How much does the C of G move aft with fuel burn, in a Bonanza
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Only one caveat with the graphical things ... one needs to be careful with straight lines and curved according to the axes units and whether the loading arm is constant or varies .. ie one can get caught out if one just plots the end points and presumes a straight line betwixt the two ...
I have no doubt that Brian has this well and truly under control ... a suitable subject for a beer, perhaps ... how are you off this week or next for a convivial as discussed previously ?
I have no doubt that Brian has this well and truly under control ... a suitable subject for a beer, perhaps ... how are you off this week or next for a convivial as discussed previously ?
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Taken care of by a look up table if that should arise John (shapely curves). Nothing much gets pass you 
Call anytime, should be around for a week or so before making an interstate trip.
Call anytime, should be around for a week or so before making an interstate trip.
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There are some interesting things here. I believe we have had sucessful forced landings in Australia at night. Surprising.
I remember reading american figures which showed that you are more likely to be killed in a twin engined aircraft than a single. Fatalities from engine failures were less, but prangs from other causes more than made up for it. Singles are simpler, and it appears, safer because of that.
Australia has a history of scud running and cfit in IFR equipped aircraft. Many of these are avoidable if the pilot is IFR qualified. We seem to make IFR training and flying so hard that hardly any of our pilots do it, and there are too many avoidable cfits
Peole talk about the KISS principle. We seem to do the opposite. And it costs.
I remember reading american figures which showed that you are more likely to be killed in a twin engined aircraft than a single. Fatalities from engine failures were less, but prangs from other causes more than made up for it. Singles are simpler, and it appears, safer because of that.
Australia has a history of scud running and cfit in IFR equipped aircraft. Many of these are avoidable if the pilot is IFR qualified. We seem to make IFR training and flying so hard that hardly any of our pilots do it, and there are too many avoidable cfits
Peole talk about the KISS principle. We seem to do the opposite. And it costs.
Is this really the case Bushy? I did my IR in NZ and validated it and my CPL back in Oz, so I don't have a lot of direct ab initio IR training experience here, although a number of my UPPL mates have done SECIRs with minimal fuss and bother. It certainly costs money to do a CIR but flying costs money. I did the Ozzie IR exam as part of the validation - and passed Morse Code (no longer required) for the second time.
The Private IR was an attempt to solve the cfit problem. I am probably showing my age but I am not a fan of the PIR. The guy I do my renewals with flatly refuses to write me out a PIR - just seems to have nothing to do with them. Every year I ask him to do the paperwork and every year he ignores me. Maybe cause it takes a couple of hours to do all the paperwork.
I recently flew with a CPL trained pilot who now flys only for personal business. He has held a CIR but now flys only on a PIR and mostly flys VFR and only upgrades when necessary. It was NOT a pleasant experience for me.
I fly on an IFR plan 95% of the time so that I am well in tune with the system - but that does mean that I do fly some real IFR at times. I avoid ICE (not hard to do in Nth Qld) and CBs, like the plague.
It certainly costs money to operate in the IFR system, but I see this as a relatively small part of operating an aeroplane.
R
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It's a worthy direction.
RS do you have an electrically powered back up AI?
Yes CC! It does have an electric back-up AH.
I am seriously into multiple redundancy and have it pretty much covered apart from the pilot and the engine. If I owned the aeroplane I would probably fit dual vac pumps as well. It has a Cent III autopilot so I would loose that if I lost the single vac pump.
If not your workload will be high gliding down on partial panel.
Don't get me wrong I do fly my aircraft at night and a little 'soft' IFR but only rarely...I avoid it if I.
Why?
I really think it is more a 'getting old/running out of lives thing' myself. I used up 7 of em in PNG...at least.
The basic facts are that no statistics can say with absolute certainty that singles are less safe than twins or visa versa.
In my view a well trained, skillfull and current pilot in a moderately loaded Baron can fly away from an engine failure every time...loaded to average 'private use' weights they'll happily climb on one engine at 500'/min...bloody sight better than a single after an engine failure.
