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| SAFE represents more than 1,700 of the industry's top aviation professionals in 49 states and nine foreign countries, including the majority of Master Instructors and numerous General Aviation Awards winners in all three awards categories. |
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Executive Director Notes
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by David St. George, SAFE Executive Director
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David St George
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Hi SAFE members and supporters!
We had a great time at the
AOPA Santa Fe Fly-In
meeting many members and adding new people to the member roster. Our board member Mike Vivion is a presenter for AOPA and also helped at the SAFE booth.
We also had wonderful help from Dave McVinnie, a local DPE and 10X MCFI, Cliff Chetwin and also Dan Sharpes....what a team!
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SAFE Board member Mike Vivion presented his popular Backcountry Operations seminar at the Santa Fe fly-in. |
Please enjoy our e-News and keep in touch with your needs and concerns; lots is changing in the aviation world. Sorry our weather livestream did not play nice (FaceBook stream failed and took out our YouTube stream). We look forward to rescheduling this exciting show in November. 
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"One-Touch Updates" - Stay inTouch With SAFE
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The service, added in September, allows CFIs and others to bring together SAFE updates on Twitter, Facebook and the SAFE web site. It
connects to an aggregator on the new SAFE website that collects all the social media feeds for all CFIs. "You get the latest on important changes, such as the new FAA rule allowing TAA for the 10 hours of complex time," pointed out David St George, SAFE Executive Director.
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Progress Reported In Slow Flight Imbroglio
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Thanks in large part to SAFE members who protested loudly when the FAA changed the definition of "slow flight" for practical tests, the FAA will be considering a new task reinstating the skills needed for flight at minimum controllable airspeed.
"The FAA's theory was that all pilots should be trained to immediately respond to the first indication of a stall warning horn," explained Kevin D Murphy, SAFE Communications Director. "But that meant students, particularly primary students, wouldn't necessarily be trained in flying at critically low airspeeds, high angles of attack and on the back side of the power curve."
SAFE's representative on the ACS committee, Dr. Donna Wilt, said the outcry from SAFE members was a key factor in convincing the FAA to consider a new task for the Instructor ACS. Developed by the sub-group developing new standards, the proposed task includes but is not limited to the skills formerly required for the 'old' slow flight task at minimum controllable airspeed, plus new maneuvers.
"For now, the new task will be only a demonstration task for the initial flight instructor certificate," said Dr. Wilt, "but SAFE hopes the task will eventually become a proficiency task for other certificates as well."
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ATP ACS Draft Available Soon
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The ACS for Airline Transport Pilot checkrides should be available shortly for comment by the public, according to SAFE's representative on the ACS committee. The comment period will be 60 days, and SAFE encourages its members to read the proposed new ACS and submit comments on it.
The target date for publication was September 1, and the docket number will be FAA-2018-0811. Pilots may find it by searching the Federal Register.
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SAFE Members First To Know
We Broke The Story First
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SAFE's Facebook page
was first in letting members know, September 5, that they and their Commercial students could legally use TAAs for the 10 hours required for both certificates
We went live with the news on the SAFE Facebook page at 11:02 AM (16:02Z) on that day, just hours after the corrected section of the FARs was uploaded to the government's official eCFR site.
"We toyed with the idea of adopting a 'SAFE Is Your Watchdog' slogan,'" said Kevin D Murphy, SAFE Communications Director. "But not for very long. It is true we do everything we can to keep our members ahead of the pack in both knowledge and practice."
The new rule was incorporated the same day in SAFE's (free) Toolkit app, available for both iOS and Android. Earlier, SAFE was the first with news of the Piper Cherokee wing loss accident in Florida, which saw more than 10,000 hits on SAFE's Facebook page.
SAFE has introduced a free aggregator
service called 'One Touch Updates' so members can see the latest SAFE information on Twitter, Facebook and the SAFE Web site.
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IACRA Glitch For DPEs Gone (Thanks, SAFE)
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If you are a designated flight examiner who has just completed your CFI renewal, you're no doubt aware that you were unable to use IACRA again until you received the plastic certificate (instead of reverting to the paper form 8710-1...ouch!) That aggravating inefficiency was removed in September, thanks to SAFE Executive Director and DPE David St George.
"I'm delighted to announce that the FAA took David's suggestion to heart and updated IACRA to version 8.15.1," said SAFE Communications Director Kevin D Murphy. "DPEs are no longer locked out of the system until their plastic CFI certificates arrived. It was a small step for aviation education, but a giant leap for DPEs."
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Free Client Recruitment Aid Available Online
AOPA's "Rusty Pilot" Seminar Free
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CFIs in search of additional paying clients can now point lapsed pilots to the newly created
Rusty Pilots
course online as motivation. The free course was created by AOPA and PilotWorkshops.
