June 2008
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Aircraft
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2007 Piper Saratoga II TC PA32-301T
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Piper Saratoga II TC: It’s All About Comfort
Forty years after the model’s introduction, the retractable Saratoga II TC is still a great way to haul a team of huskies in comfort at 180 knots
by Bill Cox
 The runway we had just landed on wasn’t bad by Alaskan standards: A combination of dirt and grass, probably 1,800 feet long, but mostly unimproved and pretty rough for anything but bush planes—or so I thought. |
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Redressing A Skylane: Project 182, Part II
Flying by the seat of your pants is more comfortable and fun when you’re nestled into a supercomfortable seat surrounded by first-class furnishings
by Bill Cox
 Someone in the aircraft refurbishment business once said (or should have said), “The paint may be what you see, but the interior is where you live.” So it is with Plane & Pilot’s Project Skylane. Since buying the 1981 Cessna 182 on the East Coast three years ago as a fixer-upper, we’ve done equal shares of research, hand-wringing and procrastination. Eventually, we had no choice but to actually give birth to the project. As a result, we’ve finally managed to finish the panel, paint and interior.
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Stinson 108-3 On Edo 2425 Floats
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Water Stinson
Though the Stinsons of the late ’40s weren’t designed as floatplanes, they adapt to water as if born for it
by Bill Cox
 Lake Winnebago isn’t agreeable today, as we splash out from the Oshkosh Seaplane Base. The wind blows us sideways as we leave the shelter of the harbor and head out onto the lake. For one weekend every July, this small boat harbor, five miles southeast of Oshkosh, Wis., turns into one of the busiest seaplane bases in America. Today, the lake will limit water flying to a few brave souls. |
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Proficiency
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Do You Have An Accident Personality?
Making sense of accident risks
by Peter Katz
 Are you a pilot who turns down the radio’s volume and does a straight-in at an uncontrolled airport when there are four other aircraft neatly spaced in the traffic pattern? Do you think your lungs are so good that you can cruise at 15,500 feet MSL without supplemental oxygen? Are you convinced that you’re experienced enough to avoid using checklists? If so, you may be displaying some of the characteristics that aviation psychology researchers suggest can increase the chances of an accident.
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Getting Out Alive
Survival experts show pilots what to do when the propeller stops spinning
by Marc C. Lee
 Few topics in aviation are as popular as that of survival after a forced landing. Since the tragic September 2007 disappearance of adventurer Steve Fossett, the topic has been the subject of countless hangar flying sessions and pilot’s lounge discussions. |
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Products
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Flying the G1000 IFR Like the Pros!
Advanced training for Garmin's glass panel
by John D. Ruley
 Flying the G1000 IFR Like the Pros! by J. Robert Moss, a Master CFI, offers a truly advanced course in IFR operations. Furthermore, many topics covered in this “ground school” apply regardless of the avionics installed in your airplane. It’s advertised as containing more than four hours of material, and if anything, that’s an underestimate. It took me about seven hours to get through both CDs, even though I skipped over some parts! |
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Heads Up On Headsets
New models & new technology, priced from $79 to $995
by Norm Goyer
 Aviation headsets—now that’s a topic that’s close to my heart, or ears. My first “headset” was a Gosport tube in a military trainer, an all-rubber affair with a speaking tube connected to rubber ear pads via a long tube. Pity the poor student who tried to follow the grunts, snorts and expletives emanating from the rear cockpit. A few years later, after bouncing my head off the canopy of my SNJ Texan too many times, I took my Bell motorcycle helmet, hollowed out the padding and, using a discarded TV camera headset, inserted a set of Telex ear pads, bolted on the boom mic, then wired it to the navcom. Forty years later, it still works, more or less. |
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June 2008 Readback
by The Editors
 On March 8, 2008, Cessna completed the first flight of its Model 162 SkyCatcher. The one-hour SkyCatcher flight departed from Cessna Aircraft Field Airport and consisted of flight maneuvers evaluating the controllability and stability of the aircraft. Test pilot Dale Bleakney, of Cessna Engineering, then proceeded to Mid-Continent Airport, where the SkyCatcher will continue development testing. “The first flight of the SkyCatcher is a significant step ahead toward our goal of bringing an affordable training aircraft to market,” said Cessna CEO Jack Pelton. The SkyCatcher is priced at $111,500 and is expected to reach cruise speeds of 118 knots with a maximum range of 470 nm. Visit www.cessna.com. |
