Training Notes and News

One of the biggest barriers to learning how to fly--especially for young people--is money, or more correctly a lack thereof. The HoodRich Flight Foundation in Providence, Rhode Island, is working to make the cost of flight training a nonissue for students who normally could not afford to pursue a career in aviation.

"We're not just offering plane rides," said Thomas Duffy, who helped to found HoodRich in 2005. "We're offering a career in aviation."

This year the foundation has accepted eight students who participate in the Rhode Island Children's Crusade (RICC), a program that works to inspire low-income children in third through twelfth grades to succeed in school and then provides financial help for them to attend college.

HoodRich was scheduled to start its first class in September. High school juniors and seniors will meet three times per week (to enhance their retention of the material) for 15 weeks to take a simulated ground and flight training class led by Duffy and Michael Clifton, the foundation's vice president. Both are commercial pilots.

The students will learn the basics of flight and what it takes to have a career in aviation. Flight training will be given on personal computers using Microsoft Flight Simulator. Those who stick with the class can move on to actual ground and flight training.

The foundation will pay for eight to 10 students' training, which will be conducted under FAR Part 141 rules at Theodore Francis Green State Airport. The program is designed so that students earn their private pilot certificates about the same time they finish high school.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has an agreement with the foundation to provide the students with partial scholarships to further their career training at the university.

Duffy and Clifton, both graduates of ERAU's Daytona Beach campus, decided to start the foundation after taking for a flight a student in the RICC program who was interested in aviation. The student's outlook improved dramatically and his performance in school increased, Duffy said. --Alyssa J. Miller

Embry-Riddle sells CAPT program

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has sold its non-degree commercial airline pilot training program, dubbed CAPT, to Flight Training Services International. CAPT, which had been based at Flagler County Airport in Bunnell, Florida, was an accelerated ratings program targeting students who had already earned college degrees but were looking for a career change. ERAU announced in February that it would stop enrolling new cadets in the program and focus on its flagship aeronautical science degree program at its Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona, campuses.

The new owner of CAPT said it will retain the name, training curriculum, and staff, and will continue to operate out of Flagler County Airport. For more information, see the Web site.

In other news, Embry-Riddle has ordered 29 new Garmin G1000-equipped Cessna 172s. When they are delivered, Embry-Riddle's all-Cessna fleet will include 69 Skyhawks.

Utah State goes all-glass, all Diamond

Utah State University has taken delivery of 10 Diamond DA40-FP Diamond Stars, each equipped with Garmin G1000 integrated avionics in the cockpit. Two DA42 Twin Stars were to be delivered in August. "These modern aircraft will allow Utah State to train flight students in the safest and most advanced training aircraft available today and will also support the university's agenda for advanced research into a number of aviation-related areas," said Rick Charles, Utah State director of aviation.

Cessna unveils light sport aircraft at AirVenture

After much anticipation in the industry, Cessna Aircraft showed off its light sport aircraft proof-of-concept model at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The high-wing, strutted airplane boasts an aluminum fuselage and a composite cowl, with a full-castering nosewheel. The aircraft currently sports a 100-hp Rotax 912S engine, a preliminary choice made for its weight-to-power ratio. The final choice of engine, among most other aircraft components--including the possibility of a whole-airframe parachute--will wait until the company has determined whether or not it will enter the market.

Cessna representatives surveyed show attendees on their response to the aircraft design and overall LSA concept. "The driver is going to be cost, not volume," and that will determine whether the company enters the LSA market, said Cessna chief Jack Pelton. If Cessna can prove to itself that the market is there at an attractive cost of production, the company will jump in. "We're not expecting numbers like 2,000 a year," said Pelton--just a sustainable number through the economic cycles common to general aviation. "It would be an extension of our product line to stimulate new pilot starts." A "go/no-go" decision will be made by the first quarter of 2007.

In a technical briefing to the press, Pelton tipped his hat to AOPA's Project Pilot program as a natural companion to the possible Cessna LSA project.

PAIFA commercial division completes buyout

The commercial airline training division of Pan Am International Flight Academy (PAIFA) completed a management-led buyout in July. The division, which includes PAIFA's air traffic control training and Saab training divisions, will continue to operate under the Pan Am International Flight Academy name. SimCom, PAIFA's business and general aviation division, the regional business, and the ab initio training division will remain under the ownership of J.W. Childs Associates LP.

