cessna owners magazine november 2012

CELEBRATING 38 YEARS

12MA

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MICHELIN® TIRES EQUIP OVER HALF OF ALL NEW GENERAL AVIATION AIRCRAFT.*

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* Based on Sept 2010 ACAS fl eet data and Michelin estimates.

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4 CESSNA OWNER NOVEMBER 2012

NOVEMBER 2012CONTENTS

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Features14 10 Cessna Online Things for November

16 “Re-Tiring” Your Airplane

Doesn’t Mean Giving It Time Off!By Floyd Allen

30 421

Cessna’s Golden Piston TwinBy Bill Cox

38 Wheels, Tires, and Brakes

The Unloved ComponentsBy Max Lundin

Opinions & Advice6 Editor’s Letter

Fighting Cabin Fever

By Keith Mathiowetz

24 Under the Cowling

Engine Operating Tips

Prolong Life, Prevent Problems,

and Save Money

By Jacqueline Shipe

46 Lessons from the Logbook

Don’t Get Caught by CFIT

By Bill Cox

Publisher’s Note: The views of the contributing writers are those of the authors and not necessarily the position of the Cessna Owner Organization.

On the Front CoverSafe flying begins on the ground with good tires, wheels, and brakes. They are just as important to flight as wings and avionics.

30Departments7 On Approach

Aviation News, Products & Updates

52 Flight Market

54 Ad Index

38

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The new IFD540 and IFD440FMS/GPS/NAV/COMs set a new standardfor user-interface simplicity in communication and LPV navigation.

Not only that, but they are true plug & playreplacements for existing 530 & 430-Seriesnavigators, requiring no wiring changes,keeping installation easy and affordable.

Leveraging the award-winning Page & Tabuser interface of our Entegra Release 9system along with highly-intuitive ‘Hybrid-Touch’ user interface, the IFD540 andIFD440 make it much easier to access the information you want when you want it,whether you prefer touch-screen orknob/button controls.

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With the arrival of autumn’s shorter days, cooler temperatures, and periods of scattered snowfalls in many regions of the country, most owners have begun to put away their aircraft for the season. I say “most,” because

some pilots, of course, aren’t worrying about what Mother Nature brings. They are strapping on a pair of skis to enjoy their sport; for them, the calendar has no limits.

For the majority of owners residing in the northern climates, though, winter tends to shut down their passion, but not entirely. To stay involved in aviation, they engage in activities that are beneficial to themselves and their aircraft. By doing these things, they keep cabin fever at bay. Included among their ef-forts are airplane maintenance/improvements and trip planning.

Airplane owners may not be able to take to the skies, but they can work on their aircraft to keep up with general maintenance or improve a few things that have been on their wish list for a while. Repairing or replacing cracked interior parts, polishing the windshield, or performing other routine chores can be accomplished easily when the airplane is parked for an extended period of time. If you have been thinking about a new paint job or interior, or having new avionics installed, now

is a good time to deliver the aircraft to a shop to have those procedures done. When spring arrives, you’ll enjoy flying in your “new” airplane!

And speaking of flying, what better way to take advantage of your updated airplane next year than to use it for long-distance

vacations? It’s never too early to plan one or several trips, so doing a bit of dream-ing and research during the winter will help make the dark months go by quickly, as well as get you prepared for the actual journeys coming up. There are so many places, both domestic and international, to see and experience that the most dif-ficult part of your work will be deciding which locations to visit!

Don’t let the poor weather ahead keep you from enjoying general aviation. With some thought, planning, and execution, you and your airplane will make it through winter just fine and be ready for springtime flying adventures!CO

Yours in flight,

Keith Mathiowetz, [email protected]


Fighting Cabin Fever

Editor’s Letter� By Keith Mathiowetz

The Official Publication of the Cessna Owner Organization

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORDaniel Weiler

PUBLISHERJoe Jones

EXECUTIVE PUBLISHERRyan Jones

EDITORKeith Mathiowetz

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

ART DIRECTORClay Miller

SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITORJim Cavanagh

SENIOR CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

DIRECTOR OF AVIATION AD SALESDaniel Weiler

OFFICES:

www.cessnaowner.org

All Rights Reserved

THE FINE PRINT:Memberships, advertising orders, copy and correspondence should be ad-dressed to P.O. Box 5000, Iola, WI 54945. Annual Dues: $49.95 per year in the USA. Canada/Mexico please add $20 per year. Overseas orders, please add $30 per year. Eighty percent (80%) of annual dues is designated for your magazine subscription. Publications Agreement No. 40049720. Ad-dress Changes & Subscription Questions: When contacting us with an ad-dress change, please include your mailing label. The information presented in CESSNA OWNER magazine is from many sources for which there can be no warranty or responsibility by the publisher as to accuracy, originality or completeness. The magazine is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering product endorsements or providing in-struction as a substitute for appropriate training by qualified sources. CESS-NA OWNER magazine and Jones Publishing will not assume responsibility for any actions arising from any information published in CESSNA OWNER magazine. We invite comments and welcome any report of inferior prod-ucts obtained through our advertising, so corrective action may be taken.

CESSNA OWNER magazine (ISSN 0745-3523) is the official publica-tion of the Cessna Owner Organization. CESSNA OWNER magazine is published monthly by the Aircraft Owners Group, P.O. Box 5000, N7528 Aanstad Rd., Iola, WI 54945. Periodicals postage paid at Iola, WI 54945 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CESSNA OWNER magazine, P.O. Box 5000, Iola, WI 54945.

CESSNAOWNER.ORG CESSNA OWNER 7

New Book Helps Cessna 210 PilotsJust released is an all-new primer on owning and flying the Cessna 210 Centurion. In Flying the Cess-na 210: The Secrets Unlocked, author Chuck McGill covers the wide gamut of 210 models, ac-cessories, and modifications. He offers insight on optimum perfor-mance and safe operations based on thousands of hours of flying and teaching in the airplane.

Available digitally and in print, the book is dedicated to helping all who own or want to fly a Cessna 210 and master the art of safely and efficient-ly piloting this complex airplane.

“What really inspired me to write this book was the hundreds of pilots I’ve trained, so many of whom have said they so appreciat-ed how much more they got out of

their airplanes from the experiences and techniques they learned,” said

McGill. Chuck McGill is a five-time Master CFI with more than 12,000 hours of flight experience. He has more than 4,000 hours flying and in-structing in all 210 models, including flying his own T-210 round trip from Southern California to Europe.

Based on the author’s extensive ex-perience, the book contains a broad offering of insights and techniques de-signed to help the pilot get the most from safely flying the Centurion. “So often,” says McGill, “people purchase complex go-fast airplanes but don’t have a good understanding of the air-plane’s systems and flight character-istics. I’ve written this book to extend pilots’ knowledge far beyond a POH and to help them get optimum per-formance, safety, and longevity from their airplanes.”

