SAFE eNews
The Monthly Bulletin of the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators
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SAFE is a 501(c)(3) educational, not-for-profit professional organization building aviation educator excellence and aviation safety.
Our more than 2,500 members include many of the best-known, best-credentialed and most experienced CFIs and many FAA Designated Pilot Examiners.
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Coinciding with rising demand for improved pilot proficiency, SAFE is expanding its popular
SAFE CFI-PRO™program
to flight schools and other companies that employ flight instructors. The seminar, which can be tailored to company specifications, supplements the mostly flight-oriented training of new CFIs, adding instructional wisdom distilled from top CFIs. This February presentation was at the request of Wayman Aviation Academy in Miami FL.
The next public
SAFE CFI-PRO™
two-day workshop will be Wednesday and Thursday, June 10-11 at Sporty's Academy on the Batavia OH airport (I69). Discounted lodging is available nearby and combination social event/dinner will be held Wednesday.
Register now for the $375 SAFE workshop
.
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Join SAFE At Sun 'n Fun
March 31-April 5
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SAFE will be at Sun 'N Fun in its familiar triple booth
C53-55, complete with live SAFE TV streaming on YouTube and Facebook. There will be a game show contest (with prizes) on aviation trivia. Our insurance partners at
Starr Aviation will be at the show unveiling a new product and exciting opportunities for "SAFE pilots" to earn discounts for safer flying and greater proficiency.
Each morning at 8:00 AM during Sun 'n Fun, SAFE will be hosting a
CFI Roundtable breakfast at the Sunset Grill. All CFIs are invited to contribute their ideas for solving the myriad problems that plague the flight training industry and individual CFIs.
Coffee and breakfast will be available with presenters each day.
This year's Sun 'n Fun will be from Tuesday, March 31 through Sunday, April 5. As always, SAFE members at the show are asked to help staff the booth for three hours or more.
Please log into our
Doodle
to select a time to volunteer!
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Flight Schools Want Rides
Industry Needs More Good CFIs, SAFE Says
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SAFE is cautiously supporting the call from busy flight schools for the nation's 950 FAA Designated Pilot Examiners (DPEs) to take on more work to ease the practical test bottleneck.
"I noticed no one signing that call for DPEs to work harder and longer was an examiner," said SAFE Executive Director David St George, himself a 22-year FAA DPE. "Longer hours is always management's answer to a lack of planning. This need for pilots has been forecast for years."
The acute overload of checkride applicants continues in many areas despite recent FAA actions allowing DPEs to travel outside their FSDOs territory. The plea from the
Flight School Association of North America (FSANA) came in an open letter 'call to service' urging DPEs to give more checkrides. FSANA President Bob Rockmaker has reported waits for practical tests are more than a month in "many" locations.
"To be frank, it is not just DPE scarcity" said SAFE Executive Director David St George, "the whole industry is 'pushing out the walls' with this latest pilot hiring boom. We need more good CFIs, more training aircraft and more schools. Blaming this on DPE availability is not going to solve the problem."
An FAA-industry committee considering
more structural changes in the DPE system has been meeting in Washington. At last word, three subcommittees were each examining a part of the DPE process, and a report is expected later this year.
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Piston Trainers Boom
Due To 'Unquenchable Thirst' For New Pilots
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Unprecedented demand for piston training-type aircraft pushed aircraft deliveries to record highs in 2019, according to a February 19th announcement from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA).
"It's an unquenchable thirst for new pilots, apparently," said Kevin D Murphy, SAFE Communications Director. "The 16.4 percent increase in piston airplane deliveries and 15.1 percent increase in bizjet deliveries last year is a good sign."
There was an 11.3-percent decline in turboprop sales, largely because of reduced demand for aircraft used in agriculture and firefighting and a much steeper decline in helicopter sales. Piston helicopter deliveries were down more than a third, and turbine helicopters posted an 8.3-percent decline from 2018 to 2019.
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Some People Will
Believe Anything
SAFE Blog On Recognizing Bad Info
Noted In Industry-Wide Publication
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Advice for pilots seeking information on the internet, posted in a SAFE blog in January, was the second featured article February 10 in AOPA's Aviation eBrief, which reaches some 150,000 opt-in daily subscribers.
