Winter Flying Safety Seminar

Will Boles with Transport Canada gave an outstanding presentation on winter safety with lots of side stories that drive home the point.  Some notes below...

1.       Pre-flight

·         DRESS for survival – gloves, boots, warm clothes; (ensure passengers are also dressed for weather)

·         Icing – only thing GA can do is to pull into hangar and let the ice melt

·         If you PARK outside and there is frost on the plane:

o   Option 1: Move plane into the sun and wait for a while, then ensure that the control surfaces are clean of water droplets AND ensure static port, etc. is clean

o   Option 2: Put it in the hangar for an hour and half and dry off control surfaces

·         Review owners manual for winter flying AND join the owners club online and check
·         Engine intake mount needs to be installed.

·          Oil cooler needs to be installed?

·         What if you are flying from a colder temp to a warm temp?  You need to remove those 

·         Thawing out fuel check (use warm rag or stab it)

·         Does owners manual give air temp limits for flying? (-40 degree C?) need to use fuel additive?

·         Battery – gyros are susceptible to the cold (as they spin fast on start-up); good value to keep the plane in the hanger

·         If the engine is STONE COLD when you put your hand on it, get the airplane pre-heated

·         Ensure that when using a RED DRAGON heater it does not get TOO HOT (less likely to happen with modern heaters)

·         Use APP to turn the engine warmer power from home

·         Stone cold engine? Spark club might be frosted. If plane doesn’t start, it isn’t going to start no matter how often you crank the engine.  Only way to start is to warm it up. 

·         RPM – once it gest started, it doesn’t have to be 2000 RPM, just at 1000 RPM you will need to see oil pressure.

·         Have engine heater? There is a Airworthiness Directive to check muffler for cracks every year (as there is risk of CO2 in cabin)

·         Get a CO2 button you can get for the plane (get keychain that does parts per million CO2) – there are also electronic ones that goes on the Key Chain

·         Get fresh air in the plane – open vent

·         AIM – GREAT read, one came out in October (info on airmanship and winter flying)

·         Online course: http://aircrafticing.grc.nasa.gov/courses.html

    
·         Also check http://www.smartpilot.ca – all of North America (FAA, TSB, etc.); check 178 seconds and http://www.weathertofly.com   

·        

2.       Shoulder Harness

·         Always wear shoulder harness – required by law if it has shoulder harness

·         Lookup CASSERA (Volunteer Search and Rescue)

·         Back seat shoulder harness not required for planes before July 18 1978 but it is highly recommended that it be installed

3.       Thoughts about Landings

·         Pourposing (when airplane bounces up and down when landing as a result of trying to recover) – google “Barrie news purposing”

·         There are 2-3 accidents each year when plane is purposed

·         53% of accidents happen on landings

·         Out of the accidents – 50% are skill based errors, 25% are decision errors (personal minimums or aircraft minimums violated), 7% perceptual errors (eg. rain on windshield)

·         Prevent skill based errors by practice, practice, practice - doing cross wind landings, review emergencies,

·         See Pilot Performance Landing Check Sheet AND mark yourself each time!

·         Overshoot – don’t be afraid to overshoot and make it automatic: FULL POWER AND 

POSITIVE RATE OF CLIMB.  Why overshoot?
o   Runway incursion
o   Airplane on runway
o   HOT and LONG
o   Wind Gust
o   Tower wants you to overshoot
o   Something in runway (#1 things on runway are fuel caps)

·         Rehearsal points

o   BEFORE FLIGHT
o   Know landing procedures
o   Know landing distances and cross wind limits
o   Know wind and runway conditions

o   BEFORE LANDING
o   Have plan to enter circuit
o   Have plan that matches conditions
o   Have an exit point
o   Have an escape route

Side Stories

o   ONE hour a year, go up with a flight instructor and do things that you don’t do by yourself

o   Be careful about hand swinging prop for the planes that require this – many accidents have happened that way

§  Safest way to do is to tie the tail, have someone in the plane with the right throttle settings and breaks on

o   Scan airspeed on rollout

o   Check fuel on-rout EARLY – if fuel cap is loose, fuel will come out (eg. Float plane which took 120 gal of fuel between Toronto Island airport and Stouffvile doing a dead stick on a farmers field)

o   ACCIDENTS – more frequent to people who fly 0-10 hours!  Currency, recency and proficiency are all very critical

o   Oil Filter – cut it open and inspect it; is the engine making metal?

o   Landing control – ensure you can touch down on the numbers and keep plane on centerline without drifting – risk of hitting snowbanks with wings when drifting

o   Tie down rope – change every two years; be WEARY of trying it to concrete (as even 600 lb concrete flies off in strong winds)

o   GOLDEN RULE – NEVER EVER GO ON TOP OF A ROPE.. it is going to grab to a prop ($50k for repair); and any tie downs in grass

o   Google “tie up New Zealand” –you find a 18 pg doc

o   Regulation says – need to have everything you need to have a safe flight, they don’t say do these 50 things.

