Julie makes her first pilot!

Pilots,

Please join me in congratulating US Private Pilot Colin Y. on the successful completion of his Private Pilot checkride!

Colin was flying our own 17J, and this is her first. Amongst the blustery weather and storms in the vicinity, Colin prevailed with DPE Tom Hamm to score his wings. Well done, Colin!

--

In other news,

Cessna 17J has had new main tires installed. (her first new shoes)

Cessna 20U had her oil filter attachment bracket replaced and reinforced.

Cessna 08V is likely to go down for 100hr this week.

--

Great comments on the departure puzzle from last week. The official word, which most of you agreed with, is that the question is worded in a tricky fashion -- since the propeller of an aircraft works against the air, and not against the ground, a conveyor belt cannot counteract the forward thrust of the motor, therefore the wheels will free-spin while the aircraft departs normally - rendering the conveyor belt useless and powerless to "move in the opposite direction at the exact speed"

That one made my head hurt. Nice analyses and commentary -- it seems I wasn't the only one with an exercised brain. :)

Blue Skies!

- Mike

Departure Puzzle...

Pilots,

This is something that has been going around for ages, but I stumbled upon it only recently, and it has been baking my brain as I pore over it.

I present to you, this interesting physics puzzle:

A plane is standing on a runway that can move (some sort of conveyer belt). The plane moves in one direction, while the conveyer moves in the opposite direction. This conveyer has a control system that tracks the plane speed and tunes the speed of the conveyer to be exactly the same (but in the opposite direction). Can the plane take off?

Interesting question... please assume the following:

1. The drag on the wheels caused by the friction of the opposite-moving conveyor belt-runway is negligible, perhaps creating as much as a soft-field departure.

2. The runway is long enough for a soft-field departure (let's even give it 5,000')

Will the plane depart?

:)

Blue Skies,

- Mike

Maintenance updates

Hello Pilots,

Been a sleepy week around the ranch, but thought I would update you on some maintenance that has ben going on:

Cessna 68U completed her 100hr this week and returned to service.

Cessna 04H went in for radio work at Cable Airport yesterday, to correct some inop radios. She should return this morning.

Cessna 74U is trying out a new digital radio

---

In other news, CFI Jeremy has been discharged from the hospital, and is now in Physio. He will make a full recovery. Phew!

Thanks for all of the warm wishes for Jeremy's condition. We will advise as we know more!

---

Blue Skies,

- Mike

The plane in the lane shows disdain for the chain!

Haha, okay, maybe that's a bit much -- but have a look, for sometimes even a tiedown chain is not enough!



Witness our own 72F, needing only a run-in and re-cowling before her long-awaited return to service -- mix in a little gale force winds (reportedly 25G35), and our little hercules generated enough force on the tiedown cables (not the chains, the 1" thick steel cables to which the chains attach) that the CABLES (both tail and mains) snapped in two!

Poor 72F, so eager to taste flight again, was whipped forward like a bolt from a crossbow, but somehow instead of soaring over the hangars, did a noseplant, a headstand, and a full flip, *while still attached to the (now useless) tiedown chains!*



Luckily nobody was hurt during this acrobatic display, but it is highly unlikely that 72F will ever fly again. And that makes us all sad.

A tough week at FlyC... but please snug those chains tightly, and use *all three* to secure your aircraft... and then realize, even then, there are no guarantees!

Blue Skies, (insane winds)

- Mike

Grounded

Pilots!

I hope your holiday season is off to a solid start, and that you were able to arm-wrestle that granny successfully for your choice of Wii, Plasma Bigscreen, or a Talking Vampire Undead Elmo doll. Additionally, I hope that the 5 extra of said item that you were able to secretly purchase bring you many happy returns on eBay.



There is a storm cloud over the FlyC family this season (literally and figuratively today) -- as our own CFII Jeremy was in a motorcycle accident on Thanksgiving Eve.

Jeremy is in stable condition, and the breakage has been described as "moderate", however, he will be grounded for a number of weeks pending the installation of new titanium parts. (just kidding) We do not have the current "how long" estimate yet, but we will inform you as we know more.

Jeremy's existing students have been notified, and we are assisting in making interim plans for those affected training-wise, but it will be a quieter, more serious Fly Corona in the coming weeks until Jeremy's return.

Those interested in sending get-well wishes for Jeremy may do so care of the office, or drop an email to fly@flycorona.com, and we will pass them on. I'm sure he would love to hear from you.

Drive, ride, fly safe out there. And beware of tennis elbow when granny-wrestling in the mall this holiday season.



- Mike

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Pilots!

I hope that you have a warm and festive holiday, in whatever fashion you are accustomed to spending this time in.

Fly Corona! will be closed Thursday, Nov. 23, in observance of Thanksgiving. Scheduled Solo Flights will be conducted like any other after-hours flight, call us if you have not yet done this.

--

Some other news:

Cessna 04H has a new vacuum pump

Cessna 74U has a new compass

Cessna 74U will be receiving a new radio shortly to see if the scratchies disappear there.

Cessna 17J is down for an avionics cooling fan replacement and a look at a suspicious engine seal.



--

Please join me in congratulating Dan S on his successful Private Pilot Checkride in Cessna 04H this week!

Congrats Dan!

--

Many of our CFIs are home for the holidays, including Shannon, Jeremy, and Robert. They are all slated to return within a week, and the schedule reflects this. We apologize for any inconvenience, and let us know if you'd like to sneak in a flight with a different instructor.. Our CFIs are not possessive and will be quite fine with you staying on track for a lesson or two while the CFIs regroup and recuperate.

--

Blue, chilly skies abound. Grab some air. :)

- Mike

Fall Colors

Pilots!

Please join me in congratulating Joiwind A. on receiving her private pilot wings on Thursday. Joiwind has been flying with CFII Robert, and earned her wings in Cessna 68U with DPE Tom Hamm.

Tom's remarks were that "I wish every checkride was this easy"

Congratulations Joiwind!

--

Cessna 68U will be going in for her 100hr next week, and we expect this one to be an extended one as well, as we do a series of preventative maintenances.

Cessna 04H has returned from her lengthy preventative 100hr, many thanks to the patient pilots who were affected.

Our Gyro Overhauler, AQI in Wichita, is seeing heavy volume, so we have a backlog of Gyros to install -- they're due in a week or two. Expect periodic short downtimes for Gyro swaps.

Beautiful Weather Abounds! Grab some sky, then some Turkey. (then, a nap) -- what could be finer? :)

Blue skies,

- Mike

Squawk Updates

Hi Gang,

Just some quick updates on some aircraft you may see maintenanced out this weekend:

Cessna 17J experienced her very first missed flight, at nearly 400 hours of trouble-free service, with a sticky starter bendix. We will likely be replacing the starter Saturday morning and returning her to service.

Her GPS navdata has been updated. There was a problem with her update SD card which was apparently causing update failures. Thanks to the pilots who squawked this out to make us aware of the update failures. We believe this problem to be fixed now, and you should see proper updates for Julie now.

Cessna 20U is experiencing intermittent flat batteries. Please do not leave the master on more than is necessary, and ensure the avionics are OFF for your preflight. If this situation persists, we will be replacing her battery with a fresh one.

Cessna 68U's turn coordinator will be replaced when we are able to do so.

That's it -- blue skies!

- Mike

Fun in maintenanceland!

Pilots,

We love it when our FAA inspections all line up at once, and this week, it happened again! The good news is, it's in everyone's best interest, so we grin and bear it, and please pass the coffee. :)

Here are the various plagues we are working out at the moment:

Cessna 08V will be down to have her steering cords inspected. There is reason to suspect that they need some TLC.

Cessna 68U has been flying just fine. Thanks, 68U!

Cessna 20U has completed her engine break-in, and is back to full service, however, her copilot seat will be down for additional repairs.

Cessna 74U will be down for radio work this week to troubleshoot a bad case of the scratchies. It's not the radio unit -- so it's likely off to the radio shop for her; more as I know it.

