B&H Airlines will launch its 2009/10 winter schedule on October 25 with 3 aircraft – 2 ATR72s and 1 Boeing B737-400. While the arrival of a second Boeing aircraft is scheduled during the winter season there is still no firm date for its arrival and thus has not been scheduled on any services during the winter. Keep in mind that this is a preliminary schedule and as such is subject to change, especially when B&H is concerned. Any changes will be brought to your attention by visiting the blog.

Frequency changes

There will be no overwhelming frequency changes during this winter when compared to the summer. Notably, the airline will increase services to Istanbul and Stockholm. Flights to Istanbul will be increased from 6 times per week to daily flights while 1 service to Gothenburg will be extended to Stockholm thus increasing the number of Stockholm bound flights from 1 to 2 per week. Another flight from Banja Luka to Zurich will be introduced. Daily flights from Sarajevo to Zurich will now be making 3 stops in Banja Luka, rather than 2.

When compared to the summer, there will be some significant time reshuffling. The Wednesday service to Vienna will be replaced by a Sunday flight. Flight times to Istanbul are being changed with an introduction of an evening flight to Istanbul and an early morning departure from Istanbul to Sarajevo. The Monday flight to Copenhagen has now been moved to Sunday instead.

New and suspended routes

The introduction of new services will depend on the arrival of a new aircraft scheduled sometime during the winter. As there is no set date for the aircraft’s arrival, new flights could be launched later during the winter season. The current fleet is still not being utilised to its maximum.

The airline is suspending services to Podgorica and Skopje. New flights from Tuzla to Istanbul are being considered. This service, if it gets a final approval, would originate from Tuzla, rather than Sarajevo. Therefore there would be a total of 9 weekly flights from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Istanbul operated by B&H.

The following displays all of the modifications taking place in the B&H Airlines 2009/10 winter schedule

Destination	Frequency Summer 09	Frequency Winter 09/10	Aircraft Summer 09	Aircraft Winter 09/10
Copenhagen	2	2	B737-400	B737-400
Dusseldorf	2	3	B737-400	ATR72/B737-400
Frankfurt	4 (2 via Tuzla)	4 (2 via Tuzla)	ATR72	ATR72
Gothenburg	2	2	B737-400	B737-400
Istanbul	6	7	B737-400	B737-400
Podgorica	3	SUSPENDED	ATR72	-
Skopje	3 (2 via Podgorica)	SUSPENDED	ATR72	-
Stockholm	1	2 (1 via Gothenburg)	B737-400	B737-400
Zurich	7 (2 via Banja Luka)	7 (3 via Banja Luka)	ATR72	ATR72
Vienna	5	5	ATR72	ATR72

All frequencies are on a weekly basis

The inspection should start with the cabin door. If the door is hard to open or close, or if the carpeting or seats are wet from a recent rain, there is a good chance that the door, fuselage, or both are misaligned. This may be a sign of structural damage.

The windshield and side windows should be examined for cracks and/or crazing. Crazing is the first stage of delamination of the plastic. Crazing decreases visibility, and a severely crazed window can result in near zero visibility due to light refraction at certain angles to the sun.

The pilot should check the seats, seat rails, and seat belt attach points for wear, cracks, and serviceability. The seat rail holes where the seat lock pins fit should also be inspected. The holes should be round and not oval. The pin and seat rail grips should also be checked for wear and serviceability.

Inside the cockpit, three key items to be checked are: (1) battery and ignition switches—off, (2) control column locks—removed, (3) landing gear control— down and locked. [Figure 2-3]

The fuel selectors should be checked for proper operation in all positions—including the OFF position. Stiff selectors, or ones where the tank position is hard to find, are unacceptable. The primer should also be exercised. The pilot should feel resistance when the primer is both pulled out and pushed in. The primer should also lock securely. Faulty primers can interfere with proper engine operation. [Figure 2-4] The engine controls should also be manipulated by slowly moving each through its full range to check for binding or stiffness.

The airspeed indicator should be properly marked, and the indicator needle should read zero. If it does not, the instrument may not be calibrated correctly. Similarly, the vertical speed indicator (VSI) should also read zero when the airplane is on the ground. If it does not, a small screwdriver can be used to zero the instrument. The VSI is the only flight instrument that a pilot has the prerogative to adjust. All others must be adjusted by an FAA certificated repairman or mechanic.

The magnetic compass is a required instrument for both VFR and IFR flight. It must be securely mounted, with a correction card in place. The instrument face must be clear and the instrument case full of fluid. A cloudy instrument face, bubbles in the fluid, or a partially filled case renders the instrument unusable. [Figure 2-5]

The gyro driven attitude indicator should be checked before being powered. A white haze on the inside of the glass face may be a sign that the seal has been breached, allowing moisture and dirt to be sucked into the instrument.

The altimeter should be checked against the ramp or field elevation after setting in the barometric pressure. If the variation between the known field elevation and the altimeter indication is more than 75 feet, its accuracy is questionable.

The pilot should turn on the battery master switch and make note of the fuel quantity gauge indications for comparison with an actual visual inspection of the fuel tanks during the exterior inspection.

