Tag Archives: Skytypers

506 Erika Armstrong in the Cockpit

Our guest is Erika Armstrong, an experienced pilot, author, speaker, instructional design director for aircrew training, and a university aviation professor. In the news, JetSuite is the launch customer for Zunum hybrid-electric planes, a fatal electric airplane accident, onboard pet monitoring technology, airline flight 1’s, a Geico Skytyper is lost, Southwest Airline’s financial outlook, and kidnapping charges at a flight school.

Guest

Erika Armstrong

Erika Armstrong

Erika Armstrong was an international corporate and airline pilot, and she’s currently the Director of Instructional Design at Advanced Aircrew Academy. She’s also an aviation professor at Metropolitan State University in Denver, specializing in aircraft systems and propulsion.

We talk with Erika about what it takes to be a pilot and what it does not, the “pilot personality,” training for a flying career, and some of her experiences during her 30 years in aviation.

Erika holds an ATP with 6,000 hours, primarily as captain in a Boeing 727-200 and Cessna Citation 500 series aircraft. She has international flight experience in a Gulfstream and performed the FAA proving runs for a Falcon 20 Part 135 certification. Erika flew for the Red Cross and spent 12 years in the charter and business aviation sector as a pilot, dispatcher, and maintenance/avionics coordinator. She also flew 24/7 air ambulance in the Midwest.

Erika has seen many changes in aviation, but she finds that the single common thread holding all the generations together is the spirit of aviation. It’s her goal to help reignite that passion in the up and coming generations and to help change the perspective of aviation, for both men and women. Be sure to read her article Pilot Evolution: Begin at the End for some insightful advice.

You can find Erika’s professional pilot columns in national aviation magazines and she is the author of “A Chick in the Cockpit: My Life Up in the Air.” She has a new book to be released called “Zen and the Art of Being a Pilot.”

Aviation News

JetSuite to Launch Hybrid-to-Electric Planes by 2022

JetSuite is to be the launch customer for Zunum hybrid-electric planes. The private charter jet company plans to acquire up to 100 of the 6 to 12 passenger aircraft in the early 2020’s for short flights. In the Zunum aircraft, JetSuite looks to 80% lower emissions, reduced noise, a 7700-mile range, and a maximum cruise speed of 340 miles per hour.

Matt Knapp, the founder of Zunum Aero, and our guest in Airplane Geeks episode #453 says, “We remain on track for flight testing in 2019 and continue to grow our technical leadership across power electronics, electric motors, propulsors and aircraft. If you or someone you know are interested in joining our team, please visit our Careers page.”

Two Dead In Siemens-Powered eFusion Crash

Two pilots were killed in a crash involving the Siemens-powered Magnus eFusion electric aircraft in Hungary. Initial reports from witnesses describe the plane maneuvering at low altitude, catching fire, then crashing in a near vertical dive.

New tech allows pet owners to monitor animals during flights

The Unisys Corporation Digi-Pet system lets owners monitor their pet while they are in the cargo hold of an aircraft. Sensors attached to the pet’s kennel or carry case transmit data such as temperature, oxygen levels, vibration, and light. Pet owners are alerted if any problems arise. The system offers live video streaming, photos and voice exchange via a smartphone or tablet app.

Flight 1 – The most prestigious airline flight number

Airlines sometimes designate “Flight 1” for a special purpose. This list and infographic collects presents all the airline Flight 1s.

For pilot killed in crash, flying was a journey with his father

Sadly, Executive Officer/Wing Pilot Ken Johansen, age 52, died when his GEICO Skytypers plane went down shortly after takeoff from Republic Airport in Farmingdale, New York. There were no injuries on the ground. David has flown with the Skytypers several times and reported his experiences on this podcast.

Southwest Airlines preps for revenue drop after fatal accident, scales back growth

Bookings at Southwest Airlines have declined after the fatal engine failure in April. The airline expects second quarter revenue per seat mile to drop 3 percent and additionally, Southwest is lowering growth plans for 2018 due to increased fuel prices.

Two Redding flight school employees arrested, accused of kidnapping student

Attorney: Chinese flight student had been expelled; kidnap charges disputed

The IASCO Flight Training general manager and his assistant have been arrested on suspicion of kidnapping. They are charged with kidnapping one of their students, allegedly to take the student on a plane and send him to China. A defence attorney says the two were only taking the student to the airport because he flunked his classes and his visa had expired.

Airline Story of the Week

Via @nt_planespotter, we see Hailey’s #Journeyto30 takes off. Hailey Dawson is an 8-year-old with Poland syndrome. She was born missing three fingers on her right hand and she wears a prosthetic hand made with a 3D printer. The youngster wants to throw out the first pitch at every Major League Baseball park. All 30 MLB teams invited her to be their guest of honor, and United Airlines offered to fly her to each of her stadium visits. Follow #Journeyto30 on Twitter for the latest news and photos.

Video of the Week

Tim Trott (the Drone Professor) sent in the AvWeb article Video Captures Damage-Free Road Landing. “A young pilot who some sources say is a student ducked power lines, dodged cars, buildings and pedestrians and put her Cessna 172 down without a scratch on a busy Huntington Beach, California, street.”

