Pilotcast #030 - 2006.04.24

Apr 25, 2006

Hangar flying with Pilot Dan, Pilot Kent, and Pilot Mike.

Pilot Kent is calling in from Whiteland, Indiana.

Hangar flying:

• Aviation fuel is $4.30 in Connecticut and $4.78 in the San Francisco Bay Area
• Pilot Kent got his Instrument Rating
  • It was much more difficult than getting the Private License
  • Required two checkrides after descending too far on an approach
  • Instrument currency requires 6 approaches and 1 hold within 6 months
  • Pilots should have their own personal currency requirements that are better than the minimums
  • Got his ticket "wet" just a few days ago by returning from an impromptu fly-in under instrument conditions
  • During his training, he found it both disconcerting and cool when flying an approach in actual IMC and not seeing the runway until descending through 100 feet
• Pilot Mike had real scare
  • On his first flight after his planes annual, he had trouble maintaining lateral control while in the pattern
  • Managed to get some control and got it back down on the ground in one piece
  • Looks like it was just the rudder trim cranked too far over
  • In a previous incident, he had a door pop open in flight
• Pilot Dan's club bought a 1966 Piper Cherokee 140
  • He finds it difficult to get used to the mechanical flap lever
  • Also finds the overhead trim adjustment interesting
  • Agrees with Kent that it's easier than a Cessna to control on the ground
  • The sink rate is higher than a Cessna
  • It has vortex generators on the wings to allow a higher AoA before stalling
• An update on Connecticut Senate Bill SB520
  • The plan was to remove the 6000 lb limit from the sales and usage tax
  • Had unanimous consent from Transportation and Finance Committees
  • The bill is sent off to be written up
  • It ended up being written to place the sales and usage tax on all planes, instead of none
  • Still haven't gotten a straight answer as to what happened and if it will be fixed

In the news:

• X-15 Test Pilot Scott Crossfield went down in his Cessna 210
• A mid-air collision in Alaska

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Song: "Truck" by The Lascivious Biddies

Music on the Pilotcast is from the Podshow Podsafe Music Network. Check it out at http://music.podshow.com

Pilotcast show notes are at http://www.pilotcast.com