Go Far. For venturing out where 100LL avgas is hard to find, Glasair offers the option of a diesel engine for its Sportsman model. Glasair builds kits in Arlington, Washington, and has eyes on the international market, where the price difference between Jet A and avgas can be as much as $15 a gallon. Where a gallon of jet fuel costs $4.50, avgas might be as much as $20—if avgas is available at all.
What: Glasair Sportsman Diesel 2+2
Where: Spokane, Washington
Photographer: Mike Fizer
FAA news
New guidance for CFIs
Check out these changes
The FAA has issued updated guidance for flight instructors conducting flight reviews and instrument proficiency checks (IPCs), and AOPA is urging instructors to look closely at the changes.
The FAA’s new Advisory Circular 61-98C, Currency Requirements and Guidance for the Flight Review and Instrument Proficiency Check, adds stabilized approaches and landings, automation system failures, and English language proficiency to the sample checklists the FAA urges CFIs to use during flight reviews and IPCs.
Many of the recommendations grew out of the work of the General Aviation Joint Steering Committee, a government-industry group focused on reducing GA accidents.
In the advisory circular, the FAA cites the committee’s finding that loss of control is the leading cause of GA accidents and a study showing that loss of control is most likely to occur when pilots lack proficiency, making flight reviews and IPCs—along with personal proficiency programs—particularly important in helping to prevent such accidents. Specifically, the FAA identifies traffic pattern operations, approaches to landing, and instrument conditions as the situations where loss of control is most likely to occur.
The FAA also notes that, while modern avionics and flight automation equipment deliver enormous safety benefits, over-reliance on such technology can create hazards of its own. To help mitigate those hazards, the FAA reminds CFIs to ensure pilots are proficient with any avionics and automated systems in the aircraft, and know what to do if they fail.
The FAA also recommends that CFIs emphasize the importance of angle of attack indicators in GA aircraft. When working with pilots flying aircraft that already have angle of attack indicators, CFIs are urged to ensure that the pilots understand the equipment and how to use it.
The revised advisory circular also strongly urges pilots and CFIs to complete Form 8710-1 and file it with the FAA for all flight reviews and IPCs. The form is not required, but can provide a record of the training received, helping the FAA keep track of pilot proficiency and providing a backup source of information for a pilot whose logbook is lost or destroyed.
The advisory circular also reminds CFIs that a flight review or IPC can only be satisfactorily completed if the pilot meets English language proficiency standards in accordance with AC 60-28A.
“Flight reviews and IPCs are an important touchstone for pilots, and provide a meaningful opportunity for CFIs to provide training that can improve safety,” said Justin Barkowski, AOPA director of regulatory affairs. “We strongly encourage CFIs to review the updated guidance and adjust their practices as appropriate.”
‘Your freedom to fly’
Notice a change in the AOPA wings? The association unveiled a new logo and tag line in January. The pilots and aviation enthusiasts at AOPA believe flying is about as much fun as a person can have in any machine, and the updated tagline—“Your freedom to fly”—expresses the association’s commitment to making sure current and aspiring pilots can enjoy the freedom and exhilaration of flight. Watch for the new logo in the pages of Flight Training magazine, online, and in person at an AOPA Fly-In or aviation event near you.
News
First flight of M10T
New aircraft designed for flight training
The first flight of the M10T proof-of-concept aircraft from Mooney International Corp. was completed in December 2015. Test pilot Len Fox performed the flight near Chino Airport in California. The flight lasted approximately 15 minutes, with Fox conducting basic flight maneuvers and verifying design data.
“The flight was a tremendous milestone for the M10 program,” said Jerry Chen, chief executive officer of Mooney International. “Our team of engineers have been working very hard to reach this day, and we are excited to have achieved this milestone in 2015, just one year after announcing the M10 program at Zhuhai Airshow in China.”
