Any thoughts on what defects in a 1979 Piper could cause carbon monoxide poisoning in the pilot and passengers resulting in a crash and subsequent deaths?
How common is this?
When thinking of a comparable situation in a car you think of a vehicle running for hours in one position with holes in the exhaust system.
That link discusses a heart attack, not CO poisoning. The other occupants of the plane were unaffected.
As for how it happens, light airplane heaters typically operate by routing incoming fresh air through a “muff” around the exhaust. It doesn’t take much of a leak to get CO into the cabin, and, since its effects take place slowly, to go undetected.
From the last post in the link:
As ElvisL1ves said, cabin heat comes from the exhaust system. Fresh air is heated by it and enters the cabin. If the system leaks then carbon Monoxide leaks into the cabin.
Pilots can buy a detectorfor $4 and they last a year.
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I have a question about flight levels. Not particularly a GA question, but I know the folks with the expertise are lurking here.
Can someone explain how the flight level for a given flight is chosen? I have assumed that flights heading mostly eastward (across North America, anyway) are placed at a level designed to take advantage of the jet stream, and that flights heading mostly westward are looking to generally avoid it. Is there any truth to that? What about mostly northbound/southbound traffic? Are there standard flight levels for a given route, or does it vary depending on the day’s weather?
Generally speaking, flight levels are flown based on the hemispherical rule. If your track is towards the east (000° to 179°) you fly odd levels and if your track is westerly you fly evens. VFR aircraft fly odds or evens plus 500’.
With no wind a jet is most efficient flying at close to its maximum altitude, however if there is a strong wind gradient (change of wind with altitude) it can be better to fly lower where the headwind is less. It’s not normally the case with a tailwind because the wind strength is almost always stronger the higher you go so a tailwind just makes things better.
Airlines use flight planning software that use forecast winds and detailed aircraft performance data to compute the best route and level to fly on the day whilst also adhering to the hemispherical rule.
Economy is not just about fuel. Some costs such as maintenance are proportional to flight time. Airlines decide how much they want to bias their flights towards either saving fuel or minimising time. The flight planning software accounts for this as well and will optimise a flight plan to give the best balance of fuel and time savings to achieve the best overall economy.
Given that the high level jet streams are normally westerlies, I.e, from the west, you will generally find that easterly flights will fly high and in the jet stream while westerly flights will either fly high and avoid the jet stream laterally, or fly low underneath the jet stream.
Note also that airliners flying relatively long flights will be able to fly higher after they’ve burned some fuel so they may start in the lower levels (low 30s) and then climb later when they are lighter.
It’s generally frowned upon for two or more aircraft to be in the same place at the same time so ATC may place further restrictions on what flight levels are available to a particular flight.
Note that “Flight Level” refers to the altitude assuming 29.92. In the US this starts at 18,000 ft (FL180)
Lower flying planes use the local pressure*, but since planes at > FL 180 are flying pretty fast adjusting every 10 minutes would be a pain (amoung other reasons)
Brian
*Regulations say The current reported altimeter setting of a station along the route and within 100 nautical miles of the aircraft
One of the other reasons is probably that frequent re-settings would increase the chance of errors, leading to decreased separation.
And - at least in most of the world - pilots flying above 18,000’ don’t care much about great precision in their height above the ground.
flight levels are based on heading for purposes of separation. Instrument fights heading west are on even altitudes. VFR flights heading west are on even altitudes plus 500 feet. Eastward flights are at odd altitudes. These are based on magnetic heading and not geographic heading.
The NTSB has issued a preliminary report:
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This is definitely not General Aviation – but just wanted to share some bucket list moments for me from last week. As a lifelong aviation enthusiast – and lover of warbirds especially, I had a great business trip to a naval air station to do some consulting. While there, some of my activities included:
A tour of a maintenance hangar with 4 shiny new F35 Joint Strike Fighters. I’ve never thought they were pretty planes – but they do have a charm all their own. They’ve always looked large to me and up close they definitely have a heft to them. To me they do look better in the air – on the ground they’re squat and a bit ungainly.
A tour of multiple hangars maintaining F/A18 Super Hornets. I believe these were primarily Ds and Es – but can’t confirm. I got very close to these and it was fascinating to see them in various states of disrepair as well as undergoing active flight operations. I’ve done airshows and museums all over the world – but this was the first time seeing this many warbirds at work. Very interesting.
I stood on an active taxiway as both the 18’s and 35’s taxied past before takeoff – roughly 30 feet in front of me. Both were loud, of course. But the F35’s were much, much louder. They shake you to your core. Although apparently it’s a much more pleasant experience inside the cockpit.
I stood in the control tower during flight operations. Watching them coordinate flights of F18s during takeoff was fascinating. So well rehearsed and natural – they had no problem juggling taxiing planes, takeoffs, landings, and plans for the upcoming holiday party.
Any of the above I would’ve been perfectly happy watching all day long. Alas business called. I tried to play it cool, as if it was all just another day on the job. But for me at least, it was a fantastic experience. I know many of you lived this life and have much more in depth aviation experiences. But I appreciate your indulgence and hope you find it somewhat interesting.
Very much so - thanks, Kiber! I’m a little envious.
In 1977 our Air Cadet squadron in Calgary got offered the opportunity to visit McChord Air Force base. I would say the highlight of the trip was seeing first hand some F-106 Delta Darts. Always loved the looks of them. I hadn’t thought about that trip in years but I saw this video today that reaffirmed my appreciation for this classic beauty:
Lets talk tablet GPS’s. In the past I used an i-pad linked to a GDL39 running Garmin Pilot. I no longer have a GDL39 and all subscriptions have lapsed.
What are my options? I liked ADS-B weather uploads and the ability to track other aircraft. I liked the Garmin software but the others looked good at a glance and I’d like to get the best bang for the buck. what are my hardware/software options? I have an older ipad without GPS.
Lots of folks in my flying club use Foreflight. And they now make a ADS-B/GPS/CO detector (http://flywithsentry.com/)
I have no experience with either (other than looking at other folks iPads)
Brian
Great story!
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