Supporting America’s airports
Revitalized ASN program in action
AOPA launched its Airport Support Network program in 1997 to identify an AOPA member at each public-use airport in the country who would be willing to serve as the organization’s eyes and ears regarding threats to the airport. The program was immediately successful, with ASN volunteers providing critical information at threatened airports across the nation. These timely updates helped AOPA staff intervene with information to airport sponsors about the value of the airport; the airport’s grant obligations, if it had received federal or state funds; and guidance on best practices for land use or airport management that would keep the airport free of operational restrictions.
Today, there are more than 2,500 ASN volunteers throughout the country and 2016 launches with a new, invigorated initiative. According to Adam Williams, AOPA manager of airport policy, the ASN program will be more active than ever. “We’re delivering new tools to ASN volunteers,” he said. These include helpful summaries of complex airport topics, webinars, and a video for volunteers to present to the public. Going Higher: America’s Community Airports will debut at the Sun ’n Fun International Fly-In in April. ASN staff will be present at Sun ’n Fun, EAA AirVenture, and all of AOPA’s regional fly-ins this year. There will be presentations at each fly-in as well as free breakfast for volunteers. The launch of a new website section is also planned.
“Since the middle of last year my staff and I have been working to revitalize the Airport Support Network, one of AOPA’s most valued programs,” said Dawn Veatch, AOPA senior director of government affairs. “Our volunteers can soon expect an array of new resources to assist them in protecting their airports.”
89% of AOPA members say the closure of GA airports and access restriction are of high importance.
Volunteers needed
Prospective volunteers may find out online if their home airport is among those for which AOPA is recruiting Airport Support Network volunteers. These airports are all public-use, part of the FAA’s National Plan of Integrated Airport System, and federally obligated either through receipt of grant funds or land transfers.
AOPA on your side
AOPA has a long history of fighting to save the nation’s public-use airports from closure, but a lack of timely information is a serious impediment to effective airport advocacy. Too often, local pilots have called the association for help just as the local government was meeting that evening, or in the next few days, to discuss closing the airport. Receiving information early and partnering with local pilots is far more effective. Engaging local members in the fight is vital to a positive outcome. Local politicians are much more likely to respond to the concerns of their constituents. Providing a series of “how-to” guides on everything from airport open houses and understanding planning and zoning to talking with the media, AOPA equips its ASN volunteers and other airport supporters with the tools they need to become effective advocates for their airports.
Web: www.aopa.org/asn
Products and Services
Right-seat rules
Where does the PIC have to sit?
By Jim Pinegar
Q: It occurred to me that if I ever had to land the airplane from the right seat, it would be good to have some experience doing that and feel comfortable. Is flying my airplane from the right seat OK with my insurance company?
A: There are no legal rules that specify where a PIC has to sit. However, there may be limitations in your aircraft’s pilot’s operating handbook that stipulate a certain seat must be used. Barring that, in general an insurance company won’t have any problems with you flying from the right seat. Sounds easy, right? Well, there’s more to the story—a lot more. Questions about who was PIC can lead to questions regarding coverage. Make certain it’s always clear, both inside and outside of the cockpit, who is PIC.
Although each accident is reviewed on its own merits, let’s review how an insurance company might handle a worst-case scenario: a double fatality. The insurance company will review items such as the pilot qualifications of the front-seat occupants. Is the left-seat occupant a pilot (or student) and the right seat a CFI? This could be construed as instruction, and now we may have a problem. Another factor is control considerations: Is the only fuel shutoff/selector on the left side of the aircraft? If so, are we sure the right seat was actually PIC? On the other hand, if no one else is in the aircraft and it’s just you in the right seat, there’s no question who was PIC.
In many aircraft, switching seats means swapping flying and throttle hands, and instruments may read differently since you are now viewing them from a different angle. Certain maneuvers will feel different, particularly stalls and steep turns. If you only want to do a few patterns, I would consider having a qualified CFI sit left seat while you get your right-seat experience.
Jim Pinegar is vice president of AOPA Insurance Services. Have a question? Email [email protected]
$45,406: Average price of a remanufactured Continental IO-550-N in your Cirrus SR22
Adam Meredith, president of AOPA Finance, explains options for loans for engine overhauls, avionics upgrades, paint, and more through AOPA Aviation Finance online (www.aopa.org/pilot/upgrades16).
ANSWERS FOR PILOTS
Purchasing an aircraft
AOPA FOUNDATION
Together we can make a difference. Join AOPA member philanthropists who have funded AOPA Foundation initiatives this year.
Air Safety Institute
Put your nose in it
Prevent misfueling with AOPA’s fuel-ordering cards
While completely preventable, aircraft misfueling continues to be a problem. The AOPA Air Safety Institute and other aviation organizations are helping to prevent such accidents by raising awareness.
