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This airplane is an amphibian, meaning that it can take off and land on the water or—after lowering the retractable wheels—from conventional runways. Because it’s a Light Sport airplane, only a sport pilot certificate is needed to fly it, and no airman medical certificate is required. What, this doesn’t sound fun enough? You also can open the sliding canopy halfway at airspeeds up to 90 mph. Download a larger version of this photo.

WHAT: Searey LSA Elite

WHERE: Lake Istokpoga, near Sebring, Florida

PHOTOGRAPHER: Chris Rose

Registration opens for AOPA Aviation Summit

Show features great content for students

Grab your cowboy boots and hat and get ready for some of that big Texas hospitality—AOPA Aviation Summit is coming to Fort Worth, Texas, October 10 through 12. Registration is open, so you can take advantage of special pricing discounts (www.aopa.org/summit).

Everything is bigger in Texas, and AOPA Aviation Summit is no exception. This year’s event will be bigger and better, with a renewed focus on educational opportunities (more than 100 hours of seminars will be offered) to ensure that you take home more of what it takes to fly the way you’ve always dreamed.

AOPA is offering five daily educational tracks: pilot skills, maintenance, medical/legal, technology, and leading luminaries. Seminars will be led by experts including John and Martha King of King Schools, Sporty’s John Zimmerman, airshow performer Michael Goulian, aviation humorist Rod Machado, Beechcraft expert Adrian Eichhorn, and Savvy Aviator founder Mike Busch. Plus, AOPA Editor in Chief Tom Haines, AOPA Foundation President Bruce Landsberg, and AOPA Center to Advance the Pilot Community Senior Vice President Adam Smith will be presenting as well.

In addition to the seminars, enjoy social events such as the Friday Chow Down in Cowtown, a pancake breakfast, and a hangar dance. Airportfest returns, with dozens of aircraft on display for you to peruse.

Training aircraft deliveries down in first quarter

Total piston deliveries up, but training market sagging

DELIVERIES OF ALL piston aircraft were up in the first quarter of the year, according to statistics released recently by the General Aviation Manufacturers Associa- tion, but Cessna training airplanes were down sharply. Only 16 Skyhawks rolled out of the Independence, Kansas, factory in the first quarter, compared to 25 in the first quarter of 2012. The Skycatcher was equally soft, with no deliveries reported, compared to five in the first three months of 2012. Much of that decline is likely attributable to a softer training market, as ther manufacturers reported small delivery numbers for trainers. The exception is Diamond, which saw a modest increase in DA40 and DA42 shipments.

Filmmakers sought real pilot insight for animated ‘Planes’

JUST HOW REALISTIC can you make an airplane with eyes, a mouth, and a dream of competing in an international air race? DisneyToon Studios took on the challenge with the upcoming Disney’s Planes, an expansion of the Cars franchise that takes viewers into a crop duster’s quest to prove he can become more than what he was built for. At an aviation media event June 6, filmmakers described a research process that brought them to small airports across the Midwest, introduced them to airshow performers, and resulted in a film with references that ring true to pilots while children revel in the adventure. In the film, which hits theaters August 9, crop duster Dusty (voiced by Dane Cook) dreams of leaving behind the cornfields to compete as an air racer. But Dusty is not built for racing, and, complicating matters, is afraid of heights. (Being an ag plane—a composite of the Air Tractor AT-502, Cessna AgWagon, and Dromader—he has never flown above 1,000 feet agl.) He seeks help from World War II naval aviator Skipper, an F4U Corsair, and gets support from the community at home in Propwash Junction. In keeping with Disney executive John Lasseter’s commitment to “truth to material,” the airplanes don’t bend their wings, and generally behave like real aircraft in the air. You won’t see Dusty doing pushups to bulk up for the big race. Aviation adviser Sean Bautista said the initial idea for Dusty’s preparations included a Rocky-Balboa-style training sequence, with the ag plane pulling a fuel truck behind him and working out to get stronger. “When I first saw it, I didn’t get it,” he said. Why wouldn’t Dusty prepare like an actual racer? He suggested a more authentic preparation sequence. Pilots may notice references to trading altitude for airspeed, vertical wind shear, and wake turbulence (“swirlies”); some will empathize with Dusty’s first encounter with New York City airspace and procedures. And pilots who frequent Leaders/Clear Lake Airport in Minnesota may find Propwash Junction faintly familiar. Filmmakers found inspiration in the privately owned, public-use field surrounded by cornfields. While filmmakers emphasized the importance of research in making the aviation references ring true to aviators, director Klay Hall also highlighted the film’s universal appeal: “I think people will really relate to Disney’s Planes because it’s a great underdog story,” he said in a media release. “It has a lot of heart and a message we can all use: If we can believe in ourselves, step out of our comfort zones and get past whatever fear is holding us back, we’d be surprised with the results.”

