PropBlast

Let met get this out first, lest anyone get the idea that I'm nothing but a "fan-boy" for Steven Force's work, that I've been listening to Old Time Radio drama programs since I was a child. I was so into it a few years back that I ran a very successful OTR website so I can honestly tell you, I know from good audio!

That being said, I was seriously moved by a segment of the Airspeed Online podcast that I listened to recently. However, I'm one who can easily "willingly suspend disbelief" and, as a result, find myself getting wrapped up in the emotions of a movie or an audio drama. Lori calls me a sap for this reason so I figured I'd try this piece out on her. She's a pretty tough nut to crack but even she admitted to getting "choked up" listening to Fingers in the Airport Fence Entwined. I was pretty proud of her that she got most of the aviation references; she only had a hard time visualizing the various airplane types mentioned.

All in, this is a fantastic piece of audio that every pilot should listen to and to share with their non-flying friends. Perhaps this will help them "get it"... You can download from the link above or you can listen here online using the flash player below...

They call it an Anatomy of a Mid-Air and talk about being in the right place at the right time! Aero-News.net has secured photos taken of a landing collision between a low wing Piper Cherokee and a high wing Glastar taildragger at Napa airport on New Year's Day.

The pictures clearly show the classic confrontation that we were all warned about in basic training. A low wing plane coming down on top of a high wing plane; each one in the other's blind spot.

Seeing this really gives one pause. How do you prevent this type of thing from happening TO YOU? Given that this was at a non-towered airport (dare I say "uncontrolled"?) and having a tower directing traffic would have gone a long way towards preventing this from happening.

I think the key to this is to be extra vigilant in the pattern. If either pilot was aware of what was going on in the pattern around them (listening and making radio position reports) and keeping a mental picture (as the controllers call it "getting the flick") of where everyone else is in relation to yourself.

However, at non-towered airports, one needs to be extra vigilant as not everyone flying the pattern will have a radio or be making position reports if they do have one. 

I know as I came close to this once at French Valley airport. I was making position reports all the way around and then someone comes on while I'm on short final and reports that HE was on short final. I called out my altitude and wildly looked about trying to find him. I didn't spot him until he popped out ahead and below me over the threshold and I was in a high wing aircraft. I can't imagine if I would have ever seen him in the Cirrus. What I should have done was immediately radioed that I was breaking out of the pattern if I didn't immediately identify the target's location visually.

Needless to say this ended in a low pass over the airport and once again around the patch before landing. Never found the guy either...

The Aviation Mentor blog (what, you mean you don't have this fantastic blog set up in your mandatory reading list?) had a great post on VTF or WTF? He was bemoaning the fact that many pilots when they hear the controller tell them "Fly heading 180, vectors for the ILS 19R," they will automatically load the approach and select Vectors To Final when being presented with the approaches transition options.

The biggest problem with this that as soon as you do so, the approach controller will invariably tell you something like "three miles to SNAKE, cross SNAKE at or above 4000 feet, cleared ILS 16R" and then you're stuck trying to change the procedure at the last minute which can be stressful and take attention away from what you are doing.   

I had this happen a few times in training and I since learned to load a full-approach but this method of extending the centerline of the final approach course is quick and easy. Since I fly behind a pair of GNS430s, the G1000 section at the top of his post wasn't of as much interest to me as the following:

To get the intermediate fixes to display the Garmin 530 or 430, the sequence is a bit different. For this example, let's consider the Salt Lake City ILS RWY 16R, which has three intermediate fixes outside the FAF.

Load the approach with OGD or FANDS as the transition: It doesn't really matter which one you choose.

Activate the approach and you'll be dumped into the flight plan view. Press the small knob to enter cursor mode, scroll with the big knob and highlight BNKER (the FAF), then press MENU.

The Activate Leg option is highlighted by default, so press ENT twice.

This view gives you pretty much what you need, but if you want to see the magenta line extended out farther, there are a couple more steps.

First, make sure your OBS or HSI is set to the localizer front course.

Next, press the OBS button and you'll see the magenta line extended outward. Small problem, the intermediate fixes have disappeared.

Press the OBS button again and like magician David Copperfield, you've reversed the disappearing act and the IFs are shown again.