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You have a small window to get all of our digital downloads (books) and online courses for ½ price until December 1st.  After that, it’s back to the list price.  Perfect for you or a CFI in training that you know to Gift.

The last 141 Modernization Meeting will be on Dec 2nd in Ft Myers, FL.

This year, I sat on several committees for the rewrite of FAR Part 141.  We met several times, sometimes in person, and some via Zoom.  Both October and November's scheduled meetings were cancelled due to the Government shutdown.  They haven’t indicated that there will be replacement meetings for those, so I believe that the December meeting will be the final one.

After this meeting, the committees will meet a few more times and then submit the recommendations to the FAA in March 2026.  From there, it goes to rulemaking and will be there for quite a long time.  I’d guess it will be 3-5 years before we see anything solid from the rulemaking process, but that is just a guess.

I’ll keep you posted on the results of this December meeting and where things go from here.

The Eights on Pylons Argument

Lately, the CFI Study Group’s Facebook page has had many posts about whether Eights on Pylons is a Fixed Power Maneuver.  The references quoted vary, but I can tell you that this is a fixed, not variable, power maneuver.

While the Airplane Flying Handbook and ACS do not mention that this is a fixed power maneuver, you can derive that it is by reading the text and applying what is said.

For example, the statement “Even in strong winds, the altitude variations are small.”  This could only be true if the airspeed is allowed to vary during climbing or descending.  If the airspeed is held constant, then the pilot would need to fly between the highest and lowest pivotal altitude calculated for both the tailwind and headwind.  This translates into several hundred feet of altitude difference, which is not small.  Previous handbooks say that altitude changes on the altimeter would be barely perceptible.  

The reason the altitude varies by such a small amount is precisely why this is a fixed-power, variable-airspeed maneuver.  If you are too high, you’ll descend to fly to the correct pivotal altitude, which will bring the airplane closer to the correct pivotal altitude.  At the same time, the airspeed is allowed to increase due to the descent, which will increase the airspeed, which will raise the pivotal altitude.  This creates a doubling effect, and therefore, the altitude changes are small.

Hopefully, this clears up the argument.

PROTIPS

1. When taking off on a runway at night, turn on all lights and strobes as you are entering the runway.  Align the airplane to the left or right of the centerline.  This makes your airplane easier to see to landing traffic.

2. Don’t line up and wait at a non-towered airport.  Pilots do all kinds of things at non-towered airports, like making turns contrary to the traffic pattern, slipping from abeam the touchdown point with no power all the way to the runway (constantly turning and with a short radius), etc.  It’s easy not to see what you aren’t expecting.  Instead, turn the airplane through 360 degrees when on the ground to see the entire pattern.  Wait for any landing traffic to clear the runway before entering it.

3. When possible, do a flow check before using the checklist.  This way, you just need to verify using the checklist and not have your head down for too long.  Mnemonics can also be used instead of flow checks, like the before takeoff CIGAR TIPS.  Controls, Instruments, Gas, Attitude (trims, Runup, Transponder, Interior (Doors/Windows Closed), Position lights and Strobe, and Seatbelts.

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