This is something I see fairly regularly, albeit more commonly in reference to more basic and affordable types. A prospective buyer polls a general audience for specific advice about a major purchase, and the replies are both predictable and suspect. All too common is the warning that parts for anything other than Cessna, Piper, or Beechcraft are impossible to find. While certain aircraft (and engines) do indeed present some difficulty with regard to parts availability, the vast majority are entirely possible to own and operate without too much trouble.

There are far better ways to become informed about a given aircraft type, and my favorite, by far, is type clubs.

• READ MORE: Going to the Birds, And How Not To

For a nominal fee, one can purchase an annual membership to a type club and instantly gain access to a treasure trove of virtually any mass-produced type out there. Good clubs offer online libraries chock full of scanned documents, manuals, diagrams, and literature. Additionally, many club websites are home to online forums with comprehensive prepurchase inspection checklists, airworthiness directive (AD) lists, and firsthand knowledge crowdsourced from current and former owners. Best of all, membership is almost always made available to shoppers who aren’t yet owners, offering an extremely affordable education about a type under consideration. 

As someone who creates spreadsheets and compiles detailed documentation for purchases as minor as a toaster, I joined The International Cessna 170 Association early in my shopping process, years before actually purchasing one. I spent hours soaking up as much info as I could about the type. Of particular note was a pinned thread in its forum that listed approximately 30-40 items to address immediately upon purchasing a 170. The list was detailed, and the reasoning behind each item was provided.

When I finally bought a 170 and dropped it off for its first annual inspection, I presented that list to my mechanic. Before long, he completed approximately a dozen various mods, many of which I’d never have discovered without entering the 170 community. I learned that the parking brake has a history of becoming partially engaged after a rudder pedal is pushed to the stop during crosswind landings or taxiing, and we followed the advice to disconnect it entirely. We proactively replaced the tailwheel leaf springs and old copper oil pressure gauge lines. I also had him perform multiple specific inspections that weren’t called out in any manufacturer materials.

• READ MORE: When It’s Better to Have It and Not Need It

Without question, my $45 annual membership had just paid for itself, and I hadn’t even tapped into any of the scanned documentation. Neither had I posted many of my own questions in the forum or engaged with any of the all-knowing 170 owners and their decades of experience maintaining the type. With such informed and helpful people at my disposal, happy to help tackle problems and lend their expertise, this membership is one that I don’t think twice about renewing.

Type clubs like this are also an excellent source of events. Many hold refresher and currency clinics aimed at sharpening the skills of the owner group as a whole. Some even negotiate special rates with insurance companies for owners who have demonstrated an ongoing effort to undergo recurrent training. And even if a club hasn’t arranged for formal discounts, I’ve spoken with one insurance broker who acts as an owner advocate, presenting underwriters with proof of such training and negotiating lower rates as a result.

Other clubs do an excellent job with social events. At face value, many of them appear to be little more than excuses to devour vast amounts of cheeseburgers and ice cream. But if such temptations are what it takes to motivate owners to preflight their airplanes and get into the air regularly, well, that’s good for airplane and pilot alike.

It’s possible rare types benefit the most from a vibrant, active type club or owner’s association. The Meyers Aircraft Owners Association is a textbook example. With a small fleet size to begin with, airframe parts can occasionally become difficult to source. So when the original factory jigs and tooling were located by a Meyers owner, he purchased everything and stored it all in a secure location for preservation. Due to his efforts, the entire Meyers community will be able to source brand-new airframe parts if and when they are required. 

• READ MORE: 5 Things I Wish I Had Known Before Buying My First Airplane

To determine whether your type has a corresponding club, simply Google your aircraft  along with the words “club” or “association,” and you’ll likely find any that exist. Additionally, the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association maintains an excellent list of type clubs.

Finally, if your time and workload permit, consider getting involved and giving back to your community of owners. Help to organize a fly-out or two during the summer. Contribute some of your newfound knowledge in the forums. And lend a helping hand to others who are navigating the steep learning curve of ownership for the first time. 

The post Navigating the Aircraft Ownership Learning Curve Through Type Clubs appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The term was coined by a co-worker during the first week of August to describe the private pilot candidates who were running out of time to complete their private pilot certificates before they headed back to high school or college in pursuit of nonaviation degrees. The message was that once the school year began they would not have the time or opportunity to complete their training. They had to be done, lest they turn into a pumpkin à la Cinderella’s coach.

