Troller

I doubt many people have heard about this brand since it is a Brazilian brand and it is not exported to the U.S. This car is considered a cheaper alternative to the Jeep Wrangler. I know what you are thinking right now, "it is a copy-cat". Well they might look similar but that is where that similarities end. The Troller has a whole different engine, suspension, and chassis. It has a 4-cylinder 3.0L Turbo Diesel engine that will give you 170 horses. The features that this car has that the Wrangler does not is a stock Snorkel and seating for 5 adults. This car is extremely capable in any kind of terrain and is extremely comfortable to drive in the city as well. In my opinion the old Wranglers were much better. Nowadays they seem to be getting weaker since they are made for the city. Am not trying to say a Wrangler not a good car in any way since I owned one myself and I love it to this day. But mine was a 94 Wrangler and extremely capable of anything you threw at it. The Troller is the same thing, maybe not as good as the old Wranglers but it will reach that point soon in my opinion. Troller makes 4x4's and not city cars. An interesting fact that I thought you all should know is that the Wrangler in Brazil will cost you about $45,000 while the Troller only costing about $20,000.

Racing Legend - Bentley Speed 8

Many of people can recognize Bentley not only as an extremely luxurious car brand but also an amazing racing machine. Bentley debut their racing beast in the Le Mans in 2001. The 24 Hour Le Mans is the most known race world-wide. It takes place in a little town of Le Mans in France. The Bentley only won in 2003, right before the project unfortunately was cancelled. The engine that made that win possible was a mid-engine 4.0L V8 TT (twin turbo). This produced a total of 600 horses. Ever since the first time I saw the Bentley it right away caught my attention. Due to its extremely flowing lines and unique aerodynamic design. I always loved the way that the car was so low to the ground that the car curved around the wheels. This gave the car and extremely low center of gravity to get the most traction and stability around the corners. It is sad that Bentley no longer races since they had a lot of potential. Maybe one day they will come back to racing like they did after 73 year when they came out with this car. Lets just hope it wont be 73 years.

MAZDASPEED 6 - Test Drive

I have to say I was extremely impressed the first time I drove this car. So my dad was about to get a new company car so I went out to test drive a couple of cars. I had heard that Mazda had just released an upgraded version of the Mazda6, so I went to the dealer to see it for myself. Statistically I was already impressed. The difference from the original Mazda 6 and the MazdaSpeed 6 is mainly the engine. Mazda pulled out the V6 engine and put in the Mazda 3's engine. You might be wondering why they would ever put a smaller engine and still call it MazdaSpeed, well the reason is because Mazda put in a huge turbo along with the 2.3L in-line 4 engine. This gave this car a total of 274hp. But improving in the engine is not the only thing that Mazda had in mind. Along with the improved horsepower, this was made into an all-wheel-drive and the transmission was switched to the only option of a 6-speed manual.

So I waled into the dealer and requested a test-drive and luckily they said yes. So I got into the car with the guy that was going to sell me the car. At first he started driving, then once he turned around the block I was behind the wheel. So as soon as I start moving a little with the car I simply floor it as hard as I can. There was no burnout whats so ever since this car has a great AWD system which got me from 0 to 60 in 5.7 seconds. As soon as I accelerated I noticed that the guy next to me was very nervous, and as I slow down he starts telling me how he got into car wreck the week before when his brother was driving. I just thought it was kind of funny how I scared him so much! Oh and yes we did end up buying the car and the dealer guy was not the lat person to be scared in that car! So this was my father's company car so rarely I would be able to drive it. Occasionally in the weekends I would be able to drive it and when I did...wow! Let me tell you, this car has an amazing acceleration, great stability, tremendous traction, and to top it all off great looks. The MazdaSpeed 6 is easy distinguishable from the normal Mazda 6 due to its lowered body kits, bigger hood, and bigger dual exhaust. The only thing that really upset me about this car is that the dual exhaust looks really big but actually they are small and you can't see them unless you look into the exhaust. But who cares about how the exhaust looks when you could be doing 150 mph! That's right this car will top out at 150, and that is when the on-board computer will shut off the gas. So if you really wanted to go beyond the limit you could do a few tweaks here and there. I do not advise anyone to do that, 150 is enough! So apart from looking extremely aggressive this car can transfer into a comfortable family sedan. This is simply great, and up to this day my dad and I never regret getting it. Oh and the only reason that my dad's company let us get this car is because it is considered a normal sedan. My dad's company has a policy of no sports cars ;)

Winding Down

We are now in our last week of school here at Purdue University until finals start on Monday. The semester is almost at an end and students are anxiously awaiting a well deserved break. My first semester of flying at the university went extremely well and it has been a great learning experience so far. I have also enjoyed discussing flying with other pilots by posting regularly on this blog.

Last Saturday I went through the final portion of my flying course, also known as a phase-check, and successfully earned an A in Commercial Flight I at Purdue. Completing the course was the most difficult part of the subject because it required that I had 49 hours of flight time logged before I completed the 1 hour phase-check. I was determined to get through the course before the last week of school so that I could mainly use that time to study for my other finals.

The weather on Saturday was becoming unfavorable towards the afternoon with a cell of freezing rain approaching from the west. I examined the weather and determined that it would be safe to proceed if we went west and flew until the weather started to hit. I was extremely grateful that everything went successfully and the examiner got the test done within the hour. It was only about 30 minutes after we landed that the freezing rain began to come down. Now I am ready to begin my second semester of Commercial Flight and am anxiously awaiting the day when I receive my Instrument and Commercial Certificates.

