TIP OF THE DAY COLLECTION

Descending with a plan by Rusty Sachs
Many pilots struggle with planning their descents from cruising altitude and arrivals after a cross-country flight. It doesn’t need to be a struggle. A little planning—and some basic math—can help.
When approaching your destination on a VFR cross-country flight, plan your descent to arrive at pattern altitude 3 to 5 miles from the field. This gives you ample time to locate the airport visually, scan for other traffic in the pattern right at the horizon, where it’s easiest to see, and plan your arrival.
Begin your descent with the knowledge that you need 4 miles for each thousand feet you have to lose with a groundspeed of 120 knots and a 500-foot-per-minute descent rate. If you’re flying at 8,500 feet, and the field elevation is 1,500, you have to lose 6,000 feet to get to pattern altitude. Six (thousand) times 4 miles equals 24 miles, so begin your VFR descent 27 miles from the field to arrive at pattern altitude when you’re 3 miles out.
To determine the proper rate of descent to remain on a 3-degree glideslope, multiply your groundspeed in knots by five; this will give you the proper descent rate in feet per minute. If you fly the glideslope at 90 knots, the correct descent rate will be 450 feet per minute.
A few moments spent planning your descent while still at cruising altitude will pay major dividends for you and your passengers’ smooth, no-fuss arrivals at your destination. And the math necessary to make it happen shouldn’t require much thought.
Rusty Sachs is a Master Instructor and the director of the National Association of Flight Instructors.

Bring a simple survivor kit cross-country By Rusty Sachs
Carry a simple survival kit on every cross-country flight; better to have it and not need it than the other way around! A kit is easy to assemble, and you probably have most of the components readily available.
The first element is the container. Make it brightly colored, so you can find it in dim or smoky conditions, and easy to grab. Then place it within reach of the pilot. Many folks use a small backpack with several straps and handles.
Next, decide what to carry. Bear in mind the Rule of Threes: A human being can survive 3 weeks without food and 3 days without water, but only 3 hours without protection from hostile weather. So concentrate on what will be most important in the area you’ll be flying—sun protection in the desert, heat conservation in the snow. A few quarts of water can be crucial, as can a first aid packet.
A handheld radio or cell phone goes a long way toward getting help for you.
Your survival kit should be a dynamic tool, changing with the seasons and varying in its composition from trip to trip.
Rusty Sachs is a Master Instructor and the director of the National Association of Flight Instructors.

Classic rules every pilot should know By Tom Gilmore, MCFI
Experienced pilots have often worked out simple solutions to many of the vexing questions that arise every day in the cockpit. Here’s a quick collection, guaranteed to save some time and frustration.

1. Begin an IFR trip by pulling out approach charts for only the airports needed. You can run copies of the approach charts if they are book bound and even enlarge them on a copy machine. Place the departure airport on top with the airport diagram first. Next in the stack, place the expected approach of the destination airport. If an alternate is required, put those in the stack next with the expected approach that would be first in order.
Always carry a pad of sticky notes in your shirt pocket with an extra pen. These can be used to copy your clearance, and then stick the results to the side window. You can also use them for copying information from ATIS (automatic terminal information service), for recording an abbreviated weather briefing, and to cover up inoperable instruments, if needed. They are a must for my flight bag and shirt pocket.
Pull out only the en route chart you need with the route of flight highlighted—use the new highlighter ink that can be erased. Fold the chart to the appropriate panel for the flight and keep upcoming charts in order and folded for the route.
Dedicate your number one navcom for en route ATC use. Use your number two for ATIS, ground, and tower.
Place a stiff piece of cardboard (a cereal box will do) the size of an approach chart under the active chart on the yoke clip to keep it from flopping down on the bottom.
Highlight the five most important items on the approach charts: minimum en route altitude or density altitude; time to missed approach; final approach course; initial approach fix; and missed approach procedure.
Have all the required frequencies loaded in the navcoms at least 8-10 miles out.
Use a tri-fold kneeboard to keep all charts and flight documents needed for the trip. Put items of use on the center under the kneeboard clip. Next, place all charts for approach and en route in the right-hand section. Then place all items used and not further needed in the left pocket. After the trip, you can store these. The flow of this procedure is from right to left and makes sense as you progress on your trip.
Use a handheld radio to get ATIS information and ask if your clearance is ready before start-up. This saves time, fuel, and frustration.
Tom Gilmore owns and operates Gilmore Aviation in Stuart, Florida. He is a Master Instructor and has been a NAFI member since 1981.

