6PRO TIPS - Pilatus Owners and Pilots Association

ARE YOU FLYING THE RIGHT AIRPLANE?
P I L AT U S O W N E R S A N D P I L O T S A S S O C I AT I O N
WINTER 2013
6
PRO
TIPS
FOR BETTER TAKEOFFS
PLUS
FLYING
FOR WILD
MUSTANGS
America’s most
THE LAST
THREE
MINUTES
Approaching
famous horses
ENGINE
OPS
Lessons in torque
approaches
PRIST
W I N T E R
2 0 1 2
Everything you
want to know about
this fuel additive
1
P OPA
M AG A Z I N E
$500,000,000 worth of PC-12 Insurance Sold Worldwide and
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CONTENTS
PILATUS OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION
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•
WINTER 2013
•
VOLUME 15, ISSUE 4
8
14
26
DEPARTMENTS
6
FROM THE PRESIDENT
8
NEW & NOTABLE
12
ONBOARD LADIES CORNER
26
USING TYPE II, III AND IV ANTI-ICING FLUIDS
Knowing the product can help you get going faster.
BY RAY TORRES
38
MAKE IT AND TAKE IT
All-Star Texas chef Jennifer Schaertl demonstrates how to
overcome the biggest preparation challenges.
40
ENGINE OPS
Learn more about making torque your friend.
BY JOHN MORRIS
42
ASK LANCE TOLAND
Be careful what you sign.
BY LANCE TOLAND
46
MIPAD
Enough about all the little tablet’s talents. Here’s a real
world application for a trip down south across the border.
BY JOHN D. RULEY
48
WEEKENDERS
54
TEST YOURSELF
FEATURES
14
COMPARE YOUR RIDE
Here’s how the PC-12 stacks up against the competition.
BY BILL COX
18
PRO TIPS FOR TAKEOFFS
BY KEVIN GARRISON
22
THE LAST THREE MINUTES
The final few moments of any instrument approach
can be the most critical.
BY BUD CORBIN
28
THE FIRST NORTH AMERICAN
MUSTANGS HAD HOOVES.
The Pryor Mountain herd are direct DNA descendants
of the horsepower that came to America with the
Spanish conquistador Cortez in 1519.
BY LYN FREEMAN
34
THE TRUTH ABOUT PRIST
Keeping contamination catastrophes from crystallizing.
BY JAMES WYNBRANDT
34
From the President
A
As your president, I attended the Pilatus regional operators conference
(ROC) on Sept. 18 in Olathe, Kan., to provide an update on POPA. Pilatus,
PiBAL, Honeywell and Pratt & Whitney were well represented at the ROC
and continue their strong support for the PC-12. The presentations and
offline conversations were very useful and made attending this year’s ROC
well worth the time. The ROCs differ from our annual convention, as they
are a one-day session with a more technical agenda.
Regarding POPA, after your board’s strategy session
mid-2011, we are focused on keeping our information
content relevant and informative and on expanding
our message to reach more of the fleet in order to have
a greater impact on safety. Our membership numbers
since mid-2011 are impressive with 70 net additional
aircraft, from 250 to 320. Seventy-one aircraft have
joined since the beginning of this year in response to our
enhanced marketing, fuel-discount program, increased
pro pilot content, service-center endorsements and efforts to bring more international aircraft into POPA. We
are very pleased that the Royal Flying Doctor Service –
Western Ops from Australia recently joined, adding 14
a/c and 12 pro pilots.
Pilatus has just received orders for 18 PC-12/47Es
uniquely modified for special ops transportation in
Afghanistan and another from the Texas Department
of Public Safety for drug-enforcement operations.
The PC-12 continues to shine, due its unique niche
encompassing speed and payload on its very strong
and versatile platform.
It is axiomatic that pilots can never have enough
quality training. However, training is generally limited to
flying in the comfort of the flight envelope. Pilots are not
required to have spin training or tail wheel experience
to hold a valid license, yet the stick-and-rudder skills
learned in these endeavors may someday be a lifesaver
The PC-12
continues to
shine, due its
unique niche
encompassing speed and
payload on its
very strong
and versatile
platform.
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and are well worth acquiring.
I have been enjoying flying an NG for the past three
and a half years. However, the database update process
has been arduous and time-consuming and, in my opinion, the only deficiency with the NG. The NG has an
excellent flight-management system scaled down from a
larger platform originally designed for a flight department. As a result, the NG inherited a database-update
process that was not optimized for the owner/pilot.
Pilatus, Honeywell and Jeppesen have been working on
several fixes to this vexing problem. I have recently betatested the most recent JSUM download and data format
fix, and the upload process for the Americas’ charts and
navigation databases took less than 20 minutes. This is a
dramatic improvement, and the revised process should
be released to the fleet by the time you receive this issue.
As most of you know, next year’s convention, POPA
17, will be in Monterey, Calif., May 30- June 1. Our
convention will be at the Monterey Hyatt (Monterey.
Hyatt.com) and our FBO host at the Monterey Airport
(KMRY) will be Del Monte Aviation (DMA.mry.com).
Make sure to mark your calendars and plan to join us.
“POPA … We Elevate the Pilatus Experience”
WINTER 2013 VOLUME 15/ NUMBER 4
POPA BOARD
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Laura Mason
Phone: 520.299.7485
Fax: 520.844.6161 Cell: 520.907.6976
Laura@PilatusOwners.org
PRESIDENT
Pete Welles
VICE PRESIDENT
Joe Howley
SECRETARY/TREASURER
Brian Cleary
BOARD MEMBERS
Jack Long
Dan Muller
BOARD ADVISORS
Ty Carter
Bob MacLean
Phil Winters
Piotr “Pete” Wolak
AJ PUBLICATIONS STAFF
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Lyn Freeman
MANAGING EDITOR
Michelle Carter
SENIOR EDITOR
Bill Cox
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Hans Lubke
EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS
William Henrys
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Nina Harris, Paul Simington, Katrina Bradelaw,
Paul Sanchez, Wayne Rash Jr.
ART DIRECTOR
Robbie Destocki
PHOTOGRAPHY
Paul Bowen, Mary Schwinn,
James Lawrence, Lyn Freeman, Jodi Butler,
Gregory L. Harris
PUBLISHER
Thierry Pouille
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
Sophie Pouille
PRODUCTION MANAGER, U.S.
Guillaume Fabry
ADVERTISING SALES
Thierry Pouille, +1 561.452.1225
AD SALES COORDINATOR
Anais Pouille, 1+ 561.841.1551
CORPORATE OFFICES
1931 Commerce Lane, Suite 5
Jupiter, Florida 33458
Telephone: (561) 841-1551 Fax: (954) 252-3935
FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS,
REPRINTS, BACK ISSUES
please log onto www.PilatusOwners.org
CONTACT THE EDITOR:
Lyn@AJPublications.com
CONTACT THE PUBLISHER:
Thierry@AJPublications.com
©2012 Pilatus Owners and Pilots Magazine is published quarterly.
All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form without written
permission from the publisher is prohibited.
Please send comments to the attention of the publisher.
PRINTED IN THE USA.
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New Products
Think Global
SONY’S HANDY
NEW HANDYCAM
Some would argue that the cell phone has put videography back a thousand years. The nearly ubiquitous little smart phones have shot countless
hours of video, bringing the sales of dedicated video cameras to a comparative standstill. But for those of you who want to record the world more
succinctly, the new Sony NEX-VG900E is talented enough to please the
pros, but simple enough to enhance the work of even the rank amateur.
Even better, the versatile new camera will also shoot 24.3 megapixel stills,
making this newest Handycam nearly essential for the serious photographer. The NEX-VG900E features interchangeable lenses including the new
18-200mm power zoom and the F3.5-6.3 (Optical Steadyshot) lens. Sony
has scheduled the release of this new powerhouse for November, just in
time for the holidays. Head to Store.Sony.com/NEX.
IT’S THE GROOVES
It didn’t use to be that unusual. Aircraft like the
Ford Trimotor, the Thorp T-211, the Junkers and
others used corrugated aluminum to enhance
the plane’s strength and stability. Since 1937,
Rimowa has used the same basic principle to
make some of the most capable luggage in the
world. You may have seen the classic Junkers
JU52 touring the United States and Canada
recently, but what you should really see is the
luggage. A product of German engineering, the
full line of Rimowa aluminum suitcases is great
when you have precious cargo. See the suitcases
at Rimowa.com.
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How would you like to have a GPS that sees 24 more
satellites than any other portable? The new Garmin GLO
is the first handheld to process both the American GPS
satellite signals and signals from the competing Russian
GLONASS system of navigation. That talent allows the
GLO to “lock on” to satellites about 20 percent faster than
its less capable competitors. And because of its ability to
see twice the number of satellites, the Garmin GLO often
does a better job in challenging environments like deep
canyons or urban areas where a large portion of the sky is
blocked by solid objects. The GLO connects to your Apple or Android mobile devices via Bluetooth and comes
with a 12-hour battery. Buy it now and get a mount, a
power cable and a free six-month trial of Garmin Pilot.
Find the GLO at Garmin.com.
Picture This
You may have experimented with small cockpit cameras,
only to find the darned things aren’t always pointed at
where the action is. How about a digital HD camera that
records the sounds and sights of everything you look at
during a flight? The new Video Recording Sunglasses
from Hammacher Schlemmer can hold up to four hours
of video. A small pinhole-size lens in the bridge of the
glasses sees a wide 72-degree angle at 35 frames a second,
while a built-in microphone records all the sound. The
sunglasses and its components are water resistant, and
the lenses are impact resistant. It comes with a lifetime
guarantee, and the whole thing weighs just over an ounce
to ensure comfort. Learn
all the details at
Hammacher.com.
what pilots see
when they dream.
Step into an entirely larger world of possibilities with the Pilatus PC-12 NG
$VSLORWVZHGUHDPDERXW­\LQJDQ\WLPHZHDUHDZD\IURPWKHFRFNSLW7R­\IDUWKHUIDVWHUDQGSRSLQDQGRXWRIUHPRWHODQGLQJ
VWULSV7REULQJIDPLO\DQGIULHQGVWRQHZGHVWLQDWLRQVKLGGHQIURPWKHPDLQVWUHDP2QHDLUFUDIWVWDQGVDORQHLQLWVDELOLW\WRPDNH
WKRVHGUHDPVFRPHWUXH¢WKH3LODWXV3&1*:LWKLWVOHJHQGDU\6ZLVVFUDIWVPDQVKLSVXSUHPHO\VSDFLRXVFDELQRXWVWDQGLQJ
HI¬FLHQF\DQGKDQGOLQJHDVHLW§VQRZRQGHUWKH3&1*LVWKHFKRLFHRISLORWVVWHSSLQJXSWRWXUELQHSRZHU&DOOWRGD\WR¬QG
RXWKRZWKH3LODWXV3&1*FDQKHOSWXUQ\RXUGUHDPVLQWRUHDOLW\
Call 1.800.PILATUS | PC-12RightNow.com
IPAD
PILOT BAG
The Apple iPad has jumped
onto the minimum equipment list for many pilots. Now
there’s an easy way to mount
your tablet right where you
need it, thanks to the folks at
Sporty’s. The unit covers your
iPad for protection but unfolds
to reveal zipper pockets and
storage options when you’re
preflight planning or getting
ready to start up. See it at
Sportys.com.
EYE WANT IT
No other company we know of puts all its effort into making a line of high-end sunglasses
exclusively for pilots. Scheyden Precision Eyewear features a full dozen-plus glasses that
are designed to enhance every cockpit experience. The lenses are made of crystal clear
mineral glass or space-age high clarity CR39 plastic and remove 100 percent of both
UVA and UVB. The shiny composite frame ends in metal and adjusts over the temples
to assure the glasses fit neatly under your headsets. Scheyden sunglasses come with a
three-year warranty and are also available with prescription lenses. See the entire line of
glasses at Scheyden.com.
GET GROUNDED
STANDALONE
ADS-B &
WAAS GP
The iLevel, from Level Technology, combines data from a number of
sources into the palm of your hand.
Armed with a charge from its onboard
solar panels, the iLevel captures Flight
Information Services-Broadcast (FIS-B)
for real time weather plus METAR, TAF
and NOTAMs, etc. It also reads Traffic
Information Broadcasts (TIS-B) to receive aircraft location information from
ground-based ADS-B transmitters. Additionally, the iLevel displays Air-to-Air
Traffic on 978 MHz from other ADS-B
“out” equipped aircraft. Bluetooth WiFi
capability puts the data onto the mobile
device of your choice. Read all the
information at
Aviation.Level.com.