The M10T is Mooney’s new-design, carbon-fiber, three-seat, fixed-gear aircraft. Powered by the Continental Technify CD-135 Jet-A diesel-cycle engine, the M10 is designed specifically for flight training operations. The M10T will continue testing as the program works toward certification in the next few years.
GAMA scholarships announced
Two scholarships sponsored by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) are available for a graduating high school senior or a college student pursuing aviation as a career.
High school seniors graduating in the spring of 2016 can apply for the $2,000 Edward W. Stimpson Aviation Excellence Award after they are accepted and enrolled in a college aviation degree core program. Courses of study can include flight training, management, aerospace education, maintenance technician, airway science, and other aviation-specific tracks. Stimpson was a founder of GAMA and served as its president from 1970 to 1990, and again from 1992 to 1996.
College flight team pilots can now apply for the Dr. Harold S. Wood Award for Excellence and its $2,000 scholarship if they are a flight team member at a National Intercollegiate Flying Association member school. The award is named after the flying association’s founder and a former executive director.
“Applicants are judged on the basis of academic skills, aviation-related and non-aviation-related extracurricular activities, and an essay on their plans to pursue aviation in the future,” GAMA said. The applicants also must have a 3.0 or better grade-point average. The Wood award will be announced at the National Intercollegiate Flying Association’s annual Safecon awards banquet set for Ohio State University Airport in May.
Both scholarship deadlines are April 15. Visit the website (www.gama.aero/advocacy/aviation-education/) for more information.
Vending machine concept
Flight schools can get simulators via pay-per-use program
By Jill W. Tallman
Xylon Saltzman wants to put a simulator in every flight school. His company, one-G simulation, will deliver and install an FAA-approved advanced aviation training device (AATD) with no up-front cost.
The one-G Access program “in some respects is kind of a vending machine concept,” Saltzman said. “We deliver the machine, at our cost, and we absorb the shipping fees. We arrive on site, [connect] it to power and Internet, train the site administrator or chief flight instructor on its use, and the flight school begins to use it immediately.”
The program offers one-G’s $30,000 Foundation, an AATD modeled on the Cessna 172, coupled with the 1G-IOS, an operating station controlled by a wireless tablet that allows flight instructors to create scenario-based training sessions.
Flight schools don’t pay for the unit. One-G receives a percentage of the hourly rental rate. Student and instructor create unique credentials to log on to the unit. A timer starts when the session begins, and the software tracks the time. “It then reports that use to our server in real time and it does that via the Internet,” Saltzman said. If the Internet connection is lost, the session is not interrupted, and when the connection is restored the unit’s software reports the use during that downtime. The instructor’s fee is not included in the billing process.
“Flight schools are only billed for the actual time that the machine is running,” Saltzman said. “They don’t have any overhead while it’s sitting there and not being used.”
One-G determines the hourly rental rate, taking into account the flight school’s geographic location and other factors. A sliding scale provides what Saltzman terms “incentivized use”: The more the simulator is used, the more flight schools will earn per hour.
“If they want to charge less [than the negotiated hourly rate], they’re welcome to charge less, if they think it will bring customers in the door,” Saltzman said. “We just retain a percentage of the hourly income from the machine. If they find through their own market valuation they will get more volume and do better by lowering the rate, they’re welcome to do that.”
Flight schools that wish to purchase the unit outright can do that as well, he said.
Saltzman said one-G Access will help flight schools that haven’t yet integrated simulation into their curriculum, as well as those businesses that don’t have the financial means to acquire a simulator.
The one-G Foundation is a full cockpit with yoke constructed from anodized aluminum stock to match the feel and weight of the real thing. It rolls on castors, fits through a standard 36-inch door, and can be placed in a variety of locations. It includes a suite of avionics, such as the 1G-650, a GPS emulator module based on the Garmin GTN 650. The Foundation achieved FAA approval in 2014.
Saltzman's company, formed in 2010, wants to improve aviation safety training through model-specific devices accessible to all pilots. The company also makes the Tarbes 7, which replicates a Socata TBM 700 cockpit, and the Flagship, which simulates a Beech Bonanza or Baron 58. All units are assembled in Seattle, Washington.