As pilots, we often focus on how much fuel we’ll need for a flight, an important piece of our flight planning. But we should also pay attention to what can cause our aircraft to be misfueled—and not surprisingly, human error is often at the root of the problem. For example, a simple miscommunication during a fuel order can result in an aircraft’s tanks receiving the wrong fuel.
Unfortunately, “simple” is anything but: For piston pilots, jet fuel contamination of avgas (100LL) is especially dangerous because it’s impossible to distinguish pure 100LL from a mixture of 100LL and Jet A simply by checking the fuel’s color. “A 50/50 mix of 100LL and jet fuel looks just like avgas,” said Air Safety Institute Senior Vice President George Perry. “The old drain-and-look method is not good enough. What you really need to do is put your nose in it and smell. If you detect an oily smell, then unfortunately, there’s a high likelihood that your fuel is contaminated.” Unlike 100LL, Jet A fuel has a zero-octane rating. If a piston engine runs with a mixture of 100LL and Jet A, engine-destroying detonation almost certainly will occur.
To make sure pilots and those responsible for fueling their aircraft have no doubt about the type, location (tanks), and amount of fuel needed, ASI developed fuel-ordering cards that pilots can personalize with information specific to their aircraft. The cards, which can be ordered from Vistaprint, will help all involved in the fueling process clearly communicate and confirm the correct fuel order.
For tips on preventing misfueling and on how AOPA’s customizable fuel ordering cards can help, read “Prevent Misfueling—Carry the Card that Can Save Your Life!”. Also, check out ASI’s Fuel Management Safety Spotlight for additional information on proper fuel management.
First, do no harm: The ill advice of a mission mindset
Making good decisions all of the time is a difficult process, but it is critical to help us avoid the circumstances that lead to really tough choices. Good decisions and the best intentions can be infected by a “mission mindset,” which can be very difficult to shake once allowed to take hold.
Witness Accident Case Study: Rescue Gone Wrong, which recounts a pilot’s unfortunate decision to launch on a flight in an admirable attempt to save a hiker. That flight holds lessons for all pilots about the danger of succumbing to a mission mindset.
This re-creation of that 2009 accident—a New Mexico State Police helicopter’s crash in the mountains near Santa Fe—looks at the flight’s environment and provides analysis of the decisions that led the pilot down a path to disaster.
New ASI seminar
‘Emergency! Getting it Right when Things Go Wrong’
How will you react in an emergency? Visit the website for dates and locations near you.
Pilot Protection Services
Pilot Information Center
Document drama
Keys to sending medical information to the FAA
By Gary Crump, AOPA Senior Medical Specialist
A day doesn’t go by here in the Pilot Information Center that we don’t speak with a member who is anxious and/or frustrated by an FAA request to provide medical records for review in support of a medical certificate application. As electronic records are now the rule rather than the exception, there are some rules of thumb in managing the process of providing medical records to the FAA.
The best first suggestion is to understand that anything you report on the FAA MedXpress application for the first time should be supplemented with at least a report from your treating physician that explains what the yes response is all about. That applies to any “yes” responses in item 18, the medical history section; any new medications you are taking that haven’t been reported before; or any new visits to health professionals other than your routine periodic wellness physicals with your primary care doctor.
Once you have that information, take it with you to the AME. A good report from the treating doctor can be the difference between being issued a medical in the office or having to endure an often-lengthy delay if your application is deferred.
We strongly encourage you, though, not to rely on the AME—or any other third party, for that matter—to send your records to the FAA for you. In many situations, those records fall through the cracks and never get to the FAA. In the meantime, you’re waiting impatiently for your certificate to show up in the mail. When you do hear from the FAA, the letter will probably be asking for the information you thought had already been sent. You should assume responsibility for the chain of custody of your records, so mail them to the FAA yourself. And be sure to make copies of everything for your records, just in case the set going to the FAA gets lost in transit.
One final thought: Read the FAA letters carefully and provide the FAA with only what it is asking for—nothing more, nothing less! Many medical office records do not provide an individual report for each office encounter, but rather run a continuous record for each visit. If you ask your health care provider for a copy of your records, you may be getting records that list your entire medical history with that physician that could span years. That history may include medical conditions or medications that you don’t even remember and/or haven’t reported before to the FAA. If that information gets to the FAA and something jumps out as “aeromedically significant,” it could take months of back and forth with the FAA before your medical is issued. Just be aware of what you are providing the FAA.
Gary Crump is the senior director of medical certification for AOPA’s Pilot Information Center and a consultant for Pilot Protection Services.
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