President’s Message

2014 Board of Directors President: Eric Perdew Vice President: Brandon Potter Treasurer: Chris Werling Secretary: Gorkem Baydar Safety Officer: Ron Neal Chief CFI: Jason Thomas (interim) Operations/Events: Rusty Lowder Marketing Coordinator: Mike Smith Webmaster: Ramone Hemphill (interim)

www.piedmontaeroclub.com piedmontaeroclub@gmail.com

Heated Hangar Can Be Your Friend: With the lower temperatures arriving and frigid temperatures not far away, it reminded me of one of my worst experiences in aviation. I could have easily avoided all of the heart ache if I would have known better by arranging for a heated hangar instead of expecting my Piper Dakota to crank like normal even though it was 20 degrees in Philadelphia on a December night. I had flown to Philadelphia to do a favor for a friend of mine who was officiating a basketball game at Villanova and the next day he was going to officiate the Kentucky Wildcats at UNC the next day at noon on CBS. He didn’t think that a commercial flight could get him from Philadelphia to Chapel Hill in enough time, and he thought that I would be a good option. Normally, he would have been correct, as it is only about two and a half hours of flying time in my Piper Dakota from Philadelphia to Greensboro. (I was going to fly us to GSO, come to my house, and then drive to Chapel Hill the next morning.) Unfortunately, it was a COLD, windy day in Philadelphia… I flew to Philly that afternoon, and it was fairly uneventful. When I was exiting the plane in Philadelphia, I remembered thinking “It is a bone-chilling cold here in Philadelphia.” I had never experienced a frozen engine block before, so I didn’t know that I was approaching those conditions – freezing temperatures, windy, and night-time cranking. At 10 PM that night, we loaded the plane and were ready for our flight back to NC…..but the plane wouldn’t crank. I tried everything that I could imagine to get it to crank, but nothing worked. I was so embarrassed, frustrated, and humiliated. I couldn’t believe it. After all of my futile efforts, my friend decided at midnight to go to the Philly commercial terminal to catch an early morning flight to RDU, and I went to a nearby hotel waiting for the sun to rise in order to get somebody to help me. When I returned to the airport, their line guys told me that they could pre-heat the engine for a nominal fee. Ultimately, that worked well enough for me to crank the plane. The airport manager then gave me the “Flying into the Northeast in December” lesson, and I learned that renting a heated hangar would have taken care of my problem, saved me from my awful night, and all of the embarrassment. As a result, it was an expensive lesson, but one that I will never forget. I have put the lesson to good use in other freezing situations since that time. The moral of the story is that if it freezing to you then it is freezing to the airplane thus compromising your ability to crank the airplane. If you have that issue, the key is a heated hangar instead of parking on the tarmac. I wish that I would have already known that tidbit on that COLD December night in Philly.

Stay tuned for a local fly-in on Friday (11/28) for the middle of the day. Destination will be a lunch-serving restaurant. Eric Perdew will lead this, and if you have ideas let him know at centerfield84@hotmail.com.

PAC Special Event “How to Survive an FAA Inspector Surveillance Ramp Inspection” (FAASTeam). Thursday, November 6, 2014 at 18:30, GTCC AV3 Room 318 (see page 4)

Rusty pilot, gtcc av3, room 318 – november 15th, 8:30am-

noon (See page 5)

Future Career….Navy Pilot? On October 5th, Kyle Tharrington arrived at Landmark Aviation for his flight lesson with CFI Jon Wells… business as usual. Kyle, at fifteen years old, is one of our youngest members who is taking flight lessons, with a plan to solo by his sixteenth birthday next Spring. Sitting outside on the Landmark Aviation parking apron this day was a T-45 Goshawk. This aircraft is used by the Navy and Marine Corps for training of their future jet pilots, with a service ceiling of 41,000 feet and up to 500 knots in airspeed. Being an aspiring aviator, Kyle took a few extra minutes to “gawk at the Hawk”, as any young individual would. After checking in and obtaining the key for the Club provided Cessna 172, Kyle was on his way up for another lesson. Unbeknownst to Kyle would be what happened next. After 1.4 hours in the air, Kyle returned to Landmark, and as he walked in, the two Naval Aviators were talking with his Father, Brant Tharrington. Within minutes, Kyle had the opportunity to meet two Navy Lieutenants, calls signs “Fro” and “Kitty.” These two officers were preparing to take the T-45 back to Meridian, MS. However, they took the time, a lot of time, to engage in a conversation with Kyle and accentuate the need for education, flight time and exactly how to achieve a flight slot in the Navy. I was awe inspiring to see these young officers take time to engage with Kyle, who is also a Freshmen at Northwest High School, where he excels in school, in particular “math”, and is very interested in being a military pilot. As the conversation ended, the two Naval Aviators donned their G-Suits, survival vests and helmets. As they started to walk out, they asked the customer service rep if they could take Kyle out and show him the Goshawk up close and personal….of course, the answer was “yes”. Kyle then received a first-class tour of the airplane, to include being allowed to get up and see the cockpit while being tutored by the Instructor Pilot, “Fro”. Another thirty minutes of one-on-one attention from these young officers. Upon completion and as they were getting ready to fire up the engine, one of the pilots ran up and gave Kyle one of their squadron decals. Back into the cockpit he went, and as we stood and watched them fire up the engines, you could see the smile on Kyle’s face. As they started to roll on Runway 23L, the Goshawk lifted off and then maintained ground effect, quickly building speed, and just as they came in front of Landmark Aviation, at the Kilo 1 Intersection and holding about 20 feet above the runway, they executed a hard pitch up and then a hard left bank, providing a thunder of jet blast as they climbed quickly to altitude and left the Greensboro area. This was a thrilling parting maneuver for Kyle, who watched intently. Whether Kyle joins the Navy or Marine Corps, or any other service, we all believe flying will be in his future plans.