Well trained and skillfull being the big problem....in my view virtually no private owners would spend the time and effort required to maintain the levels of skill required...a good two hour workout with a knowledgeable instructor every 6 mths and a few hundred hours between.
Because I do fly some serious IFR, I try to do 6 month currency checks with a senior instructor, between CIR renewals - even in the Bo. Like many busy non-professional pilots I sometimes struggle getting the 6 month check done but as others often fly with me I try to operate at a high level of proficiency. I generally fly at least one approach each time I fly - so I generally maintain a very high level of approach currency. Having an ILS at home base also helps. I am flying about 200 hr a year so I am pretty current with the aeroplane.
I think given the realistic amount of time I have spent in IMC in my Bo over the years...it would struggle to be a few hours total...maybe 1-2% of my total Bo time I cannot justify a second engine, vac pump, generator etc.
If I was doing lots of IFR/night flying I would definately get a second electric AI and fit a back up generator as those are failures you're likely to have to cope with...engine failures are incredibly rare overall, even with the abuse many engines suffer under...a well maintained engine that only you fly regularly and with a good all cylinder monitor I think is incredibly reliable. Take out the fuel starvation events from the forced landing stats and pure mechanical failures are rare indeed...statistically almost irrelevant.
I have had 2 total electrical failures in other crappy private hired aircraft (one of the reasons for getting the Bo). Although on an IFR plan I was in VMC on both occassions.
I don't have 2 generators but I now feel that I have the electrical failure pretty well covered. The Bo has a GNS430, but I also have a GPSMAP296 installed on the yolk, so I could find my way to anywhere and make a pretty good fist of a GPS APPR with that if necessary (I have practiced this). It runs for maybe 12 hr on its battery. I also have Jeppesen FliteDeck moving map and eFlightBag running on a mini-tablet computer. It gets its GPS info from the GPSMAP296, but I also have a little blue tooth GPS in the flight bag - just in case. I can find my way home with that as well and use it to make a reasonable job of a GPS, NDB, VOR or LLZ appr. The tablet runs for 2 hours on battery power.
I also carry CDMA Mobile Phone, ICOM Portable VHF with VOR, and Sat phone.
I am the only person who flys the aeroplane. As you know, it doesn't have an all cylinder engine analyzer (would if I owned it), but thanks to your instruction I now have a pretty good idea of how to operate it effectively. Maintenance is done by someone I trust.
That said if I as doing lots of over water flying I would want an E55 Baron...or if I ever get to a point, and it's not likely, where the extra cost of a twin is not a factor...they are the sexiest civil piston aeroplane ever built.
...but really short of living on King Island and flying a lot I cannot see a Baron increasing the safety aspects of my private flying anything like enough to justify the recurrent training and 2xDOCs...after 12000+ ME hrs I have long since lost the thrill of a handfull of throttles.
Yes, my brother swapped a Mooney for a B55, and soon got over the "handfull of throttles" when the fuel and maintenance bills rolled in.
Why an E55? Is it the fastest Baron (the smaller airframe with the big engines)? I have flown the B, C, D and E55 - I know the B has the little motors but don't remember the differences between the C, D and E.
RS do you have an electrically powered back up AI?
Yes CC! It does have an electric back-up AH.
I am seriously into multiple redundancy and have it pretty much covered apart from the pilot and the engine. If I owned the aeroplane I would probably fit dual vac pumps as well. It has a Cent III autopilot so I would loose that if I lost the single vac pump.
If not your workload will be high gliding down on partial panel.
Don't get me wrong I do fly my aircraft at night and a little 'soft' IFR but only rarely...I avoid it if I.
Why?
I really think it is more a 'getting old/running out of lives thing' myself. I used up 7 of em in PNG...at least.
The basic facts are that no statistics can say with absolute certainty that singles are less safe than twins or visa versa.
In my view a well trained, skillfull and current pilot in a moderately loaded Baron can fly away from an engine failure every time...loaded to average 'private use' weights they'll happily climb on one engine at 500'/min...bloody sight better than a single after an engine failure.
