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Top Stories
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You Can Fly
AOPA has awarded $5,000 scholarships to 21 high school students through the association's You Can Fly High School Aviation Initiative. The $105,000 in scholarships was awarded to current high school students ages 15 to 18 who intend to earn an initial pilot certificate; the scholarships were made possible by donations to the AOPA Foundation. Read more...
 
Article
Orville and Wilbur Wright were secretive and extremely protective of the designs for their new flying machines, said The Wright Experience's Ken Hyde, an aircraft restorer who unlocked their mysteries. "If they hadn't been so secretive there would be nothing for us to discover," Hyde said from his working museum in Warrenton, Virginia. Read more...
AOPA Live This Week
The FAA has issued a cease-and-desist order demanding that the city of Santa Monica, California, stop trying to force out airport tenants. Also this week, re-creating the Wright Flyer from scratch; and a sixteenth birthday trio of solos in a 1946 Piper Cub, a vintage Stearman, and a T-6 Texan for Aaron Tippin's son. Watch AOPA Live This Week®, Dec. 15...
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Technique and Safety
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Video
Margins of Safety: Low Altitude Maneuvering, the fourth and final installment in the AOPA Air Safety Institute's Margins of Safety video series, explores how to maneuver aircraft safely down low. Although it is something pilots do on every flight without giving it much thought—and it's not very different from maneuvering at altitude—slow speed and low altitude decrease the margins for error. Watch the video...
AOPA Premier Partner created content
ForeFlight's Version 8 includes significant upgrades and features. This eight-minute video from AOPA Premier Partner PilotWorkshops reveals tips for getting the most out of the new version. Watch the video...
Online resource
The AOPA Air Safety Institute's latest CFI to CFI digital newsletter explains why it's critical to employ the checklist with care, when needed. Also, learn why pilots shouldn't hesitate to ask for help when in trouble, trade flight training tips, and explore the challenges and opportunities new flight instructors face. Not a subscriber? Add the free quarterly newsletter to your flight bag. Read more...
Blog
AOPA Air Safety Institute Senior Safety Advisor Bruce Landsberg analyzes the BAE 146 Avro RJ85 crash in Colombia based on the preliminary investigative information currently available. Read more...
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Advocacy
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Advocacy
The FAA has announced the next step as it moves forward with third class medical reform. A final rule is expected sometime in January 2017, but the implementation date, when pilots will be able to fly under the new regulations, is not known at this time. Read more...
Advocacy
The mayor of Santa Monica, California, told the Los Angeles Times that the city remained "committed" to ousting both remaining fixed-base operators from Santa Monica Municipal Airport, and was "disappointed but not surprised" that the FAA issued a cease-and-desist order blocking eviction of Atlantic Aviation and American Flyers. Read more...
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Advocacy
AOPA is once again calling on the FAA to create a comprehensive policy to make it easier and more affordable to equip the existing general aviation fleet with "low-cost, modern technology." In a letter to the FAA, the association submitted recommendations aimed at software verification and production approvals that would help the FAA remove barriers to aircraft modernization. Read more...
Advocacy
The human element in flight service is far too important to discard for the foreseeable future, AOPA said in a formal response to the FAA’s request for input before the next round of the program's modernization. Read more...
Advocacy
Special air traffic procedures have been released in advance of the NCAA National College Football Championship in Tampa, Florida, Jan. 9, 2017. An influx of traffic is expected to push several airports in the area to their maximum capacity. Read more...
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Technology
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Article
After years of development, flexible flaps are said to be ready for the market, while research has produced airfoils even more radical than that in their shape-shifting abilities. An effort to reduce noise and improve efficiency has produced another new take on business jet tails—a u-shaped departure from the status quo that makes for quieter flights. Another new wing can bend and flex like a bird's. Read more...
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Opinion
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Blog
Kyle Fosso, a 21-year-old who rebuilt his 1954 Cessna 170B and learned to fly, will be traveling around the country in his aircraft, talking to high school students and offering rides. "For someone so young, Kyle gives us all an example on how to share passion, exhibit dedication, and persevere over some large obstacles," writes Opinion Leaders blogger Jolie Lucas. Read more...
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Gear
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Article
Running out of time to order aviation gifts for a pilot or aviation enthusiast and receive them in time for the holidays? Here are some last-minute gift ideas you can find online or at general retailers and home improvement stores near you to help you fill stockings. Read more...
