November GAARMS Report 
by Fred Gibbs
I am beginning to sound like an old recording stuck on playback! “LADY LUCK” still continues to smile on the GA community here in Arizona! We are still at “ONLY ONE FATAL ACCIDENT” so far state-wide for 2015, and only two out-of-state fatal accidents involving an Arizona-based pilot. Whatever you are doing, keep doing it! You always hear me say at the safety programs, “If you are NOT part of the (safety) solution, you may just become part of the problem.” We only have 2 months left in 2015 – please continue to do whatever you are doing and we can make this the safest year I have ever seen, and I won’t mind it at all if you leave me with nothing to say at GAARMS 2016!
Just before I sat down to write this article, I had to go retrieve my airplane from the avionics shop over in Prescott. I begged a ride from a friend who graciously agreed to take me. So, off we went. Smooth air, no traffic to speak of, just loafing along for this short 25 minute trip. About 15 minutes into the flight we started to smell something funny, and our attention went straight to the amp meter and the voltage readout on the JPI EGT unit. They were going crazy!! So we did the next logical thing – we asked ourselves, “Hmmm, I wonder how much this is going to cost?” No, not really, but I’m sure he was thinking it! In reality, we discussed what we perceived was going on, analyzed the problem being presented to us, and decided on a course of action. WOW – real cockpit resource management!!! We still had several minutes before we had to contact PRC tower, so we turned off the avionics master and all the lights, then cycled the “ALT” side of the master switch while we watched the amp meter. We still had voltage fluctuations, so we cycled the entire master switch. Things settled down a bit, so we started to bring pieces of equipment up on line. First the number 2 radio (the number one was the GPS430W), then the transponder. After getting the PRC ATIS, it was time to call the tower. We explained our dilemma, including the fact that we could lose all electrics at any time, and they cleared us to land on Runway 12 with approval to turn off anywhere we wanted to. Kudos everywhere as the situation was very professionally handled by the PRC controller. We advised the tower we planned to turn off on the taxiway going right into the avionics shop ramp. Oh yeah, just to make it more interesting, we were in a retractable gear airplane! We double checked to make sure all unnecessary power was shut down and then we put the gear down. No problems there, with 3 in the green, just one less thing to worry about, had I been worried. My friend that was flying is a recently certified commercial pilot, trained by me, so I was not the least bit concerned. We landed without incident.
We spent about 30 minutes on the ramp trouble-shooting and determined that the problem was sporadic. The voltage “sorta” stabilized, and the amp meter stopped jumping all around. So we decided that he would go test fly the airplane around the pattern. If the problem returned, we would just land and leave the airplane at the shop. I waited on the ground. He got as far as the takeoff roll and the voltage went crazy. He aborted, taxied back to the avionics shop ramp, and parked it. We flew home in my airplane. The moral of the story is: Discretion is always the better part of valor! No heroes, no “I think I can make it,” no stupid decisions, no chance of making it onto Fred’s GAARMS presentation.
When I am out there flying, unless it is a catastrophic structural failure, I consider most problems as a challenge to my personal ability to analyze the problem and deal with it in a professional manner. If I am instructing when an issue occurs, the problem becomes not just a challenge, but also a teachable moment for the student. I have always felt teachable moments come in two flavors: one is when the student learns “YIKES, DON’T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!” and the second is “WOW! Now I understand why I need to know that.” Both leave lasting memories, and great “hangar-flying” stories are born out of them.
Last month I told you that the FAA was doing away with EFAS (or flight watch as it is commonly called), as well as HARS, AAS, & RAAS, and pulling the emergency frequency 121.5 out of the flight service stations. Now I just read that the FAA is doing away with the Area Forecast (FA) product. Do you get the impression the FAA, or at least the Air Traffic Organization (ATO), doesn’t care a whole lot about GA any more? Also, the Lockheed Martin Flight Service contract is on three 1-year extensions, and the FAA is actually considering doing away with the entire concept of flight service? If they really go that way there will be NO ONE to call to help you with weather briefings or flight plans, and NO ONE at the end of the radio to answer your request for weather updates, open or close your flight plans, or provide assistance for other issues, etc. The responsibility for weather briefings will be on you and your computer/laptop/iPad, and if you want a weather update while in flight, you will have to go buy something to provide ADS-B “In” capability!!! The FAA wants to simply automate everything and put all the responsibilities on the pilot. AOPA is fighting that, but they will need our support to win that battle. Seems the Air Traffic Organization is more interested in saving money than saving your life! It is becoming apparent that the Air Traffic Organization does NOT want to continue providing those services that allow you to comply with the FARs to meet the legal requirements required by the Flight Standards Organization (you know, the guys who enforce the regulations). The Flight Standards side of FAA says that weather remains one of the major causes of fatal accidents while the Air Traffic side of the house wants to do away with the Flight Service side of the FAA (who provides that service) because it costs too much money.
Perhaps the two organizations need to talk to each other….
And, did you know this? The FAA has already reduced the costs of providing flight services by over 3 billion dollars – that’s right, 3 BILLION DOLLARS, 3 hundred million per year - over the past 10 years under Lockheed Martin. Hmmm, wonder what they did with that money? Sure did not go into improving services!!!
On an entirely different subject, as a reminder for those of you who fly to the North Country (you know, like up here in Flagstaff), you do realize that winter is coming, right?? Those of us who live up here certainly do recognize the change is coming, as late night temperatures are already down in the 30’s and frost is on the wings every morning now. And with winter comes a whole lot of night flying – and night landings! Are you current for night flight with passengers? You know, the FAA doesn’t care if you kill yourself; they only care if you kill passengers. Thus, the 90 day takeoff and landing regulation that says you must be night current to carry passengers! Which raises the question, “When does night begin?” And “night” raises several more questions: First, when do I have to turn on my NAV lights? Second, when do I have to turn on my strobe lights? Third, when do I have to turn on my landing lights? Fourth, when do I start and stop logging night time? And finally, “How are my instrument flying skills, because it is really, really dark out there on a moonless night!” If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you might just need a sit down for a session with your favorite Flight Instructor before you decide to venture out there into the wild “Black Yonder.”
And as I said in last month’s newsletter, if you plan to fly north this season, you need to consider not only the weather, but the entire environment: temperature changes and dressing accordingly, aircraft protection (like covers), removing wheel pants, oil cooler covers, brooms and scrapers to clean off your aircraft, and even engine heaters.
If you would like a winter flying safety program at your local airport, simply contact the APA. You can contact me, Fred Gibbs, at 410-206-3753 or email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The Arizona Pilots Association provides the safety programs at no charge. We can also help you organize a program of your choice, and we can recommend programs that your pilot community might really like.
