Increase LSA Parameters

Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) are a new category of aircraft that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) introduced in 2004. The intent of this new category was to lower the cost of flight training, thereby reducing costs, and increasing the pilot population axiomatically. Four years after LSA’s conception, this new category’s infrastructure of instructors and examiners have been established and the pilot population is still decreasing. I recently wrote a research essay examining the problem and my conclusion was due to one limiting factor.

It’s referred to as the “magic number” (by the pilot community), also known as 1,320 lbs. Of all the parameters the FAA set forth to qualify an aircraft as a LSA, this one limitation has severely stifled the success of the LSA category. How the FAA came upon 1,320 lbs. for the maximum takeoff weight of the aircraft is a complete and utter mystery. It’s as if someone just randomly picked a number and said that’s it! The real problem is that there aren’t very many aircraft that have been built that are under that number. I’m talking about real aircraft here people; not ultra-lights. Those things aren’t safe for anyone, as any old pilot will tell you. My father has over four-thousand hours flight time and his airplane mechanics license (A&P). He recently bought an ultra-light and not 20 hours of flight afterwords, the crank broke in two on the engine, and he had to crash into a field. Luckily, he shut off the engine before it shook off its mounts, and put it into a field. It’s very simple; the more an aircraft weighs, the more there is to protect you and absorb the impact in a crash. It doesn’t mean the harder you fall, because the wings of any aircraft were designed to allow it to glide on a limited basis.

The problem is that a brand new or recently used LSA would cost far too much for the general population. The average year of the General Aviation fleet is 1962, because people have to fly older cheaper aircraft, when they were mass produced in the 1970’s (The Golden Era of Aviation when aircraft production was at an all time high). Because they were mass produced, there are many of them still around and for a good price. Unfortunately, of all the small two seat aircraft that were mass produced around this time, only one fifth of them can qualify for LSA because of the magic number.

This aircraft is a LSA: http://www.inlandempirewingcaf.org/images/tcart43363.JPG

This aircraft is not LSA: http://rellergold.com/bio/Bernard’s%20Story/images/Bernard’s%20Adventures/Bernard%20&%20Itzik%20with%20Cessna%20140%20-%20Victoria.jpg

The aircraft pictured that is a LSA is a Taylorcraft BC-12D. It’s wingspan is six feet longer than the aircraft that is not an LSA which is a Cessna 140. The BC-12D also has no electrical system (meaning no radio and not very safe for other air traffic collision avoidance) which allows it to be an LSA. What makes the Cessna 140 not an LSA is being able to takeoff being about a hundred pounds heavier, even though it is a far safer and easier airplane to fly.

Seriously folks, if we want this new category to be successful, we only need to make one adjustment. Then we can allow the elder pilots (after their medical expires) to fly these non-threatening aircraft, and a younger generation can afford to train in a safer aircraft. It just doesn’t make sense, obviously some politician who is not a pilot came up with that number. I encourage everyone to write letters to the FAA urging them to raise the takeoff weight of LSA to at least 1,700 lbs. This will allow the Cessna 150/152, Piper Tomahawk, and many more aircraft to be qualified as LSA. With the abundant availability of these aircraft, many more people will be able to enjoy the skies, and just because an aircraft is considered to be LSA the price won’t go up 20,000 dollars.

Youtube: New Media’s Effects on GA

Aviation has been increasingly physically separated from the general public post 9-11, however, indirect interaction is perhaps the easiest it has ever been with the advent of websites such as Youtube. This is extremely beneficial in that it allows people to learn about and witness the wonders of aviation from their own homes; since there is now mandatory security fences and a lack of activity at their local airport. As with any new technology, we are unsure about how to use it, what it is good for, and if we should restrict it. Youtube offers a glimpse into the lives, events, and cockpits of the aviator’s realm; however, it may also negatively affect the publics view of aviation, by showing the crashes and fatalities that have been put on display. This in itself is a possible problem since it gives people the wrong idea of flying, and also brings into question the axiological issues of publicly displaying the deaths of the unfortunate pilots/passengers/spectators.

Of the many beneficial aspects of mediums such as Youtube, they can serve as an educational tool, such as this video showing the general principles of takeoff http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGgzAhpTgvs. They can also be entertaining and enthuse the viewer by showing some very cool flights in remote locations http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-8JEiiESGA&feature=related. I have seen many other entertaining videos such as a dogs being floated in zero gravity maneuvers, and they could also serve as an educational tool for my own flying. The best aerial scenes in popular movies such as End of the Spear can also be seen, without wasting your time with the rest of the movie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI6ZTXvaE5Q. Obviously there are a lot of positive potential with Youtube and aviation.

