Putting wings on your dreams

[Newsletter Home] [Previous Issue] [T-Craft website]

Volume 3, Issue 4: April 2006

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
A Tale of Two Accidents

General Membership Meeting:
April 25, 7:00pm at the EAA/CAP Hangar
On the Agenda:
* New Backcountry Policy and approval process
* Do we continue putting money into 29Q, or get a newer 182?
* Jody Grigg has resigned, do we fill the position, or eliminate the Vice President Office?

Board Meeting:
May 9, 7:00pm in the T-Craft Hangar

General Membership Meeting:
May 30, 7:00pm at the EAA/CAP Hangar
"FAA Safety Presentation" John Goostrey

Board Meeting:
June 13, 7:00pm in the T-Craft Hangar

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CLUB? POLICES? OR GETTING A NEW MEMBER APPLICATION? WE HAVE THE ANSWER! CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT!

FUEL RE-IMBURSEMENT PRICE FOR APRIL $3.46
Members who have purchased fuel "out of pocket" can deduct this price per gallon from bill, or the billing director can credit the amount on next statement. Please include copy of receipt either way.

The Board of Directors has voted in a new backcountry policy. Please review the new policy before the April 25th General Membership meeting; it is on the club web site for General Membership review. Any questions or concerns as well as the backcountry pilot approval process will be discussed at the April 25th meeting.

The EPA is cracking down on pilots dumping "sumped" fuel on the ramp. It is a very steep fine if you are caught. We have purchased devices to filter the fuel back into the aircraft. It is a little cumbersome the first time you use it, but it is necessary. Remove the top (strainer) section of the fuel tester, drain fuel, and place fuel strainer on top of tester. Open top of strainer and carefully replace fuel back into fuel tank.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO CANCEL YOUR FLIGHT IN SCHEDULE MASTER IF YOU CAN'T FLY. THE BOARD CAN CHARGE ONE HOUR PER DAY AT THE SCHEDULED AIRCRAFT RATE ACCORDING TO CLUB POLICY #15.

REMEMBER: We are all owners of these aircraft. We all need to take care of these planes! Make sure they are locked, and CLEAN. In the winter months, it takes longer to warm up the oil. Take a few extra minutes to warm up the oil before doing a run-up. It only takes a minute, and it saves possible damage and extra wear on the aircraft.

It is always a good idea to check with FSS before every flight. There could be new TFR's posted in the area you are about to fly, or numerous other items you wouldn't otherwise be aware of.

Please be very careful to ONLY wash the windscreens in an up-and-down motion. Also, along with your normal post-flight, make sure the keys and fuel card are in the bag and left in the box at the hangar

You can order Apparel from Bulldog Shirt Shop in Nampa on 12th Ave. They have our logo and will put it on any item in there catalog. Click on their name for the map and phone number

The Board has decided to allow any member wishing to post classified ads in the newsletter for aviation items only.  Please email your ads to James Ferdinand.

ANY MEMBER CAN REQUEST THE MINUTES FROM ANY MEETING. Any member that would like a copy of any meeting minutes can contact James Ferdinand by email. Any member of the board can provide the minutes as well.

Please keep your contact information (phone numbers, email addresses, postal address) updated in Schedule Master. To check or update your contact information, login to Schedule Master, click the "User" tab at the top, then click the link that says "Click here to edit your user info" which appears just above the list of users.

THE 2005 ANNUAL REPORT IS AVAILABLE
TO MEMBERS ONLINE BY REQUEST.
Please send request to
James Ferdinand at james@t-craft.org

 

375:  Annual Scheduled for April 14, 2006

686:  Marker Beacon Ant. installed

64L:  Nothing to Report

91X:  Annual Scheduled for April 18, 2006

29Q:  Nothing to Report

0YD:  Nothing to Report

USE TACH TIME  FOR SQUAWKS PLEASE. This helps the maintenance team tremendously!  The sign-out sheets have not changed. Continue to use HOBBS time for sign out sheets. This will continue to be the way you are billed.

Please check Schedule Master and squawk sheets for new squawks on the aircraft you are about to fly. Also, please call the next pilot scheduled to fly if you squawk the aircraft. DON'T FORGET TO LIST YOUR NAME AND PHONE NUMBER!


James Ferdinand and his daughter, Shelbi, leaving
from McCall in February after a 14 below zero night! 
Thank goodness there was a heated hangar available!

We are interested in stories and/or pictures of trips from the membership! Please remit to james@t-craft.org or call James Ferdinand at 724-3309.


by Phil Verghese

A Tale of Two Accidents

A Piper Turbo Arrow departed an airport in Philadelphia and suffered a power loss shortly after takeoff. The pilot had just retracted the landing gear at the departure end of the runway when the he heard a loud noise and the engine began to vibrate severely. The pilot knew he didn't have enough altitude to attempt a return to the airport so he got the nose down, ran through his emergency checklist, and lowered the landing gear before making a forced landing about 500 feet beyond the departure end of the runway. The pilot did all the right things -- most importantly not stalling -- and as a result was uninjured in this accident. You can read more about this accident in the preliminary NTSB report at www.ntsb.gov.

A very different outcome occurred when a Cessna 172 lost power after takeoff in Perry, Georgia. The student pilot reported hearing a strange noise during the climb out, and the CFI took over the flight controls. According to the student pilot, the CFI banked the airplane to the right and the stall warning horn sounded briefly. A witness observed the airplane in a descending right bank and the airplane crashed 1/4 mile southeast of the departure end of runway 36. The student pilot suffered serious injuries and the CFI was killed in the crash. Among other things, the NTSB faulted the CFI for failing to maintain adequate airspeed, resulting in the stall prior to the crash. The NTSB report is available at www.ntsb.gov.

What can we learn from this? Two different airplanes had engine failures shortly after takeoff. In the first accident, the pilot walked away unhurt because he simply put the nose down and landed straight ahead. The second accident resulted in one fatality and one person with serious injuries. Since the wreckage was located southeast of the airport after a northbound departure, the CFI maneuvered the airplane through more than 180 degrees of a turn and stalled the airplane at low altitude in the process. The obvious question is what would the outcome have been if the CFI had simply landed the airplane somewhere straight ahead.

On every takeoff you should have a plan in mind for where you're going to go if the engine fails. In general, you should plan on landing basically straight ahead if your engine fails below 1,000 feet above the ground. Maintain the best glide speed until you've got your field made and never let the airplane stall as you are maneuvering for an emergency landing.