"You know how you jokingly say that some people will believe anything they see on the internet?" said Kevin D Murphy, SAFE Communications Director. "Well, they will, and their unfettered acceptance is not good in the flight training business. That's the point of this blog. We're happy it hit a nerve with others in the industry."
In the blog, writer David St George, who is also an FAA DPE, cites a CFI-hopeful checkride applicant who was asked to perform a forward slip on short final. Instead he proudly demonstrated a skid of awesome proportions, declaring it a slip to landing. "Can you imagine him spreading this error to 20 new people a month as a CFI?," he asked.
The SAFE blog article is titled
YouTube Roulette - Verifying Your Information! which explains how information bias online can actually be harmful when not vetted against known and reliable sources., with plans to grow to 500 within a few years.
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United To Own/Operate
Its Own Flight School
First Major Airline To Do So
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United Airline's four subsidiaries expect soon to get a dependable flow of new pilots from United Airline's own branded flight school, dubbed Aviate. The new school will be based at Deer Valley Airport in Phoenix, initially in the former Westwind School of Aeronautics building. At least, that's United's plan.
United Airlines bought the Westwind School of Aeronautics on February 5, and says it plans to integrate the school with the carrier's airline pilot development program, called 'Aviate.' The Westwind property is expected to be rebranded with United logos around September. It will be the first major airline owned-and-operated flight school in the country.
Aviate is United's recruitment and development program, launched in 2019. Their flight training program accepts ab initio pilots as well as those already certificated, and advertises itself as a pathway to a job at one of United's regional carriers, and eventually at the mainline US carrier itself.
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To B Or Not To B?
Pilots Can Now Use Cat A Or B
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CFIs who fly Part 135 in some aircraft now have an option to choose an MDA and visibility minimum on some instrument approaches, thanks to recently published revisions to the AIM.
Revised is the long-standing requirement that pilots who must maneuver on a circling approach at a higher airspeed than dictated by approach category A use approach category B minima, which are usually higher than Category A to account for obstruction clearance in a wider circling area. The new AIM entry says pilots have a choice, provided their circle remains in protected airspace.
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OTC? Prescription?
What's Legal?
FAA Publishes List Of OK Meds
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An online list of medications compatible with safe flight - and those meds that are not - is now available. It is the first time such a list has been published for airmen. CFIs with older clients may want to refer those clients to the list.
The list of OTC meds comes in two categories: Go and No Go. It covers all the usual antihistamines, decongestants and cough and pain medicines, as well as medications for rashes, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and indigestion and other maladies. It shows diphenhydramine, a sedating antihistamine found in several over-the-counter medications (Benadryl, ZzzQuil, and most “PM” medications), which is the most common drug detected in fatal accident toxicology reports.
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Pilot Proficiency Project
tm
SAFE Celebrates 10 Years
Of Pilot Proficiency Project
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Created by a small group led by SAFE co-founders Doug Stewart and Rich Stowell, it has grown into a nationally-recognized success. The program offers challenging simulator scenarios and safety forums, now including the novel
Proficiency365 at EAA
.
"The PPP brings valuable proficiency training to pilots at venues across the US," said Kevin D Murphy, SAFE Communications Director. "It's now grown to a cooperative effort between SAFE and partners, sponsored by EAA at AirVenture every year primarily with generous support of Redbird and Hartzell."
In addition to increased awareness and knowledge, the Project offers benefits to participants such as credit for those enrolled in the FAA WINGS program and Accident Forgiveness by
Starr Aviation
to qualifying pilots.
"Please sign up to help as a
CFI at Oshkosh on this form," said David St George, SAFE Executive Director
.
"Participation of SAFE instructors is critical to maintaining this program and you can get FREE admission and accommodations at the dorm or campground."
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New Phenom 300E Debuts
New Avionics, Interior For Corporate Jet
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The latest in the popular Phenom series of corporate jets is now faster, at 464 knots/Mach 0.80, and can fly 2,010 nautical miles.
Called Prodigy, Phenom's newest has a three-screen Garmin 3000 system built around the airplane's systems and performance. It can generate takeoff and landing reference speeds and performance data, create graphic weight-and-balance charts, make VNAV profiles for nonprecision approaches, and perform coupled go-arounds. Garmin’s VFR and IFR flight charts are also provided.
