May 4, 2018, issue of 'AOPA ePilot' weekly newsletter


VOL 20, ISSUE 18	May 4, 2018

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Top Stories

You Can Fly

You Can Fly challenge seeks to boost pilot population

If you have wanted to support AOPA and help our efforts to boost the pilot population through the You Can Fly program, now is the time to act. Read more >

AOPA Live This Week

Fly like an Eagle; Legacy 450 sets record

Find out how the San Juan Eagles fly to help save lives in Washington state, and join AOPA Editor at Large Tom Horne on a record-setting across-the-pond flight in an Embraer Legacy 450. Also, the House passes a long-term FAA funding bill, and AOPA President Mark Baker flies the Sweepstakes Super Cub. Watch AOPA Live This Week®, May 3 >

AOPA Fly-Ins

Article

AOPA Fly-In offers backcountry excursions, camping

The Montana backcountry calls to pilots who will attend the AOPA Fly-In June 15 and 16 at Missoula International Airport in the Northern Rockies. Read more >

Technique and Safety

Article

'It's complex'

Before the FAA's welcome announcement on April 24 that it had set aside the requirement for commercial pilot or flight instructor applicants with a single-engine airplane rating to provide a complex airplane for the practical test, applicants had two choices. Read more >

Video

What would you do?

How would you react if your aircraft's engine quit right after takeoff? Pilot David Keller shares his experience in this Real Pilot Story from the AOPA Air Safety Institute. Watch the video >

IFR Fix

Hold the altitude, forget the autopilot

You were expecting to shoot an RNAV approach in challenging 800-and-2 weather at night. What you got instead, after a flight fraught with glitches and deviations from air traffic control instructions, was weather easy enough to handle with a visual approach. Read more >

Online resource

Mechanical matters

Aircraft accidents caused by mechanical or maintenance problems are rare. Still, it's good to review what could go wrong. This accident graph breaks down mechanical and maintenance failures. Learn more >

Advocacy

House passes FAA reauthorization legislation

In a 393-to-13 vote, the House of Representatives on April 27 passed H.R. 4, legislation authorizing funding for the FAA for five years. The bill did not include language calling for ATC "privatization." Read more >

Advocacy

CBP to test pilot program for remote seaplane arrivals

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has launched a pilot program allowing seaplane pilots to clear U.S. Customs remotely at two locations in Minnesota, using a cellphone or tablet app. Read more >

Advocacy

Access denied: FAA withholds weather info from pilots

AOPA and 13 organizations are fighting to give pilots access to hundreds of weather observation systems already in operation. Read more >

Advocacy

NTSB roundtable targets loss-of-control accidents

Industry and government aviation experts agree that training and technology hold the key to reducing general aviation loss-of-control accidents. Read more >

Advocacy

Educating drone pilots about airspace

Government agencies have asked AOPA to help spread the word about special-use airspace, including temporary flight restrictions, that drone pilots have violated with increasing regularity. Read more >

Health

Pilot Protection Services

Be a guardian of your health

Normal aging leads to subtle changes in physiological and psychological functioning. Here are tips for monitoring our own flying capabilities as we age. Read more >

Be safe, fly healthy

Keep your health in check with the AOPA Air Safety Institute's Medical self-assessment: A pilot's guide to flying healthy online course. Learn how illness and medication can impair your ability to fly and how to assess your overall well-being. The course also qualifies for flying under the BasicMed rule. Take the course >

Xponential News

Article

Acoustic detection and avoidance

PrecisionHawk CEO Michael Chasen delivered a keynote address at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International Xponential convention in Denver, sharing the stage with a 45-pound multirotor drone fitted with microphones. Read more >

Article

Kittyhawk teams with Jeppesen

One of the most recognizable names in manned aviation navigation has teamed up with Kittyhawk, a drone services provider, to hasten access to controlled airspace under Part 107. Read more >

Article

DroneDeploy expands construction services

DroneDeploy, one of the unmanned aircraft industry leaders in mapping and photogrammetry software, has rolled out a new set of features crafted specifically for drone pilots supporting the construction industry. Read more >

Gear

AOPA Sweepstakes Super Cub

Precision panel

From the avionics to the panel itself, the AOPA Sweepstakes Super Cub's cockpit is packed with cutting-edge precision. See for yourself—you might start a wish list for your airplane's panel! Read more >

Sporty's created content

What rusty pilots should know about new pilot gear

Getting back in the cockpit after an extended break can be exciting (and maybe a little bit overwhelming). Once you learn about the new regulations, the new airspace, and the new avionics, you might notice something else that has changed: pilot gear. Here are seven new products to learn about. Read more >

Travel

Slideshow

Maryland's hideaway on the bay

Claimed by locals as Maryland's best-kept secret, Havre de Grace is a quiet, relaxing getaway near the head of the Chesapeake Bay and the mouth of the Susquehanna River. Read more >

Want more general aviation travel stories? Sign up for our free AOPA Travel Pilot biweekly newsletter.

