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Top Stories
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Slideshow
With an average speed of 460.306 mph during the final round of the fifty-third annual National Championship Air Races, pilot Steve Hinton Jr. of Chino, California, won his third Unlimited Gold championship in the highly modified P-51D Mustang Voodoo. Several dramatic moments unfolded during the weeklong event. Read more...
 
AOPA Live This Week
Travel to Africa, where pilots committed to helping others must manage risks that lurk amid a landscape of stunning beauty to fulfill their much-needed missions. Also this week, showers didn't dampen spirits at AOPA's Fly-In at Battle Creek, Michigan; and from the home of the last AOPA Fly-In of 2016: A laboratory in Arizona teaches the next generation of safety investigators with a one-of-a-kind approach. Watch AOPA Live This Week®, Sept. 22...
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AOPA Fly-Ins
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Article
Several pilots based at Ernest A. Love Field in Prescott, Arizona, offer tips on flying into the airport for the AOPA Fly-In Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. Read more...
Video
Join fellow pilots and aviation enthusiasts at the Prescott, Arizona, AOPA Fly-In. From the Barnstormers Party to the aircraft display, the fun starts when you arrive at Ernest A. Love Field. Watch the fly-in procedures video and download the pilot information packet at the end of the video for in-depth details. Watch the video...
Slideshow
Maybe it's because pilots are accustomed to dealing with weather. Maybe it's because the events and attractions at AOPA's Regional Fly-Ins resonate so well with local populations. Whatever the reason, AOPA's Battle Creek Fly-In at Michigan's W. K. Kellogg Airport overcame a bout with early morning rain showers Sept. 17 and gave its estimated 1,960 attendees a great weekend. Read more...
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Technique and Safety
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Aircraft Maintenance
When autopilots don't work properly, the challenge is diagnosing the problem, not fixing it. A&P Jeff Simon offers tips for identifying the problem. Read more...
Flash-based; login required
Unanticipated instrument conditions can adversely impact your flight—regardless of whether you have an instrument rating. Learn to recognize how gradually lowering ceilings and visibility can be deceptive and lure you to fly VFR into IMC. The AOPA Air Safety Institute's Weather Wise: Ceiling and Visibility online course provides ammunition to guard against trouble when clouds and Mother Earth begin to touch, and temperature and dew point converge. Take the course...
Pilot Protection Services
A pilot is maintaining a previously assigned altitude and receiving radar vectors to the initial approach fix of an ILS approach to a towered airport. Prior to reaching the fix, the pilot is "cleared for the approach" and immediately begins a descent to the published altitude of the first segment of the instrument approach procedure. ATC instructs the pilot to return to the assigned altitude and warns of a possible pilot deviation. What should the pilot have done? Read more...
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Advocacy
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Advocacy
More than 1,600 aircraft owners have applied for a $500 rebate for early installation of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out (ADS-B Out) equipment under the FAA's General Aviation ADS-B rebate program. Read more...
Advocacy
AOPA President Mark Baker took part in the first meeting of the FAA's Drone Advisory Committee Sept. 16. The 35-member committee was created as a forum for industry and the FAA to work together to develop consensus-based recommendations for addressing issues and challenges associated with integrating unmanned aircraft into the National Airspace System. Read more...
Advocacy
Two weeks after the FAA reiterated its longstanding and unambiguous view that Santa Monica Municipal Airport must continue operating on "fair and reasonable terms" until at least 2023, the city issued eviction notices targeting both of the airport's fixed-base operators, Atlantic Aviation and American Flyers. Read more...
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Advocacy
Two pieces of airport-related legislation passed the House under suspension of the rules, a procedure generally reserved for noncontroversial bills. Read more...
Advocacy
Saab Sensis Corp. will operate a mobile air traffic control tower at Virginia's Leesburg Executive Airport for several weeks this fall in support of a project to test technology that could establish remotely provided air traffic control services for the airport and perhaps others in the future. Read more...
Advocacy
AOPA is working with the FAA to notify owners of aircraft using Lycoming's TIO-540-AJ1A engine that an airworthiness concern sheet has been issued for possible exhaust leaks that could allow carbon monoxide gas to enter the cockpit. Read more...
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Health
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Webinar
AOPA Director of Medical Certification Gary Crump and AOPA Pilot Protection Services Attorney Jared Allen will discuss the options available to you if the FAA denies your application for a medical certificate during a webinar Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Register today...
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Technology
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Article
An orbiting system for the global tracking of aircraft with 81 Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast receivers aboard a constellation of satellites was announced Sept. 21 by flight tracking data company FlightAware and global air traffic surveillance pioneer Aireon. Read more...
Article
The U.S. Air Force has declassified the cockpit video from an F-16 training flight in May during which the pilot lost consciousness and his aircraft handled the ground avoidance. Work continues to bring this technology to general aviation. Read more...
