Cats, Pig Boats, and Dumbos. PBY Catalina aircraft were originally built to defend the coasts of the United States but also served as bombers, escorts, and transports during World War II. Pilots affectionately called them Cats, Pig Boats, or Dumbos. This PBY—the P is for patrol, B for bomber, and Y designates it was built by Consolidated Aircraft—is painted in pre-war colors. It was restored by Jim Slattery for his Greatest Generation Museum at Gillespie Field in San Diego.
What: PBY Catalina
Where: San Diego, California
Photographer: Mike Fizer
Scholarships awarded
AOPA AV8RS 2015 winners
By Dan Namowitz
Four young people who are working toward goals in aviation have been named the 2015 recipients of the AOPA AV8RS Scholarship Program.
The scholarship program, in its second year, will award a total of $22,000 to recipients who were chosen from among the membership of AOPA AV8RS, a program that makes free AOPA memberships available to teens age 13 to 18.
The 2015 awards were funded through the nonprofit AOPA Foundation, and made possible by the Emil Buehler Perpetual Trust.
Scholarship recipients are chosen based on merit, past accomplishments, a demonstrated ability to set goals, and a commitment to general aviation. The program is open to all current members of AOPA AV8RS who are pursuing an aviation-related goal, including a primary pilot certificate; study in an aviation/aerospace field through an accredited aviation program; or attending an aviation or aerospace camp.
Allison M. Adams, 18, of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, has been awarded $8,150 to be applied toward college tuition. She is a new private pilot and is pursuing an aviation/pro-flight bachelor's degree at Eastern Kentucky University. Over the past four years she has volunteered for more than 100 hours at the Capital City Airport, working on aircraft maintenance.
Nicholas J. Remele, 18, of Phoenix, Arizona, is a sophomore at Arizona State University who will receive $6,000 to be applied toward college tuition. Remele, a private pilot who is pursuing a degree in aerospace engineering, is active with the Civil Air Patrol and holds the rank of Cadet 2nd Lieutenant. He also is active with the Boy Scouts, having become an Eagle Scout at 13.
Dylan J. Kuchan, 18, of Mesa, Arizona, is the recipient of a $5,000 scholarship toward the completion of his primary flight training. Kuchan is a high school senior in the East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT) aviation program in Mesa. He is planning to attend the University of North Dakota with the goal of becoming an international airline pilot
Jason M. Preston, 17, of Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, is the recipient of $3,000 to complete primary training. Preston attends Avon Grove High School, where he is in the eleventh grade. He is president and founder of the Avon Grove Aviation Club at his school. As the club’s founder, he hopes “to provoke positive social interaction and impact the demographic of the average age of aviators.”
“We are proud to recognize these four inspirational young AV8RS and help them build the skills they need to become leaders in aviation,” said AOPA President Mark Baker.
AOPA AV8RS membership is free and includes a digital subscription to Flight Training magazine; access to members-only content online; opportunities to connect with other AOPA AV8RS across the country through dedicated online social communities; a special e-newsletter with stories about young pilots; scholarship opportunities; and more.
Training news
Shift in training focus
Flight training providers gather at Redbird’s Migration
By Ian J. Twombly
Simulator manufacturer Redbird held its fifth annual Migration flight training conference at the company’s Skyport FBO in San Marcos, Texas, in November 2015. The gathering drew more than 200 flight training providers and industry leaders. Migration is a unique customer meeting, flight training symposium, and creative workshop.
Much of the focus of previous conferences has been on primary training, and that was largely absent this year. Hartzell Propeller President Joe Brown signaled the shift in his conference-opening comments. Brown has a passion for regular proficiency training, which he says can be accomplished in simulators both to increase quality and to decrease cost. Brown and other industry partners ran a successful pilot proficiency center at EAA AirVenture 2015, and he said the extensive scenario-based training that occurred can be emulated at flight schools around the country.
FAA Administrator Michael Huerta’s keynote followed a similar theme. Although we are in a period of phenomenal air carrier safety, he said, general aviation safety continues to be an area needing improvement. The FAA plans to push that agenda in a number of ways, including with its Part 23 rewrite and a new enforcement policy that seeks to provide pilots with training rather than punish them after a regulation bust (see “Career Pilot: The Friendlier FAA—For Real,” p. 48).
