Aircraft of Our Lives: AS-202 Bravo

We will be running occasional posts in a guest series entitled "Aircraft of our Lives," featuring the favorite aircraft of pilots from around the globe.  Today, Etienne M. shares his about his favorite aircraft.  Etienne is an Air Traffic Controller ARR/DEP in Geneva (LSGG), Private Pilot, and fan of the New England Patriots.  Enjoy today's flight on the AS-202 Bravo.


The sun was shining on this cold December morning as I was filing my VFR flight plan from Sion (LSGS) to Lugano (LSZA). It was 2009, and I was enjoying a full month of flying in Sion as part of my training to become an Air Traffic Controller in Geneva. Skyguide, my employer, believes it is a good thing for its trainees to learn the basics of flying, and I couldn't agree more!

AS-202 Bravo

We had two AS-202 Bravos at our disposal, HB-HFH and HB-HFK. The Bravo - no connection to the Mooney M20 whatsoever -  was designed and manufactured by Flug- und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhein (FFA) in eastern Switzerland as a trainer/aerobatics aircraft from 1969 until the early 90s. About 220 have been built, and most are still in use in flight schools. The Bravo offers two seats side by side in front, and an optional third seat in the back. Its fixed landing gear allows her to withstand some quite hard landings by the student pilots, but she is quite easy to handle, making such happenings a rarity. The Bravo behaves differently from the Cessna 172 I had flown in some previous flying experiences, so some adaptation time was required. She is equipped with a stick, and there is a throttle conveniently located on the left side of the cabin. This design proves to be very useful in the aerodrome circuit, as the pilot can fly "Hands on Throttle and Stick" very comfortably. The low-wing offers very good maneuverability while maintaining a good level of stability. The huge bubble canopy provides a great view of the surroundings, even to the rear. It really is a fun airplane to fly for training and sightseeing.

Sion airport is a wonderful place. It handles lots of GA, a growing number of business jets and a few airline flights during the winter. On top of that, it is a military base used by Swiss Air Force Tigers, Hornets and Cougars. The beautiful landscape - surrounding mountains over 10000ft high - makes it an aviation enthusiast's dream!

Bravo in-flight

This will be the first time I cross the Alps to go to the south, and I'm excited. Sion Ground clears us to hold short of Runway 25, intersection Bravo. After the run-up, we contact Sion Tower, and we are cleared for take-off. Power set, I release the brakes and the propeller drives us through the cold air: we are airborne! We climb on downwind before exiting the CTR to the east of the valley. The winter has painted the whole landscape in white, and no clouds are in sight. We keep climbing to 12500ft in order to tour the Matterhorn at a reasonable altitude. Since we are pretty heavy, the rate of climb is quite modest, and the Bravo is letting us know that we're not going to get much higher than that! The mountain appears to us in all its majesty. Its shape and surroundings are breathtaking, and it deserves to be known among the most beautiful things on this planet. It is with much respect that we wander around it for a while, before setting course to the Simplon Pass.

The Simplon Pass appears under our wings as turbulences start to make themselves felt. The Bravo is shaken quite a bit, but she keeps us bravely high above the ground. You're never too cautious when overflying a pass, as downdroughts can be pretty strong. There is a building down there, managed by Canons. You can find shelter there if you're into alpine skiing or just to find some peace away from the city. On the other side, there is Italy. I initiate the descent into the valley, and the Bravo takes advantage of gravity to accelerate a little. She definitely is not a Mooney by any means, but she's my beloved airplane, and right now, it is the most beautiful in the world. The huge canopy gives me a wonderful sight of the surroundings, and down the valley I can already see Verbania, a jewel of a city right next to the Lago Maggiore, or Great Lake, in Southern Switzerland. In this part, the spoken language is Italian, as opposed to French in the West, and German in the North. This may seem weird to many, but the Swiss take great pride in being able to make such diverse cultures and languages work together.

Matterhorn, The Alps, Switzerland

A few minutes later, we prepare to enter Lugano CTR via point W. Lugano is a small regional airport not far from the Italian border, where you can see mostly Saab 2000s and other turboprop aircraft. The approach for Runway 19, which is in use today, is quite tricky due to the height of the circuit. The Aerodrome Reference Point is at 915ft, and the circuit for aircraft up to 3000kg MTOW is at 2600ft. There is a high hill just below on the right on downwind, so we must maintain this altitude strictly. During the base turn and final, over 1600ft must be lost before touchdown. It is very important to be well configured and at the right speed, or else a go-around is a certainty. Luckily for me, my instructor has briefed me well, and keeps insisting on these points during the approach, so I'm able to land the Bravo softly, still a bit further than the desired touchdown point...

