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Copyright © 2003 AOPA. | Training Tips
| THE GOSPEL OF GO-AROUNDS
 What happened the last time you had to perform a go-around in your trainer, either because your flight instructor requested one, or because something actually happened to make a balked landing necessary? Did you make a "timely" decision to go around? Did you apply takeoff power immediately, then pitch to an attitude that would deliver your aircraft's best rate of climb speed? Did you maneuver so that you could monitor the activity below, maintaining wind drift correction and positive control throughout the climb? If so, you performed the maneuver to the standard required to pass the private pilot practical test ( click here to download the practical test standards) and demonstrated one of the most important safety skills that a new pilot can learn.
Any approach to landing might result in a go-around. Another aircraft, a ground vehicle, or an animal could stray onto the runway. Wind shear or directional control difficulties in a gusty crosswind could necessitate one. (For helpful tips on how you should handle wind shear, see "Wind Shear! Max Power!" in the July 2002 AOPA Flight Training.) Your instructor should salt your takeoff and landing practice with numerous go-arounds, from various stages of the landing. "The next time you're thinking about asking your student to perform another go-around for practice, do so when the student is least likely to expect it-during the roundout or landing flare," AOPA Flight Training columnist Rod Machado advises instructors. See his other suggestions in AOPA Flight Training's December 2002 "Instructor Report."
This may surprise you, but if you are well-practiced and proficient in go-arounds, you are sharper and safer than many pilots who have completed training and not done any refresher work in a while. Not performing a go-around, or failing to follow the recommended procedure for the aircraft being flown-especially the mismanagement of flap retraction-has been cited as the cause of many mishaps, as studied in the "Accident Analysis" columns found in the April 2001 and February 2003 issues of AOPA Flight Training.
Go-arounds are a "Judgment Call"-see the December 13, 2002, "Training Tips" by that title for hints on how to show your practical-test examiner that you are worthy of the private pilot certificate. Then keep practicing those go-arounds, honing the procedure for each new aircraft you will fly and preserving the hard-earned skills with which you emerged from training!
| Your Partner in Training
| From arthritis to urolithiasis, aviation medical examiners to pertinent medical Web sites, go to AOPA Online for subject reports on medical certification and other health-related topics. You can also talk to our experts toll-free at 800/872-2672 weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern.
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
| NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR PRESTIGIOUS GA AWARDS
Think you've got the best flight instructor in the country? Then nominate him or her for the 2003 CFI of the Year award, one of four annual awards that recognize the most outstanding individuals in four general aviation categories: CFI, aviation maintenance technician, avionics technician, and FAA safety counselor. Your flight instructor must have at least five years of active experience in the field and hold appropriate FAA certificates for the category. You can download a nomination form from the AOPA Air Safety Foundation's Web page. Nominations are due no later than October 1 for the CFI, aviation maintenance technician, and avionics technician awards; the deadline for FAA safety counselor nominations is August 1. The General Aviation Safety Awards are sponsored by more than a dozen government and industry organizations, including AOPA and ASF.
LONG ISLAND STUDENTS SOAR INTO SUMMER AT DOWLING COLLEGE
Female high school students from across Long Island, New York, experienced a comprehensive week of flight training at the Summer Aviation Program for Young Women offered by Dowling College Aviation School at Brookhaven Center, New York. The scholarship program ran from July 7 to 11 and offered students a week of study in aerodynamics, flight instruments and controls, navigation, and air traffic control. The session included a glider flight provided by the Long Island Soaring Association and a cross-country trip to Groton, Connecticut, on which each participant took a turn in the cockpit. The program was funded by a grant by the Long Island Fund for Women and Girls.
| Inside AOPA
| WHITE HOUSE HEARS FROM AOPA MEMBERS ON PRESIDENTIAL TFRs
AOPA members responded quickly when the association last week asked them to tell President Bush what his personal security arrangements do to pilots. Security personnel have been demanding 30-nm-radius temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) whenever the president leaves Washington, D.C., causing major disruptions for pilots wherever he visits. One pilot from central Florida told President Bush, "The TFR prohibits flight instruction in any form for the duration of the TFR. I make a living teaching flying...Your last two trips grounded all flight training at 40 airports in the Tampa Bay area." AOPA is urging members to write to President Bush-don't send an e-mail-and let him know how his security arrangements have affected your flight. Write the president at The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20500. For more information, see the news story on AOPA Online.
Changing your mailing or e-mail addresses? Click here to update.
| Training Products
| MICROSOFT UNVEILS 'A CENTURY OF FLIGHT' IN NEWEST SIM VERSION
If you include a dose of desktop flight simulation in your regular training routine-or, like many pilots, like to pilot flight simulators when you can't fly the real thing- Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight lets you add a Piper J-3 Cub and other virtual historic aircraft to your virtual logbook. The newest version, which becomes available July 29, includes instructional expertise from AOPA Flight Training columnist Rod Machado and King Schools' John and Martha King in the video "lessons" that accompany the program, which is loaded on four CDs to your Windows-based personal computer. Other enhancements include improved weather modeling and automatic live updates that change the weather theater, just as it would happen in an actual cross-country flight. The price is $54.95. For more information, see the Microsoft Web site.
| | Final Exam | Question: Is there a requirement for a compass correction card to be displayed in light general aviation aircraft? I am unable to find a reference in the federal aviation regulations requiring a correction card.
Answer: The requirement for the compass correction card can be found in FAR 23.1547, "Magnetic direction indicator." It states that a placard meeting the requirements of this section must be installed on or near the magnetic direction indicator. The placard must show the calibration of the instrument in level flight with the engines operating and must state whether the calibration was made with radio receivers on or off. Each calibration reading must be in terms of magnetic headings in not more than 30-degree increments. Finally, if a magnetic nonstabilized direction indicator can have a deviation of more than 10 degrees caused by the operation of electrical equipment, the placard must state which electrical loads, or combination of loads, would cause a deviation of more than 10 degrees when turned on.
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
| AOPA's Airport Support Network, a group of volunteers around the nation who act as liaisons between their local public-use airports and AOPA, is always looking for a few good pilots. Visit the ASN Web site , look over the updated list to see if an airport near you needs someone to look out for the interests of the GA community, and find out how to sign up (or nominate a friend).
| Weekend Weather
| See the current weather on AOPA Online, provided by Meteorlogix.
| ePilot Calendar
| WEEKEND FLYING DESTINATIONS
Aurora, Oregon. The Aurora Airport Airshow 2003 takes place August 3 at Aurora State Airport (UAO). Airshow, pancake breakfast, static displays, food, and more. Contact Harper Poling, 503/678-1972, or visit 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 Atlanta, and Detroit, August 2 and 3. Clinics are also scheduled in Long Beach, California, and Allentown, Pennsylvania, August 9 and 10. 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 Oakland, California, August 17. For more Pinch-Hitter courses, see AOPA Online.
ASF SAFETY SEMINARS
AOPA Air Safety Foundation Safety Seminars are scheduled in Bloomfield Hill, Michigan, August 4; Cleveland, August 5, Columbus, Ohio, August 6; and Indianapolis, August 7. The topic is Say Intentions. For complete details, see AOPA Online.
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