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For many of us, November brings colder temperatures, shorter days, and the chance of snow. So we dress warmly and try to be patient if weather delays a lesson or flight. But there’s an alternative: Plan a flying vacation in New Zealand, where winter is giving way to spring and the snow is melting from the peaks. Flying the approach between towering rock walls to Milford Sound Airport, nestled in the fjords of southwestern New Zealand, is optional.

What: Piper Malibu
Where: Milford Sound, New Zealand
Photographer: Mike Fizer

Angle-of-attack awareness key to safety 

New advisory circular offers insights

By: Dan Namowitz

A recently published FAA advisory circular (AC) offers general aviation an important training tool as the industry strives to reduce the number of fatal loss-of-control accidents.

AC No: 120-109, Stall and Stick Pusher Training, issued by the FAA’s Air Transportation Division, focuses on best practices and guidance for training that would produce correct and consistent responses by pilots to unexpected stall warnings, making those pilots more capable of avoiding loss-of-control accidents, said David Oord, AOPA manager of regulatory affairs.

The AC gives extensive treatment to the all-important subject of angle-of-attack awareness for pilots, emphasizing that reduction of angle of attack “is the most important response” when a pilot “is confronted with a stall event.”

“Loss of control is by far the leading cause of fatal accidents,” Oord said. “The awareness of angle of attack, and education, are keys to preventing these accidents in the future.”

AOPA has been an active participant in the General Aviation Joint Steering Committee and its Loss of Control Working Group that studied fatal loss-of-control accidents in general aviation, with special focus on accidents occurring in the approach and landing phases.

Oord recommended that in addition to studying the AC, pilots should take the Air Safety Institute interactive course Essential Aerodynamics: Stalls, Spins, and Safety, and review the June 2011 AOPA Pilot feature “Technique: AOA for GA” and the FAA’s March/April 2012 Safety Briefing article “Angle of Attack: Taking Back Control.”

Women’s flight academy to take off in Texas 

Free training offered

By: Jill W. Tallman

For the second year in a row, a Texas designated pilot examiner and her band of volunteers will host a weeklong academy aimed at helping women to advance in their flight training. Girls in Flight Training (GIFT) will take place November 3 through 9 at Wilbarger County Airport in Vernon, Texas.

As was the case when Mary Latimer created the academy in 2011, ground and flight instruction will be provided free of charge. Participants may bring aircraft or use a Cessna 150 for $50 per hour dry. About 25 women have enrolled so far, and free lodging at the airport is no longer available, but hotel accommodations can be obtained in Vernon. Some food will be provided by volunteers, and donations will be accepted. See the website  for additional information on participating as a student or volunteer.

The program is meant to be flexible to accommodate students at different levels of instruction. “We will adjust the teaching to meet the needs and goals of those who enroll in the academy,” Latimer said. “We will assist each student in understanding basics of flight, the joy, safety, dispel myths and fears, passing the written tests, and/or prepare for an oral and practical test. We will also assist in the understanding of weather, weight and balance, aerodynamics, regulations, airspace, GPS, et cetera. If it’s applicable to flying, ask and we’ll cover the whys, history, and how to.”

A broader goal is to identify and address issues that cause women to abandon flight training, and to assist them so that they can earn their certificates. The group will spend some time attempting to identify and understand the differences in the way women learn. “We hope each student will bond with others to develop friendships that will enable them to reach out to one another when in need of someone who understands their experiences,” Latimer said.