Salt Lake City Department of Airports

SALT LAKE CITY DEPARTMENT OF AIRPORTS GENERAL AVIATION NEWS VOL. 12, ISSUE 3 MARCH 2004

ANGEL FLIGHT GIVES HOPE WINGS

Angel Flight is a national network of private pilots who volunteer to provide free non- emergency air transportation for patients whose health mandates long distance travel to and from medical facilities. Salt Lake City International Airport is one of the airports in the organization’s Angel Flight West division that many pilots use to perform this important community service. The Utah Angel Flight Wing flew 100 missions in 2003.

Requests for Angel Flight missions come mostly from hospital social workers or case managers, physicians’ offices, and social service agencies. For almost two decades, Angel Flight West has provided this service to individuals and healthcare facilities throughout the region. During that time, they have flown more than 10,000 missions. They have assisted the American Cancer Society, the National Kidney Foundation, Shriners Hospitals, the Inland Eye Bank, Indian Health Services, UCLA Medical Center, Stanford Medical Center, the National Rural Health Association, and most other regional and national healthcare non-profit organizations and their patients.

Angel Flight arranges flights for patients that are medically stable, ambulatory, and capable of boarding small, private aircraft. They must be capable of sitting upright for the duration of the flight and able to fly in unpressurized aircraft. The missions are generally practical within a 1,000-mile range of the starting point. Angel Flight’s National Patient Travel Center may also be able to provide low-fare or free commercial flying options for patients needing to fly longer distances. Angel Flight pilots may also accept missions for human organ transfers or other compelling human needs.

Angel Flight is recruiting pilots as well as non-pilot volunteers to carry out these missions. For more information, to volunteer, or to receive this service, call the Angel Flight West office at 1-888-426-2643, visit their website at: www.angelflight.org or send e-mail to: [email protected]. Angel Flight staff and volunteers are available for on-site presentations regarding the service they offer.

SLCIA TAXIWAY KILO UNDER POSITIVE ATC CONTROL

Previously, due to limited visibility, the tower would not provide Airport Traffic Control (ATC) service to aircraft on taxiway Kilo. Effective 2 February 2004, taxiway Kilo is under positive control by SLC ATCT operating on ground control frequency 121.9 with the following cautions and procedures: 1. Due to the distance from the control tower to taxiway Kilo and the connecting ramp areas, SLC ATC is unable to visually discern aircraft/vehicular traffic on taxiway Kilo. Airmen using taxiway Kilo, use caution for other aircraft/vehicular traffic operating on taxiway Kilo and adjoining ramp areas. 2. “Apron Location Points” have been painted on the east ramp. These painted apron markings consist of white numbers within blue boxes. Apron location points may also be referred to as “spots.” Airmen taxiing from east ramp areas, contact Ground Control on frequency 121.9 at any of the numbered Apron Location Points (spots). Blue Spots are numbered 34 through 49 beginning at the south end of the airport. 3. “Geographic Position Markings” (pink spots) have been painted on taxiway Kilo and consist of black numbers within pink circles with white borders. Pink Spots are numbered 50 through 59 beginning at the south end of the airport. Pink Spots may be used by ATC personnel to monitor the geographic position of aircraft/vehicular traffic on east side movement areas.

SPRING CONSTRUCTION AT SLCDA AIRPORTS

Tooele Valley Airport-- Construction of a taxi lane proceeding south off of the Avgas and Skydive ramp, will commence this Spring as soon as the surface water retreats and the ground is hospitable. Several private individuals have expressed their desire to build hangars on the new taxi lane this summer.

TVY AWOS – The AWOS at TVY activation is still progressing on schedule. Construction is complete, the phone line has been pulled, burn-in and testing have been scheduled, FCC licensing has been obtained, maintenance training has been scheduled, and FAA inspections will soon follow. If things stay on schedule, the TVY AWOS may be operational and fully certified by 15 March 2004.

SLCIA East Side -- Construction season begins this April on the East side at SLCDA. We will be removing and replacing asphalt around virtually all of the GA and corporate hangars. Commencing near the end of April we intend to repave areas around rows 4 through 9. We will provide tie-down space on rows 13 and 14 during construction around rows 4 –12. As the time nears and more specific information becomes available, we will provide best-estimate timetables and options in billings, flyers, posters and letters.

WHO CAN YOU CALL IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM For GA operational, facilities maintenance, aviation, airfield and SLC Title 16 questions call: Steve Jackson, General Aviation Manager, 647-5532 or e-mail at [email protected]. For hangar lease and repair questions call: Johnathan Liddle, Properties Management Specialist, at 575-2894 or e-mail at [email protected]. For aviation security questions call: Connie Proctor at 575-2401. For gate access problems call: Airport Control Center at 575-2401. For emergencies call: at SLCIA, 575-2405 at TVY or U42, 911 then 575-2405 For common General Aviation questions call the GA Hotline: 575-2443

WATCH OUT FOR WINTER… IT’S NOT GONE YET

For some of us, winter is a time of snow, ice, bitter cold, and other assorted bad weather. We regularly experience blue-sky-see-forever clear days that tantalize even the most recalcitrant pilots to fly away winter boredom. However, weather being what it is here in Utah, a beautiful, clear day can quickly change to cloudy skies followed closely by snow flurries and low visibility.

