July 27, 2012, issue of 'AOPA ePilot' newsletter

Aircraft of the ages
iPhone becomes a HUD
House backs Pilot’s Bill of Rights
Quiz Me: ATP cross-country experience

Click here for this week’s custom content.

Attention AirVenture attendees: Come to the AOPA Tent and ask how to get a free hat, win gift cards, and fly in a simulator.

EAA AirVenture News

Aircraft of the ages

At few other places in the world can pilots see the diversity of aviation like they can at EAA AirVenture each summer in Oshkosh, Wis. That’s why people travel from all over the globe to attend—some flying their personal aircraft. This year is no exception, with antique and warbird aircraft, the newest models on the market like Cessna's Jet-A-burning Turbo 182 NXT, and demonstrations of today’s military prowess like the C-17 Globemaster. Take a look at a sampling of some of the aircraft on display at EAA AirVenture.

At the center of it all: Panoramas offer 360 Oshkosh views

AOPA Senior Editor Al Marsh takes you inside EAA AirVenture, putting you at the center of Phillips 66 Plaza; bringing you access to the Orbis Flying Eye Clinic Operating Room aboard a DC-10 and the cockpits of the behemoth C-17 Globemaster and the 1939 Junkers JU 52; touring the EAA seaplane base; and surveying the warbird display.

Cessna buzz centers on new turbodiesel 182

Cessna Aircraft’s debut of its new Turbo 182 NXT at EAA AirVenture caused a stir not only among pilots at the show, but also with those learning of the news online. Thousands of pilots have scrambled to learn more about the 230-horsepower Jet-A-burning piston-engine aircraft. AOPA has the Turbo 182 NXT details. In other news, Cessna said it was switching its Skycatcher from a light sport to a primary category aircraft (but sport pilots can still fly it); asked pilots for thoughts on a new single-engine turboprop; and announced a more powerful engine for the Caravan.

Total Eclipse Jet wins Brazilian certification

Eclipse Aerospace has won Brazilian type certificate validation of its Total Eclipse Twin-Engine Jet. The Albuquerque, N.M.-based manufacturer has worked with the Brazilian Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil to certify the EA500 and the Eclipse Avio Integrated Flight Management System. Read more >>

Akoya hydrofoil amphib makes Oshkosh debut

French company Lisa Airplanes made its first appearance at EAA AirVenture this year, displaying its Akoya luxury light sport aircraft production prototype for an American audience and offering special show pricing. The Akoya uses hydrofoils, or what the company calls “Seafoils,” to lift the aircraft above the surface on takeoff from water, and to allow it to cruise with less drag than a conventional amphibian with floats or a hull. Lisa Airplanes said the hydrofoils are almost aerodynamically neutral in flight, and lighter than traditional floats; the result is a fuel burn of about 3 gallons per hour at 103 knots and a useful load of 550 pounds. Read more >>

More News

Diamond shows off changes to D-Jet

TBM circles world, thumbing nose at light jets

Xtreme Decathlon gets supersized

Vans shows off spectrum with RV-1, new RV-14

Continental Motors unveils plans for trio of diesels

Continental Motors will obtain FAA certification this year on the first of what the company promises will be a full line of diesel aircraft engines ranging from 150 to 350 horsepower. Read more >>

Aspen announces Connected Pilot TSO

Aspen Avionics announced July 24 that Connected Pilot, the first in what will be a series of Connected Panel products—providing a wireless link between certified avionics in the aircraft panel and iPads or other portable smart electronic devices—has received technical standard order approval from the FAA. The product includes hardware, a small box called the CG100 that is mounted behind the panel, as well as software and application components. The CG100 contains the operating software, wireless connectivity, and flash memory storage. Read more >>

New cockpit recording app for Zulu.2 headset

Lightspeed Aviation has created FlightLink, a free, downloadable app that allows pilots using Zulu.2 headsets to turn their iPads or iPhones into cockpit recorders. FlightLink allows for up to two minutes of instant playback of ATC transmissions, and the entire flight can be recorded and saved for future use. Read more >>

More News

Head-up display offered to experimental, LSA pilots

Jeppesen to offer new, flexible digital subscriptions

AOPA launches ‘AV8RS’ youth membership

Across generations, dreams of flight have captured young people’s imaginations and made their spirits soar. AOPA is introducing AOPA AV8RS, a new form of membership available free to young people ages 13 to 18, because “it takes a village to nurture and support the next generation of pilots.” Youth membership benefits include a digital subscription to Flight Training magazine, dedicated online content, access to the AOPA Pilot Information Center toll-free help line, chances to win flight training scholarships, opportunities to connect with other AOPA AV8RS, and more. Read more >>

