Justine Kakembo says Farewell to the IAA family!

 Dear Aviators and friends,

It has been my pleasure and quite an honor to be of service to our aviation community as Receptionist, Editor of Squawkcode, Enrollment Coordinator and your Communications point person. My time at IAA could not have been better spent and the friendships, experiences and wonderful people I have been blessed to meet and interact with on a daily basis for the last five years, have been the highlight of this journey.

At the end of the month I will be leaving IAA, to focus on my studies and improve upon the skills that IAA has provided me with and I can only say "Thank you" for being wonderful patrons, a captivating audience to serve and a truly enthusiastic aviation community. I'll see you at the next IAA fly-out/seminar/event!

Regards,

Justine Kakembo.
Editor & Publisher, IAA Squawkcode, Blog, Website, Twitter, Facebook.

Life Planning: Are you prepared?

GUEST ARTICLE:

You have all heard the saying:'Failing to plan is planning to fail.In an IFR situation, your planning is generally efficient for the best possible results. I cannot think of any situation where you would willingly fly in marginal weather without making sure that your aircraft was properly equipped nor would you fail to file a flight plan. You would likely consider this using common sense as your training has suggested that you view it this way.

I've had the chance to have conversations with several pilot friends who are some of the smartest, best trained, people I know. When they are in their element, their comfort zones, they are generally top performers ready and able to handle any challenge that is tossed their way. On occasion, our conversations have turned to general life planning situations and one of the main questions I always ask is:'Do you have a will?' I am often amazed at how many times I hear the answer:No.

Some presume that they do not need a will because they are not 'rich'. Others think that they don't need one because they don't have any children to look out for. Circumstances may differ from state to state, but in Illinois should your spouse die and a signed will is not on file someplace, the end result is that the State will take half of what you own while the remaining half goes to your mate. Imagine being in that situation; you are dealing with the stress involved with losing a loved one only to find out that half of your assets may not be yours any longer. You might be able to successfully overcome that situation but certainly not without the help of a good, qualified attorney, and likely a fair amount of cash.

If you have children and no signed will is on file, the surviving spouse gets one half of the assets while the remainder passes to the children. If the children are minors, the court might opt to appoint a guardian for the property being passed to the children making a potentially difficult situation even more so. Individual State laws might not allow the surviving parent to be appointed as the guardian and this means that your husband, or wife, is still responsible for raising the children but with no control over their half of your property.

The solution is easy. You can avoid these pitfalls by talking with a qualified attorney and get this portion of your life planning taken care of today. You generally exercise every caution possible when flying in the clouds. There is no reason you should be any less prepared for a life changing event.

Smooth landings,
 

Mike Lichtfuss, Financial Advisor, ProEquities Inc. 630-319-0447

Communicating in Aviation

President's Squawk: It takes more than volume to know what we do!
 Greetings Pilots: I began instructing students 18 years ago with the intent to build enough flight time to become an airline pilot and meet a few fun people on the way. The years have passed and I have had the privilege to fly for two airlines and meet a diverse group of people that have touched aviation in their own unique way and made it better. Justine Kakembo is one of those individuals that has touched aviation through Illinois Aviation Academy. Her enthusiasm and ability to talk about aviation to anyone via numerous media conduits has impressed and inspired me through the years. I would like to dedicate my February article to her.

Effective communication is often the key to the successful resolution of a task. Corporations will spend millions of dollars to improve their communication methods so intent method and completion standards are clearly understood because inaccurate communication will cost the corporation even more. The aviation industry has done the same by creating standardized terms, symbols and methods found in publications like the FAR/AIM. Considering the general success of aviation on a global scale it would be safe to say that the job is getting done. Much of this success can be attributed to good instructors, aviation publications and interest from the pilot population.

Recently, I had the ability to experience a merger of cultures (Chinese and American) in a flight training environment at Deer Valley Airport (KDVT).  It is amazing to see the number of Chinese students being trained and to experience flight amongst such a bee hive of activity. Effective communication is put to the test every minute there because pilots like me have to incorporate VFR and IFR operations while communicating with the tower that is attempting to communicate with students that speak English "adequately". This means that I had to watch for traffic, communicate and adhere to SD guidelines while providing dual instruction in a turbine powered aircraft. Unfortunately, problems arose when we were instructed by the tower to avoid numerous aircraft.

