Richard’s World

Flying the “Fully Loaded” 42G to Arizona

There is nothing quite as nice as jumping into a airplane or helicopter and heading out for a flight. I happen to fall into the category of pilots that fly both helicopters and airplanes, and love them both. When asked which I like better, I often respond with my own question: “Do you need to hover?” If the answer is yes, then the helicopter is the only way to go! That is kind of a cop out I know, but honestly, they both have their place in my life. If I want to go fast (185 KIAS) and I need to fly IFR, then I take the Cirrus, if I am not in a hurry and the weather is decent, I take the helicopter.

I have put 195 hours on my R44 since I brought it home from the factory in mid February 2008, so that should give you some idea of how much I like to fly it.

For those of you that have been following my blog, you will know that I have spent a great deal of time and effort to take my new Robinson R44 (N4142G) and transform it into something that was purely mine, in the sense that I designed exactly what I wanted and how I wanted it to work. I absolutely love my R44, but it was lacking in many areas. Some of those areas I consider critical, others I consider just nice to have.

New 406Mhz ELT with Navigation Interface

Overall, the list of improvements that I wanted to make to the R44 was long and extensive. A broken foot and two torn ligaments helped me to make a decision to take the helicopter out of service for the necessary work I wanted done. The list includes: Removal of KY196 and installation of King 165A with 32 memory locations tied to the com buttons on the cyclic, removal of AAC audio panel and installation of Garmin 347, installation of GI-106 second NAV head, installation of EDM-800 fuel and engine computer, installation of MX20 MFD, installation of GDL69A XM Weather and music receiver with remote for MX20, installation of Garmin 496 with XM weather and music on a custom designed mount, installation of Icom ID-800 Ham Radio tied into COM3 on Garmin 347, installation of Bose single point headset jacks, reconfiguration, wiring and installation of an Avionics Master Switch, installation of new 406Mhz ELT tied to the GPS, installation of two audio selector switches (one in front and one in rear) which allows XM1, XM2 or AUX inputs to be routed to any location. XM1 is music from the GDL69 and XM2 is music from the Garmin 496, installation of a power converter to allow for 14 volt electronics in the back seat, installation of new LED strobes and installation of new HID Landing and Taxi lights. To date, everything has been completed except the last two items and that is because we are waiting field approval for the installation..

An excellent engine and fuel monitoring system, in my mind, is critical. The R44 comes with three engine gauges not counting a % of Rotor and Engine RPM (not even actual RPM, just a % of total). As I have done in the past, I choose JPI’s EDM for the job. This time, an EDM-800. I now have a great deal of engine and fuel flow information at my disposal and with a quick 1 second glance, I can monitor the health of my engine, instantly see all EGTs, CHTs and oil temp. A far cry from three gauges from the factory.

Some would argue that it is not necessary, I would argue that while it is not “mandatory“, it certainly gives me far more insight into the health of my engine than Oil Pressure, Oil Temp and a single CHT! I would much rather notice a rapidly falling CHT/EGT combination on the EDM-800 and make a precautionary landing, then wait for the cylinder to give out and make an auto rotation. In my mind, a pilot cannot have too much information at their disposal about the health of the one major thing keeping them airborne.

Not only does the EDM-800 give me instant access to all 6 EGTs, all 6 CHTs, Oil Temperature and  % Horse Power, but I have full access to Manifold Pressure, OAT, RPM, battery voltage, instantaneous fuel flow, fuel quantity, time-to-empty at current fuel flow rate, fuel consumed since start and a very accurate low fuel alarm. Since I have it coupled to my Garmin 430, I get fuel required to waypoint and fuel available at waypoint. I can tell you that after burning over 1600 gallons of fuel since installing my EDM-800, the MOST it has ever been off (after a 3.5 hour flight) was .8 of a gallon. I suspect that was because it was pretty hot outside when I refueled. I don’t know about anyone else, but I would rather have that fuel system to rely on than the two fuel gauges in the dash!

N4142G Gets Operated On by Pabas Radio

My last plug for the EDM-800 is the little USB plug right under the gauge. The EDM stores all engine information (fuel, EGTs, CHTs, everything it is monitoring) in memory every 6 seconds for up to 24 hours of actual flight time. You plug in a USB key and all of this information is then downloaded to your USB key to be imported into your desktop software for tracking and monitoring purposes. Can you say “Trend Monitoring”? Something that is common place in jet aircraft is now coming to age in piston powered aircraft. Again, I can take a long term look at the performance, temps, fuel flows, etc of my engine and make decisions based on this information as opposed to a problem in flight.

VFR Map with Terrain Profile

The second thing I feel almost naked without is situational awareness “desktop space”. I personally define “situational awareness” as “Where am I”, “What Airspace is near me”, “Who is near me”, “What is the terrain like around me”, and “What is the weather like behind me and ahead of me”? I have gotten so used to maximum situational awareness over the last 4 or 5 year flying the Cirrus SR22, that I feel exposed without all of the extra “situational awareness” information.

I have had several “real pilots” scoff at me and claim that I am not a “real pilot” because I have all of this stuff, but the last time I climbed into the cockpit of an airliner, or sat in the seat of an F-18, they had all the same things and I am pretty certain that they are “real pilots”.

