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Top Stories
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Article
Attacking wildfires from the air requires a special kind of training, and a California company is teaching these techniques with detailed, simulated scenarios. The demand for that training—and for the aerial firefighting it simulates—shows no sign of letting up.
Read more...
 
AOPA Live This Week
Blakesburg, Iowa, becomes the center of the universe for people who love old airplanes. A co-author of the General Aviation Pilot Protection Act speaks about efforts to reform medical certification. And Planes of Fame Air Museum has a hangar full of goodies in Southern California.
AOPA Live This Week®, Sept. 4...
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AOPA Fly-Ins
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Article
If you're thinking about attending AOPA's Chino Fly-In on Sept. 20, why not add a day or two and take in some of the area's sights? From amusement parks to museums and from Hollywood landmarks to an observatory, SoCal has it all.
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Article
School was out, and he hadn't made the cut for the Pony League baseball team. So in the summer of 1954, Dean Stickell started riding his bicycle to Frederick Municipal Airport in Maryland. He found a vocation, and a community that welcomed him into the fold. The airport community will welcome members Oct. 4 to AOPA's Homecoming Fly-In.
Read more...
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Technique and Safety
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Article
Ronald Hutchinson was last heard from over Pennsylvania at about 13,000 feet, and may have succumbed to hypoxia. The NTSB is investigating why the longtime pilot and former Harley-Davidson executive apparently lost consciousness and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean well beyond his intended destination on Aug. 30.
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IFR Fix
Spatial disorientation? Isn't that only a hazard for VFR pilots?
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Accident analysis
Teaching yourself to fly an unfamiliar airplane is daring enough. Teaching yourself to fly an unfamiliar homebuilt when you haven't flown in a decade practically invites catastrophe.
Read more in this special report from the Air Safety Institute.
Blog
AOPA Foundation President Bruce Landsberg is leaving the left seat of the foundation for a jump seat position as a senior safety adviser to AOPA and the Air Safety Institute. With the change comes the opportunity to do some more flying—this time in his own 1987 A36 Bonanza.
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Flash-based, login required
The pilot was startled by a noise he thought was caused by a window blowing out or a door being opened. What followed was an emergency not covered in the pilot's operating handbook that forced him to react swiftly.
Watch this Real Pilot Story...
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Advocacy
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Advocacy
Eleven senators, all co-sponsors of a bill to reform the third class medical process, are asking the Department of Transportation and the Office of Management and Budget to take quick action on their review of the FAA's proposed medical reform rule.
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Advocacy
The FAA has granted a 30-day extension on the comment period for its proposed "Policy on the Non-aeronautical Uses of Airport Hangars," and AOPA is encouraging members to submit their thoughts.
Read more...
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Health
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Article
A double heart valve replacement kept Rachel Carter—who at 9 years old had set the unofficial record for youngest pilot of a transcontinental flight—from earning her pilot certificate after her medical certificate was denied. Many years later, she received her medical and is able to resume her quest for a private pilot certificate.
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Members only
Dr. Jonathan Sackier recently received a plea from a pilot: "Jonathan, can you please help me? I have been smoking for years and know I need to stop but cannot. I am 61, have some problems with my blood pressure and have had blocked coronary arteries that needed stents. What can I do?"
Check out Sackier's advice...
Webinar
How healthy must pilots be to maintain a regular issuance airman medical certificate? Join Gary Crump, director of AOPA medical certification services, for insights and answers to these questions and more in a webinar Sept. 17 at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, brought to you by AOPA Pilot Protection Services.
Register now...
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Opinion
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Blog
With an aging pilot community, aviation event planners need to start thinking of ways not only to meet the needs of those pilots but also to draw in new, younger pilots. Opinion Leaders blogger Martin Rottler shares some ideas to boost attendance at shows and draw in a younger demographic.
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Blog
Opinion Leaders blogger Ron Rapp recently flew a dozen employees from a large retailer to 10 cities in four days to finalize locations for new stores. "Out of curiosity, I ran our itinerary through booking sites like Kayak, Orbitz, and Travelocity to see how a group of twelve might fare on the airlines. Would you be surprised to learn that the answer is 'not well'?"
Read more...
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Gear
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Apps of the week
Check out these five apps that help pilots handle everything from VOR tracking to checking weather.
Read more...
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Travel
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Article
Two pilots will take off on Sept. 16 and fly to 49 state capitals in two weeks in an effort to promote general aviation and inspire school children.
