Nov. 12, 2010, issue of 'AOPA ePilot' newsletter with AOPA Aviation Summit coverage

New Real Pilot Story: Bird strike!
Cessna, Bye Energy commit to electric 172
A man and his wing loop the loop
Quiz Me: Night currency

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FEATURED

New Real Pilot Story: Bird strike!

It was a nice VFR day—not a cloud in the sky—as the twin climbed out of the pattern at Casa Grande, Ariz. The pilot was settling down on the last leg of a long cross-country flight from Bartow, Fla., to Camarillo, Calif., when he noticed the birds. … In this latest installment of the Air Safety Institute’s Real Pilot Stories, you’ll experience the pilot coming eye to eye with a four-pound red-tailed hawk and how he dealt with the ensuing mayhem his uninvited passenger caused. The re-enactment comes to life with Microsoft Flight Simulator footage narrated by the pilot. As you listen to his story and ride along on this frightening flight you’ll take away tips and an understanding of how to prepare and protect against bird encounters, and what to do should an unexpected feathered guest enter your cabin. Watch the video >>

Michelin. A Better Way Forward. Michelin Aircraft Tire is a global manufacturer of bias and radial tires and tubes for all aviation markets. Our advanced technology, quality innovations, and customer focused support team help provide our customers with measurable savings, which leaves them free to focus on their business. Our global presence helps us in exceeding the service needs of our customer base.

Peak experience: AOPA aviation summit

Keynote highlights service, looks to future

AOPA Aviation Summit 2010 opened Nov. 11 with a stunning tribute to veterans on Veterans Day. Flanked by a color guard, AOPA President Craig Fuller proudly stood before a video presentation honoring those who have served in the armed forces. "To those who have served our country, we thank you for your service and your sacrifice. Without you we could never enjoy our cherished freedom to fly," said Fuller. The keynote address, "Preserving our future," addressed the critical issue of the declining pilot population. Read more >>

Cessna, Bye Energy commit to electric Cessna 172

Cessna and Bye Energy announced significant progress on a joint project to retrofit Cessna 172s with 210-horsepower electric powerplants at a press conference at AOPA Aviation Summit. Though it’s being called a technology demonstrator, the two companies sounded very much committed to bringing their “Green Flight Project” airplane to the market. For example, the first demonstrator’s schedule has the airplane making its first flight in the spring of 2011. The airplane will be powered by an electric motor manufactured by Bye Energy, and an optional, 40-hp Jet A-powered auxiliary power unit. Read more >>

AOPA introduces Lifestyles Collection

For years, AOPA members have supported the association, not only with their dues, but by using and buying AOPA member services and products. Members get the products and services they need and want, with a portion of their cost returning to the association to support AOPA’s numerous initiatives and advocacy efforts on behalf of general aviation. Now AOPA is expanding those offerings and organizing them into the AOPA Lifestyles Collection. The collection costs the association nothing while adding benefits to the members and revenue to help in the effort to protect GA. Read more >>

Avidyne Release 9 gets a Frasca simulator

At AOPA Aviation Summit, Avidyne Corp. and simulator manufacturer Frasca International announced Nov. 11 that they’ve partnered to create a Cirrus SR22 simulator incorporating Avidyne’s latest Entegra Release 9 avionics suite. The first such simulator has been delivered to Western Michigan University. Read more >>

Long Beach abuzz with aviation enthusiasts

The hubbub coming from California this weekend isn’t from Hollywood, at least in aviation circles. It’s AOPA Aviation Summit, with thousands of pilots milling about Long Beach/Daugherty Field and the convention center. Longtime friends are meeting up, and new relationships are being forged as pilots check out the latest in avionics, peruse nearly 75 aircraft on display, and take part in safety and educational forums. Check out highlights from Summit’s opening day. Watch the slideshow >>

Pilots meet on proposed Long Beach Class C

California pilots who oppose the proposed Class C airspace at Long Beach, Calif., met with AOPA Senior Director of Airspace and Modernization Heidi Williams and AOPA Vice President of Operations and International Affairs Craig Spence, who assured the worried pilots that the association is aware of their concerns and is actively addressing them with the FAA. This is the second time a proposal has been made to establish Class C airspace or its equivalent at Long Beach. Read more >>

