From The Flight Deck – October 2022

Q4 2022 Newsletter

Updates from the FAAFC Board

Message from the President – Doug “Smash” Yurovich

The fall season is upon us and the majesty of the Shenandoah looks beautiful from the FAA Flying Club Pipers. We continue to receive applications for membership and we still have a few open slots for those considering to join our club at the Manassas Airport.

Manassas and the local DC airspace might seem daunting to those who might have just moved here and are interested in flying, but rest assured as you get checked out in our airplanes, the local surroundings will become easy to manage.

We look forward to hearing from you, if you wish to join our flying experience!

–Smash

Operations & Maintenance Officer’s Update – Dan Botzer

N75382 – Maintenance contact – Dan Botzer:

1. Remember to get an engine pre-heat from APP if below 32 degrees – club will pay for it
2. Plane getting lots of use – 253 tach hours between 10/11/21 and 10/11/22
3. Installed a new tires on the main gear.
4. Future upgrades:
       – Upgrade interior
       – G5s to replace AI/DG
5. Add digital autopilot
6. New exterior paint

N9397W (Hangar B13) – Maintenance contact – Jon Lammers:

1. Plane getting lots of use – 264 tach hours between 8/28/21 and 8/28/22
2. Will start to plug in oil pan heater soon when temps get cold
3. Future upgrades:
       – G5s to replace AI/DG
       – Replace autopilot with digital AP

N6472J (Hangar B11) – Maintenance contact – Andrew Baron:

1. Oil pan heater installed at annual – Will start to plug it in soon when temps get cold
2. Plane has seen around 95 hours of club flying since we bought it.
3. During annual or previously this quarter we fixed the parking brake problem, replaced a tire, replaced oil
   filler tube, fixed/replaced exhaust baffle, fixed/replaced brake caliper seals, fixed/replaced fuel drain,
   replaced brake reservoir cap/dipstick, added Nav Light reflectors, adjusted rudder cables, adjusted gear
   struts.
4. Passenger arm rest is weak and will need to be replaced at some point
5. Future upgrades:
6. Add CGR-30P engine monitor
        – New exterior paint
        – Add digital autopilot

General maintenance comments and reminders:

• Sam Bingham updates databases for 650s/750 each data cycle.
• On 97W and 382 Sam also downloads the CGR-30P engine monitor data from each flight
• The data from 97W is analyzed by Savvy
• We should pull the engine cowling off on pre-flights for 97W and 72J
• Continue to lean religiously all planes
• Please do not ride the brakes 
• Please clean up the interior of the plane after you fly
• Please check the Oil Change tach hours on the cover sheet when you fly and when we are within 5 hours of oil change time, send an email to Dan, Jon or Andrew

Membership Officer’s Update – Todd Berry

• As of October 1, 2022 the Club has 33 active members with 0 candidate on the Club Waitlist.
• We are still actively looking for new members!

Safety Officer’s Update – Glenn Collins

The WINGS Challenge

In our last two newsletters, I’ve written articles describing the FAA’s WINGS Program and introducing the FAA Safety Team website. In this newsletter, I would like to build upon the two previous themes and encourage everyone to utilize the WINGS program to make themselves more proficient and safer pilots.

We should all be familiar with §61.56. This is the regulation which defines and directs our Flight Reviews. The concept of the Flight Review is pretty simple:
(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (f) of this section, a flight review consists of a minimum of 1 hour of flight training and 1 hour of ground training. The review must include:
(1) A review of the current general operating and flight rules of part 91 and
(2) A review of those maneuvers and procedures that, at the discretion of the person giving the review, are necessary for the pilot to demonstrate the safe exercise of the privileges of the pilot certificate.

The exceptions listed in paragraphs (b) and (f) was pertinent to conducting a flight review in a glider and credit for the ground portion granted to flight instructors who have accomplished a Flight Instructor Refresher Course (FIRC).

