Membership News & Notes: Membership has its benefits

Make connections. Sharing the passion for flying is a key way to stay active and safe when in the air. AOPA helps pilots and aviation enthusiasts stay connected in many ways.

• AOPA Fly-Ins. Spend a weekend socializing with other pilots; see amazing aircraft displays; meet and talk with the industry’s top manufacturers; and expand the learning opportunities with hands-on workshops, clinics, and fly-outs.
• Flying clubs. Save money, fly more, meet new people—those are the benefits of joining or starting a flying club. AOPA helps its members start clubs and connect with other clubs, and it helps members find clubs with its interactive Flying Club Finder.
• Online community. AOPA is active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the AOPA Hangar.

Pilot resources. AOPA offers the tools and resources for safe and enjoyable flying experiences.

• Pilot Information Center. Seasoned pilots and aviation medical experts are a phone call or email away.
• Destinations. Plan your next trip with AOPA’s web resource that features an interactive airport information map, stories about general aviation destinations, and the Travel Pilot newsletter.
• Flight tools and TFR alerts. Updated and improved tools such as the AOPA Flight Planner, AOPA Go mobile app, AOPA Weather, and the Destinations airport directory help AOPA members fly safe and smart.

Your freedom to fly. No organization is as effective in defending your freedom to fly—whether it’s making safety-enhancing equipment more affordable or defending GA pilots’ access to airports and airspace around the country.

• Local, state, and national representation. AOPA engages with agencies and legislators at every level of lawmaking.
• Political Action Committee. This nonpartisan entity works to ensure a pro-GA aviation majority in Congress.
• Airport Support Network. AOPA volunteers are the eyes and ears at thousands of airports nationwide.

Stay informed. AOPA keeps its members up to date on new technology, aircraft, legislation, destinations, and the people and places that make aviation great.

• Award-winning AOPA Pilot and Flight Training magazines. Written by pilots and people with a passion for flying.
• Informative newsletters. The latest news delivered to your email inbox.
• Online media. Tune in each week to AOPA Live This Week, AOPA’s online news program.

Safe pilots. A good pilot is always learning. AOPA’s goal is to fill the skies with safe pilots.

• AOPA Air Safety Institute. ASI provides the best training and educational products to develop safer pilots.
• Online tools. Safety webinars, the opportunity to speak directly with ATC, and downloadable videos and presentations.
• Continuing education. No matter your flying level—student, active, career, or rusty—AOPA addresses your skill set.

Pilot services. AOPA is staffed by pilots, so the association knows what services pilots need—and it offers discounted rates to help keep its members flying.

• Insurance services. AOPA Insurance Services offers comprehensive coverage at competitive rates.
• Pilot Protection Services. Legal and medical help, advice, and benefits from aviation experts.
• Financial services. AOPA Finance helps members with aircraft purchasing and refinancing. AOPA also has a robust credit card program.

Programs and perks. AOPA members enjoy exclusive programs, discounts, and special offers.

• Discount programs. From car rental discounts to aircraft evaluation services, AOPA helps its members save money.
• Reward programs. Earn miles, points, and rewards on purchases, rentals, and travel.
• Pilot gear. AOPA fills a pilot’s flight bag with top-quality products.

Web: www.aopa.org/membership

Welcoming drone pilots

New partnership enhances benefits

By Jim Moore

AOPA’s drone-flying members will have a leg up on the competition and new discounts to look forward to thanks to a new partnership with PrecisionHawk. The partnership matches the world’s largest aviation membership organization with the largest network of commercial drone pilots, Droners.io, a division of North Carolina-based PrecisionHawk.

AOPA Senior Director of UAS Programs Kat Swain worked out a deal with PrecisionHawk that gives exclusive perks and discounts to AOPA members who are certificated remote pilots registered with Droners.io, including discounts on AOPA membership and renewals, and a discount on commissions charged for drone jobs arranged through Droners.io.

“It’s another one of the value-adds that we’re bringing to the membership,” Swain said. “We listened to what our membership were telling us, and one of the big concerns was networking and resources to help find work flying under Part 107.”