Article
The elves in AOPA's social media department are spreading holiday cheer through a "12 Days of Pilot Gear Giveaway" Facebook campaign that kicked off Dec. 14 and runs through Dec. 25. To participate in the campaign, simply "like" AOPA's Facebook page, watch for a photo of the day's giveaway item, and answer the associated question. Read more...
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Travel
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Online resource
Many pilots will be flying to family get-togethers this holiday season. Here are some tips for flying with children and pets to keep the "merry" in your flight experiences. Read more...
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Financial
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Article
Textron Aviation has removed parts from dozens of Cessna Skycatcher aircraft still in its inventory and has sent the remaining fuselages to the scrap heap. Photos of the airframes being loaded into dumpsters have been swirling around social media. Read more...
AOPA Aviation Finance
The airplane you bought five years ago needs an engine overhaul, and while you're at it, you might as well update that panel. How will you pay for these improvements? AOPA Aviation Finance Co. President Adam Meredith offers some advice. Read more...
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News and Notes
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Article
Seattle seaplane pilot Anna Gullickson has a soft spot for animals of any kind. However, it was wild orcas, the black-and-white killer whales that she spotted from her flights over the San Juan Islands, that triggered an idea to paint their image onto a working seaplane plying the skies above the whales’ natural habitat. Read more...
Article
Dozens of pilots came together on a breezy weekend to fly school supplies and holiday trimmings from Stevensville, Maryland's Bay Bridge Airport to some 600 residents living in the Virginia fishing village of Tangier Island located in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. Read more...
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Member benefit
AOPA Insurance Services Vice President and Director of Operations Jim Pinegar shares three tips he considers before flying his Cessna in cold weather. Read more...
Pilot Protection Services
An aircraft's certificate of registration may not receive much attention, except for a pilot confirming that it is carried aboard the aircraft or the owner submitting a renewal every three years. However, Part 47, Aircraft Registration, of the federal aviation regulations, includes several requirements that some aircraft owners and pilots may not be aware of until a ramp check or pilot deviation investigation. 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? AOPA is looking for a flying club initiative director, travel and destination products director, program administration manager, account executive, donor relations director, New York You Can Fly ambassador, aviation technical specialist, and aviation financial analyst. To learn more about these and other AOPA career opportunities, visit AOPA Online.
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Question of the Week
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Question
Aside from repairing any damage and addressing maintenance concerns, is there anything else you should consider doing after you have a bird strike?
Answer
You may want to consider filling out a NASA report, and you also should fill out this report for wildlife strikes. You can submit the form electronically, and you can use the links on the left side of the page to search the database of reported strikes and learn about wildlife hazard mitigation. For more information, see this AOPA subject report.
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
Jan 7-8 - Charlotte, North Carolina; Rockford, Tennessee; Santa Clara, California; and Ypsilanti, Michigan
Jan 14-15 - Bellevue, Washington; Elkridge, Maryland; and Ridgeland, Mississippi
Jan 21-22 - San Antonio, Texas; Portland, Oregon; and Long Beach, California
Feb 11-12 - Fort Worth, Texas; Louisville, Kentucky; Nashua, New Hampshire; and Kenner, Louisiana
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
Jan 9 - Reno, Nevada
Jan 10 - Sacramento, California; and Houston, Texas
Jan 11 - Milpitas, California; and San Antonio, Texas
Jan 12 - Austin, Texas; and Santa Rosa, California
Topics vary—for details and a complete schedule, see AOPA Online.
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Rusty Pilots Seminars
Dec 17 - Fort Myers, Florida
Jan 7 - Lebanon, Tennessee
Jan 14 - Bucyrus, Ohio; Bethany, Oklahoma; Stevensville, Maryland; Fort Myers, Florida; and Columbus, Georgia
For a complete schedule, see AOPA Online.
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ePilot Editors:
Alyssa Miller
Jim Moore
David Tulis
Production Assistant:
Melissa Whitehouse
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Contributors:
Mike Collins
Sarah Deener
Dave Hirschman
Tom Horne
Alton K. Marsh
Warren Morningstar
Dan Namowitz
Jill W. Tallman
Ian J. Twombly
Julie Summers Walker
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