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Top Stories
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You Can Fly
AOPA has announced the opening of two scholarship programs for 2017 that in recent years have helped fund flight training for dozens of recipients from teenagers in high school to adults who never gave up on pursuing their dream of flight. Funded by generous donations to the AOPA Foundation, the AOPA High School Flight Training Scholarships and the AOPA Flight Training Scholarships have been opening pathways to a life in aviation. Read more....
 
AOPA Live This Week
See what makes North Carolina's Outer Banks, where the Wright brothers flew the first powered aircraft, an ideal destination for a flying vacation. Also, AOPA will honor airshow legend Sean D. Tucker and Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.) during a March 8 ceremony near Washington, D.C., and learn how AOPA is following up on medical reform by helping rusty pilots get back in the air. Watch AOPA Live This Week®, March 2...
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AOPA Fly-Ins
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Article
AOPA Fly-In volunteers are an energetic, enthusiastic bunch who help the event run smoothly. But what compels pilots and guests to volunteer to work part of a fly-in instead of taking it all in as an attendee? They want an extra helping of fun. Read more...
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Technique and Safety
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Article
Two recent fatal accidents involved airplanes that crashed shortly after takeoff from municipal airports in California and Massachusetts, damaging nearby homes but causing no injuries to people on the ground. Read more...
Video
The purpose of the flight was to fly the pilot's older daughter back to college and then return home to Indiana. But things did not go as planned. The AOPA Air Safety Institute's Accident Case Study: In Too Deep explores why the pilot wandered from VFR into IMC—a dangerous situation all too common in general aviation accidents.
Watch the video...
Online resource
The AOPA Air Safety Institute's popular Maneuvering Flight: Hazardous to Your Health? Safety Advisor examines realities and risks of maneuvers common in flying. Some maneuvers are inherently unsafe and can end in an unrecoverable stall/spin or controlled flight into terrain. The updated safety advisor, optimized for mobile applications, explains the details. Read more...
Video
Bringing up-to-the-minute weather into the cockpit has made weather flying safer and easier. The AOPA Air Safety Institute's Datalink Weather: From Concept to Cockpit video provides the perspective of those who brought it about. The video offers a behind-the-scenes look at the technology and tells a story of individual initiative, entrepreneurial spirit, and the power of an idea. Watch the video...
IFR Fix
A Boeing 737 Next Generation airliner was flying an RNAV arrival to San Francisco International Airport at 250 knots when an approach controller informed the crew that the aircraft had flown out of Class B airspace for about a mile, and then flown back in. Read more...
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Advocacy
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Advocacy
AOPA has requested that the Department of Homeland Security establish security screening capabilities and gateway operations at Florida's Palm Beach County Park Airport to ease the economic impact of shutting down the airport each time President Donald Trump visits his nearby Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. Read more...
Survey
Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) In receivers are being used daily in the National Airspace System, but are they meeting general aviation pilots' needs? Product design researchers in Texas are evaluating GA pilots' behaviors, characteristics, and expectations of ADS-B In to understand whether the industry is on a trajectory that will best serve pilots after the ADS-B Out mandate goes into effect in 2020. Regardless of whether you plan to fly with ADS-B In, please take this five-minute survey. Take the survey...
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Technology
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Article
The quest to return civilian aviators to supersonic speeds not seen since the Concorde retired in 2003 entered a new phase as wind tunnel tests began in Cleveland. NASA and Lockheed Martin on Feb. 24 announced the completion of a scale-model X-plane and the commencement of high-speed wind tunnel tests. Read more...
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Opinion
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Blog
Continental and Lycoming recommend oil changes every 50 hours for engines with a full-flow oil filter and every 25 hours for engines with an oil screen. The oil doesn't break down after 25 or 50 hours, but it gets contaminated, explains Opinion Leaders blogger Mike Busch. "In fact, it gets downright filthy and nasty." Read more...
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Gear
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Article
Tamarack Aerospace Group announced that its Active Technology Load Alleviation System (ATLAS) active winglets have been installed on the first Cessna Citation M2. The installation was performed at Cessna's Wichita, Kansas, service center. Read more...
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Travel
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Contest
Tell AOPA about your favorite hidden gem and why other pilots would love to visit that destination, and submit some photos to show off what makes that location so enticing to enter AOPA's Hidden Gem contest, sponsored by Aviat Aircraft. You could win a backcountry flying experience in Idaho. Enter now.
Podcast
Whether you want to visit great ski destinations, see incredible vistas, or simply travel across the country, flying in the mountains is fun and challenging. In this episode of Hangar Talk, CFII Jason Miller talks about his weekend mountain flying course. Miller organizes semiannual fly-outs from his base in the San Francisco Bay area. Listen to the podcast...
Destinations
Burma-Shave-style signs at Truckee-Tahoe Airport's Runway 20 warn: "If today your/climb isn't great/make a climbing/left turn to 328." Flatland pilots know they're not in Kansas—or Maryland, or Minnesota—anymore. Truckee-Tahoe, elevation 5,901 feet, in Truckee, California, is the base camp for a weekend mountain flying adventure hosted by CFII Jason Miller of The Finer Points of Flying aviation podcast. AOPA Technical Editor Jill Tallman takes you through the course in this exciting video and two slideshows. Plus, read about the ins and outs of mountain flying in this AOPA Pilot feature. Read more...