One of McGill’s 210 students came away from instruction and the new book saying, “You will be asking your-self, ‘How did I fly this airplane without knowing all these things and without these skills?’”

Although offering some background on the C-210, T-210, and P-210, the book is much less about history and mechanics, focusing instead on sys-tems and operations. Its 11 chapters and extensive appendix offer insight into common operational issues dur-ing preflight, taxi, takeoff, climb, cruise, descent, and landing opera-tions unique to each model of the 210. Additionally, it goes a long way to help pilots of airplanes with STC’d mods, accessories, and new avionics under-stand how those enhancements can be best used to make the most of safe flight operations.

Chuck McGill has been teach-ing for more than 30 years and has logged more than 12,000 hours in more than 80 makes and models of general aviation aircraft. He is a five-time Master CFI, and in 2009 was honored as CFI of the Year, FAA Western Pacific Region. McGill specializes in individualized training

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PAMA and Repairaplane.com Announce PartnershipThe Professional Aviation Mainte-nance Association (PAMA) is proud to announce a strategic partnership with Repairaplane.com, a new website designed to match general aviation aircraft owners with qualified A&P mechanics and certified repair stations throughout the country. They include paint, interior, and avionics shops.

To celebrate the partnership, Re-pairaplane.com is offering all PAMA

members a highly discounted six-month trial subscription rate of $285 in order to take advantage of the site’s services. Membership includes a free tile ad on Repairaplane.com’s home page, an enhanced profile in search re-sults, e-mail alerts when work is posted in their area, and a free PAMA mem-bership renewal.

Repairaplane.com subscribers will also receive personalized market-ing support to ensure jobs are being posted within their area. So long as a member stays subscribed to Repaira-plane.com, their PAMA membership will be renewed annually at no cost on an ongoing basis. Non-PAMA mem-bers that subscribe to Repairaplane.com can also enroll in the introductory special and will be given a free one-year subscription to PAMA, as well.

“The site gives mechanics and re-pair stations the opportunity to in-

crease their busi-ness while gaining exposure in the marketplace at a very nominal cost,” says Dave Cooperman, one of the site’s part-ners. “There is no other product or service available that we know of that provides the value of Repaira-plane.com. One job should eas-ily cover the cost to subscribe. In a tough economic e n v i r o n m e n t , we’re proud to launch a website and service that will bring some innovation to an often overlooked segment of avia-tion. Our partner-ship with PAMA is greatly welcomed,

and we hope the site will provide un-surpassed value to its members and the industry as a whole.”

Dale Forton, president of PAMA, commented, “As an industry resource for information regarding aviation maintenance, PAMA believes this to be a benefit to our members as not only an information resource but as an opportunity for a tremendous revenue generator for those who take advan-tage of the service.”

At Repairaplane.com, aircraft owners post needed repair or up-grade work for free, then receive bids directly from the mechanics and shops interested and qualified to do the job. This provides every owner with access to more resources than ever before when approaching their airplane repair or upgrade work. At the same time, this allows mechanics the opportunity to bid and win busi-ness they may not have had access to otherwise. For more information on Repairaplane.com, contact [email protected].

The purpose of PAMA is to pro-mote a high degree of professionalism among aviation maintenance person-nel, while improving methods, skills, learning, and achievement in the field of aviation maintenance. In addition to conducting national, state, and lo-cal meetings and seminars, PAMA’s ongoing activities include fostering communications, recognizing excel-lence, and collaborating with gov-ernmental and other organizations to enhance the safety and stature of the maintenance profession. For more in-formation, visit pama.org.

Concorde Battery Model Approved for SkylanesWilco Vice President Mike Hattrup announced recently FAA approval of its modification of STC SA00753WI to convert Cessna models 182S, 182T, and T182T from existing lead acid batteries to Concorde’s valve-regulated, sealed lead acid recombi-nant gas batteries.

On Approach


SA00753WI permits the replace-ment of the main battery alone. The main battery is replaced with Con-corde’s RG24-15 or RG24-16.

According to Hattrup, “Concorde’s valve-regulated lead acid (VRLA) re-combinant gas (RG) absorbed glass mat (AGM) technology has been proven as reliable, durable, and safe for more than 30 years. Its superior performance can be attributed to unique design fea-tures, such as proprietary PolyGuard separators (an additional layer of pro-tection against shorting, unique to Con-corde), robust plate construction, and over-the-cell-wall intercell connections for reduced internal resistance, as well as a commitment to quality standards.”

Concorde batteries do not require water or electrolyte replenishment. With the benefit of RG series batteries shipping Hazmat exempt, transporta-tion is less costly.

Wilco is an aftermarket distributor of aircraft parts and has been providing quality products, service, and support since 1953. Wilco holds nine STCs, al-lowing for battery installations on more than 450 models of aircraft, including most Beech, Cessna, and Piper piston and turbo-prop aircraft.

Schweiss Doors Develops New Hydraulic PumpSchweiss Doors, a Minnesota-based company providing quality bi-fold and hydraulic one-piece doors for ag-ricultural buildings, aircraft hangars, businesses, and other installations, announces it has developed a new, more powerful, and smoother-running hydraulic pump system. It is the Red Power.

Mike Schweiss, owner of the com-pany, said that, since the system was first introduced at various trade shows

around the United States, farmers, ranchers, and pilots have been asking for it by name.

“Over the years, we rolled together our customer comments, combined with our knowledge and experience, and turned it over to our talented Schweiss design team to perfect. What’s really nice for the buyer is that we don’t charge them a penny more for this new pump than what they paid before. It goes on all our hydrau-lic doors and is made at our factory,” said Schweiss.

The Red Power hydraulic pump comes to the buyer in a compact unit. It is ready to be mounted on a wall, floor, or back room. Its power comes from a top-quality LEESON motor and offers superior electrical components.

The Safety Advantage System and three back-up systems are something buyers really like. They allow the door

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to lock up and down and safely lower the door in an emergency from ground level. The hydraulic directional control valve has a built-in manual override. Back-up systems are all in the same compact unit.

For more information, call (800) 746-8273, visit schweissdoors.com, or e-mail schweiss@schweissdoors.

Be Prepared with a Shure Safety StationEssential to any maintenance facility is an emergency center. The Safety Sta-tion, produced by the Shure Manufac-turing Corporation, allows you to store your first aid kits, bandages, and sup-plies safely and efficiently.

The unit has many features, includ-ing heavy-duty reinforced steel con-struction, ideal storage for material safety data sheets, stainless-steel top, stainless-steel chase panel, and leg levelers. Standard accessories include mirror, soap dispenser, towel dispens-er, and waste receptacle. An emergen-cy eye wash attachment is standard. Colors available are Carmine Red or Safety Yellow (other colors are avail-able upon request).