Well trained and skillfull being the big problem....in my view virtually no private owners would spend the time and effort required to maintain the levels of skill required...a good two hour workout with a knowledgeable instructor every 6 mths and a few hundred hours between.
Because I do fly some serious IFR, I try to do 6 month currency checks with a senior instructor, between CIR renewals - even in the Bo. Like many busy non-professional pilots I sometimes struggle getting the 6 month check done but as others often fly with me I try to operate at a high level of proficiency. I generally fly at least one approach each time I fly - so I generally maintain a very high level of approach currency. Having an ILS at home base also helps. I am flying about 200 hr a year so I am pretty current with the aeroplane.
I think given the realistic amount of time I have spent in IMC in my Bo over the years...it would struggle to be a few hours total...maybe 1-2% of my total Bo time I cannot justify a second engine, vac pump, generator etc.
If I was doing lots of IFR/night flying I would definately get a second electric AI and fit a back up generator as those are failures you're likely to have to cope with...engine failures are incredibly rare overall, even with the abuse many engines suffer under...a well maintained engine that only you fly regularly and with a good all cylinder monitor I think is incredibly reliable. Take out the fuel starvation events from the forced landing stats and pure mechanical failures are rare indeed...statistically almost irrelevant.
I have had 2 total electrical failures in other crappy private hired aircraft (one of the reasons for getting the Bo). Although on an IFR plan I was in VMC on both occassions.
I don't have 2 generators but I now feel that I have the electrical failure pretty well covered. The Bo has a GNS430, but I also have a GPSMAP296 installed on the yolk, so I could find my way to anywhere and make a pretty good fist of a GPS APPR with that if necessary (I have practiced this). It runs for maybe 12 hr on its battery. I also have Jeppesen FliteDeck moving map and eFlightBag running on a mini-tablet computer. It gets its GPS info from the GPSMAP296, but I also have a little blue tooth GPS in the flight bag - just in case. I can find my way home with that as well and use it to make a reasonable job of a GPS, NDB, VOR or LLZ appr. The tablet runs for 2 hours on battery power.
I also carry CDMA Mobile Phone, ICOM Portable VHF with VOR, and Sat phone.
I am the only person who flys the aeroplane. As you know, it doesn't have an all cylinder engine analyzer (would if I owned it), but thanks to your instruction I now have a pretty good idea of how to operate it effectively. Maintenance is done by someone I trust.
That said if I as doing lots of over water flying I would want an E55 Baron...or if I ever get to a point, and it's not likely, where the extra cost of a twin is not a factor...they are the sexiest civil piston aeroplane ever built.
...but really short of living on King Island and flying a lot I cannot see a Baron increasing the safety aspects of my private flying anything like enough to justify the recurrent training and 2xDOCs...after 12000+ ME hrs I have long since lost the thrill of a handfull of throttles.Yes, my brother swapped a Mooney for a B55, and soon got over the "handfull of throttles" when the fuel and maintenance bills rolled in.
Why an E55? Is it the fastest Baron (the smaller airframe with the big engines)? I have flown the B, C, D and E55 - I know the B has the little motors but don't remember the differences between the C, D and E.
R
Last edited by Ratshit; 16th Jan 2007 at 04:35.
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Good
Rat****
It's great that you have made the effort to fly IFR, and a V35 is a great aeroplane to do it in.
I knew a businessman who bought a new seneca who got killed scud running because he did not have a rating. And another who also bought a seneca, who got killed the same way. A builder who owned a Bonanza traded it for a Baron, and was lost when he went scud running in his Baron. He did not have a rating. There was also a doctor who used to fly a turbo mooney home from one of his remote clinics at night. Night flying here on a moonless night is really IF. I used to urge him to get a rating, but he kept saying he did not have the time. Fortunately he stopped flying and sold his aircraft. Another doctor here did the same. They are both still here.
Scud running is a dangerous activity which can usually be avoided if you can go IFR Seems it is better to keep the single, and spend the money on a rating, and recurrent practise and training. You could spend a few grand on a simulator, if our regulator did not make it so complex.
Of course there is some weather that NO-ONE can fly in.
