Startup Commuter FLOAT to use Caravans in Southern California

Flight Global reporting

A startup company in Southern California which hopes to revolutionize the daily commute will launch service in the coming days and plans to offer full air-based commuting schedules from up to 40 regional airports beginning in January.

FLOAT – which stands for “Fly Over All Traffic” – will offer air taxi services to what it calls “supercommuters” in the region. The company plans to operate a fleet of nine Cessna Caravans to what it calls “underused” regional and general aviation airports across the Los Angeles and San Diego areas, renowned for their ground-based traffic problems.

Source: FLOAT

FLOAT Cessna Caravan over Los Angeles

 The company says it has agreements with almost 40 airports, including Hollywood Burbank Airport, John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana and Palm Springs Airport. It is partnering with Pompano Beach, Florida-based operator Southern Airways Express for its planes and crews.

FLOAT executives say its target customer is a commuter who drives 50 miles or more in each direction, which, depending on the time of day and the traffic flow, can take more than two hours on the region’s congested highways.

“FLOAT is shattering the myth that sitting in hours of traffic every day is a necessary and unavoidable way of life in Southern California,” FLOAT co-founder and chief executive Arnel Guiang says. “We live in a rapidly-evolving society of intense time management and instant gratification, and business professionals and their superiors are quickly realizing that spending hours in traffic is cutting into their productivity and work/life balance.”

The company says pricing and routes will vary, but it estimates the cost of a one-way flight could be as low as $30. It is offering monthly subscription packages on selected routes for $1,250, which encompasses roundtrip service five days a week.

CaravanNation.com

Review - Procedures for Exiting Severe Icing

Procedures for Exiting Severe Icing

Here in the Northern Hemisphere ground temperatures have dropped below freezing over much of the population. So we thought that now would be a good time for us Caravan Pilots to review Emergency Procedures in the icing environment.

Please remember that these Emergency Procedures found below are for the Cessna Model 208B (675 SHP) and no others. If you are flying a different model Caravan, please review your aircraft's FAA approved Abbreviated Checklist or Airplane Flight Manual for that specific model.

As stated in the Pilots' Abbreviated Checklist published by Cessna:  

Procedures for Exiting the Severe Icing Environment (As required by AD 96-09-15) 

1. Immediately request priority handling from Air Traffic Control to facilitate a route or an altitude change to exit the severe icing conditions in order to avoid extended exposure to flight conditions more severe than those for which the airplane has been certificated.

2. Avoid abrupt and excessive maneuvering that may exacerbate control difficulties.

3. Do not engage the autopilot.

4. If the autopilot is engaged, hold the control wheel firmly and disengage the autopilot.

5. If an unusual roll response or uncommanded roll control movement is observed, reduce the angle of attack.

6. If the flaps are extended, do not retract them until the airframe is clear of ice.

7. Report these weather conditions to Air Traffic Control.

If you are a Caravan pilot, I highly recommend that you complete some of Cessna's E-Learning courses on this topic. Courses such as "Caravan Cold Weather Ops" and "Caravan Vodcast Ground Icing Conditions". There are many other interesting courses available, most of which are free and are all available at cessnaelearning.com.

Fellow Caravan Pilots, please remember to Review Often and Fly Safe so that you can continue to Love What You Do!

- CaravanNation.com