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| | Your IFR rating in 10 days at your location … IFR finish-up in as little as 3 days! Professional teachers, specialized curriculum. IFR specialists for 30+ years. Whether flying G1000, Avidyne Entegra, Aspen, Cirrus Perspective or analog instruments, our instructors have the experience. Put “Instrument Rated” on your calendar NOW. 800-435-9437. Already Rated, but rusty? Our IFR Safety Course will get you current and make you a safer pilot. www.iflyifr.com |
China to expand GA airspace
China plans to open more low-altitude airspace to general aviation in 2012, the government-run Xinhua News Agency reported Nov. 17. An official with the air traffic control commission told attendees at the International Forum on China Business/General Aviation that airspace below 1,000 meters in northeast, central, and south China and six pilot cities would be open to GA on a trial basis, the report said. China first opened some of its low-altitude airspace to GA last year, it added.
GAMA elects new chairman, adds rotorcraft
The governing body of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) has elected a new chairman and accepted its first member from the rotorcraft sector. GAMA’s board of directors announced the decision to extend membership to rotorcraft manufacturers Nov. 14, and has accepted Bell Helicopter as its first member from the sector. Bell, of Fort Worth, Texas, has delivered more than 35,000 aircraft to customers around the world since the company was founded in 1935. Read more >>
Wolf Aviation Fund accepting grant applications
Living the dream—that’s how many people describe their journey into aviation. Funding the dreams of individuals and organizations that have a great idea, or are doing great work in aviation, is the mission of the Wolf Aviation Fund, which is accepting applications until Dec. 15 for its next round of grant awards. Read more >>
| | Garmin’s new 796—in stock at Sporty’s! It’s a mini-glass cockpit and an Electronic Flight Bag—all in one beautiful box. The touch-screen 796 replaces stacks of paper charts, and offers unmatched situational awareness, including Garmin’s exclusive 3D Vision display. Watch our video demo or place your order today—you’ll get free 2-day shipping! |
Women Fly It Forward 2012 event set for March 10
After earning the title of Most Female-Friendly Airport in March, Frederick Municipal Airport is all set to try again in 2012. And organizer Victoria Neuville says the 2012 Women Fly It Forward event, to be held March 10, will be even bigger. The 2011 event was held in conjunction with the Women of Aviation Worldwide Week, and sought to introduce women and girls to flight. Read more >>
AOPA Now: Redbird Skyport—something we agree is exciting
An exciting new development at the San Marcos Airport outside of Austin, Texas—the Redbird Skyport—is taking an innovative approach to all things general aviation, especially flight training. "This is real innovation in general aviation that all of us should celebrate," AOPA President Craig Fuller writes. Read more >>
Reporting Points: Apple releases fix for iOS 5 problem
Apple released iOS 5.0.1 a few days ago, which apparently fixes an issue that caused data to be deleted. According to ForeFlight, the company also is working on an update that takes advantage of the fix. If you’ve updated to iOS 5.0.1 and are using a different aviation application, let AOPA know how it is working in the comments section of the Reporting Points blog.
Hover Power: Early skid gear
Early helicopters used wheels for landing gear—probably a design borrowed from airplanes. While flying in Alaska, one of the early pioneers of helicopter flying, Carl Brady, discovered that this was a bad idea for helicopters: The wheels would caster on rocky mountain tops or slopes, causing the helicopter to roll downhill. Read more >>
Garmin’s tablet solution
It doesn’t surf the net, take pictures, or enable video chat. But Garmin’s new aera 796 brings iPad-like features to a dedicated aviation GPS. AOPA Pilot Senior Editor Dave Hirschman takes you into the cockpit to demonstrate the unit’s geo-referenced charts, bright “pinch-zoom” screen that shows in both vertical or horizontal modes, and innovative 3D Vision that brings GPS-derived synthetic vision to a portable unit. The company believes there’s a market for a dedicated aviation GPS that can thrive in environments where commercial devices may not. Watch AOPA Live® >>
Nuts and bolts of the annual inspection
An annual inspection may set you back a hefty sum, but Brampton Flying Club Director of Maintenance Angelo Micone says he’s found problems—from cracked cylinders to twisted engine control cables—that make the yearly ritual worthwhile. Peek inside the inspection panels with The Aviators. Watch AOPA Live >>
For daily news updates, see AOPA Online.
| | Flying the same airplane without incident for 12+ months? You’re entitled to 10% claims free credits your first year with Avemco—15% your second! Also receive up to 10% off your annual premium with Avemco’s Safety Rewards. Learn more >> |
Safety & Proficiency
Busting minimums
Every flight offers the opportunity to learn. But like most things in aviation, expanding the operational envelope is best done incrementally: Daring leaps risk disastrous landings. About 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 23, 2010, a Piper PA-46-350P Malibu Mirage crashed into the water of Choctawhatchee Bay while attempting a GPS approach into Destin, Fla. Though they were hampered by darkness and fog, search-and-rescue teams found the wreckage within an hour, upside-down in five feet of water. Only the right main gear extended above the surface. Read more in this special report from the Air Safety Institute.
