Special coronavirus edition of 'AOPA ePilot' newsletter


Coronavirus Special Message	March 25, 2020

Message from AOPA President Mark Baker

Dear AOPA member,

As we navigate through this uncharted flight with the ongoing spread of COVID-19, I am writing to assure you that AOPA is here for you and remains committed to advocating for our members.

Like many of you, our staff is mostly working remotely as we do our part to help stop the spread of the virus. However, all the services and benefits you rely on from AOPA are still available, including our Member Services and Pilot Information Center teams.

While we don't expect any changes to our services, we thank you for your patience as we make every effort to provide excellent customer service to everyone. We are also available to answer your questions via email and online chat through our website. You can call, email, or go online to join or renew your membership. AOPA Aviation Finance is also available to work with you on aircraft financing. Our content creation teams are hard at work creating new and engaging stories and videos to keep you informed and current. Check out our new YouTube playlists for new videos to keep your head in aviation while we all wait for this pandemic to pass.

And our Washington, D.C.,-based advocacy team is in overdrive ensuring that the voice of general aviation is heard as important decisions are made regarding funding for GA airports and how to handle the air traffic and airspace systems.

In the past week, AOPA has:

Led a coalition of industry groups requesting Congress provide needed funding to assist GA airports with combating the operational impacts from COVID-19. Our airport ecosystem remains a priority for us and we anticipate such funding will be made available.
Urged FAA Administrator Steve Dickson to provide the maximum amount of flexibility and support to provide 90-day extensions and/or relief from regulatory time restrictions for pilots and aircraft owners, including first, second, and third class medical certificates and special issuances. We expect to hear from the FAA on this request in the coming days. In addition to several items, some of these challenges include:
- Extension or relief of CFI renewal certificates that expire every 24 months.
- DPE management policies—Designated pilot examiners have canceled appointments with practical test applicants because of the outbreak. As a result, applicants may not be able to complete their practical tests within the required time limits.
- Knowledge test expirations—Airman knowledge tests are valid as a practical test prerequisite for two years from the date they are taken. But applicants whose knowledge tests expire with testing facilities still closed would have no way to retake their knowledge tests, leaving them ineligible for the practical test indefinitely without some kind of FAA relief.
- Reduced access to aircraft and CFIs—This could affect pilots' livelihoods and the ability to exercise their privileges by triggering a wave of expirations of instrument proficiency checks, flight reviews, and recency-of-experience intervals.
- Medical certificate expiration dates—AOPA's medical certification team is monitoring the situation and working with the FAA on contingencies.
- Aircraft maintenance and continuing airworthiness requirements.
Coordinated with the FAA and industry partners on mitigations to air traffic control operational impacts, such as ATC-zero events caused by staffing limitations, to ensure continued safe and efficient operations. As part of that effort, AOPA actively participated in discussions to improve future air traffic control contingency plan implementation.
Monitored the operating status of GA airports across the country to ensure their continued access for emergency services and medical evacuation missions.
Ensured Congress and the Trump Administration were informed and reminded of the importance of GA during times of crisis and that the GA fleet is available to assist if called upon.

We are committed to pushing forward on your behalf and will provide updates as the situation progresses. For the latest updates on the COVID-19 impacts to GA, please visit our special news page. As always, thank you for being a valued member of AOPA. We are here for you.

Blue skies,

Mark Baker
President and CEO

421 Aviation Way Frederick, MD 21701
800-872-2672
301-695-2375 Fax

ePilot Editors:
Alyssa Cobb
Jim Moore
Dan Namowitz
David Tulis

Production Team:
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Kristy O'Malley
Melissa Whitehouse

Contributors:
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Sarah Deener
Tom Haines
Dave Hirschman
Tom Horne
Warren Morningstar
Kollin Stagnito
Jill Tallman
Ian Twombly
Julie Summers Walker

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