FAA NEWS
What’s next?
Getting third class medical reform to the president’s desk
With Congress back in session, the question on the minds of many pilots is, “What’s next for third class medical reform?”
The answer, not surprisingly, is “that depends.”
With passage of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 by the full Senate at the end of 2015, the legislation moves to the House for its consideration. But with other big aviation issues on the table, the standalone legislation could take a backseat to a more comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill.
The current extension to the FAA’s funding expires March 31, leaving little time for both the House and Senate to pass and reconcile legislation and send it to the president. A more likely scenario is another extension to keep the FAA in business while lawmakers continue to work on an agreement that could include third class medical reform.
House lawmakers have been working on a reauthorization proposal and have indicated that the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is likely to mark up the bill sometime in March, after which it would go to the full House.
“We know how important this is to our members,” said Jim Coon, AOPA senior vice president of government affairs. “And getting third class medical reform to the president’s desk as quickly as possible is our top priority.”
First flight of M10T
The first flight of the M10T proof of concept aircraft from Mooney International Corp. was successfully completed in December 2015. The flight was performed by test pilot Len Fox 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, CEO 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, announced in 2014, is Mooney’s new-design, carbon-fiber, three-seat, fixed-gear aircraft. Powered by the Continental Technify CD-135 diesel engine, the M10 is a new generation aircraft designed by Mooney specifically for flight training operations. The M10T will continue testing as the program works toward certification in the next few years.
First Look
New look for weather briefings
More graphics, less text
By Dan Namowitz
Pilots are getting their first look at the graphics-intensive weather products designed to replace the textual area forecast, and the National Weather Service is inviting users to tell them by April 11 what they think of the updated approach to aviation weather briefings.
Area forecasts, which originated in the 1930s, will probably be discontinued later this year for the lower 48 states. They will continue to be available for Alaska, Hawaii, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico coverage areas.
“The FAA recognizes that given modern advances within NWS, the legacy text FA is no longer the best source of en route flight planning weather information,” the National Weather Service said. “Based on comments received by FAA and NWS on this proposed change, NWS plans to discontinue production of FAs once the Experimental Graphical Forecasts for Aviation product is approved as operational and when all concerns identified within submitted comments have been addressed.”
The FAA must also delete references to the area forecast from aviation regulations and other official published information.
“AOPA has been supportive of moving away from text and toward graphical weather,” said Rune Duke, AOPA director of airspace and air traffic. “Graphics allow a pilot to make better analysis of the weather along their route of flight, and are generally more user friendly than long blocks of text.”
Graphics are also better for in-flight use, “as they tend to provide the pilot more information more effectively and quickly,” he added. “It is also notable that with this new product the NWS will be able to update their forecasts dynamically, which will improve the accuracy of the forecasts and increase their utility to pilots.”
AOPA and the Air Safety Institute will review and submit comments on the proposed graphical alternative, and the association encourages members to assess them as well, Duke said. The National Weather Service will be updating the graphic product as comments are received, which could lead to the product being changed several times throughout the comment period, he said.
Visit the National Weather Service’s information page detailing what the new product offers, useful when reviewing the new product’s capabilities.
300,000 UAS registered in first month
Nearly 300,000 owners have registered their small unmanned aircraft in the first 30 days after the FAA’s online registration system went live.
Events
Red Bull ready
New pilots, first female
Red Bull Air Race Master Class has added two new pilots for the 2016 season. Moving up from the Challenger Class are Peter Podlunsek of Slovenia and Petr Kopfstein of the Czech Republic. The Challenger Cup is an element of the Red Bull Air Race introduced in 2014 to give the next generation of pilots a chance to develop their skills. Kopfstein was Challenger Cup champion in 2014 and Podlunsek was runner-up in 2015. The two pilots make their debut at the season opener in Abu Dhabi March 11 and 12.
Joining the Challenger Class is the first female pilot to compete in the Red Bull Air Race, Melanie Astles of France. Also joining the Challenger Class is American Kevin Coleman and the United Kingdom’s Ben Murphy. These pilots also debut in Abu Dhabi.
Red Bull Air Race 2016 Schedule
March 11-12, Abu Dhabi, UAE
April 23-24, Spielberg, Austria
June 4-5, Chiba, Japan
July 16-17, Budapest, Hungary
August 13-14, Ascot, Great Britain
September 3-4, Lausitzring, Germany
October 1-2, Indianapolis
October 15-16, Las Vegas
2016 aviation events
April 5-10: Sun ’n Fun International Fly-In, Lakeland, Florida
April 20-23: Aero Friedrichshafen, Friedrichshafen, Germany
April 30-May 1: Great Alaska Aviation Gathering, Anchorage, Alaska
May 7-14: Joe Nall Week Triple Tree Aerodrome, Greenville, South Carolina
May 21: AOPA Fly-In Beaufort, North Carolina
July 25-July 31: EAA AirVenture, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
August 20: AOPA Fly-InBremerton, Washington
August 28-September 5: Burning Man, Black Rock City, Nevada
September 7-11: Triple Tree Fly-InGreenville, South Carolina
September 14-18: Reno Air Races, Reno, Nevada
September 17: AOPA Fly-In, Battle Creek, Michigan
October 1: AOPA Fly-In Prescott, Arizona
October 1-2: Albuquerque International Balloon Festival, New Mexico
October 1-2: Red Bull Air Races, Indianapolis
October 15-16: Red Bull Air Races (Final), Las Vegas
This month in aviation
Columbus, Ohio, housewife Geraldine “Jerrie” Mock begins her solo flight around the world. She will become the first woman to successfully circumnavigate the Earth, flying a Cessna 180, The Spirit of Columbus, nicknamed “Charlie.” The flight takes 29 days; Mock makes 21 stops and covers 22,860 miles.
“There were dozens of women who could have done what I did. All I did was have some fun.”
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