Notice of annual meeting of members
The annual meeting of the members of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association will be held at noon on Saturday, May 3, 2003, at Wings Field, Ambler, Pennsylvania, for the purpose of receiving reports and transacting such other business as may properly come before the meeting, including the election of Trustees. -John S. Yodice, Secretary
Bohannon gets six records in Flyin' Tiger
The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) has granted not four but six new world records to Bruce Bohannon for flying his piston single-engine airplane, the Exxon Flyin' Tiger, beyond 41,000 feet last fall in Palm Springs, California, just before AOPA Expo. The records await final approval by NAA's international parent organization, F�d�ration A�ronautique Internationale. NAA approved unlimited records (covering all categories of aircraft) for the 9,000-meter (29,537 ft) and 12,000-meter (39,370 feet) time-to-climb altitudes. For the Flyin' Tiger's weight class, the C.1b category covering aircraft weighing 1,102 pounds to 2,201 pounds, NAA approved four additional records. They are the 9,000- and 12,000-meter time-to-climb records, the absolute altitude record of 41,300 feet, and the record for altitude in horizontal flight at that altitude. For the latter record Bohannon was required to fly level for 90 seconds. He chose the Desert Resorts Regional Airport near Palm Springs as the location of the successful record attempt.
FSI offers Bonanza, Baron simulator courses
FlightSafety International's Raytheon Learning Center in Wichita, Kansas, announced four new simulator-based training courses aimed at pilots of Beech Barons and A36 Bonanzas. The courses employ a newly installed and certified Level 3 flight training device with high-quality visual capabilities. Its visual system - the same used in high-end turbine aircraft simulators - can reproduce day, dusk, and night conditions, and can depict various cloud conditions, traffic conflicts, and wake turbulence. There is no motion, but the device - which can be quickly modified to serve as a normally aspirated Baron or Bonanza - can be used for instrument proficiency checks, flight reviews, and instrument currency. Pilot initial courses will last about five days; recurrent training lasts about three days. Baron initial and recurrent training is priced at $4,500 and $3,150, respectively. Bonanza initial and recurrent training is $3,960 and $2,700, respectively. Purchasers of new airplanes receive their training in the purchase price. FSI is also considering use of the new simulator as the centerpiece for instrument and multiengine rating courses.
Glass-cockpit jet FTD to debut at academy
Regional Airline Academy will be the launch customer for a new glass-cockpit professional jet trainer series developed by Aviation Simulation Technology Inc., the company announced. The flight training device (FTD) will be used at RAA's Deland, Florida, facility. It is based on the Canadair 700 regional jet and incorporates a full-sized jet cockpit and enclosure. The cockpit layout is designed to allow a wide range of glass cockpit training on the installed flat-panel pilot and copilot primary flight displays and navigational displays. The glass-cockpit professional jet trainer marks the company's entrance into the regional jet market, according to John L. Wilkins, general manager at AST. For more information, see the Web site.
New aviation school directory offered online
The Aviation School Directory, a database for student pilots, prospective students, flight schools, and training facilities, was launched in December, according to AviationCareer.net. The directory has provided information to more than 3,000 prospective students since its debut, the company said. Participants register to use the site and search for aviation colleges, universities, flight schools, type rating programs, and professional training facilities. Selection can be narrowed by several criteria, including city, state, services offered, programs, or cost. In turn, participating schools will receive a follow-up lead each time a prospective student views the school's information. For more information, see the Web site.
Airplane collides with automobile
Here's one for the department of close calls. Pilot Scott Bloom was flying a Cessna 172 on January 14 near Gig Harbor, Washington, when he was forced to rethink his plans. A few minutes after he and his two passengers picked up fuel at Tacoma Narrows Airport, the engine started running extremely rough in instrument conditions. Bloom told AOPA Flight Training that he declared an emergency and received radar vectors to the ILS, but he couldn't maintain altitude. He broke out of the clouds at about 700 feet agl over wooded and hilly terrain, a few miles from the runway. "There was one road to land on. So I went for it. It was mostly empty," he said. Things were faring well for the Cessna until a Lexus pulled out in front of it. Bloom rear-ended the surprised driver. Luckily, there were no injuries, but the Cessna sustained substantial damage from the collision.