For more information, visit www.shureusa.com or call (800) 227-4873.CO

On Approach

1. Avionics CentralThere are lots of great threads with useful information. Share your expertise, or find help from others. www.cessna owner.org/avionics

2. STCs Made EasyOur huge database has information on more than 39,000 STCs. www.cessnaowner.org/stc

3. In the NewsThe general aviation world always has something happening. We have the latest! www.cessnaowner.org/news

4. Aviation AlertsThe most recent airworthiness di-rectives, service bulletins, and other notices are available within the Members Only Content area. www.cessnaowner.org/alerts

5. Learn Additional Flying SkillsIt’s always beneficial to acquire new piloting knowledge and abilities. Here are several ways to obtain training. www.cessnaowner.org/training

CESSNA10Online Thingsfor

6. Mixed SignalsRead how radio communication, or lack thereof, caused a close-call feel-ing in a student pilot. www.cessna owner.org/horse

7. Fly a Cessna 170 Series Aircraft?If you own a 170 series airplane, you’ll benefit from these specific technical discussions about it. www.cessnaowner.org/170

8. The Iconic 150Many students trained in one, and numerous pilots own one. It seems everybody has a soft spot for the little 150. www.cessnaowner.org/150

9. Time to Re-BootMaintenance expert Jacqueline Shipe describes how deicing boots work and what it takes to replace them. www.cessnaowner.org/boots

10. Join or Renew Your MembershipEnjoy all the benefits of being a Cessna Owner Organi-zation member! www.cessnaowner.org/join

Scan to access these links from your smart phone.


November


The amount of time that an air-plane spends on its tires during a flight is minimal, but it’s vitally

important that those tires are in more than just “passable” condition.

“No doubt about it,” Steve Johnson, president of SuperCub.Org, began, with a grin in his voice, “blowing a tire on landing is more than a little exciting!”

Obviously, no pilot wants the “ex-citement” Johnson alluded to, and, as a result, the pilot needs to make sure that the tires “pass inspection.”

“I think,” said John Pichitino, of Pitch Perfect Aviation in Nevada City, California, “that most pilots do a regu-lar visual inspection of their tires, and that’s how they determine when new tires are needed.”

“Re-Tiring” Your Airplane

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“I know that’s the way I do it,” Phil Sanders, who owns Triple S Repair in Kingman, Arizona, agreed. “One of the things I do is make sure the tires are wearing evenly and not more on one side than the other. The main’s can get out of alignment, similar to what happens with a car.”

There are a number of other issues that readily come to mind when it comes to tire wear. One of the more prevalent is flat spots, which, as Sand-ers pointed out, creates a “thumpity thump” when taxiing. These flat spots are caused by braking, and they are especially a problem when a craft is used for training purposes, as students have a propensity to hit the brakes hard. Normal wear and tear is another issue, and during your inspection, you should be checking on tread depth.

“With the Super Cubs,” Johnson shared, “you have a somewhat unique situation, as we use tubeless tires with no tread, so we typically run ’em ’til the cords show.”

Jason Erickson, director of main-tenance at Wipaire, Inc. in South St.

Paul, Minnesota, had a few other things people should keep in mind when they’re inspecting their tires.

“While the surface area should be checked out,” Erickson advised, “you also need to pay attention to the side-wall and make sure no cracking is taking place there, either. Too, you will want to check your sidewalls for bulges.”

Erickson went on to say that you will also want to be attuned to the possibil-ity of chemical damage to your tires, and also of heat damage that can be created during braking.

Determining that you need new tires is one thing, but deciding which tires to buy is quite another. The decision is based on a number of factors.

“I think,” Johnson began, “that a major factor in the purchase of tires is determining what the mission of the craft is.”

He went on to explain that an ex-tension of an airplane’s mission is knowing what kind of surface the craft will be landing on. In the case of the Super Cubs, they land virtually any-where and, as a result, need a much

different tire than one that is landing on paved runways.

“I have discovered,” Pichitino inter-jected, “that a training environment requires a very durable tire, because, as we already mentioned, students can be more than a little rough on tires.”

“I hope I’m not being too practi-cal,” Sanders offered, “but as with anything else, cost has a bearing on the tires I choose.”

Sanders also shared that he tends to listen to what other pilots are saying about the tires they use and the kind of luck they are having with them. It is his contention, and probably rightfully so, that experience is probably as good of an indicator as there is when making the decision of what rubber to put on your airplane.

“You do want to remember,” Erick-son pointed out, “that some airframe manufacturers actually have specifica-tions regarding the tires that should be used on their craft.”

These specifications include, but are not limited to, size and ply rating. In regard to this, Erickson shared that,

An aircraft with retractable gear; an example of very specific tire size requirements.

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among various tire manufacturers, there can be considerable sidewall strength and weight differences for the same size and ply rated tire. His last thought in this area was that, just as in all other aspects of aircraft mainte-nance, when it comes to tires, “you get what you pay for.” As can be expected, cheap tires don’t seem to last as long as their more-expensive counterparts.

“With my Super Cub,” Johnson shared, “I use Bushwheels, which are somewhat of a specialty tire.”

The Bushwheels Johnson uses are 35 inches in diameter and were chosen for their special construction. They are handcrafted onto airbags and have a sidewall valve stem. The air pressure in these tires can be low-ered for rough-ground usage, and pi-lots do not have to worry about tire slippage and stem shearing.

Our experts agreed that there are several things that would convince them to not purchase a particular tire. This included their overall track record and, of course, the fact that they were not cost-prohibitive.

“I do a little research regarding tires,” Sanders reiterated, “but, mostly, I tend to learn from others’ experience.”

Collectively, pilots may not be one of those groups that is readily considered

“green,” but they are, nonetheless, envi-ronmentally conscious. As a result, they have come up with appropriate ways to dispose of used tires. Some of which are more than a little bit creative.

“I’ve heard,” Sanders began, “that old tires can help improve fish habitat.”

Sanders is absolutely right. Profes-sor George W. Lewis of the University of Georgia created a leaflet for the School of Forest Resources that de-scribes “fish attractors” in freshwater,

which are similar to artificial reefs in saltwater. He advises that scrap tires are good for this project, as they are available in large numbers and are available at little or no cost. They don’t rust, corrode, leach harmful chemicals, or decompose.

Johnson suggested that tires could be used as a life preserver in your air-plane, as planters, or as a swing.

Sanders admitted, “I have given them to friends whose tires were in

Large tires perform better in unimproved areas.

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worse shape than the ones I had taken off. Mostly,” he added some-what sheepishly, “I stack up ’em in the hangar and think, ‘I might need them one of these days!’”

“I’m a little like Phil in that respect,” Pichitino offered. “My hangar isn’t ex-actly ‘waterproof,’ so I tend to have the tires here and there in the hangar and set things on them, like my waste basket, and whatever else I want to keep high and dry!”

