Nearly a decade after glass cockpits were first introduced in training fleets across the country, the NTSB now says you just might be safer using those round dials instead.

How can this be?  All this glass, after all, was sold on safety.  But perhaps looks may be deceiving.

As a casual rental pilot, I’m not surprised with their findings.  On my one-hour flights, I barely scratch the surface of the G1000 (good thing, or my flight school wouldn’t be happy!)  It’s sure fun to look at, but I still feel more comfortable in the cockpit I learned in.

Remember, most of us spent the first 50, raw hours of our pilot careers learning the dials.  Then dozens or hundreds of hours later, we were given 10 hours of training on the glass.

And if you don’t use it, you’ll certainly lose it.

I’d argue that in the next 5 years, the safety record for technically advanced cockpits will improve dramatically.  As new students come-up through flight schools across the country, all they’ll know is glass.  And the rest of us will finally catch-on.

Do you think glass is safer?

Let us know by taking this quick 2-minute survey.

We might just pass it on to the NTSB.

Chris Archer Blogs by Archer G1000, glass cockpit safety, NTSB

A child clears a jetliner to take-off.  Then says “adios” to another one bound for Mexico.

It seemed like a nice break from the norm for the pilots being jerked around a bustling JFK airport.  All of them played along, some of them even laughed, and no one seemed concerned.

Untill now.  Sure enough, this innocent moment has now turned into a public outcry, and big no-no among “safety experts.”

Give me a break.

If you listen carefully to the tape, it’s clear the child’s father was ably guiding flights to and from the airport, while simply giving his son the precious chance to fall in love with aviation.

It’s why airlines used to let children into the cockpit.  Why we let our passengers grab the controls during those innocent weekend flights.  Why we look up when we hear that familiar buzz or whine.

Still wonder why flying just might be dying?

Chris Archer Blogs by Archer child air traffic control, child atc recording, jfk atc

Suicide is a sad and selfish act.

So much so, it has now become the leading threat to general aviation.

Not user-fees.  Not fuel prices.  Not terrorists.  But the individual act of this man, and others like him.

When Joseph Stack pushed the throttle forward in his Piper Cherokee at 9:40am Thursday, he wasn’t thinking about the future of general aviation.  He just wanted revenge.

Thirty miles and just a few minutes later, an Austin building was on fire in front of millions, and America’s already fragile trust in “small planes” was melting before our eyes.

It didn’t help that Stack picked a slow news day to kill himself.

Every cable news network jumped on the story, and didn’t change topics for several hours.  CNN’s regurgitation of the nation’s economic woes was suddenly boring compared to the debate over how this could have been prevented.

And the mainstream media had a compelling argument.  What’s stopping a pilot from turning their plane into a missile?  Honestly, nothing.

Even three days later, reporters were still banging the drum.

“Austin Plane Crash Shows Gap in Security,” was the headline Saturday after the crash, and articles poked at past threats from small planes.

The numerous ADIZ violations.  The White House lawn crash.  The Tampa skyscraper suicide.  And now Austin.

Suddenly Joe Stack’s suicide was turning into a potential mass murder for general aviation.

And while our well-funded GA lobby groups go to work on the collateral damage, it’s likely this crash won’t get lost in the wreckage without our government calling for hearings, testimony, and perhaps even change.

So what is the answer to this crime against all pilots?

Other than banning general aviation outright, the only solution sits within the individual.  So, please hear me clearly.

If you’re going to be selfish, ask for help.  But if you don’t want it, don’t be a jerk and take your anger out on your fellow pilots.

Go find a bridge.  Not a small plane.

The media won’t care.  And neither will we.

Chris Archer Blogs by Archer austin crash, ga lobby groups, irs building, joseph stack, suicide, tampa skyscraper, white house lawn crash

Updated on January 19th with new reaction from Cessna…

It looks like Rose Pelton will be the only one with a Cessna Skycatcher for awhile.

Archerbravo.com has learned that order-holders for the new 162 will be receiving letters informing them that their estimated delivery dates have been delayed 6-10 months.

This means flight schools banking on fresh business with the Cessna LSA on their lines later this year will now have to wait until 2011 or later, in some cases.

The original delivery dates were issued in April 2008, and since then the Skycatcher has had its share of issues, including two test-flight crashes and several design modifications to the tail.

“We made several changes to the airframe and systems,” Cessna’s Doug Oliver told ArcherBravo.com, explaining the delay.  “These aircraft, as with all Cessna aircraft, are designed to be in service for decades.  So we prefer to take a little extra time now to ensure long term success.”

In the short term, Cessna proudly announced its first 162 delivery last month, not to a busy flight school with dozens of students, but to the wife of Cessna CEO Jack Pelton.

Cessna would not comment on that decision.  Perhaps we should just chalk it up to the perks of being the boss.

Thank you for making www.archerbravo.com your first source for flight school and rental pilot news & information.