Although no mention of Garmin's new "Autoland" was made in the Prodigy announcement, the installed Garmin 3000 will take control if a pilot becomes unresponsive, presumably due to hypoxia, descend to 15,000 and squawk 7700.
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Aircraft Batteries Needed
Ever Wonder Why A Car Battery Won't Power An Aircraft?
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The hottest issue in the electric air taxi development now is...you guessed it, batteries. Designers and manufacturers can't get enough of the right kind..
A presentation by Robert Hess of BAE Systems at the Transformative Vertical Flight 2020 conference earlier this year explained why car batteries can't power aircraft, an explanation that is
surprisingly complex.
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After detailing many of the factors that go into making batteries suitable for aircraft p
ower, Hess concluded, " “I think in the short term, the industry is going to have to make its own batteries.”
While city-based air taxis are taking up much of the conversation about the future of aviation, UK budget airline carrier EasyJet has teamed up with US-based Wright Electric to build a 1.5 megawatt electric motor and a 3 kilovolt inverter to power the Wright 1, a 186-seat transport category electric aircraft.
(shown).
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Are CFIs Happy With Pay?
Nearly Half Say Yes;
Happier CFIs Make 44¢ More
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Close to half of active CFIs responding to an internet compensation survey by SAFE member CFI Steve Johnson, who owns the Supercub.org web site, say they're satisfied with their pay. The survey was conducted via Facebook, without strict methodological controls, so should not be used for serious social research.
"But it appears to fairly reflect the real world," said Kevin D Murphy, SAFE Communications Director. "I'm tipping my SAFE cap to Steve for taking on such a project and then opening up results to all SAFE members."
CFIs who are happy with their pay make more per hour, on average, than unhappy CFIs, but by an average of only 44 cents, $59.77 to $59.37.
The 289 respondents to the Facebook survey reported incomes from zero per hour to $1,100 and $1,500 per day, but averaged around $60 per hour. Among CFIs who instructed for both flight schools and themselves, rates varied, with one making $65 per hour at the flight school but $110 per hour while freelancing. Those freelancers who specialized in high-end airplanes earned more - sometimes much more - than the average CFI in a Cessna 172.
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SAFE CFI-PRO
June 10-11 At Sporty's
Only 40 seats; registration filling
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The second
SAFE CFI-PROtm workshop is set for Wednesday and Thursday, June 10-11, at Sporty's Academy in Batavia IL. The two-day workshop is open to all CFIs and almost-CFIs and includes CFI-level news and information as well as idea-sharing chats among participants.
"We're holding it in the middle of the week so CFIs who are busiest on weekends can attend," said SAFE Executive Director David St George. "The knowledge passed between new and old instructors, and industry experts at these workshops is invaluable."
Only 40 seats are available for the SAFE CFI-PRO
tm
workshop at Sporty's. Tuition for the two full days at Sporty’s is $375, and lodging is available in Batavia or next-door Cincinnati.
Registration is open
to all CFIs and almost-CFIs interested in professional improvement.
This workshop is for both veteran CFIs seeking refreshment and challenge to commercial pilots looking to add a CFI and learn from the best in the business. The networking and shared experience alone is worth the price of admission.
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NTSB 135 Catch-Up Meeting Tomorrow
See, Hear NTSB Chair Talk 135 Improvements
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If you'd like to catch up on NTSB's recommendations for Part 135 safety, you can do it tomorrow afternoon from in front of your computer.
The event will consist of Sumwalt and Board Member Michael Graham talking to six Part 135 operators of various sizes about their perspective on the current state of Part 135 safety, and ways to improve it. Among the possible improvements expected to be discussed: flight data monitoring and safety management systems. The discussion will be held at the NTSB Training Center in Ashburn VA, but will be available online.
Audience participation and Q&A online will be available.
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Should TAWS Be Required?
California Lawmaker Says Yes
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Following the January 26 crash that killed basketball legend Kobe Bryant and eight others, California Representative Brad Sherman has introduced the "Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant Helicopter Safety Act," to require terrain awareness equipment and a warning systems on all helicopters.
The bill would also establishment of a new helicopter safety commission and requests a report on best practices for helicopters flying in low-visibility conditions.
