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Top Stories
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Quiz
In honor of the nation's birthday and the seventieth anniversary of the end of World War II, AOPA challenges you to test your knowledge of military aviation. Can you correctly match these famous warbirds to their most notable battle, campaign, or mission? Take the quiz...
 
AOPA Live This Week
This week, visit with Julie Clark, who has wowed airshow fans for generations in her T-34 Mentor, and watch Cub Scouts get bitten by the aviation bug at AOPA headquarters.
Watch AOPA Live This Week®, July 2...
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Technique and Safety
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Accident analysis
Terrain clearance can't always be taken for granted at high-elevation fields, and density altitude only makes things worse. Shortly before 9 a.m. on June 30, 2014, witnesses near the Loveland ski area west of Denver saw a Piper PA-28-235 Cherokee fly westbound at very low altitude and make a left turn in an apparent attempt to return downslope before its nose dropped and it descended out of sight behind a ridge. The pilot and his wife and 6-year-old son were killed in the crash.
Read more in this special report from the Air Safety Institute.
IFR Fix
It's comforting to know that you can always pick up an IFR clearance if conditions deteriorate. It's another thing to pull the trigger and manage any complications.
Read more...
Real Pilot Story
Although in-flight electrical fires are rare, when they happen they'll get your attention quickly—just ask CFI Jade Schiewe. One moment he was conducting a routine flight lesson in a Cessna 172RG with a CFI candidate; moments later he had to declare a Mayday. Learn what Schiewe did and consider how you would react to this in-flight emergency.
Watch Real Pilot Story: Fire in the Cockpit...
Login required
The day has finally arrived for your trip to North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina—a trip you've been dreaming about since last Labor Day. Unfortunately, the sunscreen will need to wait, now that light IFR weather has moved in over Grand Strand Airport, just outside of North Myrtle Beach. Test your IFR savvy with this quiz from the Air Safety Institute. Take the quiz...
Blog
When flying a helicopter with a Class B external load (sling load), the pilot is "flying" both the helicopter and the load, which at times can seem to have a mind of its own. Flying helicopters IFR with a sling load presents unique challenges, requiring the pilot to employ specific skills. Read more...
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Advocacy
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Advocacy
AOPA is calling on members to act as the battle over Santa Monica Airport shifts to Congress. Airport opponents have persuaded Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Karen Bass (D-Calif.) to endorse a seven-point plan to close the airport. Bass, Lieu, and airport opponents plan to meet July 8 with senior FAA staff to discuss their plan, and AOPA is calling on members in those two districts to make aviation's voice heard immediately.
Read more...
Article
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has delayed plans to release its proposed FAA reauthorization legislation.
Read more...
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Health
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License to Learn
A pilot found that the small mistakes he was making in an airplane caused him to question his ability to fly safely. He corrected his mistakes by enrolling in a regular training program, but the effects of self-doubt lingered. Rod Machado discusses strategies for addressing anxiety in aviation.
Read more...
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Technology
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Article
A Beechcraft King Air, Lockheed P-3 Orion, and NASA's Douglas DC-8 are among an armada of vehicles probing night storms in the Great Plains. The multi-agency effort involves eight research laboratories and 14 universities, funded in large part by the National Science Foundation to better understand and predict nighttime thunder over the Plains. Read more...
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Opinion
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Blog
A lot of interesting aircraft are displayed during the Paris Air Show, but only one light sport aircraft caught Opinion Leaders blogger Amy Laboda's eye in 2015: the Airbus E-Fan technology demonstrator, designated experimental F-WILE. The whisper-quiet electric propulsion isn't the only innovation of this aircraft.
Read more...
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Gear
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Article
Thirteen weeks after Apple's iOS 8.3 update cut the connection between many Bluetooth GPS accessories and navigation apps, version 8.4 brought relief June 30.
Read more...
Article
FltPlan Go for Android has added support for four Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast receivers, matching the ADS-B capability of the iOS version. Support for the Dual XGPS170, Flight Data Systems Pathfinder, SkyRadar DX, and iLevil AW allows in-flight display of weather and traffic using the free software.
Read more...
