Membership Notes & News

AOPA Foundation

Schiff named chair

Aviation authority will lead Legacy Society

By Eric Blinderman

Esteemed aviation authority, author, and pilot Barry Schiff has been appointed chairman of the AOPA Foundation’s Legacy Society.

The AOPA Foundation Legacy Society recognizes those who have included a gift to the AOPA Foundation in their estate plans. The gifts help ensure a solid future for general aviation by supporting AOPA’s You Can Fly program and the Air Safety Institute. These efforts are committed to growing the pilot population and keeping aviators safe in the skies.

“Like many other pilots, my entire life experience has benefited from my connection to aviation,” Schiff said. “While I’ve also managed to make a career in aviation, anyone who experiences general aviation knows that the discipline and perspective you have as a pilot enriches all areas of your life. And for that I am grateful and want to make sure that others have the same opportunities that I had. My legacy gift to the AOPA Foundation will help assure that happens.”

A long-time AOPA member, columnist and contributor to AOPA Pilot (see “Proficient Pilot: And Just Like That...”), and retired TWA captain with more than 28,000 hours logged in more than 360 types of aircraft, Schiff has flown everything from the Lockheed Constellation to the Boeing 747 and has received numerous honors for his many contributions to aviation safety.

“Barry has a unique understanding of the Legacy Society’s benefits and needs, and what we need to do to ensure a robust general aviation community for future generations,” said Melissa Rudinger, executive director of the AOPA Foundation. “I look forward to working with Barry to create strategies to build recognition and participation in the Legacy Society.”

Members of the Legacy Society have made a commitment to future giving in several ways: through a specific dollar amount or an asset, such as an aircraft, in their will or trust; by giving a percentage amount from their estate; or by naming the AOPA Foundation as a beneficiary of their life insurance, IRA, 401(k), or other account.

“It’s vital that general aviation grow and prosper, and including a legacy gift to the AOPA Foundation gives AOPA members a vehicle to make a personal contribution to that cause,” said Schiff. “There is no other organization that works as hard for general aviation the way AOPA does, and no opportunity like joining the Legacy Society for you to be a part of it.”

Legacy Society members can have their names engraved on the Legacy Society recognition wall at AOPA’s headquarters in Frederick, Maryland.

foundation.aopa.org/ways-to-give/legacy-giving

Email [email protected]

Air Safety Institute

Rain or shine

It’s a beautiful day to check the weather

By Alicia Herron

We’ve all probably looked at the terminal aerodrome forecast (TAF) the day before a flight and seen it call for clear and a million, only to arrive at that forecasted time to find the weather is anything but VFR. Thankfully, the opposite can be true, too, and a call for low IFR can materialize into a perfect bluebird day. These last-minute changes shouldn’t surprise us—forecasts are an often-inaccurate best guess.

As the seasons change, pilots see a mixed bag of weather. The cold of winter hasn’t fully vanished, yet the convective threats typical of summer approach as well. Planning a flight when dealing with these types of changing, variable weather conditions can be daunting, but staying on the ground when the conditions are a shade less than perfect isn’t realistic for most of us who want to maintain proficiency and currency, either.

Here are some tips to help set you up for success where the weather’s concerned, and manage changing conditions:

• Don’t underestimate external pressure. If you’re planning a trip, give yourself a hard go/no-go time that allows enough time to make it to your destination another way (driving, airline, balloon, et cetera). Sometimes, you can make this decision the day of—sometimes, days before.
• Help manage passenger expectations with GA flying. Inform them well in advance of departure that the flight might not be able to happen, or might not happen as planned.
• Pack a just-in-case overnight bag with at least a toothbrush and toothpaste. Sleeping in an unfamiliar hotel or on an FBO couch is more acceptable when you have one small comfort from home, and you’ve already mentally prepared for that possibility.
• If you have a passing notion that you should divert, divert right away. Better to be overly cautious and on the ground rather than flying into weather you and the airplane can’t handle.

