100th flying club recognized
Flying season kicked off at the forty-fifth annual Sun ’n Fun International Fly-In in April and AOPA was on hand to recognize the one-hundredth new flying club established with the assistance of the AOPA You Can Fly Flying Clubs team. Presenting the Midway Flying Club of Texas with a plaque was AOPA President Mark Baker and You Can Fly Flying Clubs Director Steve Bateman. Club treasurer Bryan Jakubik accepted the honor for his club. Since starting the Flying Clubs initiative in 2015, the You Can Fly team has helped start 112 flying clubs (as of May 1, 2019).
Web: aopa.org/flyingclubs
Working for you
Top advocacy efforts continue
From reducing the cost of flight training to winning the fight against so-called air traffic control privatization, working with the FAA to bring back the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) Out rebate, and improving access and transparency for aircraft operators at our nation’s general aviation airports, AOPA is hard at work on Capitol Hill and around the country.
- So-called ATC privatization. Industry organizations were aided in the fight against detrimental ATC changes by calls, emails, and messages from more than 200,000 AOPA members.
- FBO transparency. Five major aviation associations joined AOPA to release the “Know Before You Go” best business practices enhancing FBO pricing transparency.
- The cost of flight training. New rule changes to Part 61 will reduce the cost of flight training and proficiency requirements, saving GA pilots more than $110 million in the next five years.
- ADS-B Out rebate. AOPA worked with the FAA and manufacturers to develop lower-cost solutions for ADS-B Out equipage by January 2020.
- Cross-border flying. Life got a lot easier for pilots flying to the Bahamas, Caribbean, Canada, and Mexico because of AOPA’s efforts to update cross-border procedures.
- Non-TSO equipment. AOPA worked with the FAA and manufacturers on a wide range of certification changes resulting in more affordable products entering the market.
- Decriminalizing airport violations. Working in Hawaii, AOPA ensured the governor’s signature of Senate Bill 2619, which decriminalized violations such as storing golf carts in airport hangars.
- Class B airspace reclassification. Thanks to AOPA, the FAA implemented Class B revocation to allow conversion to Class C for airspace that no longer meets the criteria.
AOPA AIR SAFETY INSTITUTE
Following the plan
Why it makes sense to request flight following.
By Alicia Herron
If you’ve filed a VFR flight plan, should you also get VFR flight following? Do you know the key difference between the two services?
“Filing a flight plan is like telling somebody I’m going hiking in the backwoods. It’s a good thing to do,” says ATC specialist Richard Kennington in the AOPA Air Safety Institute’s Ask ATC: Flight Plan vs. Flight Following video. “Getting flight following is like taking a buddy on that hike with you.” Having your friendly neighborhood air traffic controller keep an eye on you can make your flights safer.
Flight following goes beyond controllers keeping track of a blip on a screen and handing pilots off to a new sector. “If you get VFR flight following, we’re going to watch you in real time,” says ATC specialist Bob Obma. ATC can give pilots traffic alerts, advise of weather or terrain, as well as help pilots avoid temporary flight restrictions and navigate congested airspace.
While in radar contact, ATC will also be available to immediately assist pilots in case of an issue or emergency during a flight. After an emergency landing, ATC can use a pilot’s last radar target to help narrow down the search area and decrease the time to rescue.
Requesting VFR flight following may seem daunting at first, but it is a skill worth developing. The more experience you have talking to ATC, the more comfortable you will feel flying into busier airports or requesting transitions through airspace.
Email [email protected]
Web: airsafetyinstitute.org/askatc/flightfollowing
AOPA CREDIT CARD
Pay back
Get the rewards you deserve
Are you carrying the right credit card? In 2018, AOPA built a true aviation credit card designed specifically for pilots. The new AOPA World MasterCard from Commerce Bank is the only credit card endorsed and supported by AOPA. Use of this card pays you back with great cash-back percentages on purchases—and supports general aviation. Cardholders receive 4 percent cash back on select AOPA purchases; 3 percent cash back on purchases from select AOPA partners (such as Aircraft Spruce, Aero-Space Reports, Jeppesen, Sirius XM, Pilot Workshops, Sporty’s, and more); 2 percent cash back for FBO purchases; and 1 percent cash back on all other purchases.
