Page 4 - Volume 16 Number 6

editor’sbriefing
The value of added altitude is well known to anyone who flies high-performance aircraft. Turbine engines need the cool temps of high flight to optimize efficiency; being held down tosses your fuel planning calculations out the window. Turbocharged piston engines, on
the other hand, have the same fuel burn up to their critical altitude, where the wastegate is fully closed, but true airspeed increases with altitude to nudge the fuel reserves up, and there’s always the hope of better winds up high. And non-turbocharged airplanes, like mine, do their best work where the power-available and airframe-drag curves cross, at around 8,000 feet.
Not surprisingly then, we seek a higher altitude when it’s achievable, recognizing that higher is better. At the very least, I fly by the hemorrhoidal rule; I climb until it gets smooth. Sitting up there in the serenity, above the convection and cloud tops, allows us to contemplate our great good fortune. Giving up too early leaves one stuck down in the ice and turbulence.
It occurs to me that the same philosophy is equally applicable to the conduct of our daily living. Give up before climbing that little bit higher, when pursuing a goal or exploring new heights, and you’ll miss the benefits. Pilots are, if I may be permitted a generalization, trained achievers; they know about stretching to reach a loftier level. We who fly understand that an achievement takes effort, and once we’re up there, a bit more often pays off with satisfaction.
I’ve never gotten anywhere without setting goals for myself. Like raising the nose and going to climb power, with a bigger number in the preselect window, I see where I want to go, I figure
out what it takes to get there, and I settle down to plod steadily on an often-slow upward path. Sometimes the motivation is a degree, or a rating, or just plain hunger, but having a higher goal is important.
Can we stall out, or find ISA+20 is too much for the airplane? Sure, but that’s today, not forever. That doesn’t mean we won’t try to climb next time. I fully expect to die with goals unmet... this time around.
One of our feature articles this month recalls the history of Yingling Aviation, a fixture in Wichita, Kansas, where so much of aviation’s track record has been written. Vic Yingling’s family was in the car business, but he could see the possibilities of marketing on a higher plain. His vision lives on today, under the guidance of a new generation of like-minded entrepreneurship.
Seeking a higher level of performance for its venerable Hawker/ Beechjet 400, Hawker Beechcraft has launched an ambitious re-engining and total makeover, called the Hawker 400XPR, in conjunction with expert modifier Sierra Industries. We report on the newly-invigorated 400XPR’s first flight in this issue.
David Miller, in his always-pointed On Final, reminds us to practice our hand flying skills so they’ll be there when we need them. Regaining that higher level of proficiency that’s been allowed to atrophy on autopilot can be important when the electrons cease flowing.
All in all, it’s an elevating issue. Come on up with us.
LeRoy Cook, Editor
Climbing Higher
2 • TWIN & TURBINE JUNE 2012