Cessna 04H is down for her 100hr inspection. We are tackling a good number of accumulated squawks and expect her to be down for a day or so more.

Cessna 17J has completed her 100hr, however, we left the master switch on last night. (hey, we do it too!) - 17J needed a jumpstart this morning, otherwise, she is a happy bird.

Chaos as usual? No, this is a bit much, but we're slogging through it. Please bear with us!



In other news, we have redesigned the website. We will be snapping additional content into the site as time allows, per many of the great suggestions we received.

I am of the opinion that the site has actually had its information value reduced, while its "pretty" value has increased. A bubble-headed trophy site if you will. Isn't that the way it goes... anyway, we hope to make our dotcom a beauty with brains too! More as we get to it.



Somebody kill the heat please, it's November!

Blue Skies!

- Mike

Website redesign..

Pilots,

We are redesigning our website, in order to make room for some new projects we are kicking off, and honestly, because we're tired of lavender. :)

Please let me know if there are any things you would like this new site to incorporate -- we have our ideas, of course, but are always looking for more interesting and fun things we can do, knowledge we can post, or tools that we all can use.

Blue Skies,

- Mike

Corona Traffic, Cessna 20U orbiting the field 2200 feet, test flight

Pilots!

Cessna 20U has completed her test flight series on Saturday, and has been made available on a limited basis for XC flights. We have logged 2 hours of test flying with no incidents, and will now be performing the engine break-in procedures for the next 8 hours.



Break-in procedures require us to run the engine at as steady an RPM as possible, and under the highest power setting possible, at full rich mixture. This means XC flights only, no touch-n-goes or slow-flight manuevers. We expect 20U to return to flightline duty on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Cessna 08V has had her beacon repaired. Yes, we'll paint the new beacon fairing as time allows.

We're on a squawk hunt again. I removed the squawk link from the homepage, but it is still accessible at The Squawk Page.

I've noticed we've been having problems with doors that are difficult to latch, particularly the CFI side. Also, Gyros are in for overhaul, and we are considering a new interior for 20U.

Please let us know about any other things that are not quite right with the planes.

Blue Skies!

- Mike

Shiny Metal & Midnight Oil

Pilots,

Some squawks around the school lately have kept our mechanics up past their bedtime:



Cessna 08V has a cracked beacon fairing, which, sadly, prevents the tail beacon from remaining on the tail of the aircraft. While we're reasonable sure nobody backed 08V into a parked car (or anything else for that matter, owing to the lack of a reverse) -- we're simply stumped as to how this happened.

Also, our local Cessna parts distributor is stumped as to where these parts can be found. I believe our replacement fairing is shipping from Wichita, and will be installed as soon as we receive it. With luck, this will be today.

Apparently Cessna 68U has a wonky turn coordinator. This will be removed and sent for overhaul as soon as we can get 68U on the ground for the mechanics.

Cessna 04H's DG is precessing just enough to warrant overhaul. We'll be sending it in for overhaul in the same batch

Cessna 17J's main wheel pants are back on. The nosewheel pant takes more time than we had last night. The improvement is dramatic. :)

Cessna 20U's engine arrived last night from our friends at Corona Cylinder. Installation has progressed very well, thanks to our maintenance crew Scott D, Mike A, and Kamau K. Work progressed until 10pm last night, and is set to continue. Then we will perform flight testing and return 20U to service!



We will continue to work to get these issues corrected ASAP. Many thanks to the maintenace crew for their hard work, amusing taste in music, and willingness to consume pizza and turn wrenches into the wee hours!

Blue Skies!

- Mike

No Shoes, No Service

Pilots,

Please welcome a new member of our flightline, Cessna 74U - who went on the line on Saturday morning, and who is helping us alleviate the schedule crunch left in 20U's wake.

Additionally, I understand that 20U's new engine is being run-in currently, and will undergo flight testing possibly this week, with an intended return to service next week some time -- stay tuned.

Also, those of you may have noticed that we removed the wheel pants from Cessna 17J - we did this in order to change out the brake pads, which were beginning to fade, and we left them off, since it is our habit to have full visibility of the tire/brake condition on our aircraft.

However...

After seeing her myself this weekend, shoeless on the ramp, I can attest that Julie looks completely stupid without wheel pants. So dramatic is the change, that I am considering returning the wheelpants to the remainder of our 172s. Wow. What a difference 18lbs of fiberglass makes.



We'll be putting her boots back on sometime this week. Sorry for the fashion faux pas!

Blue Skies,

- Mike

And another successful checkride...

Pilots!

Please join me in congratulating Kevin W. on the earning of his private pilot wings!

Kevin completed his PP-ASEL checkride yesterday evening in Cessna 68U, at John Wayne Airport! Look for Kevin to be sharing the skies with you at Corona soon!

Kevin sitting in some brand-P plane :) - he actually FLIES Cessnas!

While every pilot's license is a huge personal achievement on the part of any aspiring pilot, it is worth noting that Kevin's case is unique, because Kevin is bilaterally deaf. Kevin's story is known around the office, and we're all very proud of his accomplishments - and I'd like to take this happy opportunity to discuss the various technical points of flying without hearing. I hope that you can share our respect for what Kevin has accomplished this week, because he is truly in a unique echelon of pilots.

First of all, many thanks to the Deaf Pilot's Association (www.deafpilots.com) for their thoughtful, well-researched, and informative website and personnel, who have answered many of our questions, and made the entire office smarter about the FAA regs on this topic. We literally could not have helped Kevin without their knowledge, trailblazing, and support. Please consider a membership to DPA, even if you are hearing, to support this excellent aviation organization.



Many of the common questions we field are answered in detail at the DPA FAQ, but here are the big ones that everyone asks me (copied from the DPA FAQ):

How can you fly if you cannot hear on the radio?

Airports (and airspace) can be of two kinds: controlled or uncontrolled. Pilots operating at controlled airports or in controlled airspace are required to be in radio contact with Air Traffic Control (ATC). At uncontrolled airports, however, pilots are only encouraged, but not required, to use their radio to directly advise other pilots in the area of their positions and intentions. Thus, deaf pilots are able to fly into and out of uncontrolled airports without using the radio. (Uncontrolled airports are also called nontowered airports.)

How do you know about other planes in the air?

Under Visual Flying Rules (VFR), under which most general aviation flights are conducted, you are responsible for seeing and avoiding other airplanes, and remaining well clear of clouds. As you learn to fly, you will develop a skill for spotting airplanes and adjusting your route of flight as necessary.

If you have a hearing person on board, you can ask that person to monitor the local traffic frequency and pass on position reports made by other aircraft.

If you have a transponder on board, you can turn it on, which causes your plane’s position and altitude to appear on ATC’s radar screens. Then, ATC can inform other aircraft in the area of your whereabouts.

When you land at an uncontrolled airport, how do you know when it is okay to land? What about the other planes landing and taking off?

Again, Visual Flying Rules apply. Each uncontrolled airport has a standard traffic route that you enter at a specific location. By following a sequence of legs along this route, you have several opportunities to see and avoid other aircraft, both in the air, and on the ground, and when there are no aircraft in front of you, you can land.



Some other interesting information:

Many of our instructors were involved in Kevin's training, but primarily it was CFI/CFII Arthur V who worked with Kevin through to his checkride sign-off.

Training was conducted using a variety of whiteboards, both for ground instruction and a smaller one in-flight. Arty did a tremendous amount of preparation and explanation work prior to each lesson to make sure his time was not consumed on the whiteboard unless necessary.

Kevin uses a sidekick II, which has a very cool application called i711 that allows a TTY operator to relay typed messages to, for instance, tower, flight service, or any other FAA agency that he requires services from.

Kevin has 49.2 hours total time logged, with plenty more forthcoming I'm sure. :)

Well done, Kevin! You inspire us!

- Mike

Freeing up some Schedule Gridlock

Pilots!

