What a great flying day!

Past Sunday the meteorology finally gave some space to fly after several days of intense rains and even a tornado in Algarve that created a considerable amount of damage.

This was time to take the Ferreira family to the sky. All of them have already flew and Daniela has been already my passenger and photo reporter in 2 other flights but her parents were going to fly for the first time in a proper aircraft. Not that Airbus or Boeing aircraft aren't proper but they can take you from A to B without almost looking throughout the window to enjoy the views. The Cessna 172 is so different in that and that's why people o usually don't fly in general aviation aircraft always get amazed with the view and want more.

Here is a small footage of that flight that took us from Cascais, LPCS, to the south through Setubal, Alcacer do Sal and Grandola and the return via shore line to admire the beaches almost unknown and desert that extend from Troia all the way south until Sines.

Photographs were taken by Daniela Ferreira and if you're curious about her work check her Photoblog: http://life-in-technicolor-pics.tumblr.com/

About flight safety and accident investigation in Portugal

To me one of the most important part in aviation is the incident and accident investigation and report. Since I started my ATPL lessons that I started to read the reports of the Portuguese Aircraft Accident Prevention and Investigation Group (GPIAA) to learn with others mistakes. It's general knowledge that most of the incidents or accidents with aircraft result from human error or at least the human factor is a very important contributory factor to maintain the chain of events witch lead to the accident.

If all this is so important then it really is necessary that the bureau of investigation works the best way possible and with the least outside interference in order to conduct the investigations fast and accurate.

In order to keep this interests in flight safety and obtaining the truth about the events it's very important that investigators have at first a academical formation about the investigated subject. Normally in aviation are pilots engineers technicians manufacturers operators and others. Here in the Southwest corner of Europe the most skillful persons to the job are by far Air Force officers in active or retired whom normally get invited when retired to work as Lead Investigators in the GPIAA. These men have the field experience due to their past in the Air Force Nato EU, etc. and can with this continue to justify the costs of their formation when they were Air Force operatives problem is that now they receive the payment of their retire monthly and the new rules for public employees forbid the accumulation of retire payments and payments as a public worker. Soon as this law was approved the entire GPIAA collapsed. The composition  of the Group was in total made by retired Air Force Officers and so since then the investigations are stopped this stop affects about 11 investigations of 2011 events and all events of 2012. The Director of GPIAA stated that there are no conditions to continue with investigations but no actions were taken by the Government to find a solution and the Director itself requested to leave maintaining functions until a new board of directors take place.

Last year the number of accidents with fatal victims increased and other accidents an incidents increased as well so there is a need to investigate those events and find causes in order to propose solutions to prevent new happenings like those.

Lisboa-Vila Real-Bragança regional flights come to an end

Last Tuesday was the day of the last regional flight connecting Bragança and Vila Real do Lisboa here in mainland Portugal. This route was the only regional route apart the conncetions between Lisboa Porto anda Faro in Portugal mainland and was operated since 2009 by AeroVip with a couple of Dornier 228.

This particular connection between the east-northern most region and the capital was due to the lack of access-abilities to those who live in Bragança and Vila Real and need to come to Lisbon. To "fight " against the distance and the lack of highways or a decent and fast train connection  the flights started in 1997 and always with the support of Portuguese Government as an essential service to the community. The Government support was in money nowadays at a maximum value of 2.5 Million Euros per year and varying with the number of passengers. The rest of the profits were taken from the ticket sales.

T contract with AeroVip ended on last January and since then the company has been flying 6 days a week as normal without the State compensation rather the aircraft is full or empty. This represented a debt of the State to AeroVip of eight hundred thousand Euros. AeroVip continued the flights after agreeing that with the Portuguese Government until a process to select the company who would held this connection for the upcoming years. Now the decision has been made by the Government and the Lisboa-Bragança regional flights will come to an abrupt end.

This represents to the people of Bragança region a set back in time and proximity with the rest of the country and a increase of hours and money spent to come to Lisboa.

To AeroVip the year isn't going as good as they wanted to and this represents the end of it's only regular route witch will lead to end contracts of some employees.