Across the country in a rumbling biplane

The morning sky was flaming red as the sun began to rise over the East Coast on an early November morning—but the temperature was icy cold, and just a few degrees above freezing. AOPA Staff Photographer Chris Rose and Senior Editor Dave Hirschman were bundled in warm clothes from head to foot for the start of their “Long way to Long Beach,” a low-level, transcontinental biplane flight that would take them from AOPA headquarters to Aviation Summit in Southern California. Hirschman has ferried a variety of airplanes on long trips—but this one was special. Read more >>

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LoPresti teams with Remos

Remos Aircraft has named LoPresti Aviation as its East Coast distributor, as well as a Remos service center. The new association will prove more efficient than the current method of importing Remos light sport aircraft. Prior to this announcement, all Remos airplanes were shipped to the United States from the factory in Pasewalk, Germany, and then sent to Remos headquarters in Rogers, Ark., for final assembly and delivery. Read more >>

WingX adds fuel prices, new chart views

WingX and WingX Pro7 have been upgraded and now include current fuel prices; new flight planning capabilities; and the ability to view en route charts, geo-referenced approach plates, and terrain maps simultaneously. The new functionality is made possible by partnerships through 100LL.com, Control Vision Corp., and Seattle Avionics. Read more >>

Daher-Socata announces TBM maintenance program

Daher-Socata unveiled an exclusive maintenance program for newly purchased TBM 850 turboprops at AOPA Aviation Summit. The maintenance program provides free scheduled maintenance for five years or 1,000 flight hours, and extends avionics and systems warranties to five years. The airframe warranty is extended to seven years. Read more >>

Jeppesen upgrades products, announces new services

Jeppesen announced a number of new products and upgrades Nov. 11 at Summit—including VFR+GPS chart subscriptions, Cessna 172-specific training, and a strategic relationship with Flyvie. Read more>>

Skycatcher production on a roll, CPCs increase

Cessna Aircraft Co. announced Nov. 11 that production of its two-seat, $112,250 model 162 Skycatcher continues to increase, with the fiftieth airplane on its way to Cessna’s U.S. reassembly facility. More shipments are expected, and by the end of the year Cessna said it expects to hit its target of 30 Skycatcher deliveries. In 2011, the goal is to deliver more than 150 Skycatchers. “We are happy, not only with the increased pace of deliveries coming from Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, but with the high level of quality of the aircraft,” said Jack Pelton, Cessna chairman, president, and CEO. Read more >>

Bora Bora to Easter Island

With humor and obvious affection, Mike Melvill and Dick Rutan shared stories from their 35 years of globe-spanning flights in their ultra-efficient aircraft that they built by hand with a receptive crowd on Nov. 11. With slides of breathtaking lands such as Bora Bora and Easter Island, the pair delighted the audience with anecdotes from their flights. On Easter Island the two decided the famous statues on the tiny island must have been created by what is termed "the other option"—extraterrestials. Read more >>

Inspiration, technology on AOPA Live

Jim Tucker, a FedEx DC-10 captain and former U.S. Navy attack pilot, survived a brutal hijacking attempt in 1994 with serious injuries, but didn’t give up on returning to the air as pilot in command. The creation of the light sport category gave him hope, and today he flies a Luscombe 8A. Watch Tucker tell his compelling personal story on AOPA Live® at Summit—as well as other interviews that run the gamut from federal airport policy to new cockpit technology. See the full schedule to check out programming and set reminders for the segments you just can’t miss.

Sweeps announcement kicks off Summit Day Two

Don’t miss the announcement of the winner of AOPA’s 2010 Fun to Fly Sweepstakes Remos GX! AOPA will announce the lucky recipient on the AOPA Live stage in the exhibit hall at about 9:45 a.m. Pacific Standard Time Nov. 12. The moment will be broadcast live online and available later as a video on demand.

How to fly to the edge of space

Looking back on his flight into space as pilot of SpaceShipOne, Mike Melvill finds the whole experience somewhat surreal. “As old as I was at the time, I didn’t think there was any way I’d be chosen to do that,” he said. “Dropping off the hooks, it’s like a bomb falling off an airplane. If anything’s loose in the cabin it floats up into the air.” After release, he said, you unguard the rocket ignition switch and light the rocket as quickly as you can, to minimize altitude loss. “The acceleration was just staggering. A rocket motor doesn’t come on gradually like a jet; it comes on full tilt.” Read more >>

GA News

Burt Rutan to retire in spring

Usually “long and distinguished” is just a platitude rustled up at retirement time to describe someone’s career, but Burt Rutan really did have a long career, and as the world knows, a distinguished one. Rutan, the founder of Scaled Composites at Mojave, Calif., has decided to retire next April after 36 years of designing aircraft—including the nation’s first passenger spaceship. Read more >>