After hearing grumbles from pilots and CFIs alike about the extended impact 20U has had on everyone's ability to fly, we have decided to offer the following on a trial basis:

Our C172SP/G1000, Julie, at $109 block / $129 retail

We are going to set this as the official rate for Julie for the following 6 weeks, or until 11/30/2006!

We cannot offer retro-active adjustments (sorry :) ), but we do hope that a few of you will be willing to make the leap at this rate, until we can find a lasting solution to our aircraft crunch. Who knows... if we can keep Julie flying at this rate, we may even make it permanent!




So why not try some glass next time you're set to fly?

Feedback and comments welcome, as always.

Blue Skies!

- Mike

I'd like to buy a vowel...

Pilots!

Please join me in congratulating our own CFI Arty V. who has completed his CFII checkride! Arty is now able to instruct in the clouds for your instrument rating!

Congratulations Arty!

Close-up shots of the cracks we found

I find this interesting, not sure if you guys do, but I wanted to share it for ya.

Pictures are taken of the engine dis-mounting from a few nights ago, sorry about the mess :)

This is the perspective shot. The blue box is where I zoomed in for a closer look.



(larger version here)

And here is a closeup of how minute the cracks were that the Mechanics found.




Pretty cool, eh? Now you know why it takes 2,000 hours of training to become an Aircraft Mechanic! :)

We're all in good mechanical hands. Thanks Scott & Mike!

Blue Skies,

- Mike

Sharing the friendly skies!

Please join me in congratulating Jay B. who successfully completed his Private Pilot Checkride yesterday!

Be ready to share the pattern with Jay, who will be speaking with the authority of his earned U.S. Private Pilot wings. Congratulations, Jay!

Cessna 20U's broken heart

Pilots!

After many hand-wringings and inspections and opinions, we have a verdict on 20U, and it's not the best.

Our ace mechanics, Scott and Mike, discovered what appeared to be cracks forming in the engine crankcase. These cracks are so miniscule as to be almost impossible to see with the naked eye, but that's why we installed Garmin's latest BionicVision Mechanic edition into our A&Ps.

Cessna 20U needs a new heart!




Stress cracks can form in aluminum crankcases from any number of things, common ones being propeller overspeed, running an engine past TBO, an out-of-balance propeller, or sometimes just age. Nobody knows why 20U's engine was developing a stress crack, and while it would have likely ran fine for another 1,000 hours -- we refuse to take that chance. Structural changes in the engine metallurgy make us all squeamish, and all of our lives can depend on that 300-lb chunk of metal staying together.

TBO? What-choo talkin about Mike?



All aviation engines are rated for a particular time-in-service. After this time in service is reached, the manufacturer "suggests" that you completely rebuild it to service limits. This is known as a "major overhaul". Most general aviation engines have TBOs (Time Between Overhauls) rated from 800 - 2500 hours in service. 20U's is an 1800-hour TBO, or approximately every 200,000 nautical miles. not bad at all.

Of course "suggests" is just that. I have heard a rumor that Mike Nolan's Cessna 182 (based at Corona with us) put 5,000 hours on its engine, and it was still showing strong compressions and power -- the mechanics made him overhaul it anyway, just because they didn't want to certify the engine as airworthy. Can't say I blame them.

For the record, we overhaul our engines at TBO. Our average engine age is around 700 hours "SMOH" or since major overhaul.

Major overhauls are sufficiently expensive that they represent about 1/3 of the value of an aircraft. In fact, 20U's will cost appx $14,000 - $15,000 to moh, and we can expect 2 weeks more downtime.

For perspective's sake, that is 6/1000ths of a cent per revolution of the propeller! What a deal!



Blue Skies!

- Mike

Would you like to be a star?

We received this earlier this week -- some of you might be interested :) It actually sounds cool, and I may apply myself.

STRICKMAN-RIPPS RESEARCH is seeking people who have accomplished one of their Life Dreams for a Short Film Series Website sponsored by Amazon.com and Lincoln Mercury to help people realize their dreams.

IF YOU FIT THE BILL - CONTACT STRICKMAN-RIPPS (info below)

We are looking for specific accomplishments. If you fall under any of the following categories, please email us a recent photo with your name, contact #'s, age, occupation and city and state you live in.

Please note that these Life Dreams could be your hobbies or extra-curricular activities, not necessarily your profession.

10. A person who has learned how to fly

We will contact you if you qualify to begin the first step of the selection process.

Those selected will participate in a 1 - 2 day filmed interview about their experience and will be compensated for their time.

CONTACT STRICKMAN-RIPPS RESEARCH
EMAIL: research@strickman-ripps.com
PHONE: 888-966-3211

There is also a small questionnaire to fill out, available at http://www.flycorona.com/Questions.doc



Blue skies, hope to see you tomorrow at the Air Faire!

- Mike

The Corona Air Faire!

Pilots!

The Corona Air Faire is back this year! This Saturday, the 7th, come check out planes, demos, food, music, and fun -- and this year it has been coordinated by our own Office Manager, Beth! Beth has worked tremendously hard on this event, and we expect it will pay dividends for everyone on the field!

Admission is cheap ($5 includes parking!) and goes to support the Corona Pilot's Association!

This was a good time last year, and we expect an even better time this year! Come out and see some aviation!

---

Cessna 68U has completed her 100hr inspection.

Cessna 20U is preparing for extended downtime. Stay tuned for more details.

We expect the "lightness of the office" to conclude next week sometime. I want to thank everybody for your patience with us during this time - it has helped a lot!

Cool temperatures - clear skies! Autumn in Corona is the best time to fly.

Blue Skies!

- Mike

20U down for further inspection

Hi Gang,

A quick jot - As you may have noticed, Cessna 20U is still maintenanced out, pending some inspection and possible repair to her engine. We are waiting for the safety determination, but are making plans for a major repair just in case the news is bad.

The good news is that we caught this VERY early - so we have a number of options. I will report back on what path we decide to walk when the time comes.

Apologies to 172 pilots - the schedule is likely to get squeezed a bit.

More as I know it! Blue Skies!

- Mike

How about a 700-foot tower on final approach for ya?

I wish I was joking, check out the controversy at Fullerton:

Aero-News

From the article:

As Aero-News reported, two persons onboard a Cessna 182 died when their plane struck the tower as they turned base leg to Runway 6 on December 19, 2004.

"The tower is an obstruction to aerial navigation," Propst told the Whittier Daily News. "In the past two years it has killed two people, and in the 1970s it killed one person. It is just in a terrible place to put something that will be 680 feet high."

KFI maintains the matter is all about improving radio reception -- an important consideration for a radio station now heard only by residents in Los Angeles and Orange County with a 204-ft transmitter, but that once reached as many as 18 million listeners with the higher antenna. The station says it has compromised, by proposing to replace the former 760-foot tower with one some 80 feet shorter.


... well at least they're willing to compromise. I'll do the same by setting 1 fewer preset on my AM dial for KFI. :)

Can you imagine if the cheese factory on rwy25-base decided to put up a 700-foot high tower? Sure, we'd all see and avoid it... but once in awhile, someone is going to need that air on their turn to base, and won't look in time.

Pay attention, even in the traffic pattern. Your life, and an AM radio station's coverage area -- may depend on it.

Goings-on around the ranch..

Hello All,

Sorry for the sleepy pace of updates - not much going on around FlyC land lately. Here are the things that have been happening:

Cessna 08V completed her 100hr last week.

Cessna 20U is currently in 100hr. We have found some strange oil seepage near the cylinders that we are having looked at by the Engine pros at Corona Cylinder. If something ugly is found, 20U may be taking an extended maintenance tour. More as I know it.

FlyC Office Manager Beth is out for her annual inspection. We expect her downtime to be appx 2 weeks. Now is your chance to misbehave in the office without her knowing about it.

...in all seriousness, The office will be running a bit lean with Beth in recovery. Please be nice to Chris and Crissy, and feel free to email me with concerns at mike@flycorona.com if you believe things are amiss!


