May 15, 2015 - VOL 15, ISSUE 20

Flight Training News

Flight Training magazine

Playing in the dark

Why fly at night? Airplanes perform better in the cooler night air; the atmosphere is generally more stable and less turbulent; and the airspace is less crowded. Night flight stretches our capabilities, requires special skills, develops confidence, and is insanely beautiful. However, playing in the dark calls for different awareness, mindset, technique, gear, and knowledge of unique regulatory requirements. Read more...  

Take Flight Aviation adds Diamonds

Take Flight Aviation at Orange County Airport in New York has added Diamond DA40 and DA20 single-engine aircraft to its training fleet, Diamond distribution center and aviation marketing organization LifeStyle Aviation announced May 7. The flight school also joined as a partner in the LifeStyle Aviation Network, a group of flight centers on the East Coast that offer flight training as well as ownership, lease, and membership program options, including DiamondShare ownership and membership offerings.

Real Pilot Story

The cost of poor decisions, wishful thinking

Competent rescuers, and a little luck, saved a pilot and his family after his forced landing in the Idaho backcountry. But why were they necessary? Watch how poor decisions turn a four-hour flight into a 30-hour survival ordeal in the Air Safety Institute's new Real Pilot Story. Read more...  

WSU grad student wins funding for app

Wichita State University doctoral student Georg Schirmer was awarded more than $14,000 in the Shocker New Venture Competition for his smartphone app, CFItrack, WSU student newspaper The Sunflower reports. Schirmer, a flight instructor, created the app to track and record data from his students' flights for debriefing, according to the newspaper.

Training Resources

Safety Spotlight

Facing an emergency: Be prepared, have a plan, and use it

Hopefully we'll never experience one, but when it comes to an in-flight emergency, preparedness is our friend. A good start: Grab your aircraft's emergency procedures checklist and commit critical action items to memory. Then, explore the Air Safety Institute's Emergency Procedures Safety Spotlight to bolster your knowledge with quizzes, videos, and lessons learned from pilots who have experienced a real in-flight emergency. Learn more...  

Did you know that student pilots who join AOPA are three times more likely to complete their flight training? Membership includes unlimited access to aviation information by phone (800/USA-AOPA, weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time) or from Flight Training Online or AOPA Online. If you're not already a member, join today and get the pilot's edge.

Career Pilot

Webinar

Tips for turning flight instruction on its head

Flight instruction doesn't have to feel like teaching a list of items just to get ready for the checkride. Flight School Business will discuss an innovative approach to training in the webinar "Turning Flight Instruction on its Head: Innovating Aviation Curriculum for the 21st Century," May 26 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. Backwards planning, a method used by professional teachers nationwide, enables you to focus every lesson on your core goals. Register now...  

App issues delay some American flights

American Airlines delayed dozens of flights over two days in April because of an issue with the navigation app on pilots' iPads, Re/code reports. Pilots experienced the problem on the ground at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport because of a duplicate chart, according to Jeppesen. American was one of the first U.S. airlines to adopt Apple iPads for use in the cockpit as electronic flight bags.

For more aviation career news, see the Flight Training website.

Plane Spotter

A Skyhawk in uniform

The office crew is taking a break to inspect a rare old military trainer that has taxied in, but when a plane spotter joins the crowd at the window, nothing is visible on the ramp except the locally based aircraft, and one transient Cessna 172. What's going on? Wait—the Skyhawk sports military colors, and someone has recognized this particular airplane, with its 210-horsepower Continental engine, as one that tows gliders from a nearby field. The military-trainer modification of the Cessna 172 was designated the T-41, and was called the Mescalero.

Training Products

MyGoFlight iPad tip: Taxi route planning

Landing or departing from busy, unfamiliar airports or at night may be difficult even for experienced pilots. MyGoFlight, a maker of iPad accessories, gives tips for annotating the taxiway diagram in four common electronic flight bag applications to improve your situational awareness and help you stay on track. Plus, check out an Air Safety Institute video illustrating how conditions may lead to mistaken assumptions.

Note: Products listed have not been evaluated by ePilot editors unless otherwise noted. AOPA assumes no responsibility for products or services listed or for claims or actions by manufacturers or vendors.

Member Benefits

Pilot Protection Services

Pireps: Listen up

Do you pay heed to pilot weather reports you can hear while en route? In at least one case, the FAA used the fact that pireps could be heard over the radio in the same sector as evidence that the airman should have known of the adverse weather conditions affecting his flight. Read more...  

Blogs

Asking for help

Pilots need help more often than we may want to admit. Read more...  

Instrument Tip

IFR Fix

Red flag warning

A pilot heads to the airport for an evening proficiency flight on the last valid day of current navigational charts. The plan is to meet the flight instructor at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, brief for the mission, and fly for two hours. Wait a minute—8 p.m. EDT translates to 0000Z the following day. How will the flight instructor react if the pilot shows up with expired charts? Is it a violation to launch anyway? Read more...  

Final Exam

Question

How many GPS satellites are required for a receiver to be able to determine its lateral position?

Answer

A minimum of three satellites are required to calculate a two-dimensional position. See Chapter 2 of the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge.

Got a question for our technical services staff? Contact AOPA.

Career Opportunities

Aviation job board

Job of the week: Director of aviation, SunEnergy1

Here's your chance to make your mark on a rapidly expanding aviation department! SunEnergy1 is currently seeking a director of aviation. The successful candidate will provide leadership and development of policies and procedures for the department. This position will supervise all pilots and aircraft in this FAR Part 91 operation and be responsible for oversight and coordination of all aspects of flight operations—training, certification, and scheduling. Apply for this exciting opportunity today.

AOPA career opportunities

Join the AOPA team

Ever dream of turning your passion for aviation into a career? We're looking for part time, temporary digital product support; an account executive, AOPA corporate partnerships; editorial intern; manager, airport policy; graphic design intern; contractual marketing copywriter; videographer, Air Safety Institute; senior director of government affairs (airport advocacy); director of government affairs (airspace/air traffic); aviation technical specialist; director, pilot community development; vice president, information and technology; senior ambassador, You Can Fly; outreach and events coordinator; vice president for major and leadership gifts; Sitecore developer; director of studies, research, and analysis; and account executive. To learn more about other AOPA career opportunities, visit AOPA Online.