Pilot groups working to mark Wright centennial
Flight activities are beginning by at least two groups that hope to celebrate the 100th anniversary of powered flight this December by flying recreations of the 1903 Wright Flyer. Four pilots are training to fly an exact copy of the historic aircraft built by The Wright Experience, a group near Warrenton, Virginia. As a first step, they have completed a total of 67 flights in a glider like the one used by the Wright brothers in early experiments. Organizers of a project near Chicago called Wright Redux put their 1903 Flyer on a trailer and conducted tethered glide tests while towing it behind a truck. It will use a lawn-mower engine for early flights. The aircraft will fly in December on the lawn of the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.
Sporty's Academy celebrates record year
Sporty's Academy, a flight school in Batavia, Ohio, is celebrating its most successful year. A total of 130 certificates and ratings were awarded in 2002, an increase of 30 percent from the previous year. Sporty's instructors also endorsed 44 students for solos. Through its FBO affiliate, Eastern Cincinnati Aviation, the academy offers a variety of training in everything from gliders to airplanes. Its unique approach has all student pilots first earn a recreational pilot certificate, which has fewer requirements and can be earned more quickly - but conveys fewer privileges - than a private pilot certificate. The goal of earning a pilot certificate is brought closer and fewer students drop out; almost all go on to earn more advanced pilot certificates and ratings. "We are proud to maintain a 90-percent retention rate while enjoying the success we have," said Hal Shevers, Sporty's founder and chairman. "This remarkable retention rate is a result of the recreational certificate, which provides a more attainable, short-term goal in a student's flight training experience while keeping flying fun for all." Sporty's has 30 flight instructors on its staff.
School News
ERAU receives top rating on simulator
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) and Frasca International have received the FAA's highest approval rating ever for a flight training device, according to school officials. The Frasca-built Piper Seminole flight training device (FTD) at Embry-Riddle's campus in Prescott, Arizona, has been approved at FAA Level 6, the first device based on a training aircraft to qualify at such a high level. "The capabilities of the FTD with the new visual system will revolutionize the training of student pilots," said Mike Corradi, chief flight instructor at the Prescott campus. "The new FTD will allow instructors to train their student pilots in how to handle bad weather conditions, emergencies, different airports, and any non-normal conditions. You can't do that in the actual aircraft."
Fleet upgraded with traffic info systems
Dowling College's School of Aviation has upgraded the avionics of its entire fleet of trainers with traffic information systems, the college announced. The fleet, which is less than a year old, now features Garmin GTX 330 Mode S transponders that allow instructors and students to see the relative location, direction of flight, and altitude of nearby aircraft - and whether they're climbing or descending. "This enhancement provides an enormous safety advantage, especially in the metropolitan New York airspace in which we operate," said Martin M. Holley, dean of the School of Aviation. "We are pleased to be the first school with a professional pilot program to install this powerful tool." Dowling College School of Aviation is located at Brookhaven Airport.
TSU receives FAA approval for ground school training
Tennessee State University in Nashville has received final approval from the FAA to conduct pilot ground school training, the university announced. The FAA reissued the university's air agency certificate in November 2002, thus ending TSU's two-year "provisional" period. TSU offers private pilot and commercial pilot certification, instrument ratings, additional aircraft class ratings, and CFI and CFII certification. For more information, contact William L. Anneseley, head of the school's Department of Aeronautical and Industrial Technology, at 619/963-5378 or e-mail.
Aviation management program offered
Holyoke Community College in Holyoke, Massachusetts, has added two-year associate degree programs in flight training and aviation management to its academic offerings. Both degrees are transferable to four-year institutions. The flight training program is offered through Paradise City Aviation at Northampton Airport in Northampton. For more information, see the college Web site, or the airport's Web site.
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