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 nearly 2,000 members include many of the best-known, best-credentialed and most experienced CFIs and many Designated Pilot Examiners in the US and internationally.
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Visit SAFE at the AOPA Fly-In
Friday and Saturday, May 11 and 12
Embroidered member patches and other show promotions will be available at the SAFE booth.
This year's AOPA fly-in will feature a back-country STOL landing contest and DC-3 fly-over with the Liberty Jump Team parachute demonstration.There will be seminars and workshops, and a flight line cookout provided by Jeppesen. Join the fun and register early.
"AOPA has always been a strong voice for general aviation," said SAFE Executive Director David St George, "and the safety seminars at this fly-in alone will be worth your time and expense."
SAFE members who can volunteer a two-hour stint in the SAFE Booth are asked to sign up
here.
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We Want *You* to
Know What DPEs Know
Addressing the Initial CFI Failure Rate
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Three top FAA Designated Pilot Examiners (and long-time SAFE members) appeared on SAFE TV at Sun 'n Fun last month to discuss the problems they most frequently see during initial CFI evaluations.
Doug Stewart,
Mike Garrison and
Bill
Ziesenitz all agreed there has been a deterioration in CFI skills and professionalism, based on what they see during practical tests."Unprepared applicants" were the biggest single problem, and they all agreed the recommending CFIs were primarily responsible. The rapid turn-over of CFIs during the current pilot hiring boom has created a vacuum for experienced educators. Low-time CFIs are sending less-qualified candidates creating downward spiral in quality.
"Creating more professional aviation educators is the mission of SAFE," said David St George, SAFE Executive Director. "Our
SAFE CFI-PRO™ initiative is addressing precisely that issue with opportunities for excellence with focused training and advanced resources." He said CFIs have "plenty of opportunity for growth" in knowledge and proficiency.
Failing applicants for initial CFI certification were just not up to professional standards clearly spelled out in the PTS, the DPEs said. All expressed frustration with applicants whose goal is to simply "pass" rather than "excel."
DPE Stewart told of an applicant who explained P factor as occurring "because the descending prop blade goes faster than the ascending blade." The applicant's source of information, he said, was YouTube.
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SAFE Board Nominees Announced
Election Week Will Be In May And June
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Five nominees will compete for the three SAFE Board of Directors seats in the week-long annual election set for the end of this month and the beginning of June. Their biographical information and answers to board questions are available on the SAFE website.
Board Chairman
Eric Hake of Houston TX
is running for re-election, as is current SAFE treasurer
Parvez Dara of Philadephia PA. Three other experienced aviation education professionals,
Jerry Eichelberger of Jackson MS
,
Joshua Hart of El Paso TX
and
Wayman Alfredo Luy of Miami FL
are also on the ballot.
An open board position created when SAFE Director Mike Vivion resigned to run the
Montana Pilot's Association will be filled by appointment. SAFE Executive Director David St George thanked Mike for his commitment and hard work on the board.
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SAFE Rejects New FAA Drug Tests
Proposed Study "Fundamentally Flawed"
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SAFE is objecting to an FAA plan requiring urine drug tests during regular FAA airman medical examinations.
"This is a fundamentally flawed idea," said SAFE Executive Director David St George, joining leaders of other general aviation organizations opposing the drug-testing plan. "It's a waste of time and money and will only further erode trust between the pilot community and the Office of Aerospace Medicine.”
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Six Missed Approaches
One 'Springy' Landing
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It wasn't quite the Miracle On The Hudson, but a Cessna Skyhawk that ran out of gas and crashed near New York City April 14 was saved by power lines after fuel exhaustion. Before the crash on the foggy night, the pilot had executed four missed approaches at Republic Airport and two at Kennedy Airport. The pilot and two passengers, all from Queens NY, had been returning from a trip to Niagra Falls NY.
On its descent after power failure, the aircraft clipped the roof of a church and then became entangled in several power lines that suspended it about a foot above the ground. Police found the pilot and two passengers sitting on the curb near the dangling airplane, with no injuries other than a passenger's sprained finger.
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NTSB Releases Safety Alert
Unstabilized Approach Caused Lear 35A TEB Crash
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A new safety alert has been issued by the NTSB in the wake of the 2017 Lear 35A crash at Teterboro NJ. That double-fatality aircraft crash was a Loss Of Control - Inflight (LOC-I) accident, preceded by numerous unprofessional crew actions and decisions. SAFE suggested two months ago that members might find the NTSB formal inquiry, which was webcast, interesting.
"What struck me was how poorly prepared these pilots were for this flight and that neither of these pilots called for a missed approach when they were clearly unstabilized," said SAFE Executive Director David St George. Watch the
NTSB Animation here.
Stabilized Approaches Lead To Safe Landings is NTSB Safety Alert 077 and delivers just what it promises, first by identifying the problem as unstabilized approaches, analyzing relevant recent accidents and recommending ways to avoid them. They include:
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First Call For CFI Heros At OSH
SAFE, NAFI Volunteer CFIs Needed for
EAA's Pilot Proficiency Programs
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Want to be a hero to less-than-proficienct pilots at this year's Oshkosh? Volunteer CFIs are still needed for Airventure 2019's
EAA Pilot Proficiency Center, which will operate Monday July 22 to Sunday, July 28.