This is a year of transition for Redbird. As the company shifts focus away from the flight school, it’s directing its attention to collecting flight training data on a broader scale. On the ground, this will happen with its new operating platform called Redbird Navigator. Navigator is a single point of interaction for operators, enabling what Redbird says will be more seamless customer support and easier training operation. Simulators with Navigator installed can be driven with a laptop, phone, or tablet. In the air, data collection will happen with the previously announced Sidekick. Combined, Sidekick and Navigator will be able to track everything from student performance in simulators to how long it takes students to solo in the aircraft. What will ultimately be done with the data isn’t yet known.
ASI News
Go beyond textbook instrument flying
Real-world techniques for IMC
During instrument training, your flight instructor will teach you to fly within very precise parameters—an essential skill to operate successfully in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). But eventually, it can be helpful to have some additional knowledge and apply real-world techniques and procedures to reduce your workload when flying solo in IMC.
Expand your instrument training beyond the usual textbook limitations with the AOPA Air Safety Institute’s fourth course in its IFR Insights series. The recently released course—IFR Insights: A Practical Approach (www.airsafetyinstitute.org/ifrinsightsapproach)—shares some of the finer points of flying safely and efficiently in the IFR system. Not only will you discover practices used in the real world by seasoned pilots, instructors, and air traffic controllers, but the course—which is optimized for tablet computers—also discusses the practical side of staying ahead of the airplane, effectively communicating with ATC, and how and when to make the best use of departure procedures.
Enjoy tips on flying instrument approaches and planning for contingencies such as weather changes and route delays, and glean important insight into how to manage emergencies in IMC. Course completion qualifies for AOPA Accident Forgiveness and FAA Wings program credit.
This course is made possible by the generous support of the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation Inc. and the Tom Davis Fund.
Polish off the rust, return to the sky
Resources for lapsed pilots
Has it been quite some time since you’ve last flown? The AOPA Air Safety Institute’s Rusty Pilots Safety Spotlight (www.airsafetyinstitute.org/spotlight/rustypilots) provides a convenient way to get you back into the left seat.
This new spotlight brings together pertinent courses, videos, and publications that help plug any knowledge gaps and get you ready for flying again. Brush up on talking on the mic, polish your aerodynamics skills, and delve deeper into today’s airspace structure. Then, test your knowledge with a number of quizzes to solidify what you’ve learned, and before you know it, you’ll be ready to schedule the flight review with your instructor.
Racing with the Bull
Air races, wing suits—Red Bull flies high
By Julie Summers Walker
There’s a wider variety of things—aircraft, people, paper—flying with the Red Bull label than just about any other winged element in the world: The Red Bull Air Races concluded its 2015 season in Las Vegas in October; the Red Bull Aces wingsuit competition saw 40 competitors soar side by side in California; Chuck Aaron has been flipping his Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Bo 105 CBS helicopter to the delight of crowds for 10 years; the Red Bull Air Force features daring parachute and BASE jumpers; there’s even a Red Bull paper airplane competition. Red Bull, it says, gives wings to people and ideas—yep, literally.
Established in 1987 with a drink formula that originated in Thailand, Red Bull Gmbh of Austria is now the best-selling energy drink company in the world. But its branding decision—“instead of the commercial, be the show”—means that for aviation enthusiasts, the sky is limitless.
Americans Michael Goulian and Kirby Chambliss were among the 14 pilots who competed in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship concluding in October 2015. British pilot Paul Bonhomme won the 2015 series before announcing his retirement two days later; the races’ “Godfather,” Peter Besenyei of Hungary, also announced his retirement immediately after the race. Not to worry: The Red Bull Challengers series has young pilots in the—sorry for the pun—wings ready for 2016.
Also in October, the Red Bull Aces competition—where wingsuited racers jump from an airplane at 8,000 feet and speed through slalom gates at more than 100 mph—saw Andy Farrington of the United States win the series. That competition started in 2014.
Chuck Aaron performed his last show at the Red Bull Air Races in Las Vegas. The 66-year-old pilot is the only pilot approved by the FAA to perform low-level aerobatic demonstrations in helicopters. He has performed his signature act at more than 250 airshows, concluding each performance by “bowing” his Bo 105 to the audience. He has been a member of the Red Bull Air Force since 2005.
The Red Bull Air Force includes pilots, BASE jumpers, skydivers, and paragliders who perform at airshows all over the world. In the Red Bull Paper Wings World Championship, which returns in 2018, competitors throw paper airplanes to compete for longest distance, longest airtime, and aerobatics.
Last but not least is the Red Bull Flugtag, in which competitors create human-powered flying machines and fly as far as possible out over the water. The 2015 events took place in Portland, Oregon, in August and in Kobe, Japan, in October.
Photo courtesy Red Bull
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