Garrett Gleim, Author at Gleim Aviation

Up in Smoke: A Look at the Dangers of Airborne Smoke & Ash

Mother nature reminds us again that we are not in control. Even with our modern aircraft—marvels of engineering and human ingenuity—there are times we cannot fly. On Wednesday and continuing into Thursday of this week, many airports in the Northeast were closed due to smoke from Canadian forest fires in Northern Quebec being swept south by a persistent low pressure system parked over Halifax. The ...

Airfoil Icing

On Sunday, daylight savings time ended, and the reality of less daylight is evident in the colder weather we are experiencing. October’s blog article discussed frost and polished frost. November brings cooler nights and a higher likelihood for much of the lower 48 of experiencing freezing rain or even snow. If your aircraft is parked outside, you should inspect all the airfoils to ensure there isn...

Should You Fly With Polished Frost On The Wings?

It’s officially fall and most of the lower 48 will begin seeing nights with frost if they haven’t already. Frost can greatly disrupt the airflow over your wings and horizontal and vertical stabilizers. Case Study (Accident Number: LAX04FA064) On December 8, 2003, about 0655 Pacific standard time, an Iniziative Industrali Sky Arrow 650 TC, N14XL, collided with terrain during takeoff at the...

1-Minute Ground School – the Elusive Microburst

In this week’s 1-Minute Ground School, we will be discussing the elusive microburst. Don't be fooled by the name - there is nothing small about a microburst. Being caught in a microburst exposes an aircraft to immense windshear and can be catastrophic. Due to its significant downdraft, you will find that a small aircraft may not be capable of escaping a microburst. Let's dive into a description of...

1-Minute Ground School – Traffic Patterns

In this week's 1-Minute Ground School, we will be discussing standard traffic patterns procedures. We will discuss traffic pattern entries, traffic pattern altitudes, legs, landing, and safety procedures. When entering a traffic pattern, pilot's should continually scan the airspace for other traffic to have a clear understanding of the congested area. Review the graphics below to understand traffi...

Coolest GA airports to visit for a Power 5 football game

This weekend kicks off the 2022 college football season. It is always the most exciting time of the year for fans who are optimistic about their team’s chances for the season. How many of you have plans to fly yourself to see a game this fall? Are you excited for a certain away game rivalry? I started pondering about the airports I have seen and the ones that seem fun to fly into. So, this week I ...

Lithium-ion battery fires and containment bags

Thank you everyone for your comments and suggestions from my in-flight electrical fire blog. A few comments of particular note came from pilots advocating the use of fire containment bags in the unlikely event of a lithium-ion battery fire. While I concur that these bags are great for safety, the FAA does not seem to share the same passion for their functionality as many of the enthusiastic compan...

1- Minute Ground School – When and How to Glide

Electrical fires in flight

Settling back into Gleim life this past week following a fantastic, though hectic Oshkosh, I noticed that one particular model airplane was getting a lot of flight time around our house: a wonderful old diecast DC-9 we found on a morning stroll through the Air Venture marketplace. This morning, I watched my oldest son zooming it in clear for a seemingly never-ending sequence of touch-and-gos on...

Oshkosh—Memories of a lifetime

AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, known to many pilots as just “Oshkosh”, is the greatest annual aviation celebration in the world. While other airshows attempt to boast the same designation, Oshkosh is truly an airshow above all others because it is created for all those interested in aviation and everyone is welcome to attend and enjoy aviation together as one community. Oshkosh 2022 was an ...

Summer Flying Series – Dehydration

Our summer flying poll showed dehydration tied with low-level wind shear as one of your main concerns during the summer months. Pilots should constantly be aware of the effects of human factors in flight. Many pilots do not realize that lack of hydration can affect their coordination and cognitive abilities. The case studies below are incidents that very well may have been prevented if the pilots ...

Summer Flying Series – Low-Level Wind Shear

In our summer flying poll, the 3rd most concerning weather phenomena during the summer is low-level wind shear. Our previous 2 blogs discussed thunderstorms, which often can cause low-level windshear, but thunderstorms are not the only cause of it. A Case Study [The following are excerpts from Accident Number: ERA17FA174] On May 5, 2017, about 1922 eastern daylight time, a Cirrus SR22, N...