While preparing the NAS Plan, the FAA faced a strike by key members of its workforce. An earlier period of discord between management and the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) culminated in a 1970 “sickout” by 3,000 controllers. Although controllers subsequently gained additional wage and retirement benefits, another period of tension led to an illegal strike in August 1981. The government dismissed over 11,000 strike participants and decertified PATCO. By the spring of 1984, the FAA ended the last of the special restrictions imposed to keep the airspace system operating safely during the strike.

B&H destinations dropping like flies

After terminating services to Prague and Berlin earlier this month, the management of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s national carrier has now decided to drop flights to Podgorica and Skopje due to low interest. The airline will be suspending flights to the capitals of Montenegro and Macedonia on October 23. Flights to Podgorica are operated 3 times per week on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Flights to Skopje also operate 3 times per week with flight JA606, which is conducted on Wednesday and Friday, going via Podgorica. The direct flight to Skopje is operated on Mondays. The regional ATR72 is being used on all of the flights. The new services were launched with much fanfare earlier this year. Flights to Podgorica were resumed after a 20 year air link absence. However, it seems that the 20 years were not long enough to interest the public. With a return ticket between Sarajevo and Podgorica amounting to over 150 Euros it was exceptionally difficult to attract any passengers.

Meanwhile, one of B&H’s owners, Turkish Airlines, announced yesterday that it will be commencing services to Podgorica, among other European cities, within a year. The B&H operated flights to Podgorica were strategically placed in order for passengers from Podgorica to easily connect onto B&H and Turkish Airlines flights to Istanbul. You can read all of B&H’s timetable modifications for the 2009/10 winter season tomorrow on the blog.

The accomplishment of a safe flight begins with a careful visual inspection of the airplane. The purpose of the preflight visual inspection is twofold: to determine that the airplane is legally airworthy, and that it is in condition for safe flight. The airworthiness of the airplane is determined, in part, by the following certificates and documents, which must be on board the airplane when operated. [Figure 2-1]  

• Airworthiness certificate.
• Registration certificate.
• FCC radio station license, if required by the type of operation.
• Airplane operating limitations, which may be in the form of an FAA-approved Airplane Flight Manual and/or Pilot’s Operating Handbook (AFM/POH), placards, instrument markings, or any combination thereof.

Airplane logbooks are not required to be kept in the airplane when it is operated. However, they should be inspected prior to flight to show that the airplane has had required tests and inspections. Maintenance records for the airframe and engine are required to be kept. There may also be additional propeller records.

 

At a minimum, there should be an annual inspection within the preceding 12-calendar months. In addition, the airplane may also be required to have a 100-hour inspection in accordance with Title14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 91, section 91.409(b).

 

If a transponder is to be used, it is required to be inspected within the preceding 24-calendar months. If the airplane is operated under instrument flight rules (IFR) in controlled airspace, the pitot-static system is also required to be inspected within the preceding 24-calendar months.

 

The emergency locator transmitter (ELT) should also be checked. The ELT is battery powered, and the battery replacement or recharge date should not be exceeded.

 

Airworthiness Directives (ADs) have varying compliance intervals and are usually tracked in a separate area of the appropriate airframe, engine, or propeller record.

 

The determination of whether the airplane is in a condition for safe flight is made by a preflight inspection of the airplane and its components. [Figure 2-2] The preflight inspection should be performed in accordance with a printed checklist provided by the airplane manufacturer for the specific make and model airplane. However, the following general areas are applicable to all airplanes.

 

The preflight inspection of the airplane should begin while approaching the airplane on the ramp. The pilot should make note of the general appearance of the airplane, looking for obvious discrepancies such as a landing gear out of alignment, structural distortion, skin damage, and dripping fuel or oil leaks. Upon reaching the airplane, all tiedowns, control locks, and chocks should be removed.

Captured in todays [25-09-2009] rain was this Robinson R44 Raven 11 ZK-HUC3 , c/n 10655 , registered to Suttons Moss Ltd of Dobson. It had just snuck in from the west coast.
Whats with the Precision Helicopter branding ?

Helipro's Aerospatiale AS355F1 Twin Squirrel ZK-HXO2 , c/n 5284 , on their pad on the 21st.

Another shot of the Bell 206B JetRanger 11 ZK-HTX with the registration much clearer this time. It was parked at Pacific Aircraft Services on 21-09-09.

So what do you do for a break from your regular airline gig? Fly around the world, of course!
These two airline pilots plan to circumnavigate old Terra in 2010 to mark the 100th anniversary of the first Swiss pilot license holders.
In April, 2010, Yannick Bovier and Francisco Agullo will launch in two, not one but two, Flight Design CTLSs from Switzerland, fly west down the coast of Africa and hop the Atlantic to Brazil. They've even named their planes: Dreamcatcher and Celine' (for a daughter, not the singer.)
The motivations are the "usual suspects" stuff of aerial adventure: to commemorate aviation milestones (Swiss) and inspire young people.
What the hey, for me the inspiration is imagining making such a journey myself! And flying in formation for 25,200 miles? Now there's a concept.
The intrepid pioneers plan to visit 18 countries, span five continents and cross two oceans. That's quite a challenge for any airplane, and will surely add boffo street cred to the image of LSA, eh?
Bonne chance et bon voyage, mes amis!
---photos courtesy Azimuth 270