SAFE is a 501(c)(3) educational, not-for-profit professional organization building aviation educator excellence and aviation safety. Our more than 3,100 members include many of the best-known, best-credentialed and most experienced CFIs as well as many FAA Designated Pilot Examiners.

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Feeling nostalgic for the romantic sound of a radial engine starting for a dawn mission? Click the photo above to experience 38 seconds of that long-ago romance, when CFIs had an easier time teaching the importance of rudder control.

This nugget of aviation wisdom is one of many on the SAFE Facebook page.

Let's have some fun, SAFE members. We've all been cooped up too long. Join the #ImSAFE initiative!

Simply shoot a selfie to share on one or more of SAFE's social media sites with your name, home airport and some pithy comment, You can post your selfie via @safepilots or by sending it by email to SAFE Executive Director David St George.

Tell us about your current instructional specialty or how your next personal challenge in aviation is progressing. Or an important life lesson you learned while teaching flight. Or a lesson a student taught you. Whatever you'd like to share is fine, except politics. SAFE is a professional organization for CFIs, not a political forum.

"It's a way to meet and get to know your fellow SAFE members," said St George. "The most creative entry in November will get a new SAFE hat as well as international recognition on all SAFE's social media channels."

Coming soon is revitalization of an earlier SAFE effort to inculcate professionalism, particularly in newer CFIs. Called the "SAFE Ambassador Program," it gives senior CFIs in all regions of the country a chance to represent SAFE as a volunteer at aviation-related events. To ask about a SAFE Ambassadorship, email SAFE's David St George.

The multiple presentations at Redbird's #Migration2020 were rich in content and will take weeks to digest and interpret.

Among the highlights this year were great segments from AOPA, including the introduction of an AOPA "Advantage Flight Training App" which promises better structure in training sessions, among other things. Joe Brown of Hartzell Propeller, industry thought leader and safety advocate, modeled a pathway to greater safety in flying through discipline and regular proficiency.

Among other presentations at this year's Migration was a provocative Analysis of CFI Statistics by Eric Crump. His analysis of the FAA's certification records reveals there are an impressive 113,000 holders of CFI certificates. However, only about 12,000 of these are actually working with pilots toward a rating (<11%). The majority of CFIs "sit on their plastic" and do an online FIRC every two years. Some may do an occasional flight review, but most have moved on to a better paying aviation job and have abandoned active flight instruction.

Of the 12,000 'active' CFIs, 2/3rds are brand new on the job (2019 FAA data) and these newbies teach the bulk of today's newly-certificated pilots. Only about one-third of active CFIs have more than a year of teaching experience; most are building hours and cycling through. That translates to an only 4,000 CFIs continuing to teach from year to year!

"No wonder there is so much pressure to reduce the two-year requirement for initial CFI recommendations," commented St George. "Until our CFI profession is more than an employment bullpen for the airlines, aviation safety will suffer. Aviation Education needs to become a respected (well-paid) professional career option."

Even though SAFE's membership has been growing rapidly recently, he said there are still too few professional CFIs carrying forward 'aviation wisdom' (aka 'tribal knowledge') to the next generation. SAFE has been working with some of the larger flight training institutions in the US to supply the increasingly rare 'aviation wisdom.' The SAFE CFI-PRO™ program supplies exactly that "secret sauce" in seminars and to aviation schools with in-house programs. Please write to schedule an in-service program at your location. Elevating aviation excellence is the mission of SAFE.

For more SAFE reports and analysis of #Migration2020, read the SAFE Blog site and see our Migration Breakout.

Statistics Reveal: It's Takeoff And Climb

Though SAFE has often pointed to the danger of high power/high nose phases of flight, it was Charter SAFE member Tom Turner who highlighted this problem most clearly in his recent Mastery Flight Training Website. Citing a 2017 study from ASI, Tom pointed out we have been looking at the wrong place in the pattern to create safety. His organization's BPPP training was modified to address this issue.

The base-to-final turn pattern stall historically receives all the attention from safety analysts. But the statistics clearly show take-off and go-around as the most lethal phase of flight. It is when the nose is high and the power is creating lots of (often uncancelled) yaw that accidents are most likely. This phase of flight is included in the SAFE Envelope Extension Training.

This article posted on the SAFE Facebook gathered almost 20,000 hits in only two days with multiple comments from surprised aviation educators. Read the full report here. You can subscribe to Tom's valuable monthly newsletter here. Please also like our Facebook and help spread our brand.

Are you the best of the best? The best CFI, the best aviation maintenance professional or the best FAA FAASTeam representative in your area or in the nation?

The deadline for nominating yourself or anyone else for the aforementioned aviation awards is November 30. Full application instructions are available here.

Qualifications for a Best Of The Year honorees include having worked in the United States and possessing a current FAA certificate. Airman certificate suspensions, revocations or enforcement actions or conviction of a civil or criminal offense are disqualifying. For the CFI Of The Year award, the candidate must be working under FAR Part 61, 141 or 142.

Regional honorees are recognized locally and nationally at the following year's AirVenture in Oshkosh WI. National honorees will be announced in January, 2021.

SAFE was the early leader in recognizing the value of STEM education and has awarded scholarships for 10 years. In 2010, with only about 300 members (membership is now over 3,000), SAFE offered two $250 awards for classroom projects that would get schoolchildren excited about aviation.

