Category Archives: Uncategorized

Zoom is authorized for certain DPE administrative actions such as Military Competency

The FAA has now authorized Zoom for military competency, SOE removal, and a few other administrative actions. Interestingly an aircraft type with an SIC limitation is not one of the approved actions. Zoom was authorized during COVID but then expired about a year ago. Most FAA inspectors that I’ve spoken to felt that Zoom was a great idea, at least for some administrative certificates. Contact me if you require one of these actions and we should be able to complete via Zoom.

2024 Hotdog days and Wings & Wheels

We have set Saturday, June 22 and Saturday, August 31 for our Hotdog Days at WV77. We’ll have a poster out soon. Wings and Wheels will be held on Saturday, 21 September. Glamping sites will open for the season on Memorial Day weekend. This year we will also be offering our camp on AirBnB, stay tuned for the opening date.

FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award

Earlier this month, I received the FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot award. The Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award is presented to pilots who have 50 years from their first solo and no accidents or incidents. So this is basically an old-person award! I am, however, honored to be recognized for many years as a pilot. I soloed when I was 16 years old, taught by my Mom, Ruth Tolley Gwinn. On the day I soloed, Mom flew around the pattern with me a few times at the Hinton – Alderson airport (WV77). She got out with the engine running, looked at me, and shouted, “Three times around the pattern, three landings, and then taxi it. And don’t do anything stupid!” Mom was a great instructor, and I still use the lessons that she taught me today.

Inducted into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame

I was honored to be an inductee into the U.S. Army Aviation Hall of Fame in April of this year (2022). The Army Aviation Hall of Fame (HOF) is a function of the Army Aviation Association of America, known throughout the Army Aviation community as “Quad-A.” Over the years, several peers and former commanders had suggested that I would be a good candidate for the HOF; however, I was surprised when I received the phone call shortly before Christmas. The phone call was followed up with a FedEx envelope with a rather lengthy list of requirements to be ready for the April 4th induction ceremony at the Quad-A convention in Nashville, TN. First, I had to have a photo that Quad-A would use to create a portrait displayed at the Army Aviation Museum, Ft. Rucker, AL. Hard to believe that I’m now in a museum. Next were things like getting my uniform together as I hadn’t worn one in 13 years and it didn’t fit! My wife and I spent hours working with a media team that created an award ceremony video. David Hartman narrated the video, which is available on YouTube by searching for AAAA Hall of Fame Induction CW5 Michael Gwinn. Why was I inducted into the Hall of Fame? The apparent reason is the 40 years I spent flying on active duty and then as a contractor for the Army. But the reason for my induction, which I’m proud of, is the many Aviators I instructed and evaluated. My legacy is their success and safety while flying in many challenging and dangerous situations. I was a junior Warrant Officer One (WO1) right out of flight school when I arrived at the Cav at Ft. Campbell, KY. I was already an FAA Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) in airplanes, and some folks thought I could challenge the Army OH-58 Instructor Pilot course. Challenging an Army IP course wasn’t done at that time. I successfully challenged the IP course and became a WO1 Instructor Pilot, which led to many opportunities and a great career. I spent the next 39 years as an Army Instructor Pilot in numerous Helicopters and Airplanes.

ForeFlight 14.5 adds ability to display True North

This update addresses a check ride problem. ForeFlight 14.5 just added a feature to change the ruler to show either magnetic or true north. Until this update ForeFlight only showed magnetic north. Applicants for a Private or Commercial pilot certificate (license) are required to produce a navigation log that starts with true north and continues to find the magnetic heading. I find that some applicants have used the ForeFlight magnetic heading to start this process which then introduces an error in the result. Students tend to know the nav log process early in training but then forget as they use ForeFlight (or similar app). The NavLog process should be reviewed prior to check rides. This update in ForeFlight might help however applicants should know the difference between true and magnetic north. And BTW, ForeFlight is totally acceptable during a check ride but know how to get from A to Z.

ForeFight Settings for Bearing and Track

2022 Glamping open!

Stearman Camp Site

We are up and running after a slow start last year. It took a while to get the sites set up and we didn’t open until early August in 2021. Over the winter we improved the hangar facilities with a shower. Check out this video from Alan White. Alan is a regional manager with the Recreational Airplane Foundation. You can also find this video on YouTube by searching for “Big Orange Bird” and then “Airplane Glamping” video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKR8E0bL8Uk

