November/December 2008
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Aircraft
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1979 Beechcraft King Air F90
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2009 Pilatus PC-12 NG
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Better-Than-New P-38
Nelson Ezell’s rebuild of White Lightnin’ is one of the most beautiful warbird restorations ever
by Scott Slocum
 “A few minutes from the airport, I was just sitting there thinking, ‘It just doesn’t get any better than this,’ when the left engine started backfiring and popping violently. I pulled the power back, and the cockpit went completely black with smoke. I started coughing and suffocating, feeling helpless right away. I was probably between 1,000 and 1,500 feet, just trying to make sure I kept the green stuff on the bottom side. I didn’t want this thing upside down [and hitting] the dirt at 300 miles an hour. |
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Second-Generation Pilatus PC-12
Pilatus takes another look at its PC-12 and makes a good airplane even better
 One of the realities of delivering corporate airplanes for part of your living is that you don’t get every job you bid. For a variety of reasons (many of which have nothing to do with price), you’re lucky to be awarded one out of 20. Some jobs just go away because the planned delivery never happens. Others get assigned to someone’s brother-in-law who used to fly fighters in Korea, and still others wind up flown by a factory pilot. I probably realize less than 5% of my bids because I’m becoming pickier (i.e., more expensive) in my bidding after 30 years. The older I get, the better I used to be.
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The Rarest King Air
Produced for only seven years in the early ’80s, Beech’s “Little” King Air F90 may have been a bit too good
In one form or another, Beech King Airs have always managed to top turboprop popularity polls. Since the mid-’60s, Beech has introduced a King Air for every mission, about a dozen variations on the basic theme. ...more »
Pilot Talk
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From The Arctic To The Tropics
Flying the Greenland ice cap
by Jessica Ambats
 It’s cold. It’s white. And it’s north. (Very north.) Underneath us is 10,000 feet of ice. Surrounding us is an additional 1.7 million square kilometers of ice, and not much else. Looking out the cockpit window, I can’t tell the difference between 1,000 feet and 10 miles, vertically or horizontally. For me, this is the middle of nowhere. For the researchers we’re bringing to their frozen summer home, this is where it all happens.
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Products
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Flight Management Systems
by John D. Ruley
 Airline and bizjet pilots have been using flight management system (FMS) technology for almost 30 years, but it’s new to general aviation pilots. From the beginning, the FMS has appeared to the pilot as a control unit with at least two features: a keypad to enter waypoints and an alphanumeric display to show navigation and performance data. That’s still true for most FMS displays, though some now provide graphical features, and not all GA installations include a keypad. The FMS can also drive navigation instruments (or the PFD on a glass panel).
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Nov-Dec 2008 On The Radar
by The Editors
 On July 30, 2008, a wave of excitement washed over the crowds at Oshkosh. Fifteen hundred miles away, in Vero Beach, Fla., the PiperJet had made its maiden flight, spending an hour aloft and reaching 10,000 feet. Since then (at this writing), the PiperJet has made 18 additional flights and spent about 34 hours in the air as test pilots Dave Schwartz and Buddy Sessoms focus on exploring stability, control and handling throughout the envelope. |
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Travel
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Extreme Flying
The 109th Airlift Wing pilots the world’s largest ski plane to the Greenland ice cap
by Jessica Ambats
 “The skiway is in good shape. We’ve had good grooming, and the past four nights, temps have been below minus-10 degrees C, which helps firm up the newly worked surface. Be advised that the afternoon temps have been very warm and cook the surface into wet soft slush. These conditions could cause deep ruts in the skiway and inhibit takeoffs. |
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