US Aviation unveils app

US AVIATION OF Denton, Texas, has created an app that can be used by registered students and flight instructors, as well as other student pilots (www.us aviationacademy.com). A free version available to all users includes access to some FAA and US Aviation training publications, training videos, and information about airline pilot career training. US Aviation registered students and flight instructors can unlock the full version, which is customized to the user’s training course and includes access to USAA’s full training library. The full version features an e-kneeboard function that provides sectionals and allows for overlay of weather, traffic, and approach, as well as some easy flight planning.

What do microwaves have to do with being a pilot?

FAA asked to remove outdated knowledge test questions

QUESTIONS ABOUT LORAN, microwave landing systems, and direction finding would be more fitting for Barry Schiff’s popular “Test Pilot” trivia column in AOPA Pilot than on FAA knowledge exams. But students and pilots taking FAA knowledge exams are expected to know about and are tested on these outdated systems. Loran was turned off in 2010, few microwave landing systems ever became operational, and direction finding services are available only on a limited basis and only in Alaska. That’s why AOPA Manager of Regulatory Affairs David Oord and Jason Blair, former executive director of the National Association of Flight Instructors—both of whom serve as co-chairs on the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Group’s Airman Testing Standards and Training Working Group—have requested that the FAA remove knowledge test questions about obsolete terms and technologies. The questions were provided from members of the working group. Other subjects that they asked be removed are the inertial navigation system, transcribed weather broadcasts, on-airport flight service stations, composite moisture stability charts, incorrect terms in winds aloft forecasts, and instrument approach plates with outdated and obsolete components. “The working group further recommends that once these terms and associated questions are no longer issued on the FAA Knowledge Exams, the FAA issue a formal notice so training providers can remove the terms/technologies from the training process,” they wrote. This move is part of the working group’s effort to fundamentally change flight training and testing to integrate aeronautical knowledge and risk management topics with specific skills. The draft airman certification standards for the private pilot certificate and instrument rating are currently out for review and comment. AOPA believes the FAA’s piecemeal adoption of changes to testing and training has hampered efforts to keep flight training relevant to operations in the modern environment.

Annual meeting notice

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF MEMBERS. The annual meeting of the members of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association will be held at noon on Friday, September 6, 2013, at the headquarters of AOPA, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701, located on the Frederick Municipal Airport (FDK), for the purpose of receiving reports and transacting such other business as may properly come before the meeting, specifically including the election of trustees. —John S. Yodice, Secretary

Arthur Godfrey Aviation Foundation announces scholarships

New opportunities seek to draw more young people into aviation

THE FOUNDATION, NAMED for the popular radio and television personality who promoted general aviation throughout his long career, is offering two scholarships. The private pilot, sport pilot, or airframe and powerplant certification scholarship is open to applicants ages 16 to 20 years and will award up to $10,000. Applicants with hearing impairments or physical disabilities may qualify for the light sport category or airframe and powerplant mechanic scholarship. An advanced certification scholarship is open to applicants ages 18 to 25 who hold a private pilot certificate. It will award up to $5,000. Applicants must create an audio or video presentation promoting general aviation to young people who aren’t currently involved in it. Complete rules and information are available on the foundation’s website. Applications are due September 1; the award will be presented during the 2014 Sun ’n Fun International Fly-In and Expo in Lakeland, Florida. Godfrey learned to fly early in his radio career while working in Washington, D.C. During the 1950s, he was a staunch advocate of airline travel, promoting its safety and efficiency, but he remained a steadfast GA flier, and at one point commuted from his home in Leesburg, Virginia, to New York City via a Douglas DC–3.

