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 2,300 members include many of the best-known, best-credentialed and most experienced CFIs and many Designated Pilot Examiners.
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The ultra-modern "You Can Fly" auditorium where
SAFE CFI-PRO™
workshop will be held tomorrow, Oct 2 and Thursday, Oct 3 at KFDK. The $375 workshop includes two days with the nation's top DPEs and CFIs, plus lunch and a BBQ dinner.
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Langewiesche Calls For
Better Airmanship
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Starts Tomorrow
Yes, That's What We're Talking About
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Noted pilot and writer William Langewiesche, son of Wolfgang Langewiesche of "Stick And Rudder" fame, declared September 22 in the New York Times magazine that the two 737 Max crashes were "
a textbook failure of airmanship." Coincidentally, SAFE's first CFI-PRO(tm) two-day seminar - which focuses on how to instill airmanship in students -
starts tomorrow at the AOPA Learn To Fly Center at KFDK.
Tuition is $375 and the two-day seminar includes a lunch and a BBQ dinner with AOPA staff. A few walk-in slots were available as of press time.
Langewiesche' article is an in-depth examination of the cause of recent airline crashes. It includes the turmoil at Boeing, erratic actions taken by various governments worldwide, human error but most importantly, lack of airmanship.
“'Airmanship'” is an anachronistic word," wrote Langewiesche. "Its full meaning is difficult to convey. It includes a visceral sense of navigation, an operational understanding of weather and weather information, the ability to form mental maps of traffic flows, fluency in the nuance of radio communications and, especially, a deep appreciation for the interplay between energy, inertia and wings. Airplanes are living things. The best pilots do not sit in cockpits so much as strap them on."
He went on to explain, "In broad daylight, these pilots (of the MAX aircraft) couldn’t decipher a variant of a simple runaway trim, and they ended up flying too fast at low altitude, neglecting to throttle back and leading their passengers over an aerodynamic edge into oblivion. They were the deciding factor here — not the MCAS, not the Max."
Langewiesche is a writer at large for the NYT magazine. He is a former national correspondent for The Atlantic and international correspondent for Vanity Fair, where he covered a wide variety of subjects throughout the world. He grew up in aviation and got his start as a pilot before turning to journalism.
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A Dual Flameout...
Over The Ocean
Latest ASI "There I Was" Podcast
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Ever wondered what actually happens when you have a double-engine flameout....over the Atlantic Ocean? In the latest
There I Was
podcast, ASI Executive Director Richard McSpadden interviews both pilots of that Cessna Citation II that suffered just such a dilemma in August.
Captain Bruce Monnier and co-captain Gerald Downs tell first-hand and step-by-step how that whole fuel-contaminated flight went down....literally, as all airplanes do after complete engine failure.
The one-hour video interview is with co-Captains Bruce Monnier and Gerald Downs and includes their discovery that there is no published "best glide" speed for an engineless Cessna Citation. "This interview may help your thinking on teaching pilot judgment," said Kevin D Murphy, SAFE Director of Communications.
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Ever wondered what actually happens when you have a double-engine flameout....over the Atlantic Ocean? In the latest
There I Was podcast, ASI Executive Director Richard McSpadden interviews both pilots of that Cessna Citation II that suffered just such a dilemma in August.
Captain Bruce Monnier and co-captain Gerald Downs tell first-hand and step-by-step how that whole fuel-contaminated flight went down....literally, as all airplanes do after complete engine failure.
The one-hour video interview is with co-Captains Bruce Monnier and Gerald Downs and includes their discovery that there is no published "best glide" speed for an engineless Cessna Citation. "This interview may help your thinking on teaching pilot judgment," said Kevin D Murphy, SAFE Director of Communications.
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WA Flight School Sued
New CFI Negligent In
First-Hour Death, Widow Claims
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Flight school Moody Aviation, which trains ab initio missionary pilots and A&Ps near Spokane, Washington, is being sued for inadequate maintenance by a Spokane widow in the death of her husband in July 2018. The CFI is also being blamed in the death.
Joochan Lee was taking his first lesson at the Spokane area school on July 13, 2018 in one of the institution's Cessna 172s when it disappeared from radar. Witnesses told NTSB investigators they watched as the plane fell into a steep dive, during which both wings separated from the fuselage.