A man and his wing loop the loop

Yves Rossy flew a loop for the first time with the aid of a wing strapped on his back, four jet engines each the size of a loaf of bread, and his body. He has made several previous flights with the wing, including one crossing the English Channel. He lands by parachute after each five- to 10-minute flight. This time his launch platform was a hot air balloon. Usually he leaps from an aircraft with the engines already started on his wing. The German-made JetCat P200 jet engines were originally designed for model airplanes. Read more >>

FAA proposes enhanced AD on Cessna seat rails

The FAA has proposed an airworthiness directive (AD) that adds steps to procedures mandated in an existing AD for inspecting seat rails and components on many Cessna airplanes. The FAA made the proposal, which would retain all inspection and repair actions required by the AD to be superseded, “to prevent seat slippage or the seat roller housing from departing the seat rail, which may consequently cause the pilot/copilot to be unable to reach all the controls,” leading to possible loss of control. Read more >>

GM flying in corporate jets again

After all the hoopla when Congress criticized General Motors executives for flying to Washington, D.C., to request financial aid, company executives are back in the air, The New York Times reports. They are promoting the sale of GM stock. The use of chartered flights does not violate the U.S. Treasury Department’s rules that the company can’t own or lease business jets. Until now, company executives have ridden commercial airlines. Read more >>

Airplane shipments down

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) has released third quarter numbers for airplane shipments showing a 14.5-percent drop, an unsurprising development as the nation wallows in the trough of a recession. Aircraft manufacturers say 2011 should be another flat year before a recovery begins. Orders that will boost future shipment totals are increasing. Read more >>

CORRECTION: In the Nov. 5 edition of ePilot, we incorrectly described the propulsion system of the Cessna 172 George Bye expects to fly next spring. The aircraft will have an electric propulsion system, which will be a step toward the development of an electric hybrid propulsion system. We regret the error.

For daily news updates, see AOPA Online.

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Safety & Proficiency

AOPA, EAA Webinar offers medical certification tips

Losing your medical certificate can ground you from acting as pilot in command. So what are your options when diagnosed with a disqualifying medical condition? Join AOPA and the Experimental Aircraft Association for a Webinar on medical issues affecting airman certification Tuesday, Nov. 23, at 8 p.m. Eastern time. Gary Crump, AOPA director of medical certification services, and Dr. Greg Pinnell, EAA Aeromedical Advisory Council member and senior aviation medical examiner, will discuss the special issuance process and how to minimize certification delays. Register online >>

Improve your safety by learning from others

Gain valuable knowledge about flying safely by learning from the mistakes of others. Using your ePilot personalization preferences, like "piston single-engine" or "turbine," the Air Safety Institute's Accident Database generates a list of accidents that have been added to the database in the past 30 days. If you haven't personalized your newsletter, select your aircraft preferences from the "types of aircraft" section on the ePilot personalization page.

Stay healthy, fly longer Enroll in the AOPA Medical Services Program and gain access to numerous resources designed to keep you in the air. Plus, receive assistance from our Medical Certification Specialists for FAA related medical issues.

Hover Power: Tail-boom strikes

Some helicopters, like the Robinson R66, have tall masts putting the rotor system high above the tail boom; others, like the MD 500, have a more compact design. Engineers take into account flight characteristics of a design when considering the distance between the tail boom and the rotor disk. Even so, tail-boom strikes can and do happen. One of the more common scenarios is when a helicopter makes a hard landing following an autorotation. Read more >>

Air Safety eJournal: Hobson’s choice?

Once again, the bad guys are targeting the aviation system. Package bombs disguised as printer cartridges made their way onto at least two cargo aircraft a few weeks ago. General aviation remains, as ever, under the watchful eye of the security folks and it raises the question of just how reactive and protective we should be. Is GA a target? Does it matter? Read more >>

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ADVOCACY

Kings, Fuller share lessons learned from detention

It was a story, complete with pictures, that rocked the general aviation community—esteemed educators John and Martha King handcuffed and detained by police in Santa Barbara, Calif., because the police had been given faulty intelligence regarding the airplane the Kings were flying. On Nov. 8, the Kings, accompanied by AOPA President Craig Fuller, returned to Santa Barbara to meet with Mayor Helene Schneider and city officials, determined to make some good come from the incident. The Kings presented guidelines to help police who are called on to make a stop involving GA aircraft. Read more >>

‘Better future’ seen for Venice airport after election

Aviation support groups in Venice, Fla., are celebrating local election victories that hold the promise of a new era of cooperation and progress for the Venice Municipal Airport. On Nov. 2, three candidates supportive of the airport won election to the Venice City Council. They replaced three incumbents, including the mayor, who had held office since 2007 and had taken numerous actions that hindered long-term airport planning and conflicted with management obligations the airport faced under terms of its federal funding. Read more >>

Save Up to $3,500 on the Garmin G3X™ Change your perspective with Garmin’s G3X flight display system for experimental/kit planes. Purchase a qualifying G3X system before the end of the year and you could earn up to $3,500 via mail-in rebate. Learn more.