Engine company takes flight training to shopping malls

Continental Motors is taking a new flight school concept it calls Zulu to non-airport locations like shopping malls and promising customers full-motion simulator training on their own schedules, a full syllabus, high-quality aircraft, and a fixed price for obtaining ratings (instead of hourly charges). Read more >>

More News

Hightower, T-6 kick off EAA Eagle Flights

Teachers get tips for bringing aviation into classroom

Able Flight honors six new pilots at AirVenture

GA News

Minnesota Supreme Court sides with Cirrus in fatal crash

The estate of a pilot killed with a passenger in a 2003 crash near Hill City, Minn., will not collect damages from Cirrus Aircraft, following a decision by the Minnesota Supreme Court July 18 that upheld an appellate ruling in favor of the aircraft maker. The crash resulted from spatial disorientation on a night VFR flight into IMC, according to the NTSB, and the pilot's family blamed Cirrus for failing to provide a lesson on the topic. Read more >>

Sally Ride: Astronaut, pathfinder, scientist dies at 61

As a physicist, engineer, astronaut, and educator, Sally Kristen Ride blazed a trail and became an icon as the first American woman to fly in space. Ride was mourned by the president, NASA, and a generation of young women and men inspired by her journey—among many contributions Ride made to space exploration—following word she had died after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer, an announcement made July 23 by her company, Sally Ride Science. She was 61. Read more >>

iPhone becomes a HUD

The iPhone hasn’t become an indispensable flight instrument yet—but that may be changing. Hilton Software, maker of WingX Pro7 (a leading flight planning and electronic flight bag program), has converted the iPhone into a combined attitude indicator and head-up display (HUD) that includes synthetic vision and has got to be seen to be believed. When linked (via Wi-Fi) to a Levil Technology attitude and heading reference system (AHRS), the glareshield-mounted iPhone accurately depicts GPS-derived altitude and ground speed as well as pitch and bank with no attitude limitations. Read more >>

NATA names veteran pilot, aviation manager as new CEO

Tom Hendricks has been named the new CEO of the National Air Transportation Association, an organization of more than 2,000 aviation companies. Hendricks previously served as a senior vice president at Airlines for America, and also as a fighter pilot and instructor in both the Navy and Air Force. AOPA President Craig Fuller welcomed NATA’s choice. Read more >>

Chinese industrialist purchases Glasair

Chinese industrialist Fang Tieji, chairman of Jilin Hanxing Group located in Jilin City, China, has purchased Glasair Aviation, the Arlington, Wash.-based kit aircraft company with 3,000 aircraft in the fleet. The purchase price was not published. As has become common in deals involving Chinese purchases in the United States, the new owner said he plans no staff changes, will not move the company to China, and will invest in future products. Read more >>

Swearingen SJ30 prepares for comeback

The Swearingen SJ30 business jet that has been on the verge of starting production for a decade is, well, on the verge again. The Cedar City, Utah, City Council has agreed to grant a $15,500 economic incentive to the current owner of the type certificate, Metalcraft Technologies, to establish a factory. Read more >>

Earhart search returns ‘with more questions than answers’

On what would have been Amelia Earhart’s 115th birthday, the expedition launched earlier this month to investigate possible new evidence of her missing Lockheed Model 10 Electra is on its way back to Hawaii without conclusive evidence. Read more >>

Future astronauts may count on inflatable heat shields

Both manned and unmanned missions of the future may be protected on a perilous journey through atmospheric entry—with all of the heat that creates—by what is, in essence, a balloon. Willing to bet your life? NASA engineers proved what might seem improbable with a July 23 test that sent a rocket to an altitude of 280 miles over the Atlantic Ocean, and then blew up the mushroom-shaped balloon for a 7,600 mph reentry. Read more >>

Comedian Coulier brings act to Summit

Actor, pilot, and comedian Dave Coulier, fondly remembered as Uncle Joey on Full House, will entertain pilots at AOPA Aviation Summit this fall in Palm Springs, Calif. The seminar, “Inspired to fly with Hollywood’s Dave Coulier,” will take place at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13, in the Learning Pavilion of the Palm Springs Convention Center. Coulier, a pilot since 1979, visited AOPA headquarters earlier this year and sat down for an interview with AOPA Live®. Don’t miss Coulier in action, register for AOPA Aviation Summit today!

