Volume 10 | April 2019

SAFE eNews The Monthly Bulletin of the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators

SAFE is a 501(c)(3) educational, not-for-profit professional organization building aviation educator excellence and aviation safety. Our 1,800+ members include many of the best-known, best-credentialed and most experienced CFIs and many Designated Pilot Examiners in the US and internationally. Join SAFE now! Donate to SAFE

Coming To Visit SAFE At Sun 'n Fun 2019? FBOs Offering SNF Fuel Discounts

CFI PROficiency tm Debuts No, It's NOT Upset, Spins, Aerobatics ...Unless You Like That Sort Of Thing

Among the top media attending the Sun 'n Fun press conference today with SAFE Executive Director David St George (left) were Tom Haines of AOPA, Ben Sclair of General Aviation News and Tom Turner of the Beechcraft Pilot Proficiency Program.

In Wednesday's unveiling of the new SAFE CFI PROficiency tm workshop at Sun 'n Fun, SAFE Executive Director David St George declared "if you're a good CFI, we can make you a GREAT CFI!" The new SAFE initiative involves a two-day ground and flight program, the first to be held the weekend of October 2-3, 2019 at the Frederick MD airport, home of AOPA. The program offers CFIs a path to improved skill, knowledge and confidence in aerodynamics and aircraft control, especially in the less-often-explored areas of the normal flight aerodynamic envelope. Led by top SAFE-member aviation educators, the outreach focuses on reducing loss of control inflight (LOC-I) accidents. LOC-I is still the most common cause of fatal GA accidents, despite having spent the last several years on the NTSB's "Most Wanted Improvements" list. St George emphasized that although SAFE's new outreach offers CFIs a chance to explore seldom-visited corners of the flight envelope, it is not an aerobatics course or upset training. "We have a tested syllabus and use only normal and utility category aircraft and stay within their limitations," he said. "Since typical pilots use only about 5 percent of a standard category aircraft's flight envelope, there's lots to explore without going aerobatic." SAFE does encourage aerobatic or upset training for pilots wanting to extend their capabilities. SAFE's "Expanded Envelope Maneuvers" are highly useful for every trained CFI and local airport.

St George said all were welcome to participate, even those in training to be a CFI and that tuition for the two days of ground and flight instruction is $375. A poll last month found SAFE members regularly saw lack of coordination skill in students trained by other instructors, especially in rudder use. All survey respondents believe that "some" or "most" other CFIs were not adequately emphasizing aircraft control. Read more ...

SAFE SNF TV Will FeatureTop Educators Goulian, Machado, Wagstaff, SAFE Members And More

Stay tuned to SAFE TV this week for national aviation celebrities, including Patty Wagstaff, "Flight Chops" (Steve Thorne), and Jason Miller. SAFE TV, sponsored and equipped by Gold Seal Online Ground Schools, is broadcasting on the internet throughout week during Sun 'n Fun in Lakeland. It is available from this link. Those celebrities and more have been or will be guests this week at the SAFE studio in the Sun 'n Fun triple-wide SAFE booth C 53-54-55. Also in the booth is a fully provisioned Redbird TD Horizon sim that shows ForeFlight and Cloud Ahoy in action. Stop by SAFE's booth C53-54-55; there's unlikely to be a dull moment. SAFE members are also invited to appear on SAFE TV to showcase their school and flight instruction services during Sun 'n Fun 2019, and regular SAFE sponsors will be featured at regular intervals. The 2019 NOTAM for the Sun 'n Fun fly-in is now available.

SAFE Triple-Wide At SNF Please Volunteer For Booth!

Members are still needed to help staff the SAFE booth in four-hour shifts. If you'll be at Sun 'n Fun this year, please sign up to help, even if only for four hours on one day.

Members To Preach Safety DPE's "Pass Your Flight Test" Expects SRO SNF Crowd

Four SAFE-sponsored hour-long interactive forums with FAA Designated Pilot Examiner David St George are expected to draw standing room only crowds at Sun 'n Fun this week. Pass Your Flight Test will be presented on Tuesday from 12:00 noon to 12:55 PM at CFAA-10 and on Saturday from 9:00 AM to 9:55 AM at CFAA-09. St George will also be presenting a more general look at the flight training world with a forum called What You Thought You Knew About Flying on Tuesday at 1:00 PM at CFAA-10 and on Saturday at 1:00 PM at CFAA-07. Other SAFE presentations this week will include the two forum-style presentations on the new SAFE CFI PROficiency(tm) program on Tuesday at 11 AM in CFAA-10 and Saturday at noon in CFAA-05.

