After two cold and snowy winters in Europe, 2012 seems to be milder. What does this mean for airport managers who plan investing in de-snowing equipment? Courtney Henderson from Airport Management Degrees writes about that in this guest post.

Winter means one thing for airports; possible flight delays or cancellations due to snowy or icy conditions. However, with proper preparation and equipment, airport runways can be cleaned up and ready for use in no time. Although not all airports are located in areas that experience extreme winter weather, most airport directors know to keep at least the basic snow removal tools and equipment on-hand, as a precaution.

Airport managers and directors realize the importance of being prepared for all severe weather conditions; even conditions that aren’t common for their local climate. If heavy snow or icy conditions are forecasted and the airport does not have the necessary equipment to clear the runways, airports will be forced to shut down until they can get the help they need or the snow or ice melts. This is why keeping at least the basic equipment on-hand is essential.

Some airports (especially those that are located in warmer climates) include in their weather emergency plans a contract with a snow-removal company. This company can be trusted to provide the equipmentand manpower needed for proper snow and ice removal, should the occasion arrive.

Most major airports that are located in cooler climates own, maintain and operate their own snow- removal system. Although purchasing snow-removal tools and equipment is a large initial investment, these airports save money in the long run by managing their own operation.

It’s important to have the right tools to keep an airport running throughout any severe weather episode. If an airport is forced to delay airlines or shut down, that is lost money for everyone (airlines, airport concessions and airport management). Listed below are five tools necessary to keep airports running smoothly in snowy or icy conditions.

1. Chassis: A chassis is the tractor portion of the snow-removal equipment. This is the vehicle that you connect the runway broom, snow blower or plow to. This large truck is usually four-wheel drive to allow for better control and traction on slick surfaces. A popular model of chassis, called multi-tasking equipment (MTE), allows the operator to attach all three tools (the runway broom, snow blower and plow) to the tractor. Some allow only one piece of equipment to be attached at a time, and some allow two at a time. For example, some tractors can plow snow and brush runways at the same time.

2. Runway Broom: A runway broom is a powerful tool that is used to clear off any residual snow or ice after the runway has been plowed.

3. Snow Blower: A snow blower is used to quickly blow snow from one area to another.

4. Plow: A snow plow is used to remove a large amount of snow from a pathway and place it in a large pile.

5. Runway De-Icer: A runway de-icer is used to disseminate massive amounts of road salt in order to melt all ice. This equipment is used after all snow has been removed from the runway.

How many tractors, plows, brooms, blowers and de-icers purchased depends on the size and function of the airport. As stated before, if the airport is located in a warmer climate or is a small airport, finding a trusted snow-removal company may be a better investment than purchasing your own equipment.

Courtney Henderson is writer and editor for Airport Management Degrees. In her spare time, she likes to write guest articles for various websites on various topics of interest.

I had no budget for flying this year, and I was resigned to accept that. 2011 would be the first year since 2001 during which I would not log any flight time. I was not exactly thrilled by that, but so was the situation. This was without counting with friends I visited in London by the very end of December. One of them is one of my oldest “flying buddy”. We met by the time we were both living in Geneva and did a lot of flying together.

Knowing about my situation, he just decided that I had to fly. Period. He invited me to fly both a C172 and a DA42, and we spent half a day flying over London and southern England. As he’s an instructor now, I could log the time, even being myself out of currency and not having a medical certificate. Thank to him, there is no year-sized gap in my logbook. My last flight before that was in July 2010.

I learned two lessons from these flights:

• One never forget about flying. Even after one and half year without flying, I still could do it. May be not in all details and not to the best I could, but my basic flying skills are still there
• Aviation creates strong friendships, long lasting bonds, and very touching stories

This blog reached an important milestone earlier this month: 500.000 page views. Not bad for what started as a hobby, almost five years ago. The 1000th post is also getting close, and you left over 2.000 comments. Thanks a lot for your interest in my work here. I’ll do my best to keep posts coming.  If you feel like contributing with your own trip reports or photographs, don’t hesitate to contact me.

