Top Stories
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Article
Mark Palm's sights were set on becoming a commercial pilot or following his grandfather into military aviation before a college trip to Papua New Guinea on a whim changed all that. The pilot and aviation mechanic is now celebrating a half-decade of using floatplanes to serve 500,000 Oceania islanders through his nonprofit Samaritan Aviation medical outreach organization.
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AOPA Live This Week
Meet Disney star, R5 pop rock band singer, and teen heartthrob Ross Lynch as he talks about learning how to fly. Plus, check out the Ghost drone with AOPA Editor in Chief Tom Haines and get a sneak peek at some of the highlights that will be at AOPA's Minneapolis Fly-In Aug. 22.
Watch AOPA Live This Week®, Aug. 6...
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Technique and Safety
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IFR Fix
Pilots hold a variety of scenario-based attitudes about hand-flying versus autopilots on approach. In these two excerpts from the Aviation Safety Reporting System, see how each technique led to some unpredicted consequences.
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Accident analysis
Serious accidents often result from pilots asking too much of their aircraft. Some demand too much utility. Others just try to have too much fun, like the pilot of a Bellanca 8KCAB Decathlon.
Read more in this special report from the Air Safety Institute...
AOPA Premier Partner sponsored content
An emergency is forcing you to land off-airport. You've picked out the best landing spot, but how should you fly your approach and landing to give you the best possible outcome? There are very specific techniques for a proper landing pattern during an emergency that can have a huge effect on your outcome. Listen to the audio or read this report by CFII, designated pilot examiner, and glider pilot Wally Moran as he shares what you should know and how to easily practice emergency landing patterns so you will be ready if the need arises.
Get the free report and audio from AOPA Premier Partner PilotWorkshops...
Digital publication
Enjoy a compilation of flight instructors' favorite techniques for teaching a procedure; read about Lockheed Martin Flight Service's new Web portal to get the briefing you need; and discover safety videos, quizzes, and more when you access the Air Safety Institute's free digital newsletter anywhere, anytime. Subscribe here to add CFI to CFI to your flight bag.
Explore the newsletter now...
Flash-based, login required
Whether or not you have an instrument rating, unanticipated instrument conditions can adversely impact your flight. Gradually lowering ceilings and visibility can be deceptive and lure you to continue VFR flight into IMC. Weather Wise: Ceiling and Visibility helps you recognize what happens when clouds and Mother Earth begin to touch and temperature and dew point converge.
Be safe, take the course...
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Advocacy
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Advocacy
Ten months after completing a top-down review of general aviation enforcement practices, Customs and Border Protection's Office of Air and Marine has made changes that are resulting in improved enforcement and a more positive relationship with the general aviation community.
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Advocacy
Pilots who received a mailing inviting them to participate in the thirty-seventh annual General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey are encouraged to respond.
Read more...
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Health
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Podcast
Listen as AOPA Director of Medical Certification Gary Crump explains some of the common questions and pitfalls associated with the FAA MedXPress application process for pilots. He gives special attention to questions concerning medical history and medication usage.
Listen to the podcast...
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Technology
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Slideshow
After 15 years of political wrangling, setbacks, and successes, an F-35 Lightning II made its civilian airshow debut July 23 at EAA AirVenture. Two U.S. Air Force pilots who flew from Eglin Air Force Base in Florida to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, spoke about the aircraft's capabilities.
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Opinion
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Blog
Nikola Tesla once said, "I am now planning aerial machines devoid of sustaining planes, ailerons, propellers, and other external attachments, which will be capable of immense speeds." Tesla ran out of money and wasn't able to produce his craft, but it now appears that his airplane may be on the not too distant horizon.
Read more...
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Gear
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Article
Collaborations between manufacturers and developers in the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) space were among the product news highlights during EAA AirVenture 2015. Do they portend a trend?
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Travel
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Article
Lee Griffin of North Pole, Alaska, realized a longtime dream when he flew 2,600 nautical miles to EAA AirVenture in his North American T-28 Trojan.
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Article
The best days for flying are the best days for dining at Flight Deck Grill. Outdoor seating at the mobile café gives patrons a center-field view of skydivers, vintage taildraggers, and a range of amateur-built aircraft at Colorado's Longmont Vance Brand Municipal Airport against the backdrop of the Flatirons.
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Financial
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Article
Airplane and helicopter shipments slipped in the first half of 2015, and the Export-Import Bank impasse may spell more trouble for U.S. manufacturers.
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Article
Ceci Stratford, a pilot from Simi Valley, California, gives back to aviation by sponsoring Flight Training scholarships.
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Member benefits
AOPA Insurance Services offers a number of new products designed to protect everything from your hangar to your medical certificate and your flying club.