Now as my personal opinion probably Bragança will receive it's so waited highway soon or later and the construction costs will be astronomical probably in a "coffee table" business delivered to a "friend" of someone. At the end people to come to Lisbon and use the new highway will pay tolls at values that almost touch stupidity and continue to feed the disbelieve in politicians and public defense of interests in Portugal.

New err... Old format

Somehow I got a bit tired of that format all flashy and almost reminding me the new Microsoft Windows 8. So let's get back to the old format and let's also try to write a little more ok?

North Atlantic - Your Film Festval

This film is between 50 finalists to the Your Film Festival from Youtube. It was written and produced by Bernardo Nascimento and despite all the technical parts if it's less real this or that detail this short film shows a relation between a lone pilot and a air traffic controller.

I will not tell you more so see it because it really is amazing and surely it also deserves your vote for the competition.

Finally some action!

Since I got back from the ATALANTA mission in the Aden Gulf that one thing had to be done as soon as possible and that was to fly again.

It's to hard to be without flying so much time due to work so it was imperative that this flight was to be made as a checkride flight to evaluate my proficiency to the airplane. Adding one thing to another I thought in buying some hours in a Cessna 172 from Aeropiloto to take some friends and family to fly also and this was the perfect conditions soon get into the sky again.

Aircraft reserved and the flight instructor contacted and here we go... wai a minute no we won't go anywhere because of the weather. The thing is very simple, from Cascais to the South the weather wasn't so bad at all and the clouds were above 2000ft so it was possible to fly to the work areas without troubles at all, the REAL problem was to the North. North of Cascais Aerodrome is the mountain chain of Sintra wich it has a very special influence on weather over there from the Cabo da Roca the westernmost point of Europe Mainland to join in the west to another mountain chain the Montejunto, after Montejunto the mountains continue to be connected with Serra da Estrela the highest point of Portugal Mainland. This entire chain of Mountains aren't as high as you might think but really maque the difference between the south and the north when related to weather conditions. So there was my problem. Basically over Sintra hills the sky was completely overcast and the cloud ceiling was so low that even the top of the mountains was hard to be seen as result the flight had to be canceled.

The day after...

Friday had to be the day, almost no clouds and the winds were a bit calmer than the previous day so here we go.

All checks completed, engine run up, call outs, emergencies reviewed, take off briefing and we were ready. Right after departure we climbed to 1500ft instead of the normal 1000ft to pass without getting much turbulence from Sintra and headed on to Cabo da Roca for a shore line route, destination Santa Cruz, airfield, LPSC.

The trip was very pleasant and the aircraft only has the negative point of beeing to slow, slower than the Cessna 152 CS-AZB and than the other 3 Cessnas 172 from Leávia, one of them was the RG model, besides that the aircraft fills very good, responsive and comfortable I have no doubts that the 172 continue to be a very trustful aircraft passed all these years.

After reaching Santa Cruz we headed to the sea abeam of the airfield to train some maneuvers as slow flight, stalls and others, after that it was time to go to the traffic pattern for the first touch and go, this time a regular one with flaps 10º after that an simulated engine failure on the downwind forcing me to negotiate distance height and speed to get to the runway safely this one went very good but I do really hope to never use this kind of skills in other situations than training. After joining the pattern again I was on my way to my final touch and go at Santa Cruz this time with full flaps and after the completion of the third landing we headed to Delta point of Cascais a courtesy of the Sintra Air Force Base Approach controller witch saved me a good 10 minutes very important when it comes to pay to fly.

With Cascais airfield in sight and heading to join the traffic pattern here's the last challenge, climb to 1500ft and at the vertical of the runway perform a simulated engine failure and land. The maneuver went really well but at the runway threshold i was to high fo course that Cascais has a good runway length with lots of space to a C172 but managing the flaps and speed it was very easy to go do the ground without leaving plenty of runway behind.

Now wait until the next adventures in this fantastic little airplane...

~

photo: Carlos Gomes APEA

... just a week later...

If one aerial accident is two much then what to say about two accidents in just a week. That's what happened here at Cascais airfield luckily this time wasn't fatal to those involved.

