AOPA ePilot - Volume 10, Issue 4

GA News

AOPA URGES FAA FUNDING ACTION, PETERS SINGS OLD SONG
Transportation Secretary Mary Peters this week told a gathering of aviation industry leaders in Washington, D.C., that Congress needs to act, and act soon, on an FAA reauthorization bill. Other than that, there was very little on which AOPA could agree. Her speech presented the same old administration song and dance to the tune of user fees, excessive tax increases on general aviation, and congestion pricing for access into certain large airports. "The House has passed a version that contains the elements necessary for a good reauthorization bill that funds air traffic control modernization and airport development with a tax-based funding mechanism and no user fees," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "The aviation community has been waiting for more than four months now for the Senate to act on FAA funding." Read more on AOPA Online.

CONGRESSMAN PUSHES FOR AVGAS RESEARCH
Rep. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) remembers being inspired by wings—on the AOPA decals of his parents' cars. In a videotape address to more than 500 pilots attending a Denver AOPA Pilot Town Meeting on Jan. 22, Udall recalled that his father, former Rep. Mo Udall, started a business with a friend in order to continue flying in the face of mounting expenses. Although not a pilot himself, Udall has developed his own passion for ensuring the future of general aviation. As chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology, he authored the research and development section of FAA funding bill H.R.2881. Udall included a provision advocated by AOPA that would require the FAA to research an economically viable alternative to leaded avgas that could satisfy the needs of the entire existing GA piston-engine fleet. Read more on AOPA Online.

COLORADO PILOTS HONOR BOYER
Centennial Airport Director Robert Olislagers presented AOPA President Phil Boyer with a special award on behalf of the airport and Colorado pilots during the Pilot Town Meeting in Denver this week. The award—a bust of Captain Elrey Jeppesen—is inscribed, "In grateful appreciation for your many years of dedicated support on behalf of general aviation." "Through Phil's leadership, AOPA has accomplished so much for GA at the local, state, and national levels," said Olislagers. "He's done an amazing job." "This was an extraordinary honor for me," said Boyer. "Elrey Jeppesen is one of my heroes. His development of aviation charts turned aviation from seat-of-the-pants flying to a real utility and a transportation system." Read more on AOPA Online.

AOPA FIGHTS FOR CONTINUED SEAPLANE ACCESS IN WEST
AOPA is fighting an interpretation by the federal government that has shut off seaplane access to some lakes in the West and Pacific Northwest regions. The Bureau of Reclamation wrote into law that unless it could be proven with documentation signed prior to April 2006 that seaplanes had used these lakes in the past, they will be prohibited from any future use. Read more on AOPA Online.

VIRGIN GALACTIC UNVEILS 'SPACESHIPTWO'
Virgin Galactic’s Sir Richard Branson has unveiled a model of SpaceShipTwo. The full-scale version will carry six tourists at a time more than 62 miles up into space. Both the rocket and the four-engine launch aircraft, WhiteKnightTwo, also unveiled in New York on Jan. 23, are more than half complete at Scaled Composites where Burt Rutan pioneered civilian spaceflight with SpaceShipOne and won a $10 million X Prize in the process. For $200,000 you can depart on a 2.5-hour flight that ends with a few minutes of rocket-powered flight, capped by five minutes of weightlessness and a view from space. Initially, the suborbital flights will depart from Mojave, Calif., but could eventually spread to launch sites around the world. Read more on AOPA Online.

AIRFRAME PARACHUTE SAVES MAN BY A SLIVER
Patrick Dean of Clarksville, Md., spent eight and a half years of his life—off and on, at least—building an airplane. His wife laid out one condition for the project: It must have an airframe parachute. That was the very thing that ended up saving his life. Read more on AOPA Online.

ADAM AIRCRAFT TO LAY OFF 300
Adam Aircraft Industries has laid off around 300 of 800 employees at its three facilities and plans to suspend composite layup operations at its Ogden, Utah, site through early summer. Around 170 workers at the company's Centennial Airport plant in Colorado will lose their jobs, as will 80 in Pueblo, Colo., and 50 in Ogden. According to a report in The Wichita Eagle, the company could face liquidation at the end of January. Read more on AOPA Online.

TRADING A 787 FOR A SPORT CUB
Sure, Scott E. Carson's day job puts him in charge of building and selling the world's most technologically advanced passenger jets. But the Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO went across Washington state to Cub Crafters in Yakima for his personal aircraft—a Sport Cub S2 light sport aircraft that's about as different from a 787 Dreamliner as anything that flies can possibly be. "Scott has a real passion for general aviation," said Cub Crafters President and CEO Todd Simmons. "The Sport Cub is meant to take him back to the pure, grass roots joy of flight." Read more on AOPA Online.

JOY OF FLIGHT: AROUND GEORGIAN BAY
It's not always easy to entice your nonflying companion to take a day trip in an airplane. But Fred Simpson, of Ontario, Canada, found the secret to get his wife Janice in the air—a flight around Georgian Bay with a stop for some lunch, frozen fish, and a rock or two for her garden. Read "Around Georgian Bay," the latest installment of the "Joy of Flight" series, for insight into how you can coax your skeptical flying partner into a relaxing one-day trip. To submit a story about general aviation adventures, send us an e-mail. Past articles are available online.