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Travel
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Solar Impulse heads to Hawaii
Solar Impulse 2 launched for Hawaii June 28 following an aborted attempt five days before. The Solar Impulse team is streaming video and cockpit data as co-founder André Borschberg makes his way to Hawaii at about 25 knots, a single flight expected to last five days or more. It is the longest and most challenging leg of the zero-fuel circumnavigation that Borschberg, fellow founder Bertrand Piccard, and their team have worked for years to realize. The mission was delayed for weeks after weather forced a diversion to Japan on June 1.
Article
Two pilots representing Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (SIUC) took first place in the 2015 Air Race Classic, which concluded June 25.
Read more...
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Financial
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Article
A new grant from the U.S. Air Force opens the financial door for Civil Air Patrol cadets struggling to attend this summer's weeklong camps highlighting leadership, physical fitness, character development, and aviation-themed educational experiences. Read more...
Article
Pilots, listen up: Lightspeed Aviation is offering discounts of up to $100 on a trio of noise-reducing, Bluetooth-capable headsets in its summer headset sale.
Read more...
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Member benefits
Buying a turbine airplane is not exactly like buying a piston-engine airplane. In short, the more complex the airplane, the more complex the buying experience. Here are three ways to ensure a positive purchasing experience.
Read more...
Online resource
Thinking about upgrading, buying, or financing an aircraft? AOPA has already done your homework by offering pilots a valuable ownership resources page with a trio of podcasts from its Pilot Information Center aimed at informing and speeding your entry into the air. Listen to the podcasts...
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News and Notes
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Article
CubCrafters will now assist Carbon Cub FX builders with a five-day work session where they fabricate the steel, aluminum, and composite aircraft components to assemble a nearly complete Carbon Cub FX Experimental amateur-built aircraft on the factory floor.
Read more...
Article
Draken International is fitting its Black Diamond Jet Team with an upgrade package including a new engine for the L-39 Albatros. The L-39NG (Next Generation) features the Williams FJ44-4M, shaving seconds off of the spool-up time and pounds off of empty weight while improving fuel efficiency and reducing maintenance costs.
Read more...
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Article
ONE Aviation, formed by the merger of Eclipse Aerospace and Kestrel Aircraft announced in April, is offering a "factory renewed" Eclipse 500 for $2.2 million. The Eclipse Special Edition comes with a number of features and a factory warranty and maintenance package.
Read more...
Article
Some 150 members of the Aviation Network of the Young Presidents' Organization met for the second year in a row at Wyoming's scenic Alpine Airport for three days of seminars, networking, recreation, and, of course, flying. The 2015 event featured speakers with expertise generally themed around the future—future technologies, commercial space travel, and developing skills for succeeding in business and aviation. Read more...
Article
Aircraft Spruce and Specialty Co. announced the death of co-founder Bob Irwin on June 26 in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. He was 95.
Read more...
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Career Opportunities
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AOPA career opportunities
Ever dream of turning your passion for aviation into a career? We're looking for a 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; aviation technical specialist; and vice president, information and technology. 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 decide to take a few friends up in your aircraft for a sunset flight. You are current to carry passengers during the day, but you haven't done any night landings for six months. Sunset is at 1830 local time and the end of evening civil twilight is 1900. Can you make this flight? If so, by what time should you land?
Answer
Yes. You can make the flight described above, but special consideration should be given to the time because you are not night PIC current for passenger-carrying flights. You must land no later than 1930 local time, one hour after sunset. Find out more about the different definitions of night in this article from AOPA Online. (Source: FAR 61.57(b).)
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
Jul 11-12 - Parsippany, New Jersey; and Millington, Tennessee
Jul 18-19 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Jul 25-26 - St. Augustine, Florida
Aug 1-2 - Long Beach, California
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
Jul 20-25 - Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Topics vary—for details and a complete schedule, see AOPA Online.
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Rusty Pilot Seminars
Jul 11 - Atlanta, Georgia; Renton, Washington; and Manchester, New Hampshire
Jul 18 - New York, New York; and Broomfield, Colorado
Jul 22 - Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Jul 25 - Oshkosh, Wisconsin
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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