Report

First Safety Seminar for Pilots in Schwäbisch Hall with international participation

On the weekend of 10th - 12th October, 2008 some 50 pilots and aircraft owners attended a safety seminar for pilots in Schwäbisch Hall.
The pilots came from Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Finland.
They all fly the same type of aircraft, produced by the American company Piper, the models being the Malibu, the Malibu-Mirage and the modified turboprop versions Jetprop and Meridian.
The guest lecturer was a member of this aircraft's original construction team – John Mariani from Florida, USA. Not only did he play a significant role in the development of the Piper Malibu in the early 1980s, he also flew the first series as a test pilot.
This makes him one of the top experts on this aircraft and he was thus able to explain many things about performance, safety and aerodynamic limits to his interested audience.
Outside the seminar, the pilots had a chance to see Schwäbisch Hall and the surrounding countryside, before returning home on Sunday evening with much acquired knowledge about their planes and excellent impressions of Hohenlohe.
(Udo Illig, press statement)

Review of the
MMIG46 / PA46 Safety Seminar in Schwäbisch Hall / EDTY
10th - 12th October, 2008

Download: Airport Map .pdf (208kb)

A perfect reception at a perfect airport – the Adolf Würth Airport!

There was even a Würth balloon to welcome us!

Lecturer John Mariani's pleasant anticipation.

In the evening, Malibus as far as the eye can see.

Thanks to the shuttle service sponsored by the Würth company,
the pilots were taken quickly to the excellent Hotel Hohenlohe.
Here the participants met for a superb dinner.

Schwäbisch Hall's City Mayor, Hermann Josef Pelgrim, welcomed us.

Our patron, Prof. Reinhold Würth, welcomed the seminar participants
in the Schwäbisch Hall Bausparkasse.

Then our lecturer, John Mariani, co-developer of the PA46, started his talk.

For the ladies, a local excursion including a visit to Castle Langenburg
as well as Schwäbisch Hall had been arranged.

In a relaxed atmosphere, we enjoyed our dinner at the Landgasthof
“Reber’s Pflug”.

Sunday, 12.10.08, on the way to the seminar.

Finally, we again thanked our sponsors for this special Safety Seminar.
Our gratitude goes to Prof. Reinhold Würth,
to the Bausparkasse Schwäbisch Hall
and to GEMÜ Apparatebau

(Brigitte Türk)

Safety Seminar in Schwäbisch Hall with John Mariani

A pilot who heeds the information and advice in his flying manual is a pilot who flies safely.
The more complicated an aircraft and its systems are, the more difficult it is to apply all this information correctly in the various situations occurring during a flight. With its pressurised cabin, de-icing systems, conventional piston engines or gas turbines, the PA 46 isn't just one of the fastest single-engined planes with which one can reach flight level 270, it is correspondingly complex. The accidents each year involving aircraft of this type show how fatally dangerous they can be. It must be the aim of a Safety Seminar to address the deadly aviation sins, to demonstrate the limits of the plane's construction and to attain a deeper understanding of the individual systems through detailed explanations so that familiarity with the information in the manual isn't just knowledge of facts.

From 10th to 12th October the Malibu Mirage Interest Group organised a Safety Seminar at which the co-developer of the Piper Malibu PA46, Mr John Mariani, explained the technical aspects of the systems with a view to their safe use to the participants. In doing this he detailed the differences in the various systems of the MALIBU, the MIRAGE, the JETPROP and the MERIDIAN.

A short report on such a seminar cannot make any claims to completeness. The sheer quantity of important information would fill a whole book. The following questions are intended only to give a general overview and motivate the reader to find out more:

How can one get the best use out of the various autopilots so that the workload of the pilot is minimised in any flight situation? In what constellations doesn't the autopilot capture the ILS? What information concerning the flight situation do the various autopilots used in the PA46 use? What functionalities are provided by switching GPS navigation devices onto the autopilots? What are the problems of the Pre-Select? In what situations mustn't the autopilot be switched on?

For what degree of icing was the PA 46's de-icing system designed? Which controls are excluded from the de-icing? How can one prevent a restriction in the functionality of these due to icing, or rather how can one still safely pilot the plane somewhere else? What are the effects of icing on a plane's flying characteristics and which manoeuvres should be avoided? Which systems must function if there is a risk of icing during a planned flight?

How does the pressurised air get into the cabin and what control and safety systems are there? How does the heating work most effectively? What settings provide the most comfort in the cabin?

Which components make up the stall warning and to which mechanical stress do they react most sensitively? Is the spin part of the PA 46's annual check flight? In which situations should one fly with manoeuvre speed? Which components are part of the undercarriage and which are redundant?

In line with the Malibu Mirage Interest Group's well-established tradition, the Safety Seminar was rounded off with a series of social events. During an excellent dinner the participants were able to exchange their views on their newly acquired knowledge. John Mariani showed us clearly what the fatal dangers are and with his explanations helped us to deepen our understanding of the PA 46's systems. Thank-you, John.

(Stefan Stöhr)