There’s not much debate over what
you need to do to your aircraft
when it’s idle on the ground. The only question is how easy you’d like to
make it when you button ‘er up. Meet the seven-piece ground support
component kit from Big Bike Parts. A sturdy mess bag holds a pair of
exhaust covers with prop slings for the four-bladed Hartzell, a pair of pitot
tube covers, a pair of dual static port plugs with side-to-side interconnect,
a pair of NAXCA inlet plugs, an air inlet plug with a leash to interconnect
to the NACA plug and a set of tow pins with a leash to interconnect to the
air inlet plug. Find out more or order from BigBikeParts.com.
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Q&A
By Ted Otto
FALL 2012 QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS
Question #1: What is the range of the lightning sensor system
and how often does is update?
Question #1 Answer: Lightning sensors systems distance is
up to 200 miles. Strikes are updated every two seconds.
Question #2: CAS caution (AP hold LH wing DN) means what?
Question #2 Answer: AP Hold LH wings down means roll
miss trim monitor detects excessive roll forces over an
excessive time period.
Question #3: How many waypoints can we install in a FMS flight
plan?
Question #3 Answer: We are only allowed to place 100
waypoints in each flight plan.
Question #4: What are the stages of extended storage of the
PC-12?
Question #4 Answer: Stage 1 (up to seven days); Stage 2
(seven to 30 days); Stage 3 (30 to 90 days); Stage 4 (more
than 90 days). Items to be completed for each stage can be
found in the Handling, Service and Maintenance section of
the POH.
SPRING 2013 QUESTIONS
1. What is considered a flap cycle and what are the limits?
2. How does the POH describe severe icing conditions?
3. How many ways are we able to utilize the page function in the FMS?
4. What is “SHOT PEENED” and does your aircraft have this feature?
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OnBoard
LADIES CORNER
Smart
Traveler
Evian
Facial
Spray
EagleCreek
Hovercraft 22-inch
You can fit up to
four of these lightweight suitcases
in the PC-12 that
are sturdily built
and expandable.
An added bonus,
they come with
an unconditional
lifetime warranty.
This is the perfect
suitcase for practical traveling.
EagleCreek.com
Longchamp’s
“Le Pliage” Travel Bag
Plan on doing some shopping on your trip? Pack
this foldable water-resistant tote in your suitcase
for those extra souveniers you pick up along the
way. This large tote comes in many colors to
choose from.
Carry a bottle of
Evian Facial Spray
for a quick fresherupper during the
flight or when you
land. Just a spritz
and your skin
instantly absorbs
the millions of
tiny microdroplets
leaving you feeling
awake! Perfect for
all skin types.
Evian.com
Longchamp.com
Elizabeth
Arden
8-Hour
er
Moisturizer
B
Bobbi
B
Brown
T
Tinted
M
Moisturizer
A perfect compan-ion to the original
classic and just
what the body
needs. This fast-absorbing moisturizing
treatment saturates
deeply and moisturizes intensely and
helps to reverse
skin dryness and
flaking.
T 3-in-1 moisturThis
iizer hydrates and
p
protects skin while
offering sheer, naturallooking coverage that
blends smoothly. This
lightweight formula
glides on easily and
leaves skin feeling soft
and supple. Ideal for
normal and dry skin
types
ElizabethArden.com
Ol
Oliver
P
Peoples
pl De La C
Sunglasses
Oliver Peoples has many different styles that
offer stylish protection from the sun. The perfect
pair for covering your eyes after a long flight,
they are handcrafted of rounded plastic and
feature thick, contoured temples. Sized to flatter
most faces, this frame is available in classic
colors with either solid polarized or gradient lens
options.
BobbiBrownCosmetics.com
OliverPeoples.com
The Amazon Kindle
This affordable, lightweight e-reader is a must
with its glare-free e-ink screen allowing for easy
reading in the plane or in any light.
Amazon.com
HOT APPS Available at your AppStore.
Medjet App
Concerned about health on
the road? This free app stores
health records, key contacts and
instructions on what to do for
different injuries.
Cut the Rope
Cut the rope to feed the monster.
This fun game is perfect for passing time in the plane.
Mophie Juice Pack Air
The juice pack air is a rechargeable external battery
concealed inside of a protective form-fitting case
for the iPhone 4 offers twice the battery life of the
iPhone alone, in an ultra-thin, light-weight, lowprofile design.
Mophie.com
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Skype App
Stay connected with friends and
family for free while traveling.
O P E R A T I N G
E C O N O M I C S
COMPARE
Are you flying the right airplane? BY BUD CORBIN
COMPARE
YOUR RIDE
HERE’S HOW THE PC-12 STACKS UP AGAINST THE COMPETITION. QBy Bill Cox
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YOUR RIDE
I
f single-engine turboprops seem all the rage these days, it’s not hard to understand why. The
price of admission may not be that much less than for a light twin jet, but the operating economics make eminently more sense.
Not so many years ago, everyone thought Very Light Jets would be aviation’s wave of the future, but it hasn’t turned out that way. What was proposed as a class of at least half-a-dozen
VLJs at the dawn of the new millennium has been whittled down to one certified model, the
Total Eclipse 500 (soon to be replaced by the Eclipse 550). The Piper Altaire, Adam A700, Viper,
Maverick, Paris Jet and a handful of others have all fallen by the wayside, and a few of the smaller jets that
have been certified – the Cessna Mustang and Embraer Phenom 100– are more accurately light jets, still
too large and pricey to be categorized as “very light” anything.
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Operating Economics
BASE PRICE
PC-12
$4.465M
TBM
$3.368M
MERIDIAN
$2.133M
$1M
$2M
$3M
$4M
MAX CRUISE
PC-12
280 knots
TBM
320 knots
MERIDIAN
260 knots
200 knots
300 knots
400 knots
USEFUL LOAD
PC-12
4264 lbs.
TBM
2805 lbs.
MERIDIAN
1659 lbs.
1500 lbs.
3000 lbs.
4500 lbs.
RANGE
PC-12
2261 nm
TBM
1520 nm
MERIDIAN
1000 nm
750 nm
1750 nm
A few models remain to be certified, and again,
they’re not all in the VLJ class. The Honda Jet,
scheduled for production in 2013, is a legitimate
light jet that will sell for well over $4.5 million.
Nothing light about that.
Only the upcoming Cirrus Vision and the
Diamond D-Jet are proposed at prices below
$2.5 million and, as we mentioned, they’re not
yet certified, so no one can predict if that price
point will hold.
Single-engine turboprops may be more correctly the coming thing. Compare fuel burn and
maintenance of one turboprop engine to that of
two pure turbines, and you can appreciate why
some discriminating aviators gravitate toward
a propeller-driven single. It’s also relevant that
some modern, single turboprops offer nearly the
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2500 nm
same cruise performance as many older twin
turboprops.
Today, there are basically three production,
single-engine, business jetprops certified and
available: The Swiss Pilatus PC-12NG, the
French Daher-SOCATA TBM-850 and the
Piper Meridian.
(Actually, there’s at least one more, but it’s
not normally regarded as a corporate transport.
Cessna’s Grand Caravan has been on the market
since 1985, but that airplane is more typically
employed in the utility market. There are also
several turbine conversions and bush airplanes
available, but we’re confining our analysis to new
production machines.)
A number of single propjets are under various stages of development — Alan Klapmei-
er’s Kestrel, the homebuilt Epic LT and Ken
Keith’s Extra 500 (already certified overseas)
and several others. The three certified airplanes above comprise the primary corporate
competition.
The goals of those three models have been
defined very differently, however. While the
Meridian is by far the least expensive and the
TBM-850 is the fastest, the Pilatus PC-12 takes
the prize as the largest, and arguably, the most
adaptable to a variety of missions.
It can be fitted with a maximum of 11 seats or
the aft cabin may be quick-changed to myriad
configurations to accept people and/or large
quantities of cargo. The other two single propjets must make do with six seats, though the
TBM offers an optional cargo door.
Technically, full fuel payload on the Pilatus is
an impressive 1,175 pounds, and those pounds
need not be attached to people. The large cargo
door at aft left will accept a forklift, so you can
accommodate a variety of cargo packages as well
as plenty of weight. One Silicon Valley executive
uses his PC-12 for business during the week
and then loads two dirt bikes in back, flies to the
Sierra Nevada with his son and goes off-roading
on weekends.
In some respects, the PC-12 is in a whole
different class than the other single turboprops.
It will carry more folks than many twin-engine
propjets, and it’s faster than the Beech C90/
F90 twins, the Cessna Conquest I and the Piper
Cheyenne I and II.
The Pilatus sports a cabin that’s about the
same size as that of the Beech King Air 250.
It’s also longer, notably wider and taller than
the other two single-engine turboprops on the
market. At 60 inches across and 58 inches tall,
the PC-12 has nearly a foot more elbow and
headroom than either the TBM-850 or the Meridian. In combination with at least 13 feet more
fuselage, the walking-around room inside a Pilatus is more reminiscent of an upscale corporate
jet than a single turboprop. Flying a PC-12 is
like aviating with your own luxury apartment
right behind you.
Of course, that’s part of what you’re paying for. The Pilatus is about $1 million and $2
million more expensive than the TBM-850 and
Meridian respectively. As with most corporate
airplanes, you pay for every seat, regardless of
whether you use them. The difference is the PC12 has the capability of carrying nearly twice as
many folks as the other two models, just another
way to get your money’s worth.
It seems anything Swiss is practically
expected to manifest, well, Swiss engineering, and the Pilatus doesn’t disappoint. The
airplane is over-engineered, if that’s possible,
built as strong as a missile silo, yet assembled
with the characteristic Swiss precision of
craftsmen used to producing Rolex, Breitling
and Omega watches. The workmanship and
construction are nothing less than exquisite,
utilizing the finest materials and assembled
to a standard of precision befitting a flying
Bentley.
Despite the Pilatus’s 3,000-pound heavier
gross weight, it scores roughly the same or
better takeoff and landing distances over the
ubiquitous 50-foot obstacle than does the TBM
or Meridian. Stall speed is about the same as the
other two models (67 knots), and the electrically
actuated, long-span Fowler flaps occupy about
the same 70-80 percent of the wing trailing edge,
yet the Pilatus requires less runway. Go figure.
Credit the airfoil.
Operators report using unobstructed, 2,000foot strips at sea level with reasonable margins,
and 3,000-foot runways provide a fair clearance
of those pesky 50-foot trees. That beats the
competition by a comfortable margin.
People don’t buy PC-12s specifically for short
strips, it says here, though the Australian Royal
Flying Doctor Service flies them all over the
Outback as everything from portable operating rooms to high-speed ambulances. The type
is also popular in Canada where the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police flies them into short,
rugged bush runways.
Under more normal conditions, PC-12s can
launch from the ORDs and DFWs of the world
and claw their way uphill at nearly 2,000 fpm.
The P&W PT6A-67P is flat-rated at 1,200 shp,
but max thermodynamic power is 1,845 shaft.
That means the 645-shaft hp difference can be
available for high/hot departures or for highaltitude climb.
Such a huge spread also translates to more
power available for cruise at flight levels in the
high 20s. In contrast, max thermo power on the
Meridian is only 529 shp higher than the flat
rating, so high-altitude performance isn’t quite
as enthusiastic.
Cruise performance of the PC-12 is quite
acceptable, even if it isn’t the fastest in the class.
Owners of this type aircraft tend to use max
cruise most of the time, and on the PC-12, that’s
about 275 knots. That places the Pilatus well
ahead of the Meridian and only slightly behind
the TBM-850 and the upcoming single-engine
jets. Fuel burn at FL280 is only 360 pounds/hr
(54 gph), yet the Pilatus will arrive only about 15
minutes behind the TBM and very late jets (sic)
on a 600 nm trip.
With a full 2,693 pounds (402 gallons) of Jet
A aboard, the Pilatus has 5.5 hours endurance
plus reserve, even at max cruise. This enables
over 1,500 nm of range, by far the best in the
class. Come back on thrust a little, and you
can extend that to as much as 1,800 nm at the
airplane’s maximum RVSM altitude of FL300.
The remaining question marks in the single
turboprop and VLJ market are the status
and performance of the two remaining jet
candidates, Diamond’s D-Jet and the V-tailed,
SPECIFICATIONS AND PERFORMANCE
Pilatus PC-12/47E/NG Vs The Competition
All specifications and performance figures are drawn from official sources, often the aircraft flight manual
or the manufacturer’s web site. Another reliable source of information is Jane’s All-the-World’s Aircraft.
