AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2021 - 92

RUDDER & WRENCH
92
Bonanza, Niky, could get its annual
inspection completed there. We met in
Ohio so I could take his Bonanza, Ethel,
back home to Sewanee. As I hopped
up on Ethel's wing to stow my bags, he
barked, " Hey, don't step on my flap! " I
was confused because the flaps were
retracted, and the right flap has the antislip
coating designed for feet.
Moore explained that he doesn't like
putting unnecessary forces on airplane
parts that move; after all, it's not difficult
to step over the flap onto the wing. Fair
enough. Ethel has come a long way in her
restoration process and Moore pampers
her. Since then, I've stopped stepping on
Niky's flap for the same reason.
I confess that I am haunted by the
accident three years ago in which a wing
separated from a Piper Arrow during a
practical exam in Florida. Many flight
schools used these airplanes almost
exclusively for commercial applicants
who needed to bring a complex aircraft
to the exam. I can only imagine how
many times such aircraft were subjected
to hard landings as flight school students
practiced their power-off one-eighties.
I don't know if that was a factor for this
accident but when the FAA moved to no
longer require a complex aircraft on the
commercial and flight instructor practical
exams, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Earlier this year, a commercial candidate
turned final toward the 1,000-foot
markers on the runway for his power-off
one-eighty and it looked as if he might
come in a tad long. Instead of nosing
over to ensure he hit the markers, he
raised it and made a beautiful nose-high
landing past their end. His heavy sigh
signaled an anticipated notice of disapproval.
After he shut the airplane down,
I told him that while he didn't make the
mark, he took the high road and performed
a graceful landing.
In other words, he acted like a commercial
pilot that day and deserved the
certificate. Incidentally, the 1,000-foot
markers are 150 feet long, which means
that he still had 50 more feet beyond
their end to touch down. While it's easy
to see if a candidate lands short, at 65
knots, I am not a perfect judge of exactly
what 50 feet looks like. Just saying.
I am mindful that Wilbur and Niky
are 43 and 53 years old respectively and
with appropriate care I hope to be flying
them for decades to come. They have
names because they are family to me.
Flying an airplane like an owner is the
best way to instill confidence in passengers
and extend the longevity of the fleet.
Lower maintenance and insurance costs
translate to lower rental rates, too. Most
important, if we all treat an airplane the
way we hope the last person who flew it
did, aviation will be safer too. Catherine
Cavagnaro is an aerobatics instructor
and professor of mathematics at Sewanee:
The University of the South.
aceaerobaticschool.com
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2021

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