June 29, 2012, issue of 'AOPA ePilot' newsletter

Click here for this week’s custom content.

Attention flying club members: It’s peak flying season— tell AOPA about your club.

Featured

History, and a hot dog

A South Carolina pub owner with a passion for flight plans to breathe new life into the aviation history of his state’s capital city. Private pilot Scott Linaberry and three partners have found perfect props for their project to promote aviation awareness in their community: a hangar designated a historic landmark, and a partly restored World War II bomber that’s housed inside. The B-25 Mitchell was fished out of a local lake where it crashed in 1944, on D-Day. Good stuff to work with if you happen to believe, as Linaberry does, that restoring the Curtiss-Wright Hangar at the Jim Hamilton L. B. Owens Airport in Columbia, S.C., as a combination restaurant, event center, and hands-on museum would produce a community destination that draws attention to its aviation history. Still, there’s a lot to do before the hangar opens. Read more >>

GA News

NTSB faults Roush for 2010 Oshkosh crash

Investigators faulted Jack Roush, a NASCAR team co-owner and longtime pilot, for failure to apply full power during an attempted go-around at Wittman Regional Airport during EAA AirVenture 2010. Roush, who continues to fly, accepted the findings. Read more >>

‘Bombs away’ over insuring B-17

A spat over insurance disrupted a stop in Seattle, Wash., for two World War II bombers scheduled to give sightseeing rides from King County International Airport-Boeing Field during the Collings Foundation's Wings of Freedom Tour. Then it was bombs away on Facebook, as the foundation tapped the social network to vent its frustration. The Stow, Mass.-based nonprofit learned on short notice that the operator of Boeing Field had changed its insurance requirements, essentially tripling the liability coverage Collings would be required to have in place. Coverage requirements are based on aircraft weight, a county official told AOPA. Read more >>

As wildfires rage, crews fight back by land and air

Air tankers and helicopters worked in concert with ground-based firefighters this June to combat a rash of wildfires throughout the West—one of them bearing down on Colorado’s second most populous city. As of the morning of June 28, the Waldo Canyon Fire threatening Colorado Springs had grown to 18,500 acres and driven 32,000 people from their homes, according to an interagency update. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney reported June 27 that 79 helicopters were operating on wildfires around the United States, and 17 air tankers had cycled in and out of firefighting action over the previous 48 hours. Read more >>

Resuming the Journey: Wrapping up the flight review

The loss of her mother interrupted a pilot’s effort to get back into flying, but she returned to the cockpit resolved to be ready for soft-field landings, short runways, and adventure in Alaska. In lesson five, she got a good radio workout at the newly towered Frederick Municipal Airport and dealt with some unusual traffic on the day of the G8 Summit at nearby Camp David. Read more >>

‘Racing Aces’ win Air Race Classic

Two Texas pilots who go by the name of the Racing Aces have won the 2012 Air Race Classic. Dianna Stanger, a fixed-base operator and manager of the Calhoun County Airport, and Victoria Holt, a professional pilot from Belton, flew a Cirrus SR22 to victory in the four-day race that began June 19 in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., and concluded June 22 at Clermont County Airport in Batavia, Ohio. Read more >>

Pipers flock to Cub’s birthplace

Dozens of Piper Cubs—and a wide variety of other aircraft—descended on Lock Haven, Pa., for the twenty-seventh Sentimental Journey to Cub Haven Fly-In held June 20 through 23. The annual event celebrated the seventy-fifth anniversary of the venerable Piper J-3 Cub, which first flew from Lock Haven in 1937 and was produced there for 10 years. The four-day event offers fellowship, forums, and several flying events. Pilots regularly travel from as far away as California, although a majority come from the Mid-Atlantic and northeastern states. Read more >>

New repair service competes for you

Taking a page from mortgage website Lending Tree (“When banks compete, you win”), new online service Repair a Plane connects aircraft repair and restoration outfits with owners. Aircraft owners go on the website, fill out a form that describes the repair they are looking for, and then the shops in the specified area come back with bids on the job. Read more >>

Top Prop available for more Skylane models

Hartzell Propeller’s Top Prop is now available for the Cessna R182, FR182, TR182, and T182. According to a Hartzell rep, the three-blade prop increases climb performance by 8.5 percent and cruise by 2 to 4 knots, and lowers noise emission. The supplemental type certificate with prop and spinner is $11,000.