But for today, all what I want is to wish you, your relatives and all your dears a Merry Christmas. May you have a great time with those you love.

Yours sincerely,

Vincent, a.k.a. PlasticPilot

It sounds quite ambitious to write an aviation wish-list for 2012. With a total time of zero dot zero hours flown in 2011, strongly contrasting with the 60h of 2010, years go by and don’t look like each other. Not flying was partly related the the reduction of my posting on this blog, combined with a very active year during which a lot of things changed in my private life and a lot happened in my professional life. Nevertheless, I still hope to be in position to resume some aviation activities in 2012, and here are some ideas:

• First motor-glider flight. A friend of mine offered to take me on board his motor-glider, and even if the first attempt failed because of weather, this could happen in 2012. So far, all time I did fly without the engine(s) running was for emergency training.
• Oshkosh. The name itself says it all, right? It’s unclear if I’ll try to be there at OSH’12 or will plan for OSH’13 during 2012, but I like the idea a lot.
• Check JAA and FAA options. My JAA ratings are all expired, and my JAA medical is not current anymore. I’m not sure exactly what would be the steps to re-activate my JAA privileges, but this could include so much training / refresh that training towards a brand new FAA certificate would be easier. This would also be the opportunity to try something new.
• Create one more killer app for pilots. Two of the projects that kept me very busy is my ATC game for iPhone and iPad APP Control, and Radionav Sim, the radio-navigation training tool for iPad and iPhone. These two will continue, and I’d like to add one more pilot app to my apps portfolio. If you’ve an idea, a wish or a suggestion, feel free to leave a comment on this post.

It’s been a long time since I’ve not posted here about my love / hate relationship with Frankfurt airport. I flew a lot as passenger the last months, discovered Terminal 2 while flying on KLM, and enjoyed the new security checks at Terminal 1. Getting access to the Lufthansa Business lounge thanks to frequent travels also made my relation with Frankfurt airport better.

But I could test the real novelty of Frankfurt airport during my last trip back from Madrid. It was a night landing, and I was seated on the left hand side of a Lufthansa Boeing 737, looking outside the window. I know the approaches there quite well, but orientation at night is never easy. But when I saw the stadium, it was clear to me that we were approaching one of the runway 25. However, seing the stadium on the left hand side was unusual and was a the definitive hint for me that we were about to land on the new runway 25R.

The approach was really nice, partly in fog, and it gave a great sight of the other runways, and of the airport. Runway 25R is north of the A3 motorway, and a bit more to the west. I could see the sequenced lead-in flashing lights of 25C, two A380 parked at the terminal 1, and we flew past the tower roughly at the height of its top. Flying low, along the motorway was a strange but nice sight. After landing, we taxied to an apron parking position (where there was no bus ready for us… hum).

Since this runway has been built, earlier this year, Frankfurt joined Paris Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Schiphol in the club of airports with a motorway bridge. Taxiing over the motorway is not that impressive, to be honest. Driving under that very bridge when an aircraft taxies over is much more impressive.

But nothing is Europe is anywhere near the old traffic light (now decommissioned) in Tegucigalpa. That was a much nicer car / aircraft crossing technique…

I’m stressed. You’re stressed. We are all stressed. Many things go on in my life, some on short term that I have to deal with today, or tomorrow, other on longer term. I received a few mails, phone calls, during the last minutes, and it’s not easy to stay focused and concentrated.

Is this an aviation blog? Yes, indeed. Because flying can be stressful, and flying under stress is a bad idea. There’s enough stress in a cockpit without bringing some extra on board. I often say the being a pilot makes me a better person and this is very true when it comes to stress management.

