Most existing automotive systems are designed for eight cylinder
operation, programmable for six and four cylinder engines. Nine
cylinders fire once each in 720° rotation, or at 80° of crank interval rather than 90° rotation that eight cylinders require. Thus
2900 RPM on an M-14P requires as many sparks as 3262 RPM on
an eight cylinder. I’m talking about the four-cycle engines here,
not two-strokes or other configurations. Since many V-8 systems
are designed for operation up to 10,000 RPM, some ignition components are readily adapted to a low-RPM nine cylinder radial,
they will just “think” that it is an eight cylinder system being
controlled.
EI Basics
Wiring
I doubt whether any electronic system could work well with standard wires and harness. Absolutely, an electronic ignition system
will require high-performance “wrapped” wire over a silicone
core to suppress electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio
frequency interference (RFI) as well as safely carry the high voltage generated by the system. Solid-core wire is bad for EI and
may disrupt the controller as well as overheat some components
because of inherent low resistance. Eight mm “Spiro-wound”
silicon core wire, 8.5 mm or even 10+ mm wire will safely carry
spark energy without radio interference, “f lashover” to adjacent
wires, or suffer energy leakage (if installed correctly).
Triggering
An energy pulse from the controller may be triggered many different ways, from crank position magnetic, optical or Hall Effect
devices. Stock magneto points will also do the job, as only low
voltage is being used as a trigger signal.
Controller
A controller or “ignition box” generates the spark pulses and
sends multiple spark pulses to a coil or coils. Features may include RPM limiting, developed primarily to
protect high-reving engines from missed shifts,
fixed or programmable spark advance curves,
auto retard for starting, MAP, RPM, and CHT
sensing for active spark advance control, and
operator-controllable retard/advance control.
Of these, active spark control will do the overall
best job, but at the price of added complexity and
cost.
to do this job. If the Right-side mag is chosen for conversion,
then the Left mag starting function is preserved with good oldfashioned redundancy if the conversion fails for any reason.
Magneto Switch Control
I prefer using the existing magneto cockpit switch to control the
electronic system, as well as one standard magneto-this keeps
the system simple for a pilot to operate, as there are few changes
from normal operation. To accomplish this, an isolation relay can
be used to invert the grounded/ungrounded function to control
the ignition box as if it were a magneto. Thus, the pilot operates
the system exactly as a stock system. Only one extra power “on/
off ” switch is required for switch f low management and that is
to turn on the 12 V trigger power supply. Full electronic systems,
with no magneto, can use conventional switch and circuit breakers to perform the same task as a magneto switch.
Power Supply
Now for the bad news-the key drawback to using automotive aftermarket components is that they are all designed for 12 V systems, some are advertised to work at 18 V but none advertise 24
to 28 V. Therefore, a 12 V power supply may be needed for some
components. The STCd systems will run on 24 V, but a pretty
steep premium must be paid and none are for engines with more
than six cylinders.
Current Offerings FOR Vendenyev-type Engines
Gemini System
Developed by Barrett Precision Engines and marketed by both
Jim Kimball Enterprises and BPE for the M-14 series of engines.
System features include: Dual Hall Effect triggering, regulated
spark control, ignition advance curve, under-speed and overspeed protection via RPM limiting, with lighter weight than
magnetos and a weather-proof wiring harness.
Designed from the ground up for the M-14P and M-14PF, Gemini is actually two independent systems, each with an alternator/
spark unit that plugs into the magneto mount with nine coils
Power Source
Automotive based systems use the battery and
electrical system to power the controller-other
systems such as the E-Mag include an internal
alternator to generate the necessary power, independent of the primary electrical system.
Coil/Distributors
Either a single, high-energy coil at 70:1 or 100:1
turns ratio is required with a distributor, or multiple coils, one per cylinder-similar to WWII,
multi-row radials, is required for distributor-less
systems. Spark pulses from the coil are routed to
either a single module per spark plug or a distributor. An existing magneto can be easily modified
Gemini system, side view
www.flyredstar.org
25
Red Star Warbird Specialties (RSWS)
I have a simple but robust system, designed to work
with off-the-shelf automotive components and an
existing right magneto. I chose the right mag since
the left mag is hooked to the spark start coil. Both
the Chinese CD-5 and “Russian” M-9F are supported. Stage I consists of a few components to
replace the existing magneto coil with automotive
wire and spark plugs and off-the-shelf racing components. Stage II includes my own design of a distributor cap that looks like the HEI system used in
automobiles through the mid 1990s. The cap does
not require a magneto “cigarette” and spark plug
wires connect directly to the top of the cap rather
than slipping into drilled-out holes in the stock
cap. This not only installs quicker, but ensures better wire connections than the sharp point screw-in
terminals that were not designed for modern highvoltage wiring.
Gemini system, top view
each, installed in pairs on the intake tubes for a total of 18 coils.
The Gemini requires battery voltage for starting, generating
multiple sparks per firing until 500 PRM is reached, when each
system’s internal power kicks in and one single spark is applied
per NGK BUR5EB-11 spark plug. RPM and manifold pressure
sensors advance the spark up to 31° in cruise power settings below N2, or 70%. At higher power settings the spark retards to
the initial setting of 23° for the M-14P and 21° for the M-14PF.
This is a feature to avoid detonation in modified engines using
higher-compression pistons. Barrett Precision Engines programs
each system to match an engine. It is not field programmable by
the owner/operator.
This system will run off of 24 V simply because
the RPM stays so low that only moderate loads are
placed upon a system designed for only 12 to 18 V.
The CD-5 magneto conversion provides automatic
advance and needs no external timing control. A
variety of off-the-shelf components will allow additional features. This is a system that delivers a high energy spark more
powerful than what other systems offer.
to one spark at 2660 RPM. For the lower RPM Huosai engine,
this means at least two sparks per firing at full power and cruise.
Development is on-going with installations on my CJ-6 and Jim
“Pappy” Goolsby’s CJ-6. Both are M-14P powered.
RSWS System Specs
Coil Input: 530-540 volts @ 135–140 milli-joules peak.
Coil Output Voltage: 100:1 turns ratio output of 45,000+ volts
Electrical system load: 0.7 A to 2.9 A run current and up to 10
amps momentary during quick power changes using the stock 24
to 28 V system and a 12 V supplementary source. Using a B&C
type alternator is beneficial as some digital instruments may reset
when stock generator output is reduced by very low idle speeds.
This is the same reason why automotive manufacturers switched
from generators to alternators years ago. However, since this type
of EI system does not generate its own power, the battery and
electrical system provide the energy. With an electrical charging
system failure, the battery must shoulder the load. With my Gill
battery, avionics draw and magneto conversion draw, the system
will probably drain the battery within 10 hours. With full fuel
tanks, at cruise power settings, my duration is limited to 5 hours.
Other Offerings
There are other EI products for Yak and CJ ignitions but the vendor declined input for this article.
• Smooth the low-speed idle and prevent spark plug fouling.
What they won’t do
• Correct for worn engines, mis-adjusted timing, leaky valves,
low compression or other such maladies.
• Function with stock wiring and harness. High energy, automotive type wiring is required, same as most cars made in
the last 25 years.
• Solid core wires will NOT work as they emit too much RFI/
EFI, interfering with the electronics.
• Tolerate any poor connections or defects in spark plug wiring.
• Fire with a dead battery like the magneto system will.
• Generate more horsepower than what potential is provided
by the fuel supply and induction system.
Hopefully, this article will introduce the reader to EI and help
make informed choices about EI systems as an alternative to
magnetos. As of this writing, list price from multiple vendors for
the Russian M-9F magneto is $1800 USD. Doug Sapp still had
some new Chinese CD-5 magnetos for $1000 each as of this writing. The CD-5 makes a better platform for EI conversion because
of a built-in, spark advance feature, which really should be called
an automatic spark retard system, as it functions similar to an
automotive distributor. These facts of modern life will motivate
me to take good care of my existing magnetos and continue to
develop alternatives.