Admission to AirVenture 2019 is paid, lodging is available and lunch may be provided volunteers. SAFE and NAFI members may
complete the sign-up form here.
"Volunteer now and represent SAFE at this wonderful event! Your early application increases your chances of getting the schedule you prefer," pointed out David St George, SAFE Executive Director.
Back by popular demand this year are VFR and IFR flight scenarios flown in Redbird Flight AATDs. Jeppesen is sponsoring the "tech talks" this year, with tantalizing subjects including IFR procedures, use of various aviation tools, weather planning and chart use. All guest participation in the tech talks and simulator time is eligible for FAA WINGS pilot proficiency program credit.
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ERAU CFI Saves Student Pilot
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An ERAU CFI who interrupted his instructional flight to respond to a first-solo student's cries for help last August received an FAA Safety Award from the Orlando FSDO manager in April.
CFI Muhammad Omar received the award from Orlando FSDO chief Max McConnell last month for successfully talking down a panic-stricken first solo student on August 30, 2018.
The save was dramatic
,and the FAA award cited the CFI's “immediate and decisive actions resulted in the student pilot making a first successful solo landing and safely ending a dangerous situation that, without Omar’s heroic intervention, might otherwise have resulted in a mishap.”
ERAU assistant dean Ken Byrnes also praised Omar, saying everyone in the Daytona Beach flight department is extremely proud of him.
CFI Omar's reaction? “Once the student pilot landed, she taxied off the runway and we took off again to continue our (dual instruction) flight,” he said. “It’s natural to be nervous on a first solo."
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Sun Flyer Evolves To
e
Flyer
Almost 300 Almost Sold
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Bye Aerospace of Denver reports that it has received 298 customer commitments for its newly re-named
eFlyer all-electric training aircraft, up from 220 just three months ago.
Deliveries of the two-seat eFlyer 2 are set to begin in 2021, and deliveries of the four-seat eFlyer 4 are expected to begin in 2022.
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May SAFE CFI Poll
How Do You Renew Your CFI?
Some CFIs renew their flight instructor certificate through activity, but the majority depend on Flight Instructor Refresher Clinics online or (increasingly rarely) in-person. How do you handle the every-two-years renewal requirement?
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How did you last renew your CFI certificate?
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AOPA ASI FIRC (online or in person)
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Other (e.g., adding a rating or checkride)
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Last Month's SAFE Poll
Should spin instruction be part of the private pilot curriculum?
CFIs Agree With Public, But LOC-I Remains
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The three choices for answers in the April survey were:
1) Yes 47%
2) No 31%
3) Maybe not required, but strongly suggested 22%
Nearly half of SAFE CFIs felt that spins should again be required, as they were until 1949, and an another 22% thought spins should at least be strongly encouraged. The results are strikingly similar to a survey done by AOPA in March showing the general aviation public saying yes to spin reinstatement by 74-16 margin.
Spin demonstrations were required on private pilot practical tests until 1949. After that, the number of stall/spin accidents fell dramatically, but elimination of the spin requirement change was not the only factor. Manufacturers started making airplanes more difficult to spin, training on stall recognition and recovery was dramatically stepped up and general awareness of GA safety was pushed to the fore.
Today, stall/spin accidents make up the bulk of Loss Of Control - Inflight (LOC-I) accidents, which have the highest lethality (28%) of any accident cause. LOC-I is the leading cause of fatal GA crashes.
SAFE launched its new CFI PROficiency
tm
outreach at Sun 'n Fun last month to improve CFI proficiency in LOC-I scenarios. The program is a two-day ground and flight workshop for CFIs to better understand aerodynamics and control of an airplane in the less-often-explored regions of the flight envelope. The first two day session will be Saturday and Sunday, October 2-3, 2019 at the Frederick MD municipal airport, home of AOPA. The program cost is $375.
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Drone Deliveries OK'd in Virginia
Five Drones, One Pilot
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It's official: Google now has its own airline and they're going to use it to deliver stuff.
Google subsidiary Wing Aviation was granted air carrier certification last month to deliver packages by drone near Blacksburg, Virginia
.
The certification is good for two years, the FAA said. One pilot can operate up to five drones at once, daytime only, below 400 feet AGL. Drones cannot carry hazardous materials or hover over people, the FAA said.
The new airline plans to start a food delivery service in southwest Virginia and will be talking to the local community in preparation for the service launch. The company has been operating a commercial delivery service in the north of Canberra, Australia and is about to begin delivering to homes in Helsinki, Finland.
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Real Pilot Stories are one of AOPA ASI's most popular features. They orginated in 2006 as short "confessions-and-lessons-learned" audio and video files, contributed by pilots themselves in a phone interview.
Now, 13 years later, they're still gripping, real-person narratives but now in mid-length video form. One of the most recent is "Real Pilot Story: Powerless Over Paris." There are 19 others with titles including "Ditching In The Dark," "Engine Failure In IMC," "Trapped On Top," "Fire In The Cockpit" and more.
Enthusiastic students who constantly ask, "what should I do if..." now have the perfect reference. And it's free.
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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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Newlan R Parker of Helena MT, a 1st-time Master CFI and SAFE member, earned his Master CFI accreditation April 19 through the
Master Instructors LLC
.
Additionally, he provides all levels of primary flight training, largely at Billings Logan International Airport (BIL) while serving as a FAASTeam representative in the Helena FSDO
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