“One issue regarding tires that we haven’t discussed,” Pichitino continued, “is retreads. I think that the process has gotten a lot better in the past 15 years or so, and this may be a viable consideration for frugal pilots.”

If you are contemplating the use of retreads, there are several things you may want to consider. FAA certi-fication of an aircraft tire retread op-eration guarantees only the highest quality for the aircraft industry. More than 95 percent of today’s commer-cial airline operations use retreaded aircraft tires. For many aircraft, tires represent the third largest item in the operating budget, and retreads can help greatly reduce this expendi-ture. Retreading is “environmentally friendly,” as it only takes 7 gallons of oil to retread a tire instead of 22 gal-lons to manufacture a new one.

Whether retreads are in the future for you and your craft or not, replacing your tires certainly is. As a result, be sure to inspect them frequently and keep your-self safe to make sure that you avoid the “excitement” of a blowout.CO

Don’t forget about the tailwheel.

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Arguably, airplane operating costs can be considered to be at an all-time high with the ever-

increasing prices of fuel, insurance, and storage. Although it is impossible to control some costs, properly taking care of equipment through preventive maintenance and correct operation can have a significant impact on the price per hour of flying.

Preventing and treating corrosion is usually the most important action in caring for the airframe. Although cor-

rosion is also a concern for the engine, minimizing wear is of top priority in maintaining the engine. The constant movement, friction between moving parts, and high temperatures combine to constantly produce engine wear.

Oil System CareThe oil system is responsible for keep-ing wear to a minimum and reducing temperatures. High-quality oil should be used, and the oil needs to be changed often. Most operators change

oil every 50 hours. Changing oil at 25-hour intervals is better, not only because of the cleaner oil, but also be-cause the screen or filter element can be inspected more often for metal.

Metal MindsetMetal will almost always be present in minute amounts, because some wear takes place every time the engine is started. Larger-than-normal metal amounts should be investigated to de-termine the cause. The type of metal particles present gives the best clue as to where it is coming from. Aluminum particles are generally produced from wear on the piston pin end caps or from the piston itself. Brass is usually produced from the rocker arm bush-ings. Steel can come from a number of places. Common areas for wear, espe-cially on certain models like the Conti-nental O-470 and the Lycoming O-320 H2AD engines, are the camshaft lobes

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and lifter bodies. Lycoming makes a special additive that must be added at every oil change to this model to help prevent camshaft wear. The Continen-tal O-470 gives almost no trouble if it is run often enough. However, if it sits for long periods, its lifter bodies get spots of corrosion on them that start as dark spots of rust about the size of a match head. They eventually flake off, leav-ing a rough surface that grinds into the cam lobe. This type of wear will con-tinue once it starts until the cam and lifter bodies are replaced.

Oil analysis data is helpful, but there needs to be an established pattern so that any slight increases in a certain type of metal can be detected by com-paring it to the previous data.

Prevent CorrosionThe best way to prevent corrosion in any engine is to run the engine fairly regularly and to be sure it gets up to its normal operating temperature. Oil temperatures lower than 180 degrees won’t get hot enough in the engine to evaporate moisture. The engine gets moisture from condensation that forms on the upper surfaces once the oil has drained down. Some oil temperature gauges can be off in their calibration or have a large green scale with no mark for 180 degrees. In this case, the mark for 180 degrees can be made by re-moving the oil temperature probe from the engine and re-connecting it to the line from the gauge. Use a container of water that can be heated and place a thermometer in the water along with the probe. Heat the water until the thermometer reads 180 and place a mark on the gauge in the plane.

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Pull the oil filter element from its housing in order to inspect it.

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Consistently low oil temps can be raised by covering part or all of the oil cooler. This is a trial-and-error process, because the temperatures vary a lot with the outside air temperature.

Increases in oil consumption should be investigated also. Slight increases will occur as the engine gets time on it because of wear and blow-by past the rings. A sudden increase can be an indication of a broken ring or a leak.

Check for Exhaust LeaksIn addition to running the engine reg-

ularly, it should be given an overall in-spection periodically so that some prob-lems can be caught early. Exhaust leaks need to be remedied as soon as possi-ble, because the corrosive exhaust gases will erode the cylinder head. Caught early enough, the fix for an exhaust leak is usually just a gasket replacement. However, if it is allowed to continue, it can require replacement of the cylinder. Some models are also prone to exhaust leaks at the slip joints where the pipes are connected. These leaks can cause severe corrosion of the engine mount if they are not corrected quickly.

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Push rod tubes on a Continental O-470. The far right tube and push rod have been removed for inspection of the camshaft and lifter body.


Adjust Carburetor SettingsMixture and idle speed settings should be kept in proper adjustment. Engines that are running consistently too rich or too lean will develop problems. Carburetor heat application should be accompanied by leaning the mixture a little so that the proper mixture setting is maintained. The hot, thinner air that results from applying carburetor heat automatically results in a richer fuel/air ratio if the mixture is not leaned. It is imperative to remember to run the engine up and pull on carburetor heat on the ground before takeoff following long periods of taxi when conditions are conducive for ice formation. This is especially true for models that are prone to carb ice, such as the Conti-nental O-200.

Engine Speed SpecificsThe number of RPMs that the engine produces should be consistent on each takeoff. The tachometer should be glanced at on the takeoff run once full throttle has been applied to check the reading. If the tach doesn’t come up to what it normally does, there is something wrong, and the takeoff can be aborted if it is caught early enough. This is good to check on planes with fixed-pitch propellers. Variable-pitch-propeller planes will usually maintain the normal takeoff RPM even with a slight abnormality, because the gover-nor adjusts the pitch of the blades to maintain it.

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The same O-470 is being lifted out of the airplane for a top overhaul.


Approaching Lake County Airport in Leadville, Colorado, you’d never guess it’s the highest municipal airport in America unless you kept

a close eye on the altimeter. Perched on a plain in the Colorado Rockies, the surrounding terrain looks de-ceptively benign. If you didn’t know better, you might think you were about to land at some gentle destina-tion in the Alleghenies. Only the snow-capped peaks in late May provide a hint of high altitude.

With apologies to Alaska, this is America’s truly “big country.” Alaska has higher mountains, but they’re less accessible. Fly high Colorado, and you learn to accept three-mile-or-higher cruise heights. The state has nearly a dozen fly-in destinations a mile-and-a-half above the sea: Buena Vista, Creede, Gunni-son, Monte Vista, Pagosa Springs, Salida, Telluride, Walden, Westcliffe, and, king of them all, Leadville, built far up in the tall sky at 9,927 feet MSL.

Today, I’m happy to be flying solo in a Cessna 421, with two big turbocharged Continentals out on the wings to protect me from evil. This is the begin-ning of another ferry trip, this one from St. Louis to the Philippines, and since I’m flying an airplane to match the mountains, I’ve decided to stop in at Leadville and breathe the clean, fresh air stacked two miles deep.