Sadly, we don't have much time to enjoy the Lugano sun, we've got to fly back to LSGS. We head swiftly to the "Bureau C" to pay the landing fees (yes, they are expensive in Switzerland) and back to the plane we go! No need for refueling, as we took enough Avgas in Sion for the return trip. This leg will take us north to overfly Lodrino, Ambri and the Nufenen Pass, then the Aletsch Glacier before landing in Sion. This time, the wind will be blowing against us, so the Bravo will need to work even harder.

I apply full throttle when cleared for takeoff, and as we leave Runway 19 the Lago di Lugano appears under our wings. In case of engine failure, we don't have many options other than attempting a "Sullenberger". Luckily for us, we won't be practicing this impressive feat today. The engine roars to perfection, and as soon as we can we turn left to the North to exit the CTR in the direction of Mt Ceneri. Just like during the first leg, we won't be entering any controlled airspace. The terrain is high, and airspace Charlie only starts at FL150 in this area. No need to contact the flight information service either, because the radio waves would have difficulties to meet us anyway. So it is in airspaces Golf and Echo that we wander around, climbing with difficulty up to 13500ft at some point. The navigation is made quite easy, as we are following a valley north-eastbound. The only tricky part is to identify the right pass at the end of the valley, because a mistake would be costly then. If we take a wrong path, the Alps are wide, and there aren't many adequate terrains to make a precautionary landing, or worse, an emergency one.

Aletsch Glacier

With the Nufenen Pass in sight, I set course to the Aletsch Glacier. A few nautical miles later, it appears to my enchanted eyes. It is so magnificent, so peaceful and yet mighty and dangerous... Parts of it look very flat, others more bumpy. It is so huge! This is something a pilot must see once, although with proper altitude clearance.

After a few minutes of enchantment, it is time to head back to Sion. The descent is pretty steep, and entry point Echo 1 gets there sooner than I expected. The speed went way up during descent, and things are starting to pile up in my student pilot's little head. Flying, checking, briefing, communicating... Echo 2 is there, and the nice ATCO clears us for a straight-in approach. The long runway appears reassuring, and I calm down. On the right, the beautiful castles of Valère and Tourbillon, up on the hill, watch me bring the Bravo softly back to earth on Runway 25, exhausted but so happy. This was an incredible morning, and the things I saw I will remember for a long time. I can't wait to go back up there!

Have you ever piloted or flown in an AS-202 Bravo?  Or, have you flown over the Swiss Alps?  Share your stories and photos with us about this beautiful country and landscape! 

Read While You Wait!

Many of frequent flyers are familiar with the Share-A-Book lending library added as a customer amenity for travelers visiting the Susquehanna Club at MDT in 2010.  Well, beginning today, you can enjoy MORE books for FREE while awaiting a flight or an arriving passenger at the airport!

We're pleased to introduce the HIA eBook Library!  More and more passengers are traveling with e-readers, tablet computers, smartphones and the like, and many of you using these devices are enjoying your favorite books while you sit at your gate or while you're rocking away in one of our comfortable rocking chairs in the arriving passengers area.

eBook sign in Susquehanna Club

Strategically located in high traffic areas throughout the terminal you'll find 15 signs posted - one for each of the free titles in our eBook library.  Don't be fooled - each of the signs are different!  If you're a departing or arriving passenger, make your away around the terminal to find the signs located at each of the gates.  We have 3 other signs located a non-gate areas - one in the Susquehanna Club, one in arriving passengers area, and one in baggage claim across from the customer information desk.   

eBook sign located on B-concourse

Each sign has a QR (quick response) code for the title listed on it, along with our website that you can visit to download ALL of the titles if you don't have a QR code scanner app on your smartphone or device.  If you don't have that kind of app on your phone or device, visit the app store or marketplace app on your device and search for "QR code scanner" to find and download one.

The fifteen titles offered in the eBook library are wide ranging from classics and kids books to aviation titles to appeal to all types of flyers - from little readers on up!  Which titles are offered for FREE download you ask?  Here are just a few examples:

• Mother Goose
• Pride and Prejudice
• Oliver Twist
• Early History of the Airplane (authored by the fathers of US Aviation, Orville and Wilbur Wright.)
• And more!

Avid readers - that aren't flying from MDT in the near future - don't despair!  We've got you covered, as all 15 titles are easily accessible and conveniently downloadable from our website, www.flyHIA.com/eBooks, everyday! 

The best part about all of this?  It's free and if you don't want to download the eBooks to your device to can still read them online, as HTML formatted versions (which means you can read them right from the website!) of the books are available to you as well!

