teakettle31

A Site To Catalog My Aircraft Adventures

Cessna 172 Skyhawk

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Aircraft Information
> Aircraft Make: Cessna. Model: 172. Nickname: Skyhawk
> Aircraft Mil Civ Description: Airplane SE Piston
> FAA Category and Class: Airplane Single Engine Land (and Sea)
> Engine Description: Single piston

Aircraft Experience
> As of: 11/4/2024
> Number of Hours Flown: 205
> Number of Times Flown: 133
> Other Aircraft Models Associated: Many submodels of the C-172

First Flown Information
> Sequence First Flown: 7
> Date First Flown: 8/25/1981
> Location First Flown: Corpus Christi, TX
> Who and/or What Organization First Flown With: Not recorded.

C-172 intro flight at Boeing Field’s Galvin Training with Kevin (he delivered our horse, Jewels, from Boise)
(c) Bob Stoney

Recollections: More C-172’s have been built than any other aircraft.  Over 44,000 of them…and Cessna (Textron) is still building them.

The airplane is simple to operate, fun to fly, forgiving and has a reasonable payload (with care, you can take 2 passengers, maybe 3 if they’re not too heavy and go a reasonable distance).

I also flew the larger-engined T-41 (built for the US Air Force as a screener trainer and still in use by more than 12 militaries world-wide) a bit, in various Navy flying clubs. The extra 50 horsepower really helps.

USAFA T-41 Mescalero (stock photo)
(c) wikipedia.org

Piper PA-32 Cherokee 6

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Aircraft Information
> Aircraft Make: Piper Model: PA-32. Nickname: Cherokee 6
> Aircraft Mil Civ Description: Airplane Single Engine (SE) Piston
> FAA Category and Class: Airplane Single Engine Land
> Engine Description: single piston

Aircraft Experience
> As of: 11/4/2024
> Number of Hours Flown: 2
> Number of Times Flown: 1
> Other Aircraft Models Associated: none

First Flown Information
> Sequence First Flown: 133
> Date First Flown: 11/6/2002
> Location First Flown: Mid-continent airport, Wichita, KS (KICT)
> Who and/or What Organization First Flown With: Garmin, Phil Straub

Recollections: This flight was with Garmin International, the makers of excellent Avionics for MANY uses (boating, hiking, and aviation).  The aviation avionics development group was located in Olathe, KS but they flew this test airplane down to Wichita for this particular flight.  I always enjoyed working with Garmin, including this flight with Phil Straub, who would later go on to become a leader within Garmin.

The project involved a test of a relatively new systems called “Traffic Information Service-Broadcast” (TIS-B)…..a system which used approach radars (located near most major/large airports to detect aircraft flying (including their transponder information) and broadcasting this information out to be used by any airplane with the proper equipment.  If you’re familiar with “TCAS”, this is an alternative.  The system worked well, with a few issues that got ironed out over the years by the very diligent engineers and testers at Garmin.

Piper PA-32 Cherokee 6 (stock photo)
(c) airliners.net

I always enjoyed working w/Garmin, they were professional, always tried to make their products better (beyond the “minimum level of safety”) and–after I retired from the FAA–I started consulting with their facility in Salem, Oregon. I don’t know the details, but Garmin’s market share from the early 2000’s to present day increased significantly.

Beechcraft D17 Staggerwing

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Aircraft Information
> Aircraft Make: Beechcraft. Model: D17. Nickname: Staggerwing
> Aircraft Mil Civ Description: Airplane SE Piston
> FAA Category and Class: Airplane single engine land
> Engine Description: single piston (radial)

Aircraft Experience
> As of: 6/25/2024
> Number of Hours Flown: 1
> Number of Times Flown: 1
> Other Aircraft Models Associated: n/a

First Flown Information
> Sequence First Flown: 144
> Date First Flown: 4/25/2004
> Location First Flown: Enid, OK (KEND)
> Who and/or What Organization First Flown With: Bob Lines (private owner)

Recollections:
During my phase living in Wichita, KS and wanting to buy an Airplane to travel the Midwest, I considered the Staggerwing.  Bob Lines was nice enough to take me, and my son Will and daughter Allison for a flight.  We drove down to Enid and flew in Mr. Lines’ gorgeous machine.  What a machine, smooth to fly, fast…really ahead of it’s time in terms of style, comfort and speed.  In the end, I decided I wanted a twin for my family and–despite considering other Staggerwings–never did purchase an airplane (a transfer to Seattle, in the end, ky-boshed the idea).