In other news, Danny H passed his Private Pilot Checkride on Sunday and will be sharing the skies with us all! Congratulations, Danny!

Watch out fot the Santa Anas -- be sure you know what the active runway is on approach - it has been changing multiple times per day recently! (AWSS 132.175!)

Best,

- Mike

A sleepy blustery weekend

Happy Monday, Pilots!

As many of you noticed, our CFIs have conspired to all take Saturday off for various reasons. Unusual, but I suppose they deserve a day off :) We will be back to full strength this week, and hopefully these oddball winds will have blown over by then.

As many of you who DID fly noticed, the Santa Ana winds are blowing. This means random and strange clouds popping up, and wind blowing out to sea. Practice your runway 7 pattern and entry technique, and make sure to check the AWSS (132.175) before setting up your entry. Also keep an eye out, as some of the less skilled pilots at the airport might actually use 25 out of habit! (we've seen it, it's highly dangerous, keep an eye on the runway and 25 runup to be safe)

Cessna 20U is having her right magneto replaced today with a new. Apparently a $700 magneto only lasts for 9 months. (the 6 month warranty on it was just added insult to the injury) -- we'll have her back up tomorrow.

The weather is nice. Grab some Sky!

- Mike

Soaring to Victory!

Pilots!

Please join me in congratulating Manuel G., who earned his U.S. Private Pilot wings today in Cessna 20U, after proving his chops with DPE Tom Hamm.

Congratulations Manny!

Cessna 04H continues her 100hr squawkfixing. We expect her back on the line tomorrow.

Gusty and a wee bit Hazy around the campfire lately, but things are cooling down -- whew! Good flying in the Southland this week!

Best,

- Mike

Web Rumblings

Hi Gang,

In case you've been accessing the schedule this evening, you might have seen some truly strange things, as I've been tinkering with the database to make way for some new features.

One booking was lost for appx 30 minutes (and has been replaced -- sorry, Ray), and the entire schedule showed every booking being owned by some rascal named Allen -- but this is all fixed and things should be behaving properly. If not, please feel free to email me at mike@flycorona.com and call my programming ability into question :)

==

Other news:

Cessna 20U's 3rd DG seems intermittent. We have a factory-fresh one enroute due sometime this week.

Cessna 04H is in 100hr, sorry for those weekend bookers. The squawk list is short and we aim to have her up shortly.

Cessna 68U will get her nose strut pumped up tomorrow, it's looking a bit low.

Cessna 08V had a "mushy left brake" repaired today. The prospect of doing donuts on landing did not excite any of our 150 pilots. The plane was grounded pending repair by one of our IAs.

==

If you have borrowed the office's loaner GPS, can you please let someone in the office know? We are worried about him. :)

Blue Skies!

- Mike

Labor Day!

Hello All,

I hope you are all recovered from your long weekend. Some items of excitement were going on around the fleet, and I figured I would jot them here to interested parties:

Cessna 04H enjoyed a nice weekend trip to Oxnard. Unfortunately, it was not so keen to return (smarter than the average Cessna? who can say?) -- Cessna 20U was dispatched with a new starter for our green machine, and both are back home safely.

Cessna 17J went to San Francisco for the weekend.

Cessna 68U stuck around, and as a result, we have been able to (we believe) nail down her over-temperature indications on the CHT gauge. She is being worked on as we speak.

Cessna 08V also was in town.

Nothing else to report... blue skies!

- Mike

Goings on...

All,

Please join me in congratulating our newest Pilot, United States Private Pilot Shahid R. earned his wings after a grill n' fly at the hands of Examiner Tom Hamm. Shahid has been training with Jeremy and earned his wings in Cessna 04H

Congratulations Shahid!

==

We are in instrument/radio squawk mode, as certain of our birds seem to be giving us attitude. Specifically:

Cessna 68U will be receiving an altimeter check to maintain IFR standards. We have heard that she is sliding slightly out of tolerance.

68U is also having static in her com2 radio which we hope to eliminate.

68U also appears to need a Turn Coordinator Gyro overhauled. We will be swapping in a known good instrument while 68U's is out for overhaul.

Cessna 20U will have a NAV indicator replaced and a VOT performed. Also 20U has caught the mysterious "Disco Gyro" problem which plagued us with 04H recently.

Cessna 04H has a nav/comm in addition to a faceplate on order.

Cessna 08V will also receive an altimeter check along with 68U to verify her Mode C operation. (some have reported intermittency)

08V will also have an electrical checkup to identify sources of broadcast static on the radio.

Cessna 17J flies nice and still has "new plane scent"

==

As always, we appreciate reported squawks from our pilots.

Blue Skies!

- Mike

How about those clouds?

A friend of the school, Mr. Ed S., shared an email which has been going around lately. The text from same is as follows:

Jorn Olsen works for the Dutton-Lainson Co. in Hastings, Nebraska, and lives by Heartwell Park next to Hastings College. The stadium lights are at the Hastings College stadium just east of his home.

The clouds are called Mammatus clouds. They do not precede a tornado, or foretell a storm, but are formed when the air is already saturated with rain droplets and/or ice crystals and begins to sink. The worst of the storm is usually over when these kinds of clouds are seen. They are quite rare, but really beautiful.

That's an understatement. Pictures are © Mr. Olsen and are placed here with no permission and for no possible commercial purpose (we don't charge people to say "wow, cool!"). Contact me if you'd like them removed. :)

Blue Skies!

Fuel on the rise...

Pilots,

Fuel is on the rise again, this time due to (shakes magic 8-ball) "greed"

Oh, wait, that can't be right... (shakes again) "mideast instability and concerns about the integrity of the alaskan pipelines"

We are expecting a 20 cent rise this week. If so, surcharges will be sliding up one notch on the scale (to 6/11) -- Buy ChevronTexaco Stock. :)

--

In other news:

Cessna 20U has undergone her 100hr inspection this weekend.

Cessna 04H has a new navcomm faceplate on order for radio #2. We are also troubleshooting the VOR reception, as we have heard reports that it is currently in question.

The flying is cool and nice. Blue Skies!

- Mike

Wake Turbulence

Most of us have studied wake turbulence, read about how these powerful vortices can flip our small aircraft, but here is an incredible picture taken of an airliner leaving very distinct vortices in the clouds -- the first time I've ever seen a visual of the sink rate phenomenon. Very cool.

Slow news.... month!

Pilots!

Apologies for the lack of news over the last 4 weeks. I was drawn away from the school, as many of you know, and nobody else picked up the blog -- but now I'm back, and wish to share a few tidbits:

First, a belated congratulations to Brando F. who passed his Private Pilot checkride!

Second, we have undergone a CFI shuffle, as many of you have noticed. We are in the market for an additional CFII at the moment.

Third, our hideous heatwave seems to have snapped -- the flying is once more tolerable in the AJO area. Some things, even the misty mate cannot combat. :)

More as I know it -- blue skies!

- Mike

Happy 4th of July!

A bit late, I suppose... but I hope everyone flew and was safe this Holiday season.

==

Some cool things going on around the ranch lately:

Congratulations to Joe C. for completing his Private Pilot checkride!

==

Behold the mighty wing spar!

Squawkapalooza!
We are taking advantage of the very-hot weather to get some squawks going, including:

Cessna 68U has had her Generator replaced.

Cessna 20U has had her Generator replaced

Cessna 08V is at Procraft for her 100hr inspection, which is expected to take the better part of this week.

Cessna 04H will be at Procraft later this week to clear up all manner of squawks that have accumulated.

Cessna 17J is going in for warranty squawk repairs on Thursday. That's just fun to say.

Cherokee 08F is humming along.

We have about 40 known squawks right now, and every plane in the fleet is going down for clean-up this week. If there is something that has been annoying you lately, or could be better -- please let us know with a quick Squawk Report!

==

the only cooling method dorkier than a misty mate.

