Aero-Tips!

A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of "there are no old, bold pilots.")

Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner, master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us -- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators. Some of them, you may have heard before... but for each of us, there will also be something we might never have considered before, or something that didn't "stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized it for the practical test.

Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to you through the Aero-News Network.

Aero-Tips 07.05.06

Flying to EAA AirVenture, for one week the busiest airport in the world? We've been discussing the planning needed to make a safe AirVenture arrival.

Airspeed control

If you're flying to Oshkosh later this month, now is the time to brush up on the special skills needed for a safe trip. One is proper airspeed control, in ways sometimes unusual for many pilots.

The AirVenture NOTAM calls for most aircraft to fly the visual arrival at 90 knots indicated airspeed. Before you enter the "stream" of traffic, you should know precisely what combination of power, pitch attitude, flaps and landing gear position (as appropriate) and trim setting results in level flight at 90 knots. For some you'll be flying flat-out... while others may be "hanging on the prop" at this speed. Get comfortable with this configuration (and any visibility or engine temperature management considerations that go with it) so you can fly it while scanning for traffic inbound to Oshkosh.

If you fly a faster airplane the NOTAM gives you the option of a slightly higher altitude and 135 knots indicated. If you plan this entry, practice the configurations for both 135 and 90 knots -- the "high-speed arrival" will eventually have to descend through the "normal" speed as you arrive in the traffic pattern. The time I flew a light twin to AirVenture I ended up behind a Stearman biplane from about abeam the numbers until touchdown-so I had to slow down to the lowest safe airspeed for part of my approach.

Aero-tip of the day: Practice precise airspeed and altitude control using NOTAM arrival speeds so you can fly them without thinking about it…freeing you up to handle the traffic and workload of your AirVenture arrival. For more tips on flying to EAA AirVenture read tomorrow's Aero-Tips, and listen to the Aero-Cast podcast on flying to AirVenture.

FMI: Aero-Tips