Stage I can be installed with your existing automotive wire conversion for under $500 for a CD-5 system (current pricing). In
addition, the conversion components can be removed and stock
system re-installed if the aircraft were to be sold to a country
where such conversions would not be approved.
This is a multiple spark system, from five sparks per plug at idle
Safety features include a requirement for at least
30 RPM to fire so that hand pulling the prop
through will not cause a “kick” like a mag could
and an RPM limit of 3100 to guard against runaway RPM. Start switch breakers and LED indicators replace the old magneto switches. Overall, the Gemini system appears to be of very
high quality, with CNC metal housings, shielded
wires, premium connectors and aircraft quality
hardware.
Owner/Pilot John Casper brought his Barrettbuilt M-14P powered Yak to Oshkosh this year,
equipped with the Gemini system. With about
60 hours on the engine, John reports quick starts
and smooth running.
As of the 2012 AirVenture event, the complete
system was quoted as a field retrofit for $7700.
This includes all components, wiring, panel
switches, indicators and connectors. Contact
Barrett Precision Engines at (918) 835-1754 or
Kevin at Jim Kimball Enterprises: (407) 8893451.
26
Red Alert Fall 2012
Stage II installation: RSWS designed distributor cap
Electronic Ignition Pros & Cons
What they will do
• Keep your spark plugs, combustion chamber and oil cleaner
with better combustion.
• Enable better fuel efficiency by extracting more power from
the fuel mixture.
• Introduce features such as RPM limiting and RPM minimum
RSWS Stage I installation: off-the-shelf MSD components
operating RPM.
• Control over-spark timing can also be added.
www.flyredstar.org
27
Flight Helmets
with 300 ohm impedance, leather ear cups (super comfortable),
a leather chin strap, a microphone and boom hardware and the
cables with the necessary jacks for civilian use. I spent $300 for
the helmet on eBay and another $300 for the hardware—about
half the cost of a new helmet. Also available for f light helmets are
active noise reduction (ANR) kits that will reduce the noise level
by approximately 20 decibels.
All of these helmets are designed to be fitted with large visors offering several different tints and colors including solid tint, gradient tint, clear and amber. Most common, for daytime f lying, is
the tinted visor. The advantage of a tinted visor over sunglasses
is the wide field of view it covers. Amber visors are best used in
areas with haze.
As a photographer, I prefer to shoot with the canopy fully open—
the helmet gives me the confidence to be able move about in my
seat while shooting photos and not have to worry about having
a hat, sunglasses or headset blowing off. I also had an experience where I was riding comfortably in the back seat of a CJ on a
long f light, when we suddenly hit some very rough air. My head
(helmet) hit the canopy so hard it dislodged the canopy. My neck
was sore, but my noggin survived. Also, in a bail-out situation, a
helmet can protect the wearer’s head from contact with the aircraft upon exit.
By Robert “Speedo” Genat robertgenat@yahoo.com
The tight fit of the Yak or CJ canopy limits head room while wearing a helmet.
The U.S. military recommends being able to get a fist between the top of the
helmet and the inside of the canopy-an impossibility in most CJs and Yaks.
When buying a f light helmet, be sure to get the correct size. A
helmet too small can bring on a migraine-like headache in a matter of minutes. Too big will be very uncomfortable as your head
moves around inside. Also buy a skullcap, it’s made of cotton and
is worn under the helmet to absorb perspiration.
This is your’s truly in the HGU-55 helmet I bought off of eBay. As a former F-14 pilot’s helmet, it didn’t have a boom microphone and included oxygen mask receivers. I’ll most likely never use an oxygen mask but, had to add the boom microphone. The large, gray-leather area on the sides are called “elephant ears” and protect
the helmet surface from scratches caused by raising and lowering the visor. Because this version of the HGU-55 uses visors that are snapped on, it’s very easy to
switch to a clear visor for night flying.
R
PA pilots are not required to wear any
special f light gear to f ly in the organization’s events. Most pilots wear mil-spec
nomex f light suits and occasionally military nomex f lying gloves-both providing
protection in case of a fire. But only about
1/3 of the RPA pilots wear a f light helmet.
The benefits of wearing a f light helmet in
case of a bird strike are obvious. A fourpound bird smashing through the windscreen at 100kts+ can cause severe, even
fatal, blunt force trauma. In addition to
protecting the head, the helmet’s visor
will protect the eyes. “I heeded the advice of Michael ‘Viper’ Maloco,” says Gil
Lipaz. Maloco, an RPA member who currently f lies a T-34, is a former T-28 owner
and that group required a f light helmet.
“I purchased a helmet and was wearing
it at the time of my bird strike,” continues Lipaz. “With the helmet, I probably
would have survived a hit to the canopy,
but thankfully that did not happen. Now, I
always wear a helmet and the visor since a
28
Red Alert Fall 2012
bird strike to the face with no visor would
probably be lethal.” The U.S. government has spent a lot of
money perfecting f light helmets for military and as civilian pilots, we have the
advantage of tapping into that technology
for our safety. There are three basic f light
helmet styles that are most appropriate for
RPA pilots, all made by Gentex: The HGU33, HGU-55 (and HGU-55E) and HGU-68.
These are all lightweight helmets used by
fighter pilots. The HGU-33 is the oldest of
the three and is the style worn in the movie Top Gun. It is easily recognized by the
protective cover for the visor with a center
wing nut to hold the visor in place, up or
down. The HGU-55 has an exposed visor
held in place by elastic straps. The sides
of the helmet are covered in gray or black
leather, commonly called “elephant ears.”
This style came into vogue in the late 1980s
and is still used today. The HGU-55 fitted
with the protective visor cover is similar
to the old HGU-33. The newest helmet in
military use is the HGU-68. It’s similar to
the HGU-55, except there’s a nut, off to one
side, to hold the visor in place. The 55 and
68 are lighter in weight (both around 35
ounces) and lower in profile than the older
33. The lower profile makes them better
suited to the smaller Yak and CJ canopies.
All of these helmets offer a wide selection
of distortion-free visors. I strongly recommend against getting a helicopter helmet.
They are much larger and thereby heavier.
Totally unsuited for a Yak or CJ cockpit.
Flight helmets are available new from
several different sources or used on eBay.
That’s where I bought my HGU-55. It’s a
surplus Navy helmet that had been taped
with yellow ref lective tape. I removed the
F-14 squadron markings and added some
of my own. As a former jet pilot’s helmet it
had receivers for an oxygen mask and earphones with 19 ohm impedance, standard
for military headsets. I took it to Gibson
& Barnes (former Flight Suits in El Cajon,
CA) where I purchased new earphones
The Navy’s Blue Angels use this version of the HGU-55 that has a protected visor similar to the older HGU-33. Switching visors on this type
helmet requires disassembly.
This R-TEK vest by Port Authority is the perfect weight for chilly Fall and Spring days. It’s
available in black with the RPA Aviator Wings
logo embroidered over the left breast. It also
features zippered front and side pockets.