This year, there are four grants of $500 each; two for elementary teachers and two for high school teachers. Notably, donations to SAFE through the Amazon Smile program is paying for one of the four grants. "Amazon Smile is a great way to support SAFE's fight for professionalism in flight instruction while doing your holiday shopping," pointed out Kevin D Murphy, SAFE Communications Director. "It costs you nothing, literally, to help SAFE or other non-profit charities in this way." A tutorial on the easy SMILE setup designating SAFE as your favorite charity is here,

LAANC, pronounced "LANCE," is the FAA's new Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability system for drone operators. LAANC is a free app allowing operators to ask permission for their drone to penetrate controlled airspace, below 400 AGL.

LAANC checks the request in real time against multiple airspace data including UAS Facility Maps, Special Use Airspace, TFRs and NOTAMS. If no red flags appear, the authorization is automatically granted and the control tower at the airport is notified so they can advise pilots to watch for the small devices. (There is a non-electronic way to request a flight authorization, but FAA officials say dead tree requests can take weeks to process.)

LAANC is now available at 537 air traffic facilities and 726 airports. SAFE approved of the LAANC plan, which is meant to make the airport area safer for all aircraft but particularly for CFIs who who spend much of their time close to the airport or in a low-altitude practice area.

"So that was the benefit promised for CFIs by the LAANC program," observed SAFE Executive Director David St George, "but we don't have any feedback on whether those promises have been fulfilled. If you have personal experience with LAANC helping you avoid drones, or not, we'd love to hear from you."

High time SAFE member Paul Nadas has assembled 10 important rules for new CFIs. Rule one is "don't fly junk." This is one of SAFE's most popular blog articles.

The remaining 9 rules are in this SAFE blog.

Aviation Safety Magazine published a comprehensive article last year titled "Shock And Yaw," exposing ever-increasing pilot indifference to rudder use once airborne.

"Unfortunately, pilots can develop complacency over time and forget how vital rudders are for safety," said SAFE Executive Director David St George. "Passengers will hardly notice the yaw as long as you keep turns shallow. The issue comes when pilots get complacent about yaw control when its really needed, such as runway operations, slow or maneuvering flight, crosswinds, any kind of aerobatics or flying a taildragger."

"Thanks to Jeb Burnside and Aviation Safety Magazine for the insights," said St George.

SAFE has multiple resources for CFIs on proper rudder use, including entertaining presentations and papers by the 'Spin Doctor' Rich Stowell, who pioneered his well-known "Learn To Turn" course to help pilots better understand the aerodynamics of unusual attitudes. Consult the SAFE Resource area of the website for more information.

Master Instructors is pleased to announce the designation of Jim Alsip of Indiantown, Florida, as a Master CFI Emeritus. Jim flies as Dylan Aviation School of Aerobatics and Airmanship at Indiantown Airport.

Since 2007, flying a Super Decathlon, Jim has specialized in aerobatic, upset recovery and tailwheel flight training. He is a charter and life member of the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE) and the author of two books: Flying the Tailwheel Airplane and Artistry of the Great Flyer, both available from Amazon. He's actively promoting airmanship with informative videos on YouTube and on his website with a monthly feature, Hangar Talk.

The Master Instructor designation is a national accreditation recognized by the FAA. Candidates must demonstrate an ongoing commitment to excellence, professional growth, and service to the aviation community, and must pass a rigorous evaluation by a peer Board of Review. To learn more, go to Master Instructors.

Master Instructors is pleased to announce the designation of Todd Underwood of Prescott, AZ a Master CFI for the sixth time. Todd is an instructor and DPE at Wright Aviation and JetWright LLC in Scottsdale, Arizona, specializing in transition training for turprops and jet aircraft. He also flies in various roles as a contract pilot, including as an Angel Flight volunteer.

To learn more about the Master Instructor program, go to Master Instructors.

Jeremy K. Walters of Temple, TX earned his Master CFI certification for the first time last month. Jeremy provides instruction in both airplanes and helicopters and is an Airline Transport Pilot in single and multi-engine land airplanes, a Commercial Pilot in airplane single engine sea, gliders, gyroplanes, and helicopters, and has several type ratings.

Jeremy obtained all of his airplane experience as a general aviation pilot and his helicopter experience while serving as an Apache Helicopter Pilot in the Army. He promotes aviation education through his YouTube Channel, All American Aviation, his webcast called Breaking the Chain, and his primary passion, flight instructing.

To learn more about the Master Instructor program, go to Master Instructors.

Adam Stoughton is owner of Laminar Training Solutions, providing flight training, consulting and professional pilot services. He is an ATP, CFII and MEI with more than 6000 flight hours, including more than 2000 hours as Instructor Pilot.

The Master Instructor designation is a national accreditation recognized by the FAA. Candidates must demonstrate an ongoing commitment to excellence,

professional growth, and service to the aviation community, and must pass a rigorous evaluation by a peer Board of Review. The process parallels the continuing education regimen used by other professionals to enhance their knowledge base while increasing their professionalism. Designees are recognized as outstanding aviation educators for not only their excellence in teaching, but for their engagement in the continuous process of learning - both their own, and their students.

The designation must be renewed biennially and substantially exceeds the FAA requirements for renewal of the candidate's flight instructor certificate. For more information: Master Instructors' Continuing Education program.