Page 4 - Volume 17 Number 4

2 • TWIN & TURBINEAPRIL 2013editor’sbriefingSpring ExpectationsIdon’t know how it is where you live, but here in the snow belt, just the idea of working on an April issue gives us hope. It’s been a long season of dodging ice, taxiing on slippery surfaces, and wondering if the weather will hold until we get in. Spring brings its own set of challenges, but we’re ready for a different modus operandi.This is a good time for an attitude of spring-cleaning. The airplane may need some sprucing up and refurbishing after a hard winter and the pilot also could use some dusting off and polishing. Even the hangar area is probably in need of renovation, from the nasty invasions of wintertime departures and returns. Deferring until more hospitable conditions prevail is a common choice in the heart of winter.Okay, spring is looming. The sap, and our inclination to resume activity, rises with the temperature. Are you equal to the challenges? Cloud tops will be higher in the coming months; no longer can you expect to be in the clear by 10,000 feet. Buildups begin to hint of another thunderstorm season; spring is the season of transition, when we can still find plenty of ice at low altitudes, combined with convective activity along the fronts. Lightning in a snowstorm is a reminder of this combination of hazards.As pilots, we need to work off winter’s lassitude by hand-flying some approaches, nailing our altitudes and speeds, trying a steep turn when the situation permits and asking the airplane to do its best work for max performance, reviewing the flight manual’s procedural section. Don’t wait for recurrent training time in the simulator; brush up on your own. Rust accumulates when tools aren’t used.Along with vacuuming out the cabin and polishing the grime off the windows, the aircraft can use some attention to winter-neglected spots like tire pressures, weeping seals and hastily-stuffed covers in the cargo bin. Better dig out those bird-protection devices, now that our fine-feathered friends are thinking about nest building.All in all, spring is a wonderful restoration of our faith in aviation, as a tool to expedite our endeavors. On our north-south trips, we may have full winter on one end, yet total spring on the other. To see lakes unfreezing, green spreading across the land to replace well-used snow cover, and ramp piles disappearing to recover parking space – ah, it’s a wonderful thing.In This IssueAs a bonus for those Twin and Turbine readers who don’t normally see CJ Magazine, mailed to owners and operators of Citation jets, we are including a special supplement of CJ coverage, found at the end of this issue. It contains a report by David Miller of the goings-on at the Citation Jet Pilots convention in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, plus an in-flight evaluation of the new Active Winglets modification from Tamarack Aerospace, and news of interest to Citation pilots.All of this, in addition to our normal April T&T content – the quarterly NBAA Focus section, a story about Premier Bone and Joint Centers’ use of Beech King Airs in remote portions of Wyoming, a review of airworthiness reality, and our usual round- up of top-notch columnists. Take your time and enjoy the read.LeRoy Cook, Editor