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| SAFE represents more than 1,100 of the industry's top aviation educators in 49 states and nine foreign countries, including the majority of Master Instructors and numerous General Aviation Awards winners in all four awards categories.
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Members: Please "Step Up" to Support SAFE
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By David St. George, SAFE Chair
Welcome to autumn and a challenging new season for flight.
We are asking all dedicated SAFE members and supporters to "
Step Up" and go "all in" as we transition to the fall season with increased membership levels, contributions and volunteering. We've had an amazing year with many successful projects (group hug and cheers all around) including an almost 20% increase in membership! Many years of hard work have finally blossomed into some stunning successes.
Most notable was the June 15 publication of the ACS for Instrument and Private pilots. Judgment and risk management are now integrated into pilot training as additional required pilot skills. These are combined with the traditional skill and knowledge requirements of the older PTS. This initiative grew from the
SAFE Pilot Training Reform Symposium in Atlanta in 2011 and SAFE's continual representation in Washington on the Airman Certification Standards (ACS) Working Group (thank-you, Doug Stewart!). My personal take on this is
here in the SAFE blog. This testing standard continues to evolve at this writing. Please see the story of SAFE's successful response to the ACS slow flight issues in this edition of eNews.
Other successful projects include two teacher scholarships to promote STEM and aviation interest in younger grade-school children (see article on this year's winning teachers in this issue). We've received commitments from generous supporters to double the number of teacher scholarships we offer next year. We've launched a
wildly popular blog and added more amazing benefits and discounts for members (see articles in this edition). Hopefully you have seen our beautiful new show booth at Oshkosh and Sun 'N Fun. Our talented media designer is finishing up our new SAFE website which we hope to launch in the next month...and stand by for more improvements.
All this, of course, comes at a cost. Fortunately SAFE is more financially secure than ever before, thanks to our recent growth. But I am asking all SAFE members to "
Step Up" this year and go "all in" to support your organization. I would love to see SAFE represented at every AOPA regional event next year, meeting members and spreading our message. We continue to send representatives to Washington to work on the improvements to the ACS (as you see below) and the rewriting of the FAA Handbooks, but we need your help.
Please go "all in" and "
Step Up" to the next level of SAFE membership. If you are a Regular member you probably are making money with just your ForeFlight discount, in addition to the nearly two dozen other SAFE member discounts. Please consider a Bronze (supporting) membership at $100 to support our important work. A lifetime membership is a very good deal since most of our members are so passionate and committed.
Donations are welcome (and needed) and are in most cases fully tax deductible (check your individual situation but we are an educational 501(c)3 organization). So "
Step Up" and volunteer at Sun 'N Fun and Oshkosh. We also need volunteers for FLYING's Palm Springs Aviation Expo this month and to contribute articles to the SAFE blog or magazine. Please go "all in" for aviation safety and support SAFE's growth and the amazing programs we have planned. More on that soon. Thanks for all you do.
David St. George
SAFE Chair
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Volunteers Needed for FLYING Aviation Expo at PSP, October 20-22, Thursday-Saturday
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 SAFE's display booth at this year's FLYING Expo in Palm Springs, CA on October 20-22, Thursday through Saturday, needs volunteers to staff the booth.
Booth volunteers may serve for three hours or more, one, two or all three days. It's a great opportunity for you to meet other pilots and CFIs and distribute SAFE literature.
Admission is included, so this is your opportunity to attend the FLYING Aviation Expo for free.
Are you willing to help at this year's FLYING Expo at PSP? Sign up now!
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NEW SAFE Member Benefit!
FREE Subscription to Aerovie EFB
for SAFE Members
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Aerovie, the creator of a top GPS flight planner, navigation and electronic flight bag, is now offering SAFE members a FREE subscription to the service. A year's subscription is usually $69.99.
In addition to features commonly found on flight planners, Aerovie offers electronic PIREP submission to Lockheed Martin Flight Service for entry into the National Airspace System. The app also includes a full electronic flight bag for iPad, iPhone and Apple Watch including charts and filing flight plans.
