Insurance Discount May Pay for Your BPPP Training - American ...

An entirely NEW door seal
design is now available
for Beech Aircraft
• air tight “leak proof”
Three months later I was on final to Runway 17 at Gillespie
and was cleared to land. As I dutifully monitored other
traffic on the radio, I heard a Learjet report in 10 miles
out, and ask permission for a high-speed pass over Runway
27 Right. Permission was granted. I was on short final, gear
and flaps down, concentrating on the landing, and I glanced
up to check for cross traffic on 27L and 27R. And I looked
right into the cockpit of a Learjet at my level, going 200+
knots left to right across my nose. My nose, not the Bonanza’s
nose. I could see the pilot and co-pilot focused on their
high-speed pass, oblivious to the Bonanza about to disrupt
the airflow over their pocket rocket. I pushed hard to dive
as the Lear went screaming overhead. I flared, landed, and
came to a stop on the runway with knees and body shaking
so hard I couldn’t press on the brakes or speak for several
sec onds. The controller apologized pro fusely: “Sorry, 22
Uniform, he got here much quicker than I imagined!”
After repeating “No harm, no foul” over and over again
to myself, I taxied to AiRepair and asked the mechanics
who had observed my landing, “Was that close?” (Note
to myself: This was the second time I had used that exact
phrase in conjunction with heavier-than-air flight.)
“Yes, that was close,” was the reply. “Way too close!”
A Traffic Avoidance System (TAS) from Goodrich was
now definitely in my to-do list. Immediately! At the time, a
TAS system was very expen sive, so I spent many hours
reading and discussing the installation nuan ces before
approving the purchase. The convincing remark from the
in staller, in response to my question, “What comment do
the pilots who have installed this system have about it?”
was “100 percent of them say it was worth every cent!” And
it quickly proved to be true.
The first time the system called out traffic at my altitude
going in the opposite direction that neither I nor SoCal had
seen, and I watched as a Baron went streaking by my left
wing a half mile away, I reached up and patted the instrument
panel: “Good ol’ Traffic System. You are worth every cent!”
It has proven to be very comforting over the years as I
watch traffic that changes from a diamond to a yellow
circle (potential intercept vector com puted), observe it or
hear SoCal call it, and I can respond, “We have the traffic.”
My shaky knees are only from old age now, which is just
fine with me.
“Who goes there?”
I no longer have to ask. Now I know.
• molds to whatever it needs
to in order to form the
perfect seal
NEW
Wing walk coating
• it greatly reduces slipping
• fast drying, easy to apply
polyurethane rubberbase paint
• can be applied right over
existing wing walks
Aircraft Door Seals, LLC
300 N. Hwy 377 • Roanoke, TX 76262
Phone (817) 567-8020 • Fax (817) 567-8021
www.aircraftdoorseals.com
Volume 13 • Number 1 AMERICAN BONANZA SOCIETY 37