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January 16, 2001

Daryl Hegyi, President
Jeff Rochon, Vice-President
Glenn Ursel, Treasurer & Acting Secretary

Mail to: Pacific Ultralight Flying Association
102-16071 82 Avenue
Surrey, B.C. V3S 2L6

PUFA Newsletter published by Glenn Ursel

I guess it's because of the weather that nobody showed up for the meeting last November. That's okay because we are still going to have elections this month.

It appears that the club is sort of going into a tail spin and it looks like the spin is fully developed now. It’s time to apply a lot of rudder, centre the stick and put in a little forward elevator, then break out of this attitude. Don't forget to add power!

Hopefully a new exec can make the difference. So come out and vote or acclaim the new president, vice president, secretary and treasurer.

As some of you know, Bob McLellan’s wife, Jean, passed away at the age of 75 years on Saturday, December 30th, 2000. Jean had been in poor health and in frequent pain for some time due to a tumour on her upper spinal column. Bob told me that she had trouble with cysts and growths in the area of her throat since childhood after doctors had irradiated her thymus gland. While it is always sad when a friend passes, it is sometimes a mixed blessing as appears to be this case since Jean is no longer suffering. The family plans to hold a celebration of her life sometime in late January. We offer Bob our sincerest empathy and condolences.

An article on winter flying and winter operations is included from a booklet called Plane Tips sent to me by Don Willougby recently. The advice is intended for pilots of conventional aircraft but some points will be of interest to pilots of ultralights, especially advanced ultralights. In the November issue of the PUFA Newsletter, I mentioned that Josef Kietaibl and I were planning to motorcycle to Baja, Mexico to visit fellow ultralighter Gordon Denham and his wife, Beverley. We did that and I have included an account of our trip with a few pictures in this issue of the PUFA Newsletter.

As outgoing President Daryl Hegyi has so adroitly put it, our club seems to be in a tail spin at the moment with declining membership and attendance. We hope that all local members will ensure that they attend this month’s meeting to meet the minimum quorum requirements for the AGM to elect a new executive. If I may say so, I believe that one of the major contributing factors to the declining membership is the tariff for joining the club. I noticed recently that the Calgary Ultralight Flying Club charges only $20 for membership. I suggest we consider lowering our fees likewise.

Airflow Ultralight Aviation Ltd. sponsored a workshop on the preparation procedures and application of stits fabric to a horizontal stabilizer recently.

At this hands on workshop Jerome Carsh shared his extensive knowledge of stits covering with a group of interested aviators. The workshop was held at Airflow's Delta location and, apart from the knowledge and experience gained, the weekend proved to be very congenial for all participants.

More workshops are planned. Anyone interested should contact Airflow Ultralight Aviation Ltd. for advice in this regard.

Winter flying is not particularly hazardous if you, the pilot, will use a little extra caution and exercise good judgement in analyzing weather situations.

By observing the following precautions, winter operation of your aircraft will be a lot safer:
1. Thoroughly familiarize yourself with your aircraft and engine handbooks in order to know intimately all systems and the recommended winter operation procedures.

2. Know that winter’s low temperatures can change the viscosity of engine oils, reduce the effectiveness of the storage battery, and precipitate metal failures in various component parts of your aircraft with little or no warning. For this reason, engine preheat is essential for the engine as well as the cockpit area.

3. Conduct your preflight planning and flight preparation with thoroughness to detail and appropriate to the intended operation.

4. Remember that winter daylight hours are few and plan your flight accordingly. If your night experience is limited, be aware that night operation in winter can impose a special hazard all its own.

5. In making your business appointments, always give yourself an out by informing your contact that you intend to fly and will arrive at a certain time, unless the weather conditions should be unfavourable.

6. Remember that a VFR pilot should avoid faking chances if the weather is marginal. Stay on the ground! A marginal weather operation in the winter is doubly hazardous since a pilot may be severely handicapped in selecting either an alternate course of action or change in destination.