421Cessna’s Golden

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Clean and fresh, but thin. Climb the steps from the ramp to the log cabin ter-minal building, and you’ll wish that you had a turbocharger. As I sit enjoying a cup of coffee, letting my heart rate and respiration recover and looking out at what will be “my” twin Cessna for the next two weeks, I reflect that this should be an easy and fairly quick trip. It will certainly be a comfortable one.

High-Level LuxuryIn some respects, the Cessna 421 is ide-ally suited for flying above the tall rocks. It’s turbocharged and pressurized to keep both its engines and its passengers breathing normally at five-mile heights.

Indeed, there aren’t many jobs the 421 can’t do, provided you launch and recover it from smooth, 3,000-foot strips. The 421 was built from the late 1960s to the mid 1980s, and it represents perhaps the apogee of twin-engine development and the top of the Wichita company’s multi-engine line. The Golden Eagle was the top model in Cessna’s 400 series of piston twins, with twin Continental GTSIO-520Ns rated for 375 hp apiece and a 5.0 psi pressurization system that maintains a 10,000-foot cabin at 26,000 feet. By 1985, average-equipped price had risen above $800,000, and that was the airplane’s final year of production.

Cessna sold seven that year. For better or worse, 1985 was the

year Cessna president Russ Meyer discontinued all piston products, an alleged reaction to the litigious senti-ment in America, but probably also related to a piston market gone south in a half-dozen years and the fact that there was far more money to be made building turbine-powered airplanes.

Whatever the motivation, the 421 was certainly one of the most comfort-able and quiet corporate conveyances in the sky. Fitted with eight seats, the Golden Eagle was almost ideally suit-ed for charter operators.

It also offered strong competition for corporate turboprops but at half the price.

Even if it was nowhere near the fast-est of the upscale piston twins, the 421 was almost universally regarded as the ultimate cabin-class piston twin. The cockpit offered what many regarded as the ideal enclosure for a pilot and up to seven passengers, and the engines were geared down to cruise at 1,900 rpm, providing a quiet environment for en-route work or relaxation. When throttled back to long-range power, the airplane (with the big 262-gallon op-tion) could range out 1,200 nm, mak-ing one-stop, coast-to-coast trips an easy one-day process.

A Cut above the CompetitionThe late 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s were the heyday of piston twins. From the Seminole, Cougar, and Duchess at the bottom to the 421 at the top, there was a twin for every reason.

Accordingly, there were several other contenders to the 421’s imperial throne. The Piper Aerostar 700 was the ultimate speedster, a five/six-seater with a cruise near the vaunted 261 knots (300 mph) at FL250, faster than some turboprops. Beechcraft’s model 60 Duke could only haul a six-pack, but it offered charac-teristic Beech handling and dead-sexy styling. The Commander 680, often regarded as the most prestigious of cor-porate twins, could carry a big load and featured luxurious accommodations. The Piper Pressurized Navajo, with its huge 425-hp Lycoming TIGO-541 en-gines, and the short-lived Piper Mojave, the latter a piston-powered Cheyenne 1, were Piper’s attempts to capture the luxury market.

The 421, nevertheless, always seemed a cut above. The airplane had a certain je ne sais quoi that consis-tently outdistanced the competition. In its prime, it was a reasonable seller for Cessna, despite a base price that ex-actly quadrupled in 18 years.

Still, the 421 had unquestionable talent. If you were willing to fly high,


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the Golden Eagle could clock along at a realistic 225 knots, providing you owned a refinery and were willing to pour 40 gph through the engines. At today’s avgas prices, that’s about $250/hr for fuel. (In fairness, virtually all the big twins mentioned above de-manded roughly the same fuel flow or more, especially the P-Navajo that ex-acted more like 45 gph as revenge for its power and speed.)

Big MachineThe 421 was a big machine in virtually all respects. It boasted a huge 55-inch-wide cabin, 51 inches tall at the mid position. It was hardly stand-up head-room, except for kids and little people, but everyone was accommodated in wide, sumptuously upholstered, plush, leather seats, usually with armrests. Each aft seating position typically in-cluded writing tables, Wemac vents, and personal reading lights.

Outside the airplane, Cessna chose a variety of three NACA 23000 series airfoils for the 402, 414, and 421. All employed five degrees of dihedral outboard of the engines and inci-dence that varied from 2.5 degrees at the roots to .5 degree at the tips. The wings provided a gentle stall with little tendency to roll under the bottom.

Cessna’s docile wing choice pro-vided a service ceiling of 30,200 feet, but the effective limit was more like 26,000 feet where the 5.0 psi cabin was flying at 10,000 feet. Operat-ing at the airplane’s maximum non-RVSM height of 29,000 feet would have resulted in cabin air pressurized to about 12,500 feet, well above most passengers’ tolerance for hypoxia.

With 750 hp under your right palm, power loading worked out to almost ex-actly 10:1, a magic ratio for high-perfor-mance aircraft. Accordingly, a properly

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loaded 421 could loft uphill at an easy 1,700 fpm if you were doing everything right. The book said 1,940 fpm, but that may have been a little optimistic.

Max takeoff weight was 7,450 pounds, with another 50 pounds al-lowed for ramp weight. A typically equipped empty weight was about 5,100 pounds, so useful load worked out to 2,350 pounds. Standard fuel was 206 gallons. That left a full-fuel payload of 1,149 pounds – a pilot, five passengers, and 120 pounds of bag-gage. If you opted for the long-range 262-gallon tanks, you were left with more like 780 pounds – a pilot and three passengers, plus some baggage.

Like most corporate airplanes, 421s rarely flew with full tanks. The trick was to carry enough petrol for the leg, plus re-serve; then, refuel at your destination, not tanker extra fuel that served no purpose other than to weigh down the airplane.

According to the National Business Aviation Association, a typical busi-ness flight doesn’t normally exceed 500 nm – 2.6 hours, plus reserve, in a Golden Eagle. That’s only about 140 gallons worth. If you have the standard 206-gallon tanks, you could leave 66 gallons in the truck, and you’d have a whopping 1,500-pound payload, enough to fill every bucket and allow each passenger 15 pounds of baggage to boot. With large cargo enclosures in the nose and wing lockers, there was little need to carry baggage inside the cabin unless you wanted to.

Endurance and ReliabilityMy airplane was equipped with the long-range tanks for my 9,000-nm trip to the Philippines, so it wasn’t neces-sary to install the usual huge 350-gal-lon ferry tanks. The longest leg on the Pacific is most often the West Coast to Honolulu, about 2,160 nm. Assuming you can find avgas after that, the legs become shorter all the way to the Phil-ippines – Honolulu to Majuro, Majuro to Guam, and Guam to the Philippines.

