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Top Stories
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Article
Over the past several weeks, the Air Safety Institute has observed a cluster of general aviation accidents occurring in close succession. The Air Safety Institute recommends that GA pilots conduct a pre-holiday safety pause and risk review. Take these safety steps before your next flight.
AOPA Live This Week
AOPA President Mark Baker told members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that regulatory and certification processes created decades ago "simply cannot keep pace with today's rapid changes." Barry Schiff gets an inside look at a presidential Boeing, and a 102-year-old celebrates his birthday in a Citabria.
AOPA Live This Week®, Nov. 20...
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Technique and Safety
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IFR Fix
The DME has been acting up on today's flight. Now it's doing it again. You'll have to pinpoint fixes along the approach course using the ADF.
Ready for the challenge?
Login required
Having a Plan B to deviate around weather is great. But how would you implement it while on an ATC-assigned heading? Learn what an air traffic controller has to say in this "Ask ATC: Weather Deviating" video.
Watch the video...
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Flying to Ocean City for a relaxing weekend on the New Jersey shoreline, you're cleared for the VOR approach. But a faulty AWOS, inoperative approach lights, and a failed vacuum pump challenge your IFR skills on the approach.
Test your savvy with this latest Air Safety Institute quiz...
Blog
Controlled flight into terrain remains a steady cause of fatal general aviation accidents. Preliminary radar information indicates that the aircraft involved in a recent fatal night VFR instructional accident maintained an en route altitude of 3,000 feet msl before impacting the side of a mountain at 3,100 feet, according to the NTSB. Air Safety Institute Senior Safety Advisor Bruce Landsberg suggests strategies for ensuring you have plenty of altitude, particularly when visual cues are scarce at night.
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Advocacy
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Advocacy
AOPA President Mark Baker highlighted issues affecting general aviation oversight, regulation, and certification during testimony before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Nov. 18.
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Advocacy
Support continues to grow for legislative action on third class medical reform, with eight new co-sponsors added to the General Aviation Pilot Protection Act as Congress gets back to work following midterm elections.
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Health
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Members only
Young student pilots are increasingly coming to their first FAA flight physical unaware that a common condition for which they are being treated is disqualifying. Warren Silberman, former manager of FAA Aerospace Medical Certification, offers advice for student pilots seeking their first medical certificate.
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Technology
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Article
An electric two-seater, a glider made to soar above the stratosphere, and a supersonic business jet all have something in common: backing from Airbus.
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Article
Wing flaps that can bend and twist instead of extending and retracting have passed initial flight tests and continue to show significant promise.
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Opinion
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Blog
While part of the joy of flying is mastering a challenging task, using a general aviation aircraft for routine business or pleasure transportation is not easy—certainly not as easy as driving a car. Could technologies from unmanned aircraft systems make flying easier and help business aviation flourish? Opinion Leaders blogger Jack Olcott makes the case.
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Blog
Opinion Leaders blogger Mike Busch explains the perils of buying too much hull coverage.
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Blog
When a Pilots N Paws mission was scrubbed because of a very pregnant pooch, Opinion Leaders blogger Jolie Lucas decided to make the flight with a friend and her daughter instead. She had a lot of fun and hooked a prospective pilot on the magic of flying along the way. Do you share your enthusiasm for flying with others?
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Gear
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Article
A ForeFlight update to version 6.4 also updates a connected Stratus ADS-B receiver, enabling a new flight data recording feature.
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AOPA Strategic Partner sponsored content
PilotWorkshops' "Pilot Friendly" ForeFlight Manual proved so popular with AOPA members that the company is offering the free download once again. The 26-page PDF manual shares tips and techniques for getting the most from the app, with a special emphasis on flight planning operations. While many pilots utilize the popular app, even experienced users can discover better, more efficient ways to make use of its many functions with this publication.
Get the free guide...
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Travel
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Answers for Pilots
As you and your family strap into the airplane heading for holiday festivities, think about what's going through your mind. Are you focused on your responsibilities as pilot in command? Holiday flying can be rife with distractions, so consider these tips for flying safely this season. Remember: Even Santa follows checklists.
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Financial
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Article
Patty Wagstaff is a patient teacher, with the skill and experience to get the most out of the Extra 300L—and her student. The three-time U.S. National Aerobatic Champion is offering a package in the AOPA Foundation's online auction in which the winning bidder will be shaken, stirred, and taught a thing or two about upset recovery.
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Member benefits
James Vest got close to his checkride before work and college got in the way. He returned to flying 23 years later, and soon after earning his private pilot certificate was shopping for an airplane.
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Article
AOPA President Mark Baker and AOPA Foundation Executive Director Jim Minow are challenging one another to see who can recruit the most Hat in the Ring Society members for the foundation before the end of the year.
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News and Notes
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Article
Gene Leak is something of a local celebrity to local news outlets eager to cover the flight marking his 102nd birthday. Read more...

Article
Randall Greene and the late Leonard Greene of Safe Flight Instrument Corp. have been awarded the sixth annual Joseph T. Nall Award. Read more...

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Article
When Mike Ott's dad took him up for his first airplane ride in a Piper Cherokee, little could he imagine that his current flying job would attract worldwide attention.
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Article
Former U.S. Navy aviator and longtime general aviation pilot (and AOPA member) Justin Ryan has been tapped to lead BendixKing.
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Article
An unmanned aircraft operator is subject to enforcement of regulations prohibiting reckless operation of aircraft, the NTSB said Nov. 18 in a decision sending the case of photographer Raphael Pirker back to an administrative law judge.
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Article
Bremerton National Airport in Bremerton, Washington, is home to the Kitsap Aviation Squadron.
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Poll
Vote for the best 'Pilot' cover
A Lancair ES, Pitts S-2B, Bushhawk, and the P-51 Mustang are among the aircraft featured on the AOPA Pilot covers of 1996. The Extra 200, Robinson R22 Beta II, Taylorcraft F21B, Learjet 45, SuperSwift, and Sino Swearingen SJ30-2 graced the covers in 1997. Vote for your favorite from each year.
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Career Opportunities
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AOPA Aviation Job Board
Hiring the right people for your team means knowing where to find the best qualified candidates. Start with the AOPA Aviation Job Board, which features hundreds of aviation-related jobs and candidate résumés. Post a job, search open positions, upload or view a résumé—everything you need in one convenient place. Check out the AOPA Aviation Job Board today...
AOPA career opportunities
Ever dream of turning your passion for aviation into a career? We're looking for a coordinator for pilot community development, program manager for flight training initiatives, senior advertising sales account executive, senior financial analyst, digital marketing manager, major gift officer, senior ambassador, ambassador for Southern California, .Net applications developer, social media evangelist, legal services plan program manager, 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
What are the three factors that determine air density at a given location?
Answer
Barometric pressure, temperature, and humidity. (Source: Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, pages 10-3 to 10-5.)
Got a question for our aviation services staff? The AOPA Pilot Information Center is a service available to all members as part of the annual dues. Contact AOPA.
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Education and Seminars
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Flight Instructor Refresher Courses
Dec 6-7 - Orlando, Florida; Northbrook, Illinois; and Denver, Colorado
Jan 3-4 - Charlotte, North Carolina; Portland, Oregon; and Ypsilanti, Michigan
Jan 10-11 - San Antonio, Texas; Long Beach, California; Knoxville, Tennesee; and Bellevue, Washington
Jan 17-18 - Santa Clara, California; Ridgeland, Mississippi; and Baltimore, Maryland
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 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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