Training Notes and News

It's rare to find fathers and children learning to fly at the same time, so the odds of a grandfather and his grandchild soloing on the same day would probably send Vegas odds-makers into a tizzy. Yet that's exactly what happened on July 19 at Twitchell Airport and Seaplane Base in Turner, Maine. Ronald K. Ames soloed a J-3 Piper Cub, and his grandson Stephen Ames Jr. took to the skies in a Cessna 152 modified into a taildragger configuration. The Ameses are students of Thomas O'Connell--a 47-year flight instructor who said he had never before witnessed such an event.

Waiting on a bill: The final days of the funding debate

Congress has taken significant steps toward establishing a means of financing the FAA and its modernization programs for the next five years. The House of Representatives has passed a funding bill, H.R.2881, but the Senate has been stalled by user-fee language in its funding measure, S.1300. Since it's now well past the September 30 deadline that marked the end of the last funding authorization, Congress has passed an extension of the "old" authorization that keeps the original setup of fuel taxes, airline passenger ticket taxes, and cargo waybill taxes at current rates.

A tremendous amount of work lies ahead. The Senate hasn't passed its bill, which includes a $25-per-flight user fee. AOPA opposes user fees, so it's likely members will be called upon to influence key senators to strike the user-fee clause from the bill. If a compromise is reached, the legislation would be ready for the debate on the Senate floor, and would then move to a House-Senate conference committee whose job it would be to iron out the differences between the two bills. Bear in mind that the House bill contains language that would mandate labor negotiations between the FAA and the air traffic controllers' union--and President Bush has said he'll veto a bill that includes it.

If the president signs the conference bill, it becomes law; the FAA's funding resumes for the next five years, and the FAA funding debate is over--for now. But there's the possibility that the president could veto the bill. If that happens, we're back to square one, and the FAA funding debate will start all over again. And nobody in the aviation community wants that. Whatever happens, we'll keep you posted on the developments. See our Web site for the latest news.

What's in AOPA Pilot?

Here's what you're missing if you don't read AOPA Pilot, the association's flagship magazine published each month.

• Light sport aircraft: Tecnam Aircraft. Flying the Bravo and the Echo Super.
• Six for the Road: Six simple preflight checks for safe winter flying.
• FS 21 Wx Brief: Flight services for the twenty-first century, the ride ahead.
• Safety Pilot Landmark Accidents: Ice crisis. Never let your guard down.

Are you ready to read about more advanced subjects such as these? Just as pilots upgrade to more advanced certificates, it might be time for you to upgrade your magazine. You can convert your paid membership to AOPA Pilot at any time by calling AOPA toll-free (800/USA-AOPA).

Can't wait for a SkyCatcher? Remos has a deal for you

Remos Aircraft wants to make a deal with pilots who have already put down a deposit on a new Cessna SkyCatcher light sport aircraft. It's an offer pilots can't refuse, says the German manufacturer of the Remos G-3 light sport aircraft.

Remos says it will cut the base price of the G-3 by $5,000 for any pilot who has placed an order for a SkyCatcher.

What's more, the company says it will deliver the aircraft within three months. The SkyCatcher is expected to make its maiden flight in the first half of 2008 with first deliveries anticipated later next year. "The G-3 is available today," said Michael Meirer, chief executive officer of Remos Aircraft Inc. The offer is good through the remainder of 2007. For more information, see the Web site.

LSA flight school opens in New Hampshire

Hampton Airfield in North Hampton, New Hampshire, is the new home of a flight school that provides light sport training exclusively. North East Light Sport Aircraft offers sport pilot training in two Czech Airworks SportCruisers. Owners Ed Gorman and Don Edie said they chose Hampton Airfield because of its "longstanding commitment to general aviation and to make flying a pleasurable, no-hassle experience."

