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Top Stories
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Safety challenge
Are you up for having some fun, brushing up on safety, and getting rewarded, to boot? Enter the Air Safety Institute's new "Learn & Earn Safety Challenge" for a chance to win a Stratus 2 Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) receiver, courtesy of Sporty's Pilot Shop. Each time you complete one of the institute's free online safety courses, Real Pilot Stories, and Accident Case Studies, you are entered for a chance to win—take more courses, get more chances.
Take the challenge now...
 
AOPA Live This Week
This week, hear what aviation legend Bob Hoover has to say about receiving the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy from the National Aeronautic Association. Plus, FAA Deputy Administrator Michael Whitaker talks about earning his private pilot certificate, and a tiny island in the Chesapeake Bay is decked in holiday cheer thanks to general aviation pilots and the Tangier Holly Run.
AOPA Live This Week®, Dec. 18...
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Technique and Safety
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IFR Fix
No one likes to blow a radio exchange with ATC, but it's not possible to know exactly when a handoff from one center sector to another, or from a center to approach, is going to happen. Learn this key tip to help ensure you don't miss future handoffs.
Read more...
Accident analysis
Even when no single item is absolutely prohibitive, accepting too many challenges on the same flight can lead to a very bad day.
Read more in this special report from the Air Safety Institute...
AOPA Foundation focus
In eight to 10 flight hours, Jonathan Amundsen transforms nosewheel pilots to taildragger champs—and for the winner of a 2013 AOPA Foundation auction item, threw in two hours in a 1940 Stearman Kaydet biplane. Time is running out for potential tailwheel pilots to bid on the same package of tailwheel training at Lakeland, Florida-based Tailwheels Etc. in this year's AOPA Foundation online auction. The auction has been extended and now runs through Dec. 21.
Read more...
Video
Find out why early detection of ice accumulation is critical to the safe outcome of a flight—even for pilots flying in aircraft equipped with deicing equipment. Flying the Weather: Picking up ice provides great insight on how to assess when ice might be accumulating on the airframe—what to look for, and where to look.
Watch the video...
Blog
The height-velocity diagram is a staple in the helicopter arena, but is often misunderstood by students and instructors alike. Take a look at what it is and how it is developed.
Read more...
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Advocacy
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Advocacy
Congress has passed an omnibus spending bill that keeps the FAA, and other government agencies, funded through the end of the fiscal year in September 2015.
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Article
The Center for Environmental Health, an Oakland, California-based nonprofit, has settled a 2011 lawsuit it brought against numerous aviation fuel suppliers in the state, the group announced Dec. 12. The nonprofit filed its lawsuit under the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, better known as Proposition 65.
Read more...
Advocacy
Many student pilots are nervous come checkride day. When you're a top official at the agency responsible for the safe operation of the largest airspace system in the world, it can add to the pressure. FAA Deputy Administrator Michael Whitaker, a new private pilot, stopped by AOPA headquarters Dec. 15 to talk about his flight training journey and earning his certificate.
Read more...
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Health
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Members only
Given how much time pilots spend sitting while flying, how often aviators discreetly ask Dr. Jonathan Sackier questions, and how common and problematic medical issues "down there" are to pilots, it's an important subject to discuss.
Read more...
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Technology
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Article
An assembly hangar was transformed into an elegant dining and staging area, complete with chandeliers, carpet, and a string quartet, for the rollout Dec. 17 of the first of Dassault Aviation's new line of ultra-long-range business jets—the Falcon 8X.
Read more...
Article
Daher-Socata has signed a contract with Airbus Group's VoltAir subsidiary to design, develop, and certify the electrically powered E-Fan 2.0 aircraft.
Read more...
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Opinion
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Blog
If general aviation aircraft were more "operator friendly," more people would learn to fly, according to Opinion Leaders blogger Jack Olcott. "Far too many people decide that the gain of becoming a pilot is not worth the pain of becoming a pilot," he writes.
Read more...
Blog
Opinion Leaders blogger Jolie Lucas takes a macro and micro look at saving airports. Find out what she says you can do to help protect these assets across the country.
Read more...
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Gear
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Article
Garmin has updated the GDL 69 datalink receiver to take advantage of the Sirius XM G4 network, providing pilots with weather data and music. The GDL 69 and GDL 69A (which enables access to satellite radio entertainment) are compatible with a range of Garmin displays, and expected in April.
Read more...
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Travel
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Article
Christmas will be a bit more festive for the 460 residents of Tangier Island, a remote fishing village on a tiny spit of land in the Chesapeake Bay, thanks to a group of general aviation pilots.
Read more...
Santa tracker
Norad counts down to Santa flight
Continuing a tradition that started in 1955, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad) is gearing up to track Santa's nighttime journey for children around the world. Eager children can access the website now to learn how the bi-national defense command follows the flight, and to explore the North Pole with games, movies, and more. Check back on Dec. 24 to track the flight.
