Proud to partner
Audi is newest AOPA corporate sponsor
AOPA and Audi of America Inc. announced a new corporate premier partnership providing exclusive discounts to AOPA members on Audi vehicles and support for AOPA’s core mission: protecting your freedom to fly. AOPA members will receive discounts of up to $2,000 on the purchase or lease of new 2019 and 2020 Audi vehicles.
“We’re excited to have such a well-respected brand as Audi join AOPA as our newest premier partner,” said Jiri Marousek, AOPA senior vice president of marketing. “This partnership gives AOPA pilots access to unique incentives and discounts and brings together two cultures that value safety, innovation, and investment in the future. We continue to work hard to provide pilots with valuable benefits to enhance their aviation experience—even on the road to and from the airport.”
Beyond providing discounts to members, Audi also will have a presence at AOPA events in 2021 and provide the opportunity to test drive select models with exclusive ride-and-drive experiences.
“As the world’s largest aviation community, AOPA represents a diverse community of pilots, and Audi, as one of the world’s most successful luxury automotive brands, is proud to partner with an organization like AOPA that works on behalf of everyone involved in general aviation,” said Thiemo Rusch, Audi vice president of sales operations.
Under the new Audi partnership, AOPA members will have exclusive discounts on Audi cars that are stackable with other discounts available in the market. Members will be able to review 2019 and 2020 models online, as well as the exclusive savings to AOPA members. They will then be able to print a personalized certificate and present it at their local Audi dealership at the time of purchase.
MEET JIRI MAROUSEK, AOPA SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING
Jiri Marousek oversees marketing and membership, advertising, partnerships, websites, social media, and products for AOPA. A native of the Czech Republic, Marousek earned his private pilot certificate in 2015. He currently enjoys taking trips with his son in a Cessna 182 and has seaplane and tailwheel endorsements. Marousek earned a degree in commercial economics and international business from Rotterdam Business School, an executive MBA at the University of Wisconsin, and completed the senior executive program at Stanford University. Prior to joining AOPA, Marousek led global digital marketing for Brand USA working in Europe, China, and the United States.
AOPA Air Safety Institute
Preparing for the worst
Tips from a veteran Air Force combat search and rescue pilot
By Alicia Herron
Let’s say you’ve been dealt some bad luck: An engine failure in the middle of a long cross-country flight. Your excellent stick-and-rudder skills, plus remembering Bob Hoover’s “fly the thing as far into the crash as possible” words of wisdom, result in a survivable forced off-airport landing. The dust settles and you ask yourself, Now what?
There are two main parts to an emergency off-airport landing: surviving the crash and surviving what comes after. You’ve succeeded in part one, so how do you get through part two—and when should you consider your post-landing situation life or death?
“If you are more than 30 minutes away from getting help, you’ve got to be in survival mode,” says John “Bart” McGonagill, a veteran U.S. Air Force combat search and rescue pilot. And at that point, your chances of survival depend almost entirely on what you did before the flight to prepare for this unlikely contingency.
The first way you could have helped yourself is with onboard gear. It’s easy to hop in an airplane with just your headset, electronic flight bag, and wallet, and feel ready to go. But extra preparation is a good idea even for local flights, and critical for longer trips or those over rugged terrain. There is no universal survival kit—general aviation is too wonderfully diverse for a one-size-fits-all package. You know your type of flying best, so gather the equipment that’s most appropriate for you. At a minimum, include a thoughtfully compiled first aid kit and a personal locator beacon.
Another way to improve your odds, says McGonagill, is to “take the ‘search’ out of search and rescue.” How? Make sure someone knows your plan, and make sure someone will miss you. Go out of your way to fly over roads, airports, and near populated areas when possible. If you’re talking to ATC, either on an IFR flight plan or VFR flight following, they’ll be a great resource in pointing the search and rescue teams your way. If you don’t plan to be in touch with ATC, file and activate a flight plan. If you choose to use neither ATC services nor a flight plan, at least let someone on the ground know your intentions and when to expect you back on Earth.
