Tag Archives: Textron

What about wheel pants?

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Interesting question about wheel pants.

wheel pants

The question came up about buying an aircraft that doesn’t have wheel pants (fairings). Is it really worth the money just to make it look better? Or is there more value to fairings than just looks.

My thoughts, of course, it also depends on the aircraft.

Wheel fairings or wheel pants do more than just look good. But some aircraft are designed with a landing gear that doesn’t support wheel fairing (trailing link gear like the Beechcraft  Sundowner).

Fairings can also increase the cruise and flight performance of an aircraft.  Although it is usually only one or two knots.  While that is not much of a speed increase, any boost in cruise speed is better than nothing.

Wheel fairings can also protect the aircraft from being damaged from inadvertent rocks being thrown against the wings, cabin or tail surfaces.  If you are flying from dry smooth or  paved runways its probably a good thing to have fairings.  If you are flying from dirt mud snow or worse, leave the fairings in the hanger.   Same goes for unimproved strips.  Rough terrain will just break the fairings into pieces.

Even though, if you think about it,  this is probably where you need them the most. Because they also have a few drawbacks like they can be clogged with rocks, snow and mud.  And they can be damaged by rocks and debris picked up on the runways.

Oh, and fairings get in the way when airing up those low tires and fixing a flat.

And those Cessna nose wheel shimmies, that can destroy a wheel fairing.

I guess it really comes down to the aircraft, how you are using it and where you are going.

But personally, I like the looks of most aircraft when they have wheel fairings.

Airshow season is starting!

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Airshow Season – Sun N Fun and AirVenture

airshow season

Airshow season is my a favorite time of year.  I use Sun N Fun as my kick off show usually. It is like they say, the “Spring break for pilots”.  And i usually write about attending events like Sun N Fun and AirVenture for the Cessna Owners and Piper Owners Magazines.  So if you want more details join those two groups and you can get access to the articles.  I have also put up a short video here about Airshows.

Anyway, I usually see four major issues which I have noted below (which were in the Cessna and Piper article!  These are my opinion only, that I have formed from years of attending airshows and insurance.

Airshow-itus – Getting all excited and making high performance take offs and landing or a fly-by that end up in a mishap. There is something about being at an airshow or a fly-in that gets to a pilot and make them want to impress others. I do believe that being a pilot is a great achievement. Its also a great experience and it is also a huge ego boost. But remember the line from Top Gun, “Your egos writing checks your body can’t cash”, its amazing how many people try to “cash” at an airshow.

Volunteerisms – most events, shows, fly-ins are manned by volunteers.  Volunteers make the shows go around. And they are trying to do their best even if they don’t quite no what they are doing. But watch out when they are directing you to park, you are still the pilot and need to have the final decision. Many a pilot has followed the direction of the vested flag bearing volunteer and needed up with a collapsed nose gear or prop strike.  They directed, you pay.

Weather – is one of those things that change and at a show like Sun N Fun it can be nice this morning and storming this afternoon, just like AirVenture. Be prepared for weather changes. That includes tie downs and control locks. And if you are tenting… well, maybe you can sleep in the plane?

General population – The regulars, the muggles, whatever people call the “non-pilots”.  I know that kind of sounds bad.  But one thing about big airshows, especially if the show has a military team (Blue Angles, Thunderbird’s etc.)  they draw big crowds. And not all those people are pilots or owners. Many are just aviation enthusiast that like watching “Top Gun” movies and dog fighting on their simulators. That’s okay, a show needs to make money and pilots are small numbers compared to the general public.  What that does mean is a lot of the attendees are people that do not know about airplanes and what’s acceptable behavior around aircraft.  So watch out for people walking into props, bumping heads on flaps or putting kids on wings. Be alert to those around you!

I also put together a few Airshow season tips that I have heard from customers, friends and my own experiences.

  1. Check the weather forecast and pack accordingly (but you can always buy stuff if needed)
  2. Look at the events website and see what’s happened in past years and talk to past attendees about what to expect
  3. Make sure you have tie downs appropriate for the event and the size of your aircraft
  4. Check your aviation insurance and make sure it has the appropriate coverage use of your plane at the event. If you need additional insureds and a Certificate of Insurance start early. Don’t wait until the last minute and not get a chance to display your airplane
  5. Know the navigation, TFR’s and of course the arrival and departure procedures
  6. Need a rental car? Reserve ahead.
  7. Make sure you have more than one credit card and extra cash. One thing about airshows, they always cost money. One of the first things in my pre-flight is checking my wallet for credit cards and licenses.
  8. If you plan on shopping for aircraft supplies for the year, make sure your weight and balance will handle the return trip. But, don’t worry, you can always send your passengers home on the airlines if needed.

Don’t forget to look me up at Sun N Fun

sunnfun

And AirVenture

Time to buy an airplane?

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Buy an airplane?

If you are thinking you might buy an airplane, this may be a good time to get serious. Besides the fact that spring always seems to bring out more buyers it also seems like the market is “right” for buying an airplane. By “right” it appears that in today’s economy you can buy some airplane models and probably be able maintain their value or even make a few bucks over the next couple of years. I’m not saying buy new, but good used  popular models.

Anyway, I have been involved in the aviation market for a number of years. I can remember when buying an aircraft (especially a Cessna 172 or Cherokee Archer etc.) was almost a guarantee to make money. Used airplane prices were always going up.  Of course, there were years of high gas prices or high interest rates which had major impact on prices. And then the crash in the in the 2006 – 2007 area where prices went lower than 1995…

But, recently it looks good again.  I was researching aircraft prices for a recent Cessna Owners and Piper Owners Magazines article where I was discussing how to value your aircraft.  Personally, I like to use VREF as a pricing guide and included a recent graph in my story of the light single engine market prices.  See the graph below.

Take a look at the 3rd quarter of 2016. The single engine market started an uphill run and doesn’t look like it will slow down. It looks like if the economy keeps up the momentum, maybe we can get back to the peak prices we had back in 2000 – 2001.

buy an airplane

Of course don’t forget to get an insurance quote from SkySmith for the airplane you are thinking about buying! Click here to get a quote!