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Opinion
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Blog
Strict rules governing general aviation in Germany put Opinion Leaders blogger Garrett Fisher on the hunt for a new location that would keep him close to the Alps for his photo missions and offer him more freedom to fly. Read more...
Blog
When it comes to mechanical problems with the airplane, fixing it sooner rather than later could save owners money, according to Opinion Leaders blogger Mike Busch. Read more...
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Gear
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Article
ATLAS active winglets made by Tamarack Aerospace Group Inc. not only save fuel, but add every dollar of their cost to the resale value of various Cessna Citation jets. That is according to the aircraft valuation guide Vref, a valuation that Tamarack announced Sept. 12. Read more...
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Travel
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Pilot Getaways feature
Sedona is a beautiful, fun destination any time of year. When the sun is low in the sky, its golden light enhances the rich tones of the famous sandstone formations. Stop by on your way to or from the AOPA Fly-In at Prescott, Arizona, Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. Read more and view a slideshow...
Article
A Florida pilot touched down on U.S. soil Sept. 19 after circumnavigating the globe, and her team claims it is the first time a Chinese woman has flown a single-engine airplane solo around the world. Read more...
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News and Notes
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Article
Two-time Red Bull Air Race world champion Kirby Chambliss and 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi "raced" in formation down the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track in August, then traded rides in their respective vehicles of choice. Red Bull cameras captured what happened. Read more...
Article
Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Dick Cole, co-pilot for Lt. Col. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle's secret raid on Tokyo April 18, 1942, was given another assignment by the Air Force Sept. 19: announcing the name of the next strategic bomber, the B-21. Read more...
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Article
The owner and staff at Murfreesboro Aviation in Tennessee did not expect the new drone pilot ground school to be quite so popular, but the seats sold out within hours. The flight school is now considering adding hands-on training for drone operators. Read more...
Article
Pilot and Wings of Dreams museum co-founder Bob Oehl says it's hard to describe in a talk or a lecture the quantity and quality of aerospace artifacts a small group of volunteers has gathered at a small airport in Keystone Heights, Florida. Read more...
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Article
Before Georgetown, Texas, engineering teacher Dan Weyant could introduce an airplane build project to his high school students, he needed to get buy-in from the school system. His solution was simple: "I just asked." Read more...
Article
The National Aviation Hall of Fame has awarded its annual Combs Gates Award and a $20,000 cash prize to author David McCullough for his best-selling book The Wright Brothers. 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 government affairs federal and state vice president, Central Southwest regional manager, Great Lakes regional manager, account executive, annual giving manager, donor relations director, development communications director, high school aviation initiative manager, flying clubs initiative senior manager, New York You Can Fly ambassador, aviation technical specialist, product marketing specialist, and advertising-marketing coordinator. 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
While watching aircraft take off and land at the airfield, you saw one airplane lock a brake on landing, blow a tire, and take out a couple of the runway lights. No one was hurt, but you wondered what the pilot might be required to do after this mishap. Where can you learn more about this?
Answer
You can find this information in 49 CFR Part 830, either online or between the federal aviation regulations and the Aeronautical Information Manual in your paper copy of the FAR/AIM. Sometimes referred to as NTSB 830, it is a very short section, amounting to about four pages of text, that will give you details about what must be reported, when, and to whom. You also may want to consider adding AOPA Pilot Protection Services to your existing AOPA membership, as this program can help you with your legal questions surrounding Part 830 and other aviation matters.
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
Sep 24-25 - Colorado Springs, Colorado
Oct 1-2 - Windsor Locks, Connecticut; and Hollywood, Florida
Oct 8-9 - Santa Clara, California; and Nashville, Tennessee
Oct 15-16 - Columbia, South Carolina; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Wichita, Kansas
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
Sep 26 - Jacksonville, Florida; Ypsilanti, Michigan; and Northbrook, Illinois
Sep 27 - Daytona Beach, Florida; Independence, Ohio; and Lisle, Illinois
Sep 28 - Owensboro, Kentucky; Melbourne, Florida; Columbus, Ohio; East Peoria, Illinois; and Fort Worth, Texas
Sep 29 - Ocala, Florida; Batavia, Ohio; Rockford, Illinois; and Addison, Texas
Topics vary—for details and a complete schedule, see AOPA Online.
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Rusty Pilots Seminars
Sep 24 - Westminster, Maryland; and Columbus, Ohio
Oct 1 - Prescott, Arizona; Wichita, Kansas; Camarillo, California; Renton, Washington; and Carlsbad, California
Oct 7 - Fort Myers, Florida
Oct 8 - Stevensville, Maryland; Pearland, Texas; Watkins, Colorado; and Grantsburg, Wisconsin
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
Elizabeth Tennyson
Ian J. Twombly
Julie Summers Walker
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