 One thing that
I have learned with 3,000 plus hours of DC-9 time is that I am very comfortable
in the right seat of the plane. What is "tricky" for me is to transition
to the "little planes". Your eyes are 52 feet above the runway when you
cross the threshold in the landing configuration in the MD-80. I have
always said the first landing when I am in the Cessna 172 does not count
because I had to get the proper picture for the landing. Flying and landing
my Teenie Two (an aircraft in which my bottom was only 14 inches off the
ground) was a real treat. Changing airplanes can be more difficult than
changing automobiles. Most of us have had to drive a car dif-ferent than
our own and all is well until we have to turn on the wipers or the emergency
flashers. The same may be true in production airplanes and is definitely
true in homebuilts. The best time spent in any "new" or "different" airplane
you are
going to fly is the time you take in reviewing or in some cases learning
where all the switches are. This knowledge is what can make the difference
between success or failure of a flight. System knowledge homework is suppose
to be completed way
before we get in the airplane to fly it. I know of one person who jumped
in an airplane without fully understanding the fuel system and wondered
why the engine was cutting out at four hundred feet above the runway.
John Wayne could do these things but then again he was on a studio set
in Holly-wood. PLEASE NOTE: I AM NOT SAYING ANYTHING BUT KNOW THE AIRPLANE
AND ITS SYSTEMS!!! AS BOB HOOVER SAYS “KNOW YOUR LIMITS AND KNOW THE AIRPLANES
LIMITS…AND DO NOT EXCEED THEM.” I wrote this because a beautiful airplane
was destroyed. Here are the highlights of the report. The pilot’s
…improper fuel management and failure to change the fuel selector position
before a fuel tank had emptied…lack of familiarity with the aircraft,
relative to single-engine speeds. The NTSB calculated that the 44-gallon
reserve tank would be empty after 42 minutes at max cruise…the plane had
been flying for an estimated total of 40 to 45 minutes that day when one
tank ran dry…the pilot did not have a P-38 type rating…the pilot logged
only seven hours in P-38s, and had never before flown the airplane that
TOOK HIS LIFE. Not the way we or he wanted that flight to end. Take the
time to review. It has been a long winter. Go and spend an hour in your
airplane or your favorite rental plane cockpit to review where and what
the procedures are. It will be time well spent. Editors note: What follows
is the final report from the NTSB on the crash that killed John Denver.
It just points out how important Mr. Bill’s advice in the previous article
really is.
|