Thousands of new members have joined AOPA since the association began welcoming drone pilots in 2017. The FAA announced in July that more than 100,000 remote pilot certificates have been issued since Part 107 took effect in August 2016, and that list includes many pilots also certificated under Part 61.

Under the new PrecisionHawk partnership, AOPA will offer a one-time $25 discount on Drone Pilot Plus membership to any pilot registered with PrecisionHawk via Drones.io. This is AOPA’s top-tier drone membership option, normally $168 per year, and includes Pilot Protection Plus, which covers legal representation costs for matters pertaining to a remote pilot certificate. Renewing AOPA members who participate in the PrecisionHawk network will be eligible for a one-time $20 discount on the annual renewal of a Drone Pilot Plus membership.

Email [email protected]

INSURANCE

Shop around, or go with pros?

Be a savvy shopper and save

By Jim Pinegar

I’m a true “do-it-yourself” type of person. I’ve owned three different airplanes, and during each annual I was removing seats and inspection panels, changing oil, and performing any other tasks that my IA would allow while he supervised. So, when I bought my first airplane, I assumed that I could save money if I did all the shopping on my aircraft insurance. I was wrong.

Even though there are 12 to 15 insurance companies, only one is a direct writer, meaning that it is accessible to the public consumer. The other carriers can only be accessed through an aviation insurance broker or agency. The carriers are not legally allowed to talk directly to the consumer because of state insurance regulations. (Of course, the exception is during the claims process.) When it comes to quoting and securing coverage, using an aviation insurance brokerage opens options and possibilities.

AOPA has been called the “middle man” on many occasions. Without using a middle man, you will only have access to one carrier. We know options are important when in the cockpit, so we follow the same mantra in the insurance market: We give you options. There’s no markup when using AOPA; the price the carrier quotes us is the same price we pass on to our customers. We will shop the market and present options that suit your specific needs.

Whether you own or rent, AOPA has the right insurance coverage to fit your budget and needs. 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

Member products

Head in the game

FAA risk assessment for neurological conditions

By Gary Crump

Neurological events pose a dilemma for the FAA because some symptoms and signs are indications of conditions that can carry a higher risk for subtle rather than sudden incapacitation. Current FAA policy requires extensive, and—unfortunately, expensive—testing to determine not only the clinical picture but also the cognitive status for individuals who have experienced traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse/dependence, HIV, ADHD or other mental health diagnoses, cerebrovascular accidents as in strokes or TIA (transient ischemic attack), and other conditions that can produce neurological impairment.

For many years the FAA has required a battery of neurocognitive tests to assess brain function, or “perceptual cognition” as it is referred to by clinical psychologists. These areas include executive functioning (decision making), problem solving, reaction times, multitasking, and immediate and short-term memory. These tests are designed to identify even subtle changes in cognitive function, and the results play a key role in assessing a person’s eligibility for medical certification.

Critics of neurocognitive testing argue that for many pilots who are required to undergo these evaluations, there is no individual baseline against which the current evaluation can be compared to determine if there have been “aeromedically significant” changes in cognitive functioning. An experienced pilot who has thousands of hours of safe flying who suffers a mild head injury in an accident and provides a neuro assessment that isn’t a completely normal study may be deemed unsafe to resume flying.

Another significant hurdle for neurocognitive testing is the cost. The average evaluation with the minimum testing required by the FAA may easily cost $5,000—which, in most cases, is not covered by health insurance. The clinical psychologists and neuropsychologists who administer the evaluations invest many hours in each case, not just in conducting the tests, but in scoring the results and preparing the final report with detailed findings of each specific test that was performed. The clinical and administrative time investment drives up the costs and makes these tests prohibitively expensive, and sometimes beyond the reach of new student pilots or noncareer pilots who don’t have financial help from their employers.

The FAA includes neurocognitive testing requirements for an increasing number of neurological conditions that affect pilots across the entire age spectrum. Adverse results can represent significant roadblocks in the pathway to medical certification for current and prospective pilots.

Gary Crump is director of AOPA medical certification.

Web: www.aopa.org/pps

Questions? Call AOPA Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time, at 800-USA-AOPA (872-2672) or email [email protected].