If this describes your situation, know you are not alone. Although aviation may take a back seat for a while, with a little bit of planning and creativity, you can protect that hard-earned knowledge and, to some extent, those flying skills as you pursue a nonaviation education because continuing flight training just isn’t an option at this time.

FLYING has a few suggestions to help you hang on to that aviation knowledge until the next time you can get into the air. And these tips hold true for anyone facing a pause in flying—not just students.

Join or start an aviation club at school

Many high schools and colleges have clubs already. They are a place to talk about aviation with like-minded souls. Sometimes, when they are paired with engineering or computer gaming clubs, you can take on projects like building a cockpit-style flight simulator gaming console.

While it’s not a way to build hours toward certification, flying the device can help keep procedures sharp and keep you thinking about aviation.

Sign up for the FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam)

This doesn’t cost anything and can be tailored to your location. You will be notified by email of upcoming FAASTeam events in the form of seminars and webinars. The FAASTeam also offers online courses covering everything from aviation maintenance to hot topics such as avoiding runway incursions. A great many of the activities can be completed for credit in the FAA’s WINGS program, which is designed to encourage and reward pilots who seek to make flying safer by expanding their knowledge and skills.

Practice flight planning

The knowledge you gained in ground school is a perishable commodity—especially the ability to plan a flight by hand. Make a list of places you want to fly to and plot the trips on paper. That’s right—paper. You may be completely electronic in the cockpit, but for this exercise, go old school using a paper sectional, navigation log, and plotter. There is something about looking at the sectional and actually drawing the course line on it and using the plotter to determine the true course that keeps the rust away.

The true course, distances, and altitudes required to clear terrain won’t change. You can use these “navlogs” in the future, so put them in a folder for safe keeping. When you return to flying, you just need to drop in the winds, do the aircraft performance calculations, and off you go. Every now and then, plan one with the weather available just to make sure you can still determine aircraft performance and fuel burn.

Practice decoding weather

It’s easy to pull up a weather briefing and hit the “decode” button. Be sure you can take weather in the raw format and still process it. This is akin to being able to do basic math with a pencil and paper rather than a calculator. Do this enough, and you may become the meteorologist for your social circle.

• READ MORE: Decoding the Weather

Practice weight and balance and performance calculations

You know you’re supposed to do these calculations before every flight, but sometimes get-in-the-air-itis robs you of your sanity. It is very easy to forget how to do these things, so make yourself practice. Get your hands on a POH for the airplane you trained in and, every now and then, review the process and graphs if applicable to make sure you can still read them.

Pro tip: You may find the application of flight planning, weather assessment, weight and balance, and aircraft performance calculations make for easy topics if you are called upon to demonstrate the use of math or give a speech about a technical skill.

Keep in touch with the flight school

If able, make plans to fly when you are on holiday breaks and—here is the most important part—fly with a plan. If you soloed, but it has been months since you touched the controls of the airplane, takeoffs and landings to regain currency may be a good use of your time. Keep in mind it may be that your CFI has moved on to another job (read that to the airlines), so be flexible and prepared to fly with someone else.

Determine what you need to finish

Before you take your break, sit down with a CFI and go through your logbook line by line to see what has been done and needs to be done under FAR 61.109 in order to qualify for the check ride. Make a list and keep it in the logbook for quick reference. Do you need another 1.2 hours of flight solely by instruments? Another dual cross-country or night flight?

When you return to flying, advocate for yourself to fulfill these requirements. It is distressing that some learners think they have to start all over again, which usually isn’t true but may be an attempt by the flight school to pad the bill. The first flight after the break should be an evaluation flight, similar to a stage exam. This will allow the CFI to see where your skill level is and what you need to work on.

Be realistic about your expectations

If you have not flown in a while, expect some rust on both your knowledge and skills. If you are post-solo and that endorsement has run out or was from a different CFI under Part 61, don’t expect the new instructor to automatically grant solo privileges. The new CFI will likely run you through the tasks of FAR 61.87 to make sure you have the appropriate skills for the task, and there will be another pre-solo exam.

Keep track of your logbook

You don’t want to have to pay for your hours twice. Protect your logbook, making sure the instructor endorses what needs to be and signs off on the appropriate lessons. There are times when a CFI is in a hurry and says something to the effect of, “You fill it out. I’ll sign it next time,” and then disappears. Try not to let this happen.