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Financial
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Article
The quiet exit of two companies from the fractional aircraft market provides further evidence that this is an uncertain path to profit. AirShares Elite, the oldest and largest operator in the market, has yet to speak publicly about its decision to close down in November, while Aviation Access Project CEO Rick Matthews vows to return.
Read more...
Article
A tax incentive long used to stimulate investment in equipment, including aircraft, awaits the president's signature.
Read more...
AOPA Foundation focus
In a friendly challenge between AOPA Foundation Executive Director Jim Minow and AOPA President Mark Baker, general aviation will ultimately be the winner. "We're so close to reaching our goal of 50 new Hat in the Ring Society members," said Minow.
Read more...
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News and Notes
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Article
Robert A. "Bob" Hoover has flown, tested, and even crashed more airplanes than most any other pilot who ever lived. After 70 years of achievements in aviation, the industry honored Hoover with its top award, the NAA Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy. Read more...
Article
Propeller pioneer Robert Hartzell is among four people who will be inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2015.
Read more...
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Article
A refurbished Cessna 172N that will offer more cost-effective flight training is at the heart of the Cessna 172LITE project, announced Dec. 17 by Sporty's.
Read more...
Poll
Vote on 2004, 2005 'Pilot' covers
The Diamond DA40, GlaStar Sportsman 2+2, Lancair Columbia 400, and AOPA's Win A Twin Sweepstakes Twin Comanche are some of the airplanes that graced the covers of AOPA Pilot in 2004. The Aeronca Chief, Maule M-4, HondaJet, Piper J-3 Cub, and AOPA's Sweepstakes Commander were featured on the covers in 2005. Vote for your favorite cover from each year.
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Career Opportunities
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Aviation job board
Airports Council International-North America seeks a motivated individual with strong organizational and interpersonal skills with three to five years of experience in meeting and event planning to assist with 20-plus conferences and meetings annually in a fast-paced environment. The person will have direct responsibility for a minimum of six meetings annually with attendance ranging from 25 to 700 people.
Read more about this exciting opportunity!
AOPA career opportunities
Ever dream of turning your passion for aviation into a career? We're looking for an associate editor—Web/ePilot, program manager for flight training initiatives, senior advertising sales/account executive, online marketing manager, major gift officer, senior ambassador, .Net applications developer, social media evangelist, and account manager II. To learn more about other AOPA career opportunities,
visit AOPA Online.
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Question of the Week
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Question
If an airplane's static system becomes blocked but the pitot tube is clear, how does that affect the airspeed indicator?
Answer
The airspeed indicator becomes inaccurate. "When the aircraft is operated above the altitude where the static ports became blocked the airspeed indicates lower than the actual airspeed because the trapped static pressure is higher than normal for that altitude," the
Instrument Flying Handbook explains on Page 5-3. "The opposite holds true for operations at lower altitudes; a faster than actual airspeed is displayed due to the relatively low static pressure trapped in the system."
Got a question for our technical services staff? Contact AOPA. |
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Education and Seminars
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Flight Instructor Refresher Courses
Jan 3-4 - Charlotte, North Carolina; Portland, Oregon; and Ypsilanti, Michigan
Jan 10-11 - San Antonio, Texas; Long Beach, California; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Bellevue, Washington
Jan 17-18 - Santa Clara, California; Ridgeland, Mississippi; and Baltimore, Maryland
Feb 7-8 - Sacramento, California; Nashua, New Hampshire; Louisville, Kentucky; Fairfax, Virginia; and New Orleans, Louisiana
For a complete schedule, see AOPA Online. Can't make it in person? Sign up for the Air Safety Institute's Online eFIRC.
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Air Safety Institute Safety Seminars
Jan 5 - Mesa, Arizona; and Reno, Nevada
Jan 6 - Sacramento, California; and Tucson, Arizona
Jan 7 - El Paso, Texas; and Milpitas, California
Jan 8 - Santa Rosa, California; and Albuquerque, New Mexico
Topics vary—for details and a complete schedule, see AOPA Online.
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Rusty Pilot Seminars
Jan 8 - Carlsbad, California
Jan 10 - Farmingdale, New York
Jan 15 - Murrieta, California
Jan 17 - Keene, New Hampshire
For a complete schedule, see AOPA Online.
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Aviation Calendar
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Check out user-submitted events from your region. To include an event or to search all events in the calendar, visit AOPA Online. AOPA does not endorse the events listed below, nor have ePilot editors edited the submissions. AOPA assumes no responsibility for events listed.
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ePilot Editors:
Sarah Deener
Alyssa Miller
Jim Moore
Production Assistant:
Melissa Whitehouse
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Contributors:
Jill W. Tallman
Elizabeth Tennyson
Warren Morningstar
Alton K. Marsh
Dave Hirschman
Tom Horne
Ian J. Twombly
Dan Namowitz
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