Fourfold Powder River complex expansion ‘unjustified’

AOPA has submitted formal comments to the Air Force’s draft environmental impact statement on a proposal that would create the nation’s largest block of special-use airspace by quadrupling the size of the Powder River Military Training Complex. AOPA disputes the need for the expansion, which would pose operational risks and economic hardship for general aviation in the affected region that includes parts of Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota.  The Air Force also has not provided sufficient justification for year-round use of the expanded airspace, AOPA said. Read more >>

FAA offers part-time mechanics clearer path to IA

AOPA is reviewing draft language the FAA hopes will simplify the work of aviation safety inspectors handling inspection authorization (IA) applications submitted by airframe and powerplant mechanics. The proposal, published Nov. 5 in the Federal Register, is seen helping inspectors verify the experience of applicants who only work part time as aviation mechanics. AOPA wants to make sure that any policy change does not disqualify mechanics who only specialize in working on older aircraft. It is their unique expertise that ensures the safety of flight. Read more>>

Pilots learn about trends at Aviation Safety Day

About 200 pilots and aviation enthusiasts gathered at Lancaster Airport in Lancaster, Pa., Nov. 6 to learn about issues affecting general aviation as well as participate in safety forums, tour the tower, and more. AOPA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Melissa Rudinger spoke at the event, hosted by Aviation Safety Video Founder Bob Reed and the FAA Safety Team. Rudinger discussed the current state of GA, with flat flight hours and aircraft sales and a downturn in student starts. However, she pointed out that the GA industry will survive this trough just as it has previous lows. Read more >>

Montana gov. recognizes aviation in November

Montana’s more than 120 publicly owned airports provide mobility for business, recreational, and family travelers and help address the challenges of getting around in the vast state. Gov. Brian Schweitzer recognized the state’s aviation and aerospace industry during the month of November—Aviation History Month—in a letter. Recreational Aviation Foundation President John McKenna contacted Schweitzer about November’s designation as Aviation Month. Read more >>

AOPA Aircraft Financing Program offers NEW lower rates Our goal is to get pilots into the aircraft of their dreams. To help make aircraft ownership more attainable, we just lowered our rates to make monthly payments more affordable. For more information, or to have a representative call you to discuss financing, go to www.aopa.org/loans.

Member Benefits

AOPA partners with LifeLock to protect pilots’ identities

More than 11 million Americans had their identity stolen last year and pilots are at even greater risk—up until a few years ago, a pilot's certificate number was his Social Security number. That's where LifeLock comes in—as the leader in proactive identity theft protection, LifeLock helps prevent identity theft before it happens. Wallet stolen? One call to LifeLock and the company will do the rest to cancel your cards and have them reissued. LifeLock's eRecon Service continually monitors the Internet for any illegal selling or trading of your personal data. Read more >>

Member regains medical after heart valve surgery

Don Hull is an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. In 2007, Hull’s doctor noted a potential problem in the form of a heart murmur which his doctor believed might be helped with medication, but needed to be monitored. The following year, the situation was worse, and then a heart valve replacement surgery in April 2009 left Hull with no FAA medical certificate. He telephoned AOPA to ask about the Medical Services Program and decided to join as he knew he would have to get his medical back. Read more >>

Comprehensive airport info to take with you

As an AOPA member, you can access airport diagrams, information about FBOs, and more from anywhere using your Windows Mobile or BlackBerry device. AOPA Airports apps for Windows Mobile and BlackBerry are free to members as part of AOPA’s collection of mobile applications. The application was developed by Hilton Software, maker of the popular WingX product. Download it today >>

FREE Video Tip! — Courses for Beginner to Pro! Click for a Free Video Training Tip and find a course to achieve your next goal, or to make your flying safer and more rewarding. Not sure? Call us at 800-854-1001 and talk to one of our pilot training advisors.

Community

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