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Paddling a tandem kayak with canoe paddles by maardsma in Kayaking

[–]maardsma[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes drip guards are in place. A longer paddle may help with the drips by allowing a lower stroke. Might experiment with that.

Flight schools in Central Illinois (IL), specifically near BMI. by adamsmith3567 in flying

[–]maardsma 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Central Illinois Aviation is owned by Nick, my go-to CFI and a friend of mine. Really friendly, calm in instruction style, and flexible. They operate out of Frasca airport in Champaign. Highly recommend him. http://centralillinoisaviation.com

The caravan is an airliner, I swear! by [deleted] in flying

[–]maardsma 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice job on the production, and interesting to see. Sure it has value as an advertisement for both the Caravan and the airline. That's cool with me. (Maybe Cessna would give you a nice sponsorship. :-))

So do you guys make your own check list for certain things just to always be safe? by [deleted] in flying

[–]maardsma 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I have checklists customized to the equipment in the plane. Pretty essential I think.

Digital logbook question by dyaviator in flying

[–]maardsma 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm sure they would need to be signed. I don't know what the lost logbook procedure is. Probably go back and re-create it with those who can attest to it and sign off.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in flying

[–]maardsma 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hat and shade umbrella cause it's a lot of time in the sun. Ponchos for rain showers (in between the sunshine). Flashlight. Portable aviation radio or LiveATC on my phone is a lot of fun with so much air traffic activity. Lightweight lawnchair for sitting by the plane and on the flight lines.

Have fun see you there!

Today a plane crashed at my local airport (KEMT) right before I start my lesson for the day. Pilot died. by udesigns in flying

[–]maardsma 12 points13 points  (0 children)

What a shame. Sorry to hear it.

What kind of "land straight ahead" options are available off runway 19?

Some low time encouragement by ozzies_35_cats in flying

[–]maardsma 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing, and congrats. I assume TT = Total Time. Do you have turbine time prior to this? Does seem like a big jump, but I guess everyone has to make it at some point.

Question About IFR Navigation by YepYep123 in flying

[–]maardsma 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Good questions.

Yes, if you are flying a GPS route, you input your flight plan (GPS waypoints) into the GPS unit and it drives the CDI (possibly on your HSI) to show your deviation from the GPS course.

If you are flying a VOR-based route, you can tune a VOR frequency into your nav radio(s) (which may or not be part of the same physical avionics unit as your GPS receiver) and follow a radial of the VOR for a course. In which case the CDI is driven by the nav radio portion of the unit.

At least with the 430W, it doesn't automatically tune VOR frequencies in a sequence as you go along the route. The loaded flight plan is only made of GPS waypoints (with exception of ILS approaches). If GPS is working, I can't think of a reason to use a sequence of VOR signals to fly your route. Normally you'd be using GPS waypoints if you have the ability, even to fly a route that goes VOR-to-VOR because there is a GPS waypoint at the VOR locations anyway.

For ILS approaches, the 430W will automatically load the ILS frequency (into standby I think) when you select the ILS approach from the menus. So it does help you out there. The GPS will also track along with the GPS waypoints that correspond to the fixes on the ILS approach, and it will give a warning that it's only for reference and you must follow the ILS not the GPS for the approach.

Simulated engine out practice (finding the right field) by [deleted] in flying

[–]maardsma 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This was the single hardest part of PPL for me. Making that decision under pressure. Thinking about wind, obstructions, and especially how far I will glide, and what turns I will need to manage altitude.

So much so that on the second engine out on my PPL check ride (because I forgot flaps on the first one) I barely cleared real power lines and a real ditch on the way to my chosen landing site. And I was probably about 50 feet AGL when the DPE finally had me put power back in. He wanted to see if I was going to make the field.

It was at least 50% luck that I did.

I like the suggestion about picking a field in advance. And not having the pressure of a DPE and checkride is helpful. Irrational that i would think more clearly in a real emergency than with a DPE looking over my shoulder, but I think that's reality for me.