You don't need a library card to enjoy some of your favorite titles!  Happy reading and flying!

Aircraft of our Lives - Piper Super Cub

We will be running occasional posts in a guest series entitled "Aircraft of our Lives," featuring the favorite aircraft of pilots from around the globe.  Today, Len Costa has been piloting anything with wings, and some without, for the last 15 years all over the USA, Canada, and Mexico. He blogs about aviation technology at ThePilotReport.com in addition to hosting the Stuck Mic AvCast, an aviation podcast about Learning to Fly, Living to Fly, and Loving To Fly. For opportunities to work with Len, he can be reached via email at ThePilotReport@gmail.com.  Enjoy today's flight on the Piper Super Cub.

As a kid becoming a pilot wasn't really my thing. Nope, I had higher goals. Goals that would literally take me beyond the stratosphere and into space. Space wasn't just the final frontier, it was my frontier because for as long as I can recall and I wanted to be an astronaut.

Looking into the job postings for astronaut applicants on NASA's website made me realize that my desire to fly in space would not come to fruition. Not because I wasn't capable, but honestly because I wasn't interested. A core part of the job is to have a doctorate degree in science or mathematics and quite frankly I had no desire in those fields. Dream shattered. Or maybe not...

While I never did become an astronaut the wonder of flight didn't escape me all together. I opted for a more earthly endeavor, still flying related, when deciding to take fight lessons after experiencing my first small pane ride. It happens to be strange fortune that my family and I would be visiting the local airport one afternoon when the Experimental Aircraft Association was hosting a Young Eagles day.

Young Eagles is a program that shares the joy of aviation with children between the ages of 8 and 17 all provided by volunteer pilots in their personal aircraft. On this fateful airport visit, I would experience that; a ride in an experimental Lancair 320. With its sleek, clean lines, and Ferrari like speed, I was in love.

Following that day I began to find ways to start accumulating flight hours and taking lessons when I was 15 years old, enjoying flying so much, a career in aviation seemed natural. While I wasn't old enough to drive a car, I was flying airplanes and would end up being the only high school graduate who was an FAA certificated pilot. I had been bit by "the bug" and began pursuing all the necessary flight training requirements to become a Commercial Pilot and eventually an airline pilot.

Now most people might think that my favorite airplane to fly is the jet at work simply for the fact that it's a jet. More power, more speed, better capabilities, who couldn't love that? While I enjoy the jet, my real passion is flying general aviation aircraft. And it wasn't until recent that I could even say I had a favorite flying machine and only a trip to Alaska could show me this other world of possibilities.

My old flight student that I taught how to fly had moved onto a career in aviation as well. His dream was always to buy an airplane and live in Alaska. He succeeded! His aircraft of choice, and common fixture of the Alaskan landscape, is the Piper Super Cub; the Alaskan SUV, or super utility vehicle.

Like many Super Cubs in Alaska, this one is tricked out with a special climb propeller to produce more thrust for taking off allowing you to operate into smaller than usual landing spots. Nope, not airports, landing spots. Be it a gravel bar, mountain top, or glacier. But in order to use these off-airport locations, no stock tire would suffice. Enter the bush wheel; a large, treadless, balloon like tire that not only gives the aircraft clearance from ground objects in the bush, but also acts as a soft cushion absorbing the rough imperfections of a land-anywhere location; rocks, brush, rough terrain, just about anything.

So there I was, my first time in Alaska and excited for what flying adventures were ahead of us. Everything from landing on river gravel bars, to glaciers for camping, and even the summit of Mt Susitna where the only way in was by bush plane. You've haven't lived until you see a place you want to explore and then land, airports not required. And Alaska would be just that, the land-anywhere, do (almost) anything, aviation heaven. The place most pilots dream of.

So how does one land on a mountain top with sloping hills and no runway? Carefully. You make a few low passes first to inspect the landing area looking for debris, obstacles, whether the surface is hard enough if recent rains have passed through, in addition to determining which direction the wind is blowing to plan as normal a traffic pattern and approach to landing as one can.

And that's exactly what we did on the northeast face of Mt Susitna. Our purpose? To pick wild blueberries from the mountain top brush. No joke! So tell me, who couldn't love flying let alone in a Piper Super Cub, my favorite, highly capable, play date.

The Aircraft of MDT: VC-25

Welcome to the fifteenth and final regular installment of The Aircraft of MDT. In this series we have taken a look at some of the aircraft that you may spot flying to and from Harrisburg International Airport.

SAM 28000 practicing touch-and-goes.
Note the bulge of the aerial refueling port on the
aircraft's nose.