Terrain Displayed on the MX20

Line of Rain Showers displayed on the MX20

Since I could not drop in two Avadyne computer screens in my R44, I choose a Garmin MX20 backed up with a Garmin 496. The MX20 is slaved to my Garmin 430 for position and flight plan information and it is slaved to a Garmin GDL69 for near real time weather and TFR information as well as XM Stereo. I also have a second subscription on my 496 for both weather and music. Traffic from a Garmin 330 GTX is shown on my 430, my MX20 and on my 496 all at the same time.

Cloud Cover and Rain shown on 496

So now that I have all of my situational awareness stuff covered, how about some “pilot enjoyment” stuff? On both the GDL69 and the 496 I opted to subscribe to the XM stereo service. Why two different subscriptions you might ask, just in case one fails? Nope. Basically I have two different subscriptions so that whom ever is riding in the back of the ship can listen to a different channel then the people riding in the front. When I replaced my audio panel with the new Garmin 347, it came with two music inputs. One you can pipe to the front and one to the back. I took it a step further and had switches installed in both the front seat and the back seat to allow the passengers (or pilot/co-pilot) the ability to select from XM1, XM2 or AUX. This provides maximum flexibility and helps me to keep my sanity when flying with kids as I often do.

So how did I mount all of this equipment you may ask….? Well, the MX20 was mounted using a standard radio mount purchased from Robinson.

This is the mount not yet installed and the MX20 shelf attached to the mount. A new cover had to be made since the mount was actually intended for a Garmin 530.

We opted to install two small fans in the hood to keep the temperatures of the MX200 down while in flight. This hood then gets painted black before installation into the R44.

After that, we removed the King KY196 radio and installed a new King KX165A along with a new GI-106 indicator. I did not like having just a single LOC/GS indicator (yea, I know its not IFR rated), and I liked 32 memories on the 165, so in it went.

Here you can see the KX165 in the lower stack below the 430, the Garmin 437 Audio Panel, the EDM-800 in the lower left corner of the instrument panel, the GI-106 in the lower right hand corner of the instrument panel and the MX20 in front of the pilot. You can also see the 496 installed on the cyclic.

The 496 was a bit of a problem to locate. All of the mounts that I tried either did not work well, or worked well but blocked my visibility to my EDM-800. So I had my avionics guy figure something out for me. Doug designed a new bracket and did all of the wiring to go along with it. The XM and GPS antennas are mounted under the instrument hood and power and audio cables run up from underneath to the 496 keeping everything nice and clean. It sticks out a bit but that allows 100% movement of the GPS from side to side so a co-pilot can help out with things or look at the GPS. I thought it may cause a problem with having some weight stick out like that, but after 120 hours flying with it there, I don’t feel any differences…thanks to the hydraulics I would imagine.

Here are some pictures of the GPS mount

New Avionics Master Switch in lower right corner of picture along with Garmin 496 cables neatly routed out of the cyclic sleeve into the instrument and switch panel. (Next to friction).

This is where the cables for the GPS route under the panel. You can also see the avionics master switch just to the right of the circuit breaker panel. This power up all avionics and gyros with a heavy duty relay as opposed to having to turn then on and off one at a time.

Some of the other things that were done but cannot be seen were a new 406Mhz ELT and GPS interface were added, new Bose single point headset plugs were added, a new Avionics master switch was added, a new cell phone interface to the Garmin 347 audio panel was added, a new ICOM ID-800 D-Star capable ham radio was installed (see the remote radio head below the MX20) and was tied into COM3 on the 347 Audio panel and a 14 volt system was installed so that things such as kids DVD players and laptops could be powered. Oh, and let’s not forget the cup holder that was installed as well!

So after months of hard work and a lot of waiting, pretty much everything was done on 42G. And to test it out, over the course of three weeks, I put over 100 hours on 42G flying it back and forth to Arizona on business. I flew in the day, I flew at night, I flew in the rain, I flew when it was hot and when it was cold. I can tell you that I am very thankful for my air conditioning and XM weather and radio, not to mention all the hard work done by Doug at Pabas Radio n Carlsbad.

So whats next you ask, well I am waiting on my new LED strobes and HID lights, and then I think I will add pods for helicamping, but for right now, I think I will just fly!

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Hi - I am the author - Richard Sears. I have been a pilot and flight instructor for over 20 years!

If you live in the San Diego area and would like to arrange a free airplane or helicopter flight for your child (age 8 to 18) through the EAA Young Eagles program please email me at richard@sears.net

If you are a Scout Master, I can work with your troop on the Aviation Merit Badge and provide all ground training and flights necessary to meet the latest requirements of the Aviation Merit Badge. I am a registered Merit Badge Counselor with the BSA San Diego - Imperial Council.

All my flight time is donated, there is no cost to the parents or the troop.

Parents are always welcome to ride along and get hooked!

I went over to the airport on Saturday to check up on the progress that was being made on 42G. While I was there, I took a bunch of new pictures of the work that has been completed so far, and stuff still in progress. Overall, the progress is great, there is a LOT of stuff getting done to 42G to get it exactly the way that I want it, so it going to take time.

