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Random Griz Aviation Musings

xmid

Registered User
pilot
Contributor
Most of the Diver Operators here use Caravans.... they fly Vy to 14.5k then flight idle back down.....usually around $20 per lift per person.

It looks like fun. The name of the game is getting back on deck as fast as possible from altitude to make more moneys. I've got video of a King Air rolling inverted after I was the last one out. The jump plane is usually landing at the same time I am, and I was in free fall until about 3k. I'll be at Perris this weekend instead of SDSD. They have a ton of jump planes, including a DC-3 and a DC-9... ? Jumping out of the D.B. Cooper exit from a jet would be cool, but this is on my ultimate bucket list...

 

Griz882

Frightening children with the Griz-O-Copter!
pilot
Contributor
I don't disagree with your points. I'd also offer that different flying regimes, along with different airframes, yield different requirements. I know that's not new news to you, just stating a preface. As an example, for short fields in high DA, flying 1.3 Vso won't work, and instead flying MSA (in a precision manner, of course) is a better approach. And yes, I get that MSA requirements have changed, as previously the PTS (or whatever it's called now) said you could have intermittent stall warning, it's now changed to say keep it just above the warning.

And this isn't meant to counter anything you're saying, just pilot talk here... Some planes are way more sensitive to approach speed than others. Historically, it was a big deal for my plane, and the issue was people would fly it like they learned how to fly a 150/172. That is, they'd fly some sort of approach speed and fix it in the flare. My plane is much more sensitive in that a fast landing can result in porposing and prop strike, which is why it got a bad reputation in the past. As it turns out, it's very docile, you just have to actually fly it correctly. As a result, it's not uncommon to get a stall in the flare with a very smooth touchdown.

Again, I don't think we're in disagreement with the overall intent. I just come at it from flying something that absolutely required you to be on-speed from the base turn to touchdown, and if you got aggressive with it (not in a bad way) or you got bumped around in turbulence, the stall horn sounds and it's not the end of the world.

Hopefully I'm conveying that this would be a good pilot discussion over beer and not as a counter to your points.
Good points by both of you. This is why I pulled my stall horn and replaced it with an AoA indicator. It allows me to keep an eye on speed and bank with greater (and safer) ease than a stall horn.
 

Griz882

Frightening children with the Griz-O-Copter!
pilot
Contributor
It looks like fun. The name of the game is getting back on deck as fast as possible from altitude to make more moneys. I've got video of a King Air rolling inverted after I was the last one out. The jump plane is usually landing at the same time I am, and I was in free fall until about 3k. I'll be at Perris this weekend instead of SDSD. They have a ton of jump planes, including a DC-3 and a DC-9... ? Jumping out of the D.B. Cooper exit from a jet would be cool, but this is on my ultimate bucket list...

Tragically that B-17 isn’t available anymore, but what a great jump.
 

Jim123

DD-214 in hand and I'm gonna party like it's 1998
pilot
Jumping out of the D.B. Cooper exit from a jet would be cool, but this is on my ultimate bucket list...
Anytime we're taxiing in to Roswell, which almost always means past the boneyard, I'll look for an airplane that has the little vane under the aft airstair and I'll point it out.

I'm kinda like Cliff Clavin sometimes.

Okay most of the time.
 

wink

War Hoover NFO.
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Tomorrow morning going into CAF AZ to swap the rocket pods on our UH-1B Gunship from 18 to 9. I'll ask if they ever considered jump missions with Sentimental Journey.
 

Gatordev

Well-Known Member
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
This bad boy was for sale at Oshkosh for a cool 1.2 million...

If I was a multi-millionaire, I'd probably be seriously looking for one of those, (after I bought my DA62). Partly for the nostalgia, partly because they're just fun.

Any idea what the story is/was on this one? It has the ventral fins, so it looks like it's got most of the NAVAIR upgrades except NACWS, which the satellite birds never got anyway.
 

Griz882

Frightening children with the Griz-O-Copter!
pilot
Contributor
If I was a multi-millionaire, I'd probably be seriously looking for one of those, (after I bought my DA62). Partly for the nostalgia, partly because they're just fun.

Any idea what the story is/was on this one? It has the ventral fins, so it looks like it's got most of the NAVAIR upgrades except NACWS, which the satellite birds never got anyway.
I am only guessing because of the paint job, but this one is likely a former NASA aircraft that underwent a complete restoration by a group in Missouri. They have a few that were combat aircraft in other nations or something like that.
 

nittany03

Recovering NFO. Herder of Programmers.
pilot
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Any idea what the story is/was on this one? It has the ventral fins, so it looks like it's got most of the NAVAIR upgrades except NACWS, which the satellite birds never got anyway.
Freaking useless piece of gear anyway. "Hey, you have traffic, and it's 1000 feet above you . . . somewhere." Uhh . . . a relative bearing would be nice?
 

Gatordev

Well-Known Member
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
I am only guessing because of the paint job, but this one is likely a former NASA aircraft that underwent a complete restoration by a group in Missouri. They have a few that were combat aircraft in other nations or something like that.

There was a guy up at Huntsville that would come down to Whiting to get his checkrides done. He was either a GS or a contractor (I think GS) who flew them "for the Army," but I'm not 100% sure if he was supporting the Army or the larger NASA complex up there. But they were blue, as well.

Although now that I relook at the picture, this one has been repainted with AD livery, so I guess the former paint job is moot.

Freaking useless piece of gear anyway. "Hey, you have traffic, and it's 1000 feet above you . . . somewhere." Uhh . . . a relative bearing would be nice?

It used to give you bearing and a complete top-down picture, just like TCAD...actually better than the TCAD I currently fly with at work, but like all avionics, technology marched on without it. While not as robust as TCAS, when the system still worked as it was originally intended, NACWS was pretty helpful, especially right before entering a spin.
 

nittany03

Recovering NFO. Herder of Programmers.
pilot
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
It used to give you bearing and a complete top-down picture, just like TCAD...actually better than the TCAD I currently fly with at work, but like all avionics, technology marched on without it. While not as robust as TCAS, when the system still worked as it was originally intended, NACWS was pretty helpful, especially right before entering a spin.
I remember hearing that, but never heard the story as to why they made it altitude-only. That was one nice thing the Saberliner had, an actual legit TCAS.
 

Gatordev

Well-Known Member
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
I remember hearing that, but never heard the story as to why they made it altitude-only. That was one nice thing the Saberliner had, an actual legit TCAS.

They didn't make it that way, the algorithm/method/nerdery that is the ATC/ASR system changed, which rendered the software unable to discern azimuth. It could still read Mode C and range, which is why you got the altitude and distance alert. Because the T-6 was coming online "soon," NAVAIR didn't pay to have NACWS updated (if it even could be, which I think it could, it would just cost some money). Of course the T-6 didn't come online "soon," and we were all left flying around with a safety system that didn't work fully.

For the most part, all of the satellite aircraft were dedicated satellite birds, so they wouldn't come and go back and forth through the TRACOM like fleet aircraft are moved around. As such, none (or almost none) of them (that I'm aware of) had NACWS, just the old-school DME box. They did get the cockpit upgrade with the KLN-900 and moving the 6-pack over to the right side above the fuel gauges.
 
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