§  Be careful about DRIFT: Have a printed flight plan, do the prep (eg. Rocket launch north of Brampton – there are rocket launches and there are NOTAMS but people aren’t aware of it), review CYRs, have maps on-board,

o   Report close calls to http://tc.gc.ca/CAIRS  

o   Aviation Safety Letters www.tc.gc.ca/ASL

Flight to Long Island: Farmdale Airport KFRG

For the most part departure and on-route is easy.  You copy and read back instructions on the ground, depart, switch over to the on-route frequency and get handed off from ATC to ATC enjoying the privilege of not having to drive eight hours.

 

 

However, always think ahead with arrival procedure and airport charts out as soon as you are on-route so you can figure out what to expect on arrival as this is where things can get tricky.

For the flight into Farmingdale our departure clearance was as follows:

Cleared to KFRG
Route Direct
Altitude 7000 feet
Frequency 124.87 upon departure
Transponder 5453

The route isn't that straight forward as you enter busier airspace. When over Connecticut we got routed to LOVES intersection then V44 to DPK direct KFRG.  Victor routes can't be put into the GPS so you lookup waypoints and enter those manually. The key is to know your GPS system inside and out so you can readily punch those in (and update it with modifications when ATC issues you a new waypoint).

Hint: You can download GPS simulators and practice at home on your PC.) This way you can enjoy the views instead of being head down and trying to figure out the GPS...

 

When we got to DPK we got vectored to the final (with three planes ahead) and landed with a stiff strong cross wind.  (So it's important to keep the cross wind landing techniques sharp!)

KFRG FBO was terrific with making the crew car available for us (with bagels and coffee in the pilots lounge).

On departure, we called clearance delivery to get our clearance.  Our clearance went as follows...

Cleared to CYGK
Farmingdale Four Departure
Bridgeport
SAX
T218
LAAYK Intersection
T221
CFB
V29
ART
Direct
Climb to 3000
Expect 8000 after 10 minutes
Contact 125.87
Squak 7112

Long clearance, but okay except when you take a closer look it seems unreal that when they say the map isn't to scale, they should also add that the map way points aren't where you expect them to be.

Also, the cleared route takes you over a few states! (the other issue is having to manually enter the waypoints where the T or V routes are).  If you are unprepared to manage these complex routes, IFR can be tough in busy airspace. An app where you can get these entered is a must otherwise you'll end up spending a lot of time trying to find these on the charts.

We then had to wait for at least six inbound and four aircraft in front of us (including jets!) which delayed us by 15 minutes (Friday evening departures out of New York - 15 minutes is way better than hours of inching along traffic out of the freeways in New York City).  

Copying the instructions I should have cross checked the frequency on departure as I copied it wrong (and read it back but didn't get a correction).  So on departure I couldn't get raise the frequency so I switched back to a very busy tower who gave me the correct frequency.

The flight back was longer than it needed to be (2.4 hours rather than 1.8 hours) because we got routed over Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and back over New York before heading into Ontario due to a busy Friday night airspace over New York.

Great flight - just a couple of lessons on being prepared to work the GPS and to ensure that the departure frequency is cross checked with the departure procedures.

Tips and Tricks on Working the GPS on Arrival (and caution on altitudes on the arrival plates)

The routing to KHPN (White Plains) was the most direct I've had - perhaps it's due to the 9000 ft that I filed which didn't require vectoring around airports or local traffic.

Arrival can be very busy for an IFR pilot.  You are flying into busy airspace with controllers speaking a mile a minute and directing 10s of aircraft a second so you are guaranteed to get an arrival procedure - for White Plains this is the 2nd time I've had the NOBBI 5 arrival.

It was slightly tricky this time... I was asked to go direct PETER intersection for the NOBBI 5 approach.

