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Top Stories
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Slideshow
Cirrus Aircraft ended 2016 on a high note, with the first customer delivery of its SF50 Vision Jet. Never a company to rest on its laurels, the team from Duluth, Minnesota, kicks off the new year with a host of new features for its 2017 piston products. Most notable is the change from a six-cylinder Continental engine to a four-cylinder Lycoming powerplant on the entry-level SR20. Read more...
 
Article
A new generation of the popular Garmin G1000 integrated flight deck looks much like the current edition. But looks can be deceiving. The new G1000 NXi has plenty that is new going on behind the button-festooned face pilots have come to know over the past dozen years. Read more...
Advocacy
The FAA has reviewed the AOPA Air Safety Institute's aeromedical online course and confirmed that it meets the third class medical reform requirements that Congress created last summer. Pilots would need to complete the course, which AOPA will offer for free, every two years in addition to seeing their personal physician every four years to operate under the law. Read more...
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Technique and Safety
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Article
One question pilots regularly ask is, "What can I do to be a safer pilot?" Every pilot's situation is different, but there are five things that apply universally across the general aviation community. Read more...
IFR Fix
Wouldn't it be something if the FAA notified you any time a change is made to an instrument flight procedure you rely on, like that familiar ILS approach you usually fly to your home airport after a long, tiring journey? Read more...
Login required
From a cranky engine to icing conditions, the winter season can serve up plenty of challenges. Warm up to cold weather with the AOPA Air Safety Institute's Cold Weather Ops safety quiz. Test your knowledge...
Video
The AOPA Air Safety Institute's Accident Case Study: Rescue Gone Wrong exposes the grip "mission mindset" had on a pilot's flight decision—a deadly mistake that holds lessons for every pilot. Watch the video...
Video
Ask ATC: IFR Routes explains why you should be extra careful when reading back your IFR clearance. Learn more in this installment of the AOPA Air Safety Institute's popular Ask ATC video series. Watch the video...
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Advocacy
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Advocacy
An outside party with no clear ties to general aviation lobbed a legal argument at Santa Monica Municipal Airport users Dec. 28, the latest development in an ongoing battle over the facility's future. Read more...
Advocacy
The FAA has issued flight advisories about security measures that will be in effect from Jan. 19 to 21 for the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump and related festivities. Read more...
Advocacy
The FAA has proposed issuing an airworthiness directive affecting some Piper PA-31 Navajo twin-engine airplanes to require repetitive inspections for fatigue cracking in the fuselage bulkhead at the horizontal stabilizer front spar attachment, and any necessary repairs. Read more...
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Technology
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Article
The Experimental Aircraft Association is inviting "doers, dreamers, and innovators" to submit ideas to counter loss-of-control accidents in amateur-built aircraft in its second annual Founders' Innovation Prize competition. Read more...
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Gear
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Article
The FAA has awarded a supplemental type certificate to install active winglets made by Tamarack Aerospace Group Inc. on various Cessna Citation models. The first prototype of the technology was installed on a Cirrus SR22. CEO Nick Guida's invention could one day make passive winglets obsolete. Read more...
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Travel
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Article
Red Bull Air Race World Championship teams had to work fast, as there is little offseason when it comes to tuning and modifying aircraft for the 2017 season that kicks off Feb. 10 and 11 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The scramble began as soon as the action stopped at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October. Read more...
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Financial
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Article
The International Cessna 190/195 Foundation is accepting applications for scholarships it awards "for the purpose of instruction or training to improve or develop the individual's capabilities in the fields of Aviation, Aeronautics or Astronautics." Read more...
AOPA Foundation focus
Brian Gustin has a colorful way of describing how he felt when he took off on the short hop from Prosser, Washington, to Hermiston, Oregon, where a designated pilot examiner awaited his arrival for a private pilot checkride. Read more...
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News and Notes
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Article
Sporty's Pilot Shop reports several encouraging developments for general aviation. The company's annual trend report notes interest in flight training, excitement about the prospect of installing lower cost non-certified avionics in certificated aircraft, and an influx of remote pilots. Read more...
Pilot Protection Services
What happens if you receive an unexpected letter or call from an FAA inspector about a pilot deviation? Sometimes an inspector will contact a pilot about a flight that occurred weeks or months earlier that was completely uneventful from the pilot's perspective. If that happens to you, here are some tips to follow. Read more...
Article
Bearhawk Aircraft of Texas announced Dec. 29 that a pair of first flights were made in November, marking the first customer completions of the company's quick-build light sport aircraft kits. The owner-pilots both reported smooth maiden flights, and impressive handling. Read more...
Answers for Pilots
More than 200,000 members contact AOPA's Pilot Information Center every year about a wide variety of topics. Answers to common questions are available through a series of two-minute videos on AOPA's website and YouTube channel. Read more...
Article
The National Aeronautic Association has issued a call for nominations for two of the prestigious awards it presents annually to identify and recognize those who have contributed to the "art, sport and science of aviation and space flight in the United States." 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 an aviation event operations senior manager, flying clubs initiative director, travel and destination products director, insurance program administration manager, account executive, donor relations director, aviation technical specialist, aviation financial analyst, production specialist, and part-time administrative assistant. 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
You're preparing to take your commercial practical test. While filling out your paperwork and going through your logbook, concern arises over some of the PIC time you have logged, particularly the flights flown when you were receiving instruction toward your complex endorsement and complex time required by 14 CFR 61.129. Can you log PIC time that you had in complex aircraft prior to having a complex endorsement?
Answer
Although you were unable to act as PIC of a complex aircraft before you had your complex endorsement, that doesn't keep you from logging PIC time for those flights. This FAA Letter of Interpretation addresses the scenarios and states that the term "rated" refers only to category, class, and type (if required). So you could be appropriately rated, have no complex endorsement, and log PIC time in a complex aircraft. You just can't act as PIC until you earn the endorsement. For more information about logging PIC time, 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
Jan 14 - Bucyrus, Ohio; Bethany, Oklahoma; Stevensville, Maryland; Fort Myers, Florida; and Columbus, Georgia
Jan 21 - Fort Worth, Texas; Lufkin, Texas; and Keene, New Hampshire
Jan 27 - Sebring, Florida
Jan 28 - Las Cruces, New Mexico; San Antonio, Texas; Mesa, Arizona; and Greencastle, Indiana
For a complete schedule, see AOPA Online.
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ePilot Editors:
Alyssa Miller
Jim Moore
Dan Namowitz
David Tulis
Production Assistant:
Melissa Whitehouse
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Contributors:
Mike Collins
Sarah Deener
Dave Hirschman
Tom Horne
Warren Morningstar
Jill W. Tallman
Ian J. Twombly
Julie Summers Walker
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