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Society of Aviation and Flight Educators eNewsletter  
IN THIS ISSUE
Make member dinner reservations online now
Visit SAFE at AirVenture
AirVenture PPC relocates to AirVenture Four Corners
New Sponsor: AOPA Flight Training Poll
Hake, Garrison elected to Board; Dara re-elected
SAFE Members Place in ARC
Aug 31 is deadline for 2016 SAFE teacher grants
Summer's SAFE The Magazine ready
King, Machado 'dogfight' over new airman standards
New ACS publications available
FAA Aviation Training Handbooks Updated
ACS sample exams available
Members urged to comment on new FAA training rules
New market for CFIs possible?
Fresh SAFE blog entires
Master Instructors Earn, Renew
ENEWS SPONSORS
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1 July 2016

SAFE represents more than 1,000 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. 


 

SAFE MEMBER DINNER RESERVATIONS AT AIRVENTURE 2016 STILL AVAILABLE ONLINE

Registration for the SAFE Annual Membership Meeting and Dinner  on Thursday evening, July 28 at 7 PM is now available.

SAFE Member Dinner 2015
For SAFE members, the dinner cost is just $5 with one guest for an additional $5; additional guests are $25 each. The event will be held at the Wittman Regional Airport terminal building, as it was last year.  A no-host social hour will begin at 6 PM.

The event is sponsored by generous long-time SAFE supporters Sporty's Pilot ShopAviation Insurance Resources ,   Flying Magazine and Starr Companies.

VISIT SAFE AT AIRVENTURE IN HANGAR B


SAFE Booth AirVenture 2015
SAFE's double-space booth, lit with bright flood lamps, will again be welcoming members in Exhibit Hangar B, spaces 2093 and 2094 at AirVenture 2016. 
 
Those who join SAFE, or members who renew their memberships at AirVenture qualify for several excellent gifts from ASA, Gleim Publications and Sporty's Pilot Shop, some with values in excess of SAFE's annual membership fee.  Not up for renewal?  No problem!  Renew at the fly-in and keep your original expiration date.

ASA, Gleim and Sporty's are longtime supporters of SAFE and go the extra mile with these bonus gifts.  Please thank them for their support of our organization.

Volunteers are still needed to work the booth for at least one four-hour shift during AirVenture.  Volunteers will greet SAFE members, provide information on our mission, benefits and programs and welcome new members to the organization

The signup board for booth volunteers and a locator map for first-time AirVenture visitors is available on the SAFE website. One free daily admission for AirVenture 2016 is available for the volunteer day and an official SAFE shirt will be provided for volunteers who do not already have one.


Read more...
 
NEW LOCATION FOR 2016 EAA PILOT PROFICIENCY CENTER AT AIRVENTURE

The EAA Pilot Proficiency Center has moved to the 'EAA Four Corners' on the AirVenture 2016 grounds, along Celebration Way and Knapp Street.

" The Proficiency Center lets pilots fly entertaining yet challenging scenarios to maintain proficiency and to improve both risk management and stick and rudder skills," said Donna Wilt, SAFE Chair.  "There are also IFR scenarios available for instrument-rated pilots. Some of SAFE's best instructors are volunteering to help at this year's event."
 
The Center will be open from Monday through Saturday, July 25-30, and is open to any pilot who wants to improve his or her knowledge or skill in aviation. 

The   daily schedule  includes a full lineup of Tech Talks by expert instructors on topics including crosswind landings, situational awareness, tailwheel tips and tricks, and charts.  All Tech Talks are eligible for FAA WINGS pilot proficiency program credit.
 

NEW SPONSOR: AOPA'S FLIGHT TRAINING POLL
YOUR CHANCE TO SHINE!



The 2016 AOPA Flight Training poll is live. It measures the performance of flight training providers through the categories of educational quality, customer focus, community, and information sharing. The poll gathers feedback from your clients and gives you the chance to be nationally recognized in the Flight Training Excellence Awards, including coverage in Flight Training magazine and on AOPA's website.

What better way to elevate the service you provide than by seeing yourself through the eyes of your customers? With a minimum of 5 qualifying respondents, you will receive a report card summarizing customer feedback on the areas where you excel and where you can grow. It's a powerful way to enhance the great training experience you are working hard every day to provide.

The poll closes at noon on Aug. 22, 2016. Send your customers here to take the poll. Learn more about the poll and check out our promotional resource guide for flight training providers here


HAKE, GARRISON ELECTED, DARA RE-ELECTED TO SERVE ON SAFE BOARD
 
Eric Hake
Mike Garrison
Parvez Dara

Three well-known GA leaders were elected last month to the SAFE Board of  Directors, each for a three-year term. They will begin their duties after the Society's annual meeting on Thursday, July 28, at AirVenture.

The three are Eric Hake of Texas, Mike Garrison of Florida and Parvez Dara of New Jersey .  All three are heavily involved in aviation education and flight training with many years of GA experience.