One of the first things that was installed on the second round was the new Kannad 406AF-H 406Mhz ELT interfaced with the Garmin 430 GPS. In this particular configuration, the ELT gets updated position information directly from the GPS. In the event the ELT is set off, your current position along with your Tail Number (tied to your contact information) is transmitted to the COSPAS SARSAT system for almost instant notification to Search and Rescue crews of your exact location. All units using the COSPAS SARSAT system must be registered with them and include contact information to aid in identifying false alarms. The other nice thing about this system is that it uses lithium manganese batteries which are said to last 6 years.

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As you can see, the ELT is located just to the side of the hydraulic pump and installed on an angle due to the flight characteristics of helicopters as opposed to airplanes. Once installed, we had to register it with the NOAA.

Here is the new ELT antenna mounted and ready to go. The puck behind it is the XM antenna for the Garmin GDL69A.

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Next on the list of things still getting installed is the mounting system for the MX-20. Doug from Pabas Radio did not like the way the mount installed against the metal of the instrument panel, so he installed an backing plate to strengthen the bar and prevent movement. Without it, there was some play in the bar itself due to the flimsy nature of the metal that makes up the pedestal of the instrument panel. This backing plate fixed this issue.

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The plate is riveted on and nut plates hold the cross member that the MX20 is attached to when its installed.

Below is the final design of the hood for the MX20. We did not like the plastic/fiberglass hood that came with the cross bar mount from Robinson, so Doug created one that not only fit better, but had room for two cooling fans as well. It will be painted black and matches the curves of the main instrument panel on the left side. Once installed, directly below the MX20 will be the remote head for the ICom ID-800 HF Ham Radio.

Adding the XM System is next on the list of stuff getting done. Since the R44 did not come with XM weather/stereo we had to install it somewhere. We choose the passenger rear seat as the mounting location for our new radio equipment. Since the total of the radio gear is less than 5 pounds, it did not do much to my weight and balance. We installed the Garmin GDL69, the Astron Power unit (28V to 12V) and the Icom ID-800 HF Ham Radio base station. The ham radio has a light weight, small remote head that will mount directly below the MX20 and be tied into the COM3 position on the Garmin 347 audio panel. This allows the same kind of freedom using the HF rig as the normal radios.

This picture is of the Icom (on the left) and the Astron on the right. This plate gets mounted in the vertical position on a mounting jig and is held in place by nut plates.

This is the GDL69 (far left), power inverter and ID-800 Ham Radio in installed position below the left rear passenger seat. Because we are attaching to existing structures and not invading the crush zone for the seats, there is not an issue with having the units installed under the rear seat. It ends up outside the crush zone for the seat.

Here is a side view of the GDL69 mounted under the rear seat.

So overall we are making great progress on 42G. There is still a lot to be done. After everything above is completed, we still need to complete the installation of the backup GPS, a Garmin 496. This backup GPS will tie into the GTX 330 for TIS, it will also provide secondary weather via XM as well as providing the music source for MUSIC1 on the Garmin 347 audio panel. I choose the 496 as the primary music for the front seats simply because I can operate it from the front seat. The GDL69 has a remote control that the folks in the back seat can operate without having to bother the Pilot/Co-Pilot. So it goes into MUSIC2, the primary music input for the back passengers.

There will two rotary three position switches, one in the front and one in the rear that will allow the front seat and rear seat to select XM1 (Garmin 496 input), XM2 (GDL69 input) or AUX (3.5MM stereo plug (IPod, DVD player, etc)) as their audio input into the 347. That way we can all listen to something different if we want to, or keep some sanity depending on who is riding in the back seat! There will also be an out jack to plug into my CamCorder to allow videos that I post on YouTube to have the radio audio instead of just background noise.

Another interesting issue with the 496 is the mounting hardware required. In the end we ended up having to design our own bracket. Since all instrument holes in my 10 hole panel have been filled with instruments, none of the available mounts (including the Robin-AV in both configurations) worked without blocking my visibility to my EDM-800, something that I want to keep my eyes on at all times. So after several hours in the cockpit with my master crafter, we finally figured out a way to mount the 496 so that it is easily usable, can pivot on its mount towards the co-pilot position or pilot position and not block any instruments or movement of the cyclic.

This will require the design and building a special mount that will allow the unit to sit behind the cyclic (towards the rear of the helicopter) and just below the teeter part of the cyclic. This location gives me fantastic visibility of the 496, easy operation without having to stretch and the ability for it to swivel all the way over to the co-pilot. We will be running the wiring for the unit in the cyclic and for all intensive purposes it will be hardwired with the antennas mounted under the instrument panel and out of sight.

Beyond that, we have the avionics master switch to install. We are replacing the cheap interrupter relay (breaks all electrical flow to the avionics stack when you engage the starter) and we are replacing it with a heavy duty master relay solenoid commonly found on more expensive aircraft with higher electrical loads (which I now have). This will be driven by a dual locking heavy duty switch which will prevent both the accidental turning on or turning off of the avionics stack.

We are adding an Ident button to the cyclic so I don’t have to bend down to hit the ident switch every time someone asks me to ident. I know it seems like a little thing, but its the little things that matter sometimes!