A 421 with 262 gallons internal plus an extra 250 gallons of ferry fuel has an endurance of about 14.6 hours to exhaustion. At a 35-gph economy set-ting and 190-knot cruise, it should need only 11.4 hours for the crossing, leav-ing a three-hour reserve. (If there’s no


fuel in Majuro, you’ll need to reroute through Pago Pago, American Samoa, a distance of 2,260 from Honolulu.)

Of course, putting aside such un-usual requirements, the whole point of a twin-engine airplane is the redun-dancy of the second engine, and the 421’s geared GTSIOs had a checkered career. The big Cessna’s Continentals were problematic from the beginning, and the airplanes soon earned a repu-tation as shop queens because of the complex, tightly cowled, geared, tur-bocharged powerplants. Initial TBO was set at a low 1,200 hours, but that was later raised to a more reasonable 1,600 hours. The gearing remained a maintenance headache throughout the airplane’s service life.

Fortunately, there are a number of maintenance shops that are knowl-edgeable on the airplane. When a 421 is running well, it can be one of the smoothest, most satisfying rides in the sky. I’ve been lucky to log perhaps 1,000 hours in series 400 Cessnas at Tom’s Aircraft in Long Beach, Califor-nia, nearly always after maintenance. Plus, I’ve ferried a half-dozen of the type internationally and domestically, and I can verify that they’re an excel-lent ride. Most provide a single-engine service ceiling of nearly 15,000 feet and a sea level rate of climb of 350 fpm. If the last number doesn’t sound impressive, it isn’t, but it represents about the best performance you can expect from any piston twin in this weight class.

Though many of the original 1,901 Golden Eagles produced were fitted with the questionable ARC radios, Cessna’s captive, in-house brand in the 1970s and 1980s, most of the remain-ing airplanes have been retrofitted with reasonable stacks of King or Garmin avionics plus King or STEC autopilots.

Cessna 421s are still regarded as something of an ultimate among pis-ton twins. Today, you can buy a ser-viceable, late-model 421 for about the same price as a new Skyhawk. Golden Eagles aren’t cheap to operate, and you’ll need a high credit card limit to fill the tanks, but for those who can afford the price of admission and operation, the Golden Eagle is one of the most sat-isfying corporate twins in the sky.CO

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Unlike an automobile’s, an aircraft’s wheels, tires, and brakes are rarely the object of obsession. They fall well behind many

gee-whiz, budget-draining cockpit upgrades. However, these three components are as critical as ailerons and rudders during two of the most important flight moments: takeoff and land-ing. These components are typically taken for granted as long as they pass an annual inspec-tion, but (relatively) modest upgrade investments can make dramatic improvements in an aircraft’s safety and ground-maneuvering capability.

Wheel, tire, and brake manufacturers have been diligently innovating an interesting variety of products to increase the efficiency and robust-ness of these critical elements. Brakes infused with nitrates, tubeless tires, and specific “brake modernizations” for classic aircraft models are just a few of the products that have been on display at this year’s air shows. Although you won’t find Escalade-eqsue spinners available for an antique airplane, you can find products that might make you think twice about waiting until your aircraft’s OEM landing system starts losing air before finding a set of wheels.

Choose the Right WheelsThe selection of a wheel upgrade brings several conditional factors into consideration. Where will you be flying? How much weight must be accounted for? How much are you willing to pay? These variables may not seem overly rel-evant when you’ve got your eyes on a new navi-gation system, but the right wheel selection will make a difference.

Regarding the location of flying, wheel choice is crucial. Plan on landing in a rugged dessert run-way in the Sahara? Don’t use the same wheels you trained on in Peoria when you were landing on smooth asphalt. In situations of rough land-ings, pilots must consider wheels with higher stat-ic load ratings to withstand more abuse. Making sure that your wheels are static rated for at least the weight of your plane is a must. Ignoring this

Wheels, Tires, and BrakesThe Unloved Components

By Max Lundin

Cessna’s Andy Woodward shows a traditional OEM Cessna landing gear assembly at the 2012 EAA AirVenture.

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detail is nothing short of catastrophic. However, with a few calculations, you should be well on your way to choosing an appropriate wheel.

The weight of your wheels must also be considered. If you can afford more weight and prefer wheels that will last longer, choose aluminum. Aluminum wheels fare very well against corro-sion. There are wheels for small planes that work very well and are affordable. These wheels account for a static load of 700 pounds per wheel and a kinetic energy of 72,000 foot pounds.

If weight is an issue and you are working on a larger plane, magne-sium is the solution. This material handles heat far better than alumi-num, making the chance of brakes overheating less likely. Magnesium wheels will shed a little bit off of your plane’s overall weight, but they are slightly less corrosion resistant and may not last as long as aluminum. At the time of this writing, one company is offering a popular 5-inch wheel and

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Don’t wait until your tires look like this to consider an upgrade.

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brake combo. The wheel is rated for 1,285 pounds and a kinetic energy of 118,164 foot pounds. The wheel and brake combo costs $719 for two wheel assemblies.

Tire Selection and MaintenanceAnyone who can remember flight training knows that the maxim on tires was simple, “If they’re not bald, they’re okay.” Tire maintenance is a monotonous part of any pilot’s rou-tine, but it is a safety procedure that cannot be ignored. It’s a hassle replac-ing tubes and constantly maintaining tire pressure, but neglect can be fatal. Tire tubes that haven’t been prop-erly inflated can grow folds and wear through the tube. This issue can lead to minor problems, such as occasional leakage, or serious problems, such as deflation while taxing or mid-air.

Because of such potential hazards, it’s the wise pilot who thinks past the “bald” training and puts time into tire selection and maintenance. Here’s a little-known or oft-cited factoid: Tires can be selected on more criteria than just size. Factors such as landing zone and reliability should be reviewed when purchasing and maintaining tires.

Ken Fare, vice president of Desser Tire and Rubber Co., Inc., explained some different landing situations. “Pi-lots landing on grass strips suffer virtu-ally no wear to their tires, but this land-ing is not as common in the United States. The opposite can be said for

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pilots landing on commercial runways in which the landing strip wreaks hav-oc on the tires.”

According to Fare, most general avi-ation pilots use bias-ply tires with in-ner tubes. Pilots who perform landings on asphalt and concrete should con-sider buying more resistant tires than those pilots who land mainly on grass. At the moment, the tire with the most efficient technology is the Goodyear Flight Custom III. These tires include Kevlar belts inside for greater stability and longer life. The tires range from 4-10 plies for a wide variety of planes, and prices range from $250- $400.

Tubeless tires are seen much less of-ten in aviation. These tires have a far superior lifespan, but many pilots are hesitant to make the switch. “The rea-son that most pilots don’t switch over to the tubeless option is the fact that it also requires the purchase of new brakes and wheels,” adds Fare. Michelin offers a complete range of tires for everything from military to general aviation aircraft and has recently released the top-of-the-line Michelin Air series. These tube-less tires are made from two proprietary rubber compounds that promise ex-tended life, with an optimized sidewall compound to provide maximum UV and ozone protection.

