Web: AOPA depends on advocates like George Chase—are you ready to step up to the challenge? Join the ASN program as one of more than 2,500 volunteers.
Member services
Slippery when wet
It’s not about the fuel
Aviation terminology can be confusing. In the context of regulatory compliance, it’s important to make a distinction between wet and dry leasing. To start, we’re not talking about a wet-rate lease or a dry-rate lease. Fuel, of course, is wet and so renting (or leasing) an airplane “wet” can mean the cost of fuel is included in the rate, as opposed to “dry”—which means it does not. The FAA doesn’t care if you rent or lease an airplane with or without fuel. It does care, however, if you lease both the aircraft and the crew from the same source.
The FAA generally considers a wet lease to be an operation where the lessor provides both the aircraft and the crew, and retains operational control of the flight. A dry lease is an operation where the lessor provides only the airplane and the lessee either flies the airplane or supplies the crew independent of the lessor. In a dry lease, operational control shifts from the lessor to the lessee. Operational control means the exercise of authority over initiating, conducting, or terminating a flight.
The FAA says wet leasing constitutes the carriage of passengers for compensation and hire and is regulated by parts 119 and 135 of the FARs. If you don’t have a charter certificate, it’s a violation. You may want to think of leasing as being slippery when wet.
Mike Yodice is an attorney who counsels AOPA Pilot Protection Services members on such issues as FAA compliance and enforcement. He is an active pilot and flies a Piper J–3 Cub and Cherokee 180.
Web: Learn more about AOPA Pilot Protection Services.
Pilots never stop learning
PilotWorkshops becomes AOPA Premier Partner
PilotWorkshops will provide AOPA members with free online access to an extensive library of its renowned audio and video training programs, which help pilots of all levels achieve a higher degree of proficiency. The deal is part of a premier partnership between AOPA and PilotWorkshops, based in Nashua, New Hampshire.
“We are excited that through this partnership we will be able to offer a new training resource to our members,” said Carol Dodds, AOPA’s vice president of advertising. “Pilots never stop learning and it’s great to see an entrepreneurial company like PilotWorkshops prosper in our industry by creating innovative and effective training.”
Founded in 2005, PilotWorkshops is best known for its “Pilots Tip of the Week,” read by more than 120,000 pilots (available free on its website). The company has recruited a world-class team of instructors who contribute their knowledge and experience to PilotWorkshops’ tips and its products.
“The support of our customers and subscribers has allowed us to grow to the point where we can now give back to our industry in a meaningful way,” said Mark Robidoux, founder of PilotWorkshops. “We look forward to sharing more of our pilot tips and training with AOPA members.”
Web: Visit the website to gain instant access to PilotWorkshops training, including programs on nontowered airport operations, single-pilot IFR, takeoffs and landings, IFR communications, weather and planning, and more.
Answers for pilots
Hating the heartburn?
Eyeing pizza with everything, but you know you’ll fight with it for days? Or maybe you are trying to eat healthier, but the increased salads and fruit have reaped a harvest of heartburn? You may have a gastrointestinal disorder such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Find out what the options are for treatment, including FAA-allowed medications, in this month’s Answers for Pilots.
AOPA Foundation
Safeguarding the future of general aviation is a task we take seriously at the AOPA Foundation, and your donations help us move the needle forward. Consider a donation today (www.aopafoundation.org/donate).
Air Safety Institute
Watch out for those birds and avoid a fowled-up flight
As the weather warms and airplanes flock to the runway, so do our feathered friends. This means that you want to be vigilant and prepared, keeping a watchful eye on birds in the sky.
Learn to anticipate birds’ behaviors with ASI’s Bird Strikes Safety Brief, which is full of practical tips to reduce the potential of a bird collision in flight.
In ASI’s Real Pilot Story, a twin Beechcraft climbs out of Casa Grande, Arizona, just 50 miles south of Phoenix. At 130 knots and 1,000 feet per minute, the airplane reaches 3,500 feet when the pilot notices the birds. A split-second later a four-pound red-tail hawk hits the Baron and the pilot. This video re-creation shows how the pilot successfully dealt with the mayhem his uninvited passenger caused.
Attend ASI’s spring seminar Accident case study: Live
Web: Visit the website for dates and locations.
What will the weather do?