The Piper Seneca II from AW Academy from Cascais was performing a training  flight and after a landing and take off with a simulated engine failure the Piper smashed into the ground in a property nearby the airfield. The aircraft went down in the middle of trees and bush fortunately not buildings or people. The main fuselage separated into two parts and the wings and engines seemed to be ripped off from the rest of the structure.

Here are some pictures of this accident just a week after a Cessna 152 from Leávia, another flight school from Cascais crash and taken the lives of two pilots.

photos: A Bola

photo: Jorge Amaral/Global Imagens

photo: Paulo Santo

photo: Paulo Carvalho - Aviação Portugal

Sad day for the Portuguese Aviation

Past evening during a night instruction flight a Cessna 152 from Leávia Air School wit the register CS-AUR crashed near Cascais Airfield, LPCS to the families of João Leal, student (in this photo) and Rogério Telles, instructor, My most sincere condolences.

This accident will be investigated by the Portuguese Air Disaster Investigation Office and that will explain the reasons of this terrible accident who claimed the lives of these to Pilots.

The CS-AUR was an aircraft very special to Me this was the aircraft witch I've flown My first Solo. Leávia was the Flight School where I've made my ATPL and MCC courses.

Coming up next!

Things to do in the next days.

Fly again, probably the Cessna 152 or the 172 from Aeropiloto

Photo: Ricardo Gomes APEA

Photo: Rafael Vieira

And after that I still have to renew my Multi-Engine and Instrument rating whitch will be in a brand new Tecnam P2006T from Leávia.

Photo: AirTeamImages.com

Wait for news!

Almost in the Air

The Portuguese Air Force Museum now with a ANA, National Airports Museum and TAP, Portuguese flag company rooms will open on the 29 of this month.

The rooms have been refurbished to be more comfortable and to take the visitor into the historic aviation spirit. New aircraft models will be in exposition along with the ones already exposed.

This is a great mark to the Portuguese aviation and to the Portuguese Air Force who is investing not to make this museum just a place where the old things are kept but a space that has the potential to become one of the great aviation museums of Europe. To get to his achievement the PoAF besides of the military is also working alongside with volunteers and Aero Fénix Museum in the recovery of new aircraft models to expose There is also a project to volunteers who with the necessary formation can take the visitors into a guided tour to the museum. 

I am already with the camera on charge cleaning the lenses and preparing to pay a visit as soon as I can. Please do the same because it will worth I'm sure.

Well done PoAF.

The PoAF Museum website is: http://www.emfa.pt/www/po/musar/index.php

Dark days of the Portuguese general aviation

Since my return that I've been trying to get updated with everything related to aviation. The internet access wasn't the best and very complicated to share 3 lines with more than 120 other mates.

So at home I started to check the regular aviation news airplane sales clubs and associations and it seems that around here things have been quite calm to calm I should say but the thing that frightened me more was the huge number of small aircraft based in Portugal on sale.

Some of them are private but a huge part are from companies who gain their living with banner towing, private pilots rentals and air tours. And it isn't just one or two aircraft but the entire fleet of some companies.

Keeping this tendency and adding the airfield closure I think that the general aviation in Portugal it's entering it's darker period and with this Economical crisis in Europe better days aren't going to be so soon as would like to.

Photo credits: Shark_tt - aviacaoportugal.net

Cessna 152, CS-AZB flight

A few months ago I decided that it was time to get "the girl" to the sky and as a retribution she made this amazing video of that flight.

Hope you enjoy much as I did.

Always Coming and Going...

Will it stop one day?

First of all my apologies to all due the lack of posts in this blog. Once more I've been called to embark to Somalia and integrate the EUNavfor mission fighting piracy and protecting the navigation in the Aden Gulf.

Those were three long months but here I am again, ready to update the blog with fresh news and most all ready to fly!

So thank you all for your attention to this modest blog and thank you for your help keeping it "flying".

Stay tuned.

First A350 XWB parts arrive at Airbus

Everyone likes to receive something new in Christmas and the guys at Airbus are no different from anybody else. Well... last year they got something really new up in the factory now we just have to wait for those guys to make their magic "et voilá" we got ourselves the new Airbus A350 WXB.