Tip from Bob Jex, MCFI

When totaling up your logbook, write the totals in pencil. This is perfectly legal and permits easy correction of errors that inevitably surface later in a pilot’s career.
When using a GPS for an IFR flight, run an RAIM prediction before leaving the chocks to see if there will be enough satellites overhead your destination when you arrive.
Learn to use aerodynamic braking for most landings: NASA uses this technique for the shuttle; the physics are the same for the more “mortal” pilots among us!
Bob Jex is a Master Instructor working at PanAm Academy in Vero Beach, Florida. He belongs to NAFI and EAA, a member since 1996.

Tip from AVWeb
Want to feel special inside controlled airspace? Request a Special VFR clearance. While your VFR buddies scratch their headsets, you'll scud-run with FAA approval.
Let's review the SVFR rules to see how special you really are. Go to Quiz #84 -- Special VFR

Tip from EAA Sport Aviation / March 2005
Rule of thumb for take offs: You should have 80 percent of your flying speed when you've reached the midpoint of the runway. If you haven't reached that magic number, it's time to pull back the throttle and put on the binders.
When it comes to landing, remember the old one-third rule: Always touch down in the first third of the runway. If that isn't happening, it's probably time to go around and try it again.

Tips for Avoiding Spatial Disorientation / Flight Safety Foundation, Vol. 39, No.1, Jan./Feb. 1992
1 - Seek training in the use of instrument references, including cross-checking skills, and practice them regularly.
2 - Avoid any unnecessary flight maneuvers or quick head movements that can induce sensory illusions.
3 - Avoid mixing visual flight and instrument flight when possible. Transition from visual to instrument flight in anticipation of entering marginal or instrument conditions.
4 - Acquire some level of dark adaptation before departing on a night flight.
5 - Avoid fatigue, sleep deprivation, tobacco, hypoglycemia, and alcohol consumption 12 to 24 hours prior to flight, and avoid more than three alcoholic beverages per week on average.
6 - Avoid excessive caffeine consumption, self-medication, or other self-imposed stresses that can aggravate various sensory illusions.
7 - Avoid flying when suffering from acute medical problems affecting the sensory systems, such as a cold or congestion.
8 - Remember that susceptibility to spatial disorientation increases after several weeks of no flying, and, also remember, that training and experience do not make you immune to the effects of spatial disorientation. It can happen to anyone.

Mike Rudd's Keep Fit Checklist
This is a checklist that was handed out at one of the Microlight Aviation Club meetings, in Popham, England. In this area, Mike Rudd is fairly world famous for his microlighting abilities, having designed various modifications, and built his own microlights and even designed and built microlight trailers! This is just a checklist of the sort of stuff you can check every time you fly, that will help keep your aircraft in tip-top condition. This was originally written for the Thruster microlight, but I've tried to adapt it to apply to more or less any type, so if something doesn't make sense, don't worry. These checks were supposed to be as well as the checks in your owner's manual.
Your Mileage May Vary