The potential downside of being able to see pretty much anything on Youtube, is that you can see pretty much anything on Youtube (so long as it does not contain nudity). This includes watching pilots meet their demise. Of course everyone knows its not the fall that kills you, it’s the ground. Would it be ok if the video just showed the fall and not the impact? Even some of the videos that show fatalities can be educational http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F27egtquNbU. Some videos you cannot tell if the crash was fatal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pucmWr55cgw. What if the person just gets seriously injured http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDmfvqQHF10?

Clearly the question is where do we the draw the line? Should we allow anything and everything to be displayed on Youtube (with the exception of nudity for some reason)? Like Howard Hughes defending his early films (that were banned by the Motion Picture Association for exposing too much of the female mammaries), I defend Youtube’s right to display whatever people want to display; however, there should be some kind of rating system so that you know what you are in for. Then you can make the decision for yourself, on whether or not you should watch the video.

The Various Arts of Takeoff

Takeoff is the most important element if a person wants to fly; because without it, they cannot. It encompasses the moment when they begin to control their aircraft amongst all three axis of control, as their wheels leave the ground, and they enter another dimension, literally. People may be able to understand the basic concepts involved with takeoff and explain the aerodynamics etc.; however, people could fully explain the basics of a how a piano works, like if they press this key it makes this sound, and if they press this key it makes this other sound because the tension on the string is different. But can they play a song and make it sound good? This is why takeoff is an art form. Every aircraft requires a different song to be played, in order for it to be a flawless entry into the sky.

Taking off in a lighter two seat aircraft requires constant vigilance. Crosswinds can greatly effect an aircraft’s ability to take off or remain straight down the runway. Since it is lightweight, the wind has a greater ability to change its heading. It is imperative to have the control surfaces oriented appropriately for the direction the wind. If the elevator on the tail is not slightly in a down or neutral position and the wind is coming from behind the aircraft, the tail will very likely come up, and the aircraft will nose over, damaging your prop, other parts of the aircraft, and probably your ego as well. The other distinguishing characteristics are the short amount of runway used for takeoff.

Heavier Aircraft require less attention to the control surfaces, because the wind is not as effective on the heavier vessel. During taxi to the runway and during takeoff however, you do not have as much room to the left or to the right without hitting runway or taxi lights. In addition to using more runway, once the aircraft has reached sufficient takeoff speed, the pilot cannot just pitch up and expect to climb instantly. He or she needs to hold the nose at a constant angle to the horizon (no more than 20 degrees) and sit patiently until it leaves ground effect and it starts to climb. The reason for this is that although the aircraft can fly at that airspeed, it cannot necessarily be controlled because of the extra weight the control surfaces must move.

Tailwheel aircraft are the measure of a true pilot, or so they say. One must pay special attention to the wind and have their control surfaces properly oriented to it, so that the tail does not come around or over on you. I’ve also found that if the ground is not perfectly flat and even, the tail will want to go to the lower level, making it seem like there is wind affecting it. When taking off into the wind, the pilot must first push forward and raise the tail off of the ground, and balance the aircraft on the front two wheels until it gains sufficient airspeed to takeoff, and then pull back. You could just give the aircraft full power without balancing it on two wheels and it would eventually takeoff, but there are 9 reasons why it is beneficial to push the nose forward. There is also a danger in the transition when the tail first begins to rise; this is because the aircraft’s tail wheel is no longer effective, and the rudder is not very effective at the low speed. It is this reason and many others that old pilots say you not done flying a tailwheel aircraft until you are in your car driving home.

Sea Planes have an entire body of water at their disposal. The aircraft should (like all others) take off into the wind and against the waves. Holding back the entire time until the floats come up on the step (because of hydrodynamic lift), then slowly let off the backpressure as you ski across the water and gain sufficient airspeed to takeoff. While I was at Jack Brown’s Seabase however, I asked about landing in a river. The high current would surely complicate your takeoff in that it could require a lot more distance. Unfortunately, the infamous John Brown was unable to give me a definite answer for procedure.

Helicopters have it the easiest. Literally all you have to do is look around and make sure your not going to chop any heads. Then raise the torque, and as the collective comes up you take off go wherever you please.

