Pilotcast #038 - 2006.06.29

Hangar flying with Pilot Dan, Pilot Mike, and Pilot Kent, along with a special report from the Westfield International Airshow

Pilot Kent is calling in from Ritzville, Washington.

Feedback and Followups:

We start off this week with Pilot Kent telling the harrowing story of his recent truck accident. Luckily, the only fatalities were the truck and his PowerBook. He's already replaced the PowerBook with a new MacBook Pro, with the help of Pilot Bill of the Apple Air Force. Apple couldn't help with the truck, though.

Pilot Dan and Pilot Mike mention an NPR story about a 1956, in-air collision of two passenger planes, over the Grand Canyon, that was the impetus for todays nationwide ATC coverage. And lastly in this section, we give many thanks to Rinker Buck for allowing us to record and publish his reading from his book, "Flight of Passage", to the Oxford Flying Club.

News and Interviews:

Pilot Dan attended the Westfield International Airshow at Barnes Air National Guard Base, in Massachusetts, where the Blue Angels were performing. He explains a bit about how the Blue Angels Team is configured and how they coordinate maneuvers during the show. We also hear about a conversation he overheard about why the full Blue Angels team almost didn't make it to the show. From there, we move on to some interviews he was able to get with performing pilots.

• Bill Horrigan, Stearman pilot: Bill is a former airline pilot who now occasionally flies a Stearman at airshows. He gives us a bit of the history of his plane along with some of it's flying characteristics. Bill talks about how tough the Stearman is and some of the maintenance issues. We hear about what instrumentation is installed, it's range, and how to hold a chart in an open cockpit aircraft. Bill finishes up with a discussion of takeoff and landing distances and how some of it's characteristics could be modified.

• Jim Vocell, Chief Pilot for the American Airpower Museum, Farmingdale, NY: Jim was displaying a 1944 C-47, a derivative of the DC-3, the first really reliable transport plane, for both passengers and cargo. He gives us a history of this particular plane, and how the American Airpower Museum came to own it. We get a comprehensive overview of the flight characteristics, including takeoff and landing distances, useful load, engines and props, range, and fuel usage. Jim gives some tips to pilots who may want to fly into Republic Field, where the museum is located.

• Billy Segalla, pilot with the Iron Eagles Acrobatic Team: Billy starts off with a little info on the two Christen Eagle aircraft flown by the team and a bit about their overall show schedule. The Eagle aircraft have an amazing power to weight ratio, allowing extremely tight turns. He talks about the differences between Eagles and Pitts as well as the custom modifications they've made. The aircraft are flown from show to show, including 3 1/2 hour over-water flights from Florida to Guatemala and El Salvador. Billy finishes with the upcoming schedule for the Iron Eagles.

• Capt. Emily Naylor, C-5 pilot for the Air National Guard: Pilot Dan started off on the wrong foot by asking Capt. Naylor, "Are there any pilots around?" After a vain attempt at an apology, he went on with the interview. She starts off with how long she's been flying the C-5 and informs us the C-5 is the largest aircraft in the U.S. military. Capt. Naylor says it actually a very easy plane to fly, it just reacts a little slower to control inputs. She describes a typical long flight. She then talks about how she got her ratings and how it felt to go from piloting a small plane to the C-5 and finishes with why she thinks there are so few women in aviation and how to encourage them to get involved.

Hangar Flying:

First off, Pilot Kent did some flying to get some aerial photos of his accident site so it could be included with his accident report. Pilot Dan talks about the really terrible weather they've been getting on the East Coast, forcing quite a few flight cancellations. Pilot Mike describes his flight back from the 2006 Gaston's Fly In, and how he almost busted the St. Louis Class Bravo airspace because of an out of date marking on sectional chart. Chart updates can be found in your local AFD's. For you non-pilots who are listening, the crew give some explanation of the "pilot-eese" they were using to describe the different altitudes, airspace, charts, and AFD's. You can self report any infraction, and Pilot Mike tells you how and why you would want do that.

Show Links:

• Westfield International Airshow
• NPR story on the Grand Canyon Crash of '56
• Pilotcast #37A with a reading by Rinker Buck
• Official Blue Angels website
• Pilotcast #33 interview with Cmdr. "Boss" Foley
• The Boeing Stearman
• Republic Field, home of the American Airpower Museum
• Iron Eagles Acrobatic Team
• The Christen Eagle
• The C-5 Galaxy
• St. Charles County Smartt Airport where Pilot Mike almost busted Class Bravo