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Enroute (11:09)
Arrival (23:46)

Post Mortem: Caravan 2000

Though Mooney Caravan has been meticulously planned and executed every year, every year we learn something new. Here are some comments on how to manage it better:

Thoughts on the Caravan

While the memory of this is still fresh with me, I'd like to offer some thoughts in hopes we get a little discussion going. First, I have to make a public apology that I missed the group lead briefing. I'd dimly recalled there was a meeting, but I lost the time and place and was too caught up with the group I was with and simply missed it. Of all the things I'll comment on, that has to be listed as simply unacceptable for a group lead. If I'm given the chance to lead a group again, I make the solemn and serious promise that'll never happen again.

I thought the caravan was hugely successful. The briefing Dave gave us and all the enroute call-outs were perfect. I'm not sure all the group leads were doing all they were expected to, in terms of communicating with their groups. I don't know that they weren't, I was pretty busy with my group, but I did hear some random comments from some of the caravan pilots that their group leaders weren't communicating.

IMHO the organization of this is so good, and the rapport Dave has engineered with Madison is so good, we can seriously consider expanding this. I believe the record is something like 135 planes, and I believe we can beat this.

There's no question there's a big burden on Mooney lead and Mooney tail, but I believe much is expected of the leads and we can do better. I've already confessed to having missed the group lead meeting. Fortunately, I was bravo lead and Dave was alpha, so he was able to brief both groups at once. I could and should have done a better job of maintaining speed and altitude. At first this was difficult because the alpha trail, number seven I think it was, was noticeably low and slow. When we "put the pedal to the metal", he was long gone -- I was nowhere near as fast. However, once the excuse of that plane was gone, I should have been more on the ball.

I think it's reasonable to expect group leads to have two pilots in the plane.

I'm not skilled in formation flying, but what I little I know suggests pilots other than leads ought to be instructed to have the left hand on the yoke, the right on the throttle and both eyeballs looking at the planes in front of them. Leave the navigating to the leads, seriously. Leave the pitch at 2400-2500 and use throttle and yoke to correct for altitude and spacing. To me this means whatever the lead does is "right" -- that's part of what put so much reliance on the leads. I believe it's a mistake for any individual pilot to correct for what the lead is doing. If the lead is high or low, you just have to follow. To not do so is to invite chaos for those following.

I thought we did an excellent job landing long. Much, much better than the first year. Again, I was near the front -- it may have gotten much worse later.

Somehow we have to find a better way to make the course change at Turn. Even as close to the front as I was, you could see the conga line forming of planes turning late, and seemingly later and later, to avoid cutting the corner into the plane in front of them.

I'd appreciate hearing comments from others. Since I'm not in the camping area, I didn't hear any informal conversations that may have happened. For example, were there any forced go-arounds in the landing? Any other problems we could learn from.

Again, I can't express my gratitude for the job Dave and Bill and others did in organizing and conducting the caravan, as well as all the ground-based logistics at Madison and the cultivation of good relations with the FBO in Madison. I offer these comments in the spirit of self-criticism and a desire to do better, and to get some conversation going.

Thanks.

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Caravan pilots assembled at OSH
Click on picture for a larger image.

More Thoughts on the Caravan

Andrew Czernek wrote:

> Charlie group reported two near mid-airs (Marty Petri was one),
> with aircraft overflying lower aircraft on final.

I was in Charlie. As a first time participant in the Caravan I was bound and determined not to screw it up. I was appalled at how many people in Alpha, Bravo and Charlie groups started their descents at TURN and then slowed to approach speed on three mile final rather than maintaining the 105 knots down to the deck. Then having Alpha and Bravo elements cutting in to the final approach course (having gone well beyond TURN before cutting back) from the north only added to the dangerous conditions. I was real happy to have Bill Tout in the right seat spotting that traffic for me. Since I stayed at 3500 and 105 knots until the designated descent point, I would never have been able to find that lower traffic from the left seat. I had to do a lot of S turning on final to maintain spacing with the slower traffic ahead. I would wager that this is the reason that many groups behind Charlie wound up getting compressed and reducing airspeeds during the enroute portion of the flight.