PILATUS PC-12/
47E/NG
DAHER SOCATA
TBM-850
PIPER MERIDIAN
PA46-500TP
4.465M
3.368M
2.133M
Engine-make
P&W
P&W
P&W
Engine-model
PT6A-67P
PT6A-66D
PT6A-42A
Shaft HP- TO
1200
700
500
Shaft HP-Max
1200
850
500
Jet
Jet
Jet
Landing gear type
Tri/Retr
Tri/Retr
Tri/Retr
Ramp weight (lbs)
10,494
7430
5134
Max TO weight (lbs)
10,450
7394
5092
Max Ldg weight (lbs)
9920
7024
5092
Empty weight (lbs)
6186
4589
3433
Avg Eqpd
Prc-2012 (US$)
Fuel type
Useful load–(lbs)
Usable fuel–(gal/lbs)
Payload–full fuel (lbs)
4264
2805
1659
402/2693
291/1950
170/1139
520
1571
855
Wingspan
53’ 5”
41’ 7”
43’
Overall length
47’ 3”
34’ 11”
29’ 7”
Height
14’
14’ 3”
11’ 4”
Wing Aspect Ratio
10.6
8.9
10.3
Wing area (sq ft)
277.8
193.75
183
Wing ldg (lbs/sq ft)
37.6
38.16
27.82
Power ldg (lbs/hp)
8.92
9.48
10.2
Press Diff (psi)
5.8
6.2
5.5
Seating capacity
11
6/7
6
Cabin doors
2
1
1
Cabin width (in)
60
48
48.5
Cabin height (in)
58
48
45
PERFORMANCE
Max cruise speed (kts)
280
320*
260
Best ROC, SL (fpm)
1575
2380
1556
Max Altitude (ft)
FL300
FL310
FL300
Stall (Vso – kts)
67
65
69
TO over 50 ft (ft)
2650
2845
2440
Ldg over 50 ft (ft)
1830
2435
2110
*@FL260
Cirrus Vision. Both are flying in prototype
form with one Williams FJ33 turbofan engine
apiece, rated for 1,800 pounds of thrust. At this
writing, those two pure-jet models are nearing
certification. They’re projected to cruise at
320 knots and have max operating altitudes of
FL280. Apparently, neither company will seek
certification in RVSM airspace above 29,000
feet. It’s unlikely the FAA would certify any
single-engine business jet above 29,000 feet,
anyway.
VLJs may be coming, but only one has arrived so far. No one can say if they’ll ever crowd
the airways above 29,000 feet, as some folks
predicted back in 2000. For the nonce, Socata’s
single-engine Pilatus PC-12 continues to offer
near-jet performance for near-piston twin operating costs.
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S U C C E S S F U L
T A K E O F F S
PRO TIPS FOR
TAKEOFFS
By Kevin Garrison
“It’s always better to be down on
the ground wishing you were up in
the air than up in the air wishing
you were down on the ground.”
Unknown Pilot
Y
ou can fly without landing properly but you can’t fly without
performing a successful takeoff.
The art of leaving the ground in
one piece is often overlooked by
pilots, but it is the most important and one of the most stressful
things you and your aircraft do.
Aircraft taking off use maximum power, very close
to the ground and in an environment rife with the
potential of foreign object damage. Once airborne,
you are flying at a speed much closer to stall than
you are flying at cruise; you are in a crowded environment with other aircraft; and you have to make
quite a few important decisions in a very short time.
Here are six hard-earned tips I can give you to
make your takeoffs equal your landings.
ONE: YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO!
Landings are mandatory; takeoffs are not. The 2010 Nall Report
(named for Joseph T. Nall, an avid air safety investigator and NTSB
member who died in an aircraft accident in Venezuela in 1989), a
safety summary published by the AOPA Air Safety Foundation, recorded 153 takeoff accidents for the year. While this number has been
dropping in recent times, I think you will agree with me that there
would have been no takeoff accidents at all if each and every one of
those 153 pilots had elected to cancel his or her takeoff.
Of course, airplanes are made to takeoff and fly. Ultimately there
is no way to guess which ones will go smoothly and which ones will
become a notation in a yearly air safety report, but you can improve
your odds significantly.
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Successful Takeoffs
RG and once in a DC-9. Both times I was
lucky. Somebody was sitting in the right seat
ready to take over the controls and save the day.
I am sure I have looked silly to various
co-pilots, engineers and passengers over the
years as I give my seat a hard wiggle, but pilots
flying backwards away from flight controls
during takeoffs aren’t having any fun.
Quite a few pilots like to be casual and keep
their seats far enough back that, if they needed
to use full throw on their rudder pedals or full
braking, they wouldn’t be able to. Don’t be shy.
Make sure you can reach and use those pedals.
Seatbelts and shoulder-harness use ought
to be routine for everybody by now, but
you’d be surprised how many pilots don’t
use the harnesses. A rough aborted takeoff
is easier for you personally to recover from
if your face isn’t broken. Make shoulder
harnesses part of your pre-takeoff and preapproach checks, and your adoring public
will thank you.
FIVE: DON’T BE THE “WEATHER SHIP.”
When in doubt about the weather, your
aircraft’s performance or your ability to
handle the flight, there is no shame in backing down and flying another day. Some of the
very best takeoffs in your life will be the ones
you don’t attempt.
TWO: REMEMBER THE SIX PS — PRIOR
PERFORMANCE PLANNING PREVENTS
PATHETICALLY POOR PERFORMANCE
Right after takeoff is the wrong time to find
out you did your weight-and-balance wrong
or miscalculated your bird’s takeoff performance. After takeoff climb, performance can
also be a worry for you if are leaving a mountain airport or are operating at a high-density
altitude. Many DPs (departure procedures)
specify minimum-climb rates and have altitude restrictions at various waypoints. Make
sure you can achieve them or tell ATC you
can’t before you accept the clearance.
Other performance issues that should be
on your mind are precipitation, ice and snow
and possible runway contamination. Takeoff
numbers in your POH are predicated on a
clean runway and a standard day.
THREE: YOU CAN’T TAKE OFF IF YOU
DON’T GET TO THE RUNWAY SAFELY.
Taxi charts are always more useful to you if
you can see them when you need them. If you
are told by Ground Control to “taxi two-seven
left via the inner, wedge, cargo. Hold short of
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two-seven right at Tango Three and contact
tower,” (old Chicago O’Hare taxi clearance) it
is nice to have the chart in front of you.
Controllers working in busy airports always
say they would be happy to give you a progressive taxi, but I don’t think they mean it. There’s
no excuse in today’s environment, with all the
publications and electronic toys available, for not
knowing where you are going on the airport.
Very few fatal collisions between aircraft
happen during taxi, but a whole lot of expensive non-lethal ones do. Aircraft-to-aircraft
or aircraft-to-ground service equipment
accidents are more frequent than the statistics
show because many of them go unreported.
When you do have the taxi chart on your
knee or on some sort of electronic screen at
the ready, please remember to stop taxiing
before you spend a lot of time with your
head down reading it. On two-person flight
crews, the non-taxiing pilot reads the chart.
Even though you may be flying single-pilot,
your right-seater may be of some value. On
a single-pilot aircraft, reading a taxi chart
while moving is as dangerous as a 16-year-old
texting and singing while driving.
FOUR: BELTS, SEATS AND PEDALS
I got in the habit a long time ago of jiggling in
my seat just before takeoff so I could be sure
my seat wasn’t going to make a run for the aft
end of the airplane when I applied the power.
This has happened to me once in a Cardinal
There are days when you wonder if you
should be flying at all. Weather can be terrible;
wind can be harsh; and light rain can turn into
light freezing rain a few hundred feet up. If
you are worried at all about the conditions for
your takeoff, and there are those in the takeoff
line more eager than you to try things out, let
them. Professional pilots call the aircraft carrying these intrepid pilots the “weather ship.”
When worried about the ride around a bunch
of thunderstorms in the terminal area why not
let them try it first, and if they can, report back
to you and ATC?
Many times you will feel foolish and
cowardly, but on other occasions you’ll feel
vindicated when you hear, “Tower, don’t send
anybody else through here – severe turbulence, lightning and very heavy rain…argh!”
SIX: ENJOY THE RIDE
With all this talk of safety hazards, pitfalls and
pilots wiggling their butts, we should not miss
the point that almost every takeoff goes flawlessly. The power does not falter; the winds
don’t blow in and smite you; wake turbulence
is successfully avoided; and your aircraft
performs like a homesick angel.
Enjoy the fact that you are living in an age
in which flight is not only possible but is fairly
easy. You are one of the few people living on
earth able to combine a beautiful piece of
machinery, a strip of pavement, grass or water
along with some air — and go flying.
Any aircraft, from the oldest Cessna 150
to the newest Boeing 787, begins to make the
magic happen only when a savvy pilot like
you rolls it onto the active and pushes the
power up.
Kevin Garrison is a retired airline captain from a major carrier.
AIRCRAFT SALES & SERVICE
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O N
A P P R O A C H
THE LAST
THREE
MINUTES
I
THE FINAL FEW MOMENTS OF ANY INSTRUMENT APPROACH
CAN BE THE MOST CRITICAL. QBy Bud Corbin
’d left the 1984 Hanover Air Show in Hanover, Germany,
late the previous day and managed to make it to Reykjavik, Iceland, for the overnight. Then, I’d launched early
the next morning in the new Piper Aerostar 700, headed
for Narsarsuaq, Greenland, and eventually, back to Vero
Beach. I refueled in Greenland, continued to Goose Bay,
Labrador, Canada, topped off again and finally lifted off
for the short, two-hour hop to an overnight in Sept-Iles, Quebec.
The time zones were on my side, but the wind and
weather weren’t. Ice started just east of Narsarsuaq
and continued most of the way to Sept-Iles. I was
tired as I watched the airplane’s strobes reflect off the
clouds, reminding me to turn them off.
Somewhere ahead and below, eight nm and 2,000
feet according to the instruments, relief waited in the
murk. I turned onto the final approach course off the
DME arc, the first one I’d ever shot, descended to pick
up the ILS and listened to the whoop-whoop of the
outer marker three miles from the runway. I dropped
the wheels, slowed to 100 knots and pulled off three
inches of power to start the final descent.
I chased the needles down the ILS toward the
6,500-foot runway, hoping against hope that the
weather would be kind and grant me an easier task
than the Cheyenne that had just missed the approach.
Yes and no. I broke out of a ragged overcast in light
rain at 500 feet, grateful to spot the runway lights
straight ahead. The landing was uneventful and, as I
taxied clear of the active, the sarcastic controller asked
if I’d passed the outer market yet. He’d cleared me to
land, but I’d forgotten to report passing the beacon,
forgotten to turn the strobes back on and failed to
time the approach. Dumb times three.
Things can become very busy during an instru-
ment approach, and it’s no time to be distracted by icing conditions, dreams of a good steak or the comfort
of a warm hotel.
For most pilots, that last three minutes from the
outer marker or VOR to the airport can be the most
critical part of the flight, especially if you’re flying
single-pilot IFR in a complex single or twin. The very
sophistication that allows aviating effortlessly from
Centerville to Bigtown can seduce a pilot into complacency when it’s time to fly the approach at the end
of the leg.
Problem is, it’s tough to make a reasonable IFR approach if you’re not set up for it in advance. Preparation is far more important in IFR than in VFR if only
because the consequences of a missed approach may
be more critical than of a VFR go-around.
Too many times, pilots get behind the airplane on
an instrument approach and, once that happens, it
can be almost impossible to catch up. We’ve all been
there. Too much to do and not enough time to do it.
It’s bad enough when you’re approaching in soft IFR,
but add hard turbulence and icing and the task can
seem nearly impossible.
I was typical when I was training for my IFR rating
sometime in the last century. I knew the simplest trick
was to slow the airplane as much as feasible. Most
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On Approach
pilots tend to fly approaches too fast, and it’s not surprising that they
feel rushed — because they are.
Or are they? In my case, my Bellanca could easily fly the approach at
75 knots and still retain a 1.4 Vso margin. I was using 85 knots, building
in an extra 10-knot pad that I didn’t need. If I slowed the approach speed
to 75 knots on a typical ILS, I’d have an extra 40 seconds to stabilize the
approach and make certain everything was in place for the landing.
(Later, when I stepped up to 90-100 knot approaches in turboprops, I
was better prepared for the shorter time between FAF and MAP.)
My instructor, Gary Meermans, then a 747 check pilot for United,
suggested I try a little exercise to see if I was really as rushed as I
thought. He suggested I list every move I’d make from the outer
marker to spotting the runway at minimums. Here’s the list I came
up with, more or less in sequence.
1. Start the stopwatch to time the approach.
:10
2. Turn to the inbound heading.
:10
3. Extend the landing gear.
:10
4. Advise the tower of passing the FAF.
:10
5. Extend the Àrst 10 degrees of Áaps.
:10
6. Reduce power two inches.
:05
7. Select carburetor heat.
:05
8. Turn on electric fuel pump.
:05
9. Verify descent rate.
:10
10. Adjust elevator trim for proper descent.
:05
11. Make the Àrst heading/speed correction.
:10
12. Monitor descent.
:05
13.Make second heading/speed correction.