SAFE SNF Entry 30% Off $500 Daily Prize For Air Arrivals

Again this year, current SAFE members receive a discount of 30 percent on weekly admission tickets to Sun 'n Fun if purchased online, using code SAFE012. Daily passes are discounted five percent. Regular weekly rates this year are $150 for adults and $60 for children 11-17. Daily rates are $37 for adults and $15 for children 11-17. Children 10 and under are free. An event spokesperson said that pilots who fly their airplane to Sun ‘n Fun 2018 will be eligible to win daily prizes worth $500 by completing a Pilot Registration Card on arrival, A winner will be chosen daily at the start of that day’s airshow.

Piper Has Lower-Cost Trainer New 100 Is Trimmed PA-28 Archer

Piper Aircraft introduced a light single engine airplane at Sun 'n Fun Tuesday, saying they're aimed their new Model 100 squarely at the flight training market. The Model 100 resembles a Piper Archer, but with only two windows per side instead of three. Piper, which has had remarkable success in selling its products to large university schools and private airline training organizations, says this trimmed-down version of its PA-28 is aimed at smaller flight schools that want new airplanes. The new Piper models 100 and IFR-equipped 100i cost $259,000 and $285,000 respectively.

Schools Can Get AATD For Shipping Cost Only About $500 West, $1,000 East

Flight schools are being offered a One-G Simulation AATD for free, to help their students learn more quickly and thoroughly, and save money. The catch is, the flight school must pay for shipping. The setup includes a main workstation and 3 27-inch HD video monitors. Company president Xylon Saltzman said shipping costs are about $500 to the West, $1000 to the East. Once the sim is installed, hopefully eager customers will pay the $55 hourly cost while the simulator is hooked up to the company's computer in Seattle. The machine can be equipped with SOLO, software that includes a preflight briefing, simulator scenarios, PilotEdge, a postflight briefing, performance metrics, communication, and other milestones into a well-rounded flight training curriculum. Read More...

Boeing Buys ForeFlight Weihs Affirms "Our Roots Are In GA"

Privately-held ForeFlight, the largest player in the electronic flight bag app market, announced March 6 it had sold itself to airliner maker Boeing. Two years ago, ForeFlight first offered Boeing-owned Jeppesen terminal and enroute charts as an option in its app. Tyson Weihs, co-founder of the company, tried to allay worries that his company would lose its focus on smaller airplanes, even though it is now owned by Boeing. "Our roots are in GA," Weihs said. "That’s where we grew up. It’s our passion. We’re on a mission to continue to create the sort of impact we’ve done over the past decade with GA.” ForeFlight has been a SAFE sponsor for years, and offers SAFE members 33 percent off any ForeFlight subscription, which for the Performance Plus option is a $100 savings. A regular SAFE membership is $45. As a privately held company. Foreflight has been widely applauded for timely and frequent updates to its app, as well as consistently excellent customer service.

Pilots Not ALWAYS Wrong NTSB Commends Pilot In 2017 Abort Finds Bizarre Accident Cause

When the final NTSB report on an aviation accident is issued, statistically there's about a 75 percent chance the pilot will be blamed in one way or another. So, it's heartening when the NTSB goes out of its way to praise a pilot's actions in an accident, which involved aborting a takeoff after V1. The mishap occurred March 8, 2017 when an Ameristar Air Cargo MD-83 with the University of Michigan baskertball team and band overray runway 23L at Willow Run Airport in Yipsilanti MI after an abort. The March 7 NTSB report made it a point to cite "the captain’s timely and appropriate decision to reject the takeoff" in its executive summary. The proximate cause of the abort was a stuck elevator, but the way this MD-83 elevator got stuck is beyond bizarre. An explanation that may leave you shaking your head can be found on the first page of the NTSB's Executive Summary, near the bottom.

In Case You Hadn't Heard...

Cirrus CFIs: Check Your Aileron Safety Wire The FAA is recommending that all Cirrus pilots pay special attention to the aileron safety wire before flight. The bolt held by the safety wire is readily visible during preflight. The recommendation comes after a 2016 Cirrus SR-20 crash that involved the missing bolt and left aileron actuation arm. It's Not Nice To Fib To The NTSB The crew of a United Express regional Embraer 145 told NTSB investigators they landed on Runway 01 at the Presque Isle ME airport March 4 but slid off the runway. The NTSB found, however, the crew had actually missed the runway altogether, landing between the runway and taxiway. DERs Save Taxpayers $1.8 Billion, FAA Says It would take 10,000 new FAA employees and cost $1.8 billion to handle all aircraft certification internally rather than delegating it to Designated Engineering Representatives employed by the manufacturers, FAA Acting Administrator Daniel Elwell told Congress March 27 in a hearing on the FAA's certification system for the Boeing MAX aircraft. Trump Budget Boosts NextGen, Nixes Privatization President Trump's 2020 FAA budget makes no mention of ATC privatization. SAFE opposes privatization due to its disasterous effects on the flight training industry. The budget does include money for completion of NextGen.