Beech Staggerwing (file photo)
(c) airhistory.net

DeHavilland DHC-2/U-6 Beaver

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Aircraft Information
> Aircraft Make: DeHavilland of Canada. Model: DHC-2 (Military: U-6). Nickname: Beaver
> Aircraft Mil Civ Description: Airplane SE Piston
> FAA Category and Class: airplane Single Engine Land
> Engine Description: Single Engine

Aircraft Experience
> As of: 11/4/2024
> Number of Hours Flown: 631
> Number of Times Flown: 368
> Other Aircraft Models Associated: U-6

First Flown Information
> Sequence First Flown: 22
> Date First Flown: 3/20/1986
> Location First Flown: NAS Patuxent River, MD (KNHK)
> Who and/or What Organization First Flown With: US Naval Test Pilot School, Baldwin

The original “Teakettle 31”, USNTPS U-6
(c) US Navy

Recollections: People often ask me “What’s your favorite aircraft?”  I usually answer with some variation of “Can’t pick just one”.  But, the short list ALWAYS includes the Beaver.  Why?  Because it’s a joy to fly but, beyond that, it is one of the best airplanes that the US Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS) has in its curricula.  Period.  This statement often elicits skepticism.  I usually address this skepticism with the statement “The U-6 Beaver, as it’s used at TPS, is the perfect F-35 simulator.”  This generally confuses and/or adds to the skepticism.  I always go on to explain it this way:

     One of the missions of USNTPS is to begin to instill in its students “adaptability”.  The ability to adapt to new and foreign situations in the conduct of flight test.  Ultimately that’s what a tester does….adapts to a new aircraft, a new aerodynamic modification or engine, a new system installed in the aircraft.  They must PLAN for their test, CONDUCT the test, and REPORT on the test, all on something that may be very foreign to them.  They must adapt, and overcome–to one degree or another–that destabilizing feeling when you’re presented with something new or, to you, unusual.  The USNTPS curricula bakes this into their students by repetitive exposure to a huge variety of aircraft.  The students test plan, fly, and report on perhaps 20-25 different aircraft during the one year course.  And, perhaps the BEST at this role of teaching “adaptability” (at least for the Fixed Wing students) is the U-6 Beaver.  Think about it.  Most pilots and engineers/NFO’s come to USNTPS (even 30 years ago, and certainly today) without ever having flown a reciprocating-engined airplane.  Without operating an engine with 3 levers, just for one engine.  Certainly without ever having flown a tailwheel aircraft.  In that way, the “newness” of this admittedly 77 year old design is as foreign to a USNTPS student as the prototype F-35 was to the first cadre of its testers.  

“Tester 34”, USNTPS U-6 (stock photo)
(c) US Navy

I always loved flying the Beaver, watching the students slowly learn how to fly it.  Thinking back on it, it’s amazing that the Navy let me do this because I wasn’t a “taildragger guy”.  It’s a testament to how forgiving the Beaver is and to the strength of the USNTPS Instructor checkout program.  

Flying the Beaver was also a lesson in variety.  My first flight in the Beaver (while a student) was with a Royal Navy helicopter pilot.  I flew it twice more as a student with an ex-Brit fighter pilot.  When I came back as an instructor, I was trained by Chris Wheal, Tom Russell, Jay Elliott, Mike Carriker and others.  I went on to fly it hundreds of times more, on Qual Eval 1 (the first chance for a student to evaluation how an airplane flies…it’s “handling qualities” and to communicate their perspective), Lateral-Directional intro and checkride flights (the U-6 has some interesting Lat-Dir characteristics) and on glider tow flights (the Beaver is a wonderful, if uneconomical, tow plane). 