PAIFA Chief Executive Officer Vito Cutrone said the buyout will enable an expansion of the commercial airline training business and provide high-quality simulator-based training to a broader customer base. The company will be headquartered in Miami and will continue to operate training centers in Miami; Memphis, Tennessee; Minneapolis; Cincinnati; and Las Vegas.

Experimental kit manufacturer Sonex offers education initiative for schools

S onex Aircraft, manufacturer of the experimental Sonex and Waiex sportplane and Xenos sport motorglider kits, has launched a new education initiative aimed at schools and community organizations that want to build an airplane. The program includes discount incentives for schools and community groups to educate youth about aviation through the construction of a Sonex aircraft or AeroConversions AeroVee engine.

Participating schools or groups can get a 10-percent discount on Sonex, Waiex, or Xenos airframe kits and AeroConversions engines. The initiative also includes a Web site (http://education.SonexAircraft.com) set up for participating schools and groups that will offer free online discussion groups for both teachers and students; a database of curriculum resources; advice on starting, teaching, and administrating aviation education via aircraft construction; and links to educational, funding, and technical support resources. Sonex has partnered with Expertcraft to offer free Expertcraft Simple Log project logging to participants. Simple Log is a tool that builders of experimental and homebuilt aircraft can use to store and share their project log information online.

The initiative was launched in July at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Peter Denny, a teacher at Washburn High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was on hand to discuss his class's Sonex construction project as part of the school's Aviation and Aerospace Small Learning Community. You can find a link to the project at AOPA Flight Training Online.

What It Looks Like

Tiedown knot

By Mark Twombly

It's a fact that an airplane spends the great majority of its life sitting in place on the ramp or in a hangar, and not in the air doing what it was built to do. For that reason we should give it a lot of attention when preparing it for a sitting spell, especially if it is parked outside.

The most basic form of protection is to "anchor" the airplane to the ground using a three-point tiedown system so it will not move about in strong winds. Ropes, chains, and nylon webbing are the most popular materials used to secure airplanes, and of those, ropes are the most common. Not just any rope will do, however. Manila rope isn't as strong as synthetic rope; it rots over time, and it will shrink when wet. Double-braided nylon rope provides the greatest working load and will better withstand ultraviolet light and extreme temperatures.

Many sources recommend that a bowline or square knot be used to secure an airplane to a tiedown ring. Both are strong, anti-slip knots that reduce the working load of the rope less than other types of knots. Plus, the bowline can be loosened fairly easily. The double half-hitch or a modified double half-hitch (shown in photo) also are popular, although not as strong as a bowline or square knot.

Don't know how to tie various knots? Any number of guides--books and online--are available. Learn to tie it, then practice it every day for two weeks so it will become second nature. You might also read FAA Advisory Circular 20-35C, Tiedown Sense--20 pages of everything you need to know about why and how to tie down an airplane. It can be downloaded from AOPA Flight Training Online.

Final Exam

Final Exam is composed of questions similar to those a student may expect on the private pilot knowledge test. Answers are researched by members of the AOPA Pilot Information Center staff and may be found on p. 20.

1. What is the definition of a high-performance airplane?

1. An airplane with 180 horsepower, or retractable landing gear, flaps, and a fixed-pitch propeller.
2. An airplane with an engine of more than 200 horsepower.
3. An airplane with a normal cruise speed in excess of 200 knots.

2. The pilot in command is required to hold a type rating in which aircraft?

1. A) Aircraft operated under an authorization issued by the FAA administrator.
2. B) Aircraft having a gross weight of more than 12,500 pounds.
3. C) Aircraft involved in ferry flights, training flights, or test flights.

3. What is the most effective way to use the eyes during night flight?

1. A) Look only at far away, dim lights.
2. B) Scan slowly to permit off-center viewing.
3. C) Concentrate directly on each object for a few seconds.