Video: Light plane makes emergency landing on Huntington Beach [street]

Mentioned

David comments on the new book by Tim Trott, Out of the Blue: The Life and Legend of Kirby ‘Sky King’ Grant. In the book, Tim answers the questions: Do you remember the Sky King TV show? Do you know who flew the plane in the shows? Was Kirby Grant a “real” pilot? How many different “Songbird” planes were there? What happened to the “missing episodes”? What did Kirby Grant do after the TV series ended? Did you know that Kirby Grant was a singer?

Listener Andrew is a pilot with Alaska Airlines and has flown the new B737-700 cargo jet we talked about in a previous episode. He sent along a couple of photos:

Credit

Outtro by Bruno Misonne from The Sound of Flaps.

Episode 318 Listener Survey Results

Oceana Airshow Geico Flight / Honor Flight

Results from our listener survey, the B787 battery issue, Air Traffic Control Center vulnerability, historic aircraft, flying a float plane, and air-to-air photography.

News

Boeing, FAA Don’t Understand 787 Battery Shortcomings, Japanese Say

After the Boeing 787 experienced Lithium Ion battery problems, Boeing made some changes designed to reduce the chances of thermal runaway, and to better manage the situation should it occur. But the root cause for the problem was never determined. By Christine Negroni in her Flying Lessons blog.

Illinois man accused of torching air traffic center was being transferred to Hawaii

A disgruntled FAA contractor posted a suicide note on Facebook, brought a can of gasoline into the Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center, and set the place on fire, affecting more than 2,000 flights. The man was found by paramedics as he attempted to end his life with a knife.

Allen vs Jackson to restore or recreate the battle for collections

Paul Allen (co-Founder of Microsoft) and Peter Jackson of (Lord Of The Rings Fame) are both amassing huge warbird collections.  They are being painstakingly restored by Allen and  completely recreated from scratch by Jackson using original plans.  The article questions if flying these on of a kind aircraft is worth the risk.  Also does creating a “Clone” of an original demean the original and cloud the historical significance.

Flying a Seaplane

Rob’s been learning to fly a float plane.

David’s Report

Geico Skytypers Blue Angels

The Geico Skytypers were invited by the Blue Angels to do a formation flight, and they wanted to David to take some air-to-air photographs. David relates that adventure.

David in Texan

At the Naval Air Station Oceana Air Show, David spoke with Kenneth Hess, the Public Affairs Officer for the Chief of Naval Operations, Energy and Environmental Readiness Division. They discussed biofuels and goals of the Navy to reduce energy consumption. Ken mentions the free Energy Warrior app, which lets you discover what the Navy is doing to lead change and increase combat capability. You also learn facts about U.S. oil dependence, and what America’s Navy is doing about it.

Also at Oceana, David spoke with air show and event announcer Ric Peterson about what it takes to be an announcer.

The Australia News Desk

WONZ DH.83 Fox Moth

In one of the shortest AusDesks of all time, Grant chats briefly with Errol Cavit and Zac Yates after the recent Wings Over New Zealand Forum meet-up at Ardmore Airport near Auckland.

WONZ Two Seat Spitfire

In addition to Grant scoring a flight in a de Havilland DH.83 Fox Moth, there were plenty of amazing aircraft (including a 2-seat Spitfire) and excellent presentations during the day (plus some beer at the end).

Across the Pond

Ascender © Bristol Spaceplanes

Ascender © Bristol Spaceplanes

Pieter looks at the UK Government Review of commercial spaceplane certification and operations: Technical Report [PDF], as well as the recent news on MOM, MAVEN and Rosetta.

Mentioned

Airbus helps develop first supersonic biz jet

Rand Peck Aviation Photography

AIR14 – The pilots’ view

Plane Spotting: U.N. Brings Rare Jets to NYC

Melanoma Incidence Is Much Higher for Flight Crews

Credit

Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at brotherloverocks.com.

Episode 170.5 – Dot Matrix Printing at 10,000 Feet

GEICO Skytypers Airshow Team

This Special Edition of the Airplane Geeks podcast was produced by Airplane Geeks co-host David Vanderhoof. David interviewed the Geico Skytypers at Naval Air Station Oceania’s Airshow Sunday, September 24, 2011:

The teams hospitality was fantastic as I was invited to the warmth of their tour trailer to sit down with two of the team, #4 Bob Johansen and #8 Steve Kapur. With them was Allie Schotanus who is part of their marketing team.

Thanks to my Max, Rob, and Dan for giving me the outlet for this interview I am quite proud of.

You can find out more about the Skytypers:

http://www.geicoskytypers.com/

Twitter.com/GEICOSkytyper

http://www.facebook.com/GEICOSkytypers

 

GEICO Sktytpers

Follow the Airplane Geeks on Twitter and on Facebook, send us email at thegeeks@airplanegeeks.com, or leave a message on our listener line: (361) GEEKS01.

Opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.