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Contrails: Bird Dogs
By Steve Weaver
Any of us who have spent much time around general aviation airports have probably witnessed an arriving light airplane, where when the door opened the first person out was a dog.
Dogs are adaptable creatures and for those of us whose life is made complete by the constant presence of our four legged best friends, taking them along in an airplane doesn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary.
Dude, the Yellow Lab that had me before my present Lab Austin got me, came into my life when I was doing a lot of flying to destinations scattered all over the U.S. On his first flight, I just patted the wing walk and he leaped up and strolled into the cabin like he’d done it a hundred times before. He looked a little puzzled on takeoff when the scenery started slowing down and shrinking, but after contemplating this for a few seconds he curled up in the same comfortable ball that he used in the car and that was the end of it.
Flying in the Mountains
IFR Means I Follow Roads
By Alan Smith
Flying light aircraft in the mountains, especially during the winter months, has its own set of rules. Some are fairly obvious while others are a bit more subtle.
Flying a light plane through rugged mountain territory is done without some of the emergency options a pilot has while crossing the flatlands or wide valleys below. It should be clear, for example, to any pilot as he or she moves through the high peaks and canyons of a mountain range that fields in which he could safely put the airplane in the event of engine failure are few and far between.
Homebuilders Workshop - January 2010
Random Thoughts on Preventing Runway Incursions
By Charles Jackson
Those of us who fly out of Hollister (California) Airport are fortunate to have a very good general aviation airport with a long, wide main runway and a very much needed crosswind runway.
But, like many uncontrolled airports with crossing runways, runway incursions are an ongoing threat, one that must be guarded against constantly. Because of this, a look at our hazards and the precautions we take might be helpful to those flying out of similar airports.
We have quite a mix of traffic – light airplanes coming and going as well as doing flight instruction, fire fighting aircraft, gliders being towed and landing, even a few jets. It can be busy, especially on weekends, and there have been close calls, but so far no runway accidents.
Probably our biggest handicap on this airport is the fact that the approach ends (the ends from which takeoffs begin) of the two runways are not visible from each other due to the hangars on the main ramp. Add to this the fact that the firefighting aircraft, because of their weight, cannot use the crosswind runway for takeoff.