:10
Gary checked my list, agreed with most of
it, but then suggested I pencil in the approximate time to
perform each task, being generous with the time involved.
When I was done, I was stunned to find that the total time wasn’t
even close to three minutes. It was more like a minute-and-a-half,
and it was far from busy. Gary also commented that I’d listed several
items that were more properly part of the pre-landing checklist.
I could complete those well before I reached the outer marker:
Extending the gear, turning on the pump and selecting carb heat.
(Some pilots of retractables like to set power and use the wheels as a
speed brake that will start them downhill at the appropriate descent
rate without a power reduction. The pump and carb heat are obviously unnecessary in turbines.)
Gary suggested the list breaks down to the traditional Seven Ts
that instructors have preached for years: Time, turn, tach, trim, track,
tune and talk. We’ll leave it to folks such as Machado and Kershner to
instruct on the proper sequence and execution of the Seven Ts.
When I complained that I still felt too busy during that last three
minutes, Gary said I might give myself more time for the approach if I
asked the controller for a longer turn-on. This may not always work at
busy airports where traffic is heavy, but if you’re lucky, the controller
may be able to sequence you to an approach clearance six or seven
miles from the FAF rather than the more typical three or four miles.
I tried that, and it worked reasonably well, though Gary was right
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that controllers were reluctant to grant such requests.
Whether you’re flying a precision ILS or a looser NDB procedure,
you’d be smart to set up your final three-minute descent based on a
known power/descent rate combination. It’s always possible to adjust
the airplane’s rate to match the needle, but if you have a preconceived
notion of the proper power/drag combination to match the desired
glideslope, you can establish that initially and make adjustments as
necessary on the way downhill.
Start looking for the ground well before you expect to see it,
especially if the controller is calling the ceiling “ragged.” If the tower
reports the atmospherics at 500 and one, I’ve learned to begin glancing up at about 800 feet while maintaining the localizer/glideslope on
instruments.
The ILS approach is obviously the easiest to fly, with the VOR and
NDB procedures also reasonably simple, but the reduced minimums
of the ILS means you’re closer to the ground for the miss. A circleto-land back course may be the most feared instrument approach
and for good reason, especially if it’s flown at minimums to the
opposite runway.
I once watched a flight test Douglas DC-10 descend through the
clouds at Long Beach, Calif., to about 500 feet AGL on the runway
30 ILS, then add power and initiate the circle-to-land procedure a
full 180 degrees to runway 12. Watching that big Douglas heavy maneuver so close to the ground, trying to stay tight so as not to lose
sight of the runway in the fog, was both terrifying and awe inspiring. I’ll bet the captain was sweating bullets and thinking, “I’d rather
be flying a single.”
As you approach minimums and still don’t see anything except
more scuzz, continue the approach until the stopwatch says it’s time
to miss, then, don’t even think about ducking under. Add power and
miss.
For most of us, this is counter to our instincts. Some professional
pilots may fly their entire careers having never executed a miss. In
delivering airplanes internationally in the last 35 years, I’ve made
perhaps 500 instrument approaches, and I can only recall missing
about a dozen of them. I’ve only had to divert to an alternate airport
four times, as I usually make it a point to load enough fuel on board
to hold for a while in hopes of better conditions.
I once landed a Baron at Port Columbus, Ohio, in a driving
snowstorm when the three airplanes ahead, all airliners, missed the
approach and diverted. Admittedly, my minimums were lower that
theirs, but as I taxied in, feeling slightly smug about having outdone
the airlines, the controller deflated my ego by informing me that I’d
been lucky. The weather had lifted slightly as I began the approach.
Most of us wouldn’t attempt an instrument approach to an airport
at minimums just to “take a look.” We’re always primed to land, and
so is the airplane. Gear is down, flaps are usually half or more, power
is back, and trim is set for approach speed. Neither the airplane nor
the pilot is happy about reversing all that and returning to the sky.
Of such situations are statistics made.
It should go without saying that every pilot executing an instrument approach should memorize the miss instructions, but again,
that may seem almost counter-intuitive since we all “know” we won’t
need to miss, anyway. We’ll grant that some missed approach procedures can seem unnecessarily complex, but you should at least try
to remember the initial heading and altitude until you have time to
check the plate. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to climb straight ahead
to a safe height before executing any turns.
Missing the miss is exactly how some pilots come to grief, and the
reason is that many are simply not prepared to miss in the first place.
Be prepared for a missed approach, even if you’ll rarely be required
to make one, and the last three minutes should go as smoothly as the
first three hours of the flight.
ew es
N ur
at
Fe
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USING TYPE II, III AND IV
ANTI-ICING FLUIDS
A
KNOWING THE PRODUCT CAN HELP YOU GET GOING FASTER. By Ray Torres
All of us in the Pilatus community, whether we’re conducting private
or commercial operations, are very fortunate to fly an extremely
capable aircraft. The capabilities and safe-flight characteristics of
our aircraft allow the experienced and well-trained PC-12 pilot to
have fun flying in day and night VFR conditions and to fly safely in
weather — with confidence. With its enhanced avionics systems and
autopilot, in-flight weather radar and de-icing systems, the Pilatus
PC-12 is a very capable all-condition, all-weather aircraft.
Revision 20 to the PC-12 Pilot’s Operating
Handbook (POH) added another feature, the
approved use of anti-ice fluids Type II, III and
IV. Using these anti-ice fluids can extend the
holdover times and thereby allow the PC-12
pilot to get in line for departure and still takeoff safely even when a delay has occurred.
In this article I intend to highlight some
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operational issues which occur with the use
of these anti-icing fluids, but for a complete
review, the PC-12 pilot must follow the
PC-12 POH. The current procedures vary
only slightly across different variants of the
PC-12. Revision 20 includes some general
information on manual methods of de-icing
the aircraft. It recommends some publications
such as the FAA Advisory Circular 135-17,
AEA Recommendations for De-icing/Anti-icing Aeroplanes on the Ground, and FAA and
Transport Canada Holdover Timetables. Each
of these resources is worth reviewing and
downloading to your iPad or similar device to
ensure availability when needed.
Pilatus recommends that ground de-icing/
anti-icing be done with the engine shut down
to minimize ingesting fluid into the engine
and the bleed air duct. At PlaneSense, Inc., we
follow this guidance, but we also have procedures to de-ice and anti-ice our aircraft with
the engine running. We have found that the
major airports that have Type II, III and IV
fluids often use engine-running procedures,
and they routinely have queues of aircraft
waiting to depart. The few minutes saved by
keeping the engine running, along with the
extended holdover time these fluids allow, are
often just enough for us to get safely airborne.
When de-icing and anti-icing with the
engine running, good communication with
the ground crew is necessary. Having the ECS/
ACS switch in “Inhibit” during the application
of fluid and at least five minutes after can prevent ingestion. After the application of fluids,
we use minimum power to taxi since prop
wash will blow the de-icing/anti-icing fluids
off the wing and other surfaces. The goal, of
course, is to get our airplane to the runway as
quickly as possible but with as much anti-icing
fluid on the aircraft as possible.
The revision offers a flowchart on different
de-icing only or de-icing/anti-icing methods.
We strongly recommend using this flowchart.
It asks about your aircraft’s current condition
and if a holdover time is required. If your
Pilatus has contamination from freezing precipitation, but doesn’t require a holdover time
to depart, then the flowchart will direct you to
use only Type I fluids. If you need a holdover
time, the flowchart will direct you to use
procedures for both de-icing and anti-icing
the aircraft before you depart.
If you require Type II, III or IV anti-icing
fluids, they may leave a residue which can
collect in aerodynamically quiet areas, cavities
and gaps. I have attached some pictures of
Type IV fluid on one of our aircraft during a
recent test of these procedures. Type IV fluid
is significantly thicker and adheres to surfaces
better than water or Type I fluid alone. This
also means a short inspection for residual
fluid is needed to prevent any buildups that
may affect the aircraft.
The areas of the aircraft that require anti-ice
fluids are different from those that require
de-icing fluid. The areas that should not be
sprayed when using either de-ice or anti-ice
fluid include the engine inlets, engine exhaust,
ram air inlets, brakes, windshield, cabin
windows, pitot heads, static ports and Angle
of Attack vanes.
However, when using anti-icing fluids, only
the wings, vertical and horizontal stabilizers
and vertical fin on the aft part of the empennage should be sprayed. There is no need to
spray the entire empennage.
After the application of any fluids, the flaps
must be cycled down to full and back to the
15-degree position before takeoff. During the
flight-control check, they may feel heavier
than normal but any binding should be investigated. Considering the proper use of the
holdover time tables, the pilot should also ensure that the wing continues to appear glossy
while taxiing out until takeoff. Some fluid will
flow off in the wind stream but there should
be no accumulation of contamination on the
wing as you taxi, hold short and wait to take
off. Use pusher ice-mode takeoff procedures,
with the flaps at 15 degrees, and increase the
rotation speed by 10 knots. Don’t forget that
you should also increase your airspeeds during climbout in pusher ice mode.
After landing, post-flight procedures are
required when you’ve used anti-ice fluids.
The POH recommends inspection of several
areas where residual fluids might accumulate: Along the wing rear spar area with flaps
extended, the perimeter of the aileron surface,
gaps around the elevator and its trim tab, gaps
around the rudder and its trim tab, and inside
the drain hole at the base of the rudder. Initially, this inspection must be carried out after
a maximum of three applications of anti-icing
fluids. Follow-on inspection intervals will depend on the results of your initial inspections
and aircraft washings.
Preparing to take off with a contaminated
aircraft and fly in potentially freezing conditions demands thorough preparation and
enhanced awareness. This article outlines
only some highlights of the latest revision to
the PC-12 manual for ground de-icing and
anti-icing operations. It is not all-inclusive nor
in any way meant to amend or substitute for
PC-12 procedures recommended by Pilatus or
approved by an aviation authority.
Safe flight is no accident.
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EXCLUSIVE TRAVEL
inspiring
as
e
ar
t
es
W
an
ic
er
m
Few icons of the A
e freedom, this
u
tr
f
o
l
bo
m
sy
A
g.
as the wild mustan
e spirit and
th
f
o
ge
ti
es
v
a
ts
n
se
wild horse repre
est Destiny that
if
an
M
e
th
f
o
a
in
am
unfettered st
Add the fact that
.
re
o
sh
to
re
o
sh
m
o
marched fr
attachment
l
ta
en
m
ti
n
se
a
e
v
ha
many Americans
and Indians
s
y
bo
w
co
f
o
s
ay
d
c
to the romanti
rly unstoppable
ea
n
e
th
r
fo
n
ai
d
is
d
and a general
the mustang
,
n
io
at
z
ili
v
ci
f
o
t
en
encroachm
ic of our
at
em
bl
em
f
o
rt
o
sh
g
is nothin
landscape.
country’s indomitable
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EXCLUSIVE TRAVEL
BUT, IN FACT, THE PUBLIC’S
GENERAL PERCEPTION OF
THE MUSTANG IS NOT ALWAYS
ACCURATE. Of the nearly 30,000 wild horses roam-
ing the American backcountry, most of them are exactly that
— wild horses. Their ancestors were often domesticated horses
that escaped from farms or ranches, cattle drives or mishaps
along the trail. Others were turned out by people who no longer
had the means (or interest) to care for them. DNA testing of the
current herds of wild horses shows elements of the thoroughbred, a relative of the American Quarter Horse, and draft horses,
heavy workers like the ones which pull the Budweiser wagons
for Anheuser-Busch. Over time, after their release, these horses
became “wild,” exactly as any other animal becomes “feral.”
The exception to this rule is the Pryor
Mountain Wild Mustangs, a herd of 175
or so horses that live on 38,000 acres of
federal land on the border between Montana and Wyoming.
Matt Dillon, director of the nonprofit
Pryor Mountains Wild Mustang Center
in Lovell, Wyo., picked us up at the North
Big Horn County Airport (U68), a service
available to all fly-in guests who are
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coming to see the Pryor horses. From
there, he took us on a several-hour, fourwheel drive trek up into the mountains to
see the herd. The drive would give us an
opportunity to learn a lot of the backstory
of these animals, as well as the problems
these mustangs face now and in the future.
“No one is completely sure exactly how
these horses came to this area,” Dillon
said, “but they were likely stolen by the
Crow or Shoshone several hundred years
ago and hidden in these high-mountain
pastures.” But that’s not what makes these
equines unique; these horses are not just feral, but in fact the true genetic descendants
of the horses brought to the New World by
Spanish Conquistador Hernando Cortez in
the early 1500s. They are now considered
a rare and endangered breed. Unlike many
of the wild horses in our country, this herd
of stallions and their fillies are mustangs in
every sense of the word.
