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Top Stories
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Online resource
The FAA has mandated Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out equipage by Jan. 1, 2020, for aircraft flying in most airspace where a transponder is required today. Find information on the technology and products in a new online resource. Plus, a new selector tool helps you make the best choice on equipage based on where you fly. Get started...
 
Flash-based, login required
Confused about what Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast technology is? Whether you own or rent, explore the Air Safety Institute's ADS-B for General Aviation: The Basics online course for a clear overview of what it means to you. Prepare for 2020...
AOPA Live This Week
An Extra 330LX is a classroom where pilots learn life-saving lessons about loss of control and how to regain it. The Breitling Jet Team is bringing its precision control to airshows in the United States this year; team members talked to AOPA Live® in advance of the AOPA Fly-In in Frederick, Maryland, where they will perform a fly-by and talk to members. Also, weather wreaks havoc and wrecks aircraft across the South. Watch AOPA Live This Week, May 28...
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Technique and Safety
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Safety video
It depends. Ask ATC: IFR Routes explains why you should be extra careful when reading back your IFR clearance. Learn more in this installment of the Air Safety Institute's popular Ask ATC video series.
Watch the video...
PDF
Visual reference of our position relative to the earth is critical to maintaining spatial orientation in flight. However, it's easy to become disoriented if we lose that reference—a situation that can lead to major problems if left unchecked. Learn how to recognize conditions that lead to such confusion, how to deal with it, and how to avoid spatial disorientation in the first place in this Safety Advisor.
Read more...
Article
Loss of control is the No. 1 cause of fatalities in aviation. Pilots who suddenly find themselves in an unusual attitude face shock and startle factors that make it more difficult to recover from a situation that has the potential to quickly become an emergency. AOPA Air Safety Institute Chief Flight Instructor Kristine Hartzell takes you inside Prevailance Aerospace's corporate upset and recovery training program.
Read more and watch a video...
Blog
A routine night IFR approach turned into a long rollout and a lesson in contaminated landing distance performance when spring rains and a landing light failure combined.
Learn more about hydroplaning and calculating your own takeoff and landing distances…
Blog
Doing a long cross-country flight in a helicopter isn't like those 25-mile jaunts required to get your pilot certificate. There are all kinds of things to consider—and prepare for. Hover Power blogger Maria Langer offers tips from more than 10 years of flying cross-country flights in excess of 500 miles.
Read more...
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AOPA Fly-Ins
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Article
As a unique part of the AOPA Frederick Homecoming Fly-In, the Friday night Barnstormers Party on June 5 will feature a special screening of the new film Living in the Age of Airplanes. Filmmaker Brian J. Terwilliger (maker of the aviation classic film One Six Right) will be on hand to introduce the film and engage fly-in attendees in discussion. Read more...
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Advocacy
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Article
A New Jersey judge issued an eloquent ruling this month affirming the property rights of airport owners and blasting a town's attempt to usurp them. Read more...
FAA seeks GA survey participation
The FAA is asking pilots who have received an invitation to participate in the thirty-seventh annual General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey to complete the survey. "Please respond, even if you did not fly your aircraft during 2014, you sold it, or the aircraft was damaged," the FAA urged pilots. The survey results offer the only source of information on the size, activity, and use of the GA fleet; findings help "determine funding for infrastructure and service needs, assess the impact of regulatory changes, and measure aviation safety." See the results from previous years and learn more about the survey.
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Health
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Pilot Protection Services
Deep vein thrombosis occurs when blood in a vein becomes stagnant and then clots. Left untreated, it may cause a pulmonary embolus blocking blood flow in the lungs. Learn what to provide to the FAA to get your medical certificate back if you have a deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolus.
Read more...
Article
The FAA will work with medical professionals and industry experts to consider the mental and emotional health of airline pilots in light of recent events. A rulemaking committee is tasked with developing recommendations in six months.
Read more...
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Technology
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Article
The FAA fielded reports of unmanned aircraft encounters in growing numbers in 2014. A national list provided first to a New Orleans television station includes nearly 200 reports between February and November, most of them reported by pilots to air traffic control. The FAA is developing a systematic protocol for reporting future encounters that may reveal more close calls.
Read more...
Pilot magazine article
It seems like the tail wagging the dog, but iPad apps that sell for $150 a year or less are beginning to drive avionics purchases that may total tens of thousands of dollars.
Read more...
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Opinion
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Blog
Opinion Leaders blogger Rob Mark recounts a lesson he learned the hard way about lift and drag during a go-around in a Cessna 150 shortly after earning his private pilot certificate.
Read more...
