Page 4 - Volume 16 Number 2

2 • TWIN & TURBINE
FEBRUARY 2012
editor’sbriefing
Using Our Working Tools Wisely
Our airplanes are work- ing tools. Which is not to say we don’t enjoy flying them every chance we get, but they do have to work for a living. Sometimes the work is taking our family to a clan gathering or a vacation spot, but that’s just as important a work assignment as
ferrying captains of industry. Making life more productive and squeezing in extra experiences is what cabin class flying is all about—whatever the trip’s purpose.
General aviation is an alternative mode of personal transport that’s denied, sadly, to much of the world’s population. We who enjoy G/A’s benefits only miss it, like the well’s water, when it’s gone. Everyone has to live with periodic maintenance downtime— THEN, when the airplane is grounded, is when we relearn what it’s like to fight the traffic on the interstate highway or ride in a middle coach airline seat after enduring TSA’s careful consideration. There’s nothing like slipping into our own magic carpet, leaving on our personal schedule and watching the freeway system fade away below.
As I said last month, privilege carries responsibility – when we’re pilots in command, that’s our job, first, last, and always. Our partners are the ATC professionals, the FBO crew and the providers of equipment and maintenance. But they aren’t flying the airplane; we are. Safety begins and ends in the left seat. That we were shorted 100 gallons on that last fill-up is certainly somebody’s fault, but it’s our responsibility to deal with it. If ATC holds us down or amends our routing, the consequences are on our shoulders, not the controller’s.
In this issue, Tom Turner gives his usual wise counsel regarding the usage of airports and airspace, particularly the non-tower and
uncontrolled kinds. Today, my home field was visited by a couple of formation arrivals, good friends using a fine day to fly on one another’s wing, polishing skills in a safe, coordinated manner. Getting gaggles like these into a pattern and on the ground takes a little extra airspace, which was accomplished with overhead breaks into trail while departing traffic held on the ground. It was an example of what Tom talks about; everyone has to stay alert and give a little, for the sake of safety.
Kevin Dingman revisits some takeoff and approach scenarios in “On The Rocks”, to remind us that our space can be invaded by cumulo-granite formations unless we take time to understand what DPs and MAPs are designed to accomplish. Modify the published procedures only with great care. Spatial orientation is vital.
David Miller was privileged to see some of the new developments in glass cockpits that will help pilots see where they’re going, even when they can’t, and he shares what he saw in “Beam Me Up, Scotty.” As usual, it’s a fun read.
Every month is an adventure, and a reminder of how privileged we are to be able to fly our aircraft in freedom and comfort; the pioneers in this business developed our present day system with tools we would find meager for the task. Visiting the National Airline History Museum and looking at the cockpit gear of what was then state-of-the-art flying makes us appreciate, even more, what we have today.
Fly often and stay safe.
LeRoy Cook, Editor