AOPA AIR SAFETY INSTITUTE

Want to be the best pilot you can be?

Fly the Focused Flight Review

By Machteld Smith

Whether your next flight review is coming up or you’re the kind of pilot eager to invite your flight instructor to help you brush up in between, you’ll hit pay dirt with a straightforward, one-of-a-kind program—the Focused Flight Review.

The AOPA Air Safety Institute, in collaboration with industry leaders, flight instructors, type clubs, and government agencies, designed the comprehensive flight review program offering a series of ready-to-use scenarios to improve stick-and-rudder skills, decision making, loss-of-control avoidance, and understanding of technology and aircraft performance limitations and capabilities.

The program is not complicated but it is thorough, with neatly packaged flight profiles and lesson plans designed to pinpoint proficiency gaps. Commit time to study, fly, debrief, and improve your skills.

So how does it work? Simple. Next time you contact your flight instructor to schedule a training flight or a flight review, let him or her know you’d like to use one of the flight profiles from the Focused Flight Review program (www.focusedflightreview.org). Just use the “Share with your CFI” link at the top of the webpage to send him or her a pre-formatted email with details and include the profile of your choice. For example, you may want to delve into mountain and backcountry flying; or hone your takeoff, landing, and go-around skills. Use this opportunity to review the options and discuss your recent flight experience, flight hours, and more with your instructor.

When you’ve agreed on the flight profile that best suits your situation and needs, simply go through the steps to complete the preflight study, ground, and flight portions. It may also be helpful to download and print the flight profile and preflight study resources.

The program meets the flight review requirements of FAR 61.56(a), which specifies a minimum of one hour of ground training and one hour of flight training. However, covering all the material, ground discussions, and flight maneuvers in any one of the Focused Flight Review flight profiles will take anywhere from 2.5 to 3.5 hours. You can also earn FAA Wings credit for completing the program.

Improve your skills and challenge yourself with the Focused Flight Review. Then, make sure to provide your feedback using the “Feedback” feature on the focusedflightreview.org home page.

Machteld Smith is an aviation technical writer for the AOPA Air Safety Institute.

Aviation Finance

Five things you need to tell your finance broker

What you need to tell us to save you money

By Adam Meredith

Our goal at AOPA Aviation Finance is to save you as much money in interest rate and loan fees as possible. To best do that, we need answers to these five questions:

How will you own it? Who is going to own the airplane? Will it be a sole-purpose, limited liability company you establish? That information is needed in advance to correctly fill out the loan documentation. Are you going to have multiple co-owners? Some lenders won’t deal with an aircraft that has multiple partners; others limit how many partners they’ll accept.

How will you use it? Revenue-generating aircraft are often referred to as “essential-use” aircraft. These include aircraft used in charter operations, helicopter tours, pipeline patrol, and parachute jumping. In general, if your plans entail essential use of your aircraft, fewer lenders may be willing to give you a loan. Likewise, if you want to use the aircraft for flight training, in a flying club, or on leaseback, these all also fall into the essential use category.

How long will you keep it? Most of our customers have their aircraft less than four to five years. If that is your intent, you may want to consider an adjustable-rate loan instead of a fixed-rate loan. Let’s say you want a $500,000 loan. If you went with an adjustable-rate loan (fixed for the first five years, then adjusting annually) you could save nearly $14,000 in interest over the course of those five years compared to a 20-year fixed-rate loan.

Any past problems? Tell us up front if you have any past credit issues. Were there past disputes or bankruptcies? Insurance companies using heavy-handed tactics? Don’t just hope it won’t be uncovered during the loan application, because it eventually will be uncovered. You’re better off discussing any past problems at the start of the application process.

How do you make your money? What does your cash flow look like? The end-of-year results may be good, but did the cash come in lumps? Is it dependent on the seasons, or whenever you happen to buy and sell a company? Do you get paid a commission only when you make a sale? Do you plan to retire?

Considering aircraft ownership? AOPA Aviation Finance will make your purchase experience as smooth as possible. For information about aircraft financing, visit www.aopafinance.com or call 1-800-62-PLANE (75263).