FAASTeam presents: Piedmont Aero Club Open Meeting

You have often heard others talk about the impromptu FAA Ramp inspection. Hardly routine, there is actually nothing out of the ordinary if you are selected for a "ramp check" when you step out of your airplane. Learn what regulations must be followed and what you are expected to show the inspector. Also find out what documents must be aboard the aircraft besides the registration. Attend this important seminar and tour the exciting and new GTCC Aviation Complex. Seating is limited. Click on the link below and register TODAY http://www.faasafety.gov/SPANS/event_details.aspx?eid=58569 Directions: NEW GTCC Aviation Building (AV3) located across from Honda Jet. Look for FAA Seminar signs to the building. Seminar to take place on the 2nd floor in room 318. Allow time to drive to this new seminar location

A message from the National FAASTeam Manager Invite a fellow pilot to the next WINGS Safety Seminar in your area. Sign up for the FAA's safety services at www.FAASafety.gov!

Event Details: Thu, Nov 6, 2014 - 18:30 EST Guilford Technical Community College AV3 1053 Old Stage Coach Trail Greensboro, NC 27410

Contact: Robert C. Sutherlin (336) 369-3949 robert.c.sutherlin@faa.gov

Select #: EA3958569 FPM Robert C. Sutherlin

The FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) is committed to providing equal access to this meeting/event for all participants. If you need alternative formats or services because of a disability, please communicate your request as soon as possible with the person in the “Contact Information” area of the meeting/event notice. Note that two weeks is usually required to arrange services.

PAC members meeting will begin at 18:00. The speaker will begin talking at 18:30, and the public will be at the same time. PAC members are encouraged to arrive by 18:00 (with food arriving by 17:50).

Were you once an active pilot that has gotten away from flying or know someone who wants to get back into flying? Are you a current/active pilot, and looking for a knowledge “refresher”? If so, then come join us for the Triad’s first Aircraft Owners and Pilot’s Association (AOPA) Rusty Pilots course with the Piedmont Aero Club!

The Piedmont Aero Club is conducting the Triad’s first AOPA Rusty Pilots course, and is FREE and open to the flying public. We are welcoming all pilots who have either let their Biennial Flight Review (BFR) lapse or otherwise wish to get a refresher on basic knowledge subjects, such as airspace, regulations, navigation updates and more – all in a collaborative environment with fellow pilots and PAC Club CFIs Attendees who properly complete the course are eligible to receive a complementary logbook endorsement from PAC CFIs that will satisfy the ground portion of their 14 CFR 61.56(a) BFR requirements.

Who: Inactive pilots who wish to kickstart their return to flying, and active pilots who wish to “knock the rust off” their knowledge subjects When: Saturday, November 15, 2014, 830 am to Noon (presentation starts at 9am)

Where: Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC), Room 318, Aviation Building III, 1053 Old Stage Coach Trail, Greensboro NC 27410 – just east of KGSO Refreshments will be provided The Piedmont Aero Club is reaching out to you, and to other pilots in the Piedmont-Triad Area, as an invitation to come and get back into flying and improve your aviation knowledge. Let the Piedmont Aero Club help you achieve your goals! Event signup is located at: www.aopa.org/Rusty-Pilots/2014/November/Piedmont-Aero-Club-Nov-15 More Information is available online at: www.piedmontaeroclub.com and www.rustypilots.org This event is sponsored by the Piedmont Aero Club and AOPA, in conjunction with GTCC

