What’s the cockpit instrumentation experience that you have?

22 Friday Nov 2013

Posted by theflyingengineer in Technical

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Analog, Cessna, Diamond, Experience, Garmin, Glass, Honeywell, Piper, Survey

For an upcoming article, which includes a research study by a pilot from ERAU (Embry Riddle Aeronautical University), and the thoughts of an experienced captain flying the caravans in India, we at The Flying Engineer would like to understand how many of us have a glass experience, and how many analog (traditional) instrumentation exposure, as a pilot. We wish to understand the exposure you had, when undergoing flying training for a CPL.

If you do have airline experience, please limit the responses to your training period only.

Please take a minute to fill up this simple survey. Please make sure your selected choice is honest, as the results gathered here will be displayed for all to see, giving valuable insights.

Usually, pilots from a particular flight school have a single type cockpit experience (example: NFTI, Chimes, GMR-APFT), where they have an all-glass fleet. Pilots from IGRUA, for example, are mixed: some are mostly analog, some have an equal mix, and some are mostly glass experienced.

Punching Through mild Weather in a “chartered” Cessna 172R

30 Saturday Mar 2013

Posted by theflyingengineer in General Aviation Interest

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172R, Cessna

To have an aircraft waiting to pick you at an airport is one thing: yes, it is cool, and sounds like fun. To be in a 4 seat Cessna 172R, struggling to climb with the three souls on board, the luggage, and fuel for a one our trip, is another.

It’s a light aircraft, but it’s a good one. With the high wing, it’s pretty stable. But when the aircraft is heavy, the engines screaming at close to full power to squeeze what was barely a climb at 4000ft, dark clouds all around, dropping visibility (visibility was still good, though), an upright seat to accommodate my over sized luggage, and gusts that bump you around once in a while, it isn’t really the comfort you’d expect to enjoy.

It wasn’t bad, it was good. We finally “cruised” (read: bumped around) at 7500ft. It just is the way in which you get thrown around that sometimes makes you wonder if you’ll ever reach your near term destination. This was my longest flight ever on a single engine aircraft. I had to do it someday. And I would gladly do it again and again!

Chimes Aviation Academy

07 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by theflyingengineer in General Aviation Interest

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

172, Academy, Aviation, CAA, Cessna, Chimes, CPL, Flight, Honeywell, IV, Piper, PPl, Recency, School, Seneca

A Flight Instructor entering the twin engine Piper Seneca IV

A Flight Instructor entering the Piper Seneca IV, a twin engine.

I am at Chimes Aviation Academy, (Dhana, Madhya Pradesh; ICAO: VA1J) and the weather, skies, airplanes and people have made possible some very beautiful photographs. Here are a few shots, for your enjoyment!

Chimes Aviation Academy boasts off the largest G1000 equipped Cessna 172R fleet in the country (Fleet: 7 Cessna 172R + 1 Piper Seneca IV), as well as having the distinction of being the flight school where aerospace-major Honeywell sends its engineers for flying training, for a Private Pilot’s License.