GeeBee

Again, it is a matter of potential separation and "what if". For instance, if you have parallel runways less than 3500' apart, they will not roll you simultaneously with a multi engine aircraft. Guess why? You may be #1 for take off, but if that ME aircraft is a jet, he is going to roll first because he is out of the way, faster than you are. Pounds of tin per minute. Likewise in this case, his error is not sending you around, but for forcing the situation with less than optimal spacing. If that controller had a do over, you would be #2. As it was he tried to squeeze you in, and when it all came unraveled (most likely because the jet failed to slow) he had two choices. Send you around or send the jet around. If he sent the jet around, and you aborted your landing he would then be in a loss of separation situation. If he sends you around, he can turn you out before the jet arrives thus he has assured separation no matter what happened.

Everyone needs to think about this a little bit. If he sends the leading slow aircraft around, he has got one aircraft in the pattern. If he sends the jet around and then you abort your landing, he's got a serious loss of separation with a passenger airliner. Also, any time he sends a 121 aircraft around, he has to write it up. For some companies, the Captain has to write up a go around as well because believe me, some passengers are going to complain (to get free miles to shut them up that they "were scared for their lives"). A go around for an airliner also takes one pilot out of the loop as he has to go on the PA and reassure the passengers. All in all, it is easier and safer for the little Part 91 guy to go around. If you can't go around after the mains touch, learn to do so. You will likely miss that venison dinner on the hoof someday.

Seeing a lot of people having trouble flying their airplane here.

The problem with composites is they are not very scalable on the down side. Beech found that out with the Starship. You can do it, and Cirrus does it every day but the weight savings are not as dramatic as on larger aircraft. Then even if you do it, you have to amortize the production cost increases which requires a lot of units.

We need to remind ourselves some things here. We all want to be helpful, but the words "unable" are not the end of the world, or a source of punishment. I used to tell all my students from primary, to ATPs, when you are in the batter's box, you are batting. Swing away. Do not let the tower hurry you off a runway, square the tires or do things on the ragged edge. I've seen more guys slide off the runway(especially in winter flying) trying to comply with the tower's wishes than I care to think about. When you are cleared to land, the runway is yours. Unless you receive a LAHSO instruction use the runway you need to comfortably and safely exit. Also, don't accept a LAHSO below 1000'. Swing away batter.

One time I was with ATL approach. They switched me to the south side runways even though I was north of the airport. I was crossing north complex traffic on the down wind with this maneuver. The controller was talking a mile a minute and I could see a traffic conflict developing. We were T-bone with an MD-88 on downwind, same altitude. We tried to get a word in edgewise but could not. We were IMC, I could not make a move until TCAS barked. I disconnected the autopilot ready for the coming melee`. Just as the TCAS barked "Descend!" the controller gave me a 180 "immediately". If the airplane had not been off autopilot and I was primed, we would have been very close or possible collision. After a I landed ground control asked me to call the tower. I did, and the first thing I said to the supervisor is...."How is your guy, is he OK?." Now I knew he had just became disqualified from his position by this loss of separation. He nearly ran metal together. Turns out, I knew him, he went to my church. Good guy, overloaded The point is this. We all operate in the same airspace, we just have different jobs. Just as you live in the same house with your spouse. Everyone is going to make mistakes. Sometimes bad ones. You have a certificate, he has a certificate. Ripping into each other is not the way to go. Someday you are going to screw up and you will need some understanding. If you have a reputation for understanding, you will likely be understood, when the time comes. It is likely this was a "loss of separation" incident and not good for the controller. A wise Captain once told me, "Never get mad or curse in a disagreement you know you will win and never fail to bank a favor." Opportunity missed.

Control for SE ops.

Bingo!

As someone who was an early owner of a truck bedliner, that caused a gas can fire at a filling station, can (especially poly containers) fueling an airplane scares the daylights out of me. I was not hurt, but it was a close call. My incident in the early 80's was investigated by the NFPA which resulted in the warning stickers you see on the pumps now. Fundamentally unless a portable container is directly on the ground, especially poly containers there is not enough grounding you can do. My container was steel, and in contact with metal on the truck tailgate, but that was insufficient. By the way, when that spark goes off? You see it.

Ah yes, the "lip". Very common. Several people with cooling problems have been helped by increasing the size of the lip. Again however you can over do it and create a back eddy. I've always wanted to experiment with vortex generators effects on engine cooling, in particular on the lower cowl.