Sizes: M, L, XL $41.50
You can find this vest and other Red Star Logo
items at the RPA store: www.flyredstar.org
www.flyredstar.org
29
pits
Congratulations to our pilots who have achieved formation qualification this quarter
Wingman
Craig Kern5/30/2012
Richard Stepler
5/30/2012
Steve Bergevin
6/11/2012
Stewart Nicholson 6/222012
Josh Wilson6/23/2012
Flight Leader
Robert Mortara
6/22/2012
Dean Friedt7/4/2012
Front cockpit upgrades: left to right, top to bottom: digital tach, Dynon EFIS, Apollo GPS, fuel quantity gage in US gallons, fuel flow
gage, fuel pressure gage, JPI EDM 700 cylinder monitor, fuel vent control switches, ELT, louver control (plunger on right console)
Certif
Pre
Here we see a mix of the old and the new in Ron Lee’s M-14 powered, fuel injected, 425 hp, Nanchang CJ-6A.
icate o
f Form
sen
ted
By T
he
___
Red
Front control stick: radio (red button), aileron trim (hat switch), rudder trim (silver toggle), smoke (gray button), IFF ident (blue
button), John Long brake mod (below brake handle—see “Gadgets” column, page 31)
ation Q
ualific
Rear cockpit upgrades: Dynon EFIS, CHT/EGT gage, digital tach
ation
___
Sta
r Pi
___
In re
lot
___
c
s As
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for m ognition
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To:
ing a successf
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For m ired by
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Chec _____
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ot
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Released just in time for Desert
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With this new book in the “For
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hone your bombing skills enough
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30
Red Alert Fall 2012
www.flyredstar.org
31
LAW LINE
By Dave “Goatboy” Jester djester@gjtbs.com
Pilot’s Bill of Rights
S
een on a t-shirt at the local FBO: “FAA Mission Statement:
We’re not happy unless you’re not happy!” The sad truth is
that, in past years, pilots were subject to the long arm of the FAA
in which it was often asserted that you were wrong before the
facts were even known. Many times Pilot’s gave information to
the FAA in response to an inquiry that became exhibit one to its
case against them. Pilots were group into a category based upon
their attitude when an investigation was being conducted. I actually attended a conference where FAA representatives stated they
looked favorably on Pilots who confessed their sins (cooperation might lead to less severe punishment). Those who attempted
to protect their rights were viewed as being uncooperative and
subject to at least a greater level of scrutiny. That ended when
on August 3, 2012, when the President (facing enough votes to
overcome a threatened veto) signed into law the “Pilot’s Bill of
Rights,” an important piece of legislation that will empower Pilots who for years felt they were being treated unfairly by a system
that appeared more interested in clearing investigations rather
than searching for the truth and a fair resolution of claimed violations of FARs.
The onus for the passage of the Act began when a letter of investigation was sent by the FAA to a United States Senator. In October
2010, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., allegedly sent workers on the
ground scrambling when he landed his plane on a closed runway
marked with a giant yellow X at an airport in South Texas. Inhofe said later he didn’t see the workers and trucks on the runway
until it was too late to safely abort the landing. The FAA didn’t
post a NOTAM online warning pilots of the runway closure until
days after the incident.
Afterward, FAA officials ordered Inhofe, who has been f lying for
more than 50 years, to take remedial training as a condition for
retaining his license. The senator complained he wasn’t treated
fairly by the agency and that the process left him feeling powerless. Sound familiar? Senator Inhofe felt so strongly about the
way he had been treated that he set the wheels in motion to rectify the problems he believed existed.
With the backing of the good senator and other members of the
house and senate who were pro-pilot and with the overwhelming support of the EAA and AOPA the Pilot’s Bill of Rights was
borne.
The salient provisions of the Act are as follows:
DETAILS ABOUT THE PILOT’S BILL OF RIGHTS
•
Requires NTSB review of FAA enforcement actions to conform, to the extent practicable, with the Federal Rules of Evidence and Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
•
Requires the FAA to provide timely notice to a pilot who is
the subject of an investigation, and that any response by the
pilot can be used as evidence against him.
•
Requires that in an FAA enforcement action against a pilot,
the FAA must grant the pilot all relevant evidence 30 days
prior to a decision to proceed with an enforcement action.
32
Red Alert Fall 2012
This is currently not done and often leaves the pilot grossly
uninformed of his violation and recourse.
•
Makes contractor-run f light service station and contract
tower communications available to airmen. In the past, if a
request is made for f light service station information under
the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), it was denied to the
requestor because the contractor was not a governmental
agency. Now, because the contractor is performing an inherently governmental function, this information is available to
pilots who need it to defend themselves in an enforcement
proceeding.
•
Removes the special statutory deference as it relates to National Transportation Safety Board reviews of FAA actions.
Too often the NTSB rubber stamps a decision of the FAA,
giving wide latitude to the FAA and making the appeals process meaningless. This returns NTSB’s deference to the FAA
to general administrative law principles, just like every other
government agency.
•
Allows for Federal district court review of appeals from the
NTSB, at the election of the appellant. This is important because a review by the Federal district court is de novo, meaning the pilot gets a new trial with the ability to introduce
evidence and a new review of the facts.
NOTAM Improvement Program
•
Requires that the FAA undertake a NOTAM Improvement
Program, requiring simplification and archival of NOTAMs
in a central location. The process by which Notices to Airmen are provided by the FAA has long needed revision. This
will ensure that the most relevant information reaches the
pilot. Currently, FAA makes pilots responsible for knowledge
of pre-f light conditions. Non-profit general aviation groups
will make up an advisory panel.
Medical Certification Review
•
The FAA’s medical certification process has long been
known to present a multitude of problems for pilots seeking
an airman certificate. The bill requires a GAO review of the
FAA’s medical certification process and forms, with the goal
of demonstrating how the FAA can provide greater clarity in
the questions and reduce the instances of misinterpretation
that have, in the past, lead to allegations of intentional falsification against pilots. Non-profit general aviation groups
will make up an advisory panel, which will give advice to
the FAA on how the medical certification process can be improved. The FAA is required to take appropriate action on
the GAO recommendations within one year.
The full Act makes for interesting reading and can be read in
its entirety at the following website: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/s3268/text. Without question, the Act provides
greater protection to general aviation pilots accused of wrong
doing by the FAA. As Senator Inhofe stated: “This is a great day
for General Aviation and this would not have happened without
the support of so many pilots all across this country. With their
help and the work of so many of my colleagues in the House and
Senate, we were able to overcome opposition to this law from the
Obama administration with a veto proof majority.” Inhofe continued, “Just last week at Oshkosh, we celebrated the bill getting
through Congress. Now, with the President’s signature, it is officially the law of the land. I appreciate the help of great organizations like AOPA and EAA. Over the course of my years in
Congress, I have helped an untold number of pilots facing the
pressure of dealing with the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA). This bill remedies many of the most serious deficiencies
in the relationship between general aviation and the FAA, and
ensures that pilots are, like everyone else, treated in a fair and
equitable manner by the justice system.”
At the end of the day, it took the work of many people to make
this bill a reality. However, it took one closed runway and perceived unfair treatment by the FAA against a seated member of
Congress to push it over the top. So the moral of the story may
be simply this: don’t embarrass a United States Senator who happens to be a pilot.
Say Again Answers
6. You will factor in the type of maneuvering you will be flying in
the area and the height of the tallest terrain or obstacles. You
will also want to consider the capability of the pilots and aircraft
in the formation. Aggressive, fluid, in-trail maneuvering would
require more of an altitude cushion than simple, pitchout and
rendezvous practice, for instance.
1. An overshooting crosswind blows from the downwind side
of the runway toward the runway. If you do not compensate, this creates a situation where you will be blown closer to the runway on downwind and then will experience
increased groundspeed during your base turn. These two
factors create the strong potential for overshooting the final approach path.
2. In the break, you should reduce your angle of bank in
proportion to the strength of the crosswind-for a strong
overshooting crosswind, 30° of bank, or even less, may be
required to widen out your pattern. On downwind, you
should crab into the wind so as to maintain the proper
downwind track.
3. A consistent airspeed on downwind will help prevent the
“accordion” effect, where the interval between wingmen
becomes irregular as aircraft at different speeds compress
or stretch the distance between aircraft.