Hot weather has been coming and going, but I'm confident that we won't be seeing 60 degrees anytime soon. That said, here are some ideas for beating the heat:

Drink lots of fluids! -- This should be a no-brainer, but we see lots of pilots take off without water, only to return from a long flight dehydrated and completely mush-brained. I can't think of anything more exciting than tackling that bumpy slight crosswind final approach with no brain! The back fridge is stocked with water, our cooler is almost always ready to go with ice cold water, and we even have otter pops -- no need to ask, just grab and go!

Bring a Mister! -- this one annoys a few people because it's pretty dorky. I won't lie - it's dorky, but we have that star of bingo halls everywhere -- the Misty Mate, available to borrow. A puff of misty water in a cockpit can make even the longest wait on the ramp into a pleasant one. Feel free to ping the office if you'd like to try one. (we won't tell anybody)

Climb! -- Of course those poor heat-soaked planes just don't climb as well as they do when it's colder than standard day -- but the temperature cools appx 3.2 degrees F per thousand feet of altitude.. if the only maneuver you can manage at 2,500' is "sizzle", try 5,500! the 5 minutes spent climbing might make the difference between success and failure on a lesson!

Go West! -- The inland area is notorious for being warm, and North, East, or South are all even worse -- I guess you'll need to head for the beach! Need to do maneuvers? Try El Toro practice area! It might give you those 10 degrees you need, and once more, it's only about 5 minutes away. You can even do maneuvers over the ocean if you like (guaranteed to be cooler), but that's a bit more of a hike (plan about 15 minutes to get to San Onofre/Oceanside). Ask your instructor if he thinks 5,500' at El Toro might be a nice change of climate -- I doubt you'll get many refusals :)

Stay cool out there!

- Mike

Squawks, Cessnas, and Munchies!

Pilots,

I would like to thank everybody who attended our little shindig yesterday -- it was a blast! Especial thanks to Tim Hocklander from Tom's Aircraft in Long Beach for bringing the food, the flybabies, and hanging out and answering questions!

It was nice to chat with folks in a casual setting -- so much so, that we simply must do this again soon!


Trevor is bored with 172SPs. His next ride is a Turbo Skylane!

For those of you who missed out, Tom's has left their gorgeous Turbo 182 chocked outside on our line, please ask the office for a brochure if you're interested in learning more about any of the toys which were on display yesterday.

---

We're on a squawk hunt again. Cessna 68U and Cessna 20U have both received new Generators, and Cessna 68U has a new battery after somebody "borrowed" it.

Cessna 04H has fine-wire spark plugs installed, since not everybody has figured out that "warm day = high density altitude = lean for best performance" (see my prior news post about this for better procedures, or ask any CFI)

Cessna 08V has a new transponder, a new NAV/COM, and has had some intercom wiring cleaned up.

Robert showing off his IFR - "Intuitive Fire Recipes"

Solo activity is picking up again, now that the weather has cleared -- be ready to share the skies with Solo folks Joel K, Jay B, Anthony A, Reed W, Ben S, and likely a few others I've missed! Congrats guys, you're in the home stretch!

Even Willy was drooling over the new aircraft

Blue Skies! -- and don't forget the bottled water, it's hot out there.

- Mike

Join us for a Tiki Party with Cessna!

Pilots!

This Saturday Afternoon, the kind folks at Tom's Cessna in Long Beach will be throwing us all an open house! There will be food, drinks, and a brand new G1000-equipped Skyhawk and Skylane on display! Come twiddle the knobs on a G1000 without the office's watchful eye, and take a tour of the advanced features with Cessna trained experts.

The Skylane (nee 182) is quite possibly the perfect 4-place aircraft, with many people who switch to faster or larger aircraft -- end up returning to a faithful skylane after all. Cross-country movers, this is your chance to try to persuade us to get one of these 150kt machines on rental for the school!

--

In other news:

Cessna 17J completed her first 100hr inspection tonight. We have on order a new trim knob (one that doesn't hit pilots in the eye at random -- sorry Kevin H!), and I will be loading new map data into the GPS.

Cessna 04H has had her charging system inspected. We have heard complaints of a whine in the electrics, and hope to have this resolved. Also, the ground start receptacle fuse has been located and replaced, in case we did not in fact fix this. (no more removing the cowling to charge a toasted battery)

Cessna 20U is back with a new battery, new Voltage regulator, and new Generator. We expect much "power to the people" once again -- until some rascal leaves the master on overnight again. Thanks to DP Air for the help with this one.

Cessna 68U has had some cosmetic tweaks done by the fine people at Procraft.

Cessna 08V is having her Transponder checked again. Apparently it remains intermittent, to nobody's amusement (most particularly SoCal Approach)

Cherokee 08F continues to fly trouble-free.

--

We have many new faces around the office lately, say hello to anyone looking helpful or friendly -- it's either one of our pilots, or one of our staff!

Please remember, there is water and otter pops in the fridge! Stay cool out there -- heatstroke does bad things for moods and landings!

- Mike

Quick Jot

Hi Gang,

The server experienced about 20 minutes of downtime this evening around midnight, as we moved the FlyC server. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Some things going on in hangarland:




68U had a thorough 100hr done at Procraft, getting her spruced up for summer. She has new rudder hinges, elevator hinges, new tires, and the new interior panel plastics have been installed (finally! :) -- she will be going back for some cosmetic stuff as soon as we can pull her off the line.

20U has a new battery. We expect this to end the charge-nocharge cycle she's been bothering us with.

I am officially petitioning the office to get a larger fishbowl for our friend Charlie (the Betta) - and since sun = algae, and that shot-glass that Charlie lives in looks more like a petri dish these days, I'm requesting a plecostomus too.

too scary-looking to be vegetarian.

Julie seems to be flying an awful lot lately. Word on the street (and I agree with this) is that the G1000 is very intuitive, with all of the information easy to find, the radios fairly easy to tune, and checkouts are running about 1.5 - 2.0 hours lately (depending on how familiar you are with the KAP140 autopilots) -- I think she's likely to stick around for awhile -- thanks Pilots!

Cessna 72F (who?) is being troubleshot this week. We may or may not place her back on active duty when we get the new starter going. (150s are just not as popular lately)

--

Apologies to those who we were forced to cancel on Sunday's runway closure. It was unexpected, and we probably lost about 40 or 50 hours of flying that afternoon! Luckily, word is that nobody was hurt on the gear-up landing which kiboshed the gorgeous Sunday flying everyone had planned - whew! Pilots considering retract aircraft, don't make this face:

how not to impress your pilot buddies...
what's that buzzing alarm sound in the cockpit anyway?

The weather is simply gorgeous. Grab some sky!

- Mike

A 100 hour-long 100hr :)

Hi Gang,

Quick update: Cessna 68U is having her fuel tank baffling replaced in one wing, as one of the plates was found broken. The baffling is a series of aluminum plates in the fuel tank which prevent a few hundred pounds of fuel from sloshing inboard-to-outboard in turbulence, and, in worst cases, sloshing the fuel away from the "pickup" where the fuel travels to the engine.

This isn't really an easy thing to describe in text, so here's a picture I found on the web:



This is a very funny-shaped tank, but it illustrates the point perfectly. The baffles are the vertical plates running along the length of the tank. In turbulence, say, when you uncoordinate the aircraft and G forces pull the fuel to the outboard end of a tank (and away from the fuel pickup) - the fuel needs to run THROUGH these baffle plates. Since there are only a few small holes available, only a small amount of fuel can move through at once - thus dampening the slosh, and preventing you from starving the engine. (which would be a bit too exciting)

Your car has these too! Baffles, combined with the general shape of a fuel tank which puts the fuel "pickup" at the lowest gravity point in the tank - ensures that you don't starve your engine of fuel, even in the meanest, longest, ugliest slips to a landing (when the G forces are decidedly sideways, and pulling on your fuel tank!)

A most excellent and interesting find from the folks at Procraft, and 68U's new ETA is Friday afternoon.