"We certainly admire the Representative's interest in aviation safety, but we'd like to mention that Congressional action following a high-profile crash has not always produced the intended result," said Kevin D Murphy, SAFE Communications Director. He cited the 1972 crash of a Cessna 310 in Alaska that killed Rep Hale Boggs, which led to the ELT rule which plagues GA to this day. In 2009, the Colgan Flight 3407 crash investigation blamed an incompetent pilot, convincing lawmakers that all airline hires must have an ATP.
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ADS-B Exemption Needed?
In Case A Client Asks
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Now that the requirement for ADS-B Out is firmly in place for much US airspace, you may want to be ready for client requests on procedures for an ADS-B waiver.
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SAFE Member Data Secure
Malicious 'Spoof' Email Misled Members
Some members received an email in mid-February, purportedly from SAFE, asking for donations for a seriously injured boy by suggesting it was the child of a SAFE member. That spam email was NOT from SAFE, the SAFE member information system is well-protected, was not involved and no member data was revealed.
In the course of the investigation, we discovered that email address 'spoofing' by a malicious sender is not technically difficult, and in fact is responsible for the bulk of 'phishing' emails. There is little defense except for vigilance with emails that look akilter, even from purported known senders.
"Most CFIs are aware of spoofing, but if you're not, the best advice is don't open any email that doesn't look quite right," said SAFE Communications Director Kevin D Murphy. "Teenagers are often good references for whether such emails are likely safe or not."
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"The Master Instructor accreditation singles out the best that the right seat has to offer."
FAA Administrator Jane Garvey
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Master Instructor Achievements
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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.
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Burt is a ground and flight instructor as well as past president of the
Oxford Flying Club
at Oxford Airport (OXC) where he specializes in primary, instrument, and multiengine training.
He also serves as a FAASTeam lead representative for the FAA's Windsor Locks FSDO.
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A mechanical engineer and assistant professor at Darmstadt Technical University, Timm
serves on the
Cirrus Owners & Pilots Association (
COPA) board of directors and is a Cirrus Standardized Instructor Pilot (CSIP). He
is also the chief flight instructor and president of the
Darmstadt Flying Club
as well as the chief instructor for COPA in Europe.
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Larry Alan "Bat" Cross, MCFI-A
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A former United States Air Force officer and instructor pilot (IP) who now flies for
Aviation Performance Solutions LLC
, Larry specializes in aerobatics, upset prevention, upset recovery, and simulator training for highly experienced pilots at Arlington Municipal Airport (GKY).
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Michael
is a flight, ground, and simulator instructor at Camarillo Airport
(CAM)
as well as
CP Aviation,
a Cessna Pilot Center at Santa Paula Airport
(SZP)
. A veteran of the United States Marine Corps, Michael also serves on the Master Instructor Board of Review and is a FAASTeam representative for the FAA's Van Nuys FSDO and is a former member of the SAFE Board of Directors. He is also a classroom instructor at California Aeronautics University and training staff at Wright Aviation Services (COS).
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Parvez Dara
of New Jersey, an 8-time Master Instructor as well as a member of SAFE's board of directors, recently renewed his Master CFI accreditation through
Master Instructors LLC.
Parvez presents seminars for EAA AirVenture, Redbird Flight Simulation and the American Bonanza Society BPPP. He also serves as a FAASTeam representative in the FAA's Philadelphia FSDO.
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Doug was a founding member of SAFE and the organization's first executive director, Doug authors materials for both pilot and flight instructor proficiency, and serves as a pilot examiner
(DPE)
and a FAASTeam representative for the FAA's Albany & Windsor Locks FSDO
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James L Stover
of Fredericksburg VA, a 10-time Master and SAFE member, renewed his Master CFI accreditation February 20 through Master Instructors LLC.
A retired US Army infantry officer, Jim is the chief flight instructor at
JLS Aviation,
a Part 141 flight school at Shannon Airport
(EZF)
, where he specializes in light sport through commercial flight training. Jim serves as Assistant Chief Flight Instructor for Aviation Adventures, Stafford, VA as well as a presenter for IMC.
He also serves as a FAASTeam representative for the FAA's Richmond FSDO.
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