When I was working towards my PPL, I often had lessons before or after work, instead of busy week-ends. I even sometimes tool lessons in the middle of my work day. Coming for a lesson with a mind full of work stress is not a good idea. I knew about it and used a kind of personal ritual to handle that. I left my stress in the club house. There was a single door to go from the club house to the tarmac, and this is where I decided to leave my work stress behind. Having a symbolic point of passage helped me to achieve that. I knew that if I was here, no work concern was so acute that it could not wait until the end of the lesson, so there was no need to worry.

Another thing I learned is to get better at handling priorities, but also recognize situations where it is important to do nothing. The human brain is rather good at putting itself under pressure. Anticipation is good, but it shall not create extra pressure. Some of the problems that I mentioned above can or even must wait until tomorrow (mostly because today is not a working day). It makes no sense to get worried about that. Not yet. Don’t think about your fuel reserves when you fly a complex instrument departure. There will be time for that during the cruise.

In the same way, the famous “Aviate – Navigate – Communicate” can be transposed in your daily life. Not directly for sure, but when you have to deal with several problems in parallel, try to classify them along this rule. Which of your problems would put you upside-down rapidly if you don’t act ? These are the “aviate” problems. Which will bring you outside of a safe area in some time? These are the “navigate” problems. And which would cause problems around if you really wait too much ? These are the “communicate” problems. Even under pressure, take the few extra minutes you need to classify and then you’ll know how to solve your problems the best possible way.

What are the tricks that you developed to handle stress in an around the cockpit? I can’t wait to read from you in comments.

The end of 2011 looms on the horizon, and it is quite clear that I won’t fly before it comes. No time, no money, new projects, changes in my personal situation… there are many factors behind this state of fact. As you can imagine, it’s not exactly my choice. I don’t want to fly marginally or just fly the very minimum required to keep my ratings active. There’s not a lot of fun in that, and given the price of flying, I want to enjoy every second of it.

Did I miss flying? Yes, for sure. I keep raising my eyes towards the sky each and every time I hear the noise of a light aircraft flying above. I even look at helicopters. But once again, I could not fly this year, and I have to cope with it. And as I flew only in the FAA context last year, my JAA ratings are all gone by now, not to mention my medical certificate. When I look at what it would take to restart flying, I’m not exactly ecstatic. Medical certificate, English Language Proficiency Check, plus all the re-training that any flight school will require. Put on that the fact that I’d like to fly complex, high-performance single aircraft again, why not a Cirrus, and you can imagine the kind of budget it would take.

When this time will come, and I seriously hope it will, the FAA vs. JAA question will be an important one. I won’t really need to learn to fly. I mean, one never forget the basic flying skills. I will need a serious brush-up, and some training for sure. I don’t know if my JAA hours would count towards any FAA license but even if I have to go through the full FAA PPL syllabus, I guess it could be less expensive than a “fill the gaps” program in JAA. This could also be the opportunity to fly more in the US, where everything is slightly different. Slightly easier as well. Four weeks in Florida or Arizona could be enough to regain all my flying privileges.

But this is not for now, and in the mean time, I want for sure continue to post here. I don’t want to write when I have nothing to say, this is also why the tempo of this blog got slower. My air traffic control game for iPhone, iPad and now online and on Mac OS also takes a lot of my personal time. This project is also very satisfactory for my inner geek. I will also continue to write my monthly column in Airplanista, which I’ve been doing for more than one year now.

So I’m kind of a grounded member of the aviation community right now. Even if things had to stay so for longer than I want, I still really enjoy being part of it. I already posted several time about the solidarity and universal kind of understanding that exists amongst all pilots and aviation enthusiasts, and I still maintain each and every word of it, so I keep enjoying my luck of being an aviator. Even on ground.

The hardest thing to learn for a pilot is not how to operate the aircraft, take-off or even land. Those things can be trained and one can get practice until they work fine. No, the hardest part of becoming a good pilot is to become a great decision maker. The span ranging from being overly conservative to being fully reckless is not as wide as it seems. A good pilot should anticipate enough to not get trapped in bad weather / airspace / terrain / technical situations. But a good pilot should also not fly only in picture perfect circumstances or over-react to the constantly changing context.

