Moving right along with 2012, we are entering the longer days and milder weather. Time to brush off your flying skills and get those planes out of their tie-downs and hangars. Spring is around the corner and Daylight Savings Time begins on March 11 – so join the robins who decided to enjoy the ;mild winter with all of us.
As the ground thaws, please do not drive on the unpaved areas as you will sink into the mud. Use caution.
Enjoy your flights.
27 Years at 39N
March 29 will be 27 years that Naomi, Dick & Ken Nierenberg took over Princeton Airport. When they were at Kupper Airport, now Central Jersey, their 20 year lease was coming to an end. Unable to renew because of a difficult tenant/landlord relationship, the opportunity to purchase Princeton arose. For two years they operated both facilities and by 1987 when the lease expired at Kupper, they moved the whole operation down here.
They took over this sleepy airport with about 30 airplanes and very little activity.
Deandre Robinson has joined our staff early in the month and has already instructed many students.
Deandre graduated Embry-Riddle and has worked at various aviation related positions, the last being an air traffic controller in California. Since his heart lies in the airplane rather than directing planes, he has returned to instruction.
If you are a student and haven’t flown in a while, Deandre will be delighted to help you with your training.
Princeton Airport Flying Tigers sponsoring the Meet ‘N Greet Saturday, March 3, 10:00 – noon
Last month the Tigers did a great job for the Meet ‘N Greet. Please join us again to meet other pilots and share your aviation experiences. Bring a friend and enjoy.
Preparing Yourself For A Flight Lesson
By Ryan Vinton, Chief Pilot
Many student pilots fail to properly prepare for each flight lesson. This can only hinder a student’s progress through training.
Students with the help of their instructor should always know where they are in the training syllabus and be properly prepared for their next lesson. Make sure after each lesson you get a chance to discuss your next lesson with your CFI, so you can take the time to read ahead and prepare for your next flight. This includes reading the chapters assigned to you and preparing for the various maneuvers or flight tasks you will be expected to do on your next flight. This doesn’t require perfection by any means, but you will have the ability to ask relevant questions when you arrive to fly.
Take some time to “chair fly” your next lesson by sitting at a desk and going through the procedures, flows and tasks you will accomplish in the air. Imagine your actually in the plane and take it seriously – it really helps to make something new in the aircraft seem like you’ve done it before! If you have a flight simulator, great, you can “chair fly” with that. If you don’t, no worries, you can still benefit greatly from this exercise.
Remember, you will only get out of flight training what you put it, but most importantly, have fun doing it! And, you will save money by being prepared.
POSTPONED from February! FAA SEMINAR Wednesday, March 28,, 2012 7:00 – 10:00 p.m. Leap Year Special:
What lessons aviation humor can teach us!?! CFII Stephen Hansell
Come participate, as you’ll have to wait four years for the next one. Attention all you humorist – Have any aviation jokes? Send them to Steve – shansell@rci.rutgers.edu
Safety Corner
by Assistant Chief Pilot Peter Rafle
Learning to read the METAR and TAF coded report is a task that all pilots must master. The job is made somewhat difficult by the use of abbreviations of French vocabulary. This is because the METAR and TAF are derived from the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) world standard of weather reporting . The US is a member of ICAO and uses this system. I will attempt to demystify some of these abbreviations.
First , there are the “easy” ones:
Rain is RA; Drizzle – DZ; Ice Pellets – PL; Ice crystals – IC; Snow – SN
But what about these:
Hail is GR. What? Some say remember “granite” as a device for recognizing this abbreviation. But, really GR is the abbreviation for the French word for hail, grêle.
How about Mist? BR. Where does that come from? Mist in French is brouillard. Hence, the abbreviation, BR.
Smoke, as near forest fires, is shown by FU. It is short for the French word for smoke, fumée.
The most obscure, and most unlikely seen condition in New Jersey is dust/sand swirls or PO. A dust storm in French is tempête poussière, so PO is short for poussière.
Another, rare sight is a Funnel Cloud or FC. No French here, easy to understand. But, if the FC becomes a Tornado, then it is shown as +FC, or strong funnel cloud.
Now, you know more of what goes into the weather report and have learned some French words to impress your flying friends.
It’s time to move those clock ahead one hour –
Daylight Savings Time begins March 11!
Credit Card On File, Please
Whether you are purchasing fuel, taking a lesson and/or renting a plane. Raritan Valley Flying School has gone to great lengths to assure the safety of your credit cards that are on file. It is the school policy to have everyone have a card on file.
A Few HANGARS STILL AVAILABLE Call Ken 609-731-4628
News from the
PRINCETON AIRPORT FLYING TIGERS
Calling all members to the March Members Only Dinner Meeting – March 14 at Cafe Graziella, Route 206, Hillsborough. You must sign up by March 9. Our next Fly-In will be to Ocean CIty, NJ on March 18. Join us.
For more information about PAFT & to sign up for the dinner, www.paft-nj.org