Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 73
To get an airplane off the runway you’ve got to pump a lot of unusual fluids into her…avgas, oil, hydraulic fluid, deicing solvent. And let’s not forget the coffee and pop to pump into the pilot! There are many liquids involved in flying and contact with some of them is not completely benign. We usually don’t think much of it if we slosh a bit of Jet A on ourselves, but every one of the fluids I mentioned can cause trouble if they get in the wrong place in the wrong amount. A lot of aircraft, especially the larger ones run some of their s...
t is my sincere hope that the day is near when I will not be devoting this column exclusively to Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, more Americans are dead from COVID-19 than died in the entirety of World War II. Pilots are in a unique exposure position. So it’s critical that we understand our options in dealing with this pandemic. As I write we are seeing a surge from the post-Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s gatherings. A new, more highly infectious strain of the virus is spreading across the country. It’s going to get w...
OK, "tis the season to be jolly." Don't get me wrong. I'm really big on jolly. Problem is I'm also really big on making it through the holiday season alive and with my pilot's license intact. An important part of achieving that noble goal is knowing where, when and how much of Christmas cheer to consume. You know as well as I do that the successful outcome of any flight depends upon the ability of the pilot to make myriad decisions rapidly and correctly, to see and avoid, to communicate... Full story
Headaches and aviation are frequent companions. Anyone who has made a long cross country flight knows why. Hours of engine noise and vibration, traffic, buildups, headwinds that make your fuel consumption jump…any and all are headache generators. That’s just part of flying. So why would the FAA care about something that’s pretty much built in to aeronautical endeavors? Well, there are headaches and there are headaches. What I’ve been talking about is what are referred to as tension headaches, that achy feeling in your temples, sometimes the fee...
The NHTSA isn't the only federal agency that has fun crashing things! Our own FAA's Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) in Oklahoma City has blasted a number of perfectly good airplanes to smithereens in the interest of aviation safety. One thing they have found is that both seatbelts and shoulder harnesses are pretty darn good things to have around-around you the pilot! None of us plan on having an accident or an incident. Yet we all know that in spite of our best planning and precautions...
Summer's days are passing by and COVID-19 willing, it will be off to college for a number of aspiring pilots. As Minnesotans we are blessed with a couple of first rate aviation programs at Minnesota State and up at the University of North Dakota. Thus, I've been talking with a number of soon to be college students and their parents about preparing to pack off for education in the wild blue. I've been impressed with the intelligence and motivation of so many of these students, two critical...
I was planning a spine-tingling discussion on the use of seatbelts in aviation for this month, but it seems like the questions at the FBO are overwhelmingly about something else, COVID-19. Rightly so. As we try to inch back to a semblance of normalcy in the aviation community, we increasingly risk infection, hospitalization or even death. The rate of infection is skyrocketing nationally. Fortunately, here in Minnesota we have not seen exponential increases but, at this writing infection rates are beginning to creep up again. As pilots, we are...
This spring I received a note from an airman wondering about his odds of getting off a Special Issuance. Five years previously he had a heart artery calcium scan which showed heavy calcification in one of his coronaries-arteries that supply the heart muscle with blood. He reported this to the FAA. They promptly requested additional studies including a stress test and imaging studies. These looked OK, according to the airman. However, they placed him on a Special Issuance requiring these tests... Full story
A couple of months ago we talked about the then looming pandemic. Well here it is and it looks like it's going to be around for a while. The good news is that Minnesota has done an effective job of slowing the rate of viral transmission of SARS Cov 2 (Serious Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) and reducing the rate of development of clinical Covid 19 (Coronavirus 2019) illness. The bad news is that the duration of the epidemic may be prolonged, albeit at a lower intensity. So assuming that you're not going to spend the next two years... Full story
As I sit in my office at Airlake, a King Air is revving up its engines. Good Lord it's loud and I have the benefit of 30 yards separation and a wall between me and it. Pity the lineman that's out there waving his batons. Ever since Wilbur and Orrville ran their Flyer down the sand at Kitty Hawk the business of powered flight has posed a threat to the hearing of pilots. So how to retain what hearing you have after an adolescence of rock concerts? First of all, let's talk about sound. You may... Full story
How many months are we into winter? How many pounds have we put on? Since you can only get so much exercise from throwing around snow, it's hard to avoid the "Late Winter Couch Potato Syndrome"! Lack of physical fitness and overweight are bad enough for the Average Joe. It sets you up for anything from lower back pain to hypertension to heart attacks. For a pilot, deconditioning can lead to problems in stamina, alertness and the ability to respond to the emotional and physical stressors... Full story
One thing about the aviation community, we get around. We are exposed to many different terrains, population, cultures and, unfortunately infections. If you’re flying under Part 121 or 135 you often cover a lot of territory and come into contact with a lot of people and a lot of viruses. Many General Aviation operations also fall into that category. Given all that, a lot of pilots have been wondering about the Coronavirus epidemic that started in China in January. It is spreading. The possibility of coming in contact with it is not as remote a... Full story
