What’s UpBy LeRoy Cook
28 September 2020
Suggested banner: Is Your ADS-B Working?
The arrival of rainy late-fall weather over the weekend put a lot of airplanes back in the hangar, after a week of generally benign flying conditions. The dedicated members of the Flairs Club made a run to Miami County Saturday morning while it was still warm. I had lunch at We-B-Smokin on Thursday; masks are required to get in the door, but oddly enough they can be removed for eating.
A mixed bag of aircraft were in last week, including a Hughes 500E turbine helicopter on Friday, a Thrush agplane and an AirTractor, both spreading seed on Saturday, and a Cessna Skyhawk refueling. A Beech Bonanza V35 also bought fuel. Mike Golden was in with his Cessna Turbo Centurion and Jim Stevens returned to the air with his Cessna Skylane, both from Olathe.
Locally, Jerry Burns flew his Lancair 200 homebuilt, Jeremie Platttook his Grumman Tiger up, and Roy Conley was back in the sky with his speed-modified Grumman Tr2 racer. I ventured to Clinton via Cessna 150, and to Mosby in the Cessna 172. Randy Miller was out with the Cessna Skyhawk, while Dayne Kedigh went to Pittsburg, Kansas in a Cessna 150.
The ADS-B debacle continues , nine months after the requirement to have the surveillance equipment installed went into effect. Because pilots have no way of knowing if the ADS-B box is working or not, they have to fly a test procedure and then request a report from the FAA to see if they emitted the right stuff on the radar display. If they strayed into ADS-B required airspace, like Springfield, Tulsa, St. Louis or Kansas City, a failing grade may trigger a violation. The little $2000 uAvionix gadgets, the cheapest option, are particularly unreliable.
Getting an airplane started has changed a lot, over the years. Back in the day, when I began aviating, it was common for aircraft not to have a starter at all. We cranked the engine by hand, twisting the propeller to bring it to life. Then electric starters came in, actuated by yanking on a T-handle that pulled a cable to engage the starter motor. Americans having a fetish for fanciness, the public soon demanded a twist-key starter like their car, so that required a starter clutch, more weight and upkeep. Ah, progress.
The last-week question asked what kinda plane was the first to fly airmail across the Atlantic, aIrport to airport instead of a seaplane base. It was a Douglas DC-4 of American Airlines, flying from Gander, Newfoundland to Shannon, Ireland, 75 years ago last month. For next week, we want to know where you can go in this country to land your airplane below sea-level. You can send your answer to kochhaus1@gmail.com