A reduction in visibility can happen rapidly or it can happen slowly and insidiously. A rapid reduction is visibility can usually be handled by executing a l80-degree turn to better weather. Slowly deteriorating visibility is the most hazardous. Thinking that visibility will improve as the flight progresses, a pilot may continue to fly on toward the intended destination. Expecting to see an improvement, a pilot may continue until all hope of a course reversal is lost.

Flight into low visibility often results in a Controlled Flight Into Terrain or CFIT accident. Whiteout conditions and an indefinite horizon are two of the largest contributors to this type of accident. Other restrictions to visibility include rain showers, low clouds, fog, and even blowing sand and dust.

Low visibility and the threat of bad weather don’t seem to deter some pilots. We have all heard low-flying aircraft when we couldn’t see them because of clouds and snow, but they were there nonetheless. It is possible that visibility was better at altitude than it was from our earthbound position, but often it is not.

Poor visibility is one weather problem to conquer. Another potential problem is icing. Small airplanes do not deal well with ice accumulation, even in seemingly insignificant quantities. Once the airfoil leading edge is covered with even a thin layer of ice, lift is lost. Rime ice is particularly hazardous. It forms rapidly and its irregular surface causes an airfoil to change shape and lose lift. Clear ice is difficult to see. It is virtually transparent and flows back on the leading edges as it forms a clear glaze over the aircraft structure that is difficult to remove. A Utah military helicopter pilot once had an experience with unforecast icing in the clouds on an instrument flight. The rotor blades of his helicopter were traveling at nearly the speed of sound and he honestly did not think that ice would accumulate on them, but there was a rapid accumulation of a combination of rime and clear ice as he initiated his descent on the approach from 10,000 feet to land at Pocatello. The aircraft was descending—whether he wanted it to or not, because of the lack of lift—to 6,500 feet where it was warmer and the ice began to break off. Only then was he able to maintain altitude and continue his approach. If icing had occurred in an area where the terrain was as high as the freezing level was low, he would have had a distinct problem. He could have become another statistic!

The best thing to do is to get the most thorough weather briefing possible and then take a good experienced look for yourself. If you have even the smallest doubt as to the safe outcome of a flight, delay or even cancel it. Stay on the ground until you have a reasonably good weather outlook and until you are confident about taking that flight.

EMERGENCY… ARE YOU READY

What would you do if you had an actual emergency? How would you personally handle the confusion that is associated with an airplane ceasing to fly? Are you confident you would be able to bring the aircraft to a safe landing? Could you, with composure, take an airplane with several inches of prop missing and passengers on board back to the departure airport? Then, after landing, could you calmly deplane the passengers, put out a resultant fire, and coolly get into another airplane to complete the flight? Recently, a pilot did just that, which generates the question, “would most pilots be prepared to do the same”?

The answer is, those pilots train to appropriately deal with emergency situations have better chances of maintaining control of the aircraft and living to tell the war story.

When we were student pilots, it seemed that every flight we took with our instructors we were constantly asked, “If the engine failed right now, where would you put the aircraft?” I know my instructors harped and harped on that subject. But somehow, as rated, seasoned pilots we seldom think of that old engine-failure scenario. Sometimes it is a good idea to become a “student pilot” again and find an instructor who will ask demanding questions about emergency procedures. Aircraft tend to experience engine failures and other assorted problems either during takeoff and departure or upon landing. It is during takeoff that the engine is at maximum power. Stresses are placed on the engine and propeller that are not present during normal, steady-state flight. If the engine or propeller have defects, it is during that portion of flight that failure is most likely to occur. During the landing sequence of flight, the engine is hot from cruise flight and can experience sudden cooling because of reduced power.

Rapid power changes can cause a pre-existing problem to reach the point of failure. Another possibility is that rapid-engine cooling, especially during cold weather, can cause a cracked cylinder, leading to engine roughness and possible failure. Low power settings during humid air conditions are conducive to carburetor ice.

Are you ready, then, for the unexpected? Do you review the possibility of having to land off-airport in an emergency? Air carriers and the military have training programs that stress emergency procedures. These procedures include engine failure during takeoff enroute, and landing; emergency descent; and system malfunctions. Their pilots on a regular basis practice simulated emergencies. Aviators working for air carriers have regular currency check-rides with company check-pilots or the FAA. You can do the same for yourself by scheduling flights with a certified flight instructor, another pilot acting as a safety pilot, or during a courtesy evaluation from the FAA. The latter is the PACE program—Pilot and Aircraft Courtesy Evaluation—which is an FAA program where pilots can bring their aircraft to the FAA, have it checked by FAA airworthiness inspectors, and fly with FAA operations inspectors. The inspectors will brief you on any problems noted, and no enforcement or derogatory action is taken. It has become very popular, so check with your local safety program manager to see when he or she has a PACE scheduled. If you are going to commit to regular, recurring training, you might as well participate in the WINGS program.

A conscientious pilot is always looking for ways to improve flying skills. Practice emergency procedures regularly until they become second nature. The pilot who landed that crippled aircraft did and as a result, everyone on the plane was able to enjoy their holiday vacation.

For more information about the FAA PACE or WINGS programs, contact Jim Pyles, FAA Safety Program Manager, at 1-800-532-0268. FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT HOTLINES Report All Suspicious Aviation Activities: 1-866-AIR-BUST or 1-866-GA-SECUR