... and Boeing delivers it's 7000th 737!

On last December Boeing delivered it's 7000th Boeing 737 to FlyDubai. This new Next Generation 737-800 has been equipped with the new Boeing Sky Interior witch create a more smooth and pleasant environment to passengers during flight.

FlyDubai was in 2010 the first airline to present their passengers with the new Sky Interior from Boeing and now has the honor to receive the 7000th unit of this well succeed model. At this tome Boeing has more than 5400 737 in service in more than 358 airlines and 114 different countries.

photo: flightstory.net

Airbus delivers 7000th unit!

This is something that doesn't happen everyday Airbus delivered past December an A321 to US Airways but not just an ordinary A321. This was the 7000th aircraft from the manufacturer and in less than two years Airbus delivered to it's clients more than 1000 airplanes.

Well done Airbus!

photos: Flightstory.net

EverJets is cleared for take off

EverJets is the name of the newest business jets company in Portugal. The company is part of the Ricon Group and has a fleet of two Embraer Phenom 300.

The company is based at Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport at Porto and hopes to bring a new dynamic to aviation in Portugal.

May the Sky be Your Home and wish you the best landings.

photo: Lapa Gonçalves - Fórum Aviação Portugal

Up to the sky!

At the end of last yerar finally I arranged a flight to regain proficiency after a few months without flying. Flight plan filed aircraft filled up and inspected and there I was lined up again on runway 35 of Cascais Airfield, LPCS. Seconds later I was in the air again, what a feeling and how I missed all this. Leveled at 1000 ft and headed to Cabo da Roca the westernmost place in Europe. Our destination was Santa Cruz airfield for some touch and go and another training maneuvers.Santa Cruz is a small village in the west coast of Portugal that became very popular in the 70's and 80's due to the proximity to Lisbon and high quality beaches some of them are used in surf kite-surf and windsurf competitions. Santa Cruz aerodrome is very small and it is between some houses and trees in one threshold and some greenhouses one the other and all this obstacles are very close to the runway witch gives a certain level of difficulty during landings. The runway has a landing distance of 534 meters witch are enough to stop a Cessna 152 but with all the obstacles that I've mentioned the approach must be very cautious.

Tourist pilots are very welcome and this is really a good place for a weekend or vacations, the airfield is very close to the beach and to several facilities like hotels, camping parks and rooms for rent.

Photos credits: http://portugalfotografiaaerea.blogspot.com/

We've departed from Cascais, LPCS, and headed to the westernmost point of Europe witch is Cabo da Roca the view of this area is breathtaking because of the contrast land/sea with Peninha Palace at the top of the mountain the beach on one side rocks on the other and the lighthouse for ship guidance.

After passing this we have followed the shoreline to Santa Cruz, LPSC,  passing through Ericeira a small village from where the Portuguese Royal Family embarked heading Brasil in 1910 right after we became a Democratic Republic.

Passing Ericeira and our destination was already at sight due to the amazing flying day. We reported position to Lisbon Information and requested to contact local frequency. After the first contact to confirm possible traffic in the vicinity of the aerodrome we headed west to about 1 mile of shore to perform some checks and train my proficiency lost during the days back in Somalia.

A few minutes later another voice was heard in the frequency looking for traffic in the surroundings of the aerodrome. It was a Pitts S2 from Aerobática that was at that time practicing some aerobatics at Santa Cruz. After the first contact we went in a formation flight for a few moments and at the end we performed a low pass in formation to Santa Cruz Runway. What more can I say than AMAZING!!!

After this brief moment the Pitts headed out to Cascais and I started to perform some touch a go maneuvers as requested to practice various situation and get used to this singular runway because of it's size and because of the obstacles in the thresholds.

At the end of this flight My personal evaluation is very positive because after a few months without flying I was not so bad as I thought but there was space for improvements. The flight instructor that flew with me was very helpful and told me some details that can be and should be improved, also made some suggestions of things that I can do in my future flights.

Merry Christmas!

And remember that The Sky is Our Home!

Stunning F-35 Shots

From Flightstory.net

All photos (c) Lockheed Martin