Training News and Notes

2016 'Flight Training' poll open

Share your experience

Have you flown with a flight instructor recently? Whether you’re a student getting ready to solo or a longtime pilot who just finished a flight review, it’s time to take the annual AOPA Flight Training Poll.

Tell us about your experiences with a flight school or an individual flight instructor. Results will be used to select the winners of the 2016 Flight Training Excellence Awards.

What’s more, you will be eligible to enter the accompanying sweepstakes. Prizes include a $150 Aircraft Spruce & Specialty gift card, your choice of a Jeppesen Part 61 private pilot or instrument pilot kit, a Pilot Workshops Real World VFR online course, and your choice of a Sporty’s Learn to Fly or Instrument Rating online course.

Go online to submit your comments. Flight training providers will find promotional resources, including a sample strategy and timeline, an example of a promotional email, talking points for flight instructors, a poster to display at your flight school or FBO, and a webinar on how to succeed in the Flight Training Poll. The poll closes on August 22.

AOPA to award $156,000 in scholarships

Applications are open for three different AOPA flight training scholarship programs that will award a total of more than $156,000.

“AOPA’s scholarships are a great way to simultaneously grow the pilot community and teach young people the responsibility and skills that lead to careers in aviation and aerospace,” said Cindy Hasselbring, senior director of AOPA’s high school aviation initiative.

AOPA Foundation Scholarship. The AOPA Foundation Scholarships will be awarded to passionate AOPA members, ages 16 and up, in support of their efforts to earn an initial pilot certificate. The application deadline is July 7. 

AOPA You Can Fly High School Flight Training Scholarship. The AOPA You Can Fly High School Flight Training Scholarship program will award 20 flight training scholarships to teens ages 15 to 18. AOPA membership is not required. The application deadline is September 30. 

AV8RS Scholarship. Up to four scholarships totaling $15,000 will be awarded to deserving AOPA AV8RS pursuing an aviation-related goal, including a primary pilot certificate, study in an aviation or aerospace field through an accredited aviation program, or attending an aviation or aerospace camp. AOPA AV8RS is a free AOPA membership for teens ages 13 to 18. The deadline is September 30.

https://youcanfly.aopa.org/scholarships

Science grant introduces aviation to Alabama students

Tuskegee University will introduce aviation to Alabama middle school students and teachers, thanks to a $482,107 grant from the National Science Foundation.

The university announced in May that installing flight simulators in Macon County classrooms would bolster science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning for students and their teachers.

The “Fly High Your Math and Science Skills” project includes professional development for teachers and hands-on summer camps for students that will “help them experience and understand the importance of math and science in the real world,” according to the school.

An aerospace specialist and a mathematics professor are steering the three-year project that begins September 1.

“Exposure of middle school students to this learning environment at Tuskegee University will enhance learning, excite interest, and motivate our target audience,” said Chadia Affane Aji, professor of mathematics and the project head. —David Tulis

TFR violations down

The number of general aviation violations of temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) has dropped by 50 percent since 2009, and the head of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) credited AOPA for its role in reducing the number of incursions.

Adm. William Gortney, the outgoing NORAD commander, thanked AOPA President Mark Baker for the association’s efforts to reduce the number of violations of special-use airspace and the resulting NORAD intercepts, saying, “together we have made amazing progress.”

AOPA has long taken an active role in trying to reduce the number of TFR violations by working closely with the FAA and military to raise awareness of TFRs, alerting AOPA members to TFRs in their areas, and advocating for cutouts for small airports to allow operations to continue safely near TFRs for VIPs.

“No pilot wants to violate a TFR or be intercepted by a military aircraft, so we work hard to inform our members and the whole GA community about the times and locations of restrictions,” said Nobuyo Sakata, AOPA director of aviation security. “But we’re also working hard to improve the system, reduce errors, and ensure that pilots have reliable access to the information they need.”

AOPA co-chairs an RTCA industry-government committee that will issue comprehensive recommendations for improving TFRs, including addressing errors in graphical depictions and improving user friendliness.

TFRs are issued through the notam system. The new Federal Notam System, which is scheduled to go live in September, will replace technology that has been in place for more than 30 years.

The FAA’s Notam Search website is replacing PilotWeb, which will sunset after the transition of the notam system in September. Notam Search offers improvements such as filtering and searching to help pilots see the notams important to their route of flight.

ASI NEWS

Get to know runways and taxiways in a flash

How well do you know those stripes, dashes, and twinkling lights?

Flashcards are a great way to learn about new or complex topics. Take, for example, the plethora of runway and taxiway signs, markings, and lighting you’ll need to become familiar with. Although not all airports have complex systems, you still need to know their meanings so you can safely coexist with other airplanes at airports of any size and configuration. Your flight instructor will introduce them to you during training, and you can bet that you’ll need to explain what they mean when you’re ready to solo. Also, you’ll be tested on the subject eventually, whether for your checkride or flight review. So how best can you get to know the stripes, dashes, and twinkling airport lights that provide the directions for landing, departing, holding short, and moving on airport surfaces?

The AOPA Air Safety Institute released a digital, updated version of its runway safety flashcards. The cards are high-resolution illustrations of signs, markings, and lighting found at airports. Cards that depict pulsing lights embed animation to replicate what you’ll see in real life. Each illustration includes an explanation to associate the images with their directives. There’s also a reference to the FAA regulations that govern them.

Download the flashcards to your mobile device, such as a tablet or smartphone. Share the download link with your flight instructor and fellow student pilots. Use the “Save PDF” link in the top tool bar or the printer-friendly link on the last page in case you need to print the cards and stick them in your flight bag.

Up or down, left or right—which way am I heading?

You’ve learned about spatial disorientation. Your flight instructor has warned that it can occur in any situation that deprives you of natural, visual references. That it will mess up your sense of balance during flight. And unusual attitude recovery training teaches you to recognize and counter the effects of spatial disorientation. You get it: Flying on hazy days with a faint horizon, or over dark terrain on a starless night, is not a good idea. But how are you at recognizing the dangers of wandering VFR into marginal or instrument conditions—or becoming distracted programming the GPS or radios? Use the AOPA Air Safety Institute’s Spatial Disorientation quiz to test your knowledge and arm yourself against this tricky condition.

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF MEMBERS

The annual meeting of the members of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association will be held at 9 a.m. on Friday, September 9, 2016, at the headquarters of AOPA, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, Maryland, 21701, located on Frederick Municipal Airport (FDK), for the purpose of receiving reports and transacting such other business as may properly come before the meeting, specifically including the election of trustees. If you are not able to attend, but would like to appoint your voting proxy, please go online or call 800-872-2672. —Kenneth M. Mead, Secretary