Prez Sez
We are embarking on the 2010 flying season, a new decade ahead with many challenges and rewards. As with any new adventure we have a tendency to look back over the past and highlight our achievements so as to build on them in the future. The same holds true with flying. The first take off you made, your first solo, the first cross-country, and the check ride that you passed, are all major building blocks to becoming a great pilot.There are also many things we don’t think about that help us become a great pilot, like; a good fleet of aircraft with GPS and intercoms, exceptional maintenance, great instructors, the Village of Bolingbrook that fully supports the airport, a pleasant and comfortable FBO and Flight School, and a single North/South runway. I sensed a pause when you read that a single North/South runway was good, well let me explain.
Flying private aircraft is a thrill and allows the pilot to explore, go places, and enjoy the freedom of flight. Clow International has a small, narrow, North/South runway that makes your training exciting, but improves your skills tremendously. Picture doing all your training at an airport with two or more runways, the only time you experience a crosswind is when you come to an airport like Clow for a few landings. That is completely different than landing at that airport every time you fly. Although you may find delays in getting solo flights completed, the crosswind experience you gain will be there when you need it. Just recently in November we did a trip to the Bahamas with five airplanes. On the second day we went from Hawk's Nest to Staniel Cay (almost all airports on the islands are single runways) there was a direct crosswind that tested the skills of each pilot. The result was everyone landed safely and we had a great time at Staniel Cay. If we were back in Chicago under similar conditions we probably would not be flying, but the training and experience that all the pilots gained at A&M Aviation allowed for a successful outcome. Don’t be fooled by thinking that big airports with multiple runways provide better training; they are there to service the corporate world and slowly chip away at your skills.
FLIGHT TRAINING DEVICE
The Frasca 141 Simulator is a unique training tool. It has the ability to simulate many different conditions and to test the pilot’s skill in identifying and resolving those conditions. You can control the wind, turbulence, loading, fuel, and center of gravity. You can fail the landing gear, flaps, generator, vacuum pump, or electrical system. You can also fail the artificial horizon, VSI, turn and bank, DG, altimeter, and subject the pilot to pitot ice. Failures of the navigation system or engine systems like mags, fuel pump, prop governor, or total engine loss can all be simulated. The weather can be adjusted, ceilings and visibility changed, flights can be done in the day, dusk, or at night. These combinations can challenge the best VFR or IFR pilot. It is also great exposure for the student pilot to experience emergencies that cannot be duplicated in the airplane.
COLD WEATHER OPERATIONS
For ourwinter flyers we continue to put the planes in the hangar overnight to ensure they are ready for flight the next day. We hope this will enable you to come out early and often.
FLIGHT TRAINING
We expect February will get warmer and turn into a great month for students working on their private or instrument license. The overcast and higher freezing levels should make February and March ideal for instrument training. You can get with your instructor and experience first hand what flight in the clouds will be like after you get your license. To often pilots get their instrument rating and never have an opportunity to fly in the clouds. It is something you should experience first with an instructor. If you haven’t started your instrument rating remember an instrument rating will make you a better pilot whether you are flying VFR or IFR. It will also make you a safer pilot because of the expanded knowledge you have with regard to weather, airspace, ATC use, and aircraft performance. This is a great time to start your instrument rating; you can finish this rating by the summer and use your new skills to fly those trips you always wanted to make. At A&M we offer you a very structured course that is designed to get you your rating in the shortest period of time and provide you with the skills and knowledge to feel safe and fly safely with in the IFR system. We have state of the art airplanes with GPS and MFDs and aircraft with the G-1000 system that offer unbelievable situational awareness, our aircraft have great autopilots that will reduce your work load and make instrument flying enjoyable. Currently all our instructors are capable of training students for their instrument rating. We also have a Frasca 141 that is great for training; it allows you to stop in mid flight and see your mistakes, plot your course over the ground and see how you did vs. the instrument approach you were flying. The only thing that is keeping you from that instrument rating is a two hour commitment per week and a little studying at home. An instrument rating is one of the biggest accomplishments you will ever complete in aviation, for the weekend flyer it will give you the confidence you need to use your license on less than desirable days and get above the clouds for that smooth ride to your destination. For the person looking for the career in aviation it is like crossing the continental divide, its all down hill from there. So call up the Front Desk and schedule your first lesson, begin the adventure.
The simulator is also available for instrument flight training and keeping current. If you need to get those six approaches in, the simulator will give you the best bang for the buck. You do not have to worry about icing or low ceilings in the simulator, get on the schedule and give it a try.
Staying current is a lot easier than getting current.
FLYOUTS
Dinner flyouts will be starting in April. We will schedule a dinner flyout on the third Saturday of each month through October. We have a new e-mail list for those interested in participating in he flyouts. Sign up now! For our first flyout April 17th we will plan for one of our favorites, Watertown, Wisconsin and the grill your own steak restaurant. We will plan a 4:00PM departure. I will be finalizing the rest of our dinner flights so if anyone found a good spot let me know via the e-mail list and we will include it this year. Our summer trip is open for suggestions (New England, Canada fishing, Sandusky, Put-in-Bay, ?) and the winter trip will be to the Bahamas in November. If you are interested in either or both trips let us know so we can finalize dates around everyone’s schedules. And don’t forget our ever popular Mackinac trip scheduled for September 10th, 11th, and 12th this year.
SAFETY TIP
All Pilots: Be sure to use the checklists. It makes us all safer pilots!
New Planes
Happy Flying,
and a Happy New Year
from JIM and the rest of the A & M Aviation Team
and Jet and Turbo