4. The perch is the position on downwind, at traffic-pattern
altitude, where the descending, base turn to final is initiated.
The perch can be located anywhere from abeam the touchdown point to 45° beyond the end of the runway. In a no-wind
situation, the perch would typically be located 45° degrees beyond the end of the runway but, as the velocity of the headwind
on final increases, the perch will be shifted closer to the runway.
The flight leader will plan the perch position such that the base
turn to final results in rolling out on final, approximately ½ to ¾
mile from the touchdown point, on a three-degree glideslope
(approximately 150 to 225 feet agl).
5. If you do not maintain traffic-pattern altitude, pilots following you on downwind will not be able to keep you in sight as
you descend below their nose. This forces them to descend
on downwind or offset to keep you in sight. This then compounds the problem for other in-trail wingmen on downwind,
completely distorting the traffic pattern. Maintaining altitude
will also better position your airplane for a glide to the runway,
should your engine fail.
7. US Sectional charts display a maximum elevation figure (MEF)
in each quadrangle of the chart. The MEF provides the height,
in thousands and hundreds of feet, above mean sea level, of
the highest obstacle (terrain or man made), in that quadrangle.
8. The most recent service guidance stipulates a nine year service
life for the rubber fuel and oil hoses on Yak aircraft.
9. The first high electrical demand during the engine start sequence is starting the Saphir APU. It’s electrical starter will draw
system voltage down to 20 volts or less during its initial engagement. Afterwards, the battery might have one or two volts less
for the actual engine start. A camshaft in the fuel control unit
spins at a certain RPM and controls the introduction and cutoff
of starting fuel flow, main fuel flow and ignition. With too-low a
voltage, the time between these activities is extended, thereby
dumping more fuel into the engine. Couple that with low voltage to the high-energy ignitors and you have a recipe for delayed ignition and a hot start.
10. If unlatched, nose doors will typically open during high angle
of attack, such as at rotation during takeoff. At that time, the
aircraft is the heaviest it will be for that flight, you are in a “dirty”
configuration and close to the ground. An open nose door in
a T-bird will blank the airflow over the rudder making control
of the yaw axis nearly impossible. Deploying the speed brakes
immediately will create a low pressure area under the nose and
might help to suck the door back down and closed. However, if
the door is already fully open, then this procedure will likely not
work. The only option would be the land straight ahead.
www.flyredstar.org
33
Commercial Check-Ride in the Nanchang? Check!
By Gil “NAFOD” Lipaz glipaz@yahoo.com
A
ccording to the regs, no person may operate an experimental
category aircraft carrying passengers for hire (14 CFR 91.313
c). That means you cannot charge passengers for f lights in CJs,
Yaks, L-29s, L-39 or Sukhois but you can certainly be paid to f ly
your experimental aircraft at airshows, memorials, over parades,
car shows and similar events, so long as you have a commercial
pilot certificate. Until recently, I didn’t have one.
My quest was to do all my commercial training and the checkride in the Nanchang. You might agree with me that a Nanchang
is just another complex, high-performance airplane, but the
challenge was finding a Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) who
would give me a check-ride in the airplane! The search was on.
Flight training for the commercial is not difficult. There are
some requirements for f light hours but once you have those in
your logbook, the meat of the commercial training includes a
dual, 2-hour, 100 nm daytime cross-country, a dual, 2-hour 100
nm night cross-country, a solo, 300 nm cross-country and training on the required commercial f light maneuvers. Luckily, I am
surrounded by brave CFIs who helped me with my training. My
high school classmate, CFII and chief pilot at our local f light
school, Lewis Blankenship, loves f lying in the Nanchang and
joined me for the dual cross-country f lights. While I didn’t need
much instruction on f lying a cross-country, Lewis had to reteach
me how to construct a f light plan! Having earned my private pilot certificate in 1986, I vaguely remembered what the E6B f light
computer did and had to relearn how to make it work its magic.
Thanks, Lew! The truth is that you probably will never need an
E6B again but you must know how to use every bit of it for the
commercial written test. So we completed the f light plans and
determined fuel consumption and ETE for each leg of the f lights
and everything went well.
180 in the Nanchang is what we always do off the perch after
the break from the initial. Therefore, we came downwind with
enough smash, pulled power, dropped gear, dropped f laps and
made a normal RedStar landing. Check.
Even before completing the maneuvers training, I started hunting for a DPE willing to give me the check-ride in the Nanchang.
You would think that a DPE would jump at the chance to f ly
in something different than the usual Cessna or Piper. But, the
thing I kept hearing was: “I am not familiar with that airplane.”
Really?! I even offered to take one of the DPE’s who is also a CFI
for an orientation f light. He said that was a good idea and that
he would get back to me but never did. I contacted lots of pilots
in the warbird community and got lots of referrals but nothing
panned out. I did find a DPE up in Reno who would do it but was
leaving to f ly a Pilatus in Uganda for four months. I offered to
f ly up from Los Angeles before he left, but he said he would not
have the time and could I wait until he got back. But, I had heard
that another friend and RPA member, Doug Zeissner, had completed his commercial check-ride in his Nanchang so I contacted
Doug and through him found a willing DPE, Ken Earl, at Cable
airport in Southern California. Doug also helped me by providing me a copy of his home-made Nanchang Flight Manual and
requisite CG chart which would come in handy for the checkride. All I had to do was replace some of his M-14P data with
my Housei data and replace his weight and balance with mine.
Thanks Doug!
New RPA National Director Scott Glaser, above, worked closely with Gil Lipaz to enable him to use his CJ-6 to attain a commercial license.
Ken Earl seemed very pleasant and was immediately willing to do
the check-ride. But, (as if fate was still trying to make this hard
on me) Ken was in the hospital following a serious boating injury
and, assuming his doctor released him, was leaving the next week
on an Alaska cruise. We arranged that I would f ly to him the day
before he was to leave for the cruise!
Having not f lown the Nanchang very far at night, the night
cross-country seemed a bit daunting. Fellow Nanchang pilots
agreed and I even contemplated hiring another aircraft for this
leg. But, Craig “Crash” Ekberg advised me to proceed with the
Nanchang. He encouraged me to believe in my airplane and its
capabilities and journey forth into the dark skies with no doubts.
He was right. The f light was glorious. The sky was clear and the
airspace was quiet and, somehow, even the drone of the Housei
engine seemed calmer than usual. Night f lights can be beautiful
and fun, especially if you are busy clicking on runway lights of
the airports you are overf lying! Check.
With the cross-countries out of the way, the next step was to
complete the maneuvers training. For that I turned to my friend,
MEII and Yak-52 driver, Scott “Gomez” Glaser. Scott was a great
ally in my quest for the commercial rating. He understood the
challenge we face not having an official operating handbook and
helped me to determine the appropriate entry speed, bank angle
and pitch for each maneuver. This took some time and practice in
the air but, at the end, the maneuvers were easy and repeatable.
For example, to complete the 180-degree, power-off landing in
most aircraft, you would hold off dropping gear and f laps until
turning base to final. In the Nanchang, that didn’t work and we
kept coming in too hot. Scott and I realized that the power-off
34
Red Alert Fall 2012
Ken met me at the appointed time and day with a bandaged hand
and conducted the check-ride. The temperature was in the high
90s so his air conditioned hangar office was a relief. The oral
portion lasted about two hours and I was thankful that I had really studied the ASA Commercial Oral Exam Guide, that I had
relearned cross country f light planning and that I knew my airplane very well. He didn’t skip much. That out of the way, we
headed for the sunbaked Nanchang. With the oppressive heat, I
assumed the f lying part of the ride would be brief but, no. Ken
put me through every required maneuver including the newly
mandated accelerated stall until we finally landed. Done! Hot
and sweaty, we returned to his cool office where he gave me my
temporary commercial pilot certificate, annotated my logbook,
and sent me on my way. As the poet Gomez wrote in his congratulatory email: Hear ye, Hear ye – let it be knownst on this
day that Gilligan Artemus “NAFOD” Lilliputimas of Oz (or as he
is commonly known-Gil Lipaz) has forthwith, once again, protruded the proverbial finger at gravity and government alike, and
through the act of surmounting the most hideous of feats (that
of f lying and of having f lown a Nanchang CJ-6) has achieved the
high order of “Commercial Pilot.” All who wish may now commence paying for his “services.”
