Thursday, December 29, 2005

Pilot ID Cards

Hello All,

New things in the works for 2006 -- the first of these is Pilot ID Cards.

The plan is twofold:

1. The colored trim of the card will indicate your aircraft/instructor rental rate. This will help our new staff to invoice you correctly. Red will be for Retail, Blue for Block, and Green for Package. (we could have continued the letter-matching theme, but Pink or Purple trims didn't sound appealing)

2. The card itself has "punches" for your pilot capabilities -- solo, solo XC, advanced ratings, aircraft checkouts, etc. This will allow the staff to know what flights you are qualified to take at a glance and get you underway quickly without any second-guessing.

December and January will be "trial run" months, and in February, it is our intention that your pilot ID card will be required to receive a plane logbook and keys. This will simplify the checkout process for everybody, ensure that your invoices are accurate, and allow us to train staff efficiently.

I would love to hear any comments or concerns about the cards, or ideas on how we can make the plane-book process any quicker.

Thanks!

- Mike

Monday, December 26, 2005

Holidays...

Hi Gang,

Not a lot going on this past week, but I hope everyone had a lovely weekend.

This week, we expect to have 08V up and running -- with a new engine and propeller. After some review, we decided to capitalize on the extended wait time the prop mechanic has imposed upon us. Look for 08V to run even stronger on her return this week.

04H was recently stranded in Palomar airport due to fouled spark plugs.

Lycoming Engines (such as found in Cessna 04H and Cherokee 08F) are prone to fouling spark plugs in ground ops. Plug fouling is easily avoided if you follow the following taxi procedure:



Magic Clean-plug Taxi Procedure

Start Engine
Set throttle to idle
Lean mixture until engine begins running rough
Enrich mixture appx 2"

This setting should provide enough fuel for ground operations up to 1200 RPM or so. Any attempt to throttle beyond 1200 RPM (ie, if you attempt to depart and forgot to set the mixture to full rich, per the checklist) will result in an engine stumble. Experiment on the ground to see where the "perfect" setting is for you -- and enjoy clean spark plugs in your lycoming-based aircraft!

(btw, Continental-engined aircraft can foul plugs too -- they're just less prone to, since they run hotter on the ground. Feel free to experiment in the other Cessnas)

It is also helpful enroute to follow leaning procedures. See the aircraft POH for specific guidelines, however, this generic one can help with any fouling problems:

Magic Clean-plug Enroute Procedure

Once cruise is established, and the aircraft is trimmed out, you can perform the following:

SLOWLY Lean the mixture until you see a slight rise in RPM. The aircraft is actually performing better as the RPMs rise, giving you free horsepower.

As you continue to lean, the engine will begin to run rough. Stop leaning. Increase mixture appx 1"

That's it. You're done, and you won't foul anymore plugs! New throttle settings may need a re-lean, so if you're in doubt, set mixture to full rich, adjust throttle, and re-lean as needed.

This will result in what is called a "Rich of Peak" lean (ROP). 1" will provide appx 50-75 degrees "rich of peak temperature". In a Lycoming, peak cruise temps are usually around 400 degrees F, so you will be running the engine at 325 or so. As long as the engine is running smoothly, you're set.

If for any reason you are uncomfortable with tuning the engine, please grab a CFI to discuss the finer points.


Friday, December 16, 2005

Stand By

Hello, Mike here again --

I'm working on a feature for the schedule which seems to be in high demand: The ability to add yourself to a "standby" list. Our intention will be to allow you to put your name in a queue and seize opportunity to fly cancelled time slots, or to squeeze into popular times (like Saturdays) without having to camp on the schedule waiting.

Maintenance Week

72F Remains down for starter replacement. Poor 72F was sidelined by the other planes, which were crying for some attention this week. 72F should return on Saturday, 12/17.

08V is down for a propeller overhaul. Sorry, it's just that time. 08V will likely be down through next week.

04H has a new starter.

08F has a new alternator.

While we're unsure why our alternators and generators are on strike, there is something you can do to help us promote starter health! When starting any aircraft, please crank the starter for no more than 5 seconds at a time, and then allow 5-10 seconds for the motor to cool. A properly primed engine, with correct mixture, throttle, and mags, should be able to start in 2-3 blades of the prop (1.5 revolutions!)

Aviation starter motors are lightweight, and not "heavy duty" devices, and they heat up very rapidly when overcranked -- resulting in premature starter failure. At $650 a pop, we would be very grateful for some thoughtful cranking on the part of our pilots :)

New Pilots!

Kevin G passed his PP-ASEL checkride with flying colors. Look for him to be sharing your skies. Kevin has ~46 total hours, and "enjoyed" a 2 hour ground exam and 1.7 hours of flight with FAA-DPE Ken Earl - earning him a U.S. Private Pilot airman certificate. Congratulations, Kevin!

CFI Holidays

As you may have noticed, many of our CFIs are taking time off for the holidays. The current schedule reflects this, however, if you are left out in the cold with nobody to fly with, and you would like to switch CFIs temporarily, please let the office staff know so that we can ease the transition. (we're quite good at managing CFI shuffles)

Misc.

The new Los Angeles TAC/Sectional Charts have arrived. These are legal and required for aircraft navigation from Dec 22, 2005 - Jul 06, 2006. Get yours while they're hot!

Friday, December 09, 2005

Fly Corona! In Early December

Hi Gang, Mike Here --

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or any other appropriate tidings of cheer!

We have an exciting December ahead of us, with the addition of two new planes, two new CFIs (one, Arthur, a FlyC Alumnus), and a pretty busy schedule all around. With the fair weather, and the cool temperatures, flying is quite nice in the southland lately.

School happenings:

68U is back after an extended visit to our experts at Corona Cylinder. She was in for a generator replacement and we did some preventative inspection & maintenance while she was in the engine shop. . sorry for the long downtime!

08V passed her annual inspection with a minimum of fuss.

72F is in for generator & starter replacement. Yes, that pull-starter has grinded its last. Let's hope the downtime is less traumatic than 68U's.

20U passed her 100hr inspection.

Name Contest!

We're thinking about naming our aircraft, and would like to involve not only our cadre of pilots, but local community groups. If you know of area schools who would like to participate, or if you can suggest a clever way to get everyone involved, we'd like to hear it! email ideas, or comment them here!

We're ready to donate 10 hours of time, plus as many of those little balsa-wood airplanes as are desired, so ping the teachers you know if they would like some pilots to crash their classroom! We're especially looking for contacts at Centennial and Corona High, but Riverside, Norco, and Yorba Linda are also candidates.