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Top Stories
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Article
Aviation security experts said multiple thefts at one airport are not unprecedented, but the burglary discovered July 10 in Aurora, Missouri, may top them all. Thieves working in the night carefully removed avionics from more than a dozen aircraft parked in hangars and on the ramp at Jerry Sumners Sr. Aurora Municipal Airport, taking something from nearly everyone.
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AOPA Live This Week
A new single-seat personal jet from Sonex flies, and even does aerobatics on its first flight. It's almost time to award the AOPA Sweepstakes Debonair; see how "your" airplane looks over the Big Apple. AOPA has an update on the search for a replacement for 100LL, and it's good news. Plus, AOPA Live® takes a look at the army of green shirts that help make the AOPA Regional Fly-Ins possible.
AOPA Live This Week®, July 17...
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AOPA Fly-Ins
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Article
Spokane, Washington's Felts Field is situated along the Spokane River and flanked by rolling hills dotted with pine and fir trees. This historic airfield welcomed Charles Lindbergh in 1927, once served as the city's municipal airport, and is now home to an active general aviation community that is anxious to welcome visitors to the fourth 2014 AOPA Fly-In on Aug. 16.
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Article
Blue skies and temperatures in the 70s greeted about 2,250 visitors to the third 2014 AOPA Fly-In in Plymouth, Massachusetts, July 12.
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Storify story
It was a picture-perfect day at the third AOPA Fly-In, held July 12 at Plymouth Municipal Airport in Massachusetts. Attendees shared their impressions via social media.
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Blog
Airports have personalities, and that has made each of this year's AOPA Fly-Ins a special experience, writes AOPA President Mark Baker. While there are regional differences in how we fly, there are huge similarities in why we fly.
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Technique and Safety
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IFR Fix
In the satellite age, it's still true that the less precision exists for navigation, the more precise the flying must be.
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Accident analysis
The private pilot who crashed on a missed approach at Amarillo International Airport in Texas Nov. 11 had flown four IFR flights over the course of more than 10 hours—and did not yet have his instrument rating.
Read more in this special report from the Air Safety Institute.
AOPA Partner Spotlight
Master CFI Wally Moran provides simple exercises you can do to improve your rudder proficiency and avoid common mistakes. Watch this 15-minute video loaded with useful tips. It's all part of your new member benefit provided by AOPA Premier Partner PilotWorkshops. Visit the website and get instant access to this video, plus 11 more audio and video programs free for AOPA members.
Watch the video...
Lockheed offers in-flight electronic pireps
Lockheed Martin Flight Services now allows pilots to submit pilot reports (pireps) in flight electronically. The company's pirep submission infrastructure lets pilots submit without contacting flight service via radio. Urgent pireps are immediately uplinked to other pilots registered for Adverse Condition Alerting Service (ACAS) alerts and flying in the same area.
Video
Living on the edge is not without its perils. Some are minor, but some can be downright dangerous. Take thunderstorms for instance: Watch this Air Safety Institute Pilot Safety Announcement to see what happens when you venture too close to turbulence associated with a storm.
Watch the video...
Blog
"I know what I was feeling, but what was I thinking?" may not have been written as a retrospective on aeronautical decision making, but the song still might resonate with general aviation pilots. After meeting country music singer and pilot Dierks Bentley while visiting Cirrus in Minnesota, AOPA Foundation President Bruce Landsberg notes, "He is the embodiment of what we need in GA—a hardworking, unassuming guy who's very good at what he does."
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Blog
As president of Advanced Helicopter Concepts Inc. in Frederick, Maryland, a Robinson dealer and service center for 27 years, Neal Lanning has learned a lot about the Robinson R22. The helicopter is reliable, cost-effective, and safe if operated within its guidelines, he writes—but it demands respect.
Read more...
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Advocacy
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Advocacy
FAA Administrator Michael Huerta told AOPA President Mark Baker that rulemaking prompted by a request to expand the driver's license medical standard should be released for public comment soon during a visit to AOPA headquarters July 17.
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Advocacy
The U.S. House has passed a bill to renew and make permanent a tax break affecting some business purchases of aircraft.