Commercial pilot, check!
Doug Zeissner’s CG chart adapted to Gil’s Nanchang
Scott “Gomez” Glaser and Gil “NAFOD” Lipaz
www.flyredstar.org
35
Bird Strike Fast Facts
Over 219 people have been killed
worldwide as a result of bird strikes
since 1988.
This is Greg Vouga’s first-person account of a
bird strike on his RV-7 while in a mixed formation of Yaks and RVs over Raleigh. His two-year
old son, Will, was with him.
Bird and other wildlife strikes
cost USA civil aviation over $650
million a year.
W
The U.S. Air Force reported
approximately 4,500 bird strikes in
2011.
About 10,000 bird and other
wildlife strikes were reported for
USA civil aircraft in 2011.
The FAA has maintained a wildlife
strike (ground & air) database since
1990.
The FAA wildlife strike database
has recorded over 121,000 (Civil
and USAF) wildlife strikes between
1990 and 2010.
By Robert “Speedo’ Genat robertgenat@yahoo.com
L
ast year at the Falcon Field Informal
Fly-In, I was in the back seat of Ron
“Little Wood” Lee’s CJ. He was leading a
f light of four that had just formed up after
the launch. We were climbing out, at about
2,000 feet, when Ron made the urgent call:
“Traffic, 12 o’clock!” Just as I leaned to my
right to see what was approaching, I saw a
red tailed hawk f lash by the right side of
the plane between us and number three.
In the debrief, I found out that there were
actually two hawks together-no doubt in
some sort a high-f lying mating routine.
No damage other than a major pucker factor in my seat area. This year, at the Informal Formation Fly-In, as we were turning
on final while returning from a f light, I
spotted a hawk about 50 feet over the canopy. It was needless to make a radio call,
because we were already past the hazard.
Although, a call to the tower would have
been the right thing to do.
A red tailed hawk is a big bird that can
weigh as much as 4.4 pounds and have
a 57-inch wingspan. Had one of those
birds contacted one of the aircraft in the
f light, it could have caused a lot of damage, or worse. Big, high-f lying, migratory
birds such as geese, vultures, pelicans or
large f locks of smaller birds, cause most
36
Red Alert Fall 2012
catastrophic bird strikes (Miracle on the
Hudson). But a well-placed, solitary, small
bird can ruin a pilot’s day. None of the
RPA planes were designed with a thick
glass bulletproof windscreen, although
the L-29s and L-39s have a two-inch Plexiglas windscreen. Therefore, it is possible
to take a bird strike through the thinner
windscreens. While the incidence of fatalities caused by bird strikes to general aviation is low, the potential is always there.
It’s virtually impossible to make an aircraft bird-strike proof. What pilots can do
is be aware of avian migratory paths and
seasons. Airports have done their best to
modify their surroundings to limit nesting birds. Also check with your FBO and
other pilots to see if there’s been a bird
problem in the area recently. Again, you
cannot make your aircraft bird-strike
proof, but you can plan your best to avoid
them and prepare yourself for the possibility.
RV-7 Bird Strike
Ninety-two percent of the bird
strikes to commercial aircraft occur
at or below 3,500 ft AGL.
Between 2006 and 2010, there was
an average of 26 strikes reported
each day.
Many minor bird strikes go
unreported.
FAA statistics indicate that the
number of aircraft bird strikes
reported in the U.S. quadrupled
from 1990 to 2007, rising from
1,738 per year to 7,439.
e were f lying as number six in a
six-ship mixed formation for a
demo over Raleigh. We had just turned
inbound on our target with smoke on
and BOOM-a red-tailed hawk wanted
in on the fun. The ******* obviously
wasn’t carded or he would have realized
that in formation we try to stay on the
OUTSIDE of the other planes!
What Happened
I was f lying along fine, then, in a split
second, I see the f lash of a hawkCLEARLY-and then all **** broke loose.
Stuff was f lying around the cockpit
with pieces of Plexiglas everywhere and
LOUD wind. I pulled up and out and immediately started calling, “bird strike”
as I was assessing the condition of the
plane. Once I was stable, I looked at Will
(my two-year old son, along for the ride)
who was freaking out, but didn’t look
too busted up. There was blood spattered
on my arm and his face, but nothing that
looked too major. I checked my position,
looked for airports and realized Raleigh
was the closest option. I actually considered for the briefest fraction of a second
trying to make it to 5W5 (home base)
or another GA friendly airport. Quickly decided that was stupid and made a
straight line to the closest airport with
a decent runway, which was RDU. I saw
the remaining five-ship pass under us as
we headed for RDU.
I couldn’t hear squat in the headset with
all the wind, but I yelled on our air-to-air
frequency that I was stable
and to let RDU tower know
that I’m heading their way.
I dialed in 121.5 and started
transmitting Mayday and
my intentions to land at
RDU, but I couldn’t hear
****. I realized later that I was transmitting on Radio #1 and not #2 where I dialed in Guard. Therefore, I was just yelling at my f light on air-to-air. I got 7700
on the transponder at about five miles
from RDU. Figured I was on the wrong
frequency at about three-mile final.
Large chunks of Plexiglas were jamming
my left rudder a bit on landing, but it
wasn’t too bad. Landing was successful.
Tower was yelling at me to shut it down
and get out on the runway and I was arguing that I could just taxi to the ramp.
Then they informed me I was on fire and
smoking. At which point I realized that
my smoke system was still on and informed them of the source of the smoke.
The fire guys said that they had orders
to soak the plane until I called them off.
Damage
The front windshield is about 75% gone.
Bird parts are everywhere with large
chunks in the baggage compartment.
Evidence of part of the bird on the horizontal stabilizer. I didn’t see much damage besides the canopy and mess inside.
I really haven’t looked too closely yet,
though.
Injuries
Will has a few minor scrapes and cuts.
A nice “V” cut on his cheek, most likely the from Plexiglas, but it could have
been the bird. No stitches and full use
of eyes, thank God. I have a few scrapes
and a nice puncture wound on my right
forearm from a Plexiglas spear. Overall,
we were very lucky.
For more bird strike damage photos of
Vouga’s RV-7, go to:
http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/75689038/1/Birdstrike?h=ab6b88
The gaping hole in this RV-7’s
windscreen was made by a Red
Tailed Hawk. Luckily, the pilot
and passenger survived
If it flies, it has the potential of hitting a bird. This F-16’s exceptionally
durable canopy shows the after-effects of a large bird strike.
www.flyredstar.org
37
Navy T-34 Night Bird Strike
This particular T-34 was on a night training hop with the instructor in the front seat and student in the back. The instructor
was knocked unconscious as an unknown bird made a direct hit on the windscreen while climbing out at 700 feet. The student
realizing what happened, gained altitude and made an emergency radio call. Another plane formed up on the stricken plane
and helped the student get the plane back to base. The student, on his first night hop, f lying from the back seat, instructor possibly dead, bird parts and plastic f lying about the cockpit, did a masterful job of controlling the plane. While on approach, the
instructor came to and took control of the plane and landed safely. This link will take you to the youtube video news account of
the incident: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJii_dl8SjY
HOSES
By Vladimir Yastremski ysair@mail.ru
W
e all love our airplanes. Some to the point that “it is my
baby,” some to the point that an airplane is a tool for us to
accomplish something-f lying from point A to point B.
gets our attention right away. For some reason, the hoses are the
last thing we think might be the cause of a problem and so it usually ends up being the last thing on our list of things to do.