A powerful pre-flight weather briefing capability includes such things as radar, satellite, radar simulations for days ahead, Skew-T soundings, TAF Discussions, and much more.
The free Aerovie application works only with iOS products, and there is no word whether a version for Android tablets is in the works. Aerovie is available at the Apple Play Store. For more information and to get your free SAFE member subscription service to Aerovie, go to the SAFE Member Benefits page. (A member log-in will be necessary to see that page).
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SAFE Member Advocacy
SAFE to FAA:
Here's How to Fix the ACS Slow Flight Task
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As reported in last month's SAFE eNews, members were surprised when the FAA changed a key element in the new Private Pilot Airplane Airman Certification Standards for evaluating slow flight. The ACS called for "an airspeed approximately 5-10 knots above the 1G stall speed, at which the airplane is capable of maintaining controlled flight without activating the stall warning."
The change brought howls of protest from some experienced SAFE members and other flight instructors. Many pointed out that FAR Part 23 requires stall warnings in light aircraft to activate at no less than 5 knots above stall speed, thus making it impossible to teach or perform slow flight (i.e., flight on the back side of the power curve) without activating the stall warning horn. The FAA responded with Safety Alert For Operators (SAFO) 16010 which changed the evaluation standard for the slow flight maneuver in the ACS and gives a procedure to establish a speed for the maneuver.
SAFE asked its members about the contentious issue during September and found that 93 percent of CFIs responding agreed or strongly agreed that the purpose of slow flight for private pilots is to demonstrate the ability to control and maneuver an airplane at high angles of attack in the area of reverse command. The poll also showed that 63 percent wanted the FAA to return to the long-established PTS definition of slow flight, while only 24 percent thought the new ACS guidance was good.
SAFE's Government Affairs Committee composed a letter to the Co-Chairs of the ACS Working Group recommending ways to revise the ACS so that pilots are properly trained. The response was presented to the committee in September by current SAFE ACS Working Group member and former SAFE Chair Donna Wilt. At the same meeting, SAFE co-founder and Director Emeritus Doug Stewart presented letters from distinguished flight instructors requesting changes in the slow flight task as other industry representatives weighed in on the important aspects of slow flight and stalls
"The letter was very well received and SAFE looks forward to working through the ACS Working Group to resolve this issue," said Wilt.
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Former SAFE Board Director Ray Spengler
Named Top CFI in US Southwest
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 Former SAFE Board of Directors member Ray Spengler has been named the 2016 Southwestern U.S. Regional Flight Instructor of the Year by the FAA as part of the GA Awards Program.
Spengler, a long-time SAFE member, owns and operates Skypark Aviation at the East Texas Regional Airport near Longview, TX, where he offers flight training.
He is the lead representative for the Lubbock FSDO's FAASTeam and provides designated pilot examiner services. He has been a corporate pilot, owner and manager of flight schools and serves on various aviation-related boards.
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$500 FAA ADS-B Rebate Program Underway
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As you'd suspect, the $500 rebates come with conditions. First, the rebates are limited to the first 20,000 aircraft owners who qualify, or one year, whichever comes first. Payment is limited to one owner per aircraft, and only single-engine piston-powered aircraft registered with the FAA before January 1, 2016 qualify.
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Reminder:
Transponders, Mode C, ADS-B Out On For Taxi
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Are you still teaching pilots to turn their transponder to 'ALT' just prior to entering the runway for takeoff or letting the 'auto' feature squawk STANDBY on the ground? That's been standard practice for many years. However....
As a result of recent changes in Chapter 4 of the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM), the correct procedure is now to turn on your transponder, including Mode C and ADS-B Out (if installed), before entering any part of the airport movement area at a towered field. Movement areas are normally everywhere an aircraft travels on the airport except for FBO or private ramps.
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Inhofe Working To Further Ease Requirements of Driver License Medical
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 A pro-GA senator is trying to relax medical requirements added during negotiations for the so-called "driver's license medical," created by legislation signed on July 15, 2016.
The driver's license medical opportunity is expected to allow many lapsed pilots frustrated with the FAA's medical certification process - the AP estimates up to 200,000 - to return to active flying, creating an active market for CFIs offering currency training.