With respect to engine cooling, it is not all that simple. The Lycoming manuals for instance specify that the upper deck pressure needs to be 4" H2O higher than the lower deck. You can also have also have areas of too fast airflow, where you get temp rises both from airflow speed and as well as stagnation points, eddies, and shock wave points. It seems to be part science, part art, as well as some PFM. I had a very high performance PA-18 and spent a lot of hours flying around with manometers pickups inside the cowling, as well as smoke generators and GoPro cameras. Just when you think you understand what is going on, you get surprised. Now nothing is bigger than the inlets of a PA-18 and nothing is more inefficient as Cub Crafters found out. I found ramping the air up over the front cylinders rather than impinging it 90 degrees upon the front made a huge difference in cooling the front as well as the rear cylinders. Not only running cooler, but temps more even. You cannot simply enlarge the exit (cowl flaps) without a serious effect upon pressure differential. Set the exit opening too high and you create back flow around the cowl flaps and change the differential dramatically. Fundamentally you only want enough air to cool the engine otherwise you have large cooling drag. This means you only want the airflow sufficient to create, 4 to 6 inches differential flowing smoothly. Any more and you have a rapid rise in cooling drag. How you get to that delta is variable between the inlet variations and the outlet variations. Consider the old Turbo Saratoga which had only one very small opening and closed upper cowl. It does not look like it makes sense, it works.

I wish I did, I'll check with my buddy in the right seat to see if he grabbed one. I was a little busy dodging weather.

I have to say I have seen a very well known and respected MSC use two jacks under the wing, and an engine hoist with fan belts around the prop for the nose.

Well I just came out of KABR after a blizzard the night before. Crossed a cold front that caused the blizzard, started icing despite a -16 temp, ran the TKS and the wing stayed pretty dang clean. Airplane is new to me but I would say, not an issue with the effectiveness of the TKS system compared to boots. It looked more like a hot wing to me.

The question about putting AOA on a FIKI airplane. Unless the sensor is part of the FIKI certification, it is likely it could provide erroneous data leading to the pilot possibly maneuvering the airplane to correct indications that are false. (Ask Ethiopian how that works out) How the sensor is certified for FIKI is up to the FAA and the manufacturer, but suffice to say, an unheated sensor on a FIKI airplane could lead to grief. We love to complain about the cost of the stall sensor for a FIKI airplane or even the need for a heated one, but the need is real and important. I find most people that dismiss the value of AOA have never flown them. In line service in particular I have encountered several times where I set Vref and fly Vref+5 only to see the AOA indicating too high. A load audit usually reveals an error in the weight and balance numbers. Which points to the value of AOA. No matter what is happening, the critical angle of attack does not change for a given configuration. I used AOA regularly when flying critical approaches coupled with HUD. You can really stick a landing on a short runway flying AOA which is why the Navy uses it for carrier landings.

I did not say it was not a true AOA. I said "most", and I said the ones I know of, which I am not familiar with the CYA system. It appears to be a true AOA although the nature and method of approval and installation requires you to calibrate in flight test and not against the actual wing chord. I would also not install that on a FIKI airplane.

Any LRI is only as accurate as you calibrate through test flying. In a true AOA system zero is referenced to the chord line by accurate measurement. However this can be messed up if for instance zero is set then the angle of incidence on the wing is tweeked. Accurate installation however makes a true AOA operate without the need for flight calibration. Once zero is known for the given aircraft and the assembly is consistent the AOA installation has is easy.

The attitude of an aircraft has zero relationship to its angle of attack.

It is still dependent on the actual dynamic pressure in both direction and velocity which makes it a true AOA as opposed to LRIs which compare dynamic to static and thus are derived values. Regardless if the vane sticks out horizontally from the fuselage or is a on the leading edge it directly measures AOA without deriving AOA from inferred pressure differentials. The proof is I can walk up to both vane types on the ground, move them with my hand, and the AOA gauge will move. You cannot do that with LRIs.

Most GA AOA systems are not true AOA systems, but lift reserve indicators. That is why you have to calibrate them with test flights. A true AOA system uses a flying vane to measure true AOA. I have flown both and while a properly calibrated LRI functions just fine, a true AOA is so refined if you fly into rain, in level flight, you can see the AOA increase. The only true AOA for GA I know of is the SafeFlight system. That all said, I believe LRI units are a real plus and a wise investment.

A C/B protects your airplane from an electrical fire. You should not reset a C/B more than once and even then only if it is an urgent need. After one reset and trip leave it alone until the circuit is repaired. Never reset a fuel system C/B trip. Most airlines do not allow their crews to reset C/Bs unless a greater emergency exists. In fact many newer designs, the C/B are not available for crew access. You should not be constantly resetting this circuit, until the cause is investigated and repaired.

I also think there is a lot of money to be made in upgrades and mods. There are a bunch of G1000s that could be upgraded to NXi if the factory would create a program that they themselves could install. Equally so a lot of 231s that would like to be 252s. That plus interiors and paint the factory could create some income but more importantly certainty and value to the new products.

Many boat mfr's have of recent had dealerships aggregate together to form investment groups that would buy into the manufacturer. The result has been much improved manufacturing and a manufacturer more responsive to the market. The dealers understand the market, the consumer and the product and drive the factory. It is a model that would work in aviation.

Looks like it was a capital funding gap and it took longer to secure the funding than anticipated.

All of marketing success or failure comes down to the 3 P's. Product, price, promotion. My view is price. At 800k new there are a world of pre owned opportunities that are faster and more capable and some run on Jet A. When you are talking 200 to 500k people have a budget. When you talk close to a million, budgets are vastly more flexible and expansive.