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The joy of flying low and sloW. Many pilots are drawn to aviation because they want to go fast. Flying low and slow can be even more satisfying, however. Imagine looking down at the colorful fall foliage of Maine’s Acadia National Park from the open cockpit of a Waco YMF biplane, for example. You won’t get this view from 35,000 feet—or even from 5,000 feet.

What: Waco YMF
Where: Bar Harbor, Maine
Photographer: Chris Rose

FAA accepts knowledge-test reform plan

Will implement most recommendations

The FAA has embraced the majority of an advisory committee’s recommendations for improving its testing materials in a prompt show of its support for the joint effort with the aviation industry to improve pilot knowledge tests.

In a meeting with industry representatives June 18, the FAA announced its plan to implement most recommendations of the Airman Testing Standards and Training Aviation Rulemaking Committee, which in a new report offered nine ways the agency can enhance the content of airman knowledge tests and improve testing methods.
The FAA agreed to begin the process by creating a “stakeholder body” of subject experts to assist with development of questions and standards. The stakeholder group would also review and develop handbook content, and review current test questions.

“While many questions in the FAA knowledge test bank are valid, relevant, and good indicators of an applicant’s ability to correlate information, many other questions
are written to be an exact lift of a specific passage from an FAA document, without direct application to safety of flight or necessary airman knowledge,” the report said, discussing test-question development philosophy. “This requires the applicant to train with an emphasis on rote memorization rather than understanding the big picture and application to operations.”

The report gave an example of a test question with “no practical value” that asks how many satellites make up the GPS system. The question—from the private pilot knowledge test—was accompanied by three possible answers. But the correct answer might not remain correct if new GPS satellites are launched, or if existing satellites are decommissioned, it said.

Among the report’s recommendations was a proposal for the FAA to transition to a single testing-standards document called the airman testing standards, as an updated version of the practical test standards. The recommendation also offered a timetable for the transition for each pilot certificate and the instrument rating.

The committee also recommended that the FAA “urgently allocate additional resources” for improved computer capabilities to develop and deliver randomly generated knowledge tests and regularly updated figures to replace the current testing supplements.

AOPA Summit: New student learning experiences slated

Master crosswind landings, get a handle on avionics, ace your checkride. At AOPA Aviation Summit, you’ll connect with experts and new tools that will help you retain and recall critical information when you need it the most.

AOPA will offer more than 100 hours of education in Palm Springs, California, October 11 through 13.

“Ask the CFI” roundtable discussions will cover topics such as making better landings, passing your checkride, managing risk, choosing a CFI, learning avionics, overcoming challenges in flight training, what to do with your certificate after the checkride, and more.

Seminars will feature topics such as “How to Pass Any Checkride,” “iPad 101,” “Aircraft Buying Workshop,” and “ATC Playback—Emergencies and Real Life Situations.” Learn more at www.aopa.org/summit