More as I know it!

- Mike

Hello from Oakland!

Hi Gang,

Beth and I are in Oakland at a Cessna Pilot Center conference, helping shape things like G1000 curriciulum, PTS, and what the latest trends are in pilot education. Quite interesting to see what the other flight schools are doing around the country, and interesting to see that a lot of "fresh" ideas are ones we put into play over a year ago (example: "try to think about your office from the student's perspective")

Also nice to see that other flight schools suffer the same grumbling problems we do (planes and/or instructors not on time, periodically indifferent or distracted office service, weather and maintenance headaches, etc.)

All in all, a constructive little conference. We will return this afternoon and see you all tomorrow.

In the meantime, some quick jots:

Cessna 68U is down for an extensive 100hr with Procraft. 68U has been beat up lately, and we aim to get her into better shape. Expected return is tentatively Wed.

The other birds are flying quite nicely.

--

We are officially placing Cessna 20U for sale. 20U is an excellent leaseback aircraft, garnering an average of 85-95 hours per month, and is rather low maintenance. The new owner will have the option of taking over 20U's leaseback arrangement with Fly Corona (which the owner typically grosses $3,500 per month with -- maintenance and insurance eat much of that, but generally she pays for herself and leaves a small fund for upgrades)

We would prefer to have 20U remain on leaseback, of course, since we love her -- and the new owner would enjoy flying for the cost of fuel only. However, if 20U does not remain on leaseback, we will be replacing her with another 172.

Asking price is $45,000. I will be putting together a detail packet of her impressive features and general "dialed-in, flying" nature. Feel free to stop in the office Wednesday or beyond for details about leasebacks (since, while they're simple, they are still an investment to be considered)

Also feel free to email me at mike@flycorona.com :)

Blue Skies!

- Mike

Filling the Talent Bench...

Pilots!

In order to alleviate some of our current scheduling pressure, I am excited to announce additional CFI capacity!

CFI Shannon C. is now with us 6 days per week! (Sorry, Sunday flyers) -- he is available for bookings right now, and all through summer!

---

Some other misc. news

Cessna 20U has returned from her unexpected right door repair. 20U now boasts "two underwing exits", up from only one last week.

Cessna 04H has yet another DG being installed today. Will report back if the "disco DG" problem is solved.

Cessna 68U will be entering its 100hr early next week.

Cessna 17J is still new and awesome.

Cessna 08V purrs along after her squawkapalooza

Cherokee 08F rips off the line with her new prop.

---

The weather is toasty in Corona -- we have cold bottled water in the office fridge, and otter pops in the office freezer. Please feel free to help yourself and beat the heat! :)

- Mike

Couch-flying the G-1000

Pilots,

After resting and shaking off what was a long and bumpy XC flight from KS, I have some thoughts to share with everyone.

First, some maintenance business:

Cessna 08V has had her radios rewired to combat some static. She has also had about 5 or 6 other squaks repaired

Cessna 04H still has the disco DG. We are going to try a new mechanic's eye on it. We're baffled, quite frankly -- apologies all around.

And then some fun stuff:

After much chatter in the office, it has become known to us that many of our pilot friends are a bit intimidated by the 160 buttons on the Garmin G-1000. Yes, that's a lot, and while it's easy for us to tell you that you don't need that many to fly the thing -- it's better to see it in action.

We have decided to make available to everyone a free copy of the Garmin G1000 Introduction/Training Video. They will be in the office, in the lending library bookcase -- no need to ask us, just grab one. They're in the colorful sleeves, and clearly labelled.

This video is about 45 minutes in length, and does a great job of walking you through both VFR and IFR features of the system. After about 20 minutes, you'll join me in going "oh, that's easy... and quite cool!"

--

Additionally -- those of you flying Cessna 17J - please be aware of the very different starting procedure! The IO-360 engine is great, but the fuel injection can be flooded on the ground very easily, leading to very hard starts. If you did everything correctly by the checklist, it will start in 2 blades. If not, something went wrong. Please use the checklist the first time you start her!

Great weather abounds, finally! Summer is here and its cooler up there!

Blue Skies!

- Mike

Welcome Home!

Hi Gang,

After 6 flight test hours and 16 XC hours, 6017J has found her way home from Kansas.

Cessna Boulevard, Independence KS. Really.

I am pleased to say that my initial fears regarding checkouts were unfounded, and we are going to begin the G1000 checkouts at 2 hours of ground and 2 hours of dual instruction, and work our way down from there if this proves to make competent pilots. even after 16 hours, I don't know everything about this system -- so our strategy is to make you a safe, competent pilot first, and then arm you with enough information to navigate the system second. A "license to learn" all over again, but at your own speed.

Julie on the ramp, Wiley Post Airport, Oklahoma City

The important ground topics are:

VFR instrumentation, and where to find everything now
Basic PFD/MFD navigation
The autopilot ("James")
Emergencies/failure modes

And the important airborne topics are:

Traffic/TIS
Autopilot coupling ("NAV mode")
In-flight weather and database
Helpful features, tips & tricks
Emergencies/failure modes

--

After that, I believe you can all join me in learning this huge and impressive avionics package on your own time, enroute to your own destinations.

In the meantime, here are some random pictures of the return trip for you to roll your eyes at.

Blue Skies,

- Mike

Dalhart, TX

Lovely view. Too bad about the 45kt average headwind.



On the ramp, Deer Valley Airport, Phoenix

Greetings from Independence, KS!

Hello all,

Apologies for the quietude of late - I have been running around Kansas, mobilizing the final pieces of the Cessna acquisition.

Yes, Kansas. Here is the mandatory picture of Joe Dirt to go along with that thought.



I have completed the factory familiarity flight with the G1000, and I am proud to announce that it is very easy, natural, and not difficult, as some of us have feared. I will know more over the next few days, but my initial impression is that a 2 hour ground will be more than enough time to get familiar with all of its features, as well as the 2-axis autopilot, and some of the other nifty things featured. I was able to get a "basic VFR mastery" in 15 minutes, with the remaining bells and whistles becoming familiar in another 30. The rest is for me to twiddle with in flight.

And, in case you're wondering, she's a very sweet flier. Traffic Information is going to revolutionize flying in the Los Angeles Basin -- the G1000 "spots" traffic about 10 miles out for you, and alerts you on the intercom to its location, heading, and altitude change (climbing or descending)

My new list of very cool features about the G1000:

Traffic
Terrain Information
Autopilot Coupling
"one place to look" for everything
Shoulder Harnesses w/Airbags
V-speeds on the airspeed tape
Heading and Altitude Bugs
Auto-identifying VOR receivers (the screen will actually put PDZ next to the frequency!)
Crosswind calculator. It actually computes the crosswind direction and speed and displays an arrow on the screen.
XM Radio weather on-screen overlay. This is amazing. Ever get DUATs maps? Imagine overlaying them on your GPS map. Imagine getting in-flight weather depiction (with lightning, cloud ceilings and tops, rain and nexrad -- everything! all at once)
XM Radio. :)


This is definitely the future of aviation. I cannot wait to share it with everyone.

Blue Skies! (be thankful you are humidity free!)

- Mike

Meet Julie!

Pilots!

It is my pleasure to announce that a new Cessna is born!


Cessna N6017J has arrived, having been created at the Cessna factory, and now waits for us on the ramp in Independence, KS. (KIDP)

Seventeen-Julie is a 2006 Cessna 172SP / Garmin G1000. She is designated by the FAA as a Technically Advanced Aircraft or TAA.

A small list of the features of our new Cessna:

Traffic displayed on the MFD
A pair of 10.4" High-visibility screens, including a PFD which integrates ALL of your flight instruments into one screen
Dual redundant Nav/Comm processors, Dual GPS receivers, Computerized fuel and engine monitoring.
Terrain Data
2-axis Autopilot



...and those are just the doodads in the panel. Additionally, our aircraft will have:

Tinted glass all around
Rosen Visors
Beige Leather Interior
Shoulder harnesses
Shoulder harness-deployed Airbags
XM Radio & Weather information

And probably a ton of interesting and amazing things I haven't even learned yet.