The word “mustang” actually comes
from the Spanish mesteño, which means
“stray livestock animals.” While that
phrase might not live up to our vision of
these great (now) American horses, the
Spanish had nothing but admiration for
these newest workers on the American
plains. “Next to God, we owed the victory
to the horses . . . ,” Cortez himself said in
discussing his conquest of the New World.
The descendants of the horses to which he
referred are the same horses living on the
Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range.
“At one time, the government tried to
remove all these horses,” Dillon said, while
downshifting his Jeep to accommodate the
steeper terrain, “but a group of locals took
on the Bureau of Land Management and
EXCLUSIVE TRAVEL
won.” In September 1968, Secretary of the
Interior Stewart Udall created the Pryor
Mountain Wild Horse Range, the very
first public wild-horse range in the United
States. Thirty years later, the non-profit
Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center
emerged and has acted as the herd’s advocate ever since.
It might surprise you to hear that
mustangs even need advocacy but, historically, local ranchers saw the mustang as
a competitor for domesticated livestock,
primarily cows. Mustangs were chased by
helicopters, run down with trucks, herded
off cliffs, shot in corralled bloodbaths, and
scraped into mass graves.
Others have argued that if the mustangs ARE actually from Spain, then they
are not indigenous. “These people get
upset
much
time
up
pseet that
th
hat
a we
we spend
sp
pen
e d so
so m
ucch tti
ime
me aand
nd
n
d
effort protecting animals that aren’t even
North American in origin,” Dillon told us.
“They argue we should spend our energies addressing the dwindling population
of more traditional American wildlife, say,
bighorn sheep.”
“Even though the ancestors of this herd
came from Spain, these horses are Equus
caballus, a genus and specie of horse
that actually ARE from North America
originally.” He explained that anthropologists have found fossil remains of Equus
caballus here that predate anything in Europe. “Besides, bighorn sheep originated in
Europe and Asia,” Dillon said with a smile.
Cresting the last rise, a sprawling
mountain meadow rolled out before us.
Slowly, our eyes began to pick out the
silhouettes of dozens — yes, DOZENS! —
wild
of w
of
i d mustangs
il
mu
m
ust
stan
angs
angs
an
gs grazing
gra
razi
zingg on
on the
t e highth
highhi
high
ggh
h-
mountain wildflowers and grasses. Several
mares with foals only a few days old had
stopped to play in the fingers of snow still
clinging in the shadows.
“Mustangs can get their water from eating snow,” Dillon told us as he stopped the
Jeep and nodded for us to get out. Before
our feet even hit the chert at the edge of
this alpine pasture, every stallion in the
herd turned its gaze in our direction. The
mares subtly took notice of the location
of their foals. After this brief, but pronounced pause, the Pryor Mountain Wild
Mustangs went on about their business,
in effect approving our unscheduled and
unsolicited visit.
Dillon stood with us, looking out over
the grazing horses. Not surprisingly,
he knows every horse by name and can
quote
its
q
qu
ote it
ot
ts an
aancestry
nce
cest
stry
st
ry aall
ry
l the
ll
thee way
wayy back
baacck into
in
nto
o the
th
hee
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EXCLUSIVE TRAVEL
INFORMATION
1970s. “We’re almost at 200 head in
the herd right now,” Dillon said, “and
that’s a bit more than we’d like.” His
Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang organization works closely with the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife, the Forest Service
and the Bureau of Land Management
to preserve both habitat and horses.
“At the end of the summer, we’ll cut
some of these horses and put them up
for adoption.”
The BLM is tasked with monitoring and maintaining the wild horse
populations across the United States.
Herds can increase in size by as much
as 20 percent a year, stressing and
sometimes overwhelming the freerange ecosystems where they live. To
balance the herds with other public
rangeland resources and uses, the BLM
removed 10,637 wild horses and burros
from the range in 2010. Of those, 2,960
were adopted and given new homes by
private citizens.
This last year, the BLM culled 57
horses from the Pryor herd, and happily, all 57 were successfully adopted.
These genuine mustangs are popular
among horse lovers. Rock star
Sheryl Crow rides one, and the Public
Broadcasting Service has produced
two award-winning documentaries
about Cloud, a snow-colored Pryor
Mountain stallion, that helped focus
international attention on the herd.
Watching a hundred or more mustangs, some less than 50 feet away, we
were truly enchanted. Dillon pointed
out a variety of fascinating behaviors:
Stallions fold back their ears to “drive”
their brood in an intended direction.
Other stallions, which prefer strictly
male company, are called bachelors,
shrugging off mating and child-rearing responsibilities just to spend more
time “with the boys.” Stallions don’t
hesitate to spar, often on their hind
legs. The big males often mark their
territory with growing piles of horse
scat. And it’s apparently acceptable,
though perhaps frustrating, for one
stallion to steal another’s females.
We watched the mustangs for almost
an hour before they gradually crested
a hilltop and started down toward a
nearby swale that was still deep with
snow. The herd was joined by a trio of
mule deer, happy to share the sedge
peeking up along side a snowmelt
pond. It was also foaling season and,
at any given moment, we could see at
least a dozen of the new shaky-legged
mustangs sticking close to mom’s side.
Eventually, the last of the Pryor mustangs crossed over the ridgeline and
disappeared down into a draw.
There was comparatively little conversation as we drove back down the
mountain. It seemed to be the right
time to let what we’d just experienced
resonate and drip through our filters.
We all knew we’d just seen a significant part of our country’s history, like
getting to see Babe Ruth lift one out
of the park or Neil Armstrong taking
that giant step for mankind. The
horses we’d just seen were an honest
vestige of components that came
together to create the United States
from a nearly endless panorama of
wilderness.
Dillon shook our hands at the
airport, and I watched him still standing on the tarmac as we climbed out.
Airborne, it was almost impossible
to look at this country the same way
we had before, as if we’d found a place
that somehow sidestepped the passage of time. In the meadows where
we watched the horses, we found
arrowheads still hidden between
the high-mountain wildflowers. We
stood amid stone tipi rings where
smoke rose from Native American
villages hundreds of years ago. I hadn’t
expected to see the horses from the
sky, but there they were, a string of
dots reflecting the last few moments
of light across the high pasture. They
were working their way to the lower
grasslands, almost as if they were
tasked as caretakers, patrolling this
last bit of American history. These are
the Pryor Mountain mustangs.
ADDRESS
Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center, 1106
Road 12, Lovell, WY 82431 307.548.9453
PryorMustangs.org
TOURS
Jeep tours to see the mustangs take approximately eight hours.
Tour Fees:
For one guest, the cost is $150.
For groups with more than one guest, the fees
depend on the age of guests.
Ages 18 and older: $100
Ages 10 to 17: $50
Ages 9 and younger: Free
ADOPTION
BLM National Wild Horse Adoption Schedule
blm.gov/adoptahorse. The BLM says it does
not sell mustangs to slaughterhouses or
“killer buyers.”
MEDIA
Watch the PBS documentary on Cloud, the
Pryor Mountain stallion
pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/cloud-wildstallion-of-the-rockies/introduction/29
WHERE TO LAND
Nearest airport to see the Mustangs
North Big Horn County Airport (U68)
Cowley, WY 82420
RNAV and NDB approaches available
Elevation: 4080 feet
Length: 5199 feet
Runway 9/27 paved
Runway 16/34 dirt
Airport Phones: 307.568.2357
Manager: Roy Harper, 307.548.6236
North Big Horn County Airport has 24-hour
self-service fuel, tie downs, but no rental cars.
Call the Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center,
307.548.9453, to arrange a complimentary
pick-up at U68.
WHERE TO STAY
Western Motel , 180 W. Main St.
Lovell, WY 82431 Phone: 307.548.2781
Super 8, 845 E. Coulter Ave., Hwy. 14 A,
Powell, WY 82435 Phone: 307.754.7231
WHERE TO LAND
(ALTERNATE)
Billings Logan International Airport (BIL)
Billings, MT 59105
ILS, RNAV, VOR, NDB approaches available
Elevation: 3629 feet
Length: 10,521 feet
Runway 10L/28L paved
Runway10R/28R paved
Runway 7/25 paved
Airport phones: 406.657.8495
Manager: Thomas Binford, 406.657.8495
Billings Logan International Airport is about
50 miles north of the Pryor Mountain Wild
Mustang Center but has numerous rental
car companies as well as major airframe and
powerplant repair.
WHERE TO STAY
(ALTERNATE)
Country Inn & Suites, 231 Main St.
Billings, MT 59105 Phone: 800.596.2375
Hilltop Inn, 1116 N. 28th St.,
Billings, MT 59101, Phone: 406.245.5000
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IS PRIST REALLY THAT IMPORTANT?
KEEPING CONTAMINATION CATASTROPHES FROM CRYSTALLIZING QBy James Wynbrandt
A
ll pilots are familiar with the pre-flight ritual
of sumping fuel tanks to remove water. But step
up to turbine-powered aircraft and you face a
potentially catastrophic water-contamination
problem that no amount of sumping can remove. That’s why we have Prist. But when the fuel truck pulls
up and you see you’re going to have to pay a few extra cents a
gallon for the stuff, you may be tempted ask yourself if Prist is
really that important, and what happens if you don’t use it?
WHAT IS PRIST?
Prist is a fuel-system icing inhibitor (FSII) that prevents ice from forming in fuel tanks and fuel lines. Jet fuel contains about
one part per million dissolved water, and the consequent need for a de-icing fuel additive became apparent in the late 1950s as
jet aircraft began carrying fuel to higher altitudes in colder temperatures for longer periods of time.
When sufficiently cooled, water will come out of solution, forming ice crystals that can disrupt fuel flow through fuel lines or
filters. In addition to crystallizing, some water coming out of solution can remain as a super-cooled liquid that freezes on contact
with anything solid — a filter or tubing — also potentially inhibiting or blocking fuel flow to the engine. The 1958 crash of a U.S.
Air Force B-52 that lost power in five of its eight engines was attributed to such an icing situation and led the military to mandate FSIIs for its aircraft in the early 1960s.
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The Truth About Prist
Prist, made by Prist Aerospace Products of
Conroe, Texas, is a trademarked name, but
Prist is to FSIIs as Kleenex is to facial tissue.
The company holds the current contract to
supply the military with Prist/FSII. There are
major differences between Prist and its generic
counterparts, according to Joe Mattingly, a
veteran salesman at the company who goes by
the name of “Joe Prist.”
“Prist is more than just a name,” Mattingly
said, noting that Prist Aerospace uses only
the highest quality raw materials, checked at
delivery and during every step of the production. He added that Prist is shipped in extraheavy-duty drums to prevent any exposure
to air. (FSIIs can absorb moisture from the
air, hampering its effectiveness if improperly
stored.) “Everything we have is to military
spec,” Mattingly said. “We don’t sell any cheap
stuff. This is what people learn to appreciate
over 45 years.”
Today’s Prist formulation, introduced in
the mid 1990s, is primarily a clear di-ethylene glycol monomethyl ether solution. It
provides a higher flash point (the temperature at which it can vaporize) and fewer
hazardous and toxic characteristics than
the original Prist, a blue-colored ethylene
glycol compound. Prist works by lowering
the freezing point of water. It has only limited solubility in jet fuel but is completely
soluble in water. When dissolved water
separates from fuel at low temperatures,
Prist preferentially dissolves in the water,
lowering its freezing point.
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WHY USE PRIST?
We use Prist to avoid the problems that ice in
the fuel system can cause. Engine shut down
due to fuel starvation is the most likely but
not the only problem ice in fuel can cause, as
evidenced by the March 2009 fatal crash of a
Pilatus PC-12 while maneuvering to land at
Montana’s Bert Mooney Airport that claimed
14 lives – seven of them children. NTSB investigators had no theories to the cause of the
accident until they found a set of microchips
from the PC-12’s safety warning system that
revealed a fuel imbalance, leading investigators
to the root of the accident: The pilot failed to
add an FSII to the fuel that day, even though
the Pilatus PC-12 flight manual mandates FSII
usage for all flight operations in temperatures
below 0 degrees Celsius. Ice formed in the left
fuel tank and blocked the fuel line, leading to a
left-wing heavy imbalance. In the low and slow
traffic pattern environment, that imbalance
caused an unrecoverable loss of control.
Dual flameouts on two different Beechjet
400As a little over a year apart (both operated
by Cleveland-based fractional Flight Options)
represent less catastrophic outcomes to events
presumed to result from ice developing in fuel
systems. In July 2004, N455CW, 100 miles
west of Sarasota, Fla., over the Gulf of Mexico
with nine persons on board, lost both engines
while descending from FL410 through FL390.
The crew was finally able to restart the No. 2
engine at about 14,000 feet and diverted to
Sarasota. In November the following year,
N691TA experienced a dual flameout en route
from Indianapolis to Marco Island, Fla., in
clear air at FL380. The pilots, the only souls
onboard, were unable to restart the engines
and deadsticked the Beechjet into Jacksonville
International Airport with no injuries and
little more than a blown tire on the jet. The
crew subsequently told investigators they suspected ice in the fuel caused 1TA’s flameout.