School News

University of North Dakota orders jets
The University of North Dakota (UND) has ordered a Cessna Citation Mustang and a Diamond D-Jet, both very light jets. The aircraft will be used for executive travel and for flight training. Cessna said that UND is the first flight school in the country to order a Mustang.

Flying club reaches out to nonpilots
How can you attract nonpilots to aviation? For the University of Arizona Flying Club, the answer has been to offer introductory flights to prospective members. Once a student joins the club, for $20 per semester, he or she gets to go on flights in one of the club aircraft, listen to aviation experts, and take free ground school classes. Fewer than half the club's members are actually pilots, club President David Hahs told the Arizona Daily Wildcat. "Especially for students, it's a great opportunity to go flying and not have to pay very much money," he said.

What It Looks Like: Rivets

By Mark Twombly

The structure of a light metal aircraft is a collection of aluminum sheets, ribs, and stringers held together with hundreds of small metal fasteners called rivets.

The slightly rounded or, in some cases, flush heads of these rivets are found all over the outside skin of a typical light airplane. Rivets are used to join two sheets of aluminum, and to secure the skeletal ribs and stringers to the aluminum skins.

Airplanes are mostly hand made, and a big part of the job is bucking all of those rivets. It's usually a two-person job. The small, mushroom-shaped aluminum rivet is inserted into aligned holes that have been drilled through the parts to be joined. One person then applies the drive, which is basically a small air-powered jack-hammer-type tool, to the head of the rivet. The second person wields the bucking bar, which is little more than a heavy metal bar held against the backside, or buck-tail, of the rivet.

When air pressure is applied to the drive, it pounds the head of the rivet like a fast-moving hammer. The bucking bar reacts to the hammering by rapidly bouncing off the opposite end of the rivet. This bouncing action swells the shank so that it completely fills the hole and forms a head on the buck-tail end of the rivet. This draws the metal parts together permanently and securely.

The trick in bucking rivets is to balance the pressure applied to the drive and the bucking bar so that the rivet remains straight as it compresses. A misaligned rivet can end up with an odd shape called a toenail, smile, or several other descriptive monikers.

Not all rivets are installed using the two-person bucking process. In difficult-to-reach areas, so-called blind rivets (also called pop or Cherry rivets) may be used. These are specialty rivets are installed by one person using a special tool that grasps and squeezes the rivet.

Riveting is a skill taught to and practiced by aviation mechanics because it is a fundamental process in sheet-metal repair.

Student pilot wins 25^th Sporty's sweepstakes airplane

Otto Sorg, a 25-hour student pilot from Dexter, Michigan, won Sporty's Pilot Shop's twenty-fifth annual sweepstakes airplane on September 12. Sporty's President Michael Wolf called Sorg to tell him the news.

"When Michael called me, I thought it was a scam," Sorg recalled. "I kept waiting for him to ask me for my social security number or credit card number. The more we talked, though, the more I believed it was real." Sorg told Wolf, "If I'm stuttering, there's a reason for it."

Sorg, 63, works as a software analyst, and when his coworkers in surrounding cubicles overheard his end of the conversation a group gathered around him, curious about the news he was hearing. When he hung up, one of his coworkers asked what kind of airplane he'd won, and Sorg could only reply, "I think it's a Cessna."

The prize was a new Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP with a Garmin G1000 glass cockpit and two Bose Aviation X headsets. Sorg, who's learning to fly in Ann Arbor, Michigan, brought his wife, Linda, and his flight instructor, Theresa Whiting, to Sporty's in Batavia, Ohio, on September 24 to take delivery of the airplane.

Sorg developed an interest in airplanes in 1960, when he was a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. He volunteered with the Civil Air Patrol and began flight training in the 1980s, but had to stop because of career demands and a back problem. A recent job change found him in an office only two miles from Ann Arbor Airport, where Sorg resumed his training.

The drawing for Sporty's next sweepstakes airplane, also a G1000-equipped Cessna 172, has been scheduled for September 10, 2008.--Mike Collins

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 and may be found below.

