Membership News & Notes

Outreach and Events

Aviator Showcases in Virginia and Texas

Registration is limited, so make your plans now

By Julie Summers Walker

Registration opens June 22 for the two AOPA Aviator Showcases planned for August in Manassas, Virginia, and October in Fort Worth, Texas. What’s an Aviator Showcase? Because of the continuing concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, AOPA is not hosting its multi-day fly-ins this year. Instead we are bringing you single-day, consumer-focused events designed to connect pilots and aircraft owners to the general aviation community—these are high-quality, in-person buying experiences with the industry’s leading experts.

A vast array of products, services, aircraft, and equipment will be featured at the events planned August 27 at Manassas Regional Airport (HEF) and October 1 at Fort Worth Alliance Airport (AFW). These events will be one-day gatherings with an exhibit hall, an aircraft sales display, and technology related seminars. Attendees will meet with industry leaders in avionics and cockpit technology, flight planning and weather resources, and aircraft manufacturing.

You’ll find gadgets and gear to oil and anti-corrosives; lights, batteries, propellers, engines, flight bags, all the way to specific parts you need for your aircraft and more. Local services like paint shops, avionic shops, and aircraft detailing companies will be there to help you improve your aircraft. Want to buy an airplane? Meet with aircraft financiers, insurers, and aircraft manufacturers and dealers.

AOPA takes the safety of all our members, guests, and exhibitors seriously. We are committed to meeting or exceeding CDC, state, and local requirements at the time of the event including enhanced cleaning and a layout that allows for social distancing. We are also limiting attendance—pre-registration is required and there will be no walk-up attendance permitted. Registration for both events opens June 22.

Special thanks to Platinum sponsors Aircraft Spruce, Columbia Aircraft Sales, ForeFlight, Hartzell Engine Technologies, Hartzell Propeller, Jeppesen, Pilatus, and Superior Air Parts. Thanks also to Gold sponsors AssuredPartners Aerospace, ATP Flight School, Breitling, Genesys Aerosystems, and Western Skyways.

aopa.org/aviatorshowcase

Email [email protected]

The Locations

August 27, 2021 Manassas Regional Airport (HEF)
Hosted by Chantilly Air Jet Center

With more than 400 based aircraft and over 85,000 annual aircraft operations, Manassas Regional Airport is the busiest general aviation airport in the commonwealth of Virginia. Since its opening in 1932, Manassas Regional Airport has been a key contributor to the local economy. This airport is situated within the Washington, D.C., Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA). For VFR operations into Manassas (and anywhere within 60 nautical miles of the DCA VOR), The FAA requires that pilots complete an online training course on operating within the DC SFRA (faasafety.gov).

October 1, 2021 Fort Worth Alliance Airport (AFW)
Hosted by Alliance Aviation Services

Alliance Airport offers first-class service on and off the airstrip 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Online reservations are available to streamline your arrival. An Air Elite diamond service location, Alliance Aviation Services offers a variety of aircraft support services Alliance Airport is also home to the Bell Fort Worth Alliance Air Show, named the number 1 airshow in the United States by USA Today 2020, and it is an ideal central location within the DFW Metroplex, offering access to Fort Worth, Dallas, and North Texas.

Air Safety Institute

Such great heights

Density altitude and performance

By Alicia Herron

As seasons change, those perfect long summer days bring with them higher temperatures and higher density altitudes. Density altitude is pressure altitude corrected for nonstandard temperature, and technical definition aside, density altitude is the altitude at which the airplane “feels” like it’s flying.

Density altitude directly affects an aircraft’s performance. A wing’s lift depends on the mass of air molecules it displaces. At higher density altitudes, the air is less dense and fewer air molecules are available to provide the needed lift. A propeller’s (or a jet’s fan, compressor, and turbine blades) thrust also depends on the mass of air molecules it can hurl backward, and similarly, the engine’s power output depends on the amount of air available for combustion. All these performance characteristics can be drastically affected by a high density altitude.

Changes in density altitude will also change your true airspeed even though your indicated airspeed will stay the same. You’ll fly the same numbers, but the change in true airspeed will alter the way your approaches look, and at a high density altitude you might feel too fast. Instinct may dictate to pull back on the controls and slow yourself down, and if you aren’t careful, that could lead to a traffic pattern stall.

A higher true airspeed also changes the radius of turns and your turns will be wider. This can be a minor issue, but if you’re flying in the mountains, it can mean the difference between a successful canyon turn and an accident. Make sure you know and understand how your aircraft performs in changing density altitudes before you head into the backcountry.

Your aircraft’s climb performance will also suffer, as will the airplane’s service ceiling. As you zip along at a faster true airspeed and have reduced climb rates, you might not make it over terrain you think you can or otherwise could on a cooler day. Don’t guess. Give yourself a backup plan and equip the airplane to perform well. This might mean half tanks or fewer passengers, but taking multiple trips or making multiple fuel stops is far better than overloading the airplane.

It sounds like all bad news. But if you fly during a cooler time of the day, like morning, density altitude will be less of a factor. Or why not get night current and go for moonlit flights this summer? The key to dealing with density altitude is understanding how it affects your airplane’s performance, and if you know and respect your limits, you’ll be able to mitigate the risks. Fly safe this summer and enjoy all that extra daylight.

Learn more about density altitude and mountain flying with this safety spotlight and video from the AOPA Air Safety Institute archives.

airsafetyinstitute.org/spotlight/mountainflying

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Legally Speaking: Who’s on first?

Know your PIC before you go

By Cristina Zambrana

The FAA recently published guidance to help pilots improve their preflight briefings in Advisory Circular (AC) 91-92. The AC provides checklists and resources for self-briefing and states, “pilots who have preflight weather/risk assessment and risk mitigation skills are better prepared to make in-flight decisions as real-time weather information is consumed.”

The AC may be helpful for all pilots, but especially so for those acting as pilot in command (PIC) who are required to conduct a preflight briefing. FAR 1.1 defines PIC as the person who has the final authority and responsibility for the operation and safety of the flight; has been designated as PIC before or during the flight; and holds the appropriate category, class, and type rating, if appropriate, for the conduct of the flight. FAR 91.3 defines the PIC’s authority and responsibility as the one directly responsible for and is the final authority as to the operation of that aircraft.

FAR 91.103 is the regulation governing PIC preflight action for pilots operating under Part 91, requiring that, “each pilot in command shall, before beginning a flight, become familiar with all available information concerning that flight,” including information specific for the type of flight.

The AC links to the Risk Management Handbook, which emphasizes the necessity for the PIC to incorporate sound aeronautical decision-making; this may mean saying “no” to a flight. During flight, if an emergency arises, the PIC may not have time to use certain written resources. Therefore, preflight planning and briefing is critical.

An important, but often overlooked step, is determining who is PIC when there are multiple pilots onboard. Unlike Part 121 and 135 operations, the PIC is not typically pre-designated when operating under Part 91. Because individuals sitting at a flight control station on a given flight may also be pilots, the Risk Management Handbook cautions, “If no one is designated as PIC and unplanned circumstances arise, the decision-making styles of several self-confident pilots may come into conflict.”

FAA typically asks who the PIC was as part of any investigation. Since other pilots may be held accountable for their part in the careless or reckless operation of the flight, it is important to determine each pilot’s role for the flight in advance.

aopa.org/pps

Cristina Zambrana is an AOPA Legal Services Plan attorney.

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 14, 2021, at the headquarters of AOPA, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, Maryland, 21701, located on the 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 1-800-872-2672.  —Justine A. Harrison, Secretary