Aerial Entrepreneur

From his first flight experience, Plainfield, IL resident Doug Bontrager has been working toward his ultimate goal of having his own business. Originally from La Grange, Indiana, Doug took his first flight lesson when he was in eighth grade with a family friend who worked as a crop duster. As Doug recalled, this experience led him to realize that this is what he wanted to do with his life.

When it came time for high school the following year, Doug was soon setting up lessons with his crop dusting pal, Nick, who was also a CFI. Despite conflicting schedules, Nick and Doug were able to fly together at the intervals between Doug’s school and Nick’s flying routine.

Doug’s decision to pursue a career in aerial application is not one of fleeting desire, but an entrepreneurial spirit that runs in the family. With his parents having owned businesses of their own, Doug is carrying on the family tradition. “My family is very close… I’d like to be home every night,” said Doug, explaining why he is following a more independent aviation career.

Currently, Doug is working on his instrument and commercial license at Du Page Airport in West Chicago. While he would like to try his hand at crop dusting this fall, Doug concedes that he has a lot to accomplish aside from a commercial pilot’s license. At the least he will need a tail wheel endorsement and an Applicator’s License – allowing a pilot to transport and disperse the farm chemicals from the aircraft. And while not required, Doug is also looking into taking an aerobatics course, “it’s just something I want to do.”

National First

On December 27, 2008, Manan Jaisinghani of Delhi, India earned his private pilot license at American Flyers, Pompano. On that day he turned 17-years old and became the youngest pilot in his home country. Here follows an excerpt from Hindustan Times reporter, Sonal Kalra’s article from January 25, 2009 titled, “17 yr-old is the Youngest Pilot in the Country.”

“For as long as I remember, the dinner table conversation at home was about flying,” says the teenager, whose father, Capt. Mahender Jaisinghani, is also a pilot and owns a private air-taxi service.

Although the legally permissible age for enrolling in a flight school the world over is 16, the Jaisinghanis were unsure of how the Indian flying academies would receive such a young student, so they enrolled him in Florida’s American Flyers – one of the top-ranking flying schools in the US… “Even in the American flying school, I was the youngest student in the batch,” recalls Manan, also an avid guitarist.

Although he passed all the necessary evaluation phases, including written exams and flying cross-country alone for five hours in a few months, he couldn’t get the license as he wasn’t 17 yet. So he flew back to the US for his final test and obtained his license on 27 December 2008 – his 17th birthday.

Says Kavita Jaisinghani, Manan’s proud mother, “Flying runs in our family. When I was nine months pregnant with Manan, my husband took me on a plane he was flying. Since then it has been our dream to instill this passion in our children.”

Source: hindustantimes.com

Destinations

With spring on the way, there’s no better time to get your airplane and piloting skills ready for summer, and have a little fun while doing it. For a great Texas BBQ meal, head out to Clark Field Municipal (SEP) in Stephenville, Texas; after a short complimentary ride from the airport you will find the Hard Eight BBQ.

Famous for their mesquite-smoked, open pit cooking, Hard Eight offers a great casual atmosphere and an extensive menu. Open seven days a week, you will find almost any type of meat you could want. From rib eye and sirloin to thick pork chops and chicken done to perfection, the entrees are just a small part of the fare.

The sides and sandwiches can do just fine by themselves, and the banana pudding dessert is always a favorite. For more information and to view the menu, visit www.hardeightbbq.com.

The Taylor Aerocar

If a flying car sounds like a thing of the future, think again; it’s already here! Or was at one point. Thepredecessor to the FAA, the Civil Aeronautics Authority, certified the first flying automobile dubbed, the ‘Aerocar,’ in 1956.

The Aerocar was the invention of Moulton Taylor, an inventor and pilot. During World War II, Taylor worked for the US Navy designing aerial target drones and radio-guided missiles. In 1946 he met fellow inventor Robert E. Fulton, Jr., who had a concept vehicle called the ‘Airphibian.’ This was essentially a roadable airplane whose rear fuselage and propeller detached on the ground. Taylor was inspired by this design and sought to improve it by making a car that could be converted into an aircraft, complete with wings that could be folded and towed behind the car while driving.

The first prototype was completed in 1949 and after a successful demonstration, Taylor build four additional demonstration Aerocars.

The Aerocar was designed as a high wing, two-place aircraft with side-by-side seating and a pusher propeller. The Lycoming 0-320 engine was mounted above the rear axle of the car and supplied power to the propeller via a drive shaft whose coupling was hidden behind the rear license plate. The propeller was mounted on the end of a long, distinctive tail cone; this was to ensure adequate ground clearance for the propeller. It had a cruising speed of 100 mph and a price tag of $25,000.

On the roads the Lycoming engine drove the front wheel drive through a three-speed manual transmission and boasted a highway speed of 60 mph. The interior was typical of a 1949 car with a round steering wheel and the gearshift lever on the floor. The aircraft throttle knob was mounted in the center of the dashboard, with the aircraft instruments on the upper dash above the conventional car gauges.

Source: airventuremuseum.org, wikipedia.org

Enhance Your Standard Practice
By David Menconi, National Chief Flight Instructor

Flying near restricted airspace or rising terrain can be a challenge. With the proliferation of Temporary Flight Restrictions and Homeland Security requirements it is becoming more and more difficult to plan a flight without encountering some type of obstacle to your direct navigation. To identify and avoid these areas, pilots can establish certain procedures that will ensure that they will not inadvertently enter these areas.

Pilots, make it standard practice to use all the forms of navigation when determining the best course and heading to take your airplane from point A to point B. These same methods of navigation can be used to identify and avoid things like Class B airspace, prohibited areas, TFRs, or mountains.

Pilotage – Use landmarks and charts to identify rivers, railroad tracks, or highways that can identify borders or fences around “no-fly zones.”

Pilotage – Use landmarks and charts to identify rivers, railroad tracks, or highways that can identify borders or fences around “no-fly zones.”

Dead Reckoning – Knowing your ground speed and distance to a “no-fly zone” will give you advance warning that you are approaching it.

GPS – The benefits of the advanced technology of GPS are well known. Having a moving map with terrain and airspace information can be a valuable tool as long as it is legal and current.

Ask the Pilot Professor
By Dr. Michael Bliss

The entire nation was riveted last month to the story of US Airways Flight 1549, which ditched in the Hudson River after having lost power in both engines as a result of multiple bird strikes. Captain Sullenberger has been highly praised for handling the situation in such a way all passengers were safely evacuated.

Lost in the swirl of media attention was a comment that Captain Sullenberger made that I think has a lot to say about the need for professional flight training. He said, “One way of looking at this might be that, for 42 years, I’ve been making small regular deposits in this bank of experience, education and training. And on January 15, the balance was sufficient so that I could make a very large withdrawal.”

It’s my opinion that it was not so much technical skill that Captain Sullenberger used to save the day but his excellent judgment and decision making. Many of the correct decisions he made were things we teach in basic flight training. Don’t get so caught up in troubleshooting that you forget to fly the airplane. Don’t try to stretch a glide to a point that is unreachable. Pick a place without obstacles to touchdown.

Captain Sullenberger did what he was trained to do. I believe that training at a professional flight school begins your flying career with a large deposit into this same bank that Sully withdrew from. Regular refresher training helps keep the balance in the black.

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