What better flying weather than a crisp clear February day in Minnesota. You’d think you were flying a helicopter with the short takeoff runs. The air is smooth and the visibility unlimited in bright sunshine. The reflection from the snow is dazzling. I sure hope you didn’t forget those sunglasses! Sunglasses are a very important and often underappreciated piece of a pilot’s equipment. They are critical to optimize visual performance in the cockpit. If you have a good pair, they will reduce eye fatigue, reduce the negative effects of harsh... Full story
It's winter flying season! Some of the best conditions imaginable can be had on a clear crisp winter morning in Minnesota. You ease the throttle forward and suddenly your C172 feels like a P52 Mustang as it takes off in nothing flat. Same with the climb as you plow through that calm solid air. So what could go wrong on a day like this? Unfortunately, weather that's good for aerodynamics isn't necessarily good for pilots. Of course, I'm talking about cold injury, something I try to touch on... Full story
Aviation training doesn’t come cheap. So, when the FAA offers it for free, you might want to take a hard look. Of course, there’s a catch. Training is done in Oklahoma City, the headquarters of the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) which does take a few gallons of avgas to reach. However, this time of year, odds are it’s a good deal warmer and sunnier than here at home. Now that I’ve almost talked you into it, what training is available? The two big programs are CAMI’s Physiological Training Course and Basic Survival Skills for Gener... Full story
The weather is cooling down and you probably are cranking up the cockpit heater more often now. That’s fine. It’s hard to keep her straight and level when your teeth are chattering. But with the comfort of cockpit heat comes the possible discomfort of doing yourself in. Do I have your attention? Most general aviation aircraft use a time honored heating system where intake air is passed over the exhaust manifold of the engine. If you’ve ever bumped against a tailpipe you know that it’s red hot and has plenty of heat to spare. Using that heat to... Full story
A couple of months back an older gentleman came in for a flight physical. He’d flown a number of years ago and wanted to “get back in the game” now that all the kids were through college and on their own. His health record looked good. He seemed a reasonable candidate for hopping back into the cockpit. Then we tested his vision. Much to our mutual surprise he was blind as a bat! Well, not really blind but he was having trouble seeing 20/100. In case you’ve forgotten what the funny numbers... Full story
Stop by the pharmacy section at the grocery or drug store and you’ll find a dietary supplement for just about everything you want to be: strong, big, potent, smart, handsome. You name it and somebody will sell you an extract of herbs and vitamins to fit the bill. Now I know that there are folks that swear by whatever they’re taking to achieve whatever they want out of life and that’s fine, sort of. Indeed more than 50% of adults in the US consume dietary supplements to the tune of $35 billi... Full story
Over thirty states have legalized the use of marijuana or its active ingredients (cannabinoids) either for medical or recreational use. Here in Minnesota medical marijuana has been available for several years although its use is strictly regulated by the State Department of Health. To get in the door of a cannabis (marijuana) dispensary you first have to be seen by a certifying physician approved by the health department. If you have any of the approved conditions inclusive of cancer associated... Full story
Last month we talked about Special Issuances, the route to medical certification when you have a significant medical condition that might affect your flying. This involves getting reports from your treating physician along with tests, sending them to the FAA, getting a flight physical from your AME, waiting four to six weeks and, if all is well, getting your medical. A few years back the FAA took a look at sorting out those airmen that had a medical condition that might be an issue but were... Full story
One thing that endlessly confuses airmen (and occasionally AMEs) is the processing of Special Issuances. First of all what, you might ask, is a Special Issuance (SI)? An SI is granted by the FAA to a pilot who has a medical condition that otherwise would disqualify him from obtaining a medical certificate. The list of disqualifying conditions is a very long one. Basically anything that might suddenly or insidiously impair your ability to physically or mentally carry out the duties of pilot in co... Full story
The days are getting longer. The temperatures edging upward along with the cumulus build ups. It will soon be summer flying time! But before you start buzzing off to all those great pancake breakfast fly-ins you should be adding one more item to your I'M SAFE checklist-sun safety. All that time out on the tarmac and around the FBO adds up. If you're flying open cockpit, that can drastically increase UV ray exposure. UV or ultraviolet rays are high frequency light waves invisible to the human eye... Full story
Back in September of 2015 on a trans-Atlantic Air Canada flight a two year old asthmatic boy started to develop cough, wheezing and progressively worsening shortness of breath. The parents had put the kid's asthma medicines in their checked luggage. Duh! Fortunately the aircraft medical kit had oxygen and some asthma medication. Even more fortunately a Canadian doc who specialized in medical robotics was on board. He jerry-rigged a makeshift nebulizer, using a plastic carton and a paper cup to... Full story
I know you’ll find this hard to believe but diseases sometimes can be fads. In other words some disorders catch the public fancy and all of a sudden “everyone’s got it”. Entities such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, fibromyalgia, Lyme’s Disease all are documented illnesses and can be very serious but a lot of people decide they have them because they don’t have any better explanation for their problems. Sad to say, sometimes a health care provider erroneously tags someone with one of these label... Full story
Over the last two months we’ve been talking about the many problems that can pop up when using medicines while flying. Side effects to watch for in the labeling of over-the-counter medications include light-headedness, drowsiness, dizziness and visual disturbance. Allergy, cold and sinus medicines are some of the most common culprits. Be very careful if you are thinking about taking any of those. Prescription medications usually don’t come with a list of side effects so it’s important to ask y... Full story
