30
mar

The Airport Zipper Line

Filed Under Airport Operations

A pilot recently asked me what the alternating white and black stripes were on the carrier ramp of her airport. I’m sure a lot of people are curious, so I’ll share the answer here. It is called the zipper line and it extends across many carrier and cargo ramps prior to the movement area. It is called a zipper line because it resembles a zipper, very simple. It is a marking that pilots do not need to recognize because it is for use by airport tenants. It is used at many major airports throughout the United States and is simply a boundary for vehicles, which keeps vehicles and employees far enough from the movement area so that no accidental crossings are made. This is not an FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) marking, thus many airports may use slightly different variations, but its purpose is the same.

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20
mar

Mnemonics For Flight Training

Filed Under Flight Training

I cannot begin to tell you how important checklist items are when flying. Even the most seasoned pilots forget to push the props forward when landing or even put the gear down (I’ve seen it). It is important to understand that mnemonics are not a substitute for checklists, but rather an aid. During private pilot training your instructor may have taught you many of the common mnemonics such as ARROW (Airworthiness certificate, Registration, FCC Radio station license, Operating limitations, and Weight/Balance), which is the acronym for the required documents that must be in the airplane at all times. During instrument training pilots begin to receive IFR clearances by Air Traffic Control so my instructor taught me CRAFT (Cleared, Route, Altitude, Frequency, Transponder code) to help me quickly write down this information. I’ve compiled a list of these useful acronyms and phrases so that you too can benefit from the most common mistakes.

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10
mar

NTSB Finds Glass Cockpits Are Not Safer Than Steam Gauges

Filed Under General Aviation

The NTSB came to the conclusion yesterday that glass cockpits are not safer than conventional steam instruments. The study began more than a year ago to determine whether light fixed-wing aircraft equipped with glass cockpits such as the Garmin G1000 and Avidyne PFD4000 were actually safer, but the results found steam instruments have less of a fatality rate than the flat panel display systems.

The study, which looked at the accident rates of 8,000+ light piston-powered fixed-wing aircraft manufactured between 2002 and 2006, discovered that ones equipped with glass panel cockpits had a higher fatality rate then similar aircraft with conventional steam gauges. These accidents can be caused by any number of things, such as the pilot instilling too much faith in the autopilot system, distraction,  or not adequetely trained on the device, etc. If a pilot flies various types of aircraft this can lead to a  problem of proficiency with each one, since each may vary greatly.

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28
feb

New Orleans Saints Return to MSY as World Champions

Filed Under Awards

The New Orleans Saints arrived home to Louis Armstrong International Airport  on February 8th, 2010 as World Champions for the first time in history after winning Superbowl XLIV. The Delta Boeing 767 (appropriately named ‘WhoDat 1′) carrying the team was greeted by the airport’s fire department who used their water cannons to spray an arc of water over the aircraft. Outside of the airport’s property, approximately 15,000 fans awaited the parade of players as they headed home, but were disappointed that quarterback, Drew Brees stayed behind in Miami to visit Mickey Mouse in Disney World. Who could blame the guy…

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