This would typically be straight forward on the GPS - you'd select select approach, load NOBBI 5 approach and when you activate it you'd select from the available transitions.  The slight problem is that there was no PETER transition - just the one before it - DNY.  You can manually (and painfully) enter the waypoints in-between PETER right up till the end as per the above chart and below written instructions, or...

...you can load NOBBI 5 with the DNY transition, select PETER from the GPS flight plan and hit direct to to commence the approach from PETER as instructed.

Also useful to know is that once in a while, the controller will say "proceed on course to" and give you something that's on the approach - so you'd select it from the flight plan and hit direct to, which will bypass the intermediate waypoints, point your plane to the selected way point and continue to the other waypoints.

Note that between CYPER and TRESA the altitude indicated is 6000 ft - I confirmed with the controller if I should descend to 6000 when I got to CYPER to which the controller said "Negative, stay at 9000 ft."  So this requires clarification from an instructor - if you shouldn't go to the step down altitudes or if that's only for comm failure. 

The rest of the flight was uneventful - I was asked to descend to 6000, then 4000, then 2000 while getting vectors along the way to final (runway 16) before being passed on to KHPN tower for the landing #2 following a Falcon.

IFR Group 3 Renewal on a Redbird Simulator

I had no idea what to expect on a simulator test, and hadn't met anyone else who had done their IFR renewal on a sim. The place I contacted emailed me a briefing which consisted of an auto pilot guide and their test standard guides on what Transport Canada expects for a renewal.

I didn't get a destination.  This threw me off as I am hyper-organized with flight planning, weight and balance, weather, NOTAMs, etc, and bring those printed on a clip board to demonstrate that I got this.  I emailed back asking about the destination - they said that will be given to me at the test. 

I prepared as best as I could reviewing weather, emergency procedures, regulations, departure, on-route and arrival procedures and flew up to the examination center (as it's nicer than a two hour drive, and it gives me a chance to get my head into it). (Note to self: review holds next time! Ways to enter holds, VOR holds, etc.)

After signing off a paperwork with my license, emergency contact (in case the sim goes bonkers and catches on fire?!) I met with instructor Res. I was led into the simulator room with impressive looking Redbird simulators (not as impressive as the CAE simulators though).

Since I was new to simulators, the instructor explained that there'd be a ground brief, a very, very hands on introduction to the simulator doing what will be required on the test before the actual test.  The actual test will need to be done by another examiner as TC doesn't want the instructor to also be my examiner.  He said that he is not there to give an opinion about how I fly - I have to formulate my own opinion.  He also said that anything recommended are to be followed such as power settings.

The briefing went as follows...

• Res will be my ATC
• I am to do everything just as I would on an actual flight
• I will be setup on Taxiway E at runway 32 in Ottawa International (CYOW)
• Ottawa (3 SID) departure procedure
• Hold NW 290 degree radial on the YOW VOR standard (right) turns
• Come back for a landing on VOR/DME 14
• Go missed and do a vectored ILS approach to 32

The simulator had some nuances...

• You had a checklist to get the simulator ready - follow that as you would for an actual aircraft
• There is a GPS but you are to use the VORs and ILS for navigation and to couple it to the autopilot
• Use autopilot on departure and don't touch turn it off until you go missed
• Turn on the auto pilot by having the heading bug where you want it to be
• Use the knob to set altimeter setting and press BARO
• Use the knob to set climb to altitude and press ALT
• Press Auto, then Head, then Arm and then Up/Down to change Vertical Speed (VS)
• (whenever you change alt, remember to hit alt, then use the up/down to select VS)
• Toggle between NAV and HEADING (ensuring that the NAV is selected right)
• DON'T hit NAV until you are centered in the NAV (otherwise the auto pilot will be chasing it)

For the ground component, Res first went over the auto-pilot functions.  He then went over the YOW plates with a briefing on what is expected on the flight and told me that the briefing should always be conduced from top to the bottom of the chart (setup frequencies, read the plate, minimum altitudes, emergencies)  - this is the airline technique.