Like almost all new pilots, I was very conservative just after getting my certificate. My first flight actually was in picture perfect weather. The second was a different story, and I almost decided to fly back to my home base after having to slalom between scattered clouds in the pattern of my destination airport. Was this reckless? Nine years later, I think that I can say a clear yes. It was not reckless by choice, but because I did continue the flight beyond my comfort zone. No regulation got broken this day and I kept safe, but after landing, I was not especially proud of my decision making skills.

This is exactly what makes flying a fascinating process to me. Finding the correct balance, staying safe, having to make the good decisions. This is an area in which the regulations don’t bring a lot. Some weather factors can’t really get measured. Air law specify minimal distance to clouds for example, it’s easy to know if you’re 1.000 or 1.500 feet below a cloud layer. The more complex flights, the more complex the decision making. In a simple case, let’s say flying over a flat area with an airport every ten miles (yes, Florida, I’m thinking of you here), flirting with clouds is not really a problem. But when I started to develop a taste for flying in the Alps, I had to improve my decision making again. How close to a cliff can is safe? What kind of wind effects can I expect on the other side of this pass? Is it safe to enter this valley at low altitude, knowing that there will be no possibility to turn around?

I’m convinced that decision making is a misleading name. The decisions pilots have to cope with are usually rather simple. Continue or turn around. Fly further towards the destination or divert to an alternate. What really makes a difference in the end is WHEN the decision is taken. One of my favorite sayings goes “we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it”. Basically, don’t over-anticipate, like when I was a freshly certified pilot. This is the trend I often have to fight. I know that it is in my nature to anticipate too much, to cancel too early. In other words, I don’t wait to be to the bridge to make the decision to cross it or not. So in the end, decision making shall be called decision timing. Many accidents find their origin in the decision good decision being made too late. The last words of the Captain of the doomed AF 447 flight that got lost in the Atlantic ocean between Rio and Paris were “Assiette plus 10″, or “Pitch plus 10″ in English. This was almost certainly the correct thing to do, but this decision came well below 10.000 feet, descending. Thirty seconds would have made the difference.

Now that I exposed my personal tendency in decision making – calling decisions too early – I’d like to hear from you. Are you conservative or reckless? What are your tricks to improve your decision timing? Leave a comment on this post.

Ten years ago, I was undergoing a training day about radionavigation aids. This was part of my training as a relatively newly hired employee in the company managing air traffic in Switzerland. We were a group of colleagues touring the airport, learning more about all possible antennas, visiting the shelters where the transmitters are located. Apart from being fascinating, it was also a beautiful September day to be on the tarmac and look at aircraft landing and taking off. Shortly before our lunch break, we’ve seen the Swiss 22 take-off. This is an Airbus 330 flying from Geneva to New-York JFK. We were so close to the runway that we could almost feel the sound of her roaring engines in our lungs.

This was years before we all had smartphones and emails in our pockets. It’s only when I came back to my office that I got the news from a colleague. Two aircraft had hit the Wall Trade Center in New-York. The first reaction was “this is a joke”. Then we turned on the radio we had in our office. Radios stations on the web were rather marginal by this time. A few minutes listening on an information station confirmed that it was not a joke.

The day was over, and once home, the same pictures were broadcasted in a loop on all TV channels. I spent two hours looking at them, in shock.

Ten years ago, I was also training for my private pilot certificate. On that evening, we had a weather class. I went to the aero-club for two hours of theory. I don’t remember what this class was about, but we spent the time before it talking about the events that just happened in the USA. None of us was even close of thinking how aviation would change. By this time, our aero-club had a direct access to the tarmac. It has been closed and locked since then.

There was a long moment of silence when we looked at a Swiss Airbus 330 land. We all knew that it was the flight to New-York coming back, after turning around somewhere over the Atlantic. I will never forget the details of this 11th day of September. I will never forget how this changed the world.