> In our group. Our problems:
>  -- flight lead failed to fly the profile in speed or altitude.
>  -- flight lead thought Hotel group was closer than it really was.
>  -- flight lead failed to communicate any changes in speed,
>so we flew right by him (we were #2).

These were not problems in Charlie -- Ken did a very good job with the climb out and enroute portions.

> My suggestions (in addition to Jim's):
>  * 1 minute between flight groups
>  * lead communicate changes in speed, altitude, heading
>  * FLY THE PROFILE. This is the most-disappointing:
>that experienced > Mooney pilots can't hold altitude, heading and speed.

I agree, but I don't think the third suggestion is necessarily valid although it might appear that way. The pre flight briefing needs to pound on the point where descent is to start and the descent speed down to the deck.

> The only potential solution that I can think
> of is the one that the Bonanza pilots have settled on:
> insisting on practice for participation.

I agree and add that all pilots might be required to produce copies of the power settings used for climb, enroute and descent and slow flight down the runway at the time they register! I'll wager that very few experienced Mooney pilots actually went out and practiced to determine those numbers with the planes loaded as they were during the caravan. Brother Tout and I did do it, puddle jumping (in the world's slowest Mooney) enroute to Madison!

Marti (and I think one other caravan) also did a practice group takeoff, climb and transition to enroute with his SoCal group coming across country. Perhaps that ought to be a STRONG recommendation made to regional caravan leaders.

I doubt that I will be going back to OSH for a couple of years. I hope everything goes well and the tradition continues until I can participate again.

Thanks to all for providing a great time and a great experience.

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Dave Piehler handing MAPA's Lela Hughes a check of $1,000 from barbecue profits for the Safety Foundation. Right: Bob Kromer and Jonathan Paul.

RE: Thoughts on the Caravan

Just a few things that I did with Golf Group. We lined up on the ramp in our taxi formation, discussed taking off from this spot and flying the formation. I stressed to my group to be flexible and that they didn't have to say anything on the radio. Talking with many of them after our arrival and the precision with which they flew as a group, they had taken the time to get the numbers and fly the profile for the trip. THIS MAKES A DIFFERENCE!!

One thing I noticed was how quickly succeeding groups where following the previous group. When I taxied forward, I estimated to taxi into position took me 10 seconds. Then I watched as my clock ticked for 15 seconds more. Then, I announced golf departing and then applied power. This gave golf group the spacing that they needed from previous groups. We didn't experience any problems at turn from departing to soon in relationship to the previous group. I did turn .10 mile to late for turn. The Golf group said that was okay.

I think we really need to hammer people for the numbers and make sure that they fly the profile. It isn't that hard to do. It took me less than 1 hour to do it with the plane loaded. I had to make very few adjustments in it as we flew to OSH. Having the caravans practice the takeoffs would be an excellent suggestion for the future. Then those that haven't got the numbers would be on notice!! We also need to make sure the spacing is adhered to at take off between groups. Folks need to set a timer in front of them and watch it count down. Thirty seconds is longer than some people think. My wife, Mary, suggested that we have the group leaders at the main briefing get up and demonstrate lining up for taxi and takeoff. An idea for next year. We could even do sound effects.

Jonathan, I'm glad you made it out okay. That was an intense few moments. Mary was asking me why they called that VFR and if I liked flying in that kind of visibility. It was not fun. We were able to p/up our ifr clearance at the Dells VOR and actually sooner with MSN approach. Then up through the clouds and on to home. We arrived back home by 3:30 local time after about 3.6 hours. We had to go through a few cumulus on the way home. Looked like the really benign stuff but gave us a ride inside! Arthur, our pug, was glad to see us and the pool hadn't turned green in our absence.