Beringer offers a complete brake, wheel, and tubeless tire assembly for pilots willing to go the extra mile. The Beringer set includes two wheels with calipers and stainless steel discs, two tires (mounted and pressure tested), two axles or two sets of adaptation parts (as required), master cylinders, two fluid reservoirs, one parking brake valve (only in home-build kits), and

Grove Aircraft Landing Gear Systems, Inc. manufactures a kit to upgrade the brakes on many older aircraft.

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one anti-lock regulator or pressure lim-iter stainless steel brake lines. The in-vestment is around $2,800, depending on what type of plane you’re flying.

After you’ve picked out your dream tires, you need to take care of them. Ken Fare provides this list of important checks that every pilot should perform. “First off, every pilot should keep a log of tire pressure to notice deflation pat-terns. Pressures should be checked daily maintaining a target pressure of 100 percent to 105 percent of optimal pressure. You must also make sure that the expected pressure is adjust-ed based on loaded pressure, about 4 percent added to the tire’s optimal pressure (this can obviously be ignored if the plane is elevated). These pres-sures should be checked in moderate temperatures; those too hot or cold will influence the pressure reading.”

The main issue in the maintenance of tires comes from improper inflation. Ken said, “Under inflation is so com-mon it’s almost an epidemic. Incorrect inflation is the most detrimental and life-shortening problem that a pilot can put his tires through.”

BrakesBrakes have seen more innovations than any other component in the land-ing process. From throwback brakes for antique planes to the chemically engineered brakes of Aviation Prod-ucts Systems, Inc. (APS), these taken-for-granted components are receiving some much-deserved attention.

Grove Aircraft Landing Gear Sys-tems, Inc. has a solution to bring the braking system of some antique air-craft out of the Stone Age and into the

Beringer offers a complete brake, wheel, and tubeless tire assembly.

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21st century. The company’s new disc brake conversion system is FAA PMA approved and easy to install. Best of all, pilots can use their existing wheels, tires, tubes, master cylinders, and brake lines for the installation.

The Aviation Products Systems Black Steel discs and lines are a step up from the average brake system. The process by which these brakes are manufactured gives them significantly more strength and resistance to corrosion than your average brake. Dan Andrews explained, “First, our brakes are forged from aero-space steel in one piece; this avoids the problems associated with weld lines. Next, the forged steel is machined and prepped for heat treatment. The final step is our signature heat treatment in which carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen are bound to the top layer of the brake. This gives our brakes a substantially more ef-ficient resistance to corrosion.” Dan not-ed that these brakes are “the only brakes in the industry that are enhanced with nitrite; this is an FAA PMA-approved process.” The brake lines are also of very high quality. The Kevlar-infused, non-metallic lines give the brake system maximum gripping and disc integrity.

The FutureSelection of new products for the “un-loved components” may seem costly at first, but the investments can cer-tainly pay off over time. If you have the cash, high-grade and tubeless tires have significantly longer lifetime than your everyday tire. The same ap-plies to heat- and chemically treated brakes. And unlike glass cockpit tech-nology, which seems to be changing at breakneck speed, your landing gear upgrades won’t be obsolesced by the next supplier’s catalogue.CO

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It was mid 1977, and I’d been as-signed to do a story on the first pro-duction model of a new twin. The

demo pilot had flown halfway across the United States to demonstrate what the airplane could do and allow me a chance to fly it for a few hours for a pilot report. He was a highly experi-enced, ATP-rated instructor with thou-sands of hours in twins.

He landed at Long Beach, dropped off his wife to do some shopping, and we launched to investigate the air-plane’s performance. I tried stalls, cruise, single-engine operation, and all the other parameters; flew an air-to-air photo session; and landed back at Long Beach. We shook hands, he loaded his wife back aboard, and departed to visit his daughter in San Diego.

Late that evening, I heard on the news that he hadn’t made it. He’d hit a hill down by San Diego. The NTSB determined the airplane was operating normally in cruise flight and apparent-ly flew straight into the side of a gentle rise. There were low clouds in the area near San Diego.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain We’ll never know the exact circum-stances of that accident, but the prob-lem is all too common. It’s called con-trolled flight into terrain (CFIT), and the FAA suggests it accounts for about one of every six general aviation fa-talities. I’m sad to admit I’ve lost five friends in similar accidents involving everything from Caravans to Skylanes.

Perhaps ironically, most of those pi-lots were competent, instrument-rated aviators with thousands of hours of experience. Some were professionals

(one was an airline captain) who’d been flying for 20 years. My demo pi-lot was a CFIIM.

Close Call in California I’m embarrassed to admit I under-stand the CFIT accident reasonably well, because I’ve almost fallen victim to it twice. Both times, I’d flown myself into a corner trying to stay out of in-flight icing; my mistake, no one else’s. That’s a reason, not an excuse.

The first time was when I was de-livering an aircraft east across the continent. The airplane had been purchased by a member of the Saudi royal family and was scheduled to be used for a number of world speed re-cord attempts. My job was to pick up the airplane in Napa, California, and deliver it to Lakeland, Florida. This was well before the advent of GPS, so my trip was with conventional VORs.

Don’t Get Caught by CFIT

Lessons from the Logbook� By Bill Cox


Icing is almost unheard of in Califor-nia, but on this day, it was forecast to be waiting in the clouds above 7,000 feet. I’d flown down from Napa the previous day, departed Corona, California, filed IFR for 15,000 feet, and ran head-on into severe icing at 7,000. I advised ATC I didn’t want to do that anymore, suggested I’d drop down to VFR under-neath, and initiated a descent. I played dodge ’em with the clouds for the next 10 minutes, trying to stay as high as possible without turning the plane into a Popsicle. Through gaps in the clouds below, it looked as if I was out in the middle of Banning Pass when it finally looked safe to climb higher. I advised L.A. Center of my intentions; they said they’d lost me on radar but approved my climb. Going through 9,000 feet, I entered the clouds again for a short time, then popped out to find I was dangerously close to a solid rock wall.

I slammed the airplane into a hard left climbing turn, held my breath, and waited for the impact. Fortunately, there was none. I was obviously too far to the right in the pass and had al-most collided with Mt. San Jacinto, a 10,000-foot peak that guards the west-ern hills outside Palm Springs.

Frightening FlightSupposedly, we all learn from our mistakes. Apparently, not everyone. My second brush with CFIT was when I was westbound over Green-land during an early summer return from France. The flight from Reykja-vik to Narsarsuaq had gone well until I passed the eastern Greenland coast at 12,000 feet and started across the icecap. I almost immediately ran into light rime icing that quickly stopped being light. I knew the top of the cap was about 8,000 feet, so I first tried up. No luck; ice accretion only increased, and my deice equipment consisted of pitot heat. The only choices left were to turn around or descend.