The requirement in the new legislation Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma would like to eliminate is the one requiring pilots to get a statement from their doctor every four years saying they don't have any medical condition that would interfere with their ability to safely fly. Officials say the elimination could encourage even more lapsed pilots to rejoin the active flying community.
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Survey Shows The Times, They Are A-Changin'
But 'a la carte' briefings may be deficient, SAFE warns
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Older CFIs may recall the 1970s and 1980s, when many pilots were forced to hang on the phone for long periods waiting to talk to an FSS briefer, since there was no other choice for a preflight briefing. At busy flight schools, a lucky student who finally reached the FSS briefer would tell that briefer to hold on and pass the phone to the next pilot lined up. And the next, and the next and so on.
Today, nearly one in five pilots report they don't even bother to call an FSS before flight. Nearly a third say they won't countenance a phone delay of more than one minute, and almost as many won't wait more than three minutes for a phone briefing. Those figures are from a late-August to early-September AOPA survey of its members. AOPA warned that the survey was not scientific.
"The Internet is now full of sources for weather briefings, and it's saving pilots both time and money," said St. George. "SAFE loves improvements like that, but beware of 'a la carte' internet briefings using unofficial sources. Make sure the site you're using is timely and presents full information." He recommended the web site www.1800wxbrief.com, which is the portal to the official Flight Service.
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SAFE Awards Grants to
Educators in Arizona and Illinois
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A third grade teacher from Illinois and a high school teacher from Arizona were named this year's recipients of SAFE's 2016 K-12 Classroom Teacher Grant Award competition.
Josh Miller of Skokie, Illinois and Dr. Paul McElligott of Fountain Hills, Arizona will both be using the $250 grant awards to pay for special projects that incorporate aerospace and/or aviation-themed lessons into their classroom science curriculums. 
Miller teaches third grade at the Hillel Torah North Suburban Day School in Skokie, and will use his grant to foster enthusiasm for future aerospace studies by building rockets to study Newton's Laws of Motion and Bernoulli's Principle in relation to aerodynamics, along with weather and rocket construction variables.
McElligott teaches advanced placement (AP) physics and chemistry courses in Fountain Hills, in addition to teaching  an innovative engineering course. He will be purchasing inexpensive remote controlled flying robots, called micro drone bots, and have his students reverse engineer the product in order to learn about a dynamic aerodynamic system. During this project, students will learn and apply computer-assisted design (CAD) technology and how to 3D scan each structural part for reproduction. McElligott's wrote that his goal for this classroom project is to "inspire engineering students with project centered learning on all aspects of aviation, aerospace, and reverse engineering."
SAFE Chair David St. George said the organization is planning to double the number of scholarships awarded next year to four.
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SAFE Blog Highlights CFI Purpose, Tools
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The new
SAFE Blog
is gaining popularity. In recent weeks,
contributions from SAFE members have included:
"The Instructor's Purpose" by MCFI and 2006 National Flight Instructor of the Year Rich Stowell, aka "The Spin Doctor," asks what a CFI's purpose should be. The succinct answer in this blog post has three points. Read about them here.
"Two Pilots; Support Excellence in Aviation" by SAFE Chair David St. George is a thoughtful analysis of the state of aviation training, comparing the training and experience of Captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberg with that of Colgan Airways flight 3407 pilot Captain Marvin Renslow.
"I can't help but think this is a 'teachable moment' for all pilots, as well as motivation to try harder every day," St. George writes. "I presented this story of contrasting pilot skills at Oshkosh and Sun 'n Fun in just this manner with the question, "Who would you rather be?" Obviously, we should all strive for excellence and professionalism and channel "The Sully" in our flying."
"Experience Slow Flight for Safety" by Sherry Knight Rossiter, presents a look at the current 'slow flight' flap between many CFIs and the FAA from the viewpoint of a Doctor of Psychology who is also an ATP, CFI and experienced flight school operator.
"An angle of attack indicator may be nice to have, but it should not be the only way a pilot can detect an impending stall," she writes in the blog entry. All the technology in the world can't save a pilot from stalling the airplane if he/she doesn't (a) recognize the wings are no longer producing lift, hence stalled, and (b) know the most basic fix, which is to reduce the wing's angle of attack."