The Bose single point headset jacks are next. This presented an interesting issue all by itself. Seems in their quest to same a few pennies on each ship, if you did not order your ship with Bose powered outlets, the jack holder only has room for a single jack. But wait - thats only in the front. Yes, in the rear, the jack holders have the plug for the second jack so its pretty simple to unscrew it, add the Bose jack, run a power lead (extra lead already ran and not connected - Thanks Papa Frank) and bang - your done. So in the front, we just ordered replacement jack holders like are in the rear. The problem came when we realized its a different screw pattern. Not too bad you say…well it screws into the overhead and the external skin of the helicopter.

hummm….so……back to the master crafter. Doug came up with the idea of creating a piece that screws to the original three screws hard set in the aircraft skin and then have small nut plates that the replacement dual jack holder would screw into once its all done. Problem solved - and without having to drill and rivet a new set of hols into the overhead of my beautiful machine! I am not sure why they run the wire so you can have powered jacks and then install the double jack holder in the rear but leave you with single jack holders in the front, but that is the way it came from the factory, so it was up to us to resolve the issue.

Next, I will be replacing the standard anti-collision beacon strobe on the rear tail with a new Whelen LED Strobe light. In addition to lasting about 1000 times longer than the traditional strobe, it outputs the same intensity light with a LOT less power than its electric strobe cousin. I can remove the power pack from behind the right rear seat which powers the rear strobe - the new strobe does not require a power pack. I will also be adding a second one of these new LED strobes to the belly of 42G to increase the visibility of the helicopter.

To top off my “Maximum visibility” project (at least this time around) is the addition of the Precise Flight High Intensity Discharge replacement system for the landing and taxi lights on 42G. Currently you can order this new from the factory, but my ship missed the availability date. So away to Precise Flight I went to get the kit. You see, PreciseFlight sells this kit to Robinson to install at the factory. They also have an STC for the R22. However they do not have an STC for the R44. Why I asked…? Well, I was told that Papa Frank was just getting ready to issue a Service Letter that addresses the installation of the HID kit in the R44. According to the engineers at Precise Flight, we should see this SL anytime. So I have my fingers crossed and I am waiting patiently for my letter to show up in the mail.

Now many of you that know me know how much patience that I have - which is to say not very much. So baring a SL from Robinson, I will have the lights installed and get a field approval based on the fact that Precise sells the exact same kit to Robinson. I know it won’t be super easy, but I feel that the safety of 500,000 candle power able to run 100% of the time with a life of 2000+ hours is worth the effort. In the world of “see and be seen” - the cost and effort are no contest to the safety issue. I will keep everyone up to date and hopefully that service letter shows up before I run out of patience.

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Hi - I am the author - Richard Sears. I have been a pilot and flight instructor for over 20 years!

If you live in the San Diego area and would like to arrange a free airplane or helicopter flight for your child (age 8 to 18) through the EAA Young Eagles program please email me at richard@sears.net

If you are a Scout Master, I can work with your troop on the Aviation Merit Badge and provide all ground training and flights necessary to meet the latest requirements of the Aviation Merit Badge. I am a registered Merit Badge Counselor with the BSA San Diego - Imperial Council.

All my flight time is donated, there is no cost to the parents or the troop.

Parents are always welcome to ride along and get hooked!

Sometimes I wonder how pilots ever got along with out all the cool stuff we have today. I fly with several friends in my Cirrus SR22 and they are amazed at the quality and the quantity of flight information that I have available to me in real time. I am told often that I have a more advanced flight deck than the 737s and 747s that they are flying. A quick glance into the cockpit when I fly commercially reminds me that they are right!

By my very nature, I am a gadget guy. In the aviation world, that is an expensive problem, but one I am happy to have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. My Robinson R44 helicopter came from the factory with a Garmin 430, a Garmin GTX330 and a couple of other radios. I quickly decided that what I wanted in my R44 was not offered at the factory and so I set out to build it like I wanted it done. With the help of a fantastic artisan Doug Hughbanks of Pabas Radios, I recreated the R44 cockpit with as much information that I could stuff into it.

I added a second navigation and communication radio (King KX165A) with 32 memorys, a second navigation head, Traffic alerting, engine and fuel monitoring systems, new audio panel with dual inputs for music (front and rear) and phone and a few other goodies

Then I flew it for awhile while we waited for the second round of hardware to arrive. Right now, 4142G is apart again getting a GMX200 (MX20) installed. The picture above is where the unit will be mounted. We are using standard Robinson mounting hardware for the base of the unit, but I did not like the horrible ugly casing that went over the radio. In this case, Robinson expected a Garmin 530 to be put there..but hey, its my bird right..?

Doug is a master at creating something out of nothing, something he has been doing for my aircraft for a good number of years. After explaining that I didn’t really like the Robinson cover for the MX20 he said he could make something. He also wanted to include several small fans to keep the unit cool. So he set off and made a first draft out of sheet metal. Giving me a call, he explained he wanted me to take a look to see if I was going to like it.

When I first saw it, it was raw sheet metal with screw holes and course metal bends all around. I liked the basic design and he assured me that it would look a lot better after he applied some TLC to the sheet metal and sanded it out, smoothed it over and applied some primer (later to be painted black). Well as you can see below, he did a fantastic job!

It fits perfectly and will have rubber striping where it meets the main console as well as two small fans at the rear of the unit to keep the MX20 cool.