Your friend the instructor who will not have anything to do with the PIFR is doing the industry a dis-service. Many will be scud running unnecessarily. But our "uniquely Australian" thinking tells us that unless it's complex, it's no good.
Like some of those elaborate, roller blind, almost stupid checklists
We need to keep things simple, and sensible.
It's great that you have made the effort to fly IFR, and a V35 is a great aeroplane to do it in.
I knew a businessman who bought a new seneca who got killed scud running because he did not have a rating. And another who also bought a seneca, who got killed the same way. A builder who owned a Bonanza traded it for a Baron, and was lost when he went scud running in his Baron. He did not have a rating. There was also a doctor who used to fly a turbo mooney home from one of his remote clinics at night. Night flying here on a moonless night is really IF. I used to urge him to get a rating, but he kept saying he did not have the time. Fortunately he stopped flying and sold his aircraft. Another doctor here did the same. They are both still here.
Scud running is a dangerous activity which can usually be avoided if you can go IFR Seems it is better to keep the single, and spend the money on a rating, and recurrent practise and training. You could spend a few grand on a simulator, if our regulator did not make it so complex.
Of course there is some weather that NO-ONE can fly in.
Your friend the instructor who will not have anything to do with the PIFR is doing the industry a dis-service. Many will be scud running unnecessarily. But our "uniquely Australian" thinking tells us that unless it's complex, it's no good.
Like some of those elaborate, roller blind, almost stupid checklists
We need to keep things simple, and sensible.
Last edited by bushy; 16th Jan 2007 at 02:06.
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Bushy
I was not disagreeing with the thrust of your post. I too know of several people who had the money to buy the machinery and are no longer with us because they did not take the time and go to the trouble to get appropriate training. Its one of the reasons that referring to the BE35 as the "Fork-tailed Dr Killer" tickles my black humour funny bone (I am a 2 x Dr - not medical), but I have always tried to operate at the highest level professionally in all areas - including flying. Fortunately, I have been exposed to many highly experienced and professional pilots and instructors.
However, I still do not agree with you on the PPIR issue. I think it is just a licence to kill yourself in a different way from scud running. I think if someone wants to fly IFR they should do the CIR, single engine only if that is all that is required. What's the big deal - do the subject, do the training, do the test!
I have been in a number of situations where I would have been in deep doggy doo-doo if I only had some parts of the PPIR or if I had not at least been current enough to pass an IR renewal in the previous 12 mths.
For example, in May last year I departed YBTL for YBRK to visit Beef 2006. Can't remember the details of the weather, but it was pretty fine and dandy with nothing nasty forcast. Getting fuel in YBRK is a pain if you don't have a Shell card so I stopped off in YBMK and topped off my fuel so I could go to Rocky and back to YBTL with my usual reserves. Departed RK in blue sky and south of MK flew over the top of solid cloud about the same time as they started giving Special Weather due to rapid deterioration from MK north. I flew the last 40 min or so in solid cloud, heavy rain and mod turbulance, and broke out on the TL ILS about 400'.
I wondered at the time how someone with part or even all of a PPIR would have gotten on in the same circumstances. I suspect that by the time they realised how unfriendly the weather really was that they would have been fast running out of options.
R
I was not disagreeing with the thrust of your post. I too know of several people who had the money to buy the machinery and are no longer with us because they did not take the time and go to the trouble to get appropriate training. Its one of the reasons that referring to the BE35 as the "Fork-tailed Dr Killer" tickles my black humour funny bone (I am a 2 x Dr - not medical), but I have always tried to operate at the highest level professionally in all areas - including flying. Fortunately, I have been exposed to many highly experienced and professional pilots and instructors.
However, I still do not agree with you on the PPIR issue. I think it is just a licence to kill yourself in a different way from scud running. I think if someone wants to fly IFR they should do the CIR, single engine only if that is all that is required. What's the big deal - do the subject, do the training, do the test!
I have been in a number of situations where I would have been in deep doggy doo-doo if I only had some parts of the PPIR or if I had not at least been current enough to pass an IR renewal in the previous 12 mths.