High-flying pilots prep for Colorado mountain show

The air is thin over Breckenridge, Colo. Above 10,000 feet msl, Gary Rower’s 450-horsepower Stearman will put out less than half its available horsepower, making the beefed-up performance aircraft slightly less powerful than a stock Stearman. But Rower and fellow airshow pilot Buck Roetman are preparing to take their act to new heights July 4, with performances billed as “The Highest Show on Earth.” Rower and Roetman pair the Stearman with a 250-hp Christen Eagle, a dissimilar matchup that presents challenges even at sea level. Read more >>

Cessna launches Skycatcher promotional tour

What if you had just graduated from college and someone hired you to fly a small trainer airplane around the country? Dream job? Nine flight instructors will do exactly that for Cessna Aircraft Co. Read more >>

Hot air balloons, the RAF, and D.I.A.B.E.T.E.S.

What do Beaumont, Miss., hot air balloons, the Royal Air Force, and diabetes have in common? Diabetes is on the march with millions afflicted, and a couple of pilots are taking the lead in tackling this disease. The two pilots, who both have Type 1 diabetes, are planning to fly in formation across the United States in an effort to raise awareness that diabetes doesn't have to stand in the way of flying. Read more >>

Reporting Points

Solar Impulse to broadcast in flight … Human-powered helo pedals toward goal … Ja, die Junkers kommt! … Superman flies with a DC-3

AOPA Live This Week: Fly the TTX

Take the controls of Cessna’s 235-knot Corvalis TTX with AOPA Editor in Chief Tom Haines. Check out the spinning gyros as we go inside Mid-Continent Instruments. Also this week, join a sea of yellow cubs on a Sentimental Journey to Lock Haven, Pa.; and find out the game plan for transitioning to an unleaded avgas. Plus, catch Part 2 of Haines’ flight across southern Africa. Watch AOPA Live This Week, June 28 >>

For daily news updates, see AOPA Online.

Safety & Proficiency

IFR Fix: What’s ‘visual’?

An aircraft is on the ground after a flight to a nontowered airport. The pilot is on the radio, attempting to cancel the IFR flight plan. The glitch: The transmission is going out on the common traffic advisory frequency. ATC doesn't hear it. Up in the stuff, another aircraft requires an ILS approach to the same airport. All it takes is a cross-channeled radio to blockade the airspace and breed bedlam. On any IFR flight in moderate weather, pilots face the decision: Cancel aloft, possibly speeding up the arrival, or remain on the IFR flight plan to touchdown. Read more and take a poll >>

NTSB warns of in-cockpit weather delays

How old is the information on your in-cockpit weather display? The picture you see may represent conditions up to 15 or 20 minutes older than the age indication in the cockpit, the NTSB warned pilots recently, and failing to account for the delay could have deadly consequences. On Dec. 19, 2011, a Piper Cherokee Six broke up in flight near Bryan, Texas, while diverting to avoid weather. According to the NTSB, next-generation weather radar (Nexrad) mosaic images available to the pilot would have shown that he remained clear of precipitation. Read more >>

Do you have the big weather picture?

Using datalink to navigate weather can be extremely helpful as long as you proceed with caution and understand its limitations. The NTSB recently warned pilots that in-cockpit weather displays may represent conditions up to 15 or 20 minutes older than the age indicates, a situation that could have deadly consequences in severe weather situations. How do you learn to put datalink weather in context with the big picture? Come to sound weather conclusions with the Air Safety Institute’s IFR Insights: Cockpit Weather as you fly simulated trips spanning weather and seasons across the U.S. The course is sponsored by Aircraft Spruce and Specialty Co. and qualifies for AOPA Accident Forgiveness and the FAA Wings program. Take the course >>

Rare but dangerous—in-flight electrical fires

When you think “in-flight electrical fire” do you think “flame-filled cockpit”? Interestingly, electrical fire harbingers are often more subtle—a slight burning odor, a higher than normal electrical load, or tripped circuit breakers, for example. Although in-flight electrical fires are rare, it’s best to learn on the ground how to recognize symptoms and take action. Find guidance in the Air Safety Institute’s In-Flight Electrical Fires safety brief, which explains circuit-breaker etiquette and what to do when smoke fills the cockpit. Download it now >>

Wherever you go, there you are. But maybe by another route

Instrument flying requires focus, and it’s important to stay on top of changes as they occur, especially when it comes to the route you’re expected to fly. No matter how well they plan their IFR flight, experienced pilots understand the route they filed may not be the route they fly. And they’re ready to deal with whatever is thrown their way. Listen to this episode of the Air Safety Institute’s Ask ATC as a tower controller discusses the awareness pilots need to have when filing and flying an IFR route. Watch AOPA Live >>

Fireworks and airplanes don’t mix

Enjoy the fireworks displays this Fourth of July, but if you’re flying to your destination remember that you can't take these pyrotechnics on your aircraft. Fireworks are classified as explosives and pyrotechnic devices, and are prohibited from being transported by air. Learn more about the transportation of hazardous materials in AOPA’s subject report.