Once installed, the MX20 will be tied to the Garmin 430 for primary navigation, the GTX330 for the traffic information and a Garmin GDL69 XM weather and stereo. That unit is getting installed right now, look for some pictures of that installation soon. The GDL69 will provide realtime XM weather to the MX20 as well as be one of two XM satellite stereo inputs to the helicopter. The second XM stereo input is being provided by a Garmin GPS 496 which will be mounted on the Cyclic and hard wired to power, XM antenna, GPS antenna and the GTX330. It will provide XM weather as a backup toe the GDL69, traffic information from the 330 and provide backup GPS navigation in the event I lose the Garmin 430.

The new Garmin 347 audio panel has inputs for two music sources where the rear seats are fed music two and the front seats are fed music 1 in isolate mode. So I decided that I would have Doug install user selectable inputs. Both the front and rear have a three selector switch allowing the selection of XM1 (GDL69), XM2 (496) or AUX Input (Ipod). These are then outputted to Music 2 for the rear and Music 1 for the front. I did order the Garmin remote control for the GDL69, so that will remain in the back seat and the front seat can use the 496 to manage its music selection. Overall a great setup that will work well with the kid that fly mostly in the back.

Doug also installed a 406mhz ELT that is tied into the GPS system. In the event of a problem, my exact Lat & Long are transmitted to satellite along with the ELT code, my tail number, my name, address and phone and emergency contact number. A LONG way ahead of our old 121.50mhz ELTs. In the end, very much worth the peace of mind knowing that my exact location and information will get to search and rescue in seconds via satellite.

Along with all of that stuff, he is adding an avionics master switch (much needed), the powered Bose headset jacks for all four positions, an Icom ID-800 ham Radio interfaced into the Garmin 496 and some other odds and ends. I cannot wait to get her back in the air and check out all the cool stuff.

I will continue to post additional pictures as Doug send them over to me so you can see the progress. Of course, once its completed, I will be writing another article on how it all works complete with pictures, so check back often!

Hi - I am the author - Richard Sears. I have been a pilot and flight instructor for over 20 years!

If you live in the San Diego area and would like to arrange a free airplane or helicopter flight for your child (age 8 to 18) through the EAA Young Eagles please email me at richard@sears.net

Parents are more than welcome to ride along and get hooked!

“For once you have tasted flight, you will walk the Earth with your eyes turned skywards; for there you have been and there you will long to return…” -Leonardo da Vinci

As a child I would often sit and gaze at the sky, watching and pondering with great curiosity the mysteries of the sky above me. I would watch the planes and helicopters in the sky, see the contrails of the jets thousands of feet above me and dream of what it would be like to be inside of one of them. I saw shapes and wonders in the clouds above and around me and marveled at the great wonders that created the heavens above. At twelve I was at a point in my life where the sky was the only safe haven for me, and my thoughts were there always. I used to daydream about the clouds and the planes and the wonderful world above my head. Back then, daydreaming during the day was considered to indicate a problem with the mind and those around me decided to drug me to “correct” my condition. Thankfully, it didn’t work and I would spend the rest of my life remembering the solace those dreams provided.

Once I was old enough, I left for the Marine Corps as as soon as I could I started to learn to fly. I was terrified of flying it turns out, or more correctly terrified of heights. But nothing would stand in my way of what I considered would be the greatest achievement of my life - my pilot’s license. Anyone that knows me knows that I attack everything with a single minded passion. No second thoughts, no going back, no delay. Attack and advance an never retreat. I took the same attitude with my flying. I worked on the private, instrument, commercial and Flight instructor ratings and licenses like a man on a mission.

But as much as I enjoyed the art of flying and the art of teaching (yes, I feel teaching is actually an art) I realized that I enjoyed exposing others to flying as much as I liked the flying itself. Most of my friends know that I am very passionate about the things that I believe in doing. Most of my friend’s wifes will tell you the same thing as I generally try and involve my friends as much as possible. As I continued to fly, I remembered my days as a young boy and how the dreams of flight often consumed my waking moments and often my nights. While at the time it was a way for me to cope with things going on around me, it became a physical passion as well. I think I was around 13 or 14 when I took my first ever airplane ride in Canada. It was a small float plane from a small lake, and I was terrified but I was so excited that I think I had died and gone to heaven. Here I was, a young kid, actually flying in the cockpit of a plane, the world was now below me instead of above me!

As time progresses and my flying progressed, I started to look for ways to share my flying with others. I cannot tell you how many of my friends have been flying with me, but its a safe bet that it is almost all of them. I also cannot even begin to explain how much flying has affected my life. As a young 19 year old pilot and flight instructor I had the opportunity to work out of Oceanside Airport as an instructor. In that process, I began to meet people that would remain my friends years into the future. My flight instructor, Ed Fernett and his family are still very close friends of mine today. Another friend I met because they traveled to the US from Hong Kong so the father, Paul, could get his license. I met his son, Nick when he was 13 or 14 and I still get to fly with him all these years later when he comes to the US to visit. To me, aviation is not a hobby, it is a way of life. Everyone with whom I have contact I try to expose to the wonders of flying.

The other thing that aviation does for me is expands my boundaries. I have people that I care about all over the place and frankly, flying gives me the opportunity to go see them more often than I would have otherwise. I never think about driving until I have ruled out flying! I am one of the luckiest guys around, I am living my dream each time I get into the cockpit of the plane or helicopter to go flying.