Reporting Points: Hitchhiking by GA to 50 states

Amber Nolan has a goal to hitchhike by air to all 50 states, reporting on her journey. Read more >>

AOPA Live This Week: EAA AirVenture highlights

On AOPA Live This Week, get your first look at the jet-fueled Cessna Turbo 182 NXT, celebrate 75 years of a little yellow airplane, and cross the Atlantic on battery power alone. Plus, find out what aviation achievement only three women in the United States can claim, and learn how to use aviation to improve educational achievements. Enjoy all this and more from EAA AirVenture with AOPA Live This Week, July 26.

Safety & Proficiency

IFR Fix: Sorry, no METARs

For two pilots planning to fly a flamenco artist to a performance in the mountainous Rangeley, Maine, area, the flight time would be brief but, possibly, far from routine, particularly with few weather services in the area. Read more >>

Resuming the Journey: Flying the Champ in Alaska

The Brooks Range offers a picturesque backdrop for a lesson in the rudder dance demanded by the Champ, a conventional-gear workhorse that is decidedly unconventional to pilots accustomed to a Cessna 172. The airspeed indicator is the far right gauge, altimeter on the left. The most important instrument is dead center—the needle and ball. The yoke is missing, but a stick does a fine job. The throttle is on the left side where the Cessna 172 door is. Trim? It’s on the ceiling. Go back to basics, flying by the seat of your pants with Kingdom Air Corps. Read more >>

eAPIS explained

E-what? Electronic Advance Passenger Information System (eAPIS) is an Internet portal to electronically submit required passenger/crew manifest and flight information to Customs and Border Protection at least 60 minutes before departing or arriving in the United States. If you’re planning a trip abroad and have not used eAPIS, take the Air Safety Institute’s Understanding eAPIS: A Pilot’s Guide to Online Customs Reporting online course. Step-by-step guidance, including helpful screen images, familiarizes you with the system’s look and feel. Once you’ve completed the course, use eAPIS before you go and receive the necessary departure and arrival permissions.

Sweltering summer flying 101

The thermometer and humidity are rising; so is your concern about a pop-up afternoon thunderstorm. When it’s hot enough to fry an egg on the cowling, will you be able to make that $100 hamburger hop? Before removing the chocks, take a moment to consult the Air Safety Institute’s Summer Weather Safety Spotlight for important safety tips to help you circumnavigate a hot summer day’s adverse conditions. Print safety tips, brush up on your weather knowledge, and test your newly acquired skills with the institute's award-winning courses.

Air Safety Institute’s ‘Flight Risk Evaluator’ demo at AirVenture

Experience, weather, airport conditions—all play a factor in determining how eventful (or not) any flight will be. The Air Safety Institute’s popular Flight Risk Evaluator online course can help you decide if you’re pushing the safety envelope a bit too far. Wouldn’t it be nice to reference this information on the go? Soon you’ll be able to! Visit the AOPA Tent at EAA AirVenture this weekend to see why you’ll want to use the evaluator on your iPhone or iPad before every flight.

Leading Edge: Oshkosh, accidents, chute pull, final judgment

AOPA Foundation President Bruce Landsberg looks back at this week. It started with two fatal accidents involving experimental amateur-built aircraft and one involving a Cessna. Cirrus had a successful chute deployment after an engine stoppage. At EAA AirVenture, the Air Safety Institute is demonstrating a mobile app version of the ASI Flight Risk Evaluator . And Cirrus had a Pyrrhic victory in court. Read more >>

Hover Power: Bird strikes

On March 5, 2009, an Agusta A109E helicopter hit a bird on a medical evacuation flight while approaching Gainesville, Fla. According to the pilot, the incident occurred when the helicopter was about 3 minutes from landing at the hospital’s rooftop helipad. The helicopter was descending at 145 knots through 800 feet, when the windshield exploded and the pilot was pelted with Plexiglas and other debris. Read more >>

ADVOCACY

House backs Pilot’s Bill of Rights

Legislation that would guarantee transparency of FAA investigations involving airmen certificate decisions is now headed to the White House, following House approval of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights on July 23. The push for this final affirmative vote was made on the opening day of the world’s largest general aviation fly-in, where it was introduced in 2011. Read more >>

