By Jerry Rosie (USUA #A86096)

Here it is - March already, and despite what that pesky groundhog saw when he emerged on 2 February, Spring will soon be with us. If we can make it through March's legendary winds and April's equally well known showers, we will be able to fly again - soon. Some organizations are already scheduling their fly ins, USUA calendar, and folks who were forced into hibernation by winter's cold and dreary skies are thinking about it. Some have even started that annual inspection of all moving and stationary parts of their airplanes, making sure that all those that are supposed to move - do, and those that are not - don't. A good thorough inspection of our aircraft is the best way to ensure that we don't run into some unplanned for and unforeseen occurrence while on our first flight of the season.

Not only does the machinery need to be inspected and repaired as necessary, but most of us pilots need a good mental tune up also. This month, two club's newsletters address this aspect of flying in a most readable fashion. Gary White, of the Middle Tennessee Ultralight Group discusses what the FAA calls "Mind Set". Gary recalls a personal experience while getting one of his Biennial Flight Reviews (BFR). The Instructor Pilot quizzed him "What would you do if, on take off, something just didn't feel right?" Gary, after a wise A** remark, responded with the correct answer, "I'd abort the takeoff." Satisfied that Gary had his head screwed on right, the IP said, "Let's go, then". Announcing his intention to depart runway XX, Gary poured the coals to his Cessna 172 only to find that, in spite of adding a bit of right rudder to compensate for all those factors that would make an airplane drift to the left, his airplane was heading slowly, but surely, toward the weeds. Adding a bit more right rudder didn't seem to help much and as the prospect of doing some land based cross country increased, Gary pulled back on the throttle, and turning his head to the right ordered, "Stop that!" His IP had been adding left rudder, testing to see if Gary would actually do as he said he would, and abort the takeoff. In Gary's words, "My instructor's antics were informative. Oftentimes, we lose focus on flying safely in the pressing quest of achieving our goal." He goes on to tell of a video that he had recently seen of two qualified pilots really messing up a fine Cessna 172 because they clipped a telephone pole with the right wing, while they were attempting to complete an emergency engine out landing on a two lane road. They chose a paved two lane highway, congested with automobile traffic, in preference to a deserted golf course right next to the road they were trying to land on. An apparent case of two pilots who were so used to landing on pavement that they didn't even consider the inviting grass runway that the golf course offered them. It is really easy to get so involved in completing one task that we do not see the alternatives, even though they offer the more preferable option. Again, in Gary's words, "The cost was high...... The 'must land there' syndrome can be as infectious as the 'must take off syndrome'. This was the lesson my instructor was trying to pass down to me."

The Mountaineer Fun Flyers of Pence Springs, WV bring us an article which points out the value of thinking about things before they happen (staying ahead of the airplane) as they explore some tasks of dealing with an engine out or a loss of control situation. They emphasize that the major task facing any pilot in dealing with an engine out situation is to FLY THE AIRPLANE. They caution against becoming so involved in trying to restart the engine, (not an option in my case since I have no starter within reach of the pilot's seat) that the airplane is allowed to enter an unusual attitude, or the air speed is allowed to bleed off to the extent that a stall and/or spin results. Thinking about what you would do if your engine quit - and practicing it - are the best antidotes to this hazardous situation. As far as loss of control is concerned, they point out that loss of rudder authority can frequently be compensated for by applying opposite aileron. This, of course, sets up a cross control situation, but if control inputs are small, slow and deliberate, a cross control situation need not result in an accident. In like manner, loss of aileron control may be overcome by careful application of rudder. The worst case scenario is loss of elevator control, but, even then, it might be possible to save the day by increasing or decreasing throttle to adjust the pitch of the aircraft. These actions will probably not come to mind under the pressure of the emergency situation, but, if we think about them in advance, they may be available to us when needed. In the event of loss of control, a recovery parachute is probably your best option, but, remember, once the chute is deployed, the pilot becomes a passenger with little ability to influence what happens next.

As the man said, flying is supposed to be fun - but it also needs to be safe. It can also be valuable and helpful, as demonstrated by the Terre Haute Ultralight Club's article in its Newsletter - "Tailwinds". They report on another successful flight of 1100 miles by four Wisconsin Ultralight pilots who led a group of young Whooping Cranes to Florida for the winter. These particular birds were raised in a laboratory in attempts to save the dwindling population. Since Whoopers "imprint" on the first thing they see after breaking out of the egg, these birds were raised by humans dressed in bird suits, fed by bird looking hand puppets, and were introduced to the sound of an ultralight engine while still in the egg. Since the filming of the movie "Fly Away Home", many more people have become familiar with the project of leading migratory birds from their hatching places in the north, to their winter quarters in the south, using ultralight aircraft. The Terre Haute Club is supporting this project with a donation from the proceeds of its 2005 Safety Seminar. Way to go, Folks.

The mechanic is guarding his toolbox this month so we are left with a transcription of a short ATC transmission to close this month's column.

Ground Control: "Ultralight 12HJM, bear to the left, disabled aircraft on the right."
Pilot: "Ultralight 12HJM. Roger, I have the disabled aircraft in sight, but I don't see the bear yet."