Collision Avoidance – “Trust, but Verify” September 29, 2021 Stay Alert, and Don’t Get Complacent Relying on Controllers During my 44 years and 6,000 + hours as a pilot, there have been several near-miss experiences. The really close ones stick in my mind, much as any near-death experience would. Typically the close encounters occur while VFR in VMC. But occasionally we encounter a too-close call while IFR in IMC, just as one happened to me yesterday. I was on my way from SMO to… wagadmin Read More »
Mountain Flying September 29, 2021 Are you a mountain pilot? You probably are even if you aren’t aware of it. In most of Angel Flight West’s territory we encounter many, or even all, of the characteristics of mountain flying even though we may not be flying in the classical “back country.” AFW Pilots routinely fly over some of the most inhospitable terrain in the United States. On practically every flight, particularly during the summer, you can exp… wagadmin Read More »
Palo Alto Airport (KPAO) of Santa Clara County, CA September 29, 2021 Located close to Stanford Hospital and Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital, Palo Alto Airport (KPAO) is an often used Angel Flight West mission destination. Only a short distance from the San Francisco bay, this sea-level airport’s tower is in operation from 0700 to 2100 local. There are nine other airports within 20 NM, including Moffett Federal Airfield, just four nm SE, and San Carlos (SQL) seven miles NW. PA… wagadmin Read More »
Declaring an Emergency September 29, 2021 Gather a room full of pilots and ask them the following questions: How many of you have had an emergency while in flight? How many of you have declared an emergency? How many of you have had to complete any post-emergency “paperwork?” The answers are usually: A few, a few less, and zero. That’s right, most people who declare an emergency never face the dreaded “paperwork” that everyone fears. Take me, for example. Onc… wagadmin Read More »
Density Altitude September 29, 2021 All pilots learn about density altitude yet most pilots never experience the truly detrimental effect it can have. Brian, a friend of mine, flying a Piper Cherokee 160 and carrying all of his camping gear was on his way to OSH a few years ago. He landed at in Butte, Montana to refuel. It was a clear day and the temperatures was reasonable at about 85 degrees. The runway was much longer than the sea level airport he was b… wagadmin Read More »
Non-Tower Airport Operations September 29, 2021 Since there is a high likelihood that at least one airport on most missions is uncontrolled or non-towered, we’d like to share some thoughts on uncontrolled airport operations. If you haven’t flown into an airport before (towered or non-towered), familiarize yourself using all available resources including AF/M, Jepps, pilot guides, local instructors, etc.. Don’t forget to review all applicable NOTAMs as w… wagadmin Read More »
Required Reports September 29, 2021 In the course of my activities as a Flight Instructor and Mission Orientation Pilot, I take some time to review various pilot reporting requirements. One of the many things I’ve learned is that some pilots are somewhat reluctant to declare an emergency when the circumstances dictate, at least partially because of concern for “all the paperwork” involved. I have yet to talk to any pilot who has declared an emergenc… wagadmin Read More »
Be Prepared September 29, 2021 Angel Flight West believes that we should share what we learn about our missions and the airports we visit so that we can learn from each other. So, with that in mind… A couple of years ago I was flying a young man to Quincy, CA (2O1), an airport located near his home in the mountains of Northern California. Quincy has no weather reporting, no instrument approach, and is located deep in a narrow valley. The weather was ni… wagadmin Read More »
Personal Minimums September 29, 2021 All pilots, especially those who are instrument rated (those that are licensed by the FAA to fly in instrument meteorological conditions – i.e. clouds), are familiar with the term ‘personal minimums’. It speaks to being aware at any given time to what a pilot-in-command is comfortable doing. For example, although a pilot may be instrument current and legally allowed to fly a landing to minimums, they may not be co… wagadmin Read More »
Passengers First September 29, 2021 You may be aware that in 2008 there were three Angel Flight accidents with fatalities in other Angel Flight regions. To say this may be tempting fate, but to date Angel Flight West still has a perfect safety record while carrying passengers. An optimist would say that everything is working fine and we don’t need to change anything. A pessimist would say that we’re due and we need to do something immediately. A realist sa… wagadmin Read More »
Alexandro Ramirez, AFW Earth Angel Coordinator July 9, 2021 “We had no idea how we were going to make it San Francisco.” “This was going to be a 12-hour drive each way for our family.” “I’m going to have to sell my house.” “I can’t keep asking my friends and family for more money to cover my trips.” Every day we receive phone calls from people who feel that they’ve run out of options. There’s always a unique tension on the other end of the line, and in the caller’s tone of voice, you can hea… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
Wingspan July 9, 2021 Ivan Martinez, Director of Outreach & Wing Operations As many of you may know, a Wing Leader is a volunteer role taken up by a dedicated and passionate individual who steps in to lead their respective Wing and team of volunteers. For the Northern California Wing, Bob Strawn has been that amazing individual. Bob has orchestrated several patient, provider, and pilot outreach activities throughout the state that… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
From Cheri’s Desk: Kicking off Camp Season July 9, 2021 Camp season started this year with a bang as Champ Camp returned! And what a joyous event it was for campers, counselors, pilots, and the Mission Ops staff. While those watching from the outside may have thought the staff was buried in craziness and chaos (and they would have been right!), the truth is we were so energized to be back making sure that 35 campers and two counselors-in-training made it to Wonder Valley near… Cheri Cimmarrusti Read More »
AFW Safety News: Logging Cross-Country Time July 9, 2021 Logging Cross-Country Time It is probably easier to navigate through the fog without instruments than trying to determine how to log cross-country time. How you classify your flight time as cross-country depends upon the context of its use. As the FAA has written before, there are multiple ways to define the logging of cross-country time. First: The FAA defines cross-country ti… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
Spotlight on an Angel July 9, 2021 Ramiro O. Passenger Ramiro with AFW Pilot Ajay Kishinchandani Sandra and Ramiro’s first flight anywhere was on a commercial airline to Florida for a vacation. Sandra has claustrophobia. Her only thought as they waited on the tarmac in a plane that was delayed for a reason she can’t remember was that she “was going to die.” She didn’t really ever want to fly again. Fast forward to her first flight with AFW to Seattle for… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