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Blog
AOPA Technical Editor Mike Collins looks back at his 25-day trip around the world, one year later. Learn how world events changed an itinerary and how an American holiday went nearly unnoticed from the other side of the globe in this day-by-day account.
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Article
SocialFlight, an Internet site and mobile app that helps pilots pinpoint aviation events and destinations, is expanding internationally through partnerships with aviation industry leaders, said the Sudbury, Massachusetts-based startup.
Read more...
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Financial
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Article
The Aircraft Electronics Association reports worldwide avionics sales for the first six months of 2014 increased 6.8 percent over the same period in 2013.
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Article
Hokie Flying Club President Brandon Hedrick has a ready response for those who say the club's rates are too low: "I tell them we must be doing something right because we're still going after 50 years."
Read more...
Member benefits
The next time you remodel or retrofit your home, look for ways to build in storm precautions.
Read more...
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News and Notes
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Article
Bessie Coleman, Wilbur Wright, and Charles Lindbergh are among the aviation icons immortalized in a collection of 200 aviation photos on display at Chicago's new PM Prime steakhouse.
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Article
Dassault Aviation’s U.S. subsidiary has broken ground on a $60 million expansion of its completion center in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Read more...
Article
10 Tanker Air Carrier has modified a third DC-10 for aerial firefighting. The former airliner can drop 11,000 gallons of retardant on wildfires.
Read more...
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Article
Police and medevac operators from across the mid-Atlantic region attended the recent East Coast Helicopter Operations conference, hosted by AOPA.
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Article
Citing two accidents likely involving methane-induced power loss, the NTSB is urging regulators to protect offshore helicopter operators. Methane vents are commonly installed on oil platforms near helipads, the safety agency noted, creating a risk of engine failure.
Read more...
Poll
AOPA Pilot featured the Piper Turbo Arrow, Beechcraft Bonanza, Aeronca C-3, Beechcraft Duchess, ultralights, Piper Navajo, Grumman Widgeon, Beech Travel Air, Commander 1000, Cessna Skylane, Lear jet, and Seneca III on its covers in 1981.
Vote for your favorite cover...
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Sweepstakes
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Blog
Some astute observers have noticed on FlightAware that the Debonair is now in Muncie, Indiana, and deduced that the sweepstakes winner must be nearby, about to receive the keys. Not true!
Find out why the Debonair is really there.
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Career Opportunities
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Aviation job board
If you are an experienced aviation sales or marketing professional, Bose is looking for you! The aviation headset manufacturer is seeking candidates for major accounts manager, aviation in the Framingham, Massachusetts, office. The successful candidate will work with existing and prospective OEM clients to maintain and build relationships that expand the Bose market.
View the full job description.
AOPA career opportunities
Ever dream of turning your passion for aviation into a career? We're looking for an executive assistant for accounting/finance and legal, legal services plan program manager, financial analyst, 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
What is the system that causes precision approach path indicator (PAPI) lights to flash when a runway is occupied?
Answer
The stand-alone Final Approach Runway Occupancy Signal (FAROS) system causes PAPI lights to flash when the runway is occupied to indicate to pilots on final approach when it may be unsafe to land. (Source: Aeronautical Information Manual, Chapter 2-1-7.)
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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Can a hard landing burst a tire?
Read more...
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Education and Seminars
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Flight Instructor Refresher Courses
Sept 13-14 - Sacramento, California; and Tempe, Arizona
Sept 20-21 - Colorado Springs, Colorado; Baltimore, Maryland; and Bellevue, Washington
Sept 27-28 - Richmond, Virginia
Oct 11-12 - Santa Clara, California; Corpus Christi, Texas; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Nashville, Tennessee
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
Sept 8 - Wichita, Kansas; Florham Park, New Jersey; and Detroit, Michigan
Sept 9 - Independence, Ohio; Hartford, Connecticut; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Sept 10 - Columbus, Ohio; Fayetteville, Arkansas; and Waltham, Massachusetts
Sept 11 - Indianapolis, Indiana; and Manchester, New Hampshire
Topics vary—for details and a complete schedule, see AOPA Online.
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Rusty Pilot Seminars
Sept 6 - Fredericksburg, Virginia; and Santa Fe, New Mexico
Sept 9 - Knightdale, North Carolina
Sept 13 - Palo Alto, California; and Omaha, Nebraska
Sept 19 - Chino, California
For a complete schedule, see AOPA Online.
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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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