For example, in May last year I departed YBTL for YBRK to visit Beef 2006. Can't remember the details of the weather, but it was pretty fine and dandy with nothing nasty forcast. Getting fuel in YBRK is a pain if you don't have a Shell card so I stopped off in YBMK and topped off my fuel so I could go to Rocky and back to YBTL with my usual reserves. Departed RK in blue sky and south of MK flew over the top of solid cloud about the same time as they started giving Special Weather due to rapid deterioration from MK north. I flew the last 40 min or so in solid cloud, heavy rain and mod turbulance, and broke out on the TL ILS about 400'.
I wondered at the time how someone with part or even all of a PPIR would have gotten on in the same circumstances. I suspect that by the time they realised how unfriendly the weather really was that they would have been fast running out of options.
R
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Hi Gents
E55 Barons fast, but IMHO the 56TC Baron, takes the cake as the fastest baron i have flown, 380hp per side 252KTAS@6000ft, dont even ask about the FF, but I digress, owned a 1973 V-35B from 1980-87 fitted with Osbourne tip tanks,and most all the speed mods available in the 80's, had a Loran C & Century 3 A/P, (which was the cats meow back then, how did i ever make it anywhere with out GPS/SatNav
, still have my crib logs floating around found it the other day in my oldkit bag along with the Loran freqs and areas of coverage), never worried about the Aft Cg much, (did KIN-YYZ nonstop to visit the inlaws for christmas; sent the wife and kids ahead didn't think they would enjoy 11 1/2 hrs trip,plus had to fly up to the 23rd at work, took off at 530am christmas eve landed at 500 pm in YYZ) in most cases just topped the tanks and made sure it was loaded with cg range, the moment of the fuel in the tips alleviated most of the CG /fuel burn worries. Being overweight doesnt bother me as much as being out of the cg limits.
Flew many wonderful hours in the Bo(sadly the joker who bought her left her out to be blown over in a hurricane
). Loved the Bonanza so much bought a 79 A36 (1987-92) It got tricky in the 35 to get the brood and kit in and out even with the ext baggage door, plus my parents and inlaws had a hard time scaling the wing and getting in to rear seats; well thats the story i sold the wife! 
fitted the A-36 with Osbourne tanks as well and Bendix RDR-1200 radar pod, had no problems flying it up from where we lived in the caribbean, 5-6 hrs over water never bothered me or the family (used Louise Sacchi's book Ocean Flying as a guide).
My eldest occasionally trys to guilt me with the fact i sold the A36 the year he soloed cause "the oldman did want him playing with his toys", not so the the local CAA clown (ex heavy airline goon that knew nothing about GA) caught the Uk CAA bulletin bug and tried to hassle me about overhaul limits on the engine even though i could prove it didn't apply to private aircraft got tired of fighting plus was craving more speed,higher ,faster etc and i continued stepping up to my current RiceRocket in the hangar.
When I do retire from the day job of hard IFR and sell the Hole in my hangar definately going to buy another V-35B, a true a pilots aircraft, hope to keep it till the end of my flying days, where the sons can fight over the old mans toys again!
ill probably fit tanks, v'g's and a good moving map with datalink, but days of flying hard IFR will be over, if it comes to that me and the old Bo will put down and wait it out. maybe ill even get around to flying it all the way down undda to visit old friends, i had always intend to with both Bo's never got around to it, hopefully i will, would like to spend the golden years looking up at the traffic at Fl350 remebering that flying below 5000ft in your own aircraft is one of the true joys of flying.
Somewhere i have the notes on the Cg movement with/without the tanks installed, with 3 blade & 2 blade prop and speed diff between both props, LR cruise at aft cg, flap gap seals and the works, I'll try to find them, Old Mike Smith, Beryl D'Shannon and Norm Colvin got lots of calls & letters from me;tried almost every trick in the book, short of re-engining with a IO550 to get more speed out of the Bo's.
I also recommend if you don't own a copy yet Norm Colvin's Book: Colvin's Corner every Bo & Baron owner should have one, the American Bonanza Society markets it in their montly, still have my copy under lock and key as its known to grow legs in the presence of other mechanics and Bo owners.