So, who needs to accomplish a Flight Review? This is stated in paragraph (c) of the regulation.
(c) Except as provided in paragraphs (d), (e), and (g) of this section, no person may act as pilot in command of an aircraft unless, since the beginning of the 24th calendar month before the month in which that pilot acts as pilot in command, that person has –
(1) Accomplished a flight review given in an aircraft for which that pilot is rated by an
authorized instructor and
(2) A logbook endorsed from an authorized instructor who gave the review certifying
that the person has satisfactorily completed the review.
The bottom line is all rated pilots must accomplish a Flight Review The exceptions here are for
accomplishing specific flight tests (d) and student pilots (g). The third exception is really a
means of alternate compliance. Paragraph (e) of §61.56 is your ticket to improved proficiency
and a better Flight Review.
(e) A person who has, within the period specified in paragraph (c) of this section, satisfactorily accomplished one or more phases of an FAA-sponsored pilot proficiency award program need not accomplish the flight review required by this section.

You might recall my previous description of WINGS. This is the FAA sponsored pilot proficiency award program referenced above. In order to earn a phase of WINGS, you will need to complete three (3) approved ground training classes. These can be on-line courses, or FAA Safety Team sponsored webinars or seminars. You also need to complete three (3) Flight Activities. Both the courses and activities can be found at www.faasafety.gov.

The most common pushback I hear when talking to pilots about completing a phase of WINGS instead of a traditional Flight Review is the perception it will cost more. True if your instructor sidelines as Santa Clause or you are very proficient you can generally complete a flight review in a single flight. In some cases, this is still true with WINGS although it might be more advantageous to do a single activity per flight for most of us. The concept here is continuous training. As for cost, strike up a conversation at the diner table and see if you can set a price on your safety.

The WINGS phase must be done in a twelve (12) month period. If you developed the habit of doing a ground training on even numbered months and flying with an instructor to accomplish a flight activity on the odd numbered months you would complete a phase twice a year. Each completed phase would push your next Flight Review twenty-four months from the completion date. The result is it will never come due. Even more importantly, you will be flying regularly and constantly refining your skills and learning new skills. You don’t by any means need to be that aggressive. However, the point is spread it out, enjoy it and learn.

One of the best parts of WINGS is each activity can be conducted with a different instructor. We all have different strengths (and weaknesses). You also do not need to do them all in the same category or class of aircraft. This is especially important to those of us who are rated in multiple categories. An example is Joe Overspeed, Joe holds a private pilot certificate with ratings in airplanes single-engine land, multi-engine land and gliders. He would be perfectly legal completing his Flight Review in a glider. Remember one flight review counts for all ratings.

Does doing so really prepare him for flying an airplane at night or in IMC? However, let’s look at Suzy Sideslip. She is also rated in airplane single-engine land, multi-engine land and gliders. She elects to use WINGS to satisfy her flight review. She chooses a flight activity in each of the three categories. At the same time, she completes two ground training courses and attends a seminar. When these are done, she is awarded a phase of WINGS and her Flight Review date is extended 24 months. Of these two pilots, which has done more to ensure they are proficient and able to safely exercise all the privileges listed on their certificate?

Here is my challenge. Determine when you must complete you next Flight Review. Instead of focusing on impressing your instructor on that one-day, plan ahead. Get three ground training courses done making sure to meet the requirement of one in each topic area. Then sit down and choose three appropriate flight activities also adhering to the topic areas. Complete those flights and use the completed WINGS phase as an alternative means to accomplish the §61.56 Flight Review requirement. Strictly looking at a pilot doing this in a single-engine airplane a possible set of activities is listed below.

A070405-07 ASEL-Takeoffs, Landings, and Go Arounds Topic 1
A211209-01 ASEL-PP-Night Operations Topic 2
A100125-08 ASEL-Airwork-Performance Flight & Ground Reference

Maneuvers Topic 3
If you want help navigating through the WINGS program or selecting courses and activities give
me a call.