Although the largest aircraft that flies to and from Harrisburg International Airport on a day to day basis is the A300-600F, the runway is capable of handling any plane in the world. That capacity, combined with minimal congestion and proximity to Joint Base Andrews, makes MDT the ideal spot for the president’s pilots to come practice routine maneuvers.

Often referred to as “Air Force One,” the two aircraft that serve as the primary mode of long distance transport for the President of the United States only officially bear that designation when the president is actually aboard, as does any U.S. Air Force aircraft carrying the president. Similarly, a naval aircraft carrying the president takes the call sign “Navy One,” an army aircraft, “Army One,” etc.; a civilian aircraft carrying the president is designated “Executive One.” When the president is not on board, these aircraft are typically referred to by their tail numbers: 28000 and 29000.

Officially known as the VC-25A, the presidential planes are heavily specialized modifications of the Boeing 747-200 airliner. Boeing Commercial Airplanes introduced the 747 in the late 1960s. At the time, air travel was growing in popularity and airport congestion was becoming a problem as more and more flights were added to accommodate passenger demand. To alleviate this congestion and increase their passenger load, airlines sought a jetliner larger than those currently available. Pan American Airlines collaborated heavily with Boeing on the design of the 747 and was the aircraft’s launch customer, placing an order for 25 in 1966 and taking delivery of the first plane in January of 1970. Able to carry more than 350 passengers and crew, the 747-100 was two and a half times the size of the Boeing 707, one of the most popular airliners of the era.

SAM 28000 with Three Mile Island
in the background.

When the 747 was under development, conventional wisdom was that subsonic airliners would soon be replaced by supersonic counterparts. To guard against this eventuality, Boeing designed the 747 to be easily converted into a freighter, supposing that when passenger air travel went supersonic, subsonic aircraft could still thrive in the cargo market. The industry-wide changeover to supersonic never materialized (Boeing canceled plans for its own supersonic transport in 1971) and the 747 has proved to be very successful, with over 1400 aircraft across numerous variants delivered to date. Thirty three years after its maiden flight, production of the 747 continues with the newest variant, the 747-8.

The 747-200, launched in 1971, added more powerful engines and improved on the -100’s maximum takeoff weight. The -200 serves as the basis for the VC-25. In 1985, during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, a Request for Proposal was issued announcing the intention to replace the two 707 derived VC-137s that then served as the presidential aircraft. Both the 747 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 competed for the contract which ultimately went to Boeing. The VC-25s were completed the following year and first flew in 1987. After some problems with wiring the aircraft for communications, the new jets entered presidential service in 1990.

SAM 28000 takes off again after a touch-and-go.

Both standard 747s and the VC-25s have three decks. As on a 747, the lower deck of the VC-25 is given over primarily to cargo space. The Uppermost deck houses the cockpit and the aircraft’s primary communications center. The president and other passengers ride on the main deck which is divided into several sections. The foremost section is sometimes referred to as “The White House” as it contains the president’s private state room and office. The executive suite includes a toilet, shower, double sink, and couches that convert to beds. “The Oval Office aboard Air Force One” is equipped to allow the president to address the nation while airborne, a capability that was added after President George W. Bush was forced to land in order to give such an address on September 11, 2001. The remainder of the main deck contains a conference room equipped for teleconferencing, quarters for guests, senior staff, and secret service, and seating for news media near the rear of the plane. Protocol dictates that passengers may move about freely aft of their assigned seating, but not forward of it. The aircraft has two galleys capable of serving a total of 100 people at a time. There is a medical annex aboard, complete with operating table, that is staffed by a doctor and a nurse on every flight.

Further modifications not standard on the 747 are the ability to refuel in flight, defensive countermeasures to guard against missile attack, and electronics heavily shielded against interference from the electromagnetic pulse that would result from a nuclear blast. Many of the plane's features are, of course, classified, but there is no indication that the VC-25 carries an emergency escape pod, as depicted in the 1997 film, Air Force One.

When the Request for Proposal for the VC-25 was issued, the two VC-137s were 23 and 13 years old. The VC-25s have now been in service for 22 years. Although no definite plans have been made public, a notice has been issued seeking replacements for the aircraft to enter service in 2017 and 2019. Possible candidates have included the Boeing 747-8 and 787 and the Airbus A380, although as of 2009, Airbus was no longer being considered.

"Smoking the Mains"

As with the C-32, there is no pre-announced schedule for the VC-25’s visits to Harrisburg International Airport, but they generally occur roughly once a month. So, if you’re in our neighborhood, keep a weather eye out; watching what is, in its unique livery, one of the most recognizable aircraft in the world touch and go at MDT is a real treat.