Saltzman said the one-G Access program has been tested with several flight schools in the Pacific Northwest. He said the company wanted to ensure that it fully understood the trend of “what we have been seeing with reliability and integration between hardware and software, so that we could really support this program and understand if there were any gaps in how we expected it would go,” he said. “It’s going beautifully. The schools that have it here in the Pacific Northwest unanimously agreed it’s working well for them.”
For more information on one-G products and programs, contact the company via email ([email protected]) or by telephone (888-751-1011).
Dreams Soar
Female pilot to fly the world
Shaesta Waiz, 28, is the first certificated female civilian fixed-wing pilot from Afghanistan. She will attempt to become the youngest female to fly solo around the world starting June 2 from Daytona Beach, Florida.
Waiz launched Dreams Soar—a global initiative to inspire women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)—in 2014. She is currently completing her Master of Business Administration at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and launched the Women’s Ambassador Program there in 2012. The program influenced an increase in female enrollment at the university from 14 percent to 19 percent in its first year. Through Dreams Soar, she has spoken to thousands of students in more than 12 states and six countries.
Waiz is expected to travel 27,318 nautical miles in a Beechcraft Bonanza A36 over 90 days. She will visit 33 cities and 18 countries, and cross five continents. An instrument-rated pilot, she will attend FlightSafety International’s Bonanza initial training course before the flight. Her flight is sponsored by Embry-Riddle, Bose, and the American Bonanza Society, among others.
AOPA news
Full STEM ahead
First High School Aviation Symposium a success
By Ian J. Twombly
More than 150 educators, administrators, pilots, and aviation industry leaders came together to share ideas in Lakeland, Florida, for AOPA’s inaugural High School Aviation Symposium.
The meeting was the kickoff of AOPA’s plan to support science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education programs around the country. Leaders and teachers from programs as diverse as aviation-centric high schools and small after-school clubs came together to network, learn why aviation STEM education is important, and understand how they could start or improve their own programs.
“I got my start in a ground school class in high school,” AOPA President Mark Baker said in his opening remarks. He stressed that supporting students in high school will result in long-term industry growth, and that AOPA is committed to the cause.
Attendees toured the Central Florida Aerospace Academy, the host school of the event. The public high school career academy is associated with Lakeland’s Kathleen High School. Students come from all over the area to learn about avionics, maintenance, aviation, and engineering. More than 40 students have earned a private pilot certificate through the school.
To give high school education leaders an opportunity to learn from each other, AOPA formed the National High School Aviation Leadership Alliance, whose charter members will be aviation high school principals, CEOs, superintendents, program leaders, and guidance counselors. A meeting of the alliance will be held each year at a different aviation high school to give the leaders a chance to share best practices and learn firsthand from one another about the variety of aviation education programs, curricula, and formats. AOPA has tapped Patrick Cwayna, chief executive officer of the West Michigan Aviation Academy in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to head up the leadership alliance as one part of the association’s three-part plan to strengthen high school aviation education nationwide.
The other two prongs of AOPA’s plan are a nationwide group of high school aviation career clubs and a support structure that will help fund various STEM programs and their students, with grants and other backing. For more information, or to get involved, email [email protected].
Industry News
You Can Fly programs ramping up
New tools for flying clubs, and much more
Free scheduling software is among a suite of new benefits and tools now available for flying clubs. The software, available to AOPA Flying Club Network members, allows clubs to schedule up to six “resources,” such as aircraft and flight instructors.
With an unlimited number of users and the capability to process credit card payments and create invoices, the software from Multi Service Technology Solutions Inc. offers the capability and flexibility to serve clubs of all sizes and types.
Joining the AOPA Flying Club Network is free, and clubs can sign up online (www.aopa.org/flyingclubs).
