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Copyright © 2003 AOPA. | Training Tips
| OPERATING AROUND MOAs
Planning cross-country flights will bring you face-to-face with an endless variety of navigational decisions. One is how to deal with a military operations area (MOA) straddling your route. Is this a reason to change your plans?
Not necessarily. In fact, some airports sit beneath MOA airspace, as Elizabeth Tennyson describes in the Flying Smart column titled "Legends: Airports in MOAs" in the July 1999 AOPA Flight Training.
MOAs "consist of airspace of defined vertical and lateral limits established for the purpose of separating certain military training activities from IFR traffic," notes the Aeronautical Information Manual in Section 3-4-5. The AIM offers guidance to pilots traversing MOAs under visual flight rules: "Pilots operating under VFR should exercise extreme caution while flying within a MOA when military activity is being conducted. The activity status of MOAs may change frequently. Therefore, pilots should contact any FSS within 100 miles of the area to obtain accurate real-time information concerning the MOA hours of operation. Prior to entering an active MOA, pilots should contact the controlling agency for traffic advisories."
 How to determine the controlling agency? Inside the sectional aeronautical chart covering your route is a compendium of information including control tower and approach control frequencies, the special use airspace on the chart, and MOA names, altitudes of use, time of use, and controlling agency. This information may vary, so consult notams and a briefer. Increasingly, advisory frequencies for civilian traffic wishing to transit MOAs are being printed on the sectional chart itself, adjacent to the military airspace-this is one result of AOPA's years-long effort to make military airspace status available on a real-time basis.
Caution is always recommended in this time of ever-changing temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) and new air defense identification zone (ADIZ) airspace. As far as MOAs are concerned, however, "there is no regulation restricting flight in these areas, but pilots are advised to ask ATC if any activities will be taking place in them at the time of a flight, and to avoid flying through that airspace during that time if the answer is yes," notes Kathy Yodice in her Legal Briefing column that appeared in the June 2003 AOPA Flight Training.
Remember, writes Robert N. Rossier in the November 1998 issue of Flight Training, that military aircraft in MOAs or on military training routes fly at high speeds and are difficult to see. Note his tips for safe passage. Then try your hand at the AOPA Air Safety Foundation's online airspace quiz and plan your cross-country flights confidently, with the latest information on what to expect during your trip.
| Your Partner in Training
| TFRs, ADIZs, SFARs-pilots flying these days face a range of new airspace restrictions. We can't afford to bust them, but who can keep them all straight? The AOPA Air Safety Foundation's online course, Know Before You Go , was designed to take the mystery out of it all and help you navigate today's changing airspace restrictions without incident.
Do you have a question? Call our experienced pilots, available weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern time toll-free at 800/872-2672. As an AOPA Flight Training Member, you have access to all of the features within AOPA Online. For login information click here.
| Flight Training News
| WAI ANNOUNCES SCHOLARSHIPS FOR 2004
Women in Aviation, International has posted its list of scholarship opportunities for 2004, and there are awards ranging from $500 to more than $25,000 and opportunities for college students, pilots, teachers, engineers, and those involved in corporate aviation. Visit the WAI Web site to review the scholarship guidelines or download an application. The deadline for applications is December 5. You must be a WAI member to apply, and you may not apply for more than two scholarships at a time. WAI membership is open to women and men in all segments of aviation. For more information or to join, see the Web site.
...AND AOPA FLIGHT TRAINING IS ON THE LIST
AOPA Flight Training magazine will send two college students to the fifteenth annual Women in Aviation Inc. International Conference, March 11 through 13, 2004, in Reno, Nevada. The scholarship opportunity offered through WAI is open to full-time students who are pursuing a career in general aviation such as flight instruction or corporate flying. Applications may be sent directly to AOPA Flight Training under simplified rules-see AOPA Online for details. Winners will receive airfare, hotel accommodations, and meals throughout the conference.
ERAU SEEKS PAST STUDENTS, INSTRUCTORS
If you were a student or flight instructor at Embry-Riddle before it became an aeronautical university, ERAU wants to hear from you. The university's Heritage Project is assembling a historical collection of documents, oral histories, memorabilia, and artifacts "that tell the Embry-Riddle story from the earliest days as a flight school at Lunken Airport in Cincinnati, Ohio, through its emergence as a global university." The collection will be displayed at both the Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona, campuses. See the Web site for more details and contact information.
| Inside AOPA
| AOPA SEEKS FAA STRATEGIC PLAN THAT MEETS GA NEEDS
AOPA has told the FAA its draft strategic plan, "Flight Plan for 2004-2008," falls short of its mark and insisted the agency adequately address the needs of general aviation. In its most glaring omission, the FAA's draft plan does not deal with the effects of aviation security requirements on GA traffic, which accounts for most of the flight hours in this country. AOPA President Phil Boyer stressed to FAA Administrator Marion Blakey that the FAA must develop a new strategy that mitigates the impact of security-related flight restrictions, which effectively constrain GA capacity, causing congestion and delays around the country. AOPA also voiced concern about a new safety improvement initiative, known as the FAA/Industry Training Standards program (FITS), a voluntary "add-on" that would provide pilots with additional training in the use of specific equipment or aircraft. AOPA has no problem with the goals of the program, but is worried about implementation issues--FITS could lead to changes in the Practical Test Standards, which the FAA can make without public input, and aircraft manufacturers or insurers could make FITS training mandatory for buying an aircraft or receiving a policy; that would make the initiative a de facto regulation. See AOPA Online to read the plan or Boyer's communications to Blakey.