We will be picking her up, if all goes as planned, on Friday, and will be flying her home by the following Tuesday, the 30th.


Fly Corona! has been named as the latest GOLD Status Cessna Pilot Center, and we will be standardizing our curriculum around the King/Cessna training materials for the new aircraft, as well as the existing. The King/Cessna materials are CDROM/DVD based, and are a much more interesting way to absorb the various materials presented in the awesome Jeppesen kits we currently use.

Initial rates will be as follows:

Block: $129.00 per hour (!), Retail: $149.00 per hour.

A 30 minute spin around Lake Matthews will be $79.00
Take her to Catalina for 90 minutes, at $229.00

We will be offering TAA/G1000 Checkouts as follows:

New Pilots on retail rates:

TAA/G1000 Checkout: $649
includes 6 hours of instructor time, and 2 hours of flight time.
includes Max Trescott's definitive work, the G1000 Glass Cockpit Handbook

Existing Renters on block rates: only $549 for the above.

--

She is available for bookings now starting May 30, 2006! Feel free to grab a spot on the schedule to try out this amazing machine.

We will undoubtedly be tuning things as time goes on, and we expect to have a homecoming BBQ on the weekend of June 3rd, to show off "new plane smell" and all of the wonderful features.

More as I know it...!

- Mike

A quick update...

Hello Pilots,

Forgive the tardiness of this, but I need to call attention to some superstars in the FlyC family lately:

Wednesday evening, Cessna 04H screamed through her 100hr in 5 hours (a new record), from 6pm - 11pm. One might think this was some ham-fisted pencil-whipping, but it was far from it! In fact, we were able to accomplish this by using 2 A&Ps, with 2 FlyC line folks, an infusion of in n out hamburgers, and a very loud selection of music.

So, having made this new record, inspecting, cleaning, and repairing all discovered squawks on 04H in very short order, and returning her to the flightline the next morning, I extend a warm Thanks! to:

Scott D, FAA-Certified A&P
Mike A, FAA-Certified A&P
John B, FlyC Volunteer Line
Kevin W, FlyC Student and Volunteer Line

04H's DG puzzles everyone who has looked at it. We have a new one on order. Sorry for the hypnosis, we expect its repair soon!

Cessna 68U's new interior plastics have arrived. These will be installed sometime soon.

Cessna 08V has an inop/intermittent CDI. We will be replacing this shortly with a new unit.

--

Chino airport is having an air show this weekend, but we have not heard word of any TFRs in effect. Pilots, get weather briefings or you may end up dogfighting beautifully restored P-51s and B-17s with your Skyhawk! (hint: your defeat is assured!)

--

Fly Safe,

- Mike

Lower Gas prices? Is that a typo?

We just got word that fuel prices are expected to ease this week. Expect our fuel surcharges to ease along with them. More as I know it.

Also, a quick congratulations to Erik B., who earned his Private Pilot License on Monday morning in Cessna 68U, despite the funk and haze. Congratulations, Erik!

Best,

- Mike

Better weather, mutinous planes...

Hello All,

The skies are getting bluer, the temps are rising. We've had a few interesting squawks lately, and of course, they all happen at once, defying our ability to fix them all promptly.

Cherokee 08F has a new battery installed, and now should start reliably.

Cessna 68U has a repaired right nav light.

Cessna 20U is down until further notice for a wonky copilot door latch, as well as the reattachment of the oil cooler. (since temps are rising) ETA is some time on Wednesday.

Cessna 04H has gone through 2 new Directional Gyros. The DG is not broken, there is an issue with the vacuum plumbing. 04H has full use of the AI, but the DG is currently in "Disco Stu" free-spinning mode. Do NOT allow yourself to be hypnotized by a spinning DG, as it will command you to fly direct to Las Vegas, and bet everything you own on number 4 at roulette!

Cessna 04H will be undergoing 100hr inspection on Wednesday evening. No downtime is expected.

Cessna 08V is behaving just lovely. Thanks 08V! Here's a random action shot in her honor.




Fly Corona! has been approved to acquire a Cessna 172SP/G1000. This is apparently the easy part. We are awaiting insurance quotes for the monster, and if all goes well, we might be 2 weeks away from glass panel goodness. Still some number crunching to go, and some final financial wrangling to derive the correct rental price, but we think we can be highly competitive, as is our fashion. Stay tuned!

I would like to say that the folks at Cessna have been an absolute pleasure to work with. I wish buying a new car was as professional and respectful a dealing. A class act all the way.

Blue Skies!

- Mike

"Quit yer buggin'"

Pilots!

Late spring brings us all manner of fauna and flora - wildflowers, geese returning home, and a huge collection of... bugs!

On a car, bugs are good for peppering windshields, and not much more. Aircraft, though, seem to collect them like magnets, and this can cause a few specific problems:

1. Our leading edges are in need of additional washing. Sorry. :) If you wish to wash planes in the evening for flight time, or know someone who does -- we would be very appreciative. Wed-Fri is ideal. We will be seeking line support for weekday evenings to supplement our weekend wash schedule.

2. Bug-in-the-pitot! This one is actually very serious. Since the pitot tube is an air pressure instrument, working on ram air taken from the forward airstream - it is not uncommon for bugs to be "ingested", literally, by the pitot tube. We can get them as often as 3x a week on the fleet.

Imagine for a second the effects this will have. The failure modes are insidious:

Partial blockage: Your airspeed will read lower than actual. Think your approach speed is "a little fast" ? It might be.

Full blockage: This can happen in flight, causing your airspeed indication to "freeze" at your last speed. Imagine if it freezes at 40mph and you don't notice until your takeoff roll -- will you rotate at 2/3 field, or will you stay on the ground until you see trees? (kinda-correct answer: A)

(correct answer: You noticed the airspeed glitch on your runup and aborted flight)

A generally unreliable or "suspicious" airspeed indicator is dangerous! We rely on the airspeed for many critical operations, many of which are at final or departure.

Remember that the stall warning horn cannot be blocked by a bug and will continue to work. Should you depart with the plane hanging off of its prop and the stall warning horn blaring? NO. But if it goes off at 80mph you can stop and wonder about your airspeed.

If you have any questions regarding proper operation or diagnosis, please ask a flight instructor. Better safe than munching oak trees, and this is one of those interesting scenarios that sparks more theory than fact! :)

Blue Skies!

- Mike

A few things...

Good morning Pilots!

First, sadly, this:

CNO 101553Z 00000KT 2SM HZ CLR 17/13 A2996

is a huge improvement over recent 9am weather. We may be emerging out of this aerial funk which has kept everyone on the ground for the last 2 weeks.

Second, Cessna 20U completed her 100hr inspection last night.

Third, after much hand-wringing and the like, and absent any serious leaseback movement, we are strongly considering a Cessna 172SP for the school. We are working on the numbers, but they look like they would be in the $130-$140/hr ballpark. (depending on insurance -- waiting on that quote now)

The Skyhawk SP would come equipped with a Garmin G1000 panel, which will be different from what we are all used to, but not substantially.


Cases for the SP:

New.
Great performance from 180hp.
Traffic avoidance on the GPS map
The GPS map
2-axis autopilot
Airbags & Shoulder harnesses
Fuel Injected

Cases against:

Appx 2x the cost of the older skyhawks
"It's still just a 172"
Increased fuel burn of 10gph
GPS panel can add 10 hours to training, due to many features
I get to say new and strange things like "You can get your pilot's license in as little as $7,500" (about double the cost of training in a C150)

I'm interested in your thoughts.. is this something interesting to everyone? We need another pair of 172s once the weather improves -- is this too much skyhawk, or something supremely cool that everyone will enjoy?