The NTSB later determined that N455CW
had a below recommended concentration
of FSII in its fuel. More about those recommended concentrations in a moment.
MUST EVERY AIRCRAFT USE PRIST IN
FREEZING CONDITIONS?
Not all turbine aircraft operating in sub-freezing conditions require Prist. Some aircraft
are equipped with heated fuel systems that
maintain temperatures above freezing and
keep water safely in solution. These systems
may consist of heating elements in the wings
or fuel/oil heat exchangers that warm the fuel
while cooling oil. Such systems may obviate
the need for Prist, but manufacturers of some
equipped aircraft still mandate use of an FSII
in below-freezing temperatures.
All manufacturers of turbine aircraft without
fuel-heating systems mandate the use of an
FSII at specified temperatures, as spelled out
in the Pilot’s Operating Handbook or other
manufacturer’s documentation. Even when not
mandated, Prist can be used in all jet fuels (Jet
A, Jet A-1, JP-5, JP-8) in all turbine-powered
fixed- and rotor-wing aircraft as a backup in the
event the heating system fails. The U.S. military,
There may be minor
hassles or downsides
to its use, maybe a few
more dollars you have to
leave at the fuel pump,
but if you operate in conditions that mandate the
use of Prist in your aircraft, you should have
a warm, fuzzy feeling
knowing its onboard.
HOW MUCH PRIST DO I NEED?
ae
e ess
for example, mandates the use of an FSII for all
aircraft equipped with fuel-heating systems as a
means of providing system redundancy.
AvGas has a lower dissolved-water content
than jet fuels, but nonetheless experts recommend adding an FSII to all grades of AvGas
(80/87, 100/130 and 100LL) when fueling any
aircraft operating in extremely cold climates
or in aircraft that are flying in freezing temperatures for extended periods of time.
flow starts, a trigger on the can is deployed,
dispensing Prist into the fuel as it enters the
tank, providing for even mixing.
“If you don’t need the (whole) can, shut it off,
set it aside and use it again,” Mattingly said.
Unlike turbine drivers, piston-engine pilots
may need to be more hands-on in their Pristing. Many FBOs only have Prist available in
their jet fuel and do not carry Prist in its aerosol form. But whether the aircraft is turbineor piston-powered, or the additive comes
straight from the fuel truck or is sprayed in by
As the NTSB’s findings regarding the dual
flameout of the Beechjet over the Gulf of
Mexico indicate, Prist must be used in the
proper concentration — and blended into
the fuel properly — to work effectively. The
fuel should contain 0.10 to 0.15 percent Prist,
evenly added during, not before or after,
fueling. Fortunately, most pilots don’t need
to concern themselves with the fine points of
putting Prist into fuel; it’s usually added by
the fueler at the fuel truck as the jet juice goes
into the aircraft, and these line personnel “are
becoming absolutely more aware” about Prist
and its proper application, Mattingly said. “In
the last seven or eight years, the fuel companies are doing a much better job of training
and educating” their distributors and customers on its proper use and storage.
But in many parts of the world, aircraft
operate in remote environments (even remote
places in the United States), and Prist application is a do-it-yourself job. Prist offers both
Lo Flo and Hi Flow products in aerosol cans,
each designed to deliver the proper amount of
Prist into the fuel mixture for a given fueling
operation. Lo Flo is used for fuel flows of 6-25
gpm (such as when fuel is pumped by hand
from drums). Hi Flow is for flows of 40-65
gpm, as delivered by machine-driven pumps.
A 3-foot tube that comes with the aerosol cans
(instructions included) is clipped onto the
end of the fuel-hose nozzle, and once the fuel
a pilot, it’s important to sump the fuel tanks
on any aircraft using an FSII regularly. Though
some is pulled through the fuel system and
burned in the engine, Prist-laden water can
also pool at the sumps, and Prist can damage
bladders and rubber seals over time.
There may be minor hassles or downsides
to its use, maybe a few more dollars you have
to leave at the fuel pump, but if you operate
in conditions that mandate the use of Prist in
your aircraft, you should have a warm, fuzzy
feeling knowing its onboard.
Monitor your engines
and save money.
Now, more than ever,
asset management is critical.
Pilots and owners flying thousands
of hours throughout the world are
already using our service to avoid
spending money unnecessarily.
Our trend monitoring program
detects and diagnoses subtle
changes in engine performance,
often preventing secondary—
more costly—damage.
Let us show you the many benefits
of being vigilantly aware of your
engine’s performance.
Turbine Trend Analysis—
monitoring the most
expensive component
of your aircraft.
P.O. Box 642
Clovis, CA 93613
p 559.297.6490
800.297.6490
f 559.297.6499
thetrendgroup.com
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Make It and Take It
RECIPES
JENNIFER
SCHAERTL
ALL-STAR TEXAS CHEF DEMONSTRATES HOW TO
OVERCOME THE BIGGEST PREPARATION CHALLENGES.
If you’re on the road and looking to
create some gourmet goodies, you may
end up trying to prepare your delicacies
in the most modest of kitchens. Enter
Jennifer Schaertl. She studied culinary
arts at El Centro in Dallas where she
received a technical education in cooking, food style and preparation, as well
as Old World knowledge about recipes
and techniques. Jennifer’s first job inside
a professional Crappy Little Kitchen
was actually that of a dishwasher, where
she eventually worked her way up to
sous chef. Since that humble beginning,
she has worked as a chef in four Dallas
4-star restaurants. Jennifer has already
completed the pilot episode of the television series Gourmet Meals in
Crappy Little Kitchens. To view this episode and join her monthly mailing list The Crappy Little Newsletter, visit CrappyLittleKitchens.com.
Recipes from Gourmet Meals in Crappy Little Kitchens by Jennifer
Schaertl (HCI Books; April 2010; trade paperback/$18.95)
MY BIG FAT GREEK SALAD
The colorful fresh veggies in this recipe make the presentation beautiful on
its own, and its mixture of flavors and textures makes it impressive for the
most discerning guests.
Serves 8
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. minced anchovy (1 or 2)
• 1/4 C. fresh oregano
• 1/4 C. sherry vinegar
• 1 C. extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 C. diced English cucumber
• 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 C. diced red onion
• 1/4 C. chopped Kalamata olives
• 3 Tbsp. crumbled feta cheese, plus extra for garnish
• 1 C. thinly sliced romaine lettuce (use your bread knife to make
thin slices from a head of romaine)
• 4 slices sourdough bread, toasted
Preparation
1. In your blender, pulse the mustard, anchovy and oregano until
mixed. Add the sherry vinegar and pulse until well combined. While
blending at medium speed, drizzle in the olive oil and season to taste
with salt and pepper.
2. In a large bowl, toss the cucumber, tomato, onion, olives, feta cheese
and romaine with 1/2 cup of the dressing. Taste the salad to see if it
needs more dressing, salt or pepper.
3. Mound the salad in a large serving bowl. Cut the toasted bread into
wedges, tuck the wedges around, and garnish it with more crumbled
feta. For individual portions, hold the toasted bread wedge in the center
of each small plate and pile the salad high around it. This makes each
plate look like a sailboat. You could also serve individual salad portions
in margarita or martini glasses with the toast jutting out like a sail.
4. Store the leftover dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
You can toss the leftover salad as well as the dressing with some pasta
for a great Greek pasta salad.
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Making the Most of Torque
I
ENGINE OPS
LEARN MORE ABOUT MAKING TORQUE YOUR FRIEND. By John Morris
I will be writing, initially, about maximum power operations (again), this time focusing on the torque limiter/limitations. I will finish by answering some lingering questions
regarding the engine operating/limitations and procedures.
Why discuss max-power operations since we know what the limits are? Because
I still have observed some pilots who don’t want to use maximum power at takeoff.
When asked about the reduced power, some have said that the engine indications
for torque were exceeding limits. Some are interpreting the Static Torque Performance chart incorrectly. And a few do not wish to “push” the engine unnecessarily
— for maintenance-cost purposes.
I hope we know the answer to the “push” response, at least how I DO respond:
“What the #! $&! Over!”
The issues of maximum torque exceeding limits and proper understanding of the static
torque chart are more likely factors in best performance and safe-operating practices.
Over-torque of the engine gearbox is not safe – period. Having an engine with a
maximum thermal dynamic power much greater than the certified Shaft Horsepower
(SHP) requires the pilot to maintain the certified limits. The torque limiter is used
primarily, as I used to teach new PC-12 drivers, as a means to “pilot-proof ” us from
exceeding the engine limitations. It is much simpler, when starting the takeoff roll, to
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advance the Power Control Lever (PCL) smoothly to the
forward stop (with a verifying scan for rated torque/ITT
limits,) once at the stop, versus advancing the PCL intermittently, monitoring the power/ITT to not exceed the
defined red line(s), while accelerating down the runway.
Single pilot, what should we be looking at?
The torque limiter generally has been factory-set for a
maximum indicated torque of approximately 43.0 PSI (at
rotation), sea level – standard day ISA. This setting usually
will allow advancing the PCL to the stop with no adverse
torque/ITT indications since the engine is not arriving at
the rated 44.3 PSI. This factory setting allows for operations throughout most high airfields with no changes to
PCL movement except for high/hot ITT considerations.
To confirm how the torque limiter has been currently
set we will use the Static Takeoff Torque Performance
chart, POH — Section 5.
As the chart indicates, the aircraft must not be moving, in order to accurately determine the torque limiter setting. OAT must be noted (NGs – OAT not SAT), and then
while setting/holding brakes, advance the PCL to stop and
observe/note the torque indication. Then check the known
OAT/field-pressure altitude to confirm the maximum
torque using the Static Takeoff Torque chart. The horizontal
line drawn through the OAT/field pressure intersection to
the Engine Torque PSI is your “flat rating” torque.
You would then confirm the noted torque
from the static “test” versus the chart defined
maximum torque. As noted in POH — Section 7, Torque Limiter, “If the maximum
torque is below flat rating (below torque limiter setting), the torque has to be set manually
by the PCL.” This means, if possible, you can
advance the PCL to make up the difference.
If the static test was a full-power/full-forward PCL, what additional torque is available?
Of course, if after the static test you confirm
engine torque is greater than the chart maximum, then the PCL setting would now be
employed, statically, before takeoff roll begins.
Either of theses scenarios requires
maintenance of the torque limiter. It now
MUST be noted: The Static Takeoff Torque
chart does NOT indicate what the maximum-rated torque is when accelerating for
takeoff/rotation as the aircraft is moving,
applying additional ram air pressure to the
compressor (more available torque). If the
inertial separator is open, this will also affect
compressor performance (less torque). It is
not generally practical to sit at/near the end
of a runway and perform this check, but it
should be performed periodically if the pilot
has any doubts regarding maximum takeoff
torque. Be aware of FOD when performing
this check!
Which brings up the torque exceedence
indication with the PCL at or near the stop
while accelerating down the runway. The
question I ask or observe for myself, is
whether the exceedence continues or subsides
back below maximum takeoff rating. If it subsides, then the torque limiter is functioning
(and is allowed by limitations), even though it
should be addressed with maintenance since,
as I indicated earlier: If the factory setting is
incorporated, then these temporary indications should not occur. If the torque indication is maintaining above maximum limits,
then the torque limiter needs to be adjusted
since you should not have to set power manually for each takeoff. Plus there is the potential
of continuing harm to the gear box. Saving
the “extra” power by manually setting takeoff
power is asking for problems and costs that
are not worth the risk!
Why is takeoff power time limited to five
minutes?
From FAR Part 1. 1 General Definitions
“Rated takeoff power, with respect to reciprocating, turbopropeller, and turboshaft engine
type certification, means the approved brake
horsepower that is developed statically under
standard sea level conditions, within the engine operating limitations established under
Part 33, and limited in use to periods of not
over five minutes for takeoff operation.”
The FAA considers this time limit to be routine or normal takeoff operations (single-engine).
For multi-engine, the time can be increased up
to a maximum of 10 minutes for an OEI (OneEngine Inoperative) abnormal operation.
Is transient time – 20 seconds — meant
for starts only?
No. Transient engine events involving torque,
ITT, propeller (Np) or oil pressure are listed,
and no (maintenance) action is required if occurrence returns to normal within 20 seconds
of the maximum permitted value listed. FAR
Part 33 requires this parameter.
As discussed earlier, if the torque exceeds
maximum takeoff limits, we should not
overreact (at that moment) so we will have
time to fly the airplane first!
Can you maintain the maximum continuous torque 44.3 PSI, during climb, in the
–47E (NG)? The –41/45/47?