"There are literally thousands of former pilots who have dropped out of flying and wish they could get back in the air again," said Kevin D Murphy, SAFE Communications Director, "and any CFI can easily point that lapsed pilot to this new course and offer to tailor refresher flight hours to fit that person's needs."
The online Rusty Pilots program includes reviews of f
light planning and preflight, airspace and sectional charts, flight and airport requirements, technology in the cockpit and operating in special airspace. The online course is designed to last two hours but is self-paced and can be taken in multiple sessions.
"An old marketing trick is to volunteer to give a "what it takes to learn to fly" speech at local civics clubs, where you'll find successful middle-age men who have secretly dreamed of learning to fly," said Murphy. "Business clubs like that are always needing noontime speakers who can inspire their members." Over 5,700 "Rusty Pilots" have returned to the air with this AOPA Program.
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More Knowledge Test Changes Coming
New Provider Contract Was Just The Beginning
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Many SAFE members are unaware that the FAA's award of knowledge testing centers to PSI comes with other significant changes that will be phased in over the next several years. Dr. Donna Wilt is SAFE's designated representative on the FAA's Airman Certification Standards Working Group.
According to Dr. Wilt, the way FAA knowledge tests are created will completely change in the coming year, making it harder for test-takers to memorize many questions and sell those questions to ground school companies. Dr. Wilt said that practice is called "harvesting" questions.
"Features expected at the beginning of 2020 will include online self-registration for knowledge tests and walk-in registration," said Dr. Wilt. "One particularly helpful feature will be unlimited practice exams online, which will be assembled and delivered just like the actual test." The first exam to be available under the new system will be Private Pilot - Airplane, next year.
The schedule for introducing the new exams is:
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Government Publication Breaks Fresh Ground
FAA Safety Briefing Called "Innovative, Smart"
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Many older CFIs may remember back a few years when FAA Safety Briefing magazine, then called FAAviation News, was a typical dry government publication with a bland look. Despite carrying valuable safety articles, it suffered depressingly low readership.
That's no longer true. Today's FAA Safety Briefing, its transformation sparked by SAFE member Susan Parson, is receiving awards and seeing readership climb dramatically. The
September/October 2018 issue of FAA Safety Briefing explores the important role of community in general aviation and acquaints you with a wide range of organizations that can be part of your aviation world now or at some point down the road. Exciting mobile articles are available on the site also.
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NTSB Roundtable on LOC-I Has Highlight Video
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A 20-minute video summary of the NTSB Roundtable discussion earlier this year on Loss of Control - Inflight (LOC-I) is now available on YouTube. The LOC-I issue has been a hot button with the NTSB for several years, and SAFE has been a prime sponsor of awareness of the issue. SAFE Executive Director Emeritus, Doug Stewart was a panelist on this discussion.
The roundtable explored challenges to implementation of current technologies to reduce these largely preventable accidents. This video shows highlights of some of the discussion areas. This video shows highlights of some of the discussion areas. You may receive FAA Wings credit for viewing this video.
Specific areas of interest in the video include (each preceded by its timed place on the video):
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California Airport Changes CTAF (Unicom)
Here's Why It Took A Year
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But it took a year of effort to get final approval on August 16, according to airport manager Dave Daly. In addition to the fact that there are only 7 Unicom-type frequencies available for the entire country, the airport
review included local pilot surveys about air traffic communication safety and monitoring frequencies of other airports.
The frequency change was effective August 16, but the new frequency won't appear on the San Francisco Sectional Chart until its next update on February 28. 2019, something CFIs may want to point out to their students.
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Nall Report Notes Safety Gains
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 CFIs will be happy to know that their efforts made a difference in 2015, the latest year for which complete GA accident statistics are available. This year's AOPA Nall Report of GA fixed-wing safety showed an overall fatal accident rate of just 0.84 per 100,000 flight hours, a 30 percent decrease over the previous year.
"That's despite an increase in FAA-estimated hours for 2015, up to 23.98 million," said SAFE executive Director David St George. "We'd like to think that increased professionalism in the instructor corps helped that safety accomplishment."
The annual Nall Report is one of the hundreds of CFI information sources available to members on the SAFE web site in the member resource center.
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SAFE Member Wins EAA J-3 Cub
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"Actually, it took some time to convince my girlfriend I was serious and it wasn't some sort of prank," Fiegel said. "...(and) we are looking forward to flying the airplane back to New Hampshire."
The J-3, which was restored by C&D Aviation in Bessemer AL, was the grand prize in this year's EAA aircraft sweepstakes.