SAFE was founded in 2009 so that members of the aviation education profession could have a more direct voice in the way they were being represented and to raise the bar for aviation education, both in the cockpit and in the nation's classrooms to encourage more young people to enter aviation. 
 

SAFE MEMBERS ROLLIN, DRUSKINS AND CARBONELL PLACE IN ARC


SAFE member Dr. Virginie Rollin (fifth from left in photo), a professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, FL and her flying companion Dr. Nairara Petralander (sixth from left) placed third overall in this year's Women's Air Race Classic. This was the team's first race, which finished June 24 at Daytona Beach.

In fourth place was SAFE member Tina Druskins and her flying companions Dana Atkins and Emma Kishel. SAFE member Terry Carbonell and her flying companion Ellen Herr took fifth place.

ERAU pilots Emmy Dillon and Abbie Pasmore placed first overall in the race.

Congratulations to SAFE members Rollin, Druskins and Carbonell and the other 100+ women who competed in the annual ARC.
 
SAFE K-12 TEACHER GRANTS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS UNTIL AUGUST 31

Classroom teachers have until August 31 to  submit applications  for one of the two $250 grants SAFE awards given annually to encourage teachers to incorporate aviation-themed lessons in their classroom curriculum.  Applicants do not need to be SAFE members.

One grant is awarded to a teacher in grades K-7 and the second to a teacher in grades 8-12.  An individual teacher or group of teachers from the same school may apply for a grant for an aviation-themed classroom unit or complete an aviation themed project.


SUMMER ISSUE OF SAFE THE MAGAZINE OUT

The summer edition of SAFE The Magazine , the quarterly publication of the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators, was published June 19.
 
Among the stories in this issue are:
 
Engine Failure X Three , a thrilling article by SAFE member and FAA Designated Pilot Examiner Larry Bothe of Indianapolis tells how he experienced three of his nine engine failures on one checkride. Bothe has also created a webinar on handling suddenly-silent engines.
 
Use The Tape !, an article by long-time CFI Jim Alsip, extends the common CFI teaching technique of a "spot on the windshield" to developing superior stick-and-rudder skills.  Alsip says "it's the ultimate in cockpit 'instrumentation.'"
 
That Invaluable Instrument Rating by SAFE The Magazine editor Mark Phelps recalls a time early in his life as an instrument rated pilot when an FSS briefer provided a VFR-Not-Recommended admonition, then turned around and suggested that his proposed trip would be an ideal way to break in his new instrument ticket.  " I owe a debt of gratitude to the flight briefer, and I wish I knew who he was so I could thank him," Phelps says.

Read more...

KING, MACHADO 'DOGFIGHT' ABOUT ACS
 
Two of the top names in the aviation training world - John King of King Schools and well-known aviation educator and humorist Rod Machado - both SAFE members - engaged in a 'dogfight' in the July 2016 issues of AOPA PILOT  and  FLYING Magazine arguing for and against the FAA's new Airman Certification Standards (ACS).  Disclosure: FLYING Magazine is free to SAFE members as a member benefit.) 

King applauds the new standards,calling them meaningful and relevant, while Machado opines that since most GA accidents are due to lack of skill rather than decision-making errors, a new ACS is not needed.

 
INDUSTRY, GOVERNMENT RESPONDS TO ACS INTRODUCTION WITH NEW PUBLICATIONS

Several industry sources and the FAA have responded to introduction of the new Airman Certification Standards (ACS) with print and online guides and videos to help applicants prepare for the new tests.

As of press time, those available include:

Gleim CFI Ashley Millspaugh
Gleim Publications has created Prepare for the FAA Airman Certification Standards (ACS) a free 
5:25 minute video that succinctly explains what  ACS standards are, how they are being implemented and where to find further information.

 
Sportys Pilot Shop is offering two ASA-published comprehensive ACS guides, one for Private Pilot Airplane, the other for Instrument Rating Airplane.  FAA ACS for Private and FAA ACS for Instrument are expected to be available July 7. 



The FAA has the full  ACS available in PDF format on its web site, for both Private Pilot- Airplane Airman Certification Standards and Instrument Rating - Airplane Airman Certification Standards .  Both may be downloaded free.


FAA AVIATION TRAINING HANDBOOKS UPDATED
Several due out "any day"

An extensive revision of FAA aviation training handbooks has been underway for several years and last week SAFE received the latest updates to the publication schedule from the FAA. The updates to the 8083 Handbook Series ensures that the material is current, incorporate errata and align the documents with the new Airman Certification Standards (ACS).
 
The latest revisions of all 8083 Handbooks, including addendums, errata, and change pages are available at FAA sites Aviation Handbooks & Manuals and Aircraft Handbooks & Manuals.  The revisions, when released, will be available for free download from these sites.
 