R.I.P. Meigs Field

Every pilot eventually discovers their favorite airport throughout their career for a variety of reasons. Some pilots favor small airports with little traffic, while others enjoy flying into busy airports close to large cities. Sadly, the airport I always dreamed of flying into was closed only months before I began flight lessons. Meigs Field in Chicago became known to me when I played Microsoft Flight Simulator as an early teenager because the airport was the default starting point of the game. I then realized the airport had such an ideal location right on the lakefront of the city. However, I definitely wasn’t the only one favoring this location, because the controversy supporting Meigs eventually made national headlines.

Meigs Field was located on Northerly Island and pilots flying into the airport would get closer to downtown than anyone nearby ever could. It was a spectacular sight for pilots and passengers to see and by 1955 it was the busiest single strip airport in the world. Airline service eventually came to Meigs and the close up view of the city made it a very popular location for the wealthy to travel in and out of Chicago. However, after the attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States government became very concerned on the proximity of Meigs Field to the heavily populated city. The airport took over a month to reopen after the terrorist attacks and that is when Mayor of Chicago Richard M. Daily began to push for the airport being permanently shut down.

Tens of thousands of supporters for Meigs Field, prominently lead by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), petitioned the government to save the airport. In 2001, a deal was made between state and local governments to keep Meigs Field running for 25 more years, but unfortunately it did not pass the United States Senate. Meigs made headlines on March 30, 2003, when Mayor Daily secretly demolished the runway during the middle of the night. The FAA immediately sought legal action against the city, for not notifying the agency of the closing and leaving airplanes stranded at the field.

There were no NOTAMs issued for Meigs being closed until hours after Daily carved X’s along the entire runway and chained the remaining portions of pavement. One airplane had to immediately go around after seeing that there was no runway to land and the stranded airplanes had to takeoff from the 3000 ft taxiway. This act caused an outrage among the general aviation community and compromised homeland security because no controlling agency knew the airport was inoperable. Ever since this day, AOPA and other supports of aviation continue to do everything in their power to protect general aviation airports and prevent another incident like Meigs from ever occurring again.

Tips and Tricks on Winter Flying

Now that temperatures around northern Indiana are beginning to sink into the 30’s and even 20’s it is evident that winter is fast approaching. The changes in seasons also bring about different flying conditions for pilots both good and bad. Everyone is mainly happy that they no longer have to clean bugs off the windshield but that is beside the point. Some pilots consider winter to be the best flying time of the year, while others dread the notion of flying in the frigid and sometimes dangerous terrain.

While it can be unpleasant pre-flighting the aircraft with arctic winds blowing snow into your face, once the engine is warmed up and the cabin heat is pumping in warm air, flying the aircraft can be a very pleasant experience. Cooler temperatures make the air less dense and therefore generate better performance from the engine. This produces greater horsepower and faster cooling of the engine. The wings also develop more lift and combined with the good engine performance will give you an exceptional climb rate. Cruising in flight is also more enjoyable due to the fact that there is generally less turbulence than the summer, even with higher winds. Clear air turbulence is the main exception to this, but without the strong thermals and temperature inversions it makes for a much smoother flight.

Every pilot has one main concern during the winter and that is starting the airplane with a cold engine. Storing the plane in a heated hangar usually prevents too many issues unless it is left outside too long after pre-flight. A space heater can also come in handy to warm up a cold engine before attempting to start it and also melts any moisture that may be present in the engine. The wings and tail of the airplane also need to be checked thoroughly for ice and frost because it can disrupt airflow and cause the airplane to stall almost immediately after takeoff. Once airborne, pilots need to be watchful centrally around the engine temperature. The mixture should be leaned enough to peak exhaust gas temperature, and in a normally aspirated engine, carburetor heat should be applied in any sign of engine roughness.

After a successful flight it is always a good idea to fill the fuel tanks up to full to prevent any moisture from getting into the tanks and freezing. If certain steps are taken during the winter, flying will be worth the extra work and in certain areas the scenery can be breathtaking.

Winter Is Here.

Well pilots, winter is here and I write this post to refresh your memory on what steps to take to prepare your plane for the weather changes.

The first and most important thing to remember now that the temperatures have dropped is putting on that winterization plate. This plate sits on the back of your oil cooler and reduces the airflow over the cooler keeping the oil a little warmer as it runs through the engine allowing it to remain a little more viscous.

And while we're on the subject, now is a good time for an oil change, not only because it's routine, but because most people change the grade of oil to a more viscous oil in the winter.

Another thing to remember is that many hangars are equipped with engine heaters which you actually plug in to your engine to keep it warm for easier and faster turnover during startup. Just remember to unplug it before your flight.

The final thing I have as a suggestion is a reminder that when you prime the engine hold the button in for two seconds to be sure not to flood the engine and risk an engine fire. It is also a good idea to refresh your memory on the engine fire during startup emergency check list.

I hope this was helpful to you.

Crunch Time...

Well as my first semester at Purdue comes to a close, the real fun begins. Entering dead week I have one thing on my mind...fitting all my flights in. I have eight days to fit in three flights and the FAA written exam. This doesn't sound so bad except, I also have to write a paper and study for the written test and for a non-related math exam. The big topic for me this week...time management.

As the current pilots no doubt know, this test is nothing to blow off. It has three parts: written, oral, and practical. Many pilots have stressed to me not to blow off the oral portion so I've been cramming for that, but on a flight earlier this week, I realized my maneuvers were a little rusty, so I've really been trying to hit those hard. Then I got to thinking the written part is what I'm taking in three days, I should probably study for that. My advice for student pilots...get started early! I've learned my lesson and I wouldn't wish this pressure on anyone.

If there is any advice out there on how to study, let me hear it, I need all the help I can get. Otherwise wish me luck and I'll let you guys know how it goes.