4. What are the minimum requirements for airplane operations under special VFR in Class D airspace at night?

1. A) The airplane must be under radar surveillance at all times while in Class D airspace.
2. B) The airplane must be equipped for IFR with an altitude reporting transponder.
3. C) The pilot must be instrument rated, and the airplane must be IFR equipped.

5. When should pilots decline a land and hold short (LAHSO) clearance?

1. A) When it will compromise safety.
2. B) Only when the tower operator concurs.
3. C) Pilots cannot decline a LAHSO clearance.

6. Airspace at an airport with a part-time control tower is classified as Class D airspace only

1. A) when the weather minimums are below basic VFR.
2. B) when the associated control tower is in operation.
3. C) when the associated Flight Service Station is in operation.

7. Which VFR cruising altitude is acceptable for a flight on a Victor airway with a magnetic course of 175 degrees? The terrain is less than 1,000 feet.

1. A) 4,500 feet
2. B) 5,000 feet
3. C) 5,500 feet

8. Airport taxiway edge lights are identified at night by

1. A) white directional lights.
2. B) blue omnidirectional lights.
3. C) alternate red and green lights.

Final Exam Answers

1. The correct answer is B. A high-performance airplane has an engine of more than 200 horsepower. Complex aircraft have retractable landing gear, flaps, and a controllable-pitch propeller. Prior to August 4, 1997, the federal aviation regulations defined a high-performance airplane as one that has "more than 200 horsepower, or that has a retractable landing gear, flaps, and a controllable pitch propeller." Now, "complex" and "high performance" are separate definitions; speed has no relevance. FAR 61.31(f) states the definition of and the requirements for operating high-performance airplanes.

2. The correct answer is B. FAR 61.31 states that a type rating is required for a person to act as PIC of any large aircraft (defined in FAR 1.1 as an aircraft of more than 12,500 pounds maximum certificated takeoff weight). A type rating is also needed for the operation of turbojet-powered airplanes, or other aircraft specified by the FAA through aircraft type certificate procedures. An aircraft operated under an authorization by the FAA administrator is normally done so in lieu of a type rating.

3. The correct answer is B. Off-center viewing is used at night rather than focusing directly on objects. This technique employs the use of the rods in your eyes, which are more receptive in low light. In normal light, the cones in your eyes are used to focus directly on objects, but they lose much of their acuity at night. If you stare at an object too long at night (using the cones) without moving your eyes, the retina becomes accustomed to the low light intensity and the image will begin to fade.

4. The correct answer is C. Special VFR clearance at night requires the pilot to be instrument rated and the aircraft to be IFR equipped per FAR 91.205(d). FAR 91.157 further states that special VFR operations may only be conducted with an ATC clearance, clear of clouds, and with at least one statute mile flight visibility for an airplane. Radar surveillance and a Mode C transponder are not required to receive a special VFR clearance.

5. The correct answer is A. When a pilot believes that a LAHSO clearance will compromise safety, it should be declined. LAHSO requires that a pilot not use the full length of the runway but, rather, that he or she stops and holds short before reaching an intersecting runway or other designated point on the landing runway. A pilot has the final authority to accept or decline LAHSO operations based on the ability of the pilot, performance of the aircraft, runway conditions, and available landing distance.

6. The correct answer is B. A Class D airspace area is in effect only when when the associated part-time control tower is in operation regardless of weather conditions, flight service availability, or time of day. Part-time towers, and their hours of operation, can be found on pertinent sectional aeronautical charts

7. The correct answer is C. When flying VFR higher than 3,000 feet agl but below 18,000 feet msl, on a magnetic course of 0 through 179 degrees, fly any odd thousand foot msl altitude plus 500 feet. Answer A, 4,500 feet, would be acceptable on a magnetic course from 180 through 359 degrees. Answer B, 5,000 feet, is an IFR cruising altitude. The fact that you are flying VFR on a Victor airway is not a consideration in altitude selection.

8. The correct answer is B. Airport taxiway edge lights are blue omnidirectional lights, while white omnidirectional lights identify runways. Alternate red and green lights, while not really airport lighting, are used by a control tower to indicate that a pilot should exercise extreme caution whether in the air or on the ground.

AOPA members can discuss these or any aviation questions with Pilot Information Center staff by calling 800/USA-AOPA or sending an e-mail.