Stephen is a tailwheel and aerobatic flight instructor for the past six years with his company Keystone Aerosports. He has also worked with aerobatic team Rob Holland Ultimate airshows for the past four seasons. Stephen is a strong advocate of serious stick and rudder proficiency, find Stephen here:
http://www.keystoneaerosports.com
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Are Diagnostic Test Flights Legal? Maybe Not.....
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 Aviation lawyer Ray Carver is warning CFIs and other pilots that not all "maintenance test flights" are created equal, and some may violate the FARs. Carver spoke out in an AOPA marketing publication last month.
"While these types of flights may be advisable or even required, the phrase is sometimes misused to justify flights that take place outside of the regulations," wrote Carver.
He cited FAR 91.407(b), which requires an "operational check flight" after some maintenance. Under this provision, the pilot may not carry passengers until a check flight is made and logged.
However, he warned, a pilot who takes the craft up "to see if it's airworthy" after a maintenance professional has worked on the airplane is not legal.
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ADS-B: One Size Does Not Fit All
SAFE Points Members To Guidelines
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With just a year and two months remaining before the FAA mandate for ADS-B Out equipment goes into effect, aircraft owners are asking more and more questions, often of their CFI. Among the most often asked: which ADS-B unit is best for me? The answers are not always simple.
GA-type units currently available to meet the requirement include models from Appareo, Bendix-King, L-3 Aviation Products, FreeFlight Systems and NavWorx. While all will satisfy the FAA mandate, the price, the features and installation considerations vary considerably.
For CFIs cornered by anxious owners asking about the mandate, SAFE is reprinting an AOPA-created flow-chart block diagram to help answer questions." (Diagram courtesy of AOPA). Additional information is available.
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FAA Removes More Than 20 Airports From Cold Temp Restricted List
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Even the FAA has recognized a warming world, this month removing more than 20 airports from the list of airports known to have cold weather altimetry errors. No airports were added to the list.
Unsurprisingly, many of the airports removed from the list are in Alaska, but others removed are in Arcata and Bishop CA; Harriet Alexander Field and Telluride CO; Lewiston-Nez Perce County in ID; Harriman-and-West MA; Baudette Intl MN; Glacier Park Intl, Libby MT; Joseph Y Resnick NY, Grants Pass OR; Harrisburg Intl, PA; Bowers Field WA and Tri-County Regional WI.
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Master Instructor Updates
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MCFI Michael E Slug Bugg
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Michael E "Slug" Bugg
of Mesa AZ, a first-time Master as well as a member of SAFE, earned his Master CFI-Aerobatic accreditation September 10 through the Master Instructors LLC.
A graduate of the United States Air Force Academy
and a former C-17 aircraft commander, Mike served for more than a decade as a US Air Force officer and pilot instructor training evaluator. Currently, he is an advanced instructor pilot with
Aviation Performance Solutions LLC
at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport
(IWA)
where he specializes in upset prevention and recovery training
(UPRT)
that caters to already certificated and experienced aviators.
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MCFI George P Felix
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George serves as a volunteer Angel Flight Central Mission Pilot as well as a FAASTeam representative for the Minneapolis FSDO. Additionally, he owns and operates
Felix Flight Services
at Crystal Airport (MIC) and several others where he specializes in primary and advanced flight training.
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MCFI Donald E Kaye
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Donald E Kaye
of Santa Clara CA, a nine-time Master and SAFE member, recently renewed his Master CFI accreditation September 20 through the
Master Instructor's LLC
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Don is an independent San Francisco Bay area
flight and ground instructor
as well as a Mooney Safety Foundation (MAPA) instructor specializing in avionics, instrument, recurrency, and complex aircraft training. A recipient of the FAA's Wright Brothers Master Pilot award, he also serves as a FAASTeam representative for the FAA's San Jose FSDO area.
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MCFI Emmanuel A Remy
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A former Comair Delta Connection first officer, Emmanuel is an instructor pilot with
Aviation Performance Solutions LLC
at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (IWA), where he specializes in upset prevention and recovery training
(UPRT)
that caters to already certificated and experienced aviators. Additionally, he is a certificated airframe and powerplant
maintenance technician.
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MCFI Todd Underwood
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He instructs with
Wright Aviation
and Jet Weight at Deer Valley Airport (DVT) and other venues where he specializes in initial and recurrent turbo-prop and turbo-jet training. He also serves as a volunteer pilot for Angel Flight and Flights for Life and serves as a designated pilot examiner (DPE) as well as a FAASTeam representative for the FAA's Scottsdale FSDO.
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Again, thanks for your support and
Fly SAFE!
David St. George, Chair
Society of Aviation and Flight Educators
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Copyright SAFE, Inc. 2018. 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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