A little later in life, I decided that I wanted to be more involved with mentoring and working with boys. Growing up, the Big Brothers program provided me with much needed positive male influence on my life, since all other male influence until that time had been less than positive. I learned about trust, commitment, friendship, integrity, honor and generosity from someone not even related to me…a stranger who choose to give of himself through the Big Brother program so that I would have the chance to have positive relationship with a good male role model. I grew up and joined the Big Brothers program of San Diego so that I could so the same in return. I also volunteer with the Boy Scouts as an Aviation Merit Badge Counselor (go figure). I volunteer for the EAA Young Eagles program where I provide flights for young people aged 8 to 18. And I also volunteer for Angel Flight, providing much needed air transportation for critical ill patients unable to travel any other way.

To me, life is about giving and this is most evident I think in my passion for flying. I have flown with hundreds of kids and friends over the years, and many of those kids still go flying with me today, only they are no longer kids, they are young adults building a life and family of their own. The great thing is that they remember the first or second time they ever flew with me. Another great aspect is that there are many of my friends and their kids that think nothing of going flying with me because they have done it so many times. They still enjoy it, but it has become a common occurrence for them, almost as common as the sight of my helicopter over my neighborhood!

My dreams fueled my passion for flying and now that I have the means to do so, I try to engage as many people as possible in that passion. I currently have multiple friends in some stage of getting their pilot’s license as a result of my friendship with them. Two of them are even husband and wife! In my mind, being a kid is about never having to worry about things in life. The worst thing a kid should have to worry about is his or her grades and maybe if its their turn to take out the trash. In my mind, kids should not have a care in the world. In addition, I think that childhood should be fun and exciting and filled with wonder. I do not have children, but I do have God children and most of them have been flying with me since they were very young. Any of my friends or neighbors that have kids have all gotten invitations from me to go flying. In fact, many of those kids have had their friends show up to go flying with us as well. Several times we have had birthday parties where the kids got to go flying as part of the party.

My goal is simple - to make memories for young people that will last their lifetime and in doing so, hopefully encourage them to do something for a young person someday that will give that person memories that will last a lifetime. Life is about people. Life is about dreams. Without either of those things, why wold life be worth living? What is the old saying about being important in the life of a child..? Its true, I have seen it first hand. I am who I am today as a result of someone feeling the same way and hopefully, long after I have left this earth, people will be telling their grandchildren or great grandchildren about their dreams and the flights they took with me that fueled those dreams!

I still dream and I would hope that you do do too! If you want to make a difference in the life of a child, please contact one of the organizations below. Hopefully someone was important to you as a child and you can take the time to return that gift.

And whatever you do, never stop dreaming!

The Boy Scouts of America

EAA Young Eagles

Big Brothers and Big Sisters of San Diego

Hi - I am the author - Richard Sears. I have been a pilot and flight instructor for over 20 years!

If you live in the San Diego area and would like to arrange a free airplane or helicopter flight for your child (age 8 to 18) through the EAA Young Eagles please email me at richard@sears.net

Parents are more than welcome to ride along and get hooked!

My Cross Country Flight Crew

Sometimes, getting into your car, or in my case my helicopter, and heading out into the vast unknown is just the thing to make an afternoon a lot more fun than it was turning out to be.

Several weeks ago, I decided to take 4142G out to the Colorado river by the California and Arizona border. It was not a planned trip, but the weather was fantastic and I was looking for a reason to go flying and decided that a nice flight out to the river would be a lot of fun.

In my neighborhood, many of the kids have flown with me in my plane via the EAA Young Eagles Program. The Young Eagles program helps to introduce young people ages 8 to 18 to the world of aviation by arranging a free ride in an aircraft. The idea is to spark an interest in aviation in the younger generation and hopefully pave the way for some of those kids to enter into an aviation related career.

Anyway, anyone that knows me knows that I look for any excuse to fly at all. Be it the EAA Young Eagle Program, the Boy Scout Aviation Merit Badge program, or just the desire to go flying, I am always up for a trip. This particular Sunday I was looking for a neat place to go and happened to mention to my neighbor that I was going and had three seats available. In short order, I had those seats filled with the flight crew you see above.

Since 4142G is based out of Carlsbad California (KCRQ) my options were limited as to the route of flight I would take getting to the river, and in the process getting over the mountains between us and the river. In no time at all we had our ship preflighted, fueled, loaded and ready to go. The boys (two 11 year olds and a 12 year old) and I fired up 42G and we were soon headed east towards the desert. Only one of the boys had been in the helicopter with me before, so for the other two, this was their very first trip.

I had packed zip lock baggies just in case any of them were to start feeling sick. I always tell the kids that the nice thing about the zip lock baggies is that after you get sick, you have a squishie toy to play with on the way back! That generally gets everyone laughing. However, everything went fantastic and soon we were flying over the mountains, looking at all the pretty small lakes and trees and the Salton Sea, which is not very small at all. Mountains gave way to Joshua Tree National Park in the desert and we descended for a better look. All the boys were having a great time, and I was having a great time because they were having a great time (and besides, I was the guy flying, and that was great in itself). It is amazing what you see over the desert from the air. Rocks, trails, people, animals, you name it, its out there.

