Princeton Airport News – March 2017

Jet-A BURNING TWIN DIAMOND JOINING OUR FLIGHT LINE IN MARCH

AIRPLANES FOR SALE

From the Right Seat

I recently spent a week on the beautiful island nation of Antigua.  Besides the sun, beautiful beaches, and wonderful people, Antigua is home to Brown Pelicans. Unlike their cousins, White Pelicans, Brown Pelicans dive for their meals of fish.  I was fascinated by the pelicans flying their racetrack pattern and “dive bombing runs” over the beach and water where I spent each morning.  There was a steady trade wind blowing onto the shore and the flight instructor part of my brain started to critique the pelican’s flight.Every student pilot has been taught how to perform a turn around a point, and rectangular patterns.  The object of these maneuvers is that the pilot needs to adjust the angle of bank in the turn to compensate for changes in ground speed.  The steepest bank is used when turning from downwind with the highest ground speed. A moderate bank when in the crosswind and the shallowest bank when flying upwind. The pelicans bank about 20 degrees and do not vary it very much as they turn downwind, which results in a drift away from the water and over the palm trees on the beach.  Let’s get one thing straight before I continue this essay, Pelicans are superb flyers!  I am simply comparing what a bird does instinctively, and what we humans attempt to do in our machines.

So, pilots work to apply a precision that we believe is necessary, and pelicans fly in order to find food as energy efficiently as possible. As students learn to vary the bank as they perform the crosswind turn, the downwind turn, the base leg for landing, or when practicing the turn around a point, they are trying to maintain an orderly precise path over the ground as stated in the Airman’s Certification Standards (ACS). Pelicans are not constrained by these standards, and, apparently could care less. As pelicans fly upwind to the downwind legs of the fish finding pattern, at about 50 to 75 feet, they hold what looks like a constant 15 – 20 degree bank. This constant bank results in a wavy ellipse-like track over the ground. The wind widens the turn as the pelican scans the water for a suitable sized fish. Once a fish is spotted, the bird immediately computes the dive angle, changes the sweep of the wings, folded back like dart feathers, extends its neck and head, rolls abruptly to maintain sight of the fish and plunges into the water. The pelican immediately bobs to the surface, most times with the catch. After a short while to swallow the catch and readjust feathers, it is off on a very short takeoff and re-entry into the hunting pattern.

Human pilots maintain their altitude and adjust the bank angle so that the path over the ground is precise. Whether it is the constant radius turn around a point, or the downwind to base to final turns on landing, subtle adjustments to the angle of bank are necessary so the ground track of the airplane meets the standard.

And, don’t even think of looking for fish while flying!!

We hope the winter is behind us and beautiful days are coming. Have you been interested in a Helicopter Rating?  Platinum Helicopters offers every type of rating as well as add-on ratings for fixed wing pilots. Need to get somewhere fast?  Platinum Helicopters is a 135 Charter Operator and can get you to that meeting, wedding, dinner or whatever it may be at an affordable cost in our Robinson R44. Want to make an event extra special? We have a corporate, twin engine Agusta 109 on our 135 Charter Certificate as well if you want to arrive in style.