Fly like a fighter: Belly check
With its bubble canopy, the visibility from the cockpit of an F-15 is awesome. But you can’t see directly underneath the jet. F-15 pilot Larry Brown’s instructor taught that after a sustained turn for more than 180 degrees, it’s time for a belly check: In a right turn where you are looking right, you quickly roll your wings to the left, look left, and then roll back right, look right, and put on the Gs to continue in the original direction of your turn. After an eye-opener in the F-15, the belly check is one thing Brown still does even in light aircraft. Read more >>
Medical certification with gastrointestinal issues
For millions of Americans with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and other gastrointestinal disorders, heartburn or nausea can intrude on a pleasant meal with loved ones. Treatments for GERD range from lifestyle changes to medication, and in severe cases, surgery. The FAA allows certification for this and many other common gastrointestinal diagnoses that can be documented as stable and well controlled. Find out how in AOPA’s subject report. Read more >>
IFR Fix: It takes all kinds
Why did you become an instrument pilot? For some pilots, the rating is an essential stepping stone to other goals such as landing an aviation career, maximizing their ability to travel in a personal aircraft, or upgrading to a high-performance single or a twin. Many pilots don't have the goal or the opportunity to fly much IFR, but they see an instrument rating as an insurance policy. Others seek the rating after having an experience that sold them on the added value of IFR skills, such as a close encounter with unexpected bad weather. Read more and take the poll >>
Stay ahead of the weather
Weather forecasts are, at best, an educated guess. Pilots who unexpectedly enter an area of low ceilings and poor visibility can be forced down, often with fatal results, if they're not prepared for the conditions. Staying safe when the clouds are closing in begins with recognizing what’s going on and having a plan in case the conditions worsen. Take the WeatherWise: Ceilings and Visibility online course from the Air Safety Institute and learn what causes, and how to avoid, these weather-related killers.
| | Safety: Big South Fork Airpark is one of the safest Airparks in the Country. |
Flight Instructor Refresher Clinics | Air Safety Institute Safety Seminars | |||||||||
For a complete schedule, see AOPA Online. Can’t make it in person? Sign up for the CFI Refresher Online. |
Topics vary—for details and a complete schedule, see AOPA Online. | |||||||||
ADVOCACY
FAA, industry to meet about future digital chart costs
The FAA’s decision to begin charging for digital chart products and only distribute them to individuals and companies that have an agreement with the agency’s AeroNav Products branch beginning April 5, 2012, has sparked concern throughout the general aviation industry. AOPA and other aviation representatives will meet with the FAA on Dec. 13 to discuss the new policy. Read more >>
To buy or not to buy? ADS-B In group says let pilots choose
Is it worth it? Aircraft owners weigh the costs and benefits of any new technology before installing it in their cockpit. When the scales tip toward value, pilots equip in spades. A government-industry group tasked with setting the stage for future Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) applications recommended that the government make the business case for ADS-B In and let pilots equip on their own. AOPA co-chaired the committee’s business case working group. Read more >>
| | Experience the Garmin 3-D Audio Difference Advanced audio processing in Garmin’s GMA 350/350H audio panel helps you differentiate between the audio inputs coming into your headset. When multiple COM radio sources are monitored, they seem to come from different locations around you. Try the demo today. |
FAQs: ‘Driver’s license medical’ request
Since AOPA and the Experimental Aircraft Association announced plans to request an exemption that would allow many pilots to fly recreationally with a driver’s license and self-certification instead of a third-class medical, questions have been rolling in. What limitations would apply? Why not just petition to eliminate the third-class medical? Would AOPA and EAA consider expanding the parameters of the exemption in future efforts? Get answers in the associations’ new page of frequently asked questions.