But, do we really like our planes? Cleaning and polishing, waxing
and covering them is part of the love. Nobody will object that a
clean airplane is more attractive-nice, glossy-painted interior,
leather seats, glass panels-it all adds to the look. Yes, but what
about the parts that are not visible? What do we have under the
cowling? Do we care for the parts we don’t see as much as we care
for the outside? Unfortunately, some don’t. It is absolutely perfect
to see polished intake pipes, chromed rocker covers and pushrod
housings on the engine, but one will see it only when the cowling
is open.
At the 2011, All RedStar gathering in
Porterville, California, I was one of the
half-dozen judges recruited to determine
the condition of each
plane on the ramp. It
was only visual, judging from a distancethe paint job, interior,
instrumentation and
so on. A quick glance
under the cowl while
walking by each plane
not only surprised
me, but was mostly
disappointing. Eight
out of 27 Yak-52s,
Yak-50s and CJs had
hoses dated as early
Underneath the cowling of any aircraft
as 1981-that’s thirty can look like a snake’s nest, with hoses of
years! We all under- all sizes and material. These hoses have
stand the circum- a defined life and if left in place too long
can fail, causing catastrophic results.
stances, but it still
puzzles me that someone who owns one of these aircraft would take a huge risk of
hurting themselves or, even worse, someone else, ignoring the
Gil “NAFOD” Lipaz, Recounts His Recent Bird Strike
T
his happened on my birthday, March
4th, 2012. I was practicing a low-level
commercial maneuver called eights on pylons at about 1,100 feet just west of Santa
Paula airport in Southern California. I
was about five miles off the coast when a
f lock of seagulls f lew through my f light
path. I am happy to report that they were
no match for the Nanchang CJ-6. At least
one hit the right wing and hung onto the
leading edge for a while before falling
off. I claim that as a kill! I was amazed
at the speed with which I encountered
the birds. They were completely invisible
until I f lew through them and then they
looked like an incredibly high-speed blur
of white. My point is that once you see
them, it is too late to maneuver to avoid
them. Since I was not sure if the aircraft
sustained any damage, I called the tower
at my home base, Camarillo airport, and
reported the bird strike. ATC immediately
offered me any runway I wanted. I was
about 7 miles out so I made it fairly quick-
ly but they obviously took the bird strike
seriously and offered to send other aircraft around if I would need it-I did not
and made an uneventful landing. Upon
shut down, I noted the bloodstain on the
right wing but, thankfully, there was no
other damage. The bird hit the leading
edge right along a rivet line. (Lipaz has
some addition advice on pilot head wear
on page 28).
Checking under the cowling is something every pilot should do on a
regular basis. Knowing what every component does and what is carried
in every line is equally important.
Gil Lipaz did the right thing after his recent bird
strike by calling the tower and getting on the
ground as quickly as possible.
What else do we see under the cowling? There are some smalldiameter, rigid lines-must be an air system. And there are other
kinds of different-diameter hoses-must be fuel and oil. These
are supposed to be soft, rubberized, fuel and oil hoses. These
are like the arteries in your body, delivering blood from your
heart, out to your brain and the rest of your body. Well, are they
soft on your airplane? This is especially important in the engine
compartment. In most cases, they all look OK-maybe some look
a little deteriorated, but mostly OK. That is exactly where the
problem is hidden. Even a little deterioration indicates that the
hose is in a condition NOT safe for operation. Even if there is
nothing visible, it still might be a bad hose.
We all experience some mechanical or electrical issues once in
awhile and usually address the problem immediately, because it
38
Red Alert Fall 2012
The reason f lex hoses are used in aircraft, particularly radials, is to
connect fixed items such as oil coolers and fuel tanks to the vibrating
engine. This particular hose shredded upon removal.
www.flyredstar.org
39
fact that these hoses are well past design operational life and
can’t last forever.
My first bad experience was on Yak-52 in the Bay area, when an
owner had a fuel hose rupture and the leaking fuel was then ignited by a backfire. He killed the fire by using a fire extinguisher-unfortunately it was a dry-chemical, powder extinguisher.
These are so corrosive that everything, firewall forward, was destroyed within a few days.
on which the specifications and date of manufacture (MFG) are
engraved. For instance, 2Y-16-1300-OST-12-90 is interpreted to
indicate the following: 2Y ref lects the type of cotton winding, 16
is an inside diameter (ID), in millimeters, 1300 is the length of
hose, also in millimeters, OST is a standard, 12-90 is the month
and year of MFG.
If no information on the age of the hoses can be determined, then
a thorough visual inspection should be performed. First, look for
any deterioration on the surface. Next, look to see if there is any
fuel stain between the collar and the hose material. If nothing
is visible, then simply bending the hose with your hands will
give you some idea of its age. It will make a cracking noise if the
cotton winding is old and brittle. Also, if the hose feels hard to
squeeze-it’s time for it to go.
are not very smooth-running engines. They shake a lot. All the
original hoses were made of cotton winding, rubberized stocksoft enough to absorb the vibration between the moving engine
and the stationary accessories, such as the oil tank, fuel gascolator, oil thermowell housing, and other components. The biggest
problem with these US, double-steel-braided hoses is that, because of their rigidity, a lot of vibrational stress is transferred to
the fittings on the engine. In order to use these hoses, CJ-6 owners in Arizona designed new, much stronger, oil inlet and outlet
fittings on the oil pump. Needless to say, if one of these oil pump
fittings were to break, it could spoil your day.
What to use?
Since the end of the nineties, very few guys changed hoses right
away, because most of the planes came with a fresh overhaul or
the hoses did not show any visual sign of deterioration. When
M-14 engines became popular for home-built planes, some curious pilots and mechanics started paying attention to the condition of their hoses.
Here’s a freshly-installed hose covered with a fiberglass insulating
sleeve. The band on the end is engraved with the installation date.
Every two to three years we buy these stock, aircraft hoses from
Russia and use them to make replacements-reusing your original hardware. Covering these hoses in the engine compartment
with light-weight, fiberglass sleeving also helps keeps the hoses
protected from excessive heat and dryness. We will engrave the
date on a metal band attached to the hose so you will know how
old your hoses are, at a glance.
Limited resources, lack of knowledge, information and communication led some to look for SAE hoses as replacements for the
metric hoses. As some of you have experienced, there is no direct
replacement SAE hose for a metric equivalent.
The hose fittings on Yaks and Nanchangs are a three-piece, metric design. They can be reused if they have not been damaged.
As a suggestion: DO NOT use dry chemical fire extinguishers on
the plane-they are much too corrosive. Buy yourself a CO₂ fire
extinguisher-you will save yourself a lot of grief.
The main difference is that the outside diameter (OD) and inside diameter (ID) on both are different. You can easy get an ID
match, but the OD would be off just enough that it would not
work safely (the same was true, in reverse, with OD matching).
So, the solution, for those who wanted to switch to US hoses, was
to cut off the metric, male fittings and weld in their place, AN
fittings. This allowed the use of US made, high quality, doublesteel-braided hoses, rated up to 3500 psi.
This year I went back to Porterville and did a short presentation
on hoses during lunch time, on Saturday. Of course, who wants
to listen some boring briefing when it’s time to f ly? But I think
somehow the message reached most of the guys-I had a couple
of requests to inspect planes for hose condition right after lunch.
What to do?