Perhaps the most important action we can take as pilots, however, is to have a complete and accurate picture of the weather along our intended route. This includes receiving a weather briefing directly before your flight, and not just relying on the forecast. Sometimes we can “get away” with not checking the weather, but it is a dangerous habit to build, and sometimes, as we know, actual conditions are far worse than expected.

On the morning of April 19, 2018, a Cirrus SR22 carrying two occupants departed from Lancaster Airport in Pennsylvania. The pilot and his passenger were bound for a conference in Indiana. What lay between the travelers and their destination, however, was a large swath of hazardous icing conditions, IMC, and mountain obscuration. Unfortunately, the pilot didn’t obtain a complete weather briefing, and took off unaware of just how bad the conditions en route would become.

Follow the Cirrus along its route in this accident recreation from the AOPA Air Safety Institute, which includes a look at a similar tragedy involving a Beechcraft Bonanza that occurred only three days prior to the Cirrus accident.

airsafetyinstitute.org/ACS/TrappedInIce

Email [email protected]

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Legally Speaking

How low is too low?

Low-flying aircraft

By Ian Arendt

Flying “low and slow” seems to be increasingly popular lately, so to help keep your scenic flight safe and legal, refamiliarize yourself with FAR 91.119.

FAR 91.119 prescribes four important altitude minimums, except for when necessary for takeoff or landing. Specifically, over a “congested area,” an aircraft may not be operated at less than 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft (FAR 91.119[b]). Over an “other than congested area,” an aircraft may not be operated at less than 500 feet above the surface, per FAR 91.119(c). Over “open water” or a “sparsely populated area,” an aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet from any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure (FAR 91.119[c]). A pilot must always maintain a sufficient altitude to avoid undue hazard to people or property on the surface in the event of an emergency landing (FAR 91.119[a]). Helicopters, powered parachutes, and weight-shift-control aircraft may deviate from certain minimum altitudes if the operation can be conducted without hazard to people or property on the surface (FAR 91.119[d]).

Avoid the common mistake of assuming a “congested area” is depicted on a sectional chart.Avoid the common mistake of assuming a “congested area” is depicted on a sectional chart as the yellow area outlining cities and towns. Even the FAA can’t tell you exactly what constitutes a “congested area,” “other than congested area,” “open water,” or “sparsely populated area.” These terms are neither defined nor readily determinable by a formula. Rather, the FAA utilizes a case-by-case approach, considering all the circumstances, to determine compliance with FAR 91.119. Precedent reveals that a “congested area” can include a small area with 10 houses and a school, a university campus, a beach along a highway, or a camp with numerous people on the docks and children playing on the shore.

At the end of the day, it is the pilot in command’s responsibility to consider “all available information” to ensure compliance with the regulations (FAR 91.103).

Ian Arendt is an in-house attorney with AOPA’s Legal Services Plan.

Aviation Finance

Adam answers

By Adam MeredithPresident, AOPA Finance

Q: My friend and I (both AOPA members) now each own 50 percent of an LLC that owns a Piper Cherokee with no debt. We plan to sell the Piper and purchase a used Cirrus SR20 after COVID-19, hopefully later this year. We will finance. However, we will have asymmetric ownership—I may own $270,000 and my friend may own $70,000 of the LLC, including its asset of the Cirrus (assuming we purchase one for $340,000, for example). I can pay the down payment portion (10 or 20 percent) and finance my remaining portion. We both have excellent credit ratings and credit history and will be approved for our amounts. Can the LLC have a 20-year loan with us as co-signers? Will a bank loan to an LLC? Or will we each need direct personal loans outside the LLC, but with the LLC (or the airplane itself) listed as a secured asset for collateral?

A: AOPA Finance works as a broker and has multiple lenders to consider. All lenders will treat the LLC as the borrower and use the aircraft as collateral. Additionally, lenders will require that all members of the LLC personally guarantee the loan. Depending on the lender, you may be shown on the loan documents as either guarantors or co-borrowers with the LLC.

aopafinance.org

800-62-PLANE (75263)