7. Study the trend of the weather religiously in order to operate with maximum safety. Check all available weather information.

8. Never fly into snow or rain showers which obscure the terrain. Use your good judgement and the 180-degree turn before you lose forward vision and become a statistic.

9. Do not attempt to fly on instruments or on top of an overcast if you are not instrument-rated, current AND flying a properly equipped aircraft.

10. Never attempt to take off with frost, ice or snow on the windshield, or on the wings and control surfaces of your aircraft.

11. Be forewarned that many pilots have inadvertently been placed on instruments, following a take-off in beautiful VFR weather, in aircraft that had been parked outside overnight. The condensation of moisture in the heater ducting completely covered the windshield from the inside. When conducting such an operation, make sure that the heater and air vents have purged the moist air prior to take-off.

12. Never be too proud or ashamed to ask a local operator or Accident Prevention Counsellor for advice about local flying conditions. They are probably more familiar with the local flying conditions than you.

13. Have the following items checked for winter operation: Cabin heater system for operation and leaks (CARBON MONOXIDE CAN BE DEADLY), exhaust system, windshield defrosting system, engine idle speed, carburettor heat, brakes, etc.

14. Remember that during let-down, it may be difficult to keep the engine warm enough for high power operation, if needed. It may be desirable to use considerably more power than normal during approaches to avoid excessive engine cooling. Remember that a rapid throttle operation may result in engine failure.

15. Be alert during winter months for white-out conditions. Due to snow covered terrains, haze, and falling snow, you could find yourself in instrument conditions with a complete loss of visual contact.

16. Remember that depth perception is faulty when attempting to land on unbroken snow-covered surfaces or at night in marginal weather conditions.

17. Remember that YOU, the pilot, have complete responsibility for the GO, NO-GO decision based on the best information available - DO NOT let compulsion take the place of good judgment.

WINTER OPERATIONS

Anti-icing Additives Ice in the fuel system of aircraft continues to cause many major accidents during winter operations. A high proportion of these accidents are fatal.

While proper fuel sampling and sumping is essential in preventing the formation of ice due to free water in the fuel, it will not eliminate the hazard of ice blockage of fuel flow. Under certain conditions, water in suspension or solution may form ice crystals. Since water in suspension or solution is not removed by sumping, the formation of ice crystals must be prevented by adding anti-icing additives, such as isopropyl alcohol or ethylene glycol monomethyl ether (EGME), to the fuel. Both additives absorb water and reduce the freezing point of the mixture. Teledyne Continental Motors and Avco Lycoming approve the use of both additives in their engines, subject to approval by the respective airframe manufacturers. When alcohol or EGME are used, instruction for their proper use must be carefully followed. Obtain and follow the aircraft and engine manufacturer’s recommendations regarding the use of anti-icing additives in the fuel for your specific aircraft.

Draining Sumps

Proper sumping is very important during the preflight check. Sufficient fuel should be drawn off into a transparent container to see if the fuel is free of contaminants. Extra care should be taken during changes in temperature, particularly when it nears the freezing level. Ice may be in the tanks, which may turn to water when the temperature rises, and may filter down into the carburettor or fuel controller causing engine failure. Water can freeze in lines and filters causing stoppage. A small amount of water, when frozen, can prevent proper operation of fuel pumps, selector valves, and carburettors.

Snow and Ice Removal

Aircraft easily accumulate snow, ice, and frost. Snow and ice are obvious and must be removed before flight. Frost, however, is more deceptive. Frost not only increases gross weight, it drastically alters the lift-drag ratio of an aircraft making takeoff extremely hazardous. There is no such thing as a little frost on aircraft surfaces. The only conditions that apply are none or some and some is too much. Never risk aircraft damage by chipping or scraping it off; let the warmth of a hangar or deicer do it gently.