Attention PAC Members, TAA Has Now Moved to Landmark Aviation

Hello everyone, By now we hope you have heard that TAA moved today to a new location at the PTI airport. All of our operations are now located at the Landmark Aviation facility at 1030 PTI Drive. Our phone number, web-site, hours of operations and scheduling systems remain unchanged. To come to our new facility, just go to the normal entrance to the airport (KGSO) on Bryan Blvd, like you were going to take a commercial flight. However, once inside the airport property, follow the BLUE signs to "General Aviation". Prior to getting to the regular passenger terminal, you will be directed to make a right hand turn to go to the General Aviation area. This is PTI Drive. PTI drive is really a large circle and we are located "at the top of the circle" at Hangar D. You'll see a temporary sign and the large black staircase leading up to our offices. The aircraft will be in the covered parking stalls. If you have any questions, please call us at 336-369-2804 for specific "progressive directions" as required. We'd love to see you soon and the weather looks like we're going to get a break. We'll announce a "grand opening" soon, but we wanted to get this message out today. Thanks for your business. we really appreciate it. Sincerely yours, The TAA Flight Training Staff

There is the ordinary “everyday” flying, and then there is the unordinary By, Gorkem Baydar

It’s a typical Fall evening, little cloudy but whatever is out there is far east of us to even worry. I get a text from Ned asking me to be his safety pilot for the evening so that he can get Instrument current. I get to safety pilot and build time for commercial, he gets current, and I even get to look out the window a little more for a change; win-win for both of us. Get to the airport; catch up with Ned before heading to the airplane, this time with an additional passenger, hasn’t flown that many times in small aircraft so it was like a kid in a candy store for him. Walked outside to the ramp, chatted up the old amigos at Landmark for a brief minute and then we all bee lined to Ned’s Turbo Dakota. Got in the plane, strapped in and completed the checklist; got the IFR clearance and down the taxiway we went and before you know it we were airborne. First stop on the approach menu for this evening was Asheboro (KHBI) RNAV 21 with a miss and two turns in the hold. We get to Asheboro “break out” at the MDA make our descent then announce missed to conduct our hold. Ned completes his first turn and starts his second turn, while I look outside and enjoy the view. As Ned was about to finish his second turn and about to head towards Stanly County (VUJ) to do the ILS 22 left is when this ordinary currency flight started to become unordinary. Greensboro notified us that VUJ was using 4 right and not 22 left, I turned over to Ned and he said “We would still like to the ILS for 22 Left but with a circle to land on RWY 4 right,” I said to myself, ok here is small curveball, and little did I know it was one of many of more to come. We make our way to VUJ, Greensboro turns us over as standard procedure and immediately after making contact with the controller, we were notified that a military C-130 is conducting “Night Operations” (meaning the runway lights are turned all the way down) on RWY 4 and that they are about to take off, and we were heading the directly toward them on RWY 22 left. Curveball 2 I said to myself, who would have guessed a class D airport at 8pm (2 hours prior to closing) would have that much traffic. Needless to say we had to end up doing a 360 turn while on the ILS approach at the request of the controller. While on the last 90 degrees turning back inbound I was able to see the fast moving C-130 as it banked left shortly after takeoff to enter a crosswind for RWY 4, and as it should be the C-130 was on the ground and taxied back to the threshold right as we were turning base to final after doing a circle to land RWY 4. We touch down, taxied behind the C-130 to watch them take off back to Charlotte, and then off we went the opposite direction to Greensboro for the final approach of the evening. Just as we turned towards Greensboro the turbulence began. We overheard the Piedmont Airline Captain giving a PIREP to the controller and referring it as “Light Chop” but for a Dakota was not that light. Out of curiosity, Ned checked his iPad noticed a nice big build up happening right above GSO, needless to say the plane got a wash, we all got a nice taste of what mother nature is capable of and through it all made it back safely; luckily for us our passenger didn’t mind going up again in the future. So as the title goes, always expect the unordinary, it’s what tests your piloting skills. We typically try to avoid weather if at all possible but some things such as C-130 practicing “Night Ops” isn’t one of those things you can avoid, so it’s good to know how to “dance” with one and expect the unexpected.

It is with a very heavy heart that I am writing to you to let you know of the passing of Thomas White, the Manager of the Sugar Valley Airport. Thomas has been a great friend, and supporter of the Piedmont Aero Club. He passed away on Thursday morning, unexpectantly. There is talk of a memorial on Sunday, November 9th. Details to follow. JW Jon Wells