E55 Barons fast, but IMHO the 56TC Baron, takes the cake as the fastest baron i have flown, 380hp per side 252KTAS@6000ft, dont even ask about the FF, but I digress, owned a 1973 V-35B from 1980-87 fitted with Osbourne tip tanks,and most all the speed mods available in the 80's, had a Loran C & Century 3 A/P, (which was the cats meow back then, how did i ever make it anywhere with out GPS/SatNav
, still have my crib logs floating around found it the other day in my oldkit bag along with the Loran freqs and areas of coverage), never worried about the Aft Cg much, (did KIN-YYZ nonstop to visit the inlaws for christmas; sent the wife and kids ahead didn't think they would enjoy 11 1/2 hrs trip,plus had to fly up to the 23rd at work, took off at 530am christmas eve landed at 500 pm in YYZ) in most cases just topped the tanks and made sure it was loaded with cg range, the moment of the fuel in the tips alleviated most of the CG /fuel burn worries. Being overweight doesnt bother me as much as being out of the cg limits.Flew many wonderful hours in the Bo(sadly the joker who bought her left her out to be blown over in a hurricane
). Loved the Bonanza so much bought a 79 A36 (1987-92) It got tricky in the 35 to get the brood and kit in and out even with the ext baggage door, plus my parents and inlaws had a hard time scaling the wing and getting in to rear seats; well thats the story i sold the wife! fitted the A-36 with Osbourne tanks as well and Bendix RDR-1200 radar pod, had no problems flying it up from where we lived in the caribbean, 5-6 hrs over water never bothered me or the family (used Louise Sacchi's book Ocean Flying as a guide). My eldest occasionally trys to guilt me with the fact i sold the A36 the year he soloed cause "the oldman did want him playing with his toys"
, not so the the local CAA clown (ex heavy airline goon that knew nothing about GA) caught the Uk CAA bulletin bug and tried to hassle me about overhaul limits on the engine even though i could prove it didn't apply to private aircraft got tired of fighting plus was craving more speed,higher ,faster etc and i continued stepping up to my current RiceRocket in the hangar. When I do retire from the day job of hard IFR and sell the Hole in my hangar
definately going to buy another V-35B, a true a pilots aircraft, hope to keep it till the end of my flying days, where the sons can fight over the old mans toys again! ill probably fit tanks, v'g's and a good moving map with datalink, but days of flying hard IFR will be over, if it comes to that me and the old Bo will put down and wait it out. maybe ill even get around to flying it all the way down undda to visit old friends, i had always intend to with both Bo's never got around to it, hopefully i will, would like to spend the golden years looking up at the traffic at Fl350 remebering that flying below 5000ft in your own aircraft is one of the true joys of flying.Somewhere i have the notes on the Cg movement with/without the tanks installed, with 3 blade & 2 blade prop and speed diff between both props, LR cruise at aft cg, flap gap seals and the works, I'll try to find them, Old Mike Smith, Beryl D'Shannon and Norm Colvin got lots of calls & letters from me;tried almost every trick in the book, short of re-engining with a IO550 to get more speed out of the Bo's.
I also recommend if you don't own a copy yet Norm Colvin's Book: Colvin's Corner every Bo & Baron owner should have one, the American Bonanza Society markets it in their montly, still have my copy under lock and key as its known to grow legs in the presence of other mechanics and Bo owners.
Grandpa Aerotart
RS
The C,D and E are pretty much the same aeroplane...even a lot of the Bs have IO520s these days.
Your approach to flying, without blowing sunshine up your ar$e, is impressive. While I rarely file IFR on long trips in my Bo I do file VFR plans the way we did in the old FS days and fly at levels that make it easy to convert to IFR if the situation dictates...even after 100s of hours of 'scud running' in PNG the thought of doing it in Australia terrifies me...I just don't...ever!