I know many people that fly, but I do not know very many that do not like to take someone up with them to give them the enjoyment of flight in a small aircraft of some type. I am no different. I get much satisfaction out of looking in to the faces of the people that I take flying and seeing the wonder and awe there. Besides the very art of flying, the best thing about flying to me is the enjoyment other people get when I take them flying. Two of these boys had never been flying with me before, and neither of them had been in anything smaller than a 20 or 25 passenger plane. So when we loaded up in a four place helicopter with maximum visibility in all directions, it was all grins all the way around.

The trip to and from the river was great and when we got there we took a few minutes to fly above the river and watch what was going on below us. The river was a beautiful blue and there were not very many boats on the river, but it was still very cool.

Colorado River

Of course no trip would be complete without a trip to Subway and the ice cream shop before heading back out, and this trip was no exception. We hiked about 1/4 mile to the Subway sandwich shop right around the corner from the airport and ate. Then it was a stop next door to hit the ice cream shop (hey I figured we were OK since no one had gotten sick on the way out) where we all had a scoop of ice cream before heading back to the helicopter. Along the way the boys picked up some interesting rocks, but not so many that I had to recalc our weight and balance!

Anyone Hungry…?

Overall it was a fantastic trip. The boys had a blast and I was kept in stitches for five hours while two eleven year olds and a twelve year old talked about everything that is important to them at that age - school, family, friends, telling jokes, making fun of each other and just generally behaving like they didn’t have a care in the world, just as it should be.

Now you know why I fly.

N4142G Taken Apart for Avionics Upgrade

Click on Picture to see more pictures!

Well change is a good thing, or so I have been told. Right now, 4142G is down hard. Its down hard because I decided that I like a lot of things about being a fixed wing pilot, and one of those things is the more radios and screens, the better. The more information I can get at a glance, the better. The more I can see about my engine, the better. So I set out to improve on Frank’s design and add a few goodies of my own.

So you ask, what would you want to add to a fine helicopter like an R44..? Well, let’s start with some valuable information on how well our $100,000 IO-540 engine is doing. Now, I am all for an affordable helicopter, but come on, a single CHT and a single EGT for the powerplant keeping you in the air..?

Not liking the limited information that I was getting from these two gauges and an oil temp and oil pressure gauge, I decided to add the EDM-800 Engine monitoring and trending instrument. Not only does this give me all 6 EGTs and all 6 CHTs at a glance, its also tied into my GPS and provides continuously updated fuel usage information based on your current flight plan, waypoints loaded into your flight plan and endurance information for each waypoint with the speed and distance info fed from your GPS into the fuel computer part of the EDM-800. Not only does the 800 provide all of this, but it monitors just about every other parameter of the IO-540 including oil temp, oil pressure, fuel flows, % engine power in use, manifold pressure and much, much more. Basically its everything that I, as a pilot, would like to know about my engine. I can trend this information every 5 minutes and using a thumb drive download it into the EDM software to watch for good, or bad, trends in my engine performance.

EDM-800

The EDM-800 installation required the addition of 6 EGT and 6 CHT probes (actually only 5 since we had one EGT and one CHT already), fuel flow transducer, oil pressure and oil temperature probes, manifold pressure probes, connection to the Garmin 430 GPS. All of these wires had to be run from the front where the instrument will be installed to the back where the engine is located.

These are the EGT probes added to each exhaust manifold

Click Image for Larger Picture

So now that we can actually see what is happening to the engine and record all the different temps, pressures and flows, what is next?

Well, next we are going to add the Garmin GMX 200 (old Apollo MX20) multifunction display to the helicopter.

This multifunction display will ad all kinds of capability. First and foremost, its much larger that the screen on my Garmin 430. Second, it will be located directly in my line of sight above the pilot’s feet, and third, we can add all kids of wonderful information over the top f it to include Weather, Terrain, Traffic, and of course, Jepp approach plates. This unit interfaces with the Garmin 430, it is not a stand alone GPS unit itself in the configuration that I have it in today.

I toyed with the idea of installing the 200 in the center of the instrument console, right exactly where the clock, hobbs meter, fuel gauges, oil pressure and temperature gauges and of course, the EGT and CHT gauges. But once my avionics guy got the panel apart and we saw how much stuff would have to be moved, I opted for the pilot’s side console. I didn’t really want it there mostly due to the fact that the co-pilot cannot access, but the idea is that we will install it in the console and if I don’t like it there after a hundred hours, we can always redo the panel.

Back of Instrument Cluster

Next, we are adding a Garmin GDL69A to the lineup. The 69A provides continuous, real time XM weather to the multifunction display. It also provides all the XM stereo channels to the audio system for entertainment.

The GDL69 is a “hidden” box and will be placed under the seats.

GDL69A

Next, we are removing the AAC12 audio panel and adding the Garmin 347 audio panel. This audio panel adds features such as 2 minute digital recorder with playback, pilot, crew and passenger isolation and inputs for three different radios.

Next, we are removing the King 196 comm and adding a King KX165A flip-flop radio with 30 memories. Not only does this add a second, more powerful communication radio to 42G, more important it adds a second navigation radio to 42G.

To drive the NAV side of the new 165, I choose the Garmin GI-106.

And finally,I am adding the ICOM ID-800 2 Meter/440 ham radio so that I can keep in touch with all my ham friends out there!