CLOSING BUCHANAN FIELD 'NOT AN OPTION,' AOPA SAYS
Officials in Contra Costa County, California, are in for a fight if they try to close Buchanan Field in Concord, AOPA said this week. A member of the county Board of Supervisors wants to solicit proposals to redevelop the airport. But after researching the airport's deed history, AOPA discovered that the federal government gave Buchanan Field to Contra Costa County as surplus property after World War II on the condition that it remain a public-use airport or be returned to the federal government. AOPA's discussions with the FAA confirm the federal government does not want the airport closed. The county has also accepted federal grant money under the Airport Improvement Act, which requires that the facility be operated as a public-use airport for 20 years from the time the grant is approved. "AOPA will use all resources available to us to ensure the existing federal agreements are upheld and Buchanan Field is not allowed to close," said Bill Dunn, AOPA vice president of airports, in a letter to County Supervisor Mark DeSaulinier.
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| Training Products
| CFI TEACHING METHODS EXPLORED IN BOOK
First-time author Gordon C. Henrie says Instructional Methods for Flight Instructors is a compendium of teaching techniques he has amassed during more than 20 years as a CFI and designated pilot examiner. The 272-page softcover book moves from a discussion of learning techniques to the meat and potatoes of flight instruction: air work, flight maneuvers, cross-country flying, and emergency training. It includes syllabi and practical training techniques for the private and commercial certificates and instrument rating. The price is $39.95 plus $3.64 in taxes; Henrie pays shipping costs. For ordering information, call 928/333-2990 or e-mail Henrie.
| | Final Exam | Question: I am looking at the current New York sectional chart. What does the thick blue dashed line surrounding the prohibited P-67 area near Kennebunkport, Maine, represent? Also, why is the surface within this dashed circle a white color?
Answer: The area within the dashed blue line denotes a temporary flight restriction (TFR) around P-67. The TFR is in effect only when activated by a notice to airmen, or notam. This 30-nm-radius TFR has a white background to make it more prominent. Remember to check notams before every flight.
Got a technical question for AOPA specialists? E-mail to [email protected] or call 800/872-2672. Don't forget the archive of questions and answers from AOPA's ePilot and ePilot Flight Training. FAQs are searchable by keyword or topic.
| Picture Perfect
| | The AOPA Online Gallery allows you to download your favorite images to use for wallpaper, send a personalized e-card, and order high-quality prints to be shipped directly to your doorstep. Search the hundreds of fabulous images in our archives and select your favorites today! For more details, see AOPA Online.
| What's New At AOPA Online
| Student pilots are generally thought to be the most at-risk group to suffer fatal stall/spin accidents. But apparently their training and practice of stall recovery and spin avoidance techniques are helping to keep them out of harm's way. A new study by the AOPA Air Safety Foundation reveals that commercial and private pilots are far more likely to be involved in such accidents. Read the full report at AOPA Online, and check out the ASF accident database from which the statistics were drawn.
| Weekend Weather
| See the current weather on AOPA Online, provided by Meteorlogix.
| ePilot Calendar
| WEEKEND FLYING DESTINATIONS
Troy, Ohio. The 2003 Waco Fly-in takes place August 23 at Waco Field (1WF). Sponsored by the Waco Historical Society. A magical day of flying, fun, and fellowship, centered around Waco aircraft. The AOPA Centennial of Flight Sweepstakes Waco is scheduled to appear. Contact 937/335-3886.
Santa Rosa, California. Wings Over Wine Country takes place August 23 and 24 at Sonoma County Airport (STS). Gates open at 9:30 a.m. for R/C model aircraft demonstrations and other activities. Airshow events begin at 10 a.m. with a skydiving performance. See the Web site.
To submit an event to the calendar, or search all events, visit AOPA Online. For airport details, see AOPA's Airport Directory Online .
ASF FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR REFRESHER CLINICS
(All clinics start at 7:30 a.m.)
The next AOPA Air Safety Foundation Flight Instructor Refresher Clinics are scheduled in Reno, Nevada, and Reston, Virginia, August 23 and 24. A clinic is also scheduled in Sacramento, California, September 6 and 7. For a complete schedule, see AOPA Online. Can't make it in person? Sign up for the CFI Renewal Online.
ASF PINCH-HITTER GROUND-SCHOOL COURSES
(Pinch-Hitter courses start at 9:30 a.m.)
The next Pinch-Hitter® Ground School takes place in Phoenix, September 14. For more Pinch-Hitter courses, see AOPA Online.
ASF SAFETY SEMINARS
AOPA Air Safety Foundation Safety Seminars are scheduled in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and Kansas City, Missouri, September 8; St. Louis, Missouri, and Allentown, Pennsylvania, September 9; Springfield, Missouri, and New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, September 10; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, September 11. The topic is Say Intentions. For complete details, see AOPA Online.
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