"According to the Air Safety Foundation's database and analysis, that's the lowest number of accidents and the lowest accident rate since 1938," said ASF Executive Director Bruce Landsberg. "Clearly, we're doing something right, but when it comes to safety, we can always do it better." One of the newest tools to help pilots fly more safely is ASF's new Online Safety Center.
Test your aviation safety IQ on operations at towered airports
Flying at a towered airport requires different procedures than a nontowered airport, and it is important for you to be proficient at both. The AOPA Air Safety Foundation's latest "Safety Hot Spot: Operations at Towered Airports" will help you learn how to safely operate in the towered environment and test your knowledge of procedures with an updated Operations at Towered Airports Sporty's Safety Quiz. It's available in the AOPA Online Safety Center. It also provides a single Web page with links to print publications, magazine articles, online courses, flash cards with runway markings, accident data, and more tailored to that subject. A Hot Spot about nontowered airport operations is available in the Safety Hot Spot archive.
Operating safely at a towered or nontowered airport starts before you enter the airport's airspace or traffic pattern. It also depends upon what you do to prepare before you enter the airport environment. The AOPA Air Safety Foundation created "The Last Five Miles" Safety Seminar to provide advice for operations at towered and nontowered airports, how to communicate effectively in the towered environment, some of air traffic control's biggest pet peeves, and some practical tips on descent planning along with operations in a radar environment.
Test your aviation safety IQ in other areas of aviation from takeoffs and landings to special-use airspace in the AOPA Online Safety Center.
User fees in your future? Not on Boyer's watch
What does the future hold for general aviation? Here's a glimpse. More than 750,000 pilots flying more than 240,000 general aviation aircraft for almost 33 million hours by 2015. It could also mean user fees, hinted the FAA at its Thirtieth Annual Forecast Conference in Washington, D.C., in March. But AOPA President Phil Boyer has declared, "Not on my watch!"
During the conference, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said that, while she isn't advocating user fees "at this point," the FAA's workload is increasing while its revenue is going down. She told members at AOPA Expo 2004 in October, "The FAA doesn't support a fee-based system. I don't know how to be any clearer than that."
Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta also has mentioned a need for a "new revenue stream" for the FAA. "AOPA members believe user fees would destroy general aviation in the United States," Boyer said. "We'll work for sufficient and equitable funding for the FAA. But it won't be user fees charged to general aviation pilots!"
Just days after Boyer voiced his position, members of Congress also challenged Mineta over proposed cuts in the FAA's fiscal year 2006 budget.
AOPA isn't alone in its opposition of user fees. At a hearing of the House appropriations transportation subcommittee in March, Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) warned that the administration's budget cuts from airport grants could "unfairly shift the burden to user fees," and that would "crush general aviation." "You cannot ask private pilots to pay $300 to $500 to land at an airport," Tiahrt said.
Student renters: Make sure you're covered
Chances are that as a student pilot you rent an airplane for your flight training. Did you know that you might be putting yourself at risk every time you fly if you don't have your own non-owned aircraft insurance policy?
Most FBO policies afford little to no coverage to the renter, and you could be held liable for property damage, injuries, and damage to the rented aircraft, which could cost you thousands. Even a small mishap can put you in financial jeopardy, but with a non-owned policy, you can have the coverage you need to fly with confidence.
Your non-owned policy also covers the cost of your legal defense in the event of an accident or claim, a benefit that alone can save you thousands of dollars. Don't fly without a non-owned policy of your own. Call the AOPA Insurance Agency to make sure you are covered 800/622-2672.
Related Articles
