DIRECTORS
Pres	Mark Hervan
VP	John Blosser
Sec	Alan Klug
Treas	Joe Leonard
Admn	Doug Weston
Mem	Mark Goodman
Oper	Ron Ushock
Trng	John Vahey
At Lrg	Michael Geiger

MEETINGS

Board of Directors meetings will be held on the second Tuesday of the month at the GACE office, at 7:15 PM. All members are welcome, however, please check with the president first in order to get on the agenda. General Membership meetings are on the fourth Monday of the month at 7:00PM. Members and guests are welcome. There is no membership meeting in August.

THE LEFT SEAT

by Mark Hervan

There has been some grumbling about plane washes on the weekends and how the washes limit people from using the aircraft for trips. I have gone over this problem time and time again

and I always come back with the fact that cleaning the aircraft is part of maintenance and upkeep and must be done. Also, these gatherings bring our membership together more so than our general membership meetings.

I want to keep the washes on the weekends. If need be, the pilot wishing to use an aircraft on the day of the plane wash may do so as long as they get prior approval from the Board AND makes arrangements to personally clean the aircraft.

If you would like you can also come early the day of the wash before the scheduled time and wash the plane. We have quite a few early birds in the club who I’m sure would be on hand to help out.

Just a reminder to the new members and your sponsors; the Board of Directors will be noting your participation at the club for washes, attending meetings and generally helping out. This is not an FBO, and we need members to volunteer to keep the club running. Please come down and support your club. Happy Flying!

SECRETARY’S CORNER

by Al Klug

I received a letter from GACE member Rodney Tibbetts about a trip he made in June. He and a friend named Hank flew Hank's Cessna 210 to one of the British Virgin Islands named Anegada, because of an article he read in AOPA Pilot. The island is supposedly a good dive spot. Before departing Key West, they took a ditch and rescue course at the Holiday Inn.(Did you know that it is next to impossible to get into a rubber raft alone?) The boys left Fla. on an instrument flight plan. Besides IFR charts, and although they had 2 GPS's on board, (1 certified) they still used 5 WAC charts, a VFR terminal chart for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and a Dept. of Defense chart L5 (enroute low altitude Caribbean and South America.)

Once outside US airspace, airways are no longer called Victor, but A for Amber, BR for Bahamian Routing, etc. Altitudes are all given as flight levels. For example, cleared to 3000' would be given as cleared to flight level 030. Part of the trip is out over open waters about 400 miles from nowhere. But, you can alter course by about 40 miles and although still over open water, fly over fishing banks with plenty of boats around. Gives you a little added sense of security. One leg saw them lose radio communications, but it must have been expected. They had been advised to communicate via overhead airline flights, which they did.

Besides the actual flight planning, other items of interest such as bringing bottled water, the fact that cell phones don't generally work outside the US but could be activated on a daily basis and remembering to give customs advance notice.

The boys completed the trip,(about 4000 miles) made 4 dives and returned home. Next trip for them is Alaska, end of July. I'll read the full text of Rod's letter at the next General Membership Meeting. Six pages is a little long for this column. Of course, Rod, if you would like to give the members a personal rundown of your trips, that would be even better. One other thing to keep in mind Rod, now that I'm retired, with plenty of time available-------------------.

Also, though it seems insignificant, I must comment about my own recent trip. A few months ago, I wrote about Luray Caverns because members had told me about it. My wife and I made that trip this month and it really was great. Direct KLNS, KMRB, W45. Avoided all class B airspace except NY. From Martinsburg to W45, you have the Shenandoah Mountains on your right, the Massanutten Mts. on your left and the Shenandoah River underneath. Tach time for 6PN was exactly 2 hours each way. Gas is available at $2.49 and transportation to the caverns is free. I'd like to return to try the white water rafting on the Shenandoah River.

Rod, let me hear about the Alaskan trip. And, other members wishing to share their trips with the club, please write me in care of the club or at my home address. 2275 Motor Pkwy, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779.

SAFETY CORNER

by John Vahey CFI-AI

Last month I solicited the membership for ideas for future safety articles. This month’s column is in response to a member request.

Emergency Procedures

The final authority as to the emergency procedures (EPs) for a particular aircraft is the Aircraft Flight Manual (AFM). EPs can be broken down into two types: those that must be performed from memory, and those that can be accomplished with reference to a checklist. For example, fires and engine failures during takeoff must be dealt with immediately and actions must be committed to memory. Other system failures, such as vacuum, electrical, or gear extension failures may be dealt with by reference to an Emergency Procedure Checklist.

Pre-plan and Brief for Emergencies

As you review your departure instructions, plan a spot on the runway that you will definitely be off by or you will abort the takeoff. Make sure this spot allows time for you to brake to a stop. In multiengine aircraft, the AFM may include an accelerate-stop distance chart. You may have to improvise, but allow plenty of margin for error in your estimation of distances. Also, include a review of what you will do if the engine fails in each of these phases: on the runway, after liftoff with runway remaining, after liftoff with no runway remaining (land straight ahead) and after passing through about 600 AGL when a turn back to the airport may be possible.

