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Top Stories
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Article
Speed mods made by both U.S. Red Bull Air Race World Championship teams over the winter began to pay off in Abu Dhabi. The 2016 season began March 11 and 12 in the United Arab Emirates, and while Kirby Chambliss and Michael Goulian finished just short of the podium, both showed that wins are within reach. Read more...
 
AOPA Live This Week
A Texas festival is gathering Millennials and airplanes together for a party aimed at building general aviation—MODAERO features live music, more than 200 aircraft, camping, and drones. Also, lawmakers work to keep the FAA up and running, U.S. pilots fare well at the Red Bull Air Race World Championship season opener, and Rod Machado offers tips on bracketing the glideslope. Watch AOPA Live This Week,® March 17...
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Technique and Safety
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AOPA Premier Partner created content
Picking up an IFR clearance isn't always easy, especially if you're departing a nontowered airport. Former National CFI of the Year Doug Stewart shares simple tips to help you keep up with fast-talking controllers, eliminate clearance void time pressure, and pick up clearances in the air. This free PDF transcript is useful for instrument pilots of all levels. Download the transcript from AOPA Premier Partner PilotWorkshops...
Video
Datalink has greatly increased the utility of our aircraft by bringing weather information right into the cockpit. Datalink Weather: From Concept to Cockpit tells the story of the "datalink revolution": the individual initiative, the entrepreneurial spirit, and the power of an idea. Get a behind-the-scenes look...
Video
How does the air traffic control tower handle a request for multiple instrument approaches to the airport? Find out in this installment of the AOPA Air Safety Institute's "Ask ATC" series. Watch the video...
Login required
Do you listen first and know what to say before you press the push-to-talk switch? Get a little help from the AOPA Air Safety Institute and avoid communication blunders with the Say It Right: Mastering Radio Communication online course, recently updated to a new tablet-friendly format. Take the course...
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Advocacy
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Advocacy
Legislation to reauthorize the FAA through the 2017 fiscal year moved to the full Senate after passing the Senate Commerce Committee on March 16. Read more...
Advocacy
The Senate has passed an amended version of a House bill to keep the FAA running through July 15, but changes introduced in the Senate mean the measure must now return to the House for final approval before it can become law. Read more...
Advocacy
Aviation organizations including AOPA are asking lawmakers in the House and Senate to protect funding for contract control towers. Read more...
Survey
Annual GA survey underway
The 2015 General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey is underway, and pilots are asked to watch for it in their mailboxes and inboxes. Responses are confidential, and pilots can participate even if they did not fly last year. Participation helps determine where improvements in GA funding and safety can best be applied. Previous years' survey results are available online.
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Health
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Pilot Protection Services
An airman who passes a kidney stone the first time no longer requires a special issuance medical certificate. But, those who have a history of more than one episode of kidney stones will still need to have their medical application reviewed by the FAA and might be placed on an annual special issuance. Read more...
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Technology
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Article
The Pulse Aerospace Vapor 55 unmanned helicopter can spot sharks near beaches, drop life rafts to swimmers in distress, and carry life-saving medical supplies to wounded soldiers. The unmanned aircraft has been called "the future of rescue." Read more...
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Opinion
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Blog
To help protect you from being blindsided by a high maintenance bill, Opinion Leaders blogger Mike Busch offers three tips to follow to make sure you are in control of your aircraft's maintenance costs. Read more...
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Gear
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Article
L-3 Aviation Products' ESI-500 electronic standby instrument system can now be installed in a wide variety of airplanes and helicopters. Read more...
Article
L-3 Aviation Products' Lynx Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast equipment has received approved model list supplemental type certificate approval for installation in helicopters. Also, the company's NGT-9000 price has been reduced through May 31. Read more...
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Travel
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AOPA Pilot magazine
Skimming over Lake Louise, the only ripples on the 10-mile-long lake are the V-shaped wakes from majestic trumpeter swans and the occasional loon. Otherwise, the water reflects the Alphabet Hills, a prelude to the snow-capped Alaska Range farther north. Here, general aviation airplanes are the pickup trucks and SUVs of everyday life. It's just one of the many exciting destinations featured in AOPA's new Getaways Web page. Read more about the Copper River Basin...
Video
If you've never crossed the border to Mexico and are a little anxious about the trip, watch this helpful, step-by-step AOPA Pilot Information Center video. Watch the video...