"The ACS Slow Flight Controversy," also by Rossiter, reviews how the whole argument got started, what's involved in the controversy and what CFIs should do about it. (Hint: it involves sending your opinion to the FAA's ACS Focus Team. There's an easy clickable link in the blog allowing you to do just that.)
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Regional Carriers Raising Pilot Salaries
SAFE Says Move May Brighten Flight Training Outlook for CFIs
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Flight schools may see a boost in enrollment as more regional airlines boost pay for new first officers.
American Airline subsidiaries Envoy Air and PSA Airlines announced September 14 that they are raising starting pay by as much as 50 percent. At PSA, the pay will increase from $24.62 per hour to $38.50 per hour, with additional signing and retention bonuses worth up to $35,000 over several years. Envoy is raising its base from $25.84 per hour to $37.90 with the chance for additional bonuses.
Both carriers said first-year pilots can now make about $58,000, the highest in the historically abysmal history of regional carrier pilot wages. About 2,800 pilots are now employed at the two carriers.
"As pilot pay at regional airlines rises to a living wage, flight schools will likely see an uptick in training demand," said SAFE Chair David St. George. "There are fewer ex-military pilots available, so CFIs will be key to picking up the slack."
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Aviation Conferences Scheduled for October
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FLYING Expo - Oct 20-22
The third annual
2016 FLYING Aviation Expo in Palm Springs, CA is scheduled for October 20-22, bringing together pilots, aircraft manufacturers and pilot products and services.
SAFE members presenting at the event will be:
* Donna Wilt will present "Tips for Avoiding Runway Incursions."
* Kay Sundaram will present "iPad In The Cockpit 101" at noon on Friday, Oct 21.
* Gary Reeves will present "Avidyne IFD and Garmin 430/530 Pro Tips" at noon on Saturday, Oct 22.
* Judy Phelps will present "Stalls, Spins and Unusual Attitudes" at 1:00 pm on Saturday, Oct 22.
Registration for the Flying Aviation Expo is available now.
International Rotorcraft Safety Conference - Oct 25-27
The FAA's second annual free International Rotorcraft Safety Conference will be held October 25-27 in Fort Worth, TX. It is intended for rotorcraft pilots, mechanics, small company owners, industry executives, operators and government regulators from the U.S. and abroad. Topics planned for discussion include:
* Improving decisions
* Creating a culture of safety
* Performing autorotations
* Choosing the best protection equipment
* Basic helicopter safety and maintenance
* How flight training schools promote safety
Annual Redbird Migration - Oct 25-26
The seventh annual Redbird Migration, billed as "the leading conference for flight training professionals," has been scheduled for October 25-26, 2016 at Redbird Skyport in San Marcos, TX.
Speakers scheduled to appear this year include CEO Dale Klapmeier of Cirrus Aircraft; CEO Jim Barry of PASSUR Aerospace, Paul Harrop of AOPA Live, Redbird Flight Board Chair Craig Fuller and Redbird Founder Jerry Gregoire.
Information and registration for this conference is available now.
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Top CFIs Earn, Renew Master Aviation Educator Accreditation
Gaffney Earns Master Instructor Emeritus
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Four top flight instructors, all SAFE members, renewed their Master Aviation Educator certifications in July, August and September, and another earned his initial certification through Master Instructors, LLC, of Colorado. They are part of an elite group of fewer than 800 aviation educators nationwide to earn the FAA-recognized accreditation. They are: Raylene B Alexander, Donald Kaye, George P. Felix, Timothy Brill, Robin Lindstrom and Douglas Carmody.
In addition, Michael G Gaffney, a 7-time Master and SAFE member who lives in Australia, earned his Master Instructor Emeritus (MIE) status.
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Fly SAFE!
David St. George, Chair
Society of Aviation and Flight Educators
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Copyright SAFE, Inc. 2016. All rights reserved.
SAFE, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Public Charity
[email protected] -- [email protected] -- www.SafePilots.org |
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