Chris Archer Blogs by Archer Cessna 162, cessna lsa, cessna skycatcher delay, jack pelton, rose pelton

Forget about Santa Claus.  President Obama is coming to town, and he must think Hawaii has been naughty, because he’s bringing with him the TFR of all TFRs.

I was stunned when I saw the FAA alert.  No pattern work.  Limited tour operations.  For 13 days during the President’s holiday vacation.

“It’s really not that unusual,” an FAA spokesperson was quick to remind me.

True, a 30 mile radius and 10 mile core is quite common for TFRs on the mainland.  And Martha’s Vineyard had a similar experience in August.

But hey, that was for less than a week.

And did anyone stop to think about that fact that Honolulu is the world’s most isolated metropolis with the next closest Cessna Pilot Center more than 2,000 miles away?

The no-fly zone blankets the entire island.  Honolulu’s sightseeing and flight school businesses will have their wings clipped, at a time when tourists and vacationing pilots flock to the islands to spend money.

“We always try to find a good balance between airport operations and the President’s security,” Secret Service Agent Ed Donovan told me.  “And we are working with tour operators to let them fly some routes.”

But as the local CBS and NBC station reported, those modified routes will likely miss the most popular and beautiful spots along Oahu’s windward side, where the President is vacationing.

“This is like right after 9/11 for you guys,” a briefer at the Honolulu Flight Service Station remarked in an unusual show of personality over the phone.

There are exceptions to the rule.  In fact, the Feds were nice enough to allow skydiving and limited general aviation operations at Dillingham Airfield (HDH) on the famous North Shore during certain hours.

Great, but they overlooked the main touch-and-go training airport, John Rodgers Field (JRF) on Oahu’s West Side.

That’s where all the students go, since Honolulu International doesn’t allow pattern work.  And should a pilot stray, it’s less than 10 miles from a row of battle-ready F-15s at Hickam Air Force Base.

“We had to make a decision, and we’re not going to reconsider,” the Secret Service said.

The price of living in paradise?  Perhaps.

But you’d think a Hawaii-born President might have more compassion for his pilot people.

Chris Archer Blogs by Archer FAA, general aviation, hawaii air tours, hawaii cessna pilot center, hawaii flight training, hawaii sightseeing, hawaii tfr, honolulu flight service station, honolulu tfr, jrf, kalaeloa, obama tfr, president obama, secret service

I hadn’t seen him in more than two years.  At last check, my original flight instructor John had a healthy heap students, and was flying a Pilatus for a nearly-famous family.

That was then.  This was now.

26 months and thousands of layoffs later, the aviation industry isn’t what it was in 2007.

So when I saw John this last weekend, I was somewhat surprised and very happy to hear he still had students, and was now flying not one, but three single-engine turboprops on a charter basis.

Dear John, how have you survived?

“It hasn’t been easy.  But it’s all about building those relationships and being more than a good pilot,” John told me before we climbed aboard a Cessna 172SP for a reunion flight of sorts.

He had always been a great pilot, and he also had a way with people.  Funny.  Personable.  Professional.  Passionate.

“I’ve seen a lot of guys that went on to become regional pilots come back looking for charter jobs.  These guys were great pilots, but they never had the passion, and this economy has exposed their disadvantage.”

John said the Part 135 money is still flowing, even after all the bad press.  But it takes a good reputation, plenty of pride, and a good business sense.

“When the economy was great, and the flying plenty, other pilots quickly started raising their rates.  I kept mine the same, and my clients took notice,” John proclaimed.

“Now that we’ve hit bottom, those same pilots are slashing their rates, and I’m still holding mine steady when I can.  You’d think the cheaper pilot would get the job.  But clients are still coming to me because they know I don’t just go with the flow.  Integrity goes a long way in this business.”

Same goes for flight instruction.

“If I don’t think a student is going to make it through their lessons, I’m not going to waste their time just because it’s steady money for me.”

What goes around, comes around.

Dear John, something great is coming around… for you.

Chris Archer Blogs by Archer bad aviation economy, flight instructor, John Bell, Part 135 economy, Pilatus, regional pilots

The NTSB has commented on a crash that our Amateur Accident Investigator thought he had solved.  Turns out, he was partially right.

A first we thought it was a bad landing.  Then someone said it was wind sheer.  But we “concluded” the Cessna stalled on takeoff because the flaps were down.

Well, the NTSB agrees that the plane probably stalled on takeoff.  But the flaps may have been up, and the crash was likely caused by a distracted pilot who reached over to close a window that popped open on rotation.

Read the factual report here.

Don’t forget: a door or window won’t bring a plane down.  A distraction will.

Chris Archer Blogs by Archer

My rented Cessna had just come out of maintenance, and the school’s chief flight instructor was with me, looking over the aircraft on the ramp, when his phone rang.

“What?!  He crashed?  On Runway 4L, just now?  Is he okay?”