Understanding pressure patterns
You’re looking at the prog chart, trying to connect the dots of the weather pattern to an upcoming flight. Are your assumptions correct? Did you consider all the factors? Might things change at your destination? Can you reliably predict the weather for your return flight?
Weather is the most critical and complex variable affecting your flying. And accurately interpreting weather charts depicting frontal movements and associated weather patterns to formulate a clear, big weather picture ahead of a flight can often be difficult to do. Take ASI’s Weather Wise: Air Masses and Fronts online course, featuring interactive scenes and visual cues that explain weather in a simple and effective way, so you’ll know what to expect when frontal boundaries collide. Upon successful course completion, you’ll also qualify for AOPA Accident Forgiveness and the FAA Wings program.
AOPA Finance
Six reasons to call on a broker
Using a brokerage firm can save you hours of time and potentially save you thousands of dollars over the life of a loan. Here’s how:
1. Use a brokerage firm as an information resource. Even if you’ve bought an airplane before, it’s tough to stay current on all the deals available. When you have a broker on your side, that broker can explain the process to you and answer any questions immediately when they arise.
2. Save time. With a variety of choices in financing, you’ll want to shop around to get the best deal. When you use a broker, all of this is done for you. No phone trees, no entering your 16-digit account number, no leaving a message when you hear the tone.
3. No surprises. No pitfalls. It’s the broker’s job to match you with the best deal available for your particular situation and be knowledgeable about it. You won’t be surprised by hidden fees or time lags.
4. You’ll be an informed buyer. All of your options will be presented to you. You’ll have no guesswork and full understanding of each financing package and its product features that are appropriate for you.
5. Reduce the possibility of being turned down. The qualifications each financial institution requires can vary. If your credit isn’t the best, a financing broker will know which banks have more lenient policies, which will save you time in applying and help avoid being turned down.
6. You’ll deal with reputable and reliable financers. For many pilots, buying an aircraft is a once-in-a-lifetime task. When you use a financing broker, that broker will know the track record and industry standing of all the institutions that are approached on your behalf.
Web: AOPA Aviation Finance’s friendly staff will take the confusion out of financing your airplane purchase. Call 800-62-PLANE or visit the website.
Insurance Services
Insurance file
Aircraft and camping
What could possibly beat the sound of a Stearman warming up for a dawn flight as your alarm clock? As thousands of Oshkosh-bound pilots have discovered, there is no better place in the world to make good friends than a campground surrounded by airplanes, pilots, and tents. Every year pilots and their families hopscotch from one airport to another enjoying America from a vantage point unimaginable in most of the world. So what does that have to do with insurance? Well, insurance folks think everything could have an insurance consequence, and camping under a wing is no different. Unless your policy restricts you to hard-surface airports, you are already covered for landing at that grass airstrip. Check your policy, but you will probably find that the place you land must be designed and regularly used as a landing facility. Your friend’s fresh-cut hayfield may be out, although most companies don’t restrict you to asphalt runways.
So what about your actual campsite? You are probably covered under two policies. One: if your aircraft insurance policy includes an extended coverage provision or endorsement, your liability protection likely extends to include the “use of the premises in or upon which your aircraft is parked,” and two, if you have a homeowner’s policy, the definition of “insured location” probably covers a premises “not owned by an insured but where an insured is temporarily residing.” Finally, while there is some limited coverage under an aircraft insurance policy for the theft or destruction of a passenger’s property (usually $1,000), in most cases your homeowner policy would again be the policy to respond to such losses.
Web: Visit the website to learn about upgrading to the AOPA Premier membership.
AOPA Insurance services new online self-service features
- Change of address for all policies
- Certificate of insurance or binder requests for all policies
- Lienholder change for owner’s insurance policies
- Additional insured change for owner’s insurance policies
- Sold aircraft notification for owner’s insurance policies
- Employer additional insured change for renter’s policies
- Add Civil Air Patrol coverage for renter’s policies
We are available to answer your questions—call 800-622-2672 or visit our website.
The rules of airport camping:
1. Always call ahead, and get permission to camp. Your policy does not cover trespassing, so whether it is a public-use or private field, even if the airport directory says camping is approved, you need to make sure camping is approved.
2. Bring your own tie-downs. As an aircraft owner, you are legally required to act in a reasonable and responsible manner, so tie the airplane down securely.
3. Keep your campground clean, picked up, and safe, and make sure it looks better when you leave than when you arrived.
By Bill Snead, President, AOPA Insurance Services
