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I see that no one has mentioned radar attenuation. How do folks deal with only one color on the display to choose from? Not an entire rainbow. I was chatting with a NWS meteorologist once and asked him if attenuation was an issue with their equipment. He said "Yes." However, multiple radars...

Just thinking; I used to fly helos (with wheels) and looked at that short 50' distance and was very tempted.

BirdDogs do barrel rolls nicely. Aerodynamically, just a CE 170, but it has a nice, long stick that provides good leverage. A WW2 Naval aviator once told me of looping a PBY Catalina, but that's a little off topic.

Re arranging the alphabet and remembering what each stands for seems too complex for my simple mind. I humbly suggest that a pilot dig out the POH, copy the mfg's checklist and laminate it. Don't forget to place a "Black box" around the "memory items". Worked for me for a few decades. I used to...

This happens every time you let a sailplane pilot rent a Skyhawk.

They do want you to monitor guard freq when enroute. Nothing like an extra "receive only" radio in your panel for that.

Well, it is missing "off the coast."

I used to fly with a pilot that told me of a part time gig he had with a funeral director. The funeral home owned a PA-32 and transported for other funeral homes on request. Almost all flights were at night. Solo. I guess that you could get a coffin in a PA-32, but Cal said that the usual was a...

Yeah. But. They usually float with the cabin roof at or below the water line. The couple of hundred lbs of iron on the firewall will see to that. Are you sure that you can escape (under water, and its dark and your ears still ringing from the impact)? My employer sent me through dunker training...

I would go for the trees. Your 172 lacks any chance of surviving a ditching and floating long enough to get out. Shoulder harness? Any survival gear on board? Raft, Mae Wests? Any emergency flotation devices installed? Like a helicopter. Would you be wearing a "Poopy suit"? How cold are those...

Another pilot and I were assigned to pick up an aircraft at KARA and drop it off at KCRP. The a/c had been a hangar queen for a couple of years and now was returned to service. We climbed through 2 or 3 thousand direct over water to KCRP. We noticed that yellow jackets were now streaming out of...

Believe me, a TH-73 at 500 ft/11 PM aint silent.

About that "Nav lights don't flash." Two of the USN new TH-73 helo trainers over flew my home at 500 feet at 2300 hrs last night. Both had their nav lights on Flashing-Bright. I recall my military days and the nav lights could be selected: Steady, Flash, Bright, Dim in any combination.

Most brakes use a simple hand operated hydraulic pump with a clip to hold it in place. The early Sikorsky 76's had a electrically operated hydraulic brake. Of course, its circuity plus weight on wheels (WOW) switch protected against in flight activation and activation above RPM idle limits. The...

Aircraft in your airspace? Aw gee! My house is in the middle of KPNS Class C. The nearby USN Primary RW base has a new (this year) Outlying Landing Field less than 10 miles to my north. They also are taking deliveries on new RW trainers. The Leonardo TH-73 (Agusta Koala) has more than twice the...

Way back in the last century, when I was a student helo pilot, the aerodynamics platform instructor said something that stuck with me. " Rule of thumb: Max MPG for helicopters is at 90% of Vne." Realize that most helicopters are running out of fuel every time they take off. If you don't have a...

I speak fluent Sikorsky but once parked next to a R22. I appreciate the info on the Robbys.

Most airplane pilots operate at Va or below in rough air or enroute descents. Helo pilots, not so much. Helos don't have a Va. They may have a Turbulence penetration speed suggested in the Rotorcraft Flight Manual, but its not a limitation. Mostly for passenger comfort. Helicopter pilots mostly...

Oh, for the good old days when a RADALT equipped aircraft over flew a neighborhood and opened many of the garage doors. Seems like the shoe is on the other foot today. If I were King of the world, I would have ordered that 5G towers be moved miles away from approaches.

Be aware of the ADIZ. Within 12 miles of the shore at many places. Apalachicola for example to the Texas coast. The Offshore Helo operators all have a Letter of Agreement with Norad and have assigned xpndr codes. They can ignore the ADIZ, but you can't. The New Orleans sectional has a notice...