Aero-Tips!

A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of "there are no old, bold pilots.")

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Aero-Tips 09.21.06

Yesterday I wrote about avoiding an airspace bust while instructing in a B36TC over Muncie, IN. Same weekend, different pilot, different B36TC, while southeast of the airport outbound on the ILS 32 approach we heard this exchange:

"Bonanza 12345, Muncie Tower, be advised we have a large white blimp about one mile from the airport on the northwest side, appears to be traveling south and we're not talking to him."

In our procedure turn I could not see the blimp behind us. But we were about eight miles southeast of the field, so there was no conflict. And once we turned around, how could I avoid seeing a big white blimp?

Muncie tower continued to make efforts to contact the blimp. Finally a call came through: "Sorry about that, Muncie," the blimp pilot said. "We're instructing out here and I didn't know where we were." He did not include his aircraft's registration number.

About that time we reached a point inbound in the practice approach we'd been asked to report passing. I was tempted to say something like "Bonanza 12345 out here instructing, and I know we're precisely at Ball inbound." But I was nice and let my student make the simple call of his N-number and "Ball inbound."

The tower controller very patiently, but with an edge in his voice, "thanked" the blimp pilot for "finally" checking in. He asked if he should just call the flight "XXX Blimp" (I won't say the sponsor's name here) or if the craft had an N-number; its pilot replied he'd prefer just XXX Blimp.

Makes it harder for the controller to write him up, I guess.

We found (and reported) the Missed Approach Point and began the "fly away" maneuver, the blimp now southwest of the airport. Tower called the blimp pilot back and asked if he wanted handed off to Anderson Tower, because he was about to penetrate its airspace. The blimp instructor took the handoff and presumably called Anderson.

A key role of the flight instructor is safety and position awareness. You have to be an effective teacher in the cockpit, but knowing where you are and what you're doing has to come first.

Aero-tip of the day: Strive for a level of position awareness that promotes safety while you are distracted with cockpit chores.

FMI: Aero-Tips