1. Preventive maintenance has been performed on an aircraft. What paperwork is required?
1. A full, detailed description of the work done must be entered in the airframe logbook.
2. The date the work was completed and the name of the person who did the work must be entered in the airframe and engine logbook.
3. The signature, certificate number, and kind of certificate held by the person approving the work and a description of the work must be entered in the aircraft maintenance records.
2. Which V-speed represents maneuvering speed?
1. V_A
2. V_LO
3. V_NE
3. Which technique should a pilot use to scan for traffic to the right and left during straight-and-level flight?
1. Systematically focus on different segments of the sky for short intervals.
2. Concentrate on relative movement detected in the peripheral vision area.
3. Continuous sweeping of the windshield from right to left.
4. Who may perform preventive maintenance on an aircraft and approve it for return to service?
1. Student or recreational pilot.
2. Private or commercial pilot.
3. None of the above.
5. Where may an aircraft's operating limitations be found?
1. On the current Airworthiness Certificate.
2. In the current, FAA-approved flight manual, approved manual material, markings, and placards, or any combination thereof.
3. In the aircraft airframe and engine logbooks.
6. What aircraft inspections are required for rental aircraft that are also used for flight instruction?
1. Annual condition and 100-hour inspections.
2. Biannual condition and 100-hour inspections.
3. Annual condition and 50-hour inspections.
7. An aircraft is loaded 110 pounds over its maximum certificated gross weight. If fuel (gasoline) is to be drained to bring the aircraft weight within limits, how much fuel should be drained?
1. 15.7 gallons.
2. 16.2 gallons.
3. 18.4 gallons.
8. Which records or documents shall the owner or operator of an aircraft keep to show compliance with an applicable airworthiness directive?
1. Aircraft maintenance records.
2. Airworthiness certificate and pilot's operating handbook.
3. Airworthiness and registration certificates.

Final Exam Answers

1. The correct answer is C. According to Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) 43.9, the person performing the work must record a description of the work performed, the date it was completed, as well as their signature, certificate number, and the certificate type that they hold.
2. The correct answer is A. According to FAR 1.2, V_A is maneuvering speed, V_LO is the maximum landing gear operating speed, and V_NE represents the never-exceed speed.
3. The correct answer is A. One suggested method is to scan 10-degree segments of the sky for short intervals, in a continuous pattern. Concentrating on a certain area or visually sweeping the area without briefly focusing on a segment of the sky does not allow for maximum scanning and best traffic detecting procedures; other aircraft might not be seen.
4. The correct answer is B. A private or commercial pilot may perform preventive maintenance on an aircraft that he or she owns or operates. The work that may be performed by the pilot is detailed in FAR 43, Appendix A, Paragraph C, and AC 43-12A. The signoff for approval for return to service is covered under FAR 43.9. Student and recreational pilots are not permitted to do this.
5. The correct answer is B. Operating limitations can be found in the flight manual, or in the aircraft in the form of markings and placards. For instance, flap speed limitations on some airplanes are indicated in markings on the airspeed indicator, on a placard next to the flap handle or actuator, as well as in the flight manual. Operating limitations are not found on the airworthiness certificate or maintenance logbooks.
6. The correct answer is A. If flight instruction for hire is given in a rental aircraft, it must have both annual and 100-hour inspections. Biannual inspections and 50-hour inspections are not mandated by the regulations. A person receiving flight instruction in an aircraft that he or she owns is not required to have a 100-hour inspection performed on that aircraft.
7. The correct answer is C. At a nominal weight of six pounds per gallon, draining 18.4 gallons of aviation gasoline will reduce the weight of the aircraft by 110.4 pounds.
8. The correct answer is A. Compliance with airworthiness directives should be recorded in the aircraft maintenance logbooks. The aircraft logbooks are not required to be carried in the aircraft, and should be stored in a safe place.

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