Lastly he spent some time explaining the VOR hold - hinting at how to enter (parallel), and how to have the two VOR navigation devices setup to help track it.  I usually tackle holds by hitting GPS buttons and using auto-pilot to track it, but that won't do here!  Even the chief flight examiner at my other institution said later that it's been a while since he has done anything with VORs other than basic tracking - so VOR holds would have thrown him off too.  It's worth reviewing VOR holds as Transport Canada requires anyone with a ICAO license to know how to use VOR, DME and NDB (as the old airplanes that newly minted pilots go up north to build hours on are very basic, and these pilots need to know about how to use those devices when they get in a jam.)

Here's my attempt at trying to articulate VOR holds...

• For the VOR hold, center your primary NAV the radial FROM (so it shows you how to get there)
• Arm the autopilot when you have it centered so that it tracks to it
• Use the heading bug to get on the 290 track needle on the VOR
• (go to 270 with the bug and move it to 290 when you get centered on the VOR)
• Switch auto pilot to HEAD
• Call ATC with entering on hold
• Time for a minute when the VOR flag goes off (indicating you've passed the station)
• Dial in the outbound track (290) on the secondary VOR
• After the minute, left turn 110, then 80 (inbound track less 30 degrees) to intercept the VOR (Since 290 NW hold is a parallel entry from 320)
• Call ATC with established on hold

1. Once the minute is up AND the flag on the 2nd VOR goes off, do a right turn outbound 290 and time for a minute 
2. Setup the 1st VOR to 110 (inbound track)
3. Turn right 290 and track the 1st VOR inbound
4. If your time is more than a minute, reduce your outbound (and vice versa)

• Repeat at 1

Now for the simulator refresher.

• It's very important to go through the process exactly like you would in a flight. 
• Dial in the frequencies in the order at which the chart is written out (check ATIS, call Clearance Delivery)
• Put in transponder code dial in the NAVs and test them

Mine departure clearance went like this...

1. Cleared to Ottawa airport direct to VOR direct
2. Climb runway heading 32 to 4000
3. Contact 128.175 on departure
4. Squak 4203

• Go through the approach briefing (from top to bottom - not missing comm failure process)
• Call Ground (not in this case as we were at the Taxiway)
• Call Tower
• Depart and dial in the auto-pilot
• Remember to do the approach briefing

The instructor helps you along with the autopilot when required.  I needed some hints for the VOR hold, so I was dreading the actual test.

Now the actual test...

I had to wait for a couple of hours for the examiner (as he had just departed for Ottawa with a student).  I had to skip lunch as I couldn't get into town - be sure to take plenty of snacks and water to your test!

The actual test was easier because the hold was for NW 330 standard right turn (so parallel entry) but when I was getting into the hold I was cleared back.  I said exactly what I was up to so I think it made the examiner feel comfortable, but I did it mostly for my own beneift.  The thing I almost missed, but escaped as I asked clarification is if I was cleared for landing (as I missed the low and over part).  So if you aren't sure, just ask like you'd do in real life.  Also, write everything down as it might be easy to miss a reporting point or to miss an altitude to climb to.

It couldn't have gone better! He was impressed with my flying and signed me off... whoo hoo!

I did some sightseeing on the way back to the home airport...

 

Flight to New Jersey Somerset (KSMQ) Airport and Back (with customs stop on the way there at Watertown)

This was a VFR flight (as my IFR had lapsed).  VFR should be simpler in some ways (you can fly without being vectored all over) but daunting in other ways (do you know for sure you got ALL the restricted zones?) 

I had a knee board done up so that I can have a checklist of what to remember for US flying and all the frequencies all the way to destination (from my notes from my previous IFR flights. (I'll share that kneee board on the blog once I get it updated from this flight.)

Same drill (see my previous blogs for more details)...

• File eApis the day before
• File flight plan in Canada to US portion of the flight the morning of (with Canada)
• File flight plan for the US portion of the flight on the morning of (with US)
• Call customs at Alex Bay to tell them that you are arriving the next day at Watertown and give an ETA
• Get the NOTAMs, weather to expect, printed copy of the flight plans and eAPIS
• Depart

Once you land... 

• Land (uncontrolled airport which is not busy so you'll have to figure out what the active runway is)
• Don't get out of plane till the customs officer comes
• Make a phone call to the US number to close your first leg of the flight plan
• Depart
• Open your flight plan on frequency (I had this written down as I had asked them for the frequency)
• Get flight following all the way there
• REMEMBER TO CLOSE THE FLIGHT PLAN (even towered airports won't close it for you - you'll need to call them to close your flight plan)

Flight back...