Engine and Prop

Check that prop bolts are torqued per the manual, and that lock nuts are retightened.
Check the gearbox oil level (and condition).
Check the gearbox oil casing - the nuts should be tight, and there should be no oil on the casing.
Check the spark plugs are clean, the gaps are set, the plugs should be tight and the caps pushed fully home... tip here: see if it's possible to get a bungy cord to hold the plug caps down tight, as they have been known to vibrate loose - on the 503 you can drill small holes in the airscoop that bolts on over the finning.
Carbs should be upright, check the mounting rubbers are undamaged, and are clamping the collars tight. Throttle cables should be unkinked and set level.
Fuel pipes should be secure, with no nicks or chafes.
Exhaust and crank case bolts should be tight, and there should be no leaks.
The engine mounting bolts and mounts should be secure and tight.
The silencer (muffler) mounts should be whole, and the mounting nuts tight.
Check that the cylinder head nuts/bolts are tight, and the cowl bolts are secure.
The ignition coils and other wiring should be secure and free from damage.
The fuel pump mounting and casing screws should be tight, and there should be no fuel leaks.
Check the engine mount frame (usually steel tube) for missing paint, rust and cracks, especially near weld joints.

Airframe

Using the correct spanners (not an adjustable!) check the tightness of all bolted joints between the tubes that form the airframe structure. All should be easily accessible, except within the wing frame, which should be stripped every now and then to be checked.
Pay special attention to the spring to axle beam bolts and any "A" frame junctions, but do not tighten so much as to crush tubes.
Check the mountings for the fuel tank, and that the tap moves easily.
Tube ends should be checked (small animals like to nest in there!) and rivets in the main spar should be checked to make sure they're tight.
Seat rails should be tight, and all the bolts secure.
Control cables should be checked and cleaned... cables have a tendency to pick up grit which then acts as an abrasive. Check the crimps on cables... these are prone to suffering unseen corrosion, so look for "salting" or, in serious cases, looses strands. Check that the pulleys are turning properly, and aren't damaged.
Check the stick and pedals, for free movement, and the mountings to make sure that they're tight.
Check throughout the airframe for rust on bolts, rivets and screws.
Check that all plug-ends are in tight.
Check the wheel nuts, both the spindle and the nuts to hold the wheel together. These are often found to be very slack.
Check all moving parts. Also look for any flexing of the welds in tubes where applicable.
Check all wing (and tail) surfaces, the integrity of internal frames, hinges and safety clips.
Check the nose or tail wheel... the castor bolt should be only just loose enough to allow turning. The spring fixings have also been found to be loose.
Check the rudder mounting bolts.
Whilst checking the moving parts, lubricate where necessary.

Coverings / Skins

Any damage to the skins should be properly repaired, surfaces should be tight and any misshapen battens removed and re-profiled... tip here: retighten the skins with some (or all) of the battens removed.
Certain skin materials, notably Dacron, degrade in UV light, causing weakness. To form ajudgement on the serviceability of the skin covering material, call in expert help... if you can poke a finger through it - get it recovered.
Algae / green microbes like to colonise on the wing skin... they rot the material, so strip it off occasionally and wash in a mild, soapy solution.

A True Rule of Thumb

What good is a rule of thumb if you can’t really use your thumb? Well, believe it or not, your stubby finger is good for something other than hitchhiking. For the average individual, the length between the tip of one’s thumb to its midpoint (the knuckle where it bends) equates to about 10 nm on a sectional chart. This can be helpful when eyeballing distances, such as for a quick deviation, although it’s not recommended to use this method to measure an entire route or to stay clear of unfriendly airspace.

Attaching Lexan® and Plexiglas®

Nils Eyton, Chapter 222, Sweden

Originally published May 1997 www.eaa1000.av.org

At the 21 January meeting, Russ said that Lexan® or Plexiglas® easily breaks when screws work on it when fitting it. Not so if you use good fitting procedure: Countersink the hole, use a Tinnerman washer, and a larger hole than the screw. It is often easier to countersink first, then drill the center hole. The screw never works directly on the glass. (Be sure to also avoid scratches at all costs--scratches create stress concentrations that lead to cracks.)

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