According to FAA Airman Testing Standards Branch Manager Robert Newel, the schedule includes:
 
FAA-H-8083-1B - Aircraft Weight and Balance Handbook - July 2016

FAA-H-8083-25B - Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge - July 2016

FAA-H-8083-3B -  Airplane Flying Handbook - October 2016

AC 00-45H - Aviation Weather Services - Any day

AC 00-6B  - Aviation Weather For Pilots and  Flight Operations Personnel -  Any day

 
SAMPLE EXAMS FOR ACS DEBUT

Although the FAA is no longer providing exact questions used on Private Airplane and Instrument Airplane knowledge tests, it has published new sample exams for several certificates and ratings. Published on June 13, they are available on the FAA web site.
 
The newest sample exams include:



SAFE URGES MEMBER COMMENTS ON NEW PILOT TRAINING RULES NPRM

SAFE is urging members to make their views known on an FAA Notice of Proposed Rule Making that would make several significant changes in requirements for private and commercial applicants.  In the search box, enter FAA-2016-6142-0001.

The NPRM itself may be read here.

Among other things, the new rule would add a fixed-gear Technically Advanced Aircraft (TAA) as one of the complex options for single-engine commercial pilot training and practical test. The CFI practical test would be changed likewise.

Other proposed changes include:
  • Allowing pilots to accomplish IFR recurrency in an FAA-approved simulator or training device without an instructor.
  • Reducing IFR recency of flight experience accomplished in FAA-approved ATDs from every two months to six months, reducing the number of tasks required in ATDs and removing the three-hour flight time requirement for recurrency in ATDs.
  • Allowing light sport airplane and gyroplane pilots to credit 10 hours of sport pilot training time toward a higher certificate for single engine airplanes and rotorcraft, and allow sport pilot flight instructors to provide training to sport pilot student on flight by reference only to instruments.

FLYING CAR GRANTED LSA STATUS
A new opportunity for CFIs?
 
An extraordinary set of  FAA exemptions  from more than two dozen sections of FARs 21, 43 and 61 were granted to Terrafugia, Inc., last month.  This may portend a robust new market for CFIs as non-pilots buy the company's flying car.

The exemptions will allow Terrafugia to market their Transition flying car as a Light Sport Aircraft (LSA), which is expected to appeal to both pilots and non-pilots excited about the prospect of flying to an airport then driving to their destination. 

"The Terrafugia is an innovative aircraft that will need instructors both for initial and transition training," said SAFE Chair Donna Wilt.  "Both FAA and NASA are encouraging new products that will allow people to seamlessly go from driving to flying. A practical flying car will attract a whole new market of pilots, much like Cirrus did when it came out."  She added that current FAA rules allow an existing CFI with a commercial-pilot certificate to instruct in an LSA without restrictions.
 

FRESH SAFE BLOG ENTRIES

Suggestions, information, some trivia and hints from several of the country's leading flight instructors and FAA Designated Pilot Examiners are showing up in the new SAFE Blog which is open to all pilots.   Among the most recent entries:
  • Blogger and 9,000+ hour CFI Michael Phillips admits to two experiences in the last year that were painful reminders that maintaining a high standard of excellence is an ongoing process for all CFIs.
  • What might be called Defective Instrument Proficiency Checks have contributed to accidents investigated by SAFE member Jeff Edwards. Is the FAA proposal to lower IFR currency requirements a good thing?
  • SAFE Board Member David St. George, in a blog entry called Friends Don't Let Friends Fly Stupid! suggests that taking action when seeing another pilot prepare to do something unsafe is a good thing.
MASTER INSTRUCTORS RENEW

Two SAFE professional aviation educators renewed their Master CFI designations in May. 

Both renewed through Master Instructors, LLC .

Michael Bruce "Mike" Traud, Gold River, CA renewed his Master CFI on May 11. 

He serves as the safety officer for the Sacramento County Sheriff's Air Squadron and is a designated pilot examiner (DPE) in the FAA's Sacramento FSDO area.  Additionally, he is a flight instructor and aviation consultant who owns and operates MTAviation Services LLC at Sacramento Executive Airport.


John Urban "Rock" Rockcastle
of Oxford, FL renewed his Master CFI May 30.

He is a five-time Master CFI, an Orlando FAASTeam representative and a simulator instructor with  Simcom  in Orlando, FL.  He also works with the production crew at the FAA's National Resource Center in Lakeland.  Rockcastle was the 1989 Master CFI of the Year.

Of the more than 100,000 FAA-certificated CFIs in the United States, fewer than 800 are accredited as Master Instructors.  The FAA approves initial or renewal of Master CFI accreditation as an alternate means for CFIs to renew their flight instructor certificates.
 
More than 20 of recent National Flight Instructors of the Year, National FAASTeam Representatives of the Year or AMTs of the Year have been accredited Masters.  


Fly SAFE!




Donna Wilt, Chair
Society of Aviation and Flight Educators