So besides all of the cool radio and avionics upgrades that are getting done, I am also having the Bose Lemo connectors (single point power and audio) installed, a transponder ident button installed on the collective, and additional strobe light mounted on the belly and maybe some PreciseFlight HID lights added as well. To turn all of this equipment on and off all at once, a Avionics Master Switch is being installed as well.

There is a lot of work to be done, and It will be interesting to see it when its all done. Stay tuned here as I will be posting more about the project as it progresses.

I have a friend flying into LAX next month and it had been quite some time since I had flown a helicopter into the west complex near the Tom Bradley International terminal, so I loaded up my instructor and Big Red and Little Red and off we went to LAX.

The trip up was fantastic, we even saw the Goodyear Blimp. We utilized the South Industrial Arrival which puts us about midway down the South complex runways at 1500′ MSL before crossing the runways and descending for the West Helo Pads.

Once we arrived, we went into the Tom Bradley terminal and had dinner

This past weekend, I joined my neighbors and went camping at the Agua Caliente Camp Grounds located in the desert of California. I was fortunate enough to be able to fly out in 42G as opposed to having to tow a large 5th wheel or trailer, or even to drive a motor home.

When I arrived, I flew towards the camp ground to get my friend’s attention and they came out and picked me up at the Agua Caliente Airport (ok, ok - no lights, no taxiways and fixed wing folks that don’t know how to park (thanks to whomever was flying the 210, I appreciated parking in the dirt) but still an airport)!

The interesting thing was that upon arrival, the wind sock was straight out solid with winds in the 35 knot range gusting 15 degrees either side of dead on the runway! Needless to say I had to be light but quick on my controls. There were some tie downs, but as is the case with SOME fixed wing guys that are more lazy than anything, I was unable to park on the asphalt due to a Cessna 210 that decided to park RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE tie down instead of to one side or the other next to the other fixed wing folks. As a side note, a V-Tail Bonanza flew in later that day or early the next and he was kind enough to park at the open T to the end.

“RANT”
(As a 20+ year fixed wing guy I can say this - Fixed Wing Folks - Wake up and realize that people also fly helicopters!! When you run up, don’t do it with the tail of your plane pointing towards a helipad. When you park, try and park next to other fixed wing aircraft so those of us with helicopters and park as well. Try and give some consideration to us rotor guys (or in my case, rotor and fixed wing. Please think about the fact that you are not the only aircraft on the planet!!! WAKE UP and remember that your prop or jet wash can be very dangerous to a hovering helicopter. If you fly around Palomar (KCRQ) and do this, expect to hear me on the radio!) In any case, the majority of fixed wing pilots are great folks, but every single person in aviation has something to learn, if they tell you otherwise, never get into an aircraft with them!! And we can all learn to be more respectful of others.
“/RANT”

After a very comical 30 minutes where myself, my friend Steve, his 10 year old son Andrew and his friend Chris figured out how to put the R44 cover and blade tie-downs on the helicopter (don’t ask), we headed over to the camp ground for much needed rest and relaxation.

So the following day, with weather reported for KCRQ to be windy and rainy, I decided to depart the desert and get home before the weather kept me from landing. Upon departing, the winds were somewhere near 40 knots head on to my helicopter. (Indicated airspeed was over 40 KIAS while in a dead stop hover into the wind.) I made a nice liftoff, moved over to the airstrip off the dirt, hovered for a few seconds to verify that my flight and engine instruments were in the green and then headed towards the Julian VOR.

WOW…was it windy. At 100 KIAS, my ground speed on my 430 was indicating somewhere around 40 Knots!! The turbulence was impressive and I could only do two things: 1) Be thankful that I decided against taking passengers and 2) SLOW DOWN and remain calm and light on the controls, not reacting to the violent up and down drafts due to the wind and mountain range.

Of course, mother nature was not done with me yet. As I approached the Julian Mountains, I realized that there was a solid cloud layer covering the mountains. Not one to temp fate, I choose (in my mind) the easier of two choices: 1) Try and get under it and hope it did not go all the way to the mountain tops, or 2) Go Over. I choose to go over the cloud layer. At 10,500′ MSL, I was just over the cloud tops and (thankfully) also out of the turbulence. Now I am sure there are many rotor folks out there that have been to 10K and higher in their birds and are laughing at my sense of wonderment at being up that high in a helicopter, but let me tell you, it was a new experience for me. No wings anywhere in my field of view, just lots and lots of windows and a huge amount of space between me and the nearest landing spot and a ton of turbulence. I was racking my brain to try and remember just how much turbulence the R44 could take before the rotor removed itself from the ship and I plunged to the earth….luckily I arrived intact and according to my instructor, was no where near the limit of the R44. Whew….

I had a great time of course, and I learned a little bit more about myself and the R44. I am also very thankful that every time its windy, my instructor Attilio calls me and gets me into the air to practice. Those days of doing crosswind take off and landings at Ramona with 28 knot gusting winds paid off - I was calm and knew I could handle the takeoff and hovering with a strong wind. The flight back gave me more confidence in both myself and the R44 and the satisfaction of a great, if not somewhat tense, flight home.

Here is a video of the takeoff taken by my friend Steve, notice the left quartering headwind upon liftoff and the sound of the wind after I depart.

This is a short video of the landing at a waterfall in the Julian Mountains.

A friend of mine got a short video of me taking off from the Julian Pie factory just outside Julian California.