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News and Notes
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Article
If all goes well, the Recreational Aviation Foundation and the city of Havana, Illinois, will roll out the welcome mat to showcase what promises to be a one-of-a-kind migratory bird fly-in and photo shoot March 11. Every year, tens of thousands of birds flying north for the warmer months take a break on an elbow of the Illinois River south of Chicago. Read more...
Article
AOPA will honor aerobatic pilot Sean D. Tucker and Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.) for their contributions to general aviation during the second annual Bob Hoover Trophy Reception March 8. The event will take place at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport's Historic Terminal A Lobby in Arlington, Virginia. Read more...
Article
Women and girls will participate in a number of aviation-related events tailored specifically to introduce them to the wonders of flight and to careers in the aerospace industry the week of March 6 through 12. Read more...
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Article
A new video-on-demand channel promises to deliver aviation action films that inspire to online subscribers. Read more...
Article
Helicopter operators who once viewed drones with deep distrust and apprehension are increasingly inclusive in their approach to unmanned aviation. At the Helicopter Association International 2017 Heli-Expo convention, to be held March 6 through 8 in Dallas, a drone safety symposium is only the beginning. Read more...
Pilot Protection Services
The FAA and NTSB each have different rules to ensure proper oversight of certain unmanned aircraft operations, and different rules mean that some events may have to be reported to one agency but not the other. Read more...
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Career Opportunities
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Aviation job board
Desert Sand Aircraft Leasing is hiring pilots to fly turbine skydiving aircraft in the Atlanta area (Rockmart, Georgia); Connecticut; and Sussex, New Jersey. Pilots will fly a de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter, a Cessna 208 with 114A engine, or a Cessna 208B with a 900-horsepower engine modification. Work schedule is somewhat flexible but is generally 5 to 6 days per week during the busy season. The company will provide training to successful candidates. Basic housing will be provided for transplants, if needed. Read the full description and apply today!
AOPA career opportunities
Ever dream of turning your passion for aviation into a career? AOPA is looking for an aviation insurance sales director, graphic design intern, executive office manager, IT project manager, UI/front-end developer, public affairs and executive communications manager, communications coordinator, legal services plan attorney, digital asset manager and graphic designer, aviation event operations senior manager, travel and destination products director, insurance program administration manager, donor relations director, aviation technical specialist, flying clubs initiative director, 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 planning a cross country flight with some friends. Your planned route requires flight above 12,500 feet msl, with a maximum altitude of 16,000 feet msl. There will be two pilots at the controls, though only one is required. What are your legal requirements concerning oxygen?
Answer
The regulation concerning oxygen use on part 91 flights is 14 CFR 91.211. For your flight you'll be required to use oxygen when you've been above 12,500 feet msl but less than 14,000 feet msl for longer than 30 minutes, and anytime you fly above 14,000 feet msl. That requirement applies specifically to you because those requirements are for the minimum flight crew, which for your operations is just you (even though there's another pilot at the controls). For the periods above 15,000 feet msl the previous requirements apply, and every other occupant must be supplied oxygen as well—they aren't required to use it, but it must be available. For more information on the equipment and considerations for high-altitude operations, see "Use common sense with supplemental oxygen" from AOPA Online. Remember that high altitude affects everyone differently: You or your passengers may need to start using oxygen sooner than the regulations require, and you should plan accordingly.
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
Mar 4-5 - Lake Mary, Florida; Phoenix, Arizona; and Virginia Beach, Virginia
Mar 11-12 - Elkridge, Maryland; and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
Mar 18-19 - Ontario, California; and Santa Clara, California
Apr 1-2 - Atlanta, Georgia; Dedham, Massachusetts; Dulles, Virginia; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Tampa, Florida
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
Mar 4 - Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Mar 6 - Greenville, South Carolina; and Concord, California
Mar 7 - Columbus, Georgia; and Fresno, California
Mar 8 - Huntsville, Alabama; and Irvine, California
Topics vary—for details and a complete schedule, see AOPA Online.
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Rusty Pilots Seminars
Mar 4 - Burlington, Washington; Weyers Cave, Virginia; Georgetown, Texas; Aransas Pass, Texas; Berwyn, Illinois; Butler, Pennsylvania; and Billings, Montana
Mar 11 - Potsdam, New York; Ashland, Virginia; Gainesville, Florida; Toughkenamon, Pennsylvania; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Renton, Washington; and Albany, Oregon
Mar 14 - Fort Myers, Florida
Mar 18 - Galveston, Texas; Torrance, California; Lima, Ohio; Buffalo, New York; Berkley Township, New Jersey; and Homestead, Florida
For a complete schedule, see AOPA Online.
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ePilot Editors:
Alyssa Miller
Jim Moore
Dan Namowitz
David Tulis
Production Team:
Elizabeth Linares
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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