• File eAPIS at least two hours before (I did this before I departed knowing when I was going to leave) (the only nuance is to remember to select the closest customs airport for arrival airport, but where it asks for the specifics you can put in your non-customs arrival airport)
• Call Canada customs with CANPASS details (at least two hours before)
• Call to file US-Canada flight plan
• Ask for flight plan to open in X minutes (even towered airports don't open or close it automatically in the US, you'd have to tell them to open)

Do you chop and drop? Descent planning.

How early do you plan your descends?  If you are not planning this well in advance, you are subjecting the engine to shock cooling, your passengers to discomfort, wasting fuel and likely coming in too high for the pattern and for landing.

Say you are at 8000 ft. (IFR flying in a westerly direction) and the fix for the IFR approach is at 3000 ft, you have 5000 feet to loose - when should you start your descent?

Method 1

Descents are usually done at a 3 degree glidepath, so the quick rule of thumb is to take altitude to lose, divide by 1000 and multiply by 3 for the distance before your desired arrival fix you should start to descend by. 

If you want to lose 5000 ft., so you should descend (5000/1000)*3 = 15 miles out.  What should your vertical speed be?  Multiply 5 by your ground speed... so 130 x 5 = 650 ft./min. 

And if 130 kts is your ground speed, that means you have to start your descent 8 minutes out (calculated with your flight computer)

Method 2

If you have a target vertical speed you want to descend with, say 500 feet per min., with 5000 feet that's 10 minutes out.  In 10 minutes, you'd cover 13 miles with your 130 ground speed, so you have to do your descent 13 miles out. 

For both methods, mechanically, to keep speed constant you typically need to remove 100 RPM per 100 feet / min vertical descent, so take out 500 RPM keeping speed constant to achieve your 500 feet per min. descent rate.

(more methods here)

Using the EFB

What if ATC or weather conditions delay the start of your descent?  With the distance and time available what should your vertical speed be and how would you adjust your ground speed if you had a target vertical speed?  For these calculations you need to pull out your trusty EFB, but would have to enhance it with manual tick marks.  Details here.

Check Your Journey Log for 24-month checks... you don't want to engage in illegal flying into Class B or C (or A for that matter if your plane can fly that high)

It might come at a surprise that completing the annuals alone doesn't necessarily make the aircraft maintained to be airworthy - it's the pilot in command's (and the owner's) responsibility to ensure certain things are checked over for the 24-month maintenance requirements (as the 12-month checks will likely be looked after by the annuals)

After considerable prep for my instrument renewal, flying to another airport for the flight test, everything came to a halt as there were two oversights making the plane not airworthy for IFR flights (or for VFR flights into Class B or C airspace).

Despite the inconvenience, it was a good lesson learned as I learned something new:

• First is the Transponder Encoder which needs to be checked once every 24 calendar months 
• The other is the pitot/static leak check, also once every 24 calendar months.  

The compass swings, ELT checks and the other requirements where done - except for the above two.

 https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/publications/tp9939-aircraft-954.htm

"(c) have the aircraft's transponder, including any associated altitude sensing reporting mechanisms, tested and recertified within the previous 24 months in accordance with CAR 625 Appendix C and CAR 571 Appendices B and F"



Lessons learned - not only do you need to be sure you comply with the MOOFACTAR for VFR...

Manifold pressure guage
Oil temperature guage
Oil pressure guage
Fuel qantity indicators
Aairspeed indicator
Compass
Tachometer
Altimeter
Radiocommunication  

and the below for VFR night flying...

Fuses
Attitude indicator
Turn coordinator
Directional Gyro
Altimeter (sensitive)
Pitot Heat
Postion/anticollision lights
Instrument lights
Landing light (if carrying pax)
OAT guage
Vertical speed indicator  

Requirements for IFR flying

Vertical Speed Indicator
Radio Navigation for the flight and missed

...but also all the maintenance requirements for IFR (like the transponder-encoder 24-month check that I missed) AND checks outside of the annual that you need to be familiar with (the pitot-static leak check).

p.s. Also be familiar with the minimum equipment list for the specific airplane which can be found in the POH (eg. can you fly with the door off? check the POH minimum equipment list)

Oh, and one last thing - and check your aviation license booklet - it might be expiring soon, and you need to apply as soon as within 90 days prior the expiry.  Any endorsements added just before license expires when you are in between books is not valid.