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Advocacy
Questionable searches of general aviation aircraft by Customs and Border Protection and the fight to keep Santa Monica Municipal Airport open were among the topics discussed by AOPA's Bill Dunn at the recent American Association of Airport Executives General Aviation Issues and Security Conference.
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Advocacy
The FAA is asking AOPA members to participate in its thirty-sixth annual General Aviation Survey.
Read more...
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Health
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Members only
Here are some ways you might defer, if not defeat, the man with the sickle.
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Technology
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Article
PS Engineering is incorporating U.S. Air Force technology into its new PMA450 audio panel. Originally designed to help fighter pilots with situational awareness, the new system places com radio cues at various points in the ear cups to help general aviation pilots focus.
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Article
Experimental kit aircraft maker Sonex announced completing "a very successful series of initial flight tests" of the SubSonex JSX-2 personal jet. Testing included taxiing and engine runs, landing gear retraction, flight at higher speeds, and even a few barrel rolls.
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Article
Airbus Group plans to certify production versions of its E-Fan electric twin and has a goal of late 2017 entry into service for the two-seater, the company said in a video from Farnborough International Airshow July 14.
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Article
Textron Aviation, parent of both Cessna and Beechcraft, is pushing the intelligence and surveillance capabilities of its general aviation product line at the Farnborough International Airshow. The company announced new deals for military trainers and a new Baron G58 special missions display tour, and presented the Scorpion to potential military customers.
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Opinion
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Blog
The Aero Club of Northern California is using the "three Ms" to focus its activities this year, and so far it's working, says Opinion Leaders blogger and club president Max Trescott. "Membership is up by 60% over last year and we're only halfway into the year."
Find out how the club does it, and share how your club has dealt with challenges.
Blog
What can we learn from successful music producer Dick Rowe turning down the Beatles? We're wrong more often than we'd like to think—so accept it, and be proud of the lessons you learn, writes Opinion Leaders blogger Jamie Beckett. Rowe may not have signed the Beatles, but he later signed The Rolling Stones.
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Gear
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Article
Garmin has expanded the reach of its Pilot app for tablet computers to cover the entire planet.
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Apps of the week
Developers present apps that do everything from connect with the X-Plane PC flight simulator to share pilot reports.
Read more...
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Travel
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Article
A seaplane base on the East River turns an hours-long drive from Manhattan to the Hamptons into a brief flight. Meet the operators at Manhattan's nearly secret seaplane base, and check out Whale Force One.
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Blog
Carefully allotted slot times didn't work out as planned for aircraft departing Hong Kong on Air Journey's around-the-world flight. The rainy, 90-degree morning took its toll on the pilots as they waited to start their engines—and then on the aircraft en route to Taipei. AOPA Editor at Large Tom Horne documents his adventure in turbine flying, including the planned route, a long wait in the heat, a profile of the women pilots of the group, and tailwinds that pushed groundspeeds to the 350-knot mark.
Follow the journey online...
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Financial
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Article
Thanks to help from the AOPA Flying Club Network and two other flying clubs, the University of Arkansas' Flying Hogs Aero-Club is almost ready to take off.
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Article
Cirrus Aircraft has begun distributing parts directly from the factory, promising better availability and convenience.
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Member benefits
Most renters do not understand what coverage they actually need for an airplane. AOPA Insurance Services is offering a webinar July 24 to help answer questions about renter's insurance and to help you understand which policy is best for you.
Read more...
AOPA Stay Smart webinar
If you're searching the market for an aircraft, find out what you need to know about pre-purchase considerations, financing options, types of insurance, title searches, escrow services, and more in the "Aircraft purchasing" webinar with AOPA Editor in Chief Tom Haines and AOPA Pilot Information Center Senior Aviation Technical Specialist Rodney Martz. The webinar, brought to you by AOPA Insurance Services and AOPA Aviation Finance Co., will be presented July 23 at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
Register now...
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News and Notes
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AOPA Debonair Sweepstakes
This is your last chance to enter to win a magnificent 1963 Beechcraft Debonair—a 150-knot cruiser exquisitely restored for a new owner that could be you! Plus, in honor of AOPA's seventy-fifth anniversary, AOPA is giving away 75 more aviation prizes. Join or renew on or before July 31 to be automatically entered.
Find rules and additional information online.