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Member benefits
Member says AOPA found a lender 'that understood me'
Despite a challenging credit history, AOPA member Jorge Gonzalez was able to obtain aircraft financing for his experimental light sport aircraft with the help of AOPA Aviation Finance Co. Take a look back at how he purchased a Rans airplane.
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News and Notes
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Article
Dr. Forrest Bird, an AOPA member since 1946 whose invention of the first reliable, low-cost respirator saved millions of lives, died Aug. 2. He was 94, and left a legacy that includes contributions to medicine honored by two U.S. presidents, and a museum he built for aircraft and inventions.
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Video
After a week of intense simulator and flight training, One Week Ready to Solo students Nik Oekerman, Sherry Rosenkranz, and Chris Graves put together all they've learned to impress their flight instructors with their newfound abilities. Watch as the students take off and land with almost no help from their instructors—two CFIs even put tape over their mouths to curb tendencies to coach their students.
Experience the highs of flight training in this final One Week Ready to Solo episode...
Pilot Protection Services
It may be tempting to embellish logbook entries, but this is extraordinarily dangerous territory. The FAA takes intentional falsification very seriously because it demonstrates a lack of care, judgment, and responsibility, as well as a disregard for compliance.
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Article
General aviation pilots have made many flights searching for two Florida teens who vanished after setting out on a fishing trip July 24. The families of Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen have raised more than $500,000 to continue the search, and hired professionals to coordinate an effort that continued to scour coastline and sea from Florida to North Carolina after the U.S. Coast Guard suspended its own effort on July 31.
Read more...
Webinar
Learn about FAA enforcement in the webinar "FAA Enforcement—Know your Options!" Aug. 12 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. Ray Speciale, a lawyer, CPA, and CFII, will give an overview of FAA enforcement, including the FAA Compliance and Enforcement Program, FAA investigations, FAA options, FAA records and expunction policy, and, perhaps most importantly, ways you can protect yourself.
Read more...
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Career Opportunities
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Aviation job board
Corgan seeks a registered interior designer to join the Dallas Aviation studio to work as part of a creative team on airport terminals, airport clubs/lounges, and corporate airline office projects. Ideal candidates will be well rounded with a flexible attitude and an ability to collaborate in a team environment, as well as generate creative solutions for design tasks while respecting the functional parameters of each project.
Read the full job description now...
AOPA career opportunities
Ever dream of turning your passion for aviation into a career? We're looking for a graphic design intern; director of media relations; director of regulatory affairs; Northwest Mountain regional manager; AOPA National Aviation Community Center aviation event planner; marketing project coordinator; account executive, AOPA corporate partnerships; videographer, Air Safety Institute; and aviation technical specialist. To learn more about other AOPA career opportunities,
visit AOPA Online.
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Question of the Week
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Question
You are on a family vacation, and this time you were able to fly the whole family instead of having to take a commercial flight. No security, no lines, no kids running around (except yours). You're having a great time until you realize that sometime during the week your pilot certificate went missing. You don't even know where to begin looking, and you're departing for home in two days. Are you stuck having to take a commercial flight home? Is there a way to fly home without having a new plastic certificate in hand?
Answer
You will be able to fly home as long as you know your certificate number and have access to a computer, a printer, and your email or a fax machine. You'll need to get "temporary authority to exercise certificate privileges" from the FAA. This can be obtained online through the FAA's Airmen Online Services. You will need to know your pilot certificate number to create an account on the website, so having a picture of your certificate on your phone or some other way of documenting your certificate number is invaluable (email yourself a photo so it's always accessible). After you sign up for an account, you can order a new certificate and request your temporary authority by email or fax. The temporary authority is good for 60 days; just print it out or take it off the fax machine and stick it in your wallet. You could also sign up for an account now, just in case you need it in the future.
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
Aug 8-9 - Atlanta, Georgia; and Allentown, Pennsylvania
Aug 15-16 - Reno, Nevada; and Fort Worth, Texas
Sep 12-13 - Colorado, Springs, Colorado; Elkridge, Maryland; and Sandston, Virginia
Sep 19-20 - Phoenix, Arizona
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
Aug 26 - Colorado Springs, Colorado
Aug 27 - Northglenn, Colorado
Aug 31 - Ypsilanti, Michigan; Houston, Texas; and Florham Park, New Jersey
Sep 1 - Independence, Ohio; East Hartford, Connecticut; and San Antonio, Texas
Topics vary—for details and a complete schedule, see AOPA Online.
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Rusty Pilot Seminars
Aug 8 - Apopka, Florida; Gainesville, Florida; and Chesterfield, Missouri
Aug 15 - Fort Wayne, Indiana; Penn Yan, New York; and Lakeland, Florida
Aug 22 - Blaine, Minnesota; Mitchellville, Maryland; Tucson, Arizona; and Lebanon, Ohio
Aug 25 - Carlisle, Pennsylvania
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
David Tulis
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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