Where removal of deposits must be accomplished outside, the use of a nonflammable de-icing fluid, such as one containing a glycol base, is quite effective. This type of remover has an additional advantage in that the slow rate of evaporation coupled with its viscosity leaves a protective film on the surfaces which dissipates slowly thereby providing a latent degree of protection. Protection decreases with time and melting snow diluting the fluid.

The glycol solution should not be applied to acrylic plastics as it may cause crazing. Do not spray the de-icing fluid into pitot tubes, static ports, or engine inlets. The inaccessibility of the horizontal stabilizer on T-tail aircraft makes it easy to overlook when inspecting and deicing these aircraft. An item often neglected and the source of many problems, is the landing gear of aircraft operating from mud, snow, and slush covered surfaces. Experience has proven it wise to remove most types of wheel streamline covers from fixed-gear aircraft during the winter months even though it results in a never-ending lob of trying to keep the aircraft clean. This practice eliminates the possibility of mud, slush, etc., building up between the tires and streamline covers and then freezing into a solid mass. On retractable-gear aircraft, the integrity of shields, boots, and curtains used to protect actuating devices and switches must be maintained. In addition, retraction mechanism lubrication, in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations, cannot be overstressed. Oleo struts should be serviced with nitrogen for winter operations. Otherwise, ice crystals can form in the hydraulic fluid and cut the seals. The struts should be wiped with clean hydraulic fluid to remove snow, ice, and dirt. Improperly rigged skis are also a relatively common source for accidents each winter.

Refreeze Problems

Make sure there is no melted ice (water) on the aircraft that can refreeze on surfaces, in flight control areas, or landing gear mechanisms when they are out in the cold again. Small quantities of water accumulating in places such as control surfaces may create a condition of static unbalance that would seriously impair the operational control of the aircraft in flight. Check the pitot head area and static ports for any refreeze water that may create turbulent air flow.

Water freezing in accessories may also cause a problem. For example, a pilot could not get either alternator on the line after starting both engines. Investigation revealed that moisture trapped in the alternators had frozen the rotor preventing rotation. When the starters engaged, the alternator drive pad couplings sheared.

Check drain holes in pitot tubes, wings, stabilizers, flight control surfaces, fuselages, and airscoops to make sure they are unobstructed and capable of serving their intended purpose. Systems should be checked for the presence of water in accordance with the appropriate aircraft manufacturer’s recommendations. Special attention should be paid to de-icer boots and prop de-icers. Maintenance and operations personnel should leave propellers on parked aircraft in a position that will reduce the chance of water accumulating in the spinner cavities causing unbalance and resulting in damage when the engine is started and run. In order to prevent prop oil congealing and the prop becoming inoperative during flight in very cold weather, it may be necessary to exercise the constant speed prop every few minutes by moving the prop controls forward and back during flight. Be careful and avoid overspeed.

Originally published in Plane Tips by Bob Stevens of Glendale, CA, USA

On November 23rd, 2000 Josef and I rode down the I5 to San Diego. The first two days were very cold riding but, once we reached central California, it was much better. To avoid heavy traffic, we crossed the border into Tijuana in the early morning.

who had gone down to the Baja in October. We had a great 3 day visit with them and their friends on the beach and
then carried on to La Paz where we obtained vehicle permits for mainland Mexico and boarded a ferry for the 18 hour

ride to Mazatlan. Upon arrival there, we rode down to Lake Chapala where Josef had recently purchased a house in the town of Ajijic on the north shore of Lake Chapala. In Spanish, the letter j is pronounced like an h so Ajijic sounds like "Aheehic".