To avoid traffic, we did not adhere to the SD by making the turn to intercept the PXR 336 radial which caused problems with PHX departure. This then caused PHX to divert larger jet aircraft heading north and "firm" words to be stated. Ultimately, everyone was O.K. because the pilots flew their planes first.

Pilots use charts, clearances, rules and guidelines to fly but there is always a chance for a variation. I learned that a good pilot should do more than just assume that standard procedure will be followed at an airport.Perhaps I should have talked (via phone) to the tower prior to my departure about traffic in the vicinity as this airport could be considered a non-standard with regards to communication and operations. My student suggested that a later departure time could have also helped avoid conflicts. I hope that other pilots consider ideas like this when they encounter a non-standard airport that does not follow standard communication procedures.

Once again, thank you Justine for helping IAA communicate better with its clients.Your assistance has helped our organization reach more pilots than ever before and you helped me ensure that flying can be fun at a flight school.

Sincerely,

Robert Werderich, President
Illinois Aviation Academy, Inc.

President's Squawk: Improving Flight Safety

Greetings Pilots: Let’s talk about Flaps

I can remember my first flight instructor explaining to me that flaps are like a speed brake that allows an aircraft to increase its rate of decent without increasing airspeed.  “This is an effective tool to use when a pilot intends to land an aircraft” he said as he went on to explain landing performance calculations. I understood the concept and proceeded to use flaps on my ensuing solo flight and private pilot check ride with little thought to the pros, cons and hazards of their use.  I believe that this is typical of most newly minted pilots so I would like to discuss a few issues related to flaps operations in IAA aircraft.

Flaps: Most of the flaps used in IAA aircraft are either “plain” or “slotted” with regard to structure and extension.  Typically the “plain” flaps are manually operated by simply moving a lever up or down in the cockpit which moves a rod on the top of the flap.  This rod pushes or pulls the flap around three hinge points on the wing which creates an extension (rotate down) or retraction (rotate up).  The slotted flaps are mechanically operated by an electric motor.  The motor moves a cable through a bell wheel assembly and connects to a rod which moves the flaps up and down on a track.  This is a more complex operation which involves more parts.

Our pre-flight inspections involve looking at the rod connection points to the flaps, the hinge points, the flap tracks and the rollers in the flaps tracks.  It is difficult to see the rollers move on the flap tracks as the pilot is in the cockpit when flap selections are made so whenever possible, attempt to have another pilot or guest move the flaps for you when you complete the inspection.  This will assure proper movement of the parts and avoid any ceasing/binding of the flaps which is very hazardous.

Flaps Operation: Each aircraft manufacturer has recommended maximum and minimum flap operation speeds associated with the varying flaps settings.  Pilots need to observe these speeds as a “flap over speed” may cause flap torsion/binding or linkage separation.  This has produced “split flaps” or a “trailing flap” in IAA aircraft.  I cannot emphasize the magnitude that these flight hazards pose to an unprepared pilot.

Flap Performance: Some of the POHs associated with IAA aircraft suggest flap retraction immediately after landing to reduce the aircraft landing distance.  The intent is to apply additional traction to the tires for braking /friction.  I would like to stress to IAA pilots that this practice is meant for extreme circumstances and not condoned by IAA.  Maintaining aircraft position awareness on the runway is the most important task for the pilot after landing.  IAA would recommend the use of a runway that is 25% greater than the planned landing of the aircraft so extreme braking action would not be necessary.

Though time and lots of guidance from multiple instructors I have learned many flap tricks for take-off, decent and landing in various aircraft, and although I cannot put some of these techniques to print, I appreciate their effectiveness.  The use of  flaps is not easy and  their maintenance should not be taken for granted by any pilot.

Sincerely,

Robert Werderich, President
Illinois Aviation Academy, Inc.