Of course all of the aircraft controls, gages, handling characteristics, takeoff speeds etc. drastically vary between every aircraft. I didn’t even get into the different types of takeoff such as, short field, soft field, obstacle clearance, confined space takeoff etc. Each type of landing adds a whole new set of complexity to each of the aircraft above in a different way. Clearly when it comes to takeoff for any aircraft, the golden rule comes into effect.

“Know Thy Aircraft”

Airports, an Un-renewable Resource

“The airport runway is the most important main street in any town” – Norm Crabtree, former aviation director of Ohio.

General Aviation airports have been disappearing at an alarming rate. It has become the primary focus of great organizations such as AOPA; to protect and preserve these vital aircraft outlets. The issue was popularly brought to the forefront of GA issues from the movie “One Six Right” as well as a few incidents that have been highly popularized by the media.

Meig’s Field used to be one of the most popular relief airports for GA to fly into Chicago (see link for picture http://lazytoad.com/flying/c-meigs.gif). On April 1^st, 2003 some pilots drove to Meigs Field with the intent of flying out, however, what they found was that they would have to have their aircraft disassembled and trucked to another airport. During the middle of the night, Mayor Daley had ordered an illegal bulldozing of Meigs’ runways stranding around a dozen aircraft (see link for picture http://www.friendsofmeigs.org/images/Meigs_closed_3-31-03_aerial_Tribune_David_Klobucar.jpg). The bulldozers made large X’s across the runway, almost a slap in the face since a painted X signifys that the runway is unusable and would have sufficed. This raised serious alarms from the aviation community. How could somebody get away with this? It wasn’t that the airport wasn’t being heavily used, or was not following noise abatement procedures; it was because the Mayor wanted to fulfill his lifelong dream of converting Meigs Field into a park named after his wife. In the spirit of cooperation, airport officials offered to name the airport after his wife, however, this apparently was not enough. Luckily, our interest group AOPA came rushing to the scene armed with lawyers and ready to prosecute Mayor Daly. Despite the fines ordered on him for the violations, the damage was done, and the airport was lost.

The film, “One Six Right” has quickly risen to fame highlighting the disappearance of the airports in the San Fernando valley. “One Six Right” explores common misconceptions about General Aviation airports, which are often criticized for noise pollution and viewed as exclusive playgrounds for the rich. The film creates an awareness of the threat to these community airports through staggering statistics of airports that no longer exist as well as the rapid rate at which they are continuing to close (1 per week in the U.S.). What most people don’t realize is that airports are not a renewable resource. These smaller and often forgotten airports are the foundation of the entire aviation industry. They contribute significantly to global commerce and are the breeding ground of the pilots of tomorrow.

In my opinion, the rapid closing of airports are due to several problems. It is true that many are closed because the property value would be higher building apartment complexes or some other function other than an airport. The disconnection between the public and the aviation community is probably the reason people don’t realize the true value an airport has for their community. If pilots would just explain to the community that the airport generates jobs, and provides an outlet and inlet for people to come in and leave from. An airport truly belongs to its local community, not just the pilot population. Since the pilot population has also been in a rapid decline, there are less pilots defend the airport from developers and less pilots to use the airports making their importance seem that much more finite.

Hi Flight

High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds – and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of – wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
I’ve topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew –
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee
No 412 squadron, RCAF
Killed 11 December 1941

This poem has become a sort of mantra for pilots, and greatly represents the romantic notions imbued in aviation. 

This weblog, will serve as a type of pilot logbook, which I will refer to from now on as a “blogbook”.  This blogbook is for anyone who shares a passion for aviation.  Be you an aviator (fixed winged, or whirly bird), spotter, or just someone who is interested in aviation, then this blogbook will serve you well.  I will analyze current issues threatening people from enjoying the sky, as well as promote aviation by posting things to read, listen to, and watch.   I will depict and describe flight maneuvers; and how they vary between aircraft to convey the values and disciplines inherent in the operation to my readers.

I am currently a commercial airplane pilot, with a mere 500 hrs. logged PIC (Pilot In Command).  My first flight was logged 10 days after the centennial of flight on December 27^th, 2003.  It seems just yesterday I had my tail feathers clipped after my first solo in the venerable Cessna 152.  I have had many memorable flights since then, and simply can’t do them justice in my descriptions.  Through my experiences in aviation, I have been consumed by the fond memories and the promise of a lifetime more.   The aesthetics, and the wonderful people you’ll meet, the symmetry of an airplane and so much more….. I love it all, and hope to share with, defend, and promote these romantic notions of aviation.