Aviation News Talk podcast

Max talks with people he’s interviewed over the past year to get updates on their stories. He talks with Robert DeLaurentis the day after he circumnavigated the South Pole, Matt Bergwall for an update on the Cirrus Vision Jet, Jason Blair about our mock IFR checkride, and John Bone about his Antarctica trip.

Max tells stories about pilots who made all kinds of mistakes by rushing. He talks about the many bumps his gotten during preflight. He also discusses poor checklist habits and how skipping one checklist item led to the destruction of a new $900,000. He also talks about how rushing radio communications leads to stepping on other pilot transmissions and inaccurate position reports.

Max talks with Luke Fischer about their trip across the U.S. in a 2016 SR22. Luke talks about the buying process, prepurchase inspection, and acceptance flight. The aircraft is now for rent at West Valley at KPAO. During the trip, Max tested the tracking and satellite text message capabilities of the Garmin inReach. Max also tested a wireless Tango headset that Lightspeed lent for the trip.

Max talks with pilot Eric Gundersen, who created a video that shows some of the factors that led to the crash of a SR22 that was landing at Cable Airport in Upland, CA. The factors identified could apply to any aircraft type and is a cautionary tale for all pilots. And a group of pilots in Mississippi collected and delivered 1000 winter coats for needy children in Wounded Knee, SD.

Pilot examiner Jason Blair gives Max a mock IFR checkride and asks him typical checkride questions. This is also a great review for instrument rated pilots! Max pretends to have brought a Cessna 172/G1000 to the checkride. They talk about required documents, instrument currency, aircraft systems, instrument rules and regulations, and how to brief an approach.

Max visits Garmin headquarters and interviews engineers and management responsible for the new Autoland system. We talk about when development started, some of the key steps in the development process, and some of the challenges Garmin faced in implementing Autoland. We had many listener questions about the system, and we go answers to many of those questions. A listener ask about Fire TFRs.

Max discusses the new Autoland Feature announced for the G3000 in the Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet and Piper M600. It is primarily for use in an emergency, and it can be triggered by pushing a single button, or it can trigger itself if the pilot doesn’t respond to a series of system prompts, such as when a pilot is hypoxic or incapacitated. It relies on the Garmin autopilot for engine management.

Max talks with Rob Lober of Air Tahoe about what it’s like to fly charter, and what it takes to start a charter operation. He talks about the process to get a Part 135 certificate, and about the rules for pilots, including drug testing, and maintenance of the aircraft. He also talks about the economics of the business, including how he finds customers and why he doesn’t own the plane.

Max discusses the NTSB preliminary report on the B-17 crash. And we talk about propeller safety and a number of accidents in which people were killed or dismembered by a propeller. Propeller accidents are more common than you might think, and many happen at night when a spinning prop is almost impossible to see. NEVER let anyone in or out of a plane while the engine is still running.

We discuss the B-17 crash and possible causes. Max summarizes GA accident data from the AOPA Nall report. GA accidents have declined over the last ten years, and the fatal accident rate has dropped substantially Landings are the most common accident type. Experimental aircraft accidents have declined, but still have accidents at a higher rate than other aircraft. A listener asks about CBD Oil.

Sometimes pilots see something wrong, like a plane taxiing and pushing a tow bar, or with a pitot tube cover on, or in the runup area with a baggage door open. In these situations, something is clearly wrong, and pilots must speak up. But the situation is more tricky when you see a pilot head off to do something you know is risky, but which they might be successful at. Still you should speak up.

Two airliners departing Chicago come within a quarter of a mile of each other, an F-16 is nearly out of fuel and options, a C172 pilot is picking up ice, a Cessna 340 pilot lost pressurization and doesn’t know he’s hypoxic. An IFR Mooney has lost everything except his compass. A student pilot diverts because of high winds, and a C182 pilot in IMC is flying low because of bad altimeter readings.

Max talks with pilot examiner Seth Lake of VSL Aviation about getting a multi-engine rating in light twin aircraft and the most efficient order for pilots to get their Commercial and multi engine ratings. Seth also describes terms multi-engine pilots need to know including Vmca and Vyse and what to expect on a multi-engine checkride. He also gives a six step process for managing engine failures.

Max talks about how to troubles shoot problems with the Com radios and the audio panel in general aviation aircraft. First you need to determine whether the problem is common to both the radios and the intercom. If it is, check for problems with the headset, such as whether it’s plugged in all the way, or whether the jacks, or the headset cable is intermittent. Also check audio panel switches.

Robert DeLaurentis, author of Zen Pilot, Flight of Passion and The Journey Within talks about his upcoming polar circumnavigation, and about his previous around the world trip. His new plane, Citizen of the World, is a highly modified 1983 Gulfstream Turbine Commander 900. Robert talks about the challenges of flying a 4200 nm round trip over Antarctica that will take 17 to 18 hours to complete.