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Pilot Talk
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Bad Landings, Egos & Me
Experience is a great teacher, but only if you listen to it
by Budd Davisson
 I knew it was windy, but it wasn’t that bad. I mean 15 gusting to 25 isn’t even close to the top of the sphincter-tension scale in my little airplane. In fact, it’s so good in a crosswind that to a certain extent, those of us who fly the type tend to ignore crosswinds. Or at least pooh-pooh anything under 20 to 25 knots. My record, which I mention constantly, is 38 gusting to 50, 60 through 90 degrees to the runway. And therein lies the difference. At 90 degrees, I’m flying one airplane. At 120 degrees, as it was Sunday, it’s something quite different, and I knew it. Still, I didn’t have a doubt in my little airplane. We could handle it. |
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From The Editor: Snapped Out Of Complacency
Don't get too comfortable
by Jeff Berlin
On a recent flight from Los Angeles to Dallas, I was nearing a pit stop in Albuquerque when the radio crackled with the following: “Thunderbird One, you’re cleared direct Red Ridge.” “Hmm, can it be the T-Birds?” I thought as I sped toward the Lone Star State. The controller inquired about their loose formation, and the lead T-Bird confirmed their staggered positioning. Must be them, I gathered, and I looked down to the screens for traffic info, flicking the sensitivity from NORM to UNLTD in hopes of seeing something. Well, wouldn’t you know it, up pops a return moving quickly in the opposite direction, 7,900 feet above at my 11 o’clock. ...more »
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Nauru—For The Birds
This island nation once operated the world’s hardest-working 737
by Bill Cox
 I’d overflown Nauru perhaps a dozen times. It’s almost directly between Majuro, capital of the Marshall Islands, and the famous Henderson Field at Honiara, Solomon Islands. When I was regularly delivering airplanes to Australia in the ’80s and ’90s, I often looked down on the small, oval-shaped island, which is 26 miles south of the equator. Its interior looked moonscaped and jagged, like something out of a science-fiction movie. I wondered why on earth (or more accurately, water) anyone would want to live there. |
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State Of The LSA Industry
The future looks bright
At the 2005 AOPA Convention, barely six months after the first light-sport aircraft (LSA) airworthiness certificates were issued, AOPA President Phil Boyer observed, "This has got to be one of the most interesting things you can do: help bring a whole new segment of aviation to market." ...more »
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Tight Is Right
Inadequate preflights can have dire consequences
by Peter Katz
 It has been said that oil is the blood of an engine. If the oil is old and tired, contains foreign materials or flows at the wrong pressure, the engine’s optimum life span can be threatened. All pilots should know enough to check oil quality, as well as quantity, during preflight inspection. A quick peek at oil quantity marks on the dipstick isn’t enough. During preflight, you need to determine whether the oil seems suspiciously gritty, displays an unusual color or sheen, seems too thin or too thick for the ambient temperature, or has a “burnt” aroma. Inspect inside the cowling and on the ground under the engine for signs of oil leaks. |
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Travel
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Sun 'N Fun
After torrential downpours, blue skies, sun and aviation fun took over as the winged season began in Lakeland, Florida. Our prop-happy crew cruised the first day of Sun ’n Fun 2008 to deliver this special report on what’s new and what’s hot in flying.
by James Lawrence
Newly certified in the States, the Toxo Sportster is the first Spanish-built LSA in America. The all-metal FPNA A22 Valor offers an open cockpit and 360-degree visibility. The Brazilian SeaMax is an LSA amphib with a retractable water rudder and short takeoff and landing distances. ...more »
News
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June 2008 NOTAMS
Plane & Pilot’s Guide to aviation's most current promotional deals
by Staff
Montague Bikes offers Plane & Pilot readers a package deal when purchasing a bike directly from the company. Order any 2008 Montague SwissBike TX, LX or XO directly from the company and receive a free set of folding pedals and a kickstand (a $49 value). Note that this offer applies to Montague factory direct orders only and isn’t offered by Montague dealers. Offer valid while supplies last. Please mention promotion code “JV037” when calling in your order. ...more »
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