• READ MORE: Guard Your Logbook

This column first appeared in the October 2023/Issue 942 of FLYING’s print edition.

The post When You Go Back to Flight School, Don’t Lose What You’ve Learned appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

As long and as frustrating as the hunt for the perfect airplane can be, it’s important to remain disciplined. On the one hand, it would be a mistake to remain a perpetual shopper, endlessly waiting for the perfect airplane to appear at the perfect price. But on the other hand, one must exercise patience to ensure their first airplane purchase is smart.

Among all the first-time buying advice I see and hear, many of the same items pop up regularly. Ensure the airplane doesn’t have a corrosion problem. Ensure the engine has been operated somewhat regularly and has not been sitting. Ensure the logs are complete, with no surprises. Obtain a thorough pre-purchase inspection from someone intimately familiar with the type. It’s all great advice that should certainly be followed.

But how can one look beyond the usual pre-purchase checklist and peer into a figurative crystal ball to predict what future maladies may surface? How can one anticipate and prepare for issues that might not reveal themselves for another two years…or five? To gain this level of knowledge, one must become something of an amateur detective. Fortunately, doing so is both simple and fun.

The easiest way is to join an airplane’s type club and engage with current owners. A phone call here or an email there can easily evolve into an enjoyable, hour-long micro-education about an aircraft type, providing a thorough understanding of the concerns and intricacies specific to it. In a matter of hours, one can learn from the expensive and extensive mistakes of others, all for an annual membership fee that’s typically around $50. That’s less than dinner for two at Olive Garden.

Over the years, I’ve only ever met one airplane owner that wasn’t completely enthusiastic about educating me about his airplane. It wasn’t entirely his fault, however, considering I ignored multiple “No Trespassing” signs, proceeded to trespass upon his property, and knocked on his back door on an otherwise peaceful Sunday afternoon. He was a good sport, however, and I received none of the gunshot wounds promised by the aforementioned signs.

Virtually every other airplane owner will happily indulge a prospective owner-to-be in the hopes of bringing them into the fold. While investigating the Beechcraft Musketeer, for example, I learned that many are equipped with the Continental IO-346. This is widely regarded as a great engine, but as it was only ever produced for the Musketeer, it is an orphan engine. Parts are extraordinarily difficult to source, and further investigation revealed that multiple engine shops simply refuse to work on them.

More than one owner with whom I spoke expressed regret that they hadn’t investigated this concern more thoroughly. While they love their engine and airplane, they dread the day when they are forced to find parts and maintenance for major work. In the meantime, they actively scour eBay, Craigslist, and other sources to proactively find and stockpile parts.

Similarly, researching the Mooney M20 series for a recent installment of Air Compare (coming up in FLYING’s April 2023 print edition) taught me things I would never have learned without picking up the phone and engaging with current owners. For this particular article, I was comparing ownership of the M20 with the Grumman AA-5 series. I knew going into it that the retractable-gear Mooney was more expensive to insure than the fixed-gear Grumman, but I vastly underestimated just how much more expensive it is. 

After interviewing several owners of each type and learning how much they pay every year for insurance, I reached out to a broker to conduct a theoretical apples-to-apples comparison. I asked the broker to create quotes for a 40-year-old private pilot with no instrument rating, 250 hours total time, and 5 hours in type. For a Grumman and a Mooney with the same horsepower and hull value, that pilot could expect to pay a premium of $341 per month to insure the Mooney. Adding an instrument rating, total time, and time in type still resulted in an additional premium of more than $200 per month above the cost to own a Grumman AA-5 series.

That’s a significant expense that can easily remain hidden until after the purchase, particularly if the first-time buyer simply accepts that retractable-gear airplanes are generally more expensive to insure without digging deeper for specific numbers. Going into it with a nebulous idea that some increased expense will be there starts to prepare a prospective buyer, but conducting these sorts of investigations fully prepares them.

As more airplanes emerge from their hangars and as more small airports resume hosting their wonderful Saturday pancake breakfast fly-ins, a wise buyer will take just a bit more time to play detective. This way, they will learn the hard lessons as well as the success stories experienced by those whose footsteps they follow.

The post Looking Beyond a Pre-Purchase Checklist appeared first on FLYING Magazine.