I will never forget the victims.

If you doubt how rich and varied aviation is, check this interview with Bob, a friend of mine who flies helicopters for a living. He has a new position in an unusual industry…

When I first read your new occupation on Facebook I first thought you completely switched careers and left flying helicopters. So please tell what’s your new job is, and how it relates to flying helicopters?

No Vincent, I’m still flying helicopters. I currently fly for a company in Washington State, which is in the northwestern part of the U.S. This company is contracted by various orchard owners to do what we call “cherry drying.” That is, we hover over cherry trees after it rains to dry them off. It sounds surprising to me that this can be profitable.

Can you say more about the reasons that make this activity worth and meaningful ?

Cherries are big business in this part of the country. Depending on the size of the crop, a single orchard can be worth millions of dollars in sales of the fruit. Cherries can only absorb a certain amount of water before splitting open. Plus, if raindrops are allowed to accumulate on cherries, when the rain stops the sun can have a magnifying effect that will cause them to blister. Orchard owners can always add more water through irrigation, but reducing the amount of water is difficult. That is where the helicopter comes in.

How would you compare this kind of flying with others, let’s say people transportation for example ?

I think that this is a great example of the versatility of the helicopter! We normally think of aircraft as people-movers, but in this case the farmers are utilizing another unique and little-used characteristic of the helicopter, the downwash. For the pilot, it is a very informal, laid-back type of flying, meaning that there are no passengers to worry about. And you know, pilots always worry about the safety of their passengers. It’s nice to only have to worry about me.

Is there any chance you could handle an emergency, like an engine failure ? Or do you have bi-turbine helicopters for this job ?

The company I work for uses the Sikorsky S-55 helicopter which was originally produced in the 1950’s. Most of ours are powered by a gigantic, seven-cylinder, 700 h.p. radial piston engine (Wright R-1300). But along the way, someone did a conversion and installed a single Garrett TSE-331 turbine engine. We have two of these conversions, and the younger pilots all drool over flying them. But honestly, I prefer the big, old radial! Piston engines don’t just quit suddenly like turbines can. Piston engines generally give you some warning that something is going wrong. That warning might just give you time to move over and find a level place to set the helicopter down. Maybe. The bottom line is that in some types of helicopter flying, you simply cannot dwell on or worry about a catastrophic failure of the engine or anything else (remember, there are LOTS of moving parts in a helicopter!). If it happens…piston or turbine…you’re going to be in a bad position. All you can do is set it down between the rows of cherry trees and hope for the best. That’s just part of the job. In a perfect world, having two engines would be nice. But in this case it would be cost-prohibitive.

Do you fly in teams, or is this a solo job ? Any assistants on the ground to help you find the spots that need more drying ?

Funny you should ask. Normally the company likes to put low-time but licensed copilots in with us experienced guys. It provides someone to take the controls for a while and give us a break. Hovering for long periods is not difficult, but it can be tedious and tiresome. Plus, it’s nice to have someone in the cockpit to talk to. This year however, we are short on copilots and most of us are flying solo. I’m lucky in that the customer I’m assigned to has 240 acres of cherries. Because of that, he has contracted for two helicopters. Between the two of us, it takes about four hours to dry his cherries completely. My partner, Travis and I fly simultaneously and we’re usually always in sight of each other. On the ground, the farmers are very particular about their crops, which sometimes constitute their income for the whole year. Thus, they follow us around in their trucks, calling out instructions via a two-way radio, asking us to fly higher or lower, faster or slower. So it is a real team effort to get the job done properly.

Do you have pictures, videos or fun stories you can share?

Pics? Sure! The first one is me in the S-55 just after landing. They had sent us out drying before the rain stopped completely, but then called us off because the drizzle continued.

In the second one, my little landing zone became a gas station one morning as we were visited by another helicopter from our fleet. It would be a rare event indeed to see THREE flyable S-55′s in any one location anymore.