Another important aspect of survival is your mindset. Yes, having a forced off-airport landing would be a huge bummer (to say the least) but save the self-pity for later. Your job is to keep yourself and any passengers alive, and to make yourself as findable as possible. Get creative to save your own life. Your positive attitude and will to survive may be the most critical factors to a positive outcome. A successful rescue may take hours or days, but never give up.
airsafetyinstitute.org/returntoflight
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OMG! You’re the winner!
Where are you going on your first flight when you win the 2020 Sweeps RV–10? Who’s coming with you?
#flywithaopa
AOPA’s Pilot Passport: Fall into flying challenge
Summer’s heat gives way to cool mornings, balmy evenings, and clear blue skies; what better time than September to visit that beautiful grass strip you’ve always wanted to land on? During the September AOPA Pilot Passport challenge, “Fall into Flying,” we challenge members to fly and land on grass strips, check in on the app, and get in line to win one of three noise-canceling Bluetooth headsets contributed by Jeppesen. Simply fly into a grass strip, check in, and you’re entered to win. How many grass strips can you visit this month?
The AOPA Pilot Passport Program on the AOPA app encourages pilots to check in at different types of airports; land at airports across your state; visit airports across the country; and share your experiences by rating the airport, uploading photos, and posting comments on social media (use #AOPAPilotPassport in your posts).
Post of the month
Picture perfect
This shot of an RV–8 and Cessna 182 taken from a Bonanza is from this month’s feature in AOPA Pilot, which dives behind the scenes into what it takes to conduct an air-to-air photo shoot (see page 50). @dtulis #flywithaopa
Tag @flywithaopa for your chance to be featured on this page.
Looking for more? Instagram: @flywithaopa, Twitter: @aopa, Facebook: AOPA: your freedom to fly, AOPA Live
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Medically Speaking: Heart to heart
Let’s talk about your cardio history
By Gary Crump
Heart disease is one of the most prevalent presentations that the FAA doctors review. The FAA has a valuable tool called special issuance authorization that allows the discretionary issuance of medical certification for cardiovascular conditions.
Special issuance is a double-edge sword for operations that require medical certificates. It’s great that the federal aviation regulations contain 67.401, because it provides the FAA administrator, through the federal air surgeon, the ability to medically qualify pilots with certain disqualifying medical conditions through an “off ramp” from the medical standards in Part 67.
The cardiovascular standards disqualify a history of myocardial infarction; angina pectoris; coronary heart disease; cardiac valve replacement; permanent cardiac pacemaker implantation; or heart replacement (transplant).
With any of these conditions, special issuance is the only avenue for the FAA to qualify pilots with time-limited medical certificates. The agency is bound by its own regulations to use the discretionary authority to grant medical certificates. For all the cardiac conditions, the FAA will almost always require a basic set of treatment records that includes numerous tests. (If you want to go the route of BasicMed, a one-time special issuance will be required, after which time you can follow the BasicMed protocols.)
The key takeaways with any medical condition the FAA is reviewing is that the condition cannot be considered serious enough to result in impairment or incapacitation during the time the medical certificate will be in force (usually about 12 months). The determination of a safe condition is in the hands of the FAA, and that decision-making process sometimes is conservatively applied.
Your treating doctor is practicing clinical medicine while the FAA is doing regulatory medicine, and the two are not the same. The FAA is evaluating your risk for experiencing impairment or incapacitation, while your cardiologist is treating you to keep you pain free, with a good quality of life. There is some overlap in the two roles, but the FAA wins when it comes to the issuance of your medical certificate.
Gary Crump is the senior director of medical certification in the AOPA Pilot Information Center.
NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF MEMBERS
The annual meeting of the members of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association will be held at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, September 15, 2020, at the headquarters of AOPA, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, Maryland, 21701, located on Frederick Municipal Airport (FDK), for the purpose of receiving reports and transacting such other business as may properly come before the meeting, specifically including the election of trustees. If you are not able to attend, but would like to appoint your voting proxy, please visit aopa.org/myaccount or call 800-872-2672. —Justine A. Harrison, Secretary
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