Winning flight school has the right ingredients

Aviation Adventures wins two top awards

WHEN AVIATION ADVENTURES sent an email to its students and customers asking them to consider nominating the school for an AOPA Flight Training Excellence Award, they answered the call. The school, with locations in Leesburg, Manassas, and Warrenton, Virginia, is the winner of the Outstanding Flight School award and the Student’s Choice award for the school with the most nominations. Reading the nominating forms, it’s obvious why the school is successful. Its instructors are professional; the airplanes are top notch; and the students are supported through a wide range of activities and extra learning opportunities. Owner Bob Hepp tries to foster student involvement through an atmosphere that he says feels more like a club than a business. “It’s more than a school,” he says. “It’s where your friends are.” They offer sessions to meet the designated pilot examiners and courses specifically designed to get pilots back in the air. There are regular fly-outs to great destinations such as the Bahamas and the Hudson River corridor. Hepp has a group of instructors he can count on to do the right thing. In a market that is short on instructors, Hepp is incredibly picky. His interview process starts with a phone screen, goes on to a ground lesson, and ends with a flight lesson. Prior to the ground and flight lesson applicants are given materials to prepare, including the school’s standardized teaching procedures. If they teach to those, Hepp knows they have the ability to work within a system. Throughout the process, his focus is on interpersonal skills. As he says, you can teach someone to fly the airplane, but you can’t teach interpersonal skills. And the standard is uncompromising. He’ll go short of instructors before hiring one who doesn’t fit. To help keep the staff sharp he closes the doors once a year and holds a CFI academy, where he makes sure everyone is on board with procedures and safety. The feedback on the seminar has come from the local Flight Standards District Office, a representative from which told Hepp that it is evident in all the students who come out as graduates. The association is looking for all feedback on your flight training experience for this year's award. Visit the website.

Flight school forms simulator club

One fee gains yearlong access
By Ian J. Twombly

IMAGINE HAVING YEARLONG access to a flight school’s simulator for $120. That’s soon to be a reality for pilots near Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, thanks to a new club formed by local flight school AvSport. The concept is simple. Users will pay one fee and get unlimited access to an AOPA Jay by Redbird for a year. Current AvSport students will have free access. School owner Dr. Paul Shuch said students will use the Jay as part of his integrated sport pilot and private pilot upgrade curriculums. He envisions certificated pilot members will use the available scenarios as a form of self-guided learning. “Certificated pilots joining the simulator club will be given a catalog of available scenarios from which to select. They can fly those, or just go into free-flight mode, exploring and experimenting,” he said. Shuch said he chose the Jay because of its price point, which at $2,490 falls between home systems and those approved by the FAA for currency. He was also drawn to the idea of scenarios, whether he creates them or they are already on the device. “Without a published curriculum that tells the student what he or she will be doing in each lesson, what the completion standards are, and what homework will help the student to prepare for that lesson, they would find themselves just wandering around the sky burning avgas, helping the instructor to build hours toward his or her own airline career, maybe having fun, but making very little educational headway. Without scenarios, simulator training is just the same (except we’re not burning avgas),” he said. Shuch is currently accepting charter members that will have privileges through the end of 2014, as well as a few select lifetime members.

Embry-Riddle lands top spot in safety competition

Almost 400 students involved in event

FOR THE SECOND year in a row, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Prescott, Arizona, flight team has won the top spot at the Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference (Safecon) sponsored by the National Intercollegiate Flying Association. The annual event puts collegiate flight teams to the test in a number of events, including navigation, power-off landing, short-field approach and landing, message drop, and aircraft recognition. In the preflight competition, students comb an aircraft for discrepancies, which can range from an altered N-number to a tail skid installed backward to a missing shimmy damper. Teams are assigned scores and points per event. The University of North Dakota earned the second-place spot, while Southern Illinois University Carbondale took third place. Twenty-nine teams encompassing 398 students and 96 airplanes competed May 6 through 11 at Ohio State University Airport in Columbus. The teams conducted 8,000 takeoffs and landings throughout the event, according to statistics compiled by Ohio State University. The top-scoring female contestant was Courtney Copping with Southern Illinois University. Scott Meyer, University of North Dakota, was the top-scoring male contestant, and also the overall top-scoring contestant.