Anyway, after about 5 days there, we were ready to return to Canada on our bikes. Unfortunately, the journey ended rather abruptly for Josef in a disastrous crash of his motorcycle on a sharp curve of the autopisto (toll freeway) just north of the city of Tepic which is about 280 km south of Mazatlan. What happened was we were going quite fast around some corners on the autopisto just north of Tepic with me in the lead when I encountered a raised speed bump which was about 3 inches high and about 5 inches wide stretching across both lanes in the middle of a curve. As I was in a lean, I was concerned about crashing so I straightened up the bike and rode over the bump. After that I couldn't negotiate the rest of the curve and had to run off on a side exit that led to a road joining the autopisto at this point. After a couple hundred feet, I managed to stop the bike without incident. However, as I was coming to a stop, I heard a tremendous commotion behind me and turned to see Josef's bike tumbling end for end with Josef sliding along about 20 feet in front of the bike.

As I watched in horror, Josef slid to the ditch and then flipped around and flew through the air backwards and struck the bank. He then fell forward into the ditch. Expecting the worst (a broken spine), I ran forward anxiously to check him and found him groaning in a semi-conscious state which reminded me of another ultralighter friend, Bob Christen, when he crashed at Glen Valley. Anyway, after a minute or two, Josef was able to speak and I helped him sit up. He was in a great deal of pain and could hardly breathe he said. Shortly after this a Mexican Federal policeman arrived and he stopped a passing

ambulance the attendants of which strapped a metal support thing to Josef's back so that they could lift him onto a stretcher. They then left for a hospital in Tepic. Meanwhile, I discovered that when Josef's bike had crashed down on its tail, the metal tube behind the rear wheel that supports the saddle bags had been bent in to the rear wheel so that the wheel would not turn. The policeman called for a tow truck on his radio and when the tow truck arrived, the operator attached a chain to the underside of the engine somewhere and a nylon tow rope from the bent bar to the front bumper of the police car. Then they pulled the bar back from the wheel by jerking the bar out.

The policeman then offered to ride the bike to the hospital. I agreed and got on my bike to follow him. When we got to Tepic and started driving through the Tepic city streets to the hospital, we came to a traffic light. The policeman turned left and accelerated too much, resulting in him crashing into the curb. Yikes, I thought to myself. Is he going to end up in the hospital with Josef? But he was okay and we got to the hospital without further incident.

The bone specialist that was mainly in charge of Josef's care spoke only Spanish as did all the nurses. So it was difficult to communicate with them. However, an internist doctor spoke some English and we could talk to him about Josef's condition. The internist claimed that Josef had only 3 ribs broken in the right side of his chest with one of the ribs broken around to his back. When Josef went to the hospital in White Rock after we returned, they found 5 ribs broken on the right side of his back as well as the 3 ribs broken in front. At the time, we questioned the Mexicans' assessment since he hit the bank with his back but the internist assured us the ribs were broken only in the front.

The xray machine the Mexican doctors used was a portable xray machine which didn't give me much confidence in their results.

We were in the hospital for 5 days. About the fourth day, I rode Josef's bike back to Lake Chapala to his house in Ajijic and rented a car to bring Josef back from Tepic. When I got to Tepic, I called a Mexican that had informed us a couple days previously that he was President of a local motorcycle club and offered to help us even to the extent of storing our bikes. I took him up on the offer to store my bike since we were concerned about Josef's condition and wanted to return to Canada ASAP.

We left Tepic about 11 am Sunday morning and had to get to Lake Chapala, about 60 kim south of Guadalajara, to turn in the rented car and then catch a taxi back to the Guadalajara Airport to get the plane that was scheduled to leave at 4:15 pm. It was a hectic trip containing many anxious moments for me at least.

In general, I found the Mexican people to be very friendly and cooperative. The cities also seem to be very safe contrary to what one reads in the newspapers. I also was amazed at how wealthy many of them are. The neighbourhood that the hospital was in was obviously very old as evidenced by abandoned lots but the houses there were very costly looking with expensive looking SUVs often parked in their garages. Lake Chapala reputedly has the second best climate in the world with moderate temperatures year round being that it is some 5000 feet above sea level.

When Josef fully recovers (hopefully) from his injuries, we plan to return to Lake Chapala to get our bikes and continue the journey back to Canada.

Glenn Ursel