SAFE Wins All Star Award Fifth Year In A Row. Ahem.

For the fifth consecutive year, SAFE's eNews has won an All Star Award from Constant Contact, the organization newsletter framework. The accolade goes only to the top 10 percent of Constant Contact users, based on the newsletter's ability to engage its customer base. David St George, SAFE Executive Director, said he valued the award as outside (non-aviation) recognition that SAFE is giving its members what they want. SAFE is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The organization was founded in 2009 to improve aviation safety by raising instructor professionalism, as well as providing effective CFI representation with the FAA and other Federal agencies. SAFE now proudly represents more than 1,800 of the nation's most experienced CFIs and FAA DPEs.

VORs Leaving Canada, Too Nav Canada Announces VORs, NDBs Will Be Turned Off Over 7 Years

Nav Canada announced this month it will begin shutting down VORs and NDBs throughout the country; the decommissioning will stretch over seven years. Phase I is removing 21 VORs concentrated in southeastern Canada. (VORs are green dots on map). The FAA, which has been removing VORs in the US since 2012, expects to complete its work by January 1, 2020, leaving behind a legacy VOR network for emergency use. January 1, 2020 is also the date when ADS-B Out installations will be required to operate in areas where today only a transponder is required.

SAFE Member Discovers "Perfect" Holding Pattern Glatt Asks Fix For 60 Years Of AIM, IFH Misinformation

SAFE member Dr. Les Glatt of Cape Canaveral FL has submitted a request to the FAA to correct what he says is 60 years of AIM and IFH misinformation on inflight hold timing and wind correction. He's also created an $11.99 iOS-only app to give pilots a scientifically-determined inbound wind correction, an outbound heading and an outbound time that obviates the need to determine the abeam point. (Several SAFE DPEs polled said they would not allow use of such an app during an instrument rating practical exam). Dr. Glatt, a CFI for more than 40 years, says the FAA's long-held "trial and error" guidance for holding patterns is valid under a limited set of conditions but fails when the wind speed increases. He explains his research here.

Pilot Employment Up Market Feeling Salubrious

Like spring flowers, bits of good news on the pilot employment front are popping up everywhere. Flight schools are offering more pay and benefits, some even promising help with training for a higher certificate or rating. Here is just a sampling of recent flowers seen around the country: Trans States regional airlines is offering a hiring bonus of up to $60,000 for Embraer 145 type-rated first officers. Non-typed new pilots can get $50,000 and existing employees up to $10,000 for each new successful pilot they refer. UPS spokesperson Michelle Polk, in a TV news story March 20 on WLKY-TV in Louisville, told viewers "we need more pilots trained and ready to go." Flexjet has announced a pay increase for its pilots who fly the company's premier charter operation. A 5th year Challenger 350 pilot can now earn up to $176,000 yearly, a G650 pilot up to $205,000. The 2018 NBAA Compensation Survey shows a senior captain in a corporate jet earns an average of $164,000, a 12 percent increase from last year.

High Schools Add Aviation You Can Learn To Fly In High School

The second year of an AOPA-designed four-year program to nudge high school students into piloting careers will begin in the fall. Called AOPA's High School Initiative, it gives high schools a four-year standards-approved STEM curriculum that can include flight training provided by local flight schools. When the program is fully implemented, AOPA says, more than 100 high schools across the country will offer the four-year STEM-approved curriculum that emphasizes science and math used in aviation and includes pathways to piloting careers. The curriculum has two tracks, one for students aiming for the cockpit and the other for those wanting to fly drones, an increasingly hot job market. "This audacious experiment is just in time," said David St George, SAFE Executive Director. "It gives local flight schools a role in supporting aviation education in public schools and simultaneously benefit from increased flight training." Read more...

More Female Pilots Needed 60% Support Career Awareness

A majority of the GA community supports promoting pilot careers in middle and high schools as a way to increase the number of women pilots, an AOPA SmartBrief online survey showed last month. The percentage of women pilots has been low for many years, usually between five and six percent, with a disproportionate number of those holding student pilot certificates. More than 60% of respondents to the AOPA poll chose "more awareness in middle and high schools" as the best means of increasing the number of women pilots. Other choices included promoting role models, scholarships, special flight training and 'other.' Read more...

"If I Had It To Do Over..."

Gleim Aviation's Paul Duty has an original post on his company's Facebook page that could help reduce the estimated 60% student pilot dropout rate. The free "If I Could Do My Flight Training Over: Top 5 Tips" was written by Gleim instructors for beginning pilots, but SAFE recommends it for consideration by flight schools and CFIs. The tips are meant to keep a flight student on track as he progresses through training. "How many of us wish we could have had a path through the wilderness for our own mongrelized flight training?" asked Kevin D Murphy, SAFE Communications Director. "That's what this is, a checklist for removing obstacles before a student hits them and quits. I hope Gleim sells lots of pilot supplies to all those pilots who didn't quit because of this post."