The software simplifies the process for clubs and their members to schedule flights, lessons, maintenance, and more. Additionally, the updated online AOPA Flying Club Finder offers new filters to let pilots search for the kind of club and amenities they want. From flight training to tailwheel or Light Sport aircraft, the AOPA Flying Club Finder offers sophisticated search functions and an updated interactive map feature so pilots can identify and connect with the best clubs in their area. There’s no fee to list a club.
AOPA also offers a new resource library with detailed information about starting and operating a flying club. The library breaks down the process into clear, manageable steps that correspond to AOPA’s new Checklist for Starting a Flying Club. In addition to step-by-step guidance, the library includes sample bylaws, articles of incorporation, lease agreements, and other useful documents.
The AOPA Flying Club Network is part of AOPA’s collection of You Can Fly programs designed to get people flying and keep them flying, and it is supported by donations to the AOPA Foundation. Together with other You Can Fly programs such as the AOPA Flight Training Initiative, AOPA High School Initiative, and Rusty Pilots program, the AOPA Flying Club Network makes general aviation more accessible and affordable.
“We are 100-percent committed to welcoming newcomers into aviation and keeping today’s pilots in the air,” said Katie Pribyl, AOPA senior vice president in charge of the You Can Fly programs. “That’s why we’re investing in the resources, tools, and innovations to make flying easier, more fun, and more affordable.”
In 2015, AOPA’s You Can Fly programs helped launch 10 flying clubs, welcomed more than 3,200 lapsed pilots back into flying, hosted 97 Rusty Pilots seminars, honored the nation’s best flight instructors and schools, and brought together educators from across the country to cooperate on bringing aviation education into high schools nationwide.
Sennheiser drops the mic
Audio company leaving the headset market
Sennheiser will stop selling pilot headsets after February. The German audio company, known for headsets and microphones built for music and other applications, will continue to support its aviation headsets, which include the top-end S1.
“Our decision to leave the pilots’ headset sector was not taken lightly, especially as we have played a key role in the development of audio transmission in the cockpit, for example by introducing the world’s first headset with active noise compensation to receive FAA-TSO certification,” said Peter Claussen, Sennheiser’s chief operating officer. “We will redirect our aviation-specific resources to focus on our key business of headphone and microphone technology.”
The company pledged to fulfill all guarantees and service obligations. February 29 will be the final day for headset sales, although some distributors may still have them after that while supplies last.
Flight School News
Embry-Riddle selects Diamond
New fleet will generate fuel savings and more
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has selected the diesel-powered Diamond DA42-VI to provide multiengine training at its Daytona Beach, Florida, campus.
Deliveries are expected to begin in April, with all 10 aircraft scheduled to be in place by the start of the 2016 fall semester. The carbon composite DA42s are equipped with 168-horsepower turbodiesel Austro engines, which are more fuel efficient than comparable avgas engines. The aircraft are expected to generate more than $3 million in fuel savings over the next eight years, compared to conventional twin-engine aircraft.
Embry-Riddle’s Prescott, Arizona, campus has four DA42s. At the university’s Prescott campus, the DA42 is used for training with an average fuel burn of 10.4 gph of jet fuel. The DA42-VI is the newest version of Diamond’s light piston twin.
“Our students love flying them,” said Ken Byrnes, chair of Embry-Riddle’s flight department. “This is an exciting step forward for our university.”
Tempus accepting students
Affordable scenario-based training offered
Tempus Training Solutions, a subsidiary of Tempus Applied Solutions LLC, is offering pilot training under FAR Part 61 and Part 141 certificates and is officially accepting new students.
Located in San Marcos, Texas, at Redbird Skyport, Tempus Training Solutions utilizes Redbird Flight Simulations devices, a proficiency-based flight curriculum, and aircraft with modern cockpit technology to provide consistent and affordable flight training program.
“At Tempus Training Solutions we are breaking the traditional paradigm for flight training,” said Creig Rice, director of Tempus Training Solutions. “By leveraging technology and scenario-based instruction, we can produce better trained pilots at an affordable price.”
Related Articles