So how do we determine if our hoses are bad or old and due for
replacement? It’s the mechanic’s job to inspect them during the
annual condition inspection, to determine if they have to be
replaced. The first criteria is elapsed time in service. Most airplanes came into this country with log book entries for every
single component installed on the plane. In the back pouch of
the airframe log book or in paragraph 16 (overhaul entry) will be
logged information recording the dates the hoses were changed.
For airplane engines and components, time between overhaul
(TBO) was once five years. It was changed on Sept 22, 1994 by
order of Chef Engineer ROSTO #72, “… to increase the lifespan
for fuel, oil and air hoses up to 9 years…”
Unfortunately, for those who keep US log books, the information
may not be available or logged.
Also, attached to the hoses, you should find a little metal band
40
Red Alert Fall 2012
It does not make much difference what you are using on your
plane-original or modified hoses as long they are safe.
While not required, a fiberglass sleeve can be added to the new hoses—
it offers a second layer of heat protection for the hose.
One exception is the original equipment, CJ-6 oil hose-a single
steel wire is wrapped over the cotton winding to prevent kinking. Even so, this particular hose is much softer and more f lexible
when compared to the SAE, double-steel-braided hoses.
If you decide you want to stay with the original-equipment hoses,
we can help you any time.
Call us at 619-379-1860 or via email: YSAIR@mail.ru.
Have a safe f light.
Also, there are smaller-diameter US hoses-single braided, and
softer that have been used successfully on primer lines, manifold
pressure lines and oil pressure lines.
Here are the more common, original manufacture, hoses used on
the Yak and Nanchang aircraft:
2Y-4-15K
primer, fuel, manifold and oil pressure
2Y-6-15K
brake hoses
2Y-10-15K fuel hoses
2Y-12-15K fuel hoses
2Y-14-15K sump on M-14P
The hoses originally used on Yaks and Nanchangs are all metric. Adopting SAE hoses is possible but, there are inconsistencies between the
inside and outside diameters of metric and SAE hoses. This also means
changing to SAE fittings, which requires cutting off the metric fittings
and welding SAE fittings in their place.
That provided a solution, but it was not the perfect solution-the
law of unintended consequences crept in. As you know, radials
2Y-16-15K oil hoses
2Y-18-15K pushrod housing
5Y4-120K high pressure air hoses for landing gear actuators
(K indicates pressure rating in atmospheres, 1K=15 psi)
There are other hose sizes, but they are not as common.
www.flyredstar.org
41
Raiders Demo Team
Marty “Raider” Sheehan
Marty is team leader and tactics instructor for the Raiders. He began
his flying career with the US Marine Corps, flying the T-2 as a flightinstructor, Marty also flew in A-4, A-4M, and F-4 squadrons. After
retiring from the Marines as a Lt. Colonel, he began his career
as an airline pilot and currently flies domestic and international
routes. Marty has over 15,000 hours of flying experience and flies the
lead formation and solo aerobatic aircraft for the Raiders in his brightred Yak-52.
Tom “Cuda” Reynolds
Tom started taking flying lesson at age 15, soloed when he was 16 and
received his private pilot’s license at 17. Tom, now with over 24,000
hours of flight time, began flying with the airlines at 22 and currently
flies both domestic and international routes. He purchased his Yak-52
in 2002 and joined the Raiders in one of the aerobatic slots, in 2005.
Photo by Don Spering
The Raiders Demo Team is based at the Flying W Airport (N14) in Lumberton, New Jersey. This team has been
active on the airshow circuit since 2005 and is one of the few six-plane civilian-demonstration teams in the
United States. The Team is Ace Level II qualified to perform at 250’ agl.
The team is comprised of highly-experienced, professional aviators, with an average of over 10,000 flight hours
per team member, including heavy commercial aircraft and military jet fighters. They have a meticulous safety
record and a documented training and maintenance program.
Keith “Wizard” McKinley
Keith earned his private pilot license while attending Northeastern
University and then accepted a commission to the US Marine Corps.
After receiving his wings he served as a jet flight instructor and went on
to accumulate 1000 hours flying the AV-8A and AV-8B Harriers. Keith
attended the Marine Corps Fighter Weapons School and served as his
squadron’s weapons and tactics instructor. After leaving the Marine
Corps, he flew the A-10 for the Massachusetts ANG. Keith is currently
a 767-400 Capt flying international routes for Delta Air Lines. Keith is
the team’s primary, solo aerobatic pilot in his Nanchang CJ-6 and fills
in with the formation aerobatic act when needed.
Don “Hawkeye” Spering:
Team Photographer
Journalist/Businessman
Tim “Teflon” Stevens
Tim, who began flying in 1975, is an instrument and commercial rated
pilot who flies the second bright red Yak-52 for the Raiders team. He
brings broad experience in a variety of high-performance general
aviation aircraft to the team, leads the non-aerobatic formation for the
Raiders and flies solo aerobatics.
Morten “Viking” Stoverud Mort began his professional flying career in his native country of
Norway. He came to the US in 1985, became a CFII instructor
and then secured his ATP to fly international routes for a major US
carrier. Mort is also the team’s aircraft maintenance manager, with
both A&P and IA certificates. Now a US citizen, he is the owner of
a full-service airframe and power plant maintenance facility located
at the Flying W airport. Mort is a nationally recognized expert on
Russian and Chinese warbird aircraft. Mort is part of the formation
aerobatic act, flying a Nanchang CJ-6.
Jeff “Duster” Daniel
Jeff started his flying career flight instructing, banner towing and later
flying Lear jets for an on-demand jet charter company. At the age of 24
Jeff joined the US Air Force, where he served as a UPT instructor pilot
flying T-37s. Today, Jeff wears a number of hats-flying as a pilot for
a major US airline, running a cranberry farm and operating an aerial
application (crop dusting) business with a fleet of five spray planes,
including a vintage 450 Stearman. Jeff has accumulated over 15,000
hours of flying time in his career.
Austin “Kid” Daniel - Ferry Pilot / Logistics
Crop Duster, College Student, New Jersey ANG F-16 pilot
Will Brennan
Crew Chief, College Student
Crop Dusting Ground Operations Manager
http://www.raidersflightdemoteam.com/
Photo by Don Spering
Left to right: Will Brennan, Mort “Viking” Stoverud, Tom “Cuda” Reynolds, Marty “Raider” Sheehan,
Keith “Wizard” McKinley, Tim “Teflon” Stevens, Jeff “Duster” Daniel, Austin “Kid” Daniel
42
Red Alert Fall 2012
www.flyredstar.org
43
Rocky Mountain High
By Joe “Felix” Wilkins yak52driver@aol.com
Clockwise from
top, right: Mark
“Navy” Davis
does a post-f light
wipe-down. Keith
“Flipper” Harbour
briefs the finer
points of mass
formation. Bob
“Kilo” Watts prepares to mount up.
Photos by
Mike “Chef ” Voss
T
he Colorado Rocky Mountain Airshow originally sprouted its wings in 2003 under the leadership of Scott “KONG” McMillan at
Denver’s Front Range Airport. With the support of Team Red, the Colorado Yak Pak and other RPA members, the show was a
success and provided entertainment for 7500 spectators.
Today, the annual event is held at Denver’s Rocky Mountain Metro Airport in Broomfield, CO and attracts crowds exceeding 50,000!
Some of the biggest names in the industry, along with the latest military-fighter demo teams, perform at the show. Members of the
Red Star Pilots Association and Colorado Yak Pak are honored to still be a part of this event.
The RedStars opened the show again this year with mass-formation, overhead maneuvers and opposing passes. We put nine Yaks and
Nanchangs in the air this year-with some pilots f lying in the event for the first time. Bill “Maddawg” Geipel also f lew his L-29 in
the show. Because we maintain our proficiency and are all trained to one standard, we were able to put on a very professional display.
