Flight Levels Online - The Online Magazine for Twin Commander Owners and Operators

Taking the Fast Track to Flight Levels Flying

Chris Kimball is proof positive that a fat logbook full of multiengine and turbine experience is not an absolute requirement to move safely and swiftly into a single-pilot Twin Commander cockpit.

Kimball, 26, had just over 600 hours total time and all of 10.5 hours multiengine time when he began flying 690JK, the TPE331-10T-powered 690B owned and operated by Belt Tech, the Washington, Indiana-based, family-owned company where he serves as vice president.

FROM THE FLIGHTLINE

SEIZE THE DAY WITH THE RIGHT INSURANCE PROGRAM AND THE RIGHT TRANSITION TRAINING

No other aircraft matches a Twin Commander for its ease of operation, its versatility, dependability, and performance. That's why taking care of them and the people who operate them is so vital.

USING RADAR FOR SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

One of the pillars of professional piloting is the ability to maintain situational awareness (SA). As an instructor at the Air Force Advanced Instrument School, I had the opportunity to study a number of Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) accidents. There is one commonality you'll find in every CFIT accident-a loss of SA, which can be either in the vertical or horizontal. In other words, the pilot got right, left, or below the black line whose sole purpose is to provide terrain separation. Notably, in many of these CFIT cases the loss of SA was preceded by task saturation.

ONE TAXPAYER VS. THE IRS

Do you want thrills, excitement, and negative interaction with a powerful government agency as part of your flying? No, I wasn't talking about interacting with DHS, FAA, or even an Apache gunship. I was talking about flying your Twin Commander for business without managing your tax situation. Here's my personal story about just such a situation. Try not to make this story yours!

Adventure Travel: FLYING THE LAST FRONTIER

Alaska, with a land mass of 586,412 square miles, is easily the largest state in the union. Surprisingly however, there are no roads at all in 80 percent of the state, providing unusual value to general aviation aircraft. In fact, airplanes have so much utility in Alaska that the state has the highest number of pilots per capita. Approximately one person in 78 enjoys the privileges of having at least a Private Pilot's certificate.

GARMIN TIPS & TRICKS: GPS SIMULATORS

Panel-mount GPS units generally have a built-in simulator (sim) mode so the GPS can be operated in a docking station at home. The manufacturers also provide computer sim programs that you can download to your computer. These are perhaps the best way to learn how to use your GPS.

Twin's New Quality Manager Keeps Things Flowing

When Mike Benike joined Twin Commander Aircraft in August 2011 as Quality Manager, it marked a return to his passion—aviation—that he acquired maintaining F/A-18 Hornets during a 12-year career in the Marine Corps. It also marked his return to Twin Commanders.

SimCom Looks for Twin Commander Motion Sims to be Operational in February

SimCom Training Centers is anticipating FAA approval of its two Twin Commander motion simulators in February, according to the company. The two sims were purchased last year from FlightSafety International and moved to SimCom's Dallas/Ft.Worth training center.