When my family asks me what I want for Christmas present, my answer is always “A DHC-2 Beaver on floats”.   I watch them fly by my house in the Seattle area almost daily and the sound is wonderful.  I’ve flown a Beaver on floats twice, both at the behest of the Navy.  USNTPS often hires a Beaver on floats for a Qual Eval (more of that “adaptability training”) and, in 1988, I flew one at Lake Tahoe to evaluate the idea of TPS buying their own set of floats and doing an exercise using our own floatplane (we already did our own float helicopter using an OH-58 equipped with floats).  I discovered that–as good as the Beaver is on wheels–it’s AMAZING on floats.  Almost bullet proof.  But, the CO decided against getting our own floatplane, concerned about currency and safety.  Rumor has it that TPS is modifying their U-1 to turbine power and purchasing floats.  Perhaps I’ll get recalled to be an instructor!

DHC-2 N9279Z (stock photo)
(c) Flickr.com

Cessna 150/152

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Aircraft Information
Aircraft Make: Cessna
Aircraft Model: 150/152
Aircraft Nickname:
Aircraft Mil Civ Description: Airplane SE Piston
Category: Airplane
Class: Single Engine Land
Engine Description: Single Engine

First Flown Information
Sequence First Flown:
Date First Flown: 08/22/1981
Location First Flown: Corpus Christi, TX
Who and/or What Organization First Flown With: Did not record

Aircraft Experience
As of: 06/06/2020
Number of Hours Flown: 98
Number of Times Flown: 65
Other Aircraft Models Associated: C-150, C-152

Recollections: Even though the Cessna 150/152 is one of the most common training airplanes in the world, I didn’t fly one until after I’d gotten my Navy wings. The purpose of this flight was to enable me to add a Single Engine Land FAA rating to my newly-minted FAA Multi-engine Land rating…a rating which I had received by “equivalency” while getting my wings in the Navy’s T-44 King Air.

What I remember most about this flight was the man I flew with. Unfortunately, my logbook is not very detailed and I didn’t record his name. But I remember him and the flight well. I was getting a check flight from a local Corpus Christi, TX Fixed-Base-Operator (FBO) from which I planned to rent the C-152 to take a checkride with the FAA. The instructor seemed ancient to my only-recently-winged 23 year-old self. He didn’t say much and, frankly, I wasn’t sure he was really “with it” as I flew the plane out to a working area to demonstrate slow flight, stalls, etc. After some basic air work, he directed me to fly south towards an uncontrolled, austere landing strip for some pattern work. “Austere” is a kind word for UNBELIEVABLY narrow. The strip’s paved area was maybe a total of 10-15 feet wider than the C-152’s landing gear. Beyond that lay what appear to be, at best, rocky bare earth or, at worst, sand that might “swallow” up the 152. Ok, no problem….it’s my first time in this airplane but I’m a Naval Aviator, after all. Upon arrival we did an aerial inspection of the strip, to discover there was a 15-20 knot direct crosswind. I pointed this out to the elderly instructor who’s un-rushed response was “So?”. Well, I guess I’m going to have to do this, I thought. So, I setup my best pattern, tried to stay ahead of the plane and think through the challenging approach and touch and go….account for the wind in the pattern, use partial flaps (the strip was plenty long, if not wide), get that top wing down early enough to judge the wind, remember to keep the aileron into the wind when on the ground, don’t forget the carb heat, etc. Well, let’s just say the approach, landing and touch and go were–while not my best work–safe. I didn’t go off the side of the narrow pavement. I felt fairly successful, having only flown the plane for maybe 30 minutes at that point. I do remember that I was fairly active on the controls but my instructor seemed just barely awake. He was nowhere NEAR the controls (surprising to me) and appeared to me to be just this side of conscious. After I lifted off, I looked over at him and said “What next?” (hoping the answer would be “that was great, let’s go home”). Instead, he answered “Mind if I show you one?” and, for the first time that day, he took the controls. I remember being nervous…my youthful reflexes and recent Naval wings of gold had combined to make my landing safe but not comfortable…what was this old guy going to be able to do? Well, his approach, landing and touch-go were flown with minimal control movements, it seemed like there was no wind (though it was still there), the airplane appeared to be on an “invisible rail in the sky”, and the runway might’ve well have been a hundred feet wide….and I watched him perform a flawless pattern, smooth as can be, with no hint of working hard. After that, he gave me back the controls and gave me a few tips during my next pattern. Tips I remembered and used on every crosswind landing that I’ve flown since. It took me a while, but this young “whipper snapper” learned a thing or two from the “Yoda of Corpus” that day.