Membership News & Notes

AOPA FLY-INS

Santa Fe enchants

By Mike Collins

New Mexico lived up to its nickname, “The land of enchantment,” as 4,307 pilots, aircraft owners, and enthusiasts were enchanted by an array of aviation activities during the second of AOPA’s four 2018 Regional Fly-Ins, held in Santa Fe September 14 and 15.

Santa Fe offered a variety of in-depth Friday workshops and shorter Saturday seminars, a large exhibit hall, and 40 static display aircraft, interspersed with a Barnstormers Party held under dazzlingly clear skies Friday evening and a pancake breakfast Saturday morning, and concluding with a Pilot Town Hall Saturday afternoon. AOPA President Mark Baker remarked that Santa Fe might have been the best weather yet for an AOPA Fly-In. A total of 328 aircraft landed at Santa Fe Municipal Airport for the show.

Great speakers

“We’re on the cutting edge of drones, and it’s our responsibility to plan that path properly,” Kat Swain, AOPA senior director of UAS Programs, told members of the Professional Aerial Photographers Association and other drone operators during the event. “The drone industry moves very fast, and it’s important to stay up to date.”

Baker introduced New Mexico Rep. Brian Egolf (D-47), speaker of the house, who noted that 10 of the state’s 70 representatives are pilots. “General aviation plays a big role in the state of New Mexico,” Egolf said, encouraging the audience to reach out to their own state legislators and let them know that GA is important to them.

Baker and AOPA senior staff discussed the AOPA Foundation and its fundraising activities, the ongoing You Can Fly initiative, GA safety and the AOPA Air Safety Institute’s accomplishments, and AOPA’s efforts surrounding egregious FBO pricing—which has led to creation of an airport access watch list. “This effort is getting action,” Baker said, noting that several airports are taking such steps as adding public transient parking or seeking an additional FBO to provide competition.

Happy attendees

David Slaughter flew up from San Antonio, Texas, with a friend in a Cirrus to volunteer on the airside, parking airplanes. “It’s been a lot of fun,” he said. “I love the weather here, although it was a little nippy in the morning.” He said he had so much fun attending AOPA’s 2017 Norman, Oklahoma, fly-in he came back for more.

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5,000th Rusty Pilotlands in New Mexico

The 5,000th inactive pilot to get back in the air through AOPA’s Rusty Pilots program was honored at the Santa Fe fly-in. “My last flight was in 2002. I thought there was no way I could go through all that again,” said Ted Malone of Scottsdale, Arizona. When he signed up for a Rusty Pilots course, he thought it was going to be a waste of time. “What really shocked me was the material was simple and well done,” he said. “Everything they talked about, I remembered. When that plane rotated, it was like I went back 17 years.” Malone flew to Santa Fe in a Cessna 182 with his wife, Mary—their first cross-country flight together. But Santa Fe’s 6,349-foot elevation didn’t intimidate him. “We used to live in Colorado and my last flight [before becoming inactive] was at about the same elevation as here.” —MC

Member Products: AOPA INSURANCE

Know your limits

Liability limits, that is

By Jim Pinegar

One of the best movie quotes of all time: “A man’s got to know his limitations.” That’s Clint Eastwood in the Dirty Harry series of movies, and although not necessarily aviation-related, that quote is relevant in many ways. Whether it’s knowing and following your personal weather minimums, following the “IMSAFE” checklist, or knowing the liability limits in your insurance policy, every pilot needs to be aware of his or her, well, limitations.

With aviation insurance, there are many liability coverages that typically come included in a policy. A few examples are personal liability, nonowned hangars, and passenger luggage, and these “ancillary” coverages typically have their own limits (so no claiming a $1 million loss for lost luggage). But the two big points to focus on are the “each occurrence” and “per passenger” sublimit, if your policy has such a sublimit.

The “each occurrence” is straightforward as it covers the named insured to a maximum of this limit. So, with a $1 million policy, that $1 million would be split among all claimants—injured parties both inside and outside the aircraft and any property damage. Interesting enough, property damage also includes environmental cleanup. Think of this limit as the total amount available in your checkbook.

Many pilots also have passenger sublimits, which in effect reduces the “checkbook” amount for those inside the aircraft. With the example of a $1 million policy with a $100,000 per passenger sublimit, an injured passenger would only have $100,000 to apply to medical bills, lost wages, et cetera. So, while passenger sublimits are very common, consider the amount of sublimit you select, and I’d recommend inquiring what the price would be for a higher sublimit. In many cases, higher sublimits are available for a nominal fee.

Whether you own or rent, AOPA has the right insurance coverage to fit your budget and needs. The AOPA Insurance Agency offers knowledgeable agents who can talk your language and understand your unique flying and insurance requirements. Visit www.aopainsurance.org for more information.

Jim Pinegar is vice president and director of operations of AOPA Insurance Agency. Web: www.aopainsurance.org

Tips from PIC

Pick your profile

Focusing on your flight review

By Sarah Staudt

With summer behind us and autumn in full bloom, it’s a good time to reflect on the flight experiences you’ve had this year. Does an event or experience stand out as concerning? Perhaps you spent more time in cruise flight and your landing skills got rusty. Or you took off only to find that the weather was worse than what had been reported or forecast? These types of events are great topics to focus on during your next flight review.