FAA GRANTS ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF COMPLIANCE FOR ROBINSON AD
Pilots affected by the Jan. 18 airworthiness directive (AD) on certain Robinson R22 and R44 helicopter rotor blades now have an alternative means of compliance (AMOC). The FAA approved Robinson Helicopter Company's AMOC, allowing pilots to forgo the overly burdensome requirement to log every preflight inspection of the rotor blades. In formal comments regarding the AD, AOPA had requested that the FAA recognize recent updates to the flight manuals of the affected helicopters, which include a preflight visual inspection of the rotor blades, and remove the requirement to log each preflight inspection of the blades.

NEW TALK SHOW BROADCASTS GA AROUND THE GLOBE
A new talk show, Flighttime Radio Show , based in Middleburg, Fla., focuses on the joy and adventure of general aviation flying in an effort to boost the pilot population. The show, hosted by AOPA members Milford Shirley and Brian Kraut, debuted Jan. 5 and has had guests including an air traffic controller and balloonist. Read more on AOPA Online.

For daily news updates, see AOPA Online.

PILOTS FIND ONLINE COURSES ARE THE PERFECT LUNCH DATE
What are you doing on your lunch hour? Dave Clark of Bartow, Fla., takes the AOPA Air Safety Foundation's online courses. "Working many hours and trying to keep up with what's new at the end of a busy day is difficult," Clark wrote in a recent note to the foundation. "The length of the courses is great for lunch time." Clark said that he flies 50 to 60 hours each year, so courses about weather, GPS, and IFR operations provide him with credible information to keep his aviation knowledge fresh. Try a course during your lunch hour. If you get interrupted, your progress is automatically saved. Some courses qualify for the AOPA Insurance Agency's Accident Forgiveness program and FAA Wings credit.

'TOP FIVE MISTAKES' ATTRACTS HUNDREDS OF PILOTS
No one wants to become a general aviation accident statistic. The AOPA Air Safety Foundation's new live safety seminar, "Top 5 Mistakes Pilots Make," which teaches pilots what they can do to avoid becoming a statistic, is reaching hundreds of safety-conscious pilots. The free educational program debuted in Reno, Nev., earlier this month to a crowd of 350 safety-conscious pilots—nearly twice the average attendance at a foundation seminar. The following week, a near-record 420 attendees filled the room in Mesa, Ariz. Don't miss this popular, potentially life-saving seminar when it comes to your hometown.

FLY AOPA'S CATCH-A-CARDINAL BEFORE YOU WIN IT!
AOPA members have been asking, and no, we haven't given away AOPA's 2007 Catch-A-Cardinal Sweepstakes Cessna 177B yet. You can fly it today, though—on your personal computer with a just-updated Version 2.0 of our add-on to Microsoft Flight Simulator X. Developed for AOPA by Flight1 Software, the new program adds Flight Sim's virtual cockpit—which allows you to pan, tilt, and zoom your view, much as you would in the real cockpit—to the digitally replicated airplane. See AOPA Online for software requirements and to download the file.

Here's a question asked by an AOPA member who contacted our aviation services staff through the AOPA Pilot Information Center. Test your knowledge.

Question: Does the FAA allow a pilot who does not have a flight instructor certificate to conduct legitimate flight instruction?

Answer: Yes, the FAA allows commercial and airline transport certificated pilots to provide instruction in limited situations. Commercial pilots with privileges in lighter-than-air category ratings (i.e., airship or balloon) can provide dual instruction, endorse logbooks and pilot certificate applications, and give ground and flight training for flight reviews, operating privileges, and recency of experience requirements. A pilot with an airline transport pilot certificate can provide dual instruction to other pilots working in the air transportation service (i.e., airline operations under Part 121) and endorse logbooks and training records.

Got a question for our aviation services staff? The AOPA Pilot Information Center is is at your service. Call toll-free 800/872-2672 to speak to a specialist about any general aviation topic. Or e-mail to [email protected]. Send comments on our Quiz Me! questions to [email protected].

THE RIGHT SHOP FOR THE JOB
One of the more difficult decisions with the sweepstakes project every year is picking the right shop. Not everyone can create an expert interior, craft a beautiful paint job, and perform the best maintenance. As a result, we usually pick a different shop for every job. But in Oxford, Maine's Oxford Aviation, we found the trifecta. Oxford Aviation is doing all of the Get Your Glass airplane's work this year, minus the panel and the engine overhaul. Visit AOPA Online to see why we picked them and to get tips for picking the best shop for you.

The AOPA Online Gallery allows you to download your favorite aviation 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.

UPCOMING FLYING DESTINATIONS:
There are no national events this week.

To submit an event to the calendar or to search all events visit AOPA Online. For airport details, including FBO fuel prices, see AOPA's Airport Directory Online.

FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR REFRESHER CLINICS
The next AOPA Air Safety Foundation Flight Instructor Refresher Clinics are scheduled in Melbourne, Fla., Louisville, Ky., Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, and Reston, Va., Feb. 9 and 10. For a complete schedule, see AOPA Online. Can't make it in person? Sign up for the CFI Refresher Online.

AOPA AIR SAFETY FOUNDATION SAFETY SEMINARS
AOPA Air Safety Foundation Safety Seminars are scheduled in San Diego, Jan. 28; Costa Mesa, Calif., Jan. 29; North Hills, Calif., Jan. 30; and Ontario, Calif., Jan. 31. The topic is "Top 5 Mistakes Pilots Make." For details and a complete schedule, see AOPA Online.