I'll see you guys next year if not sooner. And our house is available to you for an overniter!

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Some Caravan Thoughts

This was my second Caravan experience. Both of them were very enjoyable. I would like to commend all who took part, for performing a safe and successful effort. As "Hotel" group leader I would especially like to praise the members of "hotel" group for an excellent mission.

I believe I've learned something helpful about the Caravan type of flight. I imparted my thoughts to Dave Piehler (Mooney Lead) at Oshkosh and he indicated his agreement. Jim Ryan and others in their Post Mortems have had similar ideas. There are three things of utmost importance to the participant. They are:

1. Always keep the aircraft you are following in sight.
2. Continually adjust speed in order to maintain a proper distance from the aircraft you are following (guiding on).
3. Maintain assigned altitude.

In reality, what I'm saying is that speeds, speed settings, vectors, etc. are only recommendations that will help us remain in file. Clearly, the reality of the Caravan is, the further back you are in the line, the greater the need to constantly adjust speed. The Caravan can be likened to an accordion - the base part (lead) unchanging. And the following parts undulating in and out like a spring.

It is of the utmost importance that those participating in the Caravan, be current in Mooney slow flight. In lieu of slow flight, some have resorted to dropping their gear which acts as a brake in flight further exacerbating the accordion effect. Others have spent much of the trip doing "S" turns which makes it very difficult for the aircraft following them to stay in line and to keep them in sight. The further back in the file, the more the pilot has to expect to be constantly adjusting speed.

Someone questioned why we continued past TURN without turning as was specified in the hand-outs. If we had turned at that time we would have cut off six aircraft in front of us AND THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A DISASTER. Thankfully, all aircraft took as their first imperative, FOLLOW THE MOONEY IN FRONT OF YOU (or off your wing if you were a wingman).

My conclusion is; the prescribed speeds,vectors, etc., are only recommendations. The requirement is to "follow the leader" while keeping as close to the prescribed distance as possible.

Looking forward to next year.

Mooney Caravan 2000 Post Mortem

As I sit here on Labor day, slightly more than a month after the successful 2000 Mooney caravan to Oshkosh, my primary impression is still how amazed and impressed I am with the level of talent and energy of all the volunteers who made the caravan such a success this year. We had an incredibly good time at both Madison and Oshkosh, and also enroute between the two. Allow me to provide my perspective on our effort this year, and some suggestions for the 2001 Caravan.

Madison Ops

Madison Ops were well organized and smoothly run. Jody Voss had the ramp humming with help from the likes of Curt and Ellen Randoll and John Einck, among others. Jonathan Paul had registration running smoothly. Having a phone and a phone number for the regional caravans (and occasional single planes) to call was extremely helpful. Waldo Born and his volunteers in the transportation corps did a magnificent job in getting people to and from the motel. Ken Beaubien was immensely helpful with the dinner (great food!) and the door prizes (my favorite part of that evening, I must admit). Wisconsin Aviation, especially Don Winkler, knocked themselves out this year and removed any remaining sour taste from mis-steps in 1999. Madison Tower was friendly, cooperative and downright enthusiastic about our plans, and Mark Giovanni evinced a “can do” attitude that made getting the flight off the ground much easier than it might have been. Kudos to Bill Rabek for his liaison efforts with the FAA and EAA!

As noted, the dinner and speakers at Madison were wonderful. Thanks to Flemming Pedersen for making the extraordinary sound routine (but still exciting) and to Roy LoPresti for his wonderful anecdotes.

The briefings on Monday went well, though there are a few items which might benefit from more emphasis next year (see below). The PowerPoint presentation that Jonathan Paul helped me whip up made the briefing much easier to present. I maintain that a moderately talented chimpanzee could do a passable briefing with slides that good (we’ll see next year, Bill). Mark Napier outdid himself this year in the group photo, with a great background of Mooneys to fill the frame.