I had never flown single engine IFR until the Bo...and it took some getting used to...and I agree it is mostly psycological...the first time I poked into a line of storms (little ones) just south of YBTL I had my heart a bit in my mouth even after 18 years of being IF rated and having bounced my way through tropical stormy weather numerous times in the SW Pacific and PNG in twins/turboprops etc...but the Bo handled it with applomb..I was very impressed...Bonanzas are really very good in any weather that is sensible to fly in.
I remember coming back from NSW to Redcliffe a few years ago on a dark night and the autopilot died south of Coffs...5 minutes of handflying and the old single pilot habits honed from 6000+ hrs single pilot IFR RPT sans autopilots kicked in and it became fun...despite the light turbulence and driving rain....I felt like a real pilot again for the first time since going to jets with more autopilots than flesh and blood ones and system redundancy up the waazoo. I get a kick out of the automation too but it's a vastly different kick.
Never a truer word was spoke
The C,D and E are pretty much the same aeroplane...even a lot of the Bs have IO520s these days.
Your approach to flying, without blowing sunshine up your ar$e, is impressive. While I rarely file IFR on long trips in my Bo I do file VFR plans the way we did in the old FS days and fly at levels that make it easy to convert to IFR if the situation dictates...even after 100s of hours of 'scud running' in PNG the thought of doing it in Australia terrifies me...I just don't...ever!
I had never flown single engine IFR until the Bo...and it took some getting used to...and I agree it is mostly psycological...the first time I poked into a line of storms (little ones) just south of YBTL I had my heart a bit in my mouth even after 18 years of being IF rated and having bounced my way through tropical stormy weather numerous times in the SW Pacific and PNG in twins/turboprops etc...but the Bo handled it with applomb..I was very impressed...Bonanzas are really very good in any weather that is sensible to fly in.
I remember coming back from NSW to Redcliffe a few years ago on a dark night and the autopilot died south of Coffs...5 minutes of handflying and the old single pilot habits honed from 6000+ hrs single pilot IFR RPT sans autopilots kicked in and it became fun...despite the light turbulence and driving rain....I felt like a real pilot again for the first time since going to jets with more autopilots than flesh and blood ones and system redundancy up the waazoo. I get a kick out of the automation too but it's a vastly different kick.
...would like to spend the golden years looking up at the traffic at Fl350 remebering that flying below 5000ft in your own aircraft is one of the true joys of flying.
Last edited by Chimbu chuckles; 16th Jan 2007 at 05:16.
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CC - To put things into perspective, I am in the very fortunate position that 98% of my flying is personal transportation for work related purposes, and as a result, 98% of the costs (including my "toys") are paid for by work. It is much easier to maintain a high level of proficiency and currency if you are not wearing the costs personally. None-the-less I treat flying as a risk management exercise and spend quite a bit of thinking time on minimising the risks.
Like most, I have done my share of scud running in the past, and I have given myself at least two serious frights. One in NZ when I almost flew myself into a hill while trying to get the guy in the coffin beside me to his funeral, and once in NQ when by pure luck I narrowly missed a Telecom tower.
On the subject of CBs, a Flying Dr pilot I ran into in Coen a couple of years ago told me that if I ever blunder into a CB in Nth Qld, I can reasonably expect to survive after nothing more than a rough ride - unlike in the SE of Qld where there is a good chance they will chew you up and spit you out.
I would like to have a strike-finder in the Bo, but do have poor-man's radar - a CDMA internet connection to the BOM site on my mini-tablet.
R
Like most, I have done my share of scud running in the past, and I have given myself at least two serious frights. One in NZ when I almost flew myself into a hill while trying to get the guy in the coffin beside me to his funeral, and once in NQ when by pure luck I narrowly missed a Telecom tower.
On the subject of CBs, a Flying Dr pilot I ran into in Coen a couple of years ago told me that if I ever blunder into a CB in Nth Qld, I can reasonably expect to survive after nothing more than a rough ride - unlike in the SE of Qld where there is a good chance they will chew you up and spit you out.
I would like to have a strike-finder in the Bo, but do have poor-man's radar - a CDMA internet connection to the BOM site on my mini-tablet.
R