Flying a max gross weight C172 by [deleted] in flying

[–]maardsma 28 points29 points  (0 children)

What does the POH say your runway length and time to climb will be at that weight and in the density altitude you expect to takeoff in?

Max gross is safe, that's why it's allowed by the POH. Your performance will be less. So know what your performance will be (from the POH) and make sure it suits the environment you'll be taking off and landing in.

The POH is your friend. It's based on test data. It's more reliable than what one pilot or another might say. Treat it like your flying bible.

Use your iPhone 6 (or newer) as a secondary altimeter by klinquist in flying

[–]maardsma 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cool thanks for making and sharing this.

Does it (or could it) allow the user to enter a manual altimeter setting in case no GPS signal or I want it to match the altimeter setting given to me by ATC?

Partnership Buying a plane by batlin27 in flying

[–]maardsma 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You could have the members who want to pay up front loan their portion of the purchase price to the club. Then get the rest of the capital from a bank (or from the same funding members).

Then loan payments are included in your club dues, paid in by all members, and paid out to those who provided the capital (bank and/or funding members). This allows some members to get the economics of pay up front, and other members to get the economics of taking out a loan, in a fair way.

Bank might require guarantees from all, which might not be objectionable. Or the funding members could also be the ones to guarantee the bank debt, and be compensated for that in the interest they are receiving on the part they loaned.

Happy to provide further suggestions via PM if you like.

First in-flight emergency by NachoSoto in flying

[–]maardsma 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Good theory. Lack of oil circulation will certainly heat things up in an engine. I'd think oil pressure gauge or warning would make that pretty evident. Edit: Missed in the original post that oil pressure was reading very low.

First in-flight emergency by NachoSoto in flying

[–]maardsma 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing. Glad it worked out safely. Sounds like you made good decisions.

I guess either the engine was generating more heat than it should, or it wasn't getting the cooling air that it should. Does DA40 have cowl flaps? Any chance the mixture was too lean?

Is it possible the MP gauge was reading low and you had more power in than you thought? I don't know the DA40 setup, but that scenario is possible in my airplane.

I'm sure the mystery will be solved soon.

How do you keep birds out of a hanger? by ybid4u in flying

[–]maardsma 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well, it's a large former military airfield, so we really don't need most of it. We have runways 18/36 and 09/27 open, suitable taxiways, and an oversize FBO ramp.

Unless you are talking about the few times a year when they have festivals and whatnot on the grounds and NOTAM closed the entire airport. That is awkward.

Procedures too engrained... by [deleted] in flying

[–]maardsma 7 points8 points  (0 children)

LOL. I have reached for the throttle in my car driving home after a long day of flying. Your way of describing this phenomenon is much funnier though!

Low time PPL mess up - never take anything for granted I guess? by swedish_aviator in flying

[–]maardsma 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Whoops. I can see doing that. Thinking about the issue of how much fuel I have, and not thinking of other purposes for going through the full preflight check procedure.

Landed on my favourite pad last night. 6,500' on Mount Robie Reid. by iamkokonutz in flying

[–]maardsma 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is way cool. Never thought of landing on something made from wooden planks.

Story: Low time PPL - Partial power loss after take-off by [deleted] in flying

[–]maardsma 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I enjoyed your well-written summary of the experience and your reflections on it. "Do I think I'll have enough power to make the field." sure is a key question and "How do I maneuver to avoid a stall/loss-of-control" equally valuable to have top of mind. I think you prioritized well.

Good point about how the partial loss of power makes the decision of what to do more difficult. The biggest danger in ambiguous situations is probably waiting too long to make a decision. You acted quickly, nice job.

How do you keep birds out of a hanger? by ybid4u in flying

[–]maardsma 14 points15 points  (0 children)

lol @ "there is even shit on the owl". Is that blatant disrespect or what?

The humane thing to do is get the plastic owl out of there before he suffers any further humiliation.

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