Most pilots seldom fly at night. While it’s not as easy to sightsee during the nocturnal hours, there are benefits to after-dark aviation, including smoother air, cooler temperatures, and less traffic—both in the air and over the airwaves. Take advantage of fall’s shorter days to sample some night flight, or knock out the night requirements if you’re training for a private pilot certificate.
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WHAT: Cirrus SR22 Generation 5
WHERE: Santa Fe, New Mexico
PHOTOGRAPHER: Mike Fizer
Flight Training Excellence Award Winner
It takes a great attitude to have a great flight school
The Flight School is a winner of Flight Training Excellence Award
“We can do it.” A sign with those words hangs in the lobby of The Flight School in Cypress, Texas. And according to owner Benjamin Paradis, it’s not an empty promise.
That positive attitude runs through everything. Paradis says the school has trained deaf and disabled pilots, most of whom other schools probably would turn away. It pushes students and instructors alike to do their best, and is a perfect sentiment to go with the evidence of that success that also hangs on the wall.
When a student solos or passes a checkride, his or her photo is tacked to the wall, giving browsers ample evidence with which to judge the likelihood of success. It’s also a way for students to show off achievements, and it serves as a personal reminder of what’s possible. “Everyone in the school has a vested interest in student success,” Paradis says.
But if a student is struggling, he or she isn’t left to wither away under the pressure of training. Paradis and the staff hold a monthly meeting where student progress is discussed, among other topics. More experienced instructors help younger instructors through challenges, and the leadership of the school knows exactly what’s going on.
Those relationships are further reinforced through monthly cookouts at the hangar. These started with just a few people, but now 50 or 60 students and their families show up on the last Friday of the month. Paradis says that people have given him a hard time about spending money on the food, but he thinks the investment is worth it. “The money will come,” he says. “I’m here to train students.”
AOPA adds high adventure to scout jamboree
General aviation and scouting make a good match
When the Boy Scouts of America promised participants in the 2013 National Scout Jamboree “high adventure like you’ve never seen” for 10 days in the mountains near Mount Hope, West Virginia, AOPA was there to help deliver that adventure by introducing scouts, volunteers, and staff to general aviation.
The introductions to aviation came from AOPA President Craig Fuller and Senior Editor Dave Hirschman, with Jamboree participants getting to experience some hands-on aviation thrills in the process.
“I travel the country talking to pilots and AOPA members, but even I rarely get to see so much enthusiasm from so many young people as I have today at the Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree,” said Fuller.
More than 4,100 scouts visited AOPA’s tent at the jamboree, with many trying their hands at a flight experience at the controls of the AOPA Jay flight simulation device by Redbird.
“It was an amazing event for AOPA and a great way to introduce young people to general aviation,” said AOPA Vice President of Membership Michelle Peterson. “We had several scouts who were currently in flight training and even a few who were already pilots. Many said their parents were pilots and members.”
Some 1,646 scouts signed up for AOPA’s special AV8Rs membership program, available to teens ages 13 to 18.
In keeping with the Airborne Day theme July 18, all eyes took to the sky as a flyover led by Hirschman soared above The Summit, the 10,600-acre site of the jamboree, in the New River Gorge National River area.
The jamboree ran from July 15 to July 24, and drew 30,000 participants as the event debuted in its new permanent home at the West Virginia site.
News from AirVenture 2013
RedHawk Cessna 172 debuts
Redbird Flight Simulations (www.redbirdflightsimulations.com) debuted its RedHawk, a remanufactured Cessna 172S that sports a 135-horsepower 2.0-liter turbodiesel engine in place of a 160-hp Lycoming. The airplane is aimed at the training market. Redbird Chairman Jerry Gregoire said that while the airplane will cost less to own and operate than a new airplane, “we’re not committing to hard numbers right now…we don’t know what the total market might be, and we don’t know how we’ll price the airplane.” The next step is to put the airplane into flight and operational tests. Results will be revealed at the Redbird Migration Training Conference to be held in San Marcos, Texas, October 28 through 30.
Piper reports rising revenue, training deal
Piper Aircraft reported an 11-percent increase in revenue in the first half of 2013 compared to the first half of 2012. The company delivered 86 aircraft in the first half of the year, as opposed to 76 deliveries in the same span of 2012. Piper and Airline Transport Professionals (ATP) announced that the flight school has exercised options for 10 additional Archer TXs from a 100-airplane deal announced earlier this year. With the latest order, ATP has ordered 25 of the single-engine aircraft in 2013, leaving options for 75 more.
King Schools offers helicopter FIRC
King Schools will launch an online flight instructor refresher clinic tailored for helicopter instructors in mid-September (www.kingschools.com). The courses will include video vignettes examining a series of risk-management decisions and possible outcomes. The FIRC is priced at $124, or $99 for members of Helicopter Association International.
Jeppesen introduces app for VFR pilots
Jeppesen unveiled its new Mobile FliteDeck VFR application, a digital representation of its unique VFR + GPS charts that were released a few years ago (www.jeppesen.com). The iOS application features flight planning, route rubberbanding, and text and graphical weather. A free 30-day trial is available through the Apple App Store; a one-year subscription is $49.
Able Flight graduates get their wings
Six new pilots received wings of achievement in a ceremony honoring this year’s Able Flight graduates. Able Flight partners with Purdue University to help persons with disabilities learn to fly. The organization has created 33 new pilots since its inception in 2006. Receiving their wings were Dennis Atkins, who became a quadriplegic at age 14 after an accident on a trampoline; Young Choi, who contracted polio as a child in South Korea; Warren Cleary, who had been a professional skydiving videographer before becoming paralyzed in an accident; Deirdre Dacey, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at age 16; Lt. Andrew Kinard, who lost both legs above the knee in an explosion while on duty in Iraq; and Stephany Glassing, who was injured in a car accident that left her paralyzed as a teenager. Kinard, the first recipient of the AOPA/Able Flight scholarship, received his wings from AOPA President Craig Fuller. “We salute you,” said Fuller. “I want to thank you for your service to your country and your passion and love of aviation.” Hall of Fame inductee Patty Wagstaff presented wings to Dacey and Glessing.
EAA hints at AirVenture 2014
after closing eaa AirVenture 2013 with about 500,000 attendees and more than 10,000 aircraft flying into east-central Wisconsin for the event, EAA revealed what it has its sights on for 2014—celebrating the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I and the seventy-fifth anniversary of the jet engine. This year’s AirVenture paid tribute to veterans during evening shows with warbirds, and touted innovation with the first public flight of the Terrafugia Transition flying car and Jetman overflights (see “Debrief,” page 56). But the usual military acts that wow crowds at the largest general aviation event in the world were a no-show because of sequestration-induced budget cuts. “We overcame some big challenges this year, including a lack of current military aircraft,” said EAA Chairman Jack Pelton. “But we produced an outstanding event.”
Tech tip
Choose wisely
The key to a good visual checkpoint
When you first start flying cross-country trips, picking the right checkpoints is a critical step if you’re going to have any luck at pilotage (navigating by following ground references that are cross-referenced on a sectional chart). Here are some pointers:
- Try to pick one checkpoint every 10 miles.
- Use airports, lakes, and isolated towns whenever possible. If you must use a road, river, railroad, or power-line crossing, pick a secondary point nearby to verify you’re at the right place along those references. A town next to a river is a good example.
- Rely on towns and their shining lights at night.
- There’s nothing that says you have to go direct. Change course slightly to get a better checkpoint if one exists.
- Create easily identifiable nicknames to cross-reference the chart and navigation log.
- Towers are great if they are very tall, and pretty much useless if they are not.
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