Cardholder purchases support AOPA’s industry-leading initiatives including the AOPA Air Safety Institute, advocacy, and You Can Fly’s various programs designed to reduce costs and barriers to flying.
“There is only one card that gives pilots the unique benefits that can save them money, keeps them flying, supports aviation, and supports AOPA,” said AOPA President Mark Baker. “The new AOPA World MasterCard is an absolute game-changer for pilots. It truly is the best credit card for pilots.”
Web: aopa.org/creditcard
Looking for more?
Instagram: @flywithaopa
Twitter: @aopa
Facebook: AOPA: Your Freedom to Fly
On your feed
Fly with AOPA
Here comes the sun (flying to fun)
Go follow @flywithaopa on Instagram and watch our IGTV video recapping our flight down to Sun ’n Fun 2019 in a brand new Beechcraft Bonanza G36!
AOPA’s Pilot Passport
A new feature within the AOPA app encourages pilots to get out and fly by incentivizing their flights. What does that mean? As you seek out and find new places to fly, use the Pilot Passport to check in and record your flights and fuel stops. As you do, the Passport records your progress and you qualify to earn badges that can be collected to win great prizes. Every time you check in at an airport you are awarded points. These points are based on whether certain criteria are met. You can earn badges for states that you land in, regions that you visit, airspace that you encounter, events you attend, and runways you challenge.
This June, join the fun and check in to as many airports as you can and qualify to win a $50 gift card from the AOPA Pilot Gear Store. Each month new challenges—and new prizes—will be offered.
Web: aopa.org/travel/pilot-passport
Post of the month
PIcture perfect
@JamesFucius flying over Mission Beach, in San Diego in a Cessna 172! Tag @flywithaopa in your photo and use #flywithaopa for your chance to be featured!
Pilot Protection Services
The more things change…
The more they stay the same
By Gary Crump
Needed changes to the FAA’s regulatory medical certification processing, which would significantly improve the efficiency of the review and timely issuance of medical certificates, have been slow to come.
Annually, the FAA has between 30,000 and 35,000 pilots under special issuance authorizations. BasicMed was effective in May 2017 (if you qualified for BasicMed when it first took effect, it’s time to renew your medical self-assessment course) and many pilots who were under a special issuance no longer are required to provide costly medical testing and evaluations to the FAA. That provided relief for the FAA’s Aerospace Medical Certification Division and its nine regional medical offices. However, delays persist, and many of those pilots still affected by the backlog are professional pilots facing the loss of their livelihood brought on by issuance delays.
Many factors are at play in the processing of medical applications. In some respects, the FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine is a victim of its own success. Although safety is the number one priority, the FAA’s certification philosophy—driven in part by who the federal air surgeon is at the time—is to look for every way possible and reasonable to get to a yes for as many applicants as possible.
However, based on the conservative regulatory policies and practices that immerse the aerospace medicine community, the pathway to a yes is often expensive, frustrating, always time consuming, and frequently subject to the conservative mindset of those regulators who make the decisions.
If you hold or expect to need a special issuance medical, plan for a lengthy delay. Do your homework on the medical condition you are reporting. Have the required information with you when you visit the AME, retain copies of everything, and mail the records yourself to the FAA. The AOPA Pilot information Center medical certification staff can help you with the process, so give us a call (800-USA-AOPA).
Gary Crump is senior director of the AOPA Pilot Information Center, medical division.
AOPA FINANCE
Ask Adam
Closing costs
By Adam Meredith
Q: What is typically included in closing costs and how much should I expect them to be? I’m looking to finance a Cessna 182 and want to determine the total costs of financing.
A: Closing costs are the real costs incurred by the lender to document the loan. These typically include fees associated with preparing and mailing the loan documents, credit/background checks, and, in some cases, title and escrow. Most of our lenders’ closing costs run between $500 and $800 for a Cessna 182. If the lender does not offer in-house title and escrow, those would be additional fees. Title and escrow generally cost between $600 and $700 and is often split between the buyer and seller.
For information about aircraft financing, visit the website (aopafinance.com) or call 800-62-PLANE (75263).