Article
It's easy to get 10 additional entries in AOPA's Debonair Sweepstakes simply by upgrading your membership to AOPA Premier by July 31.
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Article
Greg Koontz, who does a humorous bungling pilot act in a Piper Cub and performs amazing aerobatics in a Super Decathlon that can be flown by the average pilot, is the 2014 Bill Barber airshow performer of the year.
Read more...
Article
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's airline transport pilot certification program has received FAA approval, the university announced July 8.
Read more...
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Article
AOPA members can get a prime view of the action during the afternoon airshows at EAA AirVenture from the association's new location on the flight line.
Read more and check out the new location...
Article
Challenge Air has given hundreds of children with special needs a brief flight in a general aviation aircraft with lasting benefits. The Texas nonprofit is rebounding from its own struggles, thanks in part to a boost from the AOPA Foundation.
Read more...
Quiz
Can you name which leading lady, country music star, or pope is a pilot? AOPA has paired pilot and nonpilot celebrities side by side to test your aviation-related knowledge of pop culture in this quiz, brought to you by Pilot Insurance Center.
Test your knowledge...
Poll
The covers of AOPA Pilot in 1975 featured the Cessna Aerobat, Bellanca Decathlon, Mooney Executive, Waco UPF-9, Grumman American Tiger, Cessna Citation, Bell Long Ranger, Cherokee Warrior, hot air balloon, Chuparosa, Mitsubishi MU-2L, and -2M, and Piper Cherokee Lance.
Vote for your favorite cover...
More News
Edustation portable flight sim rolls into schools
Blog: True fact about 'True Lies'
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Career Opportunities
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AOPA career opportunities
Ever dream of turning your passion for aviation into a career? We're looking for a human resources assistant, payroll technician, contract Air Safety Institute presenter, aviation technical specialist, Air Safety Institute intern, member services representative, major gift officer, AOPA Live producer/videographer I, and account manager II. To learn more about other AOPA career opportunities,
visit AOPA Online.
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Question of the Week
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Question
Of the Luscombe 8, Cirrus SR22, Cessna 180, and Cessna 182, which require(s) the acting pilot in command to hold a tailwheel endorsement?
Answer
According to FAR 61.31, a person acting as pilot in command in a Luscombe 8 or a Cessna 180 is required to have a tailwheel endorsement unless they have logged pilot in command time in a tailwheel airplane before April 15, 1991.
Got a question for our aviation services staff? The AOPA Pilot Information Center is a service available to all members as part of the annual dues. Contact AOPA. |
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Forums
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When studying for an instrument rating, what sites are best for generating random routes that test on time/distance questions?
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Education and Seminars
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Flight Instructor Refresher Courses
July 19-20 - Jacksonville, Florida; and Newark, New Jersey
Aug 2-3 - Fort Worth, Texas
Aug 9-10 - Reno, Nevada; and Allentown, Pennsylvania
Aug 16-17 - Atlanta, Georgia
For a complete schedule, see AOPA Online. Can't make it in person? Sign up for the Air Safety Institute's new Online eFIRC.
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Air Safety Institute Safety Seminars
July 31-Aug 2 - Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Sep 2 - Germantown, Tennessee
Sep 3 - Salt Lake City, Utah; and Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Sep 4 - Boise, Idaho; and Maryville, Tennessee
Topics vary—for details and a complete schedule, see AOPA Online.
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Rusty Pilot Seminars
July 19 - Englewood, Colorado; Hillsboro, North Dakota; and Burlington, Washington
July 23 - Palo Alto, California
July 24 - Kansas City, Missouri
July 26 - Zionsville, Indiana
July 30 - Oshkosh, Wisconsin
For a complete schedule, see AOPA Online.
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Aviation Calendar
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Check out user-submitted events from your region. To include an event or to search all events in the calendar, visit AOPA Online. AOPA does not endorse the events listed below, nor have ePilot editors edited the submissions. AOPA assumes no responsibility for events listed.
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ePilot Editor:
Benét Wilson
Production Assistant:
Melissa Whitehouse
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Contributors:
Sarah Deener
Alyssa Miller
Jim Moore
Jill W. Tallman
Elizabeth Tennyson
Warren Morningstar
Alton K. Marsh
Dave Hirschman
Tom Horne
Ian J. Twombly
Dan Namowitz
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