Leading Edge: ‘An airline of one’ or who’s pilot in command?

The general aviation safety record continues to be under scrutiny by the FAA, the NTSB, and the industry itself. Our desire to prevent all accidents will always overshadow the available resources, but that doesn’t mean we should stop trying, writes AOPA Foundation President Bruce Landsberg. However, we do need to make rational choices. Read more >>

ADVOCACY

Report: FAA testing, leadership key to avgas transition

Candidate fuels to replace leaded avgas could measure their progress against established milestones, go head-to-head with other fuels in a centralized FAA testing facility, and receive guidance from government and industry experts under a plan laid out in a recently released report. The report of the Unleaded Avgas Transition Aviation Rulemaking Committee, a government-industry group of which AOPA is part, outlines the hurdles facing the industry’s transition to an unleaded fuel for piston aircraft and addresses them in detail. Read more >>

Weather cameras add safety in Alaska

The view northeast from Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska, isn’t a pilot’s dream: The air is opaque, and the overcast hides a pair of prominent peaks five and 11 miles away. Fortunately, a pilot planning an arrival wouldn’t have to find out the bad news the hard way. A network of aviation cameras—many installed where harsh terrain and harsher weather are the rule—is giving Alaska aviators a nearly real-time glimpse of local conditions. Read more >>

Australia offers new medical option for private flying

Pilots flying many aircraft privately can obtain their medical certificate from any general practitioner under a new system announced in Australia. The certification system, announced in the June newsletter of the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority, allows pilots to avoid visits to a designated aviation medical examiner—and the processing fee for aviation medicals—by opting for more frequent but less burdensome visits to a family doctor. Read more >>

July 2 deadline looms for driver’s license medical effort

The opportunity to fly venerable aircraft like the Cessna 172 or Piper Archer during day-VFR conditions with one passenger by completing a medical awareness online course and carrying a driver’s license in lieu of a medical certificate is motivating thousands of pilots to take action and expand their flying years. Nearly 10,000 people have commented on AOPA and the Experimental Aircraft Association’s petition for exemption to the third class medical certificate, according to the federal docket as of June 25. Read more >>

AOPA Close to Home

California airport programs survive deficit battle

AOPA seeks changes to large military airspace proposal in Alaska

Reno conference highlights GA challenges, opportunities

Summer in Nebraska means aviation

GPS signals unreliable over New Mexico (PDF)

Member Benefits

Medical application: What if I forget something?

A pilot has had many doctor visits since his last FAA medical in 2004, none involving major medical conditions. Does he need to list every medical visit since 2004, or is there a “statute of limitations”? What if he forgets one and fails to list it? Kathy Yodice, an aviation attorney for AOPA’s Pilot Protection Services, explains why two questions on the form merit special attention. Read more >>

Something for everyone at AOPA Tent during AirVenture

With official AOPA gear, one-on-one aviation advice, prizes, and more, the AOPA Tent at EAA AirVenture offers something for everyone. Don’t forget to stop by the AOPA Store inside of the tent where you can purchase official AOPA gear. While you’re there, ask about the special AOPA Member T-shirt, only offered for AirVenture 2012. Read more >>

AOPA Career Opportunities

Ever dream of turning your passion for aviation into a career? We’re looking for a Web graphic designer, aviation technical writer, member services representative, and enewsletter and social media editor. To learn more about other AOPA career opportunities, visit AOPA Online.

Community

ePilot Editor: Sarah Brown	Contributors: Alyssa Miller Jim Moore Jill W. Tallman Warren Morningstar Alton K. Marsh	Dave Hirschman Tom Horne Ian J. Twombly Dan Namowitz	Production Team: Melissa Whitehouse Siobhan Byrne Lezlie Ramsey Mitch Mitchell William Rockenbaugh	Advertise in ePilot: East: Mike Vodarsik, 732/946-0130 Central: Brian Curpier, 607/547-2591 Central: Gary Brennan, 607/547-2591 West: Zane Lewis, 214/789-6094 AOPA Advertising website
Member Tools: Send feedback | ePilot Archive © 2012 Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association | 421 Aviation Way Frederick, MD 21701 | Phone 800/USA-AOPA | Fax 301/695-2375