Aviate, Navigate, Communicate

In any emergency, these are the general tasks that must be performed,

in order of precedence. For example - you have an engine failure inflight.

Aviate - fly the airplane first. Trim for best glide speed (you have that committed to memory, right? I have to review the V-speeds before every flight because I fly five different types of aircraft on a daily basis) I have V-speeds on my checklist for each aircraft.

Navigate - look for an emergency landing field and head for it. You’ve been noting potential landing areas as your flight progressed, haven’t you? Remember the sod farm you just passed when all you see is forest and houses over the nose? The best landing field could be behind you, but you won’t know that unless you made note of it as it was over the nose. Plan for the worst - alter your flight path if it takes you over inhospitable terrain, or increase your cruise altitude.

Communicate - if you are talking to ATC, great. Otherwise, it’s back to the last frequency you were on (if it is still in range) or over to 121.5. Squawk 7700. Give your position, type aircraft, color of aircraft, number on board, and your intentions. You do know your precise position, don’t you? Now is not the time to be whipping out sectionals, tuning VORs and triangulating your position.

Once you have taken care of the basics, look to find the cause of the engine failure. If you have experienced a catastrophic failure (oil on the windscreen, engine parts departing the aircraft, extreme vibration, etc) secure the engine. If the cause it not obvious, look for it. Have a flow pattern memorized. In the 172, I teach a T-pattern, starting at the floor mounted fuel selector and moving methodically back to the primer pump.

Fuel selector - both

One tank may be dry, or its fuel line blocked. The switch may have been moved inadvertently by the pilot or a passenger

Trim - Best glide

Get rid of the control pressures you are holding to cut down on your workload. Let the plane fly itself while you diagnose the problem

Mixture - Full Rich

You may need to play with the mixture for a restart, at high altitudes a leaner mixture is best. The mixture may have been pulled inadvertently by a student, pilot or passenger. Identify each control

visually and physically before any adjustment

Throttle - check position

Carb heat - on

Induction system icing is a possible cause. Get this on before the exhaust cools too much and it becomes ineffective at eliminating ice. If carb ice is the cause, the engine may run rougher as it ingests the water produced by the melting carb ice - this should clear up quickly.

Magnetos - Cycle L, R, both

A bad mag, especially one that has slipped position and therefore lost its timing, may kill an engine or cause rough running by prematurely igniting the fuel/air mixture

Primer - in and locked

An unlocked primer may dribble fuel into the engine, overenrichening the mixture and causing rough running or engine stoppage.

In most cases the engine will continue to windmill, and eliminating the cause of the engine failure will cause it to come back to life. If the engine does stop, you’ll need to use the starter to attempt a restart. If the restart is unsuccessful, secure the engine and aircraft systems. Brief your passengers on emergency landing procedures, and try to fly a normal, slightly higher and tighter pattern over you landing spot, ending with a final approach into the wind. Before touchdown, secure fuel and electrical systems and unlatch the doors.

Keep the EP checklist readily available in flight. If necessary, have

a passenger read you the steps from the checklist. Review the systems and EPs for each aircraft you fly. The more you know about how they work, the more intelligently and calmly you will be able to deal with inflight emergencies.

Still looking for suggestions for next month!

PLANE WASH

The plane wash of July 21 went great. Again, the participation of the membership in these events is outstanding. The next wash is August 25 at 9:30. Looking forward to seeing everyone there.

The attendees for this month were: Ron, Stephanie, & Michael Ushock, Mark & Matthew Hervan, Adam Molny, Bob Van Sise, Doug & Matthew Weston, George Werner, Bill Johnson, John Costello, John Koch, Charlie Raymond, Joe, Jonathan, & Joey Leonard, Mike, D.J. & Jamie Shapiro, John, Delia & Ryan Vahey, James, Shelby, Justin, & Drew Weisberg, Dan Bednartz, Bernie Davidson, and Karen Celella.

Later that day, Al Klug brought 6PN back from a trip and he and his wife washed that plane.

GACE NOTES

Just a reminder, please make your sure that after you refuel at the self-serve pump, you write down the amount of fuel pumped on the billing slip.

Anyone passing the office on Tuesday may have seen some future flyers of GACE policing the grounds. Emily & Matthew Hervan cleaned the grounds around the planes. They filled three bags full of garbage. Thanks kids.

GACE INSTRUCTORS
John Brook
Rich Clinton
Bernie Davidson
Dave Ferrara
Frank Hayes
Bob Klemfus
Roy Matthews
Bill Rudock
John Vahey
Bob Van Sise
James Weisberg