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Financial
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Article
Jeppesen, a subsidiary of Boeing Commercial Aviation Services, is selling its marine products division, which produces digital charts for nautical use. Read more...
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News and Notes
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Article
The FAA has granted approval of the Rans S-20LS Raven as a light sport aircraft. The $119,000 tailwheel aircraft is offered by Rans Designs of Hays, Kansas. Read more...
Article
Remos AG, the German maker of light sport aircraft, has announced a new model, new management, and a new distribution center for North America. The Remos GXiS will feature a fuel-injected engine and sophisticated avionics. Read more...
Article
The FAA's familiar green Airport/Facility Directory is changing its official name with the March 31 editions to become the new U.S. Chart Supplements. Read more...
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Article
Aircraft builder, high school senior, junior golfer, and student pilot Abbey Carlson has a lot on her plate before she enters Vanderbilt University this fall on an athletic scholarship. Read more...
Article
Elizabeth Strohfus, a pilot who ferried military aircraft during World War II as a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, died March 6. Read more...
Article
Women who have climbed to the top of their aviation fields and completed feats many would have thought impossible shared secrets to their success during the twenty-seventh annual International Women in Aviation Conference March 10 through 12 in Nashville, Tennessee. Read more...
More news
Drone registrations surpass aircraft registrations
Hoover statue to be unveiled at Smithsonian
1,000-mph land speed record attempt delayed
Spring is here: Get back to flying
Webinar: Learn flight training customer service excellence
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Career Opportunities
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AOPA career opportunities
Ever dream of turning your passion for aviation into a career? AOPA is looking for a "You Can Fly" ambassador—Great Lakes, donor relations director, Foundation communications director, aviation technical specialist, social media evangelist, Flying Clubs Initiative senior manager, marketing copywriter, Web project manager, and member services representative. To learn more about other AOPA career opportunities, visit AOPA Online.
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Question of the Week
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Question
Can you fly through a restricted area if the local air route traffic control center indicates that the area is "cold" (not active)?
Answer
That depends on whether the ARTCC that you contacted is the controlling agency listed on the sectional. According to 14 CFR 91.133, pilots must receive permission from the restricted area's "controlling agency, as appropriate." All the restricted areas appearing on a sectional, as well as their controlling agencies, are listed in the legend.
Does a verbal confirmation that the restricted area is "cold" meet the permission required in 14 CFR 91.133? According to this FAA letter of interpretation, "a clearance is not required to operate VFR through a restricted area when the controlling or using agency, as applicable, has made a determination that that the restricted area is 'cold.'" Keep in mind that "the ATC communication is not an air traffic control clearance, permission, or authorization to operate VFR in the airspace."
Got a question for our technical services staff? Contact AOPA. |
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Education and Seminars
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Flight Instructor Refresher Courses
Mar 19-20 - Orlando, Florida; and Elkridge, Maryland
Apr 2-3 - Denver, Colorado; Tampa, Florida; Needham, Massachusetts; and Dulles, Virginia
Apr 9-10 - Indianapolis, Indiana; and Salt Lake City, Utah
Apr 16-17 - San Diego, California
For a complete schedule, see AOPA Online. Can't make it in person? Sign up for the Air Safety Institute's Online eFIRC.
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Air Safety Institute Safety Seminars
Mar 21 - Concord, California; Ypsilanti, Michigan; and Bedford, Massachusetts
Mar 22 - Fresno, California; and Independence, Ohio
Mar 23 - Irvine, California; and Columbus, Ohio
Mar 24 - Batavia, Ohio
Topics vary—for details and a complete schedule, see AOPA Online.
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Rusty Pilots Seminars
Mar 19 - Belleville, Michigan; West Lafayette, Indiana; and North Las Vegas, Nevada
Mar 23 - Riverside, California; La Porte, Indiana; and Middleton, Wisconsin
Mar 26 - Englewood, Colorado; Lake in the Hills, Illinois; Fort Pierce, Florida; and Pearland, Texas
Mar 31 - Cheektowaga, New York
For a complete schedule, see AOPA Online.
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ePilot Editors:
Alyssa Miller
Jim Moore
David Tulis
Production Assistant:
Melissa Whitehouse
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Contributors:
Mike Collins
Sarah Deener
Dave Hirschman
Tom Horne
Alton K. Marsh
Warren Morningstar
Dan Namowitz
Jill W. Tallman
Elizabeth Tennyson
Ian J. Twombly
Julie Summers Walker
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