Yes. For the –47E, as long as the maximum
continuous/climb ITT does not exceed 820°C.
This torque setting also will maintain shaft
horsepower (SHP) at the maximum certified
1200 during climb
No. For the –41/45/47, maximum continuous
torque is 36.9 PSI due to the “innards.” The
compressor turbine experiences the greatest
amount of heat energy, pre-ITT indication.
The legacy PC-12’s maximum continuous/
climb ITT of 760°C versus the NG’s 820°C
should help with explanation of different
power outputs during climb between engines
and their design differences.
Seems like the torque limiter is a great item to
have installed. Is there a downside to this unit?
Not really. As long as the torque limiter
is functioning correctly, the gearbox will
always be protected from exceeding its limits
(maximum takeoff ). However, as a result,
it becomes possible to overtemp the engine
due to atmospheric conditions and internal
design. Also a possible un-confirmed
“downer” is the torque limiter’s effect on the
fuel-control unit (FCU) sensing bellows. For
details, ask your training provider about this.
In summary, takeoff performance should
always be by the “book” with Section 4 — Normal Procedures, Takeoff: Power Control Lever
– Set not as desired but only if an exceedence
may occur, which should be corrected.
John Morris – Formerly with Simcom Training CentersOrlando for 14 years. He started teaching the PC-12 in
1999 and served as PC-12 program coordinator from
2000 until resigning in 2007 to start ACFT Services.
QUESTIONS/ANSWERS
Is it possible to not exceed maximum
takeoff torque but exceed maximum takeoff
temperature?
Yes. Hot/high airfield operations. Observe
the use of ECS/ACS and/or inertial separator as loss of ram air/cooling bleed air will
definitely affect compressor output pressure
to the burner section of engine.
Referencing POH – Section 2, Limitations
Engine Operating Limits PC-12/41/45/47
and PC-12/47E (NG)
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Ask Lance Toland
BE CAREFUL
WHAT YOU SIGN
N
By Lance Toland
Now in its 14th year, my Ask Lance Toland advice column
has generated many great responses and questions from
POPA members around the world. Recently, I talked with
a long-tenured client about several issues which have been
addressed in my column. As a result, I’ve decided a partial
reprint of a 2004 article here may offer new owners some
insight into how to respond if your local FBO pushes a
waiver for you to sign in front of your face. In this case, my
insurance client elected not to sign and contact me, which
averted a catastrophe with his PC-12 hangar arrangement.
Think about it: You bought your PC-12 new some years ago and flew the engine
to TBO accident- and incident-free. After returning it to service with a new engine
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and prop, you return to your home airport and leave
your machine in the hands of the FBO as you have
done a 1,000 times before. The next day you get the
call, “Sir, our line services backed our tug into your
plane and bent the prop 45 degrees!” What next?
In this case, the owner called me, and we explored
whether to file on the primary insurance or allow the
FBO to fix it as they agreed to. As it turns out, that
new firewall forward would not have to be removed
and sent back to Pratt & Whitney. Oh, yes, back to
where it just came from 10 hours ago. After a $340
overhaul, the nightmare begins…
Now with a variety of issues at hand, all is contained
and everyone is as civil as they can be, given the enormity of the damage. First things first, time is of the
essence here. The engine and prop are removed; there
is an approximate timeline on return to service; and
substitute aircraft arrangements are made. We have
done all we can do.
Next morning you get another call. ”Sir, we failed
to place ballast in your engine cradle. We moved your
aircraft in the hangar, and it sat on its tail. There is
damage to both strakes and the rudder.” You have got
Ask Lance Toland
to be s-------- me! When risk rears its ugly
head, there can be no end to the possibilities
and this a good case of why I have insurance.
For the sake of brevity, this one played out,
not without out some dramatic moments,
but as well as could be expected with all
issues settled to my client’s satisfaction. So
now revisit the 2004 article excerpt and ask
yourself, “Am I covered?”
MY LOCAL FBO IS DEMANDING THAT I
OBTAIN A WAIVER OF SUBROGATION
AND ADDITIONAL INSURED STATUS
IN ORDER TO HANGAR WITH THEM.
SHOULD I SIGN THIS?
Absolutely not, until your insurance broker
has advised you.
Many FBOs are now looking to waive as
much liability as possible. In some cases,
this is understandable, but in most it is also
unacceptable. Typically, FBOs that ask for
the moon in terms of waivers and holdharmless agreements have shaved money
off their annual insurance tab by agreeing
to a very large deductible or self-insured
retention. This is a business decision for the
FBO manager but should not trickle down
to you as a PC-12 owner when a substantial
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hangar-keeper’s loss occurs. Further, you
might find that they are trying to waive everything including products and completed
operations which would affect the outcome
of a mis-fueling or latent maintenance defect
that they are responsible for.
Example: You arrive at your local FBO
where your PC-12 has just been pulled out,
and the line attendant drags your winglet
underneath another PC-12 and severs the
winglet, a situation that occurred recently.
With a waiver and hold-harmless signed,
you are out of luck to recover. However,
if you hadn’t signed the waiver, you could
require the FBO to take care of your travel
plans with a substitute aircraft or charter,
repair the damage and discuss diminution
of value. Option 2: You could look to your
insurance carrier to take care of the damaged winglet expense and, on some polices,
provide extra expense coverage and then
file a separate diminution claim since your
primary hull coverage does not address
diminution.
In most cases, the FBO will step in with
their insurance and take care of things properly. Just be reasonable with the settlement and
think about the 24/7 365 services most good
When risk rears its ugly
head, there can be no end
to the possibilities and
this a good case of why I
have insurance. For the
sake of brevity, this one
played out, not without
out some dramatic
moments, but as well as
could be expected with
all issues settled to my
client’s satisfaction.
FBOs provide us. Bear in mind their deductible and how the loss might affect their annual
bottom line and your future hangar rent rates.
Caveat! Most insurers require advance notice
of any contractual agreement that you might
enter into, and signing such a contract can
prejudice coverage.
OUR POLICY PROVIDES EXTRA EXPENSE.
WHY DO WE HAVE THIS COVERAGE?
WHAT IS THE COST?
Extra Expense coverage is typically included
at no additional charge on some carriers’
extended-coverage physical-damage broad
form and is usually only offered to Industrial Aid accounts (professionally flown,
not-for-hire). Typical Extra Expense coverage provides reimbursement for additional
operating expenses when a scheduled aircraft sustains covered physical damage. The
insurer may reimburse a Named Insured for
expenses arising out of:
• the actual reimbursement for aircraft
expense is the difference between direct
operating cost and the substitute aircraft cost.
You will note in the wording an absence of
coverage dollar amounts; it is your broker’s
job to negotiate levels that would suit your
particular needs.
One quick comment here. Immediately after
this loss, I installed a new MT 5 bladed prop on
my personal PC-12. I love it for many reasons,
but consider that the prop will not bend. It will
most likely break off when impacted. Given no
overhaul mandate, or at least no procedure yet
on this scenario…. Just food for thought.
888.386.3596
[[[WO]XIGLMRGGSQ
WEPIW$WO]XIGLMRGGSQ
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1. A temporary substitute aircraft, except any:
• expense incurred after completion of
repairs to the scheduled aircraft which
sustained physical damage or after such
repairs could have been completed but for
work being done which is not necessary to
the repair; or,
• expense incurred more than five days after
the company has tendered payment for a
total loss or in any event more than 60 days
after physical damage was sustained.
As the world’s oldest PC-12 dealer,
Skytech is a trusted and proven
resource. Whether you are buying,
selling or servicing your aircraft, our
experience is your advantage.
2. Rental of temporary replacement component part(s), provided
• the component part(s) which sustained
physical damage is repairable, and
• the temporary replacement component
part(s) is not the subject of an existing
aircraft component lease or exchange agreement of in the Named Insured’s possession
as a spare engine or spare part.
3. Trip interruption excess for food,
travel and lodging of crew members and
passengers, but only those reasonable
expenses required to continue from the
place where physical damage to the scheduled aircraft was sustained to either the
intended destination of the original point
of departure.
4. Expenses incurred as a result of physical
damage sustained during the policy period
shall be deemed to have been incurred
during the policy period. The company’s
obligation to reimburse the Named Insured is limited to the lesser of:
• that portion of the necessary and reasonable expenses incurred by the Named Insured which exceed those which the Named
Insured would have insured had there
been no physical damage to the scheduled
aircraft; or,
Authorized Dealer: PA, OH, MD, DC, WV,VA, NC, SC, KY, TN
Factory Service Centers: Baltimore Metro Area (DMW)
Charlotte Metro Area (UZA)
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• the Extra Expense Payment Limits set for
in Item 3 of the Declarations.
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MiPad
ELECTRONICS
Jepp FD works with international data in exactly
the same way it does with domestic, and the app
hasn’t changed since we covered it last winter. In
brief, it provides simple flight-planning capabilities
and (with an active GPS) the closest thing I’ve seen to
a moving map on the iPad, supporting both north-up
and track-up orientations. Some details are visible
only if you zoom in on the map, and other items may
not be where you expect to find them: U.S. Center
(and international FIR) frequencies, for example, are
found on the Comms section of a pop-up that appears when you tap on certain airport icons.
For more on Jepp FD, browse Jeppesen.com/index.jsp.
INTERNATIONAL WAC CHARTS:
FLIGHT GUIDE IEFB
Sporty’s E6B app offers a simple, forms-based interface for aviation calculations and conversions.
I
JeppFD
IPAD TO MEXICO
ENOUGH ABOUT ALL THE LITTLE TABLET’S TALENTS. HERE’S A
REAL WORLD APPLICATION FOR A TRIP DOWN SOUTH ACROSS
THE BORDER. By John D. Ruley
I’m writing this just a day before leaving on a flight to El
Fuerte, Mexico, from my home base in central California.
Ordinarily, my preparations for a trip like this would have
included ordering “trip kits” of paper charts. With the iPad,
it’s possible to do the same thing electronically – though I also
will carry a limited set of paper backups.
INTERNATIONAL IFR CHARTS AND
APPROACH PLATES: JEPP FD
For international IFR charts, approach plates and related information, there really
is only one choice: Jeppesen’s Jepp FD for the iPad, which provides access to all the
information you’d otherwise find in the ubiquitous Airway Manual binders. For
a trip kit, it’s only necessary to add the required coverage (in my case, Mexico) to
your existing account and then run an update to load the required data, which includes not only terminal and en-route charts, but also the full text of the appropriate Airway Manual pages.
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Jeppesen only charts airports with instrument approaches. That’s a serious problem if, like me, you’re
flying into a VFR-only airport. El Fuerte (MM79) has a
4,300-foot asphalt runway, but you won’t find it on any
Jepp chart. You will, however, find it on World Aeronautical Charts (WACs). Until last year, my only option
was to carry paper copies, but Flight Guide iEFB offers
WACs, including the two I need for my trip.
Unfortunately, Flight Guide’s airport and navaid
databases only cover the U.S., so while the charts
show Mexican
airports and
navaids, you
can’t use them
directly in
flight planning. I’ve
found a
work-around:
Zoom in on
the airport
Flight Guide iEFB
(or navaid)
that you want to use as a waypoint, tap it and use
the Create Point button on the pop-up menu. Flight
Guide enters the waypoint using latitude/longitude
coordinates.
Flight Guide iEFB offers a wide range of other
features, including an outstanding range of airport
data (as you’d expect from the people who make those
familiar spiral-bound books), data subscriptions
that start at $9.99 per month and even support for
an in-flight traffic display (with a $1,495 Zaon XRX
portable collision avoidance device and $299 FlyWi
GPS).
For more on Flight Guide iEFB, browse
FlightGuide.com/flight_guide_iefb.html.
PAPER BACKUP: AIRCHART SYSTEMS
TOPOGRAPHIC AND HI/LOW ENROUTE ATLASES
Now for a reality check: On an international flight –
or any long cross-country – is it wise to depend on
the iPad as your only source for navigational data?
While more robust than earlier tablet (or notebook)
computers, iPads are still delicate. Drop one on the
ramp and you could find yourself stuck! I’ve also
heard reports from pilots who’ve had them overheat
and shut down in the air. So a backup is more than
just a good idea.
Airchart Systems topographic and hi/low enroute atlas
That said, carrying a full set of paper
charts would obviate all the advantages
of using the iPad. Fortunately, there’s a
reasonable alternative: AirChart Systems
offers spiral-bound chart atlases in a variety
of versions that provide sectional, WAC
(covering the U.S., Bahamas and Baja), and
high/low altitude enroute charts. Subscribers receive a new atlas every year and,
between those, an online update service is
available. I’ve used these charts for several
years now, and highly recommend them.
For more on AirChart’s range of VFR and
IFR chart atlases, browse AirChart.com.