What a sight and sound treat we had!
Ground support and maintenance provided by H.O. “Dill” Beckett. Photos by Tina “Mini” Matuska and Donna “CK” Davis.
A big ”Thank You” to Scott and Zoë McMillan and the 800 volunteers who contributed their time and energy to make this event a
big success.
Standing, from left to right: Kurt “Big-Bird”
Muhle, Keith “Flipper” Harbour, Jeff “Kringle”
Krings, Mike “Blade” Filucci, Mark “Navy” Davis, Bill “Maddawg” Geipel, Bob “Kilo” Watts,
Joe “Felix” Wilkins, Dale “Chip” Matuska and Al
“Raid” Tinnes. Scott “KONG” McMillan, kneeling
in front.
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Red Alert Fall 2012
www.flyredstar.org
45
Flight Lead Corner
W
By Steve Dalton flatspins@gmail.com
e recently had another fatal final turn stall/spin accident. In
this issue of Flight Lead Corner I’d like to discuss what you as a
flight Lead can do to help prevent another such tragedy.
completing a cross under in two seconds, or overshooting every other
rejoin because of too much closure. These are examples of over-aggressive flying. Teach your wingmen the difference between the two.
First, I suggest that all flight Leads start with a little self-evaluation
of how we fly our own overhead patterns and how we teach new guys.
Are we setting bad examples with our own patterns? Are we sometimes a little lazy about wind corrections as we roll out on downwind?
Do we take the time to brief new guys the “how to” part of overhead
patterns, or just expect them to follow us around to the runway? If
your wingman has to fly his entire final turn at idle power is that OK?
If you are a flight Lead, then you are an experienced pilot. As that
experienced pilot and with that vaunted light Lead status, I guarantee you that the new guys are watching your every move. They are
watching to see how you do it because that is obviously the correct
way. They are watching your rejoins, your wingwork and how you
fly an overhead pattern. If you are overly aggressive on every rejoin
and fly every final turn from a too-tight downwind at idle power with
a monster sink rate, then don’t be surprised when they follow your
example and attempt to blindly monkey see-monkey do their rejoins
and final turns just like yours. But they will not have your level of experience and expertise and could exceed their personal limitationswith tragic results.
After completing our self-reflection exercise, let’s now discuss what
we are going to do to help prevent another final turn stall/spin accident. You can start by including this topic in your briefing. Mention these past accidents and how to prevent them during the briefing
to raise the awareness level in all your
wingman and get them to keep that
thought in mind as they roll out on
downwind today.
Topics for discussion in the briefing
could include, but are certainly not
limited to, how to adjust the ground
track of your overhead pattern for an
overshooting crosswind, the effects of
density altitude, what is an appropriate power setting during the final turn,
when is a go-around appropriate, and
how to execute one. Take the time to
not just give these topics lip service, but
rather, to TEACH your wingman the
proper overhead pattern procedures.
End Of An Era
By Chuck “Cosmo” Daley cosmorpa@gmail.com
T
he last four-ship formation sortie from the Wright-Patterson
AFB Aero Club, Ohio, occurred on 30 May 2012. The formation program was started by the illustrious Terry “Mags” Slawinski in 2008 and has produced nine wingmen and five f light leaders. During this time, Aero Club formations have participated
in three military Tattoos, sponsored by the Air Force Logistics
Command. The group has also performed demonstrations at
several Aero Club Open Houses. On 17 December 2009, in response to a last-minute request by Wright Patterson Air Force
Base (WPAFB), the Aero Club provided a six-ship f ly-over for
a ceremony honoring the 106th Year Celebration of First Flight
at the WPAFB Wright Memorial. The six-ship was the first ever
performed by the Aero Club.
The last sortie consisted of RPA Wingman check rides for Craig
“Keys” Kern and Rich “Archie” Stepler-capability administrated
by check pilot Todd Winemiller of the North American Trainer
Association. The sortie was superbly led by Jim “Who” Wilson
(RPA f light lead candidate) with Mike “Chocks” Nowak (RPA
f light leader) in the number three position. The conditions were
less than ideal (hot, convective and windy), but the applicants
were able to dazzle the check pilot with their fancy f lying.
As mentioned, this was the last four-ship formation sortie from
the Wright-Patterson AFB Aero Club-the non-rated base commander shuttered the Aero Club, purportedly because of its poor
financial condition. During the 54-year history of the WPAFB
Aero Club, many Air Force pilots started their careers with training received there. Many other individuals received ratings making them more eligible as professional pilots-astronaut Kathy
Coleman, Colonel, USAF (Ret), received her private pilot training, prior to astronaut training, through the club.
The former Aero Club personnel have relocated to the Greene
County Lewis A Jackson Regional Airport (I19) and are searching for suitable aircraft to continue their f light training activities
and formation program.
www.wpaf baeroclub.com
During the flight, as you return for Flight leaders lead by example. Any maneuver executed poorly can create confusion and, in some cases,
landing, remember the lessons you mencompromise safety. Leads must set the bar high for wingmen and, especially, for themselves.
tioned in the briefing. As you lead the
flight up initial and approach the break point, analyze the winds and Teach your wingmen that everyone must know their personal limiother conditions so that you roll out on downwind when you want to tations. We all have our limitations, need to know what they are,
be-not just where you end up. Remember, your wingmen are expect- and never exceed them. Teach them that they are not expected to fly
ing you to lead them to the proper downwind positioning and will be wingwork, cross under, or rejoin as aggressively as a very experienced
following your example. If you roll out on a too-tight downwind, so formation pilot. But, they do need to fly these maneuvers as aggressively as their experience level and abilities allow. In other words, just
will they.
because they are less experienced or talented doesn’t allow them to
Make sure that the overhead pattern and landings are covered in your be a lazy formation pilot and they should always strive to be the best
debriefing. As the flight Lead, it can be difficult to see how each wing- formation pilot they can be.
man’s pattern was flown. So, during the debrief, ask each wingman
to self-critique his pattern. Also, #4, as the last guy in the flight, will
have the best view of how the flight’s patterns looked and can bring up
any irregularities he saw. When he does, it’s your job to resolve why
they occurred and how to fix them next time.
The final points I’d like to leave with you are the ones about leading
by example and monkey see-monkey do. As a flight Lead you need
to set an example of aggressive formation flying. Aggressive formation flying means making timely and appropriate corrections when
you are out of position and not being lazy in your formation flying. It
means taking pride in your wingwork, rejoins and overhead patterns.
It does NOT mean flying on Lead’s wing with overlapping wingtips,
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Red Alert Fall 2012
Being #4 provides an excellent overall view of the formation
that cannot be seen from Lead’s seat.
Taken on 30 May 2012, at the Wright-Patterson AFB Aero Club, after the check ride. From left to right: Jim “Who” Wilson, Todd Winemiller
(NATA check pilot), Rich “Archie” Stepler, Craig “Keys” Kern, and Mike “Chocks” Nowak.
www.flyredstar.org
47
Forward all non-deliverable mail to:
RedStar Pilots Association
C/O Byron Fox
80 Milland Drive
Mill Valley, CA 4941
The RedStar Pilots Association is a notfor-profit organization dedicated to the
safe operation of all aircraft. For further
information or to become a member,
please visit: www.flyredstar.org
To advertise in this publication, please
contact the RPA administrator at:
admin@flyredstar.org
Note to all RPA members: Red Alert’s art director is a sucker for head-on shots. Photo shoot in the vicinity of Georgetown, DE, taken from the back of the B-25,
“Panchito,” by Don Spering. Charlie Lynch leading Dan Fortin (red Chang), Randy DeVere (blue Chang) and Jim Goolsby (in the slot).
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Red Alert Fall 2012