FAA to publish mandated residential ‘through the fence’ policy

The FAA, acting under a congressional mandate requiring the agency to honor agreements that provide pilots with access to airport runways and taxiways from their private residential property, was expected to publish its interpretation of that policy in the Federal Register July 27. The agency also planned to solicit public comment on the so-called “residential through the fence” policy, sources said. Read more >>

AOPA, EAA brief pilots on medical exemption request

AOPA and Experimental Aircraft Association staff outlined their efforts to help pilots bypass the “treadmill of bureaucracy” that can accompany the medical certification process in a forum at EAA AirVenture July 24. The two organizations joined forces to petition the FAA for an exemption that would give pilots flying recreationally an alternative to the third class medical. Read more >>

Acting FAA chief: Realizing NextGen benefits a priority

Acting FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta said the agency is focused on accelerating the arrival of NextGen benefits for both commercial and general aviation users, and called on pilots to renew their commitment to safety at a forum hosted by EAA at AirVenture July 26. Huerta, fielding questions from an audience that included dozens of pilots and other attendees of the massive airshow in Oshkosh, Wis., said that increasing the efficiency of aircraft certification and other agency functions will be achieved with a renewed focus on communication, though he acknowledged that change in an organization with 48,000 employees will take time. Read more >>

GA leaders laud industry efforts on working together

A declining pilot population, onerous helicopter regulations, airport funding, user fees, and aircraft flight tracking privacy issues are some of the top issues general aviation associations have worked on together to protect the community. Read more >>

RAF commemorates Ryan Field airport gift

The Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF) dedicated a new “legacy rock” July 25 in front of the brown-arch entrance gate to EAA AirVenture. The inscribed two-foot-by-two-foot tile memorializes Ben and Butch Ryan’s donation of the airport they built, Ryan Field, to the foundation. John McKenna, president of the foundation, thanked the Ryans for their significant contribution to the RAF and the aviation community. “The implications of their gift are far-reaching and a tremendous example,” he said. Read more >>

AOPA Now: A very special moment at AirVenture

A working lunch with FAA Acting Administrator Michael Huerta gave a few general aviation leaders the opportunity to discuss issues of importance with the administrator and his top staff. In the middle of a discussion on avgas, the door opened and Experimental Aircraft Association founder Paul Poberezny asked if he could join in the discussion. Read more >>

Member Benefits

Fowled-up insurance

Beautiful day for flying. Renter pilot on final. Bird strike! The renter pilot maintained control of the aircraft and landed safely, sustaining damage only to the leading edge of the right wing. This should have been a routine insurance claim under the FBO's hull coverage for the aircraft since the renter pilot was not at fault—it turned out to be anything but. Read more >>

Answers for Pilots: Help for aircraft purchasing

This time of year there’s a lot of talk about buying and selling aircraft. For some members, it’s a first-time purchase. Others are selling what they own to buy something bigger and faster. And some don’t want to go fast anymore and are downsizing from a family-sized flying machine to a two-seater, kicking back to fly low and enjoy the scenery. Whatever your dreams are concerning aircraft ownership, AOPA has the resources to help you—both with your initial purchase as well as with your ongoing experience as an aircraft owner. Read more >>

AOPA Career Opportunities

Ever dream of turning your passion for aviation into a career? We’re looking for an aviation technical generalist, Web graphic designer, and e-newsletter and social media editor. To learn more about other AOPA career opportunities, visit AOPA Online.

Community

ePilot Editor: Sarah Brown	Contributors: Alyssa Miller Jim Moore Jill W. Tallman Warren Morningstar Alton K. Marsh	Dave Hirschman Tom Horne Ian J. Twombly Dan Namowitz	Production Team: Melissa Whitehouse Siobhan Byrne Lezlie Ramsey Mitch Mitchell William Rockenbaugh	Advertise in ePilot: East: Mike Vodarsik, 732/946-0130 Central: Brian Curpier, 607/547-2591 Central: Gary Brennan, 607/547-2591 West: Zane Lewis, 214/789-6094 AOPA Advertising website
Member Tools: Send feedback | ePilot Archive © 2012 Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association | 421 Aviation Way Frederick, MD 21701 | Phone 800/USA-AOPA | Fax 301/695-2375