Blue Skies -- watch out for that haze :)

- Mike

Evil weather and low-vis flying

Weathernistas,

Despite the lack of (much) flying, there are some events lately that are noteworthy.

Cessna 08V is in for an overhaul of her exhaust system. There was a worrisome "popping" noise which we've been chasing for the last two weeks, and which the wizards at Corona Cylinder have identified finally. We will have her down for other repairs today and possibly tomorrow.

Cherokee 08F received her new climb prop this weekend, and now launches off of the numbers! She's quite a treat, posting upwards of 800fpm climb rates. Quite nice! We've done a lot of work on the Cherokee and believe her to be a rock-solid bird now -- give her a whirl if you'd like to try a low-wing.

Cessna 20U will be going in for 100hr this week. Cessna 04H will be following right behind her. Downtime is possible, but we will do our best to minimize. Stay tuned for status on those.

--

Those of you frustrated with 2200' ceilings and 3 miles vis (and I imagine there are quite a few at this point) -- next time you're in the office, take a look at saddleback mountain (which is about 3mi away) and wonder what it's like to not be able to see it while cruising in the air at 2 miles per minute.... not a comfortable thing!

Now imagine trying to spot that other plane converging on you (also at 2 miles per minute) -- are you looking outside for planes at all times? Two planes converging at 120mph in 3 miles vis get exactly 45 seconds to locate, identify, and avoid one another. Yes, it's hard to hit another plane, even on purpose -- but 45 seconds is just not a sufficient margin of safety for us.

Class G airspace minimums are >1 mile< !! Imagine that! You get 15 seconds to see and avoid the other plane, and you can't see the 91 freeway from final approach. No thanks!

Fly safe, and remember.. once the inversion layers are gone, it's going to be replaced with summer heat.... we may be begging for the return of overcast soon enough!

- Mike

We hate cancelling flights, but.. safety first.

I can see!

The end (of low vis and ceilings) is near! :)

CNO 041953Z 23013KT 7SM BKN055 19/11 A2999

Glooooomy weather!

Pilots!

June Gloom has arrived early. We are plagued with poor visibility and very low ceilings in the mornings, burning off only around noontime.

Come to think of it, that's exactly what happened this time last year.

We've heard grumblings from numerous students, who receive our unfortunate calls telling them we'll be cancelling their flight... again. Take heart! The gloom is usually only here for a week or so, and following it is almost always clear blue skies all day long.

Pilots wanting something to do with their newfound free time can certainly request some ground instruction with their instructor. We also stock MS Flight Simulator if you're interested in a little armchair pilotage ($30, check with the office :) )

===

Some other news -- we have completed our bookkeeping, and have finalized new pricing for 2006, which will go into effect Wednesday, May 3. We have been able to hold down prices for the last 13 months, and now we must adjust to our increasing costs.

Generally, prices will be increased only $5 per hour across the board at the block rate level, with the exception of the Cessna 150s, which remain at $49/hr wet. After discussions with various fuel providers, we have decided not to roll the current fuel surcharges into these new prices, since there may be some relief in sight in the near future. (and like taxes, price hikes are impossible to get rid of once implemented). Prices will still be set at the optimistic $3.00/gallon AvGas price, which we hope to return to soon. Fuel surcharges will still apply, at our cost, to fuel prices over this target.

Retail rates will be raised an additional $5 per hour.

Since nobody likes surprises, least of all pilots, we have adopted the following grandfathering policy to ease the transition for our existing students:

Students or renters who are currently on block rates, and who have greater than $1,000 on account with us at any point before Sunday, May 8 - will be grandfathered at the old block/package rates until June 15th. After June 15th, no grandfathered rates will be used.

Retail renters and those with only a few flights remaining will use the new rates, unless they are to raise their account above $1,000 before the 8th. In essence, we are offering pilots one week to purchase a block of time at the old rates, before we effect the transition to the new.

I welcome your comments on this policy -- you may email me at mike@flycorona.com with any questions or concerns.

We believe this "no surprises" grandfathering policy to be the most equitable solution to our existing students, and we will continue to represent the best priced, most fun aviating in the southland.

Blue Skies,

- Mike

March (AFB) Madness!

Pilots!

TFR Time again. This time the risk is not so much the Secret Service, but rather, the aerial machinations of the USAF Thunderbirds! The most excellent March AFB Airshow is in town this weekend, and if you do not wish to race the Air Force's top pilots, have a look at the TFR depiction below.


The normal outer ring of March AFB Class C airspace to the east of Lake Matthews also defines the boundaries of the TFR -- however, the airspace dimensions are SFC/17000, so definitely steer clear of the entire airspace.

Weather has killed a number of flights -- apologies to those students who have been most affected. There is an old adage which says "it's better to be on the ground wishing you were flying, than to be flying wishing you were on the ground" -- a cloud would certainly do that to ya.

Let me know if you have concerns about our weather cancellations -- there have been a few folks feeling unduly hassled by it.

Best,

- Mike

But... we don't even burn ethanol!

Hi Gang!

Congrats to all for not getting intercepted this weekend! :)

Some things going on:

1. Fuel is on the rise (in case you haven't noticed) -- even though this Ethanol nonsense does not affect 100LL formulation, Chevron's prices are up 20 cents this week. This will translate into an increased surcharge.. again. Volatile fuel prices affect everyone, but hits aviators particularly hard, since we use a lot of power!

2. We have an online squawk report sheet! It's ugly, but it's quite functional.. link it from "Squawks" on the main page. These are hugely helpful, and now feed directly into our A&P database - definitely add your aircraft gripes -- and I've even allowed anonymous reporting, so sock it to us! :)

3. Our leaseback 172 slots are not being taken, and our 172s are still slammed -- so we'll be acquiring the planes ourselves. Let me know if you are aware of any M-model or newer 172s that are for sale!

4. We have a tremendous number of ideas for expanding FlyC, but we're conservative, and refuse to jeopardize our core business - that of making pilots. Because of this, we can only pursue a limited number of opportunities at once -- so at this time, we are considering an equity partner/investor in FlyC, in order to grow the business a bit faster without threatening the school. The level of involvement is flexible, and if you're interested in an incredibly unique investment opportunity, and working with the only non-shady people in this industry (ha ha, just kidding -- mostly) -- drop me a line at mike@flycorona.com

Great weather abounds... fly safe!

- Mike

Presidential TFR in effect!

Pilots!

There is no surer way to end a piloting career than paying a visit to airspace owned by the President without an invitation. Today through Monday there are 2 major TFRs in effect - Palm Springs and John Wayne. We understand that invitations are in very short supply, so aviators, pay attention!



Fly Corona! will be grounded on Monday from morning opening until 11:05am for TFR compliance. Palm Springs is off-limits for the next 3 days, so flights to the Vegas area should use the Borrego pass or Cajon. (with care) - and NOT the Palm Springs TRSA. The blue ring above depicts the off-limits airspace, and anyone heading East should proceed with extreme caution.


Imagine the sheer joy for any aviator watching an explosive flare suddenly detonate 20 feet off of the nose of his Cessna, a care package sent by the 2 F-16s dispatched to discuss who owns the airspace surrounding the Leader of the Free World. As Goose and Maverick suggest your new landing place, a nearby Colonel will be calling everyone at the airport personally to arrange your immediate detainment, while the local police and a number of black suburbuans rush to greet you on the tarmac.. with complimentary steel bracelets.


Fanciful, perhaps, but this time, we aren't making this stuff up -- it happened last year before our very eyes here at Corona. (and we got to speak with the charming Colonel -- who it turns out did not have a strong sense of humor about our refusal to detain a fellow pilot) The bungling pilot was not one of ours, but then, he's not anybody's anymore. That guy is done flying. Don't follow in his footsteps.


Calling Flight Service is not just to learn about clouds and dewpoints - a standard briefing will include advance notice of any such TFRs or NOTAMs in the area, and will keep you out of any unusual trouble. 3 minutes on the phone can save your ticket.

Fly Safe!

- Mike