The 5-percent solution
When Steve Kahn of Bedford, Mass., received a letter from the Maine Revenue Service in May 2007, asking him to complete a use tax certificate and pay tax to Maine on the 2002 Cirrus SR22 he kept at Laurence G. Hanscom Field, he thought it was a mistake. "It was out of the blue," Kahn recalled. "I wrote back, 'This is a mistake—I live in Massachusetts.' When they wrote me and said, 'It’s not a mistake'—that's when I knew I had a real problem." Read more and watch AOPA Live >>
Join the Airport Support Network today
Ensuring the health and vitality of your airport is up to you—incompatible development and economic and political pressures can restrict your flying. Every day, more than 2,000 Airport Support Network (ASN) volunteers work with AOPA headquarters to help save their airports, but we need more. Below is a link to a list of the airports where an ASN volunteer could make a difference.
To nominate yourself or an associate to be a volunteer, visit AOPA Online.
To learn more about the Airport Support Network, visit ASN Online.
| | AOPA Insurance Agency offers the right coverage at the right price We work with A-rated underwriters and offer the most coverage options to fit your needs for the aircraft you own or rent. Call 800-622-AOPA or go online for a free quote. |
Member Benefits
Medical Services Plan keeps professional pilot flying
Gould “Stretch” Ryder, a professional helicopter pilot who flies in and out of Manhattan and the Northeast corridor, isn’t fazed by the complex airspace he works within—but he needed a little help when he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. After an industry consultant said he could help him for about $1,000, he turned to AOPA’s Medical Services Plan to navigate the complex world of medical certification. Within two weeks, Ryder was flying again. “AOPA got me my medical back for a lot less time and a lot less money,” he explained. Read more >>
Need a little Christmas? Other holiday gifts?
There’s no better way to get into the holiday spirit than with AOPA’s Holiday Ornament. The ornament, now in its second year, features a 1940 Waco. Measuring 2.5 inches by 3 inches, this holiday ornament is made of stamped metal and appears three-dimensional. It’s just one of the gifts available at the AOPA Store. Read more >>
| | 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. |
AOPA Career Opportunities
Ever dream of turning your passion for aviation into a career? We’re looking for a communications coordinator, manager of flight training programs, online product manager, AOPA Live producer/videojournalist, Web business analyst, associate editor–Web, associate editor–Web/ ePilot, aviation technical specialist, and manager of airspace and modernization. To learn more about other AOPA career opportunities, visit AOPA Online.
Community
Picture PerfectAOPA’s online photo gallery allows you to upload your own aviation photography as well as view, rate, and comment on others’ photos. Your favorite aviation images from AOPA Pilot are still available online through this new gallery. Take a look, and submit your own photos! | | |
Rally GACheck out user-submitted events from your region. To include an event or to search all events in the calendar, visit AOPA Online. AOPA does not endorse the events listed below, nor have ePilot editors edited the submissions. AOPA assumes no responsibility for events listed.
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QUIZ ME!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: I realize that having charts, approach plates, and airport diagrams displayed on a tablet PC or iPad for viewing in the cockpit is legal for Part 91 operations. However, I recently ran across a PDF version of my airplane’s POH and would like to store this on my iPad rather than keep the actual book in the airplane. Am I legal with an electronic version of an AFM or POH as well?
Answer: The short answer is yes. Advisory Circular 91-78 states that as long as the precomposed or interactive material that you’re looking at is an exact replication of approved and current material, then it’s OK. Keep in mind that many newer airplanes have specific items—supplements and equipment lists, to name a few—that must be available to flight crewmembers. Be sure that you have all of this information in the electronic version, including your airplane’s specific weight-and-balance information, before removing the paper manuals. Here is the specific guidance from the advisory circular on removal of paper from the cockpit for Part 91 operations: a. EFBs (electronic flight bags)/ECDs (electronic chart displays) can be used during all phases of flight operations in lieu of paper reference material when the information displayed meets the following criteria: (1) The components or systems onboard the aircraft which display precomposed or interactive information are the functional equivalent of the paper reference material. (2) The interactive or precomposed information being used for navigation or performance planning is current, up-to-date, and valid. NOTE: Supporting reference material such as legends, glossaries, abbreviations, and other information is available to the pilot but is not required in the cockpit during operation. To learn more, read AC 91-78. Got a question for our aviation services staff? The AOPA Pilot Information Center is a service available to all members as part of the annual dues. Call 800/USA-AOPA (800/872-2672), or email to [email protected]. |
My Membership| | 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. |
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| ePilot Editor: Sarah Brown | Contributors: Alyssa Miller Jill W. Tallman Warren Morningstar Alton K. Marsh | | Production Team: Melissa Whitehouse Lezlie Ramsey Mitch Mitchell William Rockenbaugh | Advertise in ePilot: |
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