PLANE TALK by Robert Perry
Santa Ynez Valley AeroClub
Becoming a pilot is not an inexpensive task. Between aircraft rental, flight instructor fees, fuel, books, insurance, and the investment in time the private pilot has more than a few thousand dollars invested in the pilot rating. Keeping current, as all pilots must, is also a requirement in order to exercise the privileges granted by the pilot certificate. A pilot must fly a certain numbers of hours, make a certain number of landings, fly a certain number of instrument approaches (if an instrument pilot), and do so at night, if night privileges are desired, every 90 days in order to keep current in each class of aircraft the pilot flies.
One of the oldest and most successful methods of keeping current and having access to an airplane is to join an airplane club. Simply, a group of people forms a club with the purpose of owning and maintaining a light airplane for the use of the club members. Since it’s start in 1974 by John Fagan and Dale Brown, the Santa Ynez Aero Club currently has for it’s member use a 1975 Cessna 172M. During the club’s 33-year history, the Santa Ynez Aero Club has had as many as 55 members and a fleet of three Cessna, two 172s and a 182. Today the club’s membership is 15, with openings for five more and limited only by insurance requirements.
Past club president, Don Dascomb, and current club president, David Brown, provided a tour of the hanger and the club’s Cessna 172, tail number 64114. Although well worn, Cessna 64114 is well maintained with 100-hour checks being performed as well as required annual inspections. Rental rates for the four-place, single-engine aircraft are $85.00 per hour wet (meaning that fuel is included). Rentals for aircraft are only for the hours that the engine is running, not the total time the aircraft is gone from base.
The obvious advantages of club ownership and membership are that the dues of $55.00 per month, per member covers the fixed costs of the aircraft such as insurance, annual, hanger rent, fees, and other miscellaneous cost that go on whether the aircraft flies or not. The hourly charges are borne more heavily by those who use the aircraft most and cover the fuel bills, reserves for engine overhaul, and maintenance related to aircraft use.
Covering ground at 105 knots and burning only about 8.5 gallons of aviation fuel per hour, Cessna 64114 is an easily affordable way to keep current if aircraft ownership is not a reasonable option.
For more information on the Santa Ynez Aero Club, contact David Brown at 686-2321 or via email at david@reloans.com.
CIGARS N’ GUMP
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assengers sometimes become dismayed upon overhearing the pilot of the aircraft mumbling to himself about CIGARs, GUMP, and the Four Ts. However unusual the language may sound, the pilot is concentrating on the safe operation of the aircraft by using mnemonics as a memory aid for the required checklists.
The operation of even the most basic aircraft must be approached in an orderly manner. Pilots don’t just hop in, light the fires, and go. Checklists become second nature to all pilots. Pilots use checklists during the preflight of the aircraft, during start up, taxi, before takeoff, climb, cruise, decent, preparing to land, after landing, and shut down. There are other checklists to check autopilots, navigational radios, and for most expected emergencies.
A basic single-engine airplane has a short checklist with engine start and before takeoff checklists only a dozen items long. Airliners may have a before-engine-start checklist of a hundred items. The operation of the space shuttle is a series of complex checklists combined to form a manual for the mission.
A pilot is expected to be familiar with the flight manual provided by the manufacturer of the aircraft. Within the flight manual are the recommended checklists for the procedures a pilot must perform. One of my favorite lines when taking new friends for a ride, is as I take the aircraft’s checklist to perform engine start, I say, “Just the book on how to fly the airplane.” Although the pilot of the aircraft may have performed the checklist hundreds of times before, it is always good procedure to use the printed checklist as a reference. In multi-person-crew aircraft, a challenge/response is used during checklists. In the challenge/response, one pilot makes the challenge, i.e. “landing gear down,” and the other pilot moves the landing gear lever to the down position and responds with “land gear down,” or “three green,” to signify that the down and locked lights are on for each of the three gear locations.
Mnemonics serve a useful purpose in the cockpit when trying to perform a repetitive task. Just prior to landing in most complex aircraft, a GUMP check is performed to ready the aircraft for touchdown or a go around (rejected landing). GUMP stands for Gas to the fullest tank, U for undercarriage, lower the landing gear, M for Mixture, should be fully rich or at a setting for best power from the engine, and P for prop, to set the propeller speed for high RPM or best-climb RPM.
CIGAR checks have been around for longer than the standardized checklists found in most aircraft. Before take off, the pilot performs CIGARs, which stands for Controls, free and correct, Instruments correct, Gas on fullest tank, Altimeter to the field’s elevation, Run-up the engine for magneto check, and make sure your seatbelt is fastened.
There are many more memory aids and mnemonics; from ANDs, and A HARMMMS, to the three Ms and the four Ts.
Robert Perry will answer your questions on matters aeronautical in this column. Please forward your questions to PLANE TALK at this newspaper.