Blog
If you think aircraft in the future will look like and operate like those we now find familiar, think again. "There are technologies converging that are clearly going to change the essentials of the flying process and experience," writes Opinion Leaders blogger John Petersen. Take a look at five of these emerging technologies. Read more...
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Gear
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Article
When it comes to certain types of gear, aviation has no shortage of choices. Now pilots have two more options with Lift and Thrust flight bags, courtesy of new manufacturer Flight Outfitters.
Read more...
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Travel
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Pilot Getaways
Ten miles of white sand and surf await pilots at the Atlantic Ocean resort town of Ocean City on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Enjoy the beach, bay, and treasured wetlands on your way to or from the AOPA Homecoming Fly-In in Frederick, Maryland, on June 6.
Read more...
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Financial
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Contest
If you own or work for a company that would benefit from the use of a business aircraft such as the Pilatus PC-12 NG, seize your chance to fly one in the AOPA Pilot BizAv and You Contest Powered by Pilatus. To enter, send a 300-word-or-fewer description of how your company would take advantage of a turbine business aircraft if you had access to it. The deadline for submissions is June 30 at 5 p.m. Eastern time.
See the official rules and enter...
Article
Multi-Platinum selling singer/songwriter Dierks Bentley has been named an honorary co-chairman of the AOPA Foundation's Hat in The Ring Society. The country singer, who earned his private pilot certificate at the age of 19, speaks often about how flying has made his busy schedule more flexible.
Read more...
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News and Notes
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Article
The Ladies Love Taildraggers Fly-In that had been scheduled May 28 through 30 has been canceled in light of storms and floods that have pummeled Texas. Redbird Skyport FBO, San Marcos, Texas, has postponed the May 30 Bluebonnet Fly-In at San Marcos Municipal Airport until June 6. Read more...
Article
Berlin, Germany, has endured ongoing airport dramas ever since World War II, and now comes a Reuters report that Berlin's much-anticipated, 5.1 billion euro ($5.5 billion) brand-new airport—Berlin Brandenburg/Willy Brandt International Airport (EDDB)—may lose its construction permit before it's completed. Read more...
Article
The AOPA Experience package in the AOPA Foundation's 2014 auction promised a flight in the association's Reimagined Cessna 152 during a visit to the association's headquarters. But winning bidder Rick Schwartz got more horsepower than he bargained for when the pilot and AOPA President's Council member got a ride in a North American T-6/SNJ during a visit May 27. Read more...
Article
Arizona flight instructor (and newly hired airline pilot) Blake Godfrey won the King Schools Alaska Seaplane Rating Sweepstakes.
Read more...
Article
Auburn University has been granted a waiver to operate a commercial drone school that will be open to the public.
Read more...
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Career Opportunities
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Aviation job board
The National Business Aviation Association, a nonprofit trade association serving a dynamic and growing industry filled with passionate people, has an exciting opportunity for an individual to manage the marketing production for NBAA's events. The job includes a focus on conferences and seminars and driving attendee registration and exhibit sales. An ideal candidate will have a bachelor's degree with two years of marketing experience and excellent communication skills.
Apply for this exciting opportunity today.
AOPA career opportunities
Ever dream of turning your passion for aviation into a career? We're looking for part time, temporary digital product support; an accounting clerk; account executive, AOPA corporate partnerships; manager, airport policy; 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.
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Question of the Week
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Question
What are three effects of a forward center of gravity on aircraft performance?
Answer
A forward center of gravity results in higher stall speed, slower cruise speed, and greater stability. (Source: Airplane Flying Handbook, Chapter 12.)
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
Jun 13-14 - Orlando, Florida; Santa Clara, California; and Bloomington, Minnesota
Jun 20-21 - Sterling, Virginia
Jun 27-28 - Charlotte, North Carolina; Columbus, Ohio; and Phoenix, Arizona
Jul 11-12 - Parsippany, New Jersey; and Millington, Tennessee
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
Jun 6 - Frederick, Maryland
Topics vary—for details and a complete schedule, see AOPA Online.
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Rusty Pilot Seminars
May 30 - Pasco, Washington; Englewood, Colorado; Newtown, Pennsylvania; and Goleta, California
Jun 6 - Frederick, Maryland
Jun 20 - Winnemucca, Nevada
Jun 27 - Fullerton, California
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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Photo Contest
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Who's your favorite co-pilot?
Pilots have been sharing their favorite photos of how they share their passion for general aviation and flying with their best flying friends. An overall winner will be picked by Sporty's and AOPA on May 29 for a grand prize. In the meantime, enjoy this week's winning photo, "Noah's first flight," submitted by Tom Laney.
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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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