Ingo Noka

Archive for September, 2012|Monthly archive page

Stuck on Tioman

In Navigation on September 29, 2012 at 2:13 pm
20120929-141203.jpg

Beach on Tioman – Berjaya Golf and Spa Resort

Update 20 October 2012: Check out the photos I took on Tioman

On my way to Tioman, I narrowly escaped some nasty weather closing in fast on Senai Airport this morning (29 September). Had I waited five minutes longer it would have been a no-go for the rest of the day The tower called me shortly after take off to tell me that the airport is now closed to VFR traffic, i.e. the weather is IMC. Never heard that before.

The go/no-go decision and a left mag acting up during power check induced lots of stress which in turn caused lots of small pilot errors. Amazing really how fast one gets overloaded.

Thankfully the weather to Tioman was fine so I continued onwards (no choice really). Funny feeling when you don’t have an alternative option other than a very short grass field at Mersing.

Read the rest of this entry »

, , , , ,

Come fly with me …

In Announcement, Navigation, Uncategorized on September 21, 2012 at 12:11 am

Ready to Fly in the Morning

It is some time now since our last flight around Malaysia. This is not a good state of affairs! The VFR lanes of Malaysia are deserted and the air traffic controllers haven’t heard a fumbling low time PPL for too long. Let’s go and change that. I am organizing a flight safari from the 13th To the 16th of October and look for company. Whether you are a licensed pilot or not does not matter, everybody is welcome.

We can go either East or West. If we go West, we would fly to Malacca, Subang, Pangkor, Penang and Langkawi. on the East coast we would visit Tioman, Kerteh, Terengganu, Pulau Redang and Kota Bahru. From Kota Bahru we could also go to Thailand and spend a day there.

It would certainly be easier to go West, especially if you are concerned about returning at a particular time. There are more bus and commercial flight connections if we are stuck because of bad weather. It will also be easier to get fuel.

Please have a look at the flight program and message me if you are interested in joining.

Read the rest of this entry »

, ,

Watch your Weights

In Airmanship, Flight Bag, Knowledge on September 18, 2012 at 12:13 am

This pilot has become rather heavy. Time to brush up on W&B!

During our flight training we have all learned how to do the weight and balance calculations and we have been told that this is something we must do before every flight.  Of course, even then, many of us thought this exercise was only good for watching the instructor’s reaction when you filled in his weight (for the examiner your estimate better had to be on the low side).

For me this was the state of affairs for the first 100 hours of my PPL “career”.  However, lately I am flying more and more with passengers and luggage, so I thought I’d better brush up on my W&B knowledge. As things go these days, my first thought was whether there is an App for that, and sure enough there are plenty.  In one of my next posts I will review an excellent application from Angell Development LLC by the name of WnB Pro.

Let’s talk first about the theory of W & B.  As usual the FAA has very good materials on their web site (Aircraft Weight and Balance Handbook, FAA-H-8083-1A).  I recommend reading this document if you are really serious about this stuff.

Read the rest of this entry »

,

Piper PA-34-200 Landing Gear Issues in Tioman

In Announcement on September 9, 2012 at 11:49 pm

I was told at the club on Saturday, that a Malaysian registered (9M-BAI) twin-engine Piper Seneca II PA-34-200T had problems with the landing gear when landing in Tioman on Friday, the 7th September 2012.  It was said that the nose gear collapsed on touch down, but this is not confirmed.

The media speaks of technical problems with the nose gear, which could mean there was something wrong with the nose gear even before touch down.  Pictures of the plane on the runway in Tioman show that the nose wheel  and the right main gear have either not been deployed or collapsed on touch down or during the movement of the airplane on the tarmac.

According to media reports, the pilot and the passenger are unhurt.

Piper Seneca II 9M-BAI – Picture taken in October 2006 at Seletar airport Singapore (copyright by George Trussell)