Startup and taxi out using 3 meta groups for staggered engine starts seemed to work well, as did truncated check in. In fact, we had no scratches or ground problems this year. The takeoff positions and staggered starting rolls from either side of the runway centerline also worked well, although I suspect that one of the reasons we had bunching up among groups was that there was less than a 30 second gap between the last plane in a group and the leader of the next group. Having tower ship each group to departure seemed to me to be a good way to get everyone along to the next enroute frequency.

Enroute Ops

Judging by the radio chatter, there were some groups that had a smooth ride, and others that were all over the sky. Despite much cogitation, I cannot discern a pattern in why some had problems and others didn’t. it is clear that there is a compression effect for following groups. This led to slower than expected airspeeds for most, and a tension between whether to maintain airspeed or position. After talking to several people at Oshkosh, I’ve come to the conclusion that position is paramount (unless and until you become convinced that the person you’re following is leading you totally astray). Next year we should emphasize these points: 1) It is imperative that all planes be exactly at 3,500’. Visibility of planes becomes a problem when one is lower than the others. 2) Position is more important than airspeed. Everyone has a position, and should adjust airspeed (throttle in this case) as necessary to maintain position. James Oliphant had a great idea which we should implement in all group briefings next year. He had his group line up on the ramp in takeoff order, then march off at 6 second intervals just like they would at takeoff, to make sure everyone knew when to go and what his/her position would be. This seemed to help his group visualize what was going to happen at takeoff and enroute, and I recommend we adopt this for all groups. (It should make for some great video if nothing else.)

Navigation was pretty good this year, with a few groups reportedly overshooting TURN a bit. For next year we need to clean up the LAT/LONG and radial/DME coordinates of TURN. One thing I noticed is that folks started down too early again this year, some inside the temporary FLD class C airspace. Folks, Highway 41 is easy to see, and if you stay at 3,500’ MSL util you cross it you can’t go wrong!

OSH tower did throw us a little curve this year, clearing our entire flight to land on RWY 36L. It took only a polite reminder to get them to allow us to use both 36L and R.

Ground handling at OSH was easier this year due to dry grounds and the two years of experience we’ve had in the past. I’m also pleased to report that Tom Poberezny took the time to drive over and say “hello” when we landed. We are now officially on the EAA radar, for better or for worse!

AirVenture Fun

What can I say about being in Mooneyville at AirVenture? It was a blast! My only regret was that there was so much to do and so many people to talk to that I didn’t get a chance to chat with everyone in our group. The Mooney Caravan Moonlight Theatre was a success, and the Thursday Barbecue was marvelous. Kudos to Jim Ryan and crew for pulling it off. Jim, who do you know that stopped the rain for you? Bob Kromer and Chris Dopp talked just long enough and with interesting detail to hold everyone’s attention. A great time was had by all, even a few brand “B” drivers who stopped by. The finances for the barbecue and the caravan as a whole allowed a generous donation to the MAPA Safety Foundation. That’s a great cause!

Next Year

Wisconsin Aviation and EAA are already waiting for us next year. The start date for AirVenture is being moved to Tuesday from Wednesday. This will require schedule adjustments, with consideration presently being given to a late Sunday afternoon caravan. This would mean a Sunday noon briefing, and would allow west coasters to leave Saturday and still make the fun. We need to keep up the good work in the planning departments and consider what other fun things we can do to keep the caravan fresh. We don’t want to get into a rut. To that end, new blood and new ideas are always welcome. I had several people volunteer to help for 2001, but never had a piece of paper handy when they talked to me. Please, if you’re interested in helping for 2001, drop me a note now at daveauw@dwave.net. We’ll include you in the loop for planning or whatever you’re interested in doing.

Thanks again to all who helped make this year’s caravan a success, as measured by the Prime Directive: we had fun, and we did it safely.

Revision: 10/28/2010

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