News and Notes

Article

Richard L. Collins remembered

Aviation writer, publisher, and safety advocate Richard L. Collins died on April 29 at the age of 84. Collins served as editor in chief of AOPA Pilot magazine and Flying magazine and later started the online magazine Air Facts Journal, produced by Sporty's Pilot Shop. Read more >

Article

Elgin Wells dies during airshow practice

Georgia resident Elgin Wells, who was equally at home flying an aerobatic aircraft as he was leading a jazz band, died in an April 25 crash during airshow preparation in central China. Read more >

Member benefit

AOPA enhances benefits for drone pilots

Discounts on equipment from Multicopter Warehouse, discounted admission to the October 2018 Commercial UAV Expo in Las Vegas, and an opportunity for free tickets to that show worth $900 are among the new benefits available to drone pilots who join AOPA. Read more >

Career Opportunities

Aviation job board

Job of the week: Chief flight instructor, FlightGest Inc.

FlightGest Inc., a Part 141 and Part 61 flight school in Raleigh, North Carolina, is seeking a chief flight instructor. The school offers training for a variety of ratings from private pilot to ATP. Clients get real-world experience flying out of Raleigh-Durham International Airport in Class C airspace. Read more >

AOPA career opportunities

Join the AOPA team

Ever dream of turning your passion for aviation into a career? AOPA is looking for a renewals account executive, High School Aviation Initiative manager, Salesforce developer, marketing coordinator, Web project manager, UI front-end developer, and business analyst. Learn about AOPA career opportunities >

Question of the Week

Question

I'm working on my commercial fixed-wing certificate but don't yet have a complex airplane endorsement. Can I still log pilot-in-command time when receiving training in a complex aircraft?

Answer

Yes. There is a difference between logging PIC time and acting as PIC. A complex airplane endorsement is required to act as PIC, but you only need to be rated in category and class to log PIC time as sole manipulator of the controls (see 14 CFR 61.51(e)). For more information, see this AOPA Online article.

Got a question for our technical services staff? Contact AOPA.

Education & Seminars

Flight Instructor Refresher Courses

May 5-6	Hollywood, Florida; Albany, New York; and Conroe, Texas
May 19-20	Sacramento, California
Jun 2-3	Columbus, Ohio
Jun 9-10	Santa Clara, California; and Tempe, Arizona

For a complete schedule, see AOPA Online. Can't make it in person? Sign up for the AOPA Air Safety Institute's Online eFIRC.

Safety Seminars

May 7	Garden City, New York; and Green Bay, Wisconsin
May 8	Poughkeepsie, New York; Roanoke, Virginia; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin
May 9	Albany, New York; Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; Madison, Wisconsin; and Richmond, Virginia
May 10	Brockport, New York; and Hampton, Virginia

Topics vary—for details and a complete schedule, see AOPA Online.

Rusty Pilots Seminars

May 5	Conroe, Texas; and Boise, Idaho
May 6	Anchorage, Alaska
May 12	Winter Haven, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; Zionsville, Indiana; McPherson, Kansas; Frederick, Maryland; Manchester, New Hampshire; and Lincoln, California
May 19	San Marcos, Texas; Loveland, Colorado; Burlington, Iowa; Southbridge, Massachusetts; Ithaca, New York; New Roads, Louisiana; West Chester, Pennsylvania; Warrens, Wisconsin; Bethany, Oklahoma; and Idaho Falls, Idaho

AOPA Rusty Pilots Seminars are sponsored by Sporty's. For a complete schedule, visit the AOPA Hangar. (Log in to the AOPA Hangar using your AOPA website username and password to view these events.)

Aviation Calendar

Want something to do this weekend? Planning an aviation getaway? See AOPA's enhanced calendar of events. You can filter events, add an event, or search all events in the calendar. (Log in to the AOPA Hangar using your AOPA website username and password to search the events or to add an event.) Before you take off on an adventure, make sure you check our current aviation weather provided by Jeppesen.

For airport details, including FBO fuel prices, see AOPA Airports. AOPA does not endorse or assume responsibility for the events submitted and listed in the calendar.

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ePilot Editors:
Alyssa J. Cobb
Jim Moore
Dan Namowitz
David Tulis

Production Team:
Elizabeth Linares
Kristy O'Malley
Melissa Whitehouse

Contributors:
Mike Collins
Sarah Deener
Dave Hirschman
Tom Horne
Warren Morningstar
Jill W. Tallman
Ian J. Twombly
Julie Summers Walker

Advertise in ePilot:
Gary Brennan, 301-695-2052

Eastern and Central United States and International:
Jeff Rockwood, 301-695-2089

Western United States:
Tom Linton, 301-695-2055

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