FAR 61.56 requires that a flight review consist of a minimum of one hour of ground instruction, to include a review of Part 91, and one hour of flight training with the maneuvers at the discretion of the instructor. This leaves the door open to cover a variety of topics in a flight review. Pilots and their flight instructors should work together to address the concerns and/or rusty skills of each pilot. To help pilots and instructors prepare for and conduct efficient and effective flight reviews, AOPA’s Air Safety Institute has recently published a new online tool, Focused Flight Review.

This tool provides pilots with six profiles to choose from. These profiles cover topics ranging from positive aircraft control to aircraft systems. Each profile contains resources a pilot can use to prepare for the flight review, a list of discussion topics, and a flight profile. All the content can be downloaded as a PDF for easy offline use. There’s even a page formatted for a kneeboard to keep you on track during your flight. Consider having your next flight review be a Focused Flight Review.

Sarah Staudt is chief flight instructor for the AOPA Pilot Information Center. Web: www.focusedflightreview.org

AOPA AIR SAFETY INSTITUTE

Don’t make this CFI mistake

Renew your flight instructor certificate with the AOPA FIRC

By Bob Knill

What’s a common complaint among flight instructors? “I wish I’d never let my instructor certificate lapse,” many say. Even if you have no plans on ever instructing again, it never hurts to keep your instructor certificate up to date, and you never know when it may come in handy.

Keeping your CFI ticket current is easy with the AOPA Air Safety Institute’s Flight Instructor Refresher Course (FIRC). This comprehensive, two-day, in-person event has been widely recognized as the best CFI renewal program available. Engaging presenters keep the event lively, interactive, and always educational. Our presenters are chosen based on their aviation experience and passion for teaching, and they live what they teach. But the live events also allow you to network with other instructors in the area and learn from your peers.

Because we believe that a pilot rating is merely a license to learn, the FIRC is regularly updated to meet the current needs of the industry and changes in technology. Its 16-hour syllabus is FAA-approved and presented across the country year-round, so the chances of finding an event near you are excellent.

If traveling to a live event for two days is a challenge, you can also enroll in the online version of the FIRC (eFIRC). The eFIRC can be taken at your convenience over a longer period of time. And, consistent with ASI’s history of engaging and educational resources, many of the popular ASI online programs—such as Teaching VFR into IMC Avoidance, Mountain Flying, and IFR Insights: Cockpit Weather—count toward credit if completed within your two-year renewal window.

Both the live events and online version are one-stop shops, so you can meet the FAA’s hour requirements and have your certificate revalidated at the same time for the same price. There is no extra charge for processing the paperwork, and no appointments to your local FSDO to have your certificate renewal completed.

So whether you’re looking to get your certificate renewed quickly or at your own pace, the AOPA Air Safety Institute’s FIRC has you covered.

Bob Knill is a writer on assignment with the AOPA Air Safety Institute. Web: www.aopafirc.org

News from ASI

IFR Charts into a Black Hole quiz

Flying an approach to minimums can be harrowing enough, but throw in the possibility of optical illusions and you can get in over your head in a hurry. Do you know how a longer-than-normal runway can affect you in low visibility? Or how far from the threshold the runway lighting system extends? In this quiz from the AOPA Air Safety Institute, you’ll test your knowledge of how optical illusions can affect you as well as decipher an approach to a runway used to land B–52s.

Web: www.airsafetyinstitute.org/quiz/blackhole

New Safety Seminar: ASI Investigates Weather Accidents

Dissect weather-related accidents from the perspective of an accident investigator.

Web: www.airsafetyinstitute.org/seminars

Member Services: Legally Speaking

709 rides

When the FAA requests a reexamination

By Ray Carver

The FAA often responds to accidents and incidents by requesting a reexamination under 49 U.S.C. § 44709, also known as a “709 ride.” Section 44709 gives the FAA broad authority to reexamine, among other things, any airman holding an airman certificate. Pilots involved in accidents or incidents often find it difficult to challenge the request because the FAA is only required to show a “reasonable basis” for the reexamination.

While the bar may be low to request a 709 ride, the scope of the reexamination should be tailored to those areas in which the FAA believes a lack of competency may have played a role in the event. The FAA’s letter should indicate what certificate is being reexamined and which tasks will be evaluated during the reexamination. For example, if you ground-looped your tailwheel aircraft, the reexamination will focus on takeoffs and landings rather than less-relevant areas such as cross-country planning or navigation. By contrast, a 709 ride following a fuel-exhaustion event is likely to focus heavily on flight planning and may be a tabletop-only exercise with no actual flying.

Although you may have previously passed your checkride with ease, it’s important that you take the 709 ride seriously. Take time with an instructor to review and practice the required maneuvers or knowledge items in preparation for the reexamination. While the FAA often provides a second chance to pass the reexamination, it will typically request that you put your certificate on deposit in exchange for a temporary certificate that does not allow passenger carriage. Continued failure to perform to the standards of your certificate will result in revocation.

Fortunately, once you finish your training and successfully pass the reexamination, your case will be closed and the action will be removed from your airman record within 90 days. If you ever receive a request for a 709 ride, call the AOPA Legal Services Plan at 800-872-2672.

Ray Carver is a staff attorney with AOPA’s Legal Services Plan, offered as part of AOPA’s Pilot Protection Services. Web: www.aopa.org/pps