Beyond the chart atlases, if weather
makes instrument approaches likely, I
recommend printing approach plates for
your primary destination and most likely
alternate. One way to do this is to bring the
charts up on your iPad, do screen grabs,
then connect your iPad to a desktop or
notebook PC. You can import the screen
grabs (and print them) in exactly the same
way as photos. –JDR
John D. Ruley is an instrument-rated pilot, freelance
writer and recent graduate of the University of North
Dakota Space Studies graduate program (Space.edu).
He is also a volunteer pilot with LigaInternational.org,
which operates medical missions in northwest Mexico,
and Angel Flight West (AngelFlight.org). You can
reach him at jruley@ainet.com.
PC12 Training ½ Your Aircraft, your Avionics
½ You pick the time / location
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Providing training exclusively
for all PC12’s since 2007
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Hot Spots
{
G O T T A
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A W A Y
TRAVEL
}
THE MOST
EXPENSIVE
HOTEL ROOM
IN AMERICA
T
Luxury to raise your beanie, baby
he Four Seasons Hotels don’t really need an introduction when
it comes to over-the-top luxury, but in New York, they’ve really
outdone themselves. Try a night or two in the Ty Warner Suite
and see what we mean.
This 4,300-square-foot suite sits on the top floor of Manhattan’s
tallest hotel. It is the result of a collaboration among owner Ty Warner
(founder of Beanie Babies), designer Peter Marino and architect I.M.
Pei, who came out of retirement to join in the creation of what may be
America’s most exclusive accommodation.
With cantilevered glass balconies and floor-to-ceiling bay windows set
beneath 25-foot (7.6-metre) cathedral ceilings, the Ty Warner Penthouse
offers a breathtaking 360-degree view of all Manhattan. Custom-commissioned in every detail, from semi-precious stone surfaces to fabrics
woven with platinum and gold, the nine-room suite creates the sense of
living within a multilayered work of art. It goes without saying perhaps,
that you have your own private elevator to come and go as you please.
In the living and dining area, cream-colored walls are richly inlaid
with thousands of pieces of mother of pearl. A dramatic 4-foot-high cutglass chandelier by Deborah Thomas sparkles above the bronze table by
designer François-Xavier LaLanne. Seating is grouped around a marble
fireplace, and four French doors open to glass railings.
The 700-square-foot library is illuminated by a LaLanne chandelier in
gilded bronze. The extensive book collection is set in bookcases framed
with an elaborate bronze vine-and-leaf motif, again by LaLanne. The library is also furnished with a chess table and a Bösendorfer grand piano.
The centerpiece of the master bedroom is a Thai canopy bed threaded
with gold. Offering unsurpassed comfort, the Swedish Hästens Vividus
mattress was built entirely by hand over 160 hours, using 100-percentnatural materials. Bedroom accents include two lacquer cabinets with
cracked eggshell panels, and walls of straw marquetry.
Four French doors reveal a view of Central Park that is almost surreal
in its perfection. An indoor-outdoor Zen garden with a green bowenite
waterfall overlooks downtown Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. The
breakfast room is furnished with a LaLanne tree table and opens to its
bl
00 feet
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Of course, this suite also features a private spa room with a serene
screen of living bamboo. Adjacent to the spa room is an oversized
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an infinity-edge bathtub complete with chromatherapy, a separate glassenclosed rain shower, radiant-heated floors, and sinks carved from a
solid block of rock crystal.
Penthouse guests enjoy amenities as impressive as their quarters: TVs
programmed for every channel worldwide, unlimited global telephone
calling, the services of both a personal butler and a personal trainer/
therapist. Of course, New York is not the kind of town where you want to
stay in your room all day. When you want to go some place, you’ll have
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or a Mercedes Maybach.
Price per night? $30,000, not including tips. For more log on to
FourSeasons.com/newyorkfs, or call 800.819.5053.
AIRPORT: LaGuardia (LGA), 718.533.3400.
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JUMP OUT OF A PERFECTLY
GOOD AIRPLANE AT 30,000 FEET
May not have worked out so well for D.B. Cooper, but these guys have perfected
the longest tandem freefall in the world! Best part is you can do it with no previous
experience! BY LYN FREEMAN
T
he wind from the open aircraft door
is about 30 degrees — below zero!
Not to worry. You’re wearing a flight
suit, a helmet and an oxygen mask over your
nose and mouth. Besides, there’s about to be
enough sensory overload that the cold will
be the last thing on your mind. You and an
instructor are about to step out into thin air,
lashed together in a freefall, heading back to
the ground at 100-plus mph from an altitude
of 30,000 feet.
For the purveyors of tandem skydiving,
the market is always in freefall, but nowhere
like the skies over Lumberton, Miss. Incredible Adventures, an organization which puts
together a variety of one-of-a-kind adrenalin bombs, organizes HALO (military jargon for high-altitude-low-open) skydiving
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for anyone ready to write a check, including
first-time jumpers. Customers, ages 16 to
70, come for a full day of training and then
meet at the “drop zone” the next morning to
head toward the stratosphere.
Plan to arrive at the jump zone in Lumberton/Hattiesburg by noon on Saturday.
You’ll spend the entire afternoon getting
fitted for equipment and training with
their expert HALO jump team. You’ll learn
tandem skydiving basics and practice prebreathing techniques. (To safely jump from
30,000 feet and avoid experiencing the sort
of “bends” you can get when scuba diving,
you’ll spend time on board the aircraft prebreathing 100 percent oxygen.) If all goes as
scheduled, you’ll walk away from the drop
zone with a smile on your face — and your
HALO jump certificate in hand — by noon
Sunday.
If falling six miles over Mississippi doesn’t
drain your endorphin supply, then hit the
reset and consider this trip from Incredible
Adventures: In May of 2009, they’ll lead a
batch of “floaters” out the door of an airplane
orbiting the top of Mount Everest. Yes, THE
Mount Everest, the 29,029-foot-tall Mount
Everest. Step into the clear, thin Himalayan
air and become a speeding speck in the
expanse of Nepal, Tibet and China, upstaged
by the tallest mountain in the world.
The best part about these opportunities
is that you don’t have to have any skydiving
experience at all. Incredible Adventures not
only includes extensive training, but they’re
the only company in the world to offer
“tandem” HALO freefalls. That means you
leave the airplane umbilically attached to
a professional jumper tasked with making
sure neither of you die young. Your job? Just
enjoy the ride.
For more information, visit IncredibleAdventures.com or call 941.346.2603.
AIRPORT: Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport (GPT),
228.863.5951.
EAGLE
AVIATION
contact Karen Nelson
@ PH: 803-822-5586 for more information or visit our gallery at
www.eagle-aviation.com
located at Columbia Metro Airport
CAE in West Columbia, South Carolina
R
Because the details
do matter...
POLAR BEARS AND YOU
This can be a once-in-a-lifetime chance for you safely to get up-close-and-personal with
some large meat-eaters. BY LYN FREEMAN
I
t’s a long way to Churchill, Manitoba,
Canada, population 923. There are no
roads. Only trains and planes come and
go to this Arctic town on the tundra. Flying
yourself out of Winnipeg, it’s more than
700 miles across the barren wilderness of
northern Canada to the town’s small airport
(CYYQ) on the Hudson Bay. But thousands
of people come to Churchill, nevertheless.
In the spring and summer months, they
watch nearly 300 different species of birds
or the thousands of Beluga whales coming
into the bay to calf and mate. In the colder
months of October and November, people
begin showing up from every continent in
the world. Every year in the fall and early
winter, Churchill hosts the largest gathering
of polar bears on earth.
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Frontiers North Adventures began taking
visitors out into the Churchill Wildlife Management Area more than 20 years ago. Its
efforts resulted in Tundra Buggy Adventure,
a dream-of-a-lifetime excursion in a highly
modified four-wheel drive vehicle that takes
guests deep into bear country.
“Although you cannot guarantee wildlife, it is still not unusual to have half a
dozen bears right outside a Tundra Buggy,”
said Frontiers North’s Jaime Dzikowski.
Guests often find themselves nose-to-nose
with a polar bear, separated only by a glass
window, or sometimes, nothing at all,
standing on an open-air platform just out
of paw’s reach.
It shouldn’t be surprising that, over the
years, Frontiers North Adventures has
escorted a medley of visitors from National
Geographic photographers to scientists.
They will also be glad to take you. The company offers two- to eight-day trips in their
big Tundra Buggies, and if you like, you can
come back to your hotel room in Churchill
each night.
There’s also the Tundra Buggy Lodge with
sleeping rooms, dining area and lounge.
Elevated open decks around the lodge allow
bear and guest to look at each other without
encumbrance. During their 24 hours of
polar bear viewing, guests sometimes watch
polar bears emerge from their snow blankets, tucked gently around them during the
night by Mother Nature.
Frontiers North Adventures offers variations of the basic experience, sometimes
including dog sledding or visits to aboriginal cultural programs, all well explained on
its website.
For more, contact Frontiers North Advventures, 800.663.9832, or visit its website,
TundraBuggy.com.
Test Yourself
TRIVIA
ANSWERS:
1 B Columbia took her first flight in 1981 and
flew 28 successful missions before exploding
during re-entry in February 2003. Enterprise was
a full-scale model of the orbiter except without
engines. Discovery first flew in August 1984 and
accumulated the most space hours of any shuttle
with 39 missions flown in 27 years of service.
2 C In the infancy of both aviation and consequently aviation warfare, the first fighter pilots
had disturbingly short life spans.
3 C Despite the propagation of both aircraft and
airports around the world, sadly only 5 percent of
the earth’s people have flown on an airplane.
4 A Estimates of the total number of airplanes
8. When Aerospatiale and British
Aerospace offered their supersonic
Concorde for sale in 1973, ___________
airlines exercised their options to buy
the new airplane.
1. The first U.S. space shuttle to
achieve orbit was
a) Enterprise
b) Columbia
c) Discovery
a) Nine
b) Four
c) Zero
2. The average life expectancy for a
World War I fighter pilot was
a) Two years
b) 10 days
c) Two weeks
9. The first full-pressure suit that
allowed flights to great heights in
non-pressurized aircraft was
invented by
3. What percentage of the world’s
population has flown in an airplane?
a) Vladimir Petre
b) Wiley Post
c) G. Charles “Bud” MacAfee
a) 68 percent
b) 45 percent
c) 5 percent
4. On average, how many planes are in the air
around the world at any given moment?
a) 14,000
b) 2,700
c) 1.1 million
a) 19 percent
b) 23 percent
c) 6 percent
a) Would drive up the cost of flying.
b) Would cause many more crashes
due to reverse sensing.
c) Was in direct competition with
another device called the Donut.
6. The first woman to break the speed
of sound was
a) Jacqueline Cochran
b) Amelia Earhart
c) Bessie Coleman
12. Great Britain was the first
country to build and place a
commercial jet into service.
The U.S.S.R. was second.
The third country was
7. The Aero Club of America issued
the first pilot license to
a) France
b) Canada
c) United States.
a) Wilbur Wright
b) Orville Wright
c) Glenn Curtiss
P OPA
M AG A Z I N E
I
W I N T E R
a) Cessna 310
b) Varga Kachina
c) Piper Geronimo
11. In the 1940s, AOPA argued
against a new navigational tool
called the Very-high-frequency
Omnidirectional Range radio
(aka VOR), saying it
5. Out of the total pilot population,
women represent
54 I
10. Beginning in 1959, Fidel Castro enjoyed the
first Cuban state aircraft which was a
2 0 1 3
worldwide varies from 2-3 million. There is
no information on how regularly they fly or
whether they’re even all airworthy. About 270,000
airplanes in the United States enjoy a current
airworthiness certificate.
5 C Efforts ranging from groups like Women in
Aviation all the way across the aviation spectrum
to the United States military will almost assuredly
increase the number of females seeking vocational and avocational interests in aerospace.
6 A Shame on you if you guessed Amelia Earhart (!).
Cochran went on to set speed records when she
was well past the age of 60.
7 C That’s right, zero airlines exercised their options for the Concorde. Eventually both the British and the French strong-armed their governments to subsidize the first supersonic transport
entering service.
8 C Though many people believe one of the
Wright brothers received the first pilot license, it
was nonetheless awarded to Glenn Curtiss.
9 B Post actually flew his suit to 50,000 feet and
is credited with a major discovery, the jet stream.
10 A As the Batista government fled, a variety
of aircraft was left behind. But the four-seat
Cessna was the only airplane that allowed for a
pilot (Castro did not fly) and an associate or two,
sometimes the late Che Guevara.
11 A Oops. I guess we can’t all be right all the
time.
12 C Surprisingly, the U.S. was running behind
the pack in the 1950s when the Brits introduced
the Comet followed by the Soviets and their
Tupolev Tu-104. In 1958, America finally entered
the jet airliner business with the launch of the
B707.
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