Trouble was, I knew the white ice-cap would be indistinguishable from the clouds if I descended too far. I was only 39 miles from my destination, and that fact almost seduced me into giving descent a try.

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around and heading back toward the ocean on the east side of Greenland. This time, I had three of Garmin’s best GPSs on board, and as soon as I knew I was over the water, I descended out of the clouds into good VFR conditions and drove south to Prins Christian at the bottom of Greenland, then turned back northwest in hope that weather on the west of the island would be bet-ter, and I could sneak into Narsarsuaq via the dreaded up-the-fjord approach.

Narsarsuaq is at the end of the 42-mile-long Tunugviarfik Fjord on the west side of the icecap, and I hoped that fjord would be my salvation. Af-ter I passed the tip of Greenland and turned back to the north, the clouds once again started driving me down.

Finally, I was only about 500 feet above the water. I passed the Si-miutaq radio beacon, found the en-trance to the fjord, turned back to-ward the east, and began to follow the winding waterway toward the airport, descending even further to stay beneath the clouds.

By this time, Narsarsuaq was report-ing an indefinite 100-foot ceiling and 1/8 of a mile visibility in fog, far below any legal approach minimums. I had no choice. There was plenty of fuel aboard to reach my alternate of Nuuk, 220 miles up the coast, but conditions there were just as bad, and the runway was shorter.

I extended gear and flaps, slowed the little airplane to 90 knots, and ad-justed all three GPSs to the minimum scale. I zigzagged up the fjord 100 feet off the water, trying to keep the little toy airplane on the screens roughly in the center of the narrow waterway, often only 1/8 of a mile across. As I tracked farther inland, I’d occasion-ally see glimpses of hills on either side or the water below. I’d flown this ap-proach many times before, but always in good weather and at 1,000 feet MSL or higher. I knew some helicopters flew in these conditions, but usually at 25-30 knots. And they had the ability to hover if they made a mistake.

After 25 minutes of steering the air-plane icon up the center of the fjord, I made the hard left at the end, followed the contour of the fjord, turned back to the right as I joined the extended

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centerline of runway 7, and lined up on the unseen asphalt from a mile out. I descended to 50 feet and strained to see the threshold at the water’s edge.

With the Garmin 530 and 430 all the way down to the finest possible scale, I aimed for where I hoped the runway was waiting and finally saw the rocky coastline flash by below. I skimmed across the beach and touched down in the first few hundred feet of runway, amazed that I’d been lucky enough to survive one more time.

Avoiding a Situation I’m not sure there’s any message here other than perhaps the obvious one. Too often, we try to ad lib in situations that don’t lend themselves to breaking the rules. With the help of a large-scale GPS and dense fog that fortunately re-lented at the critical moment, I’d man-aged to beat the odds, not because I was smart or talented, but because there just wasn’t my time.

Don’t get caught in a situation that allows you no option but to try to sandwich yourself between clouds and ground. In this day of GPS that can pinpoint your position to a few feet, you just might manage to make it to an airport. Then again, you might not.

Oh, yes, the aftermath. I was posi-tive I’d have some explaining to do to the Danish authorities for what was, at best, a very unusual approach. When I climbed down from the airplane on wobbly legs after searching for the ramp in the fog and finally parking in the wrong spot, I walked into the tower office, and the operator’s only ques-tion was, “Are you planning to go on to Goose Bay this afternoon?”CO


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NavStrobe Lighting ........................................................................................ 25

NavWorx, Inc. ......................................www.navworx.com ........................... 51

Niagara Air Parts, Inc. ..........................www.niagaraairparts.com ................. 45

O&N Aircraft Modifications ..................www.onaircraft.com .......................... 52

Parts Exchange ....................................www.aircraftexhaust.com .................. 52

Peterson’s Performance Plus.................www.katmai-260se.com .................... 45

Planecover.com ....................................www.planecover.com ........................ 35

Poplar Grove Airmotive, Inc. ................www.poplargroveairmotive.com ....... 36

Premium Wood Designs .......................www.premiumwooddesigns.com ...... 40

R & M Steel Co. ...................................www.aviationbuildingsystem.com ..... 28

Repairaplane.com ................................www.repairaplane.com ..................... 27

RMD Aircraft Lighting, Inc. ...................www.rmdaircraft.com ........................ 45

RMS Technology, Inc. ..........................www.rmstek.com .............................. 37

Rocky Mountain Propellers, Inc............www.rockyprop.com ......................... 37

SCS Interiors ........................................www.scsairinteriors.com .................... 15

Seaplanes West, Inc. ............................www.seaplaneswest.com ................... 45

Sebring U.S. Sport Aviation Expo ........www.sport-aviation-expo.com ........... 27

Selkirk Aviation, Inc. ............................www.selkirk-aviation.com ................. 37

SkyOx, Ltd. ..........................................www.skyox.com ................................ 52

Soloy Aviation Solutions ......................www.soloy.com ................................. 29

Sporty’s Pilot Shop ..............................www.sportys.com .............................. 52

StartPac ................................................www.startpac.com ............................. 56

Stay Sealed, Inc. ..................................www.staysealed.com ......................... 33

Steel Aviation, Inc. ...............................www.steelaviation.com ..................... 27

Stene Aviation ......................................www.steneaviation.com .................... 37

Super Soundproofing, Inc. ...................www.soundproofing.org .................... 23

Survival Products, Inc. .........................www.survivalproductsinc.com ........... 41

Swisstrax ..............................................www.swisstrax.com ........................... 34

Tanis Aircraft Products ..........................www.tanisaircraft.com ....................... 10

Texas Skyways .....................................www.txskyways.com ........................... 3

Tom’s Aircraft .......................................www.tomsaircraft.com ....................... 33

Tornado Alley Turbo ............................www.gami.com ................................. 12

Universal Corp. ....................................www.universal-co.com ........................ 8

Van Bortel Aircraft, Inc. ........................www.vanbortel.com .......................... 35

Vantage Plane Plastics, Ltd. .................www.planeplastics.com ..................... 40

Visual Instruments ................................www.visualinstruments.com .............. 10

Vitatoe Aviation....................................www.vitatoe.com .............................. 12

Warren Gregoire & Assoc. ....................www.warrengregoire.com ................. 52

Wings of Hope .....................................www.wingsofhoperaffle.org ............... 10

Wingx Stol Conversion ........................www.wingxstol.com .......................... 28

Wipaire, Inc. .........................................www.wipaire.com.............................. 33

Yingling Aviation, Inc. ..........................www.yinglingaviation.com ................ 19

ZD Publishing, Inc. ...............................www.zdpublishing.com ..................... 23

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cessna owners magazine november 2012

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