IFR Training Materials & View Limiting Devices

In my time as a pilot, I often buy products based on the recommendations of other pilots I respect. Since my blog is often filled with shameless self promotion, I will understand if you don't believe the product plugs that follow. I can only say that I sell a lot of aviation products and the ones in this blog are the ones that I know and I am familiar with.

In aviation training, particularly IFR training, good cockpit organization is essential. I have found that having the right plates in the right place can make the difference between a harried, missed, precision approach and a nicely executed, precise, non-precision approach.

The IFR Flight File is a fabulous product. It is essentially a bunch of see through folders that are just the right size to store approach plates in. One of the coolest features is the fact that you can write on the folders in pencil, then erase your marks for the next flight. The back cover also has an erasable flight plan that will eliminate your dependence on those little paper sheets at the FBO.

View limiting devices are a necessary evil during IFR training. These things can really ruin your day. If you have temple crushing nose scratchers, you will be distracted. I have yet to find a wholesaler, or the manufacturer of the Hoodlamb (contact me if you know where I can buy these in bulk), but it is a great product.

The Hoodlamb is old news, but still a great solution to a vexing problem. This device never touches your temples or your nose. The view limiting device attaches to your headset and simply flips up out of the way when you "break out of the clouds". I don't sell it yet, but you can find it at tagpilotsupply.com

Kneeboards are also a must have. In general, most manufacturers put these out in VFR and IFR flavors. The primary difference between IFR kneeboards and VFR kneeboards is the length. The VFR kneeboard is a bit longer to accomodate sectional charts.

I have the VFR version of the Jeppesen kneeboard. I cannot imagine why you would not want to go with the longer kneeboard. It has served me quite well and the velcro kneestrap can be used to close it up to a tidy little mass of charts to be stored in the flight bag.

If you decide to avail yourself of these products or any other aviation training materials, I hope you'll keep AviationLogs.com in mind. At AviationLogs.com, we specialize in low cost aviation training materials and free online logbooks.

WWII Bomber Pilot's Funny Story

When I was traveling a lot for work in the late 1990's I made sure to be as much of an aviation tourist as possible. Usually, that means getting a C172 rental checkout wherever and whenever possible. If the fates do not allow that, the next best thing is to find aviation museums and pester the old timers that work at them for aviation lore.

The days of running into old timers that flew during WWII are, unfortunately, coming to an end. Partly for this reason, I plan to post some of their stories here in my blog and also on my website http://www.aviationlogs.com./ I am very interested in any aviation stories, and old logbooks. If you have aviation stories, and / or old logbooks, contact me. I would like to digitize that information and post it where it will be publicly available. I think it would be very interesting to post links to old WWII logbooks (or the entire flying career of a lifelong pilot).

Anyway, about that story...

I was at the Boeing Museum of Flight where I met a volunteer who had been a B24 bomber pilot during WWII. I can't remember his name right now, if I remember I will fix the post, but for now I'll call him Mac. Mac had some great stories to tell. He told me how, when he was first assigned an aircraft, his was given a bill of lading and told to "go get your plane". There was definitely a twinkle in his eyes when he told me about walking down a line of brand spanking new B24s looking for his "ship".

Soon after getting his new aircraft, and with fewer than 200 hours of flight time, he was on his first bombing mission. His first mission was a high altitude bombing raid over a distant target after a long flight. Mac and his crew got over the target and when ordered to start his bombing run, found that he couldn't open the bomb bay doors. Mac called the flight leader and told him he couldn't participate in the bombing run, because the doors wouldn't open. The flight leader exclaimed; "You [went to the bathroom] out of the relief tube, didn't you!" then said "Drop the [expletive] bombs! The doors will bust open!"Mac said that despite his misgivings, he did as he was ordered and the bombs "safely" broke through the doors. The open doors resulted in an uncomfortable ride home, partly because the broken door was banging against the plane, but mostly because it let in a wind storm carrying air that was -35°F. Mac and his crew had indeed relieved themselves using the relief tube. I should probably mention that the relief tube on a B24 was designed (albeit poorly) for this use. Apparently, the cold air at 20,000 feet over Europe was enough to freeze anything coming out of the relief tube over the bomb bay doors.

As a result of their experience, Mac and his crew had learned not to use the relief tube. Instead, they relieved themselves into their flak helmets. During a later mission, where Mac had to descend to a lower level to make his bombing run, he started to take heavy flak. At this point you may see where this is going...

He said the flak sounded like a hail storm on the skin of the plane. It was at this point that his training and survival instincts took over. He reached under his seat and quickly put on his flak helmet...Fortunately for Mac, the temperature in the airplane was well below zero and had frozen the contents of his flak helmet. He told me that the helmet was standing 6" off his head and looked very amusing to the co-pilot, who made sure everyone on board knew what was going on.

Please share any of your interesting stories on the forum section of:
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