He turned away from me, grabbed a nearby golf cart, and rushed out to the scene…

Luckily, the pilot on board had escaped with only minor injuries, albeit a bit of embarrassment.  But the plane wasn’t so lucky.

Clue one: from my vantage point 5,000 feet away, I could see the tail in the air at the threshold, and immediately knew the nose gear had sheered off.

I quickly assumed it was a bad landing that ended hard on the nose, perhaps preceded by a bit of porpoising familiar to all of us.

Well, not so fast.

When the instructor returned from the scene, he told me the crash occurred on take off, and that witnesses said wind sheer may have been to blame.

Clue two: I checked the ATIS.  The wind was blowing 15, gusting to 22 straight down the runway.  Ok, not too bad, but perhaps hard enough to knock him back on the runway shortly after rotation.

Or maybe not.

After finding the hangar where the crumpled Skyhawk was towed, I snuck a few of these shots with the cell phone camera.

Clue three: look very carefully at this photo and tell me what’s out of place…

No, you’re not seeing things.  The flaps are in the full down position.

I haven’t tried it in a while, but I’m fairly certain a Cessna 172SP doesn’t like 30 degrees of deflection during rotation on a hot and humid day with an inexperienced pilot at the controls.

Clue four: it was apparently the student’s first solo.

Now, I clearly remember my first time alone in the cockpit.  And I can easily see how nerves might make checklist items mistakenly disappear.

Like the one that says “Flaps up for takeoff.”

So while the NTSB investigates, I’ve reached my own probable cause:

“A student pilot on his first solo momentarily became airborne, then had difficultly gaining airspeed and altitude.  The plane stalled 20 feet above the runway, wobbled, struck both wing tips, and veered off the runway.  The cause of the crash was his attempt to takeoff with the flaps in the full down position.  Contributing to the accident were hot, humid conditions, gusty winds, and the pilots inexperience.”

But wait a minute.  Maybe the flaps deployed because of the impact…

Chris Archer Blogs by Archer

Come on now.  Is there really any doubt the pilots of Northwest Flight 188 fell asleep and overflew Minneapolis by 150 miles?

The crew might claim otherwise, but even if you’re engaged in a “heated discussion over airline policy,” you just can’t miss ATC in your ear for 78-minutes.

You’re asleep.  Admit it.

Of course, the cockpit voice recorder will catch the conversation, or snoring.  Or, will it?

Many CVRs only record the last 30-minutes of cockpit conversation.  And it’s quite convinient that Flight 188 was probably airborne longer than that after it turned around.

In fact, a quick glance at the flight path shows a suspiciously circuitous route back to MSP.

Were the pilots trying to “bleed-off” what the voice recorder may have captured?  The NTSB sure hopes it was a more modern CVR, capable of two hours or more.

It certainly wouldn’t be the first time a crew started snoozing in flight.

Remember those two go! pilots who crashed – yes, bad choice of words – in the cockpit between islands in Hawaii?

A beautiful morning and a short flight still couldn’t keep them awake.

So it seems that this cross-country journey at night would be a perfect place to sleep through your VHF alarm clock.

Chris Archer Blogs by Archer flight 188, go airlines, msp, northwest airlines, NTSB, sleeping pilots

Ever been a bit high or fast on an approach?  Or sometimes both?

I sure have.  If there’s enough runway in front of me, there’s usually enough time to let her float, bleed off the speed, and call it a sloppy but safe landing.

But what if the runway is less than a half-mile long, with a giant hill on the approach end, and just 1,600 useable feet between you and a St Barths beach?

While there’s no doubt this is one of the world’s most challenging approaches, it certainly doesn’t exclude a pilot from doing what he was taught from day one: go around and try again.

Was he low on fuel?  Pressured by passengers?  Running late?  Or just stupid?

We’ll never know, but I’d bet most pilots have pushed their luck on a short runway, and beaten the odds, only to do it again and again.

More than a few times I’ve rolled a Cessna 172 to the end of the asphalt, heavy on my toes during those last 300 feet.  So why didn’t I go around?

Something strange happens to a pilot just a few feet above the runway.  You become an addict.  Of landing.

It’s one of the most challenging and alluring aspects of flying.  We like to impress, usually ourselves, and sometimes our passengers, with the soft completion of a flight.

In those seconds before touchdown, that pay-off is moments away.  The ground becomes a magnet to our instinct as humans, and we’ll be darned if we’re going back up when we’ve decided to come down.

But the conditions don’t care.  Extra speed means extra float.  A gust will keep you up.  And ground effect isn’t good about giving in.  By then, it might be too late.

And that’s when snapping-out of your landing trance becomes critical to our safety, and tests your muscle memory as a pilot.

Practice go-arounds at least every other flight.  Don’t do it just on final.  Do it deep in the flare.

And pick a point, usually no more than halfway down the runway.  If you’re not on the ground, go-around.

Because you might like the beach.  But airplanes most certainly don’t.

Chris Archer Blogs by Archer