April SAFE CFI Poll  Should spin instruction be part of the private pilot curriculum? In June of 1949, the CAA stopped requiring spin demonstrations for a private pilot certificate and the stall/spin accident rate changed dramatically. Last month, AOPA asked readers of its Aviation eBrief, generally the GA public, whether spins should again be required for a private ticket. By an enormous margin of 74 to 16, the GA public said yes. But what do some of the most experienced CFIs in the world - SAFE members - think about that idea?

Should spins be required again in the private pilot curriculum? Yes Select No Select Maybe not required, but strongly suggested Select

Last Month's SAFE Poll Are Other CFIs Teaching Good Coordination? SAFE Members Say, Umm, Not Always

The three choices for answers in the March survey were: 1) I almost never see any coordination problems. 2) Some CFIs teach good coordination and some don't. 3) Many CFIs either never learned or forgot about rudder. Not a single respondent chose door number one, so while the survey is not scientific, it is likely that somewhere between "some" and "too many" CFIs are not teaching proper in-flight coordination, especially with rudder. If you know a CFI who could use a little push to move him or her from a "good" instructor to the "great instructor" category, please direct him or her to the SAFE CFI PROficiency initiative, introduced this month at Sun 'n Fun.

"The Master Instructor accreditation singles out the best that the right seat has to offer." FAA Administrator Jane Garvey

Master Instructor Achievements

The Master Instructor designation is a national FAA-recognized professional accreditation and parallels the continuing education regimen used by other professionals to increase their professionalism. The designation must be renewed biennially and significantly surpasses the FAA requirements for renewal of the candidate's flight instructor certificate. Of the 101,000 flight instructors in the US, fewer than 800 have earned the Master Instructor designation, and most are SAFE members.

Cliff Chetwin, MCFI MIE

Clifford "Cliff" Chetwin of Westminster CO and Santa Fe NM, a 7-time Master Instructor and a member of SAFE as well as the MICEP Board of Review, was granted Master Instructor Emeritus (MIE) status February 20 through  Master Instructors LLC . The honor was in recognition of his many years of commitment to excellence, professional growth, service to the aviation community and support for quality aviation education. The president of Kestrel Aviation LLC, Cliff is a retired National Park Service regional chief pilot and aviation program manager. In addition to having served as a SAFE board member, he works as a nationally acclaimed aviation safety lecturer while also serving as a FAASTeam lead representative in the FAA's Albuquerque FSDO area.

Elaine Kauh, MCFI

Elaine Kauh of Janesville WI, a 5-time Master and SAFE member, renewed her Master CFI accreditation March 10 through Master Instructors LLC .    A noted aviation writer and speaker, Elaine is also a flight and ground instructor specializing in glass cockpit training and tailwheel instruction at Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport (JVL) and Palmyra Municipal Airport (88C). She serves on the Master Instructor Board of Review and is a FAASTeam Lead Representative for the Milwaukee FSDO.

Chris Fitch, MCFI

Kent "Chris" Fitch of Waxahachie TX, a 2-time Master Instructor and SAFE member, renewed his Master CFI accreditation March 1 through Master Instructors LLC .   Chris flies for Mesa Airlines as well as L3 Technologies and is a Park University adjunct professor of aviation, and provides civilian fixed wing and rotary wing flight and ground training He was a United States Marine Corps helicopter maintenance technician and an Army warrant officer helicopter pilot at Alabama's Fort Rucker.

Hobie Tomlinson, MCFI

Hobart C "Hobie" Tomlinson of Huntington VT, an 9-time Master and a SAFE member as well as a SAFE director, renewed his Master CFI accreditation March 20 through Master Instructors LLC. Hobie is a retired TWA pilot and manager of Montair Flight Services LLC  at Burlington International Airport, where he specializes in Beechcraft and Cirrus flight training, He was the 2012 National CFI of the Year. He serves as a FAASTeam lead representative and DPE for the FAA's Portland ME FSDO.  He also won the FAA's prestigious and coveted Wright Brothers Master Pilot award last year.

Ray Spengler, MCFI

Raymond F Spengler Jr , a seven-time Master, SAFE member and a former member of the SAFE board of directors, renewed his Master CFI accreditation March 1 through the Master Instructors LLC . Ray has served in the Texas Wing of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) and is a FAASTeam lead representative for the FAA's Lubbock FSDO. He is also an A&P mechanic. Ray is also the president of Skypark Aviation LLC , a Cessna Pilot Center at East Texas Regional Airport (GGG) where he specializes in primary, advanced and avionics flight training.

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