Great piece of family aviation history

One of the airplanes that flew in at our Wings and Wheels Festival (fly-in) on 18 September was piloted by Jon Wyatt and another pilot. Jon had contacted me several months earlier and said that he wanted to fly into WV77 and show me something. Jon said that he had received his private pilot certificate at WV77 in the 1950s. Jon few into WV77 several times this summer in a Cessna Cardinal, N63VT but we never managed to be at the airport at the same time. Jon owned N63VT for quite a while and the tail number was the date he graduated from Virginia Tech. He had sold the plane a few years ago as he felt that the years were catching up to him but the new owner flies Jon in the plane quite often. So they flew over on the 18th and Jon got out and showed me the temporary certificate below. It is his temporary from his private pilot check ride and his examiner, who signed the certificate, was my Grandfather, James Tolley. I knew that my Grandfather was a DPE but I have never seen a temp certificate signed by him. It was really a special moment. I think my Grandfather would be happy knowing that 60 plus years later his grandson is a DPE. As a side note, a Temporary certificate today looks just like this one except it says “Department of Transportation – Federal Aviation Administration” on the top instead of “Department of Commerce – Civil aeronautics Administration.” This temporary was issued on 11 May 1958 and the FAA replaced the CAA on 23 August 1958.

How to book one of our Glamping (camping) sites

The Glamping sites are booked through tentrr.com. Tentrr.com is a company that provides the tents, equipment for the sites, and hosts the reservation website. Go to Tentrr.com on the internet, select West Virginia as the state, and then look for “Stearman”, “Skyhawk”, and “Cub”. Stearman, Skyhawk, and Cub are the names of our sites. Once you book the site you can contact the Campkeeper, who is my lovely wife, and she will ensure that your visit is great!

Glamping at the Hinton-Alderson Airport

Well, we have finally completed the setup of the glamping sites (glamours camping – note that I didn’t coin this term) at the airport. We have three sites, each over 100 yards apart. The sites are named Cub, Skyhawk, and Stearman (get it?) and you can taxi up to each site. We intend to keep these sites for fly-in patrons; however, if you also wish to bring a car, that’s OK. A car might be handy to get to white water rafting at the New River Gorge National Park. You could also drop a passenger at the Greenbrier Valley Airport (KLWB) to pick up a rental car. LWB is 18 nm to the north, has fuel, and a 7,000′ runway. We have links to vendors who can provide kayak and float trips on the Greenbrier River. The Greenbrier borders the airport, and all the sites have a great view. The sites can be booked through Tentrr.com and on Airbnb. Also, move over to the airport tab on this website for photos and more info.

Please don’t use this phrase

I’m sure you have heard a pilot flying into a non-towered airport and announce “any traffic in the area, please advise.” It surprises me that this is still around since the AIM (4-1-9(g)(1)) states that this phrase “should not be used under any condition. ” The AIM published this around 2015. AC 90-66B also lists the phrase as taboo (para 10.3.1 NOTE). So why is it not to be used? Non-towered airfields are not “uncontrolled”; we, the pilots who fly in and out, control these non-towered airports. What does asking “any traffic please advise” do? Well, it requires everyone who is already (hopefully) announcing their position properly to chime in again. Properly includes “N23567 Downwind for Runway 19″, N12345 is 10 miles to the north inbound for landing”, etc. But I guess we are all supposed to announce again tying up the already congested radios. Don’t use this phrase. Announce your position and keep the chatter to a minimum!

Wings & Wheels 2019

We held our 2019 Wings & Wheels on Saturday, 21 September at WV77.  A great turn out and we had a lot of positive comments; folks really enjoyed the day.  This is our second attempt and we are learning quite a bit about setting up an event such as this.  Advertising and just getting the word out is key.  The “car” part of the event is something that I had no experience with; I know airplanes, not cars.  But the car folks provided lots of good advice and we have plans to make it even better next year.DCIM100MEDIADJI_0021.JPG

DPE in Seaplanes

I recently added Airplane Single-engine Sea to my FAA Designated Pilot Examiner authority.   My local FSDO (Richmond) has seen an increase in demand for a floatplane (seaplane) examiner and asked me to step up.  I conducted my first seaplane evaluation in May and look forward to many more.  Seaplanes are just fun!

2019 Wings and Wheels at WV77

We are in the planning and setup stages for the 2nd annual Wings and Wheels Festival at the Hinton-Alderson Airport.  Last year we had our first Wings and Wheels and things turned out very well.  So mark your calendar for September 21st from 11:00 to 4:00!  The steering committee attended the auto show coordination meeting at Beckley in February and got our event on the list.  This is good news as we now expect a great turn out of “wheels” as well as wings! Cousin Rob has several Tamarac artisans presenting their wares. And the food offerings are guaranteed to put a smile on your face. You can eat while enjoying the sounds of Blue Grass music in the beautiful West Virginia hills!  The Hinton-Alderson Airport has a rich aviation history and is set along the banks of the majestic Greenbrier River….this festival has the makings of a fabulous day for families and for anyone who is interested in aviation and automobiles! So pack your cars full, because we have a low $10.00 per car charge for those coming to see the goings on!

Note that there is no fee for official show cars or airplanes.  At this time we do not have 100LL or autogas for airplanes.  LWB is 15 NM away and has fuel.