The lawsuit claims that the engine failed prior to the crash due to improper maintenance by Moody Aviation, but NTSB investigator Zoe Keliher told reporters in mid-September that she had found "no evidence of mechanical malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal operation."
The CFI, Diego Senn, had attended Moody Aviation for his training and had received his CFI certificate just six months prior to the crash. He was faulted in the lawsuit for "failure to restart the engine and glide the plane to a safe landing." The lawsuit included excerpts from step-by-step pilot training manuals that they say Senn should have followed.
The amount of compensation requested in the lawsuit was not released.
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Tow Pilots Needed
Compton Offers Free Glider Camp
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New Commercial pilots who build time by towing gliders are in demand, says SAFE founding member
Burt Compton, who runs a
glider school near Marfa, Texas. He is offering a free Glider Checkride camp October 17-27, 2019.
In addition to his status as a founding member of SAFE, Compton is a Master CFI - Gliders and FAA DPE. Two years ago, he received the FAA's Master Pilot award for 50 years of safe flying.
"Glider towing, along with getting skydivers aloft, banner towing or local sightseeing flights are exceptions to the rules preventing new Commercial pilots from receiving compensation," said David St George, SAFE executive director. "They're attractive to many pilots, particularly those not temperamentally suited to instructing."
A minimum of 100 PIC is required for a towing endorsement from a qualified CFI, and Compton says his site surveys for the Soaring Safety Foundation find not all tow pilots were legal to tow under FAR 61.69. "Towpilots and CFI's should carefully read both it and FAR Part 91 to understand the options," he said.
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Boeing, OpenAirplane
Seek CFI Opinions
Surveys for Flight Schools, CFIs, Students
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Open Airplane, the national system that makes it easier to rent aircraft, and aircraft giant Boeing have partnered for a flight instruction survey.
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Each survey should take no more than five minutes, promises the group, and responses are kept anonymous. OpenAirplane has
a Facebook page here where more information may be available.
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FAA Declares Emergency
Latest
Safety Briefing
Focuses On Emergencies
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The September/October 2019 issue of FAA Safety Briefing focuses on emergencies in aviation and how we react to them.
Feature articles focus on the kind of events that can cause an emergency in flight and how we might prevent and react to them. These topics include: engine failures, the startle effect, smoke and fire, and balloons and power lines.
Among this month's articles:
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Engine Failure!
Why it Happens, How to Prevent It, and What to Do if it Happens to You
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ERAU Arrow Spar Cracked
NTSB Blames "Extensive Fatigue Cracking"
AD Action Still Pending
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The cause of last year's crash of an ERAU Piper Arrow was a cracked left main spar, the NTSB has ruled. The April 2018 crash killed a CFI candidate and an ERAU DPE and prompted calls for expensive wing spar inspections on similar model Pipers.
The FAA is still mulling the advisability of an AD that would require expensive wing spar inspections for nearly 20,000 PA-28-series aircraft, including the majority of older Piper 140s and similar models.
The NTSB's report said it found "extensive fatigue cracking in the left-wing main spar," and that similar cracking was found in a second ERAU Piper when the school's fleet was examined after the fatal accident. No anomalies in materials or construction of the wing spars was found on either aircraft, the NTSB said. It added that the cracking would not have been visible from either the interior or exterior of the airplane.
A lawsuit brought by the family of the deceased student claims that the Arrow was being used in a demanding training environment in Florida, where rapid development of cumulus clouds can create turbulence for planes. The Piper had endured “no less than seven separate ‘hard landing’ reports,” each requiring a Piper-specified inspection, the lawsuit states, and each time the plane was inspected.
The NTSB further established that, due to its location, the fatigue cracking would not have been visible from either the interior or exterior of the airplane. In response to the potential for such cracking to go unnoticed, the FAA issued a
notice of proposed rulemaking
(NPRM) eight months after the accident which suggested required wing spar inspections for
nearly 20,000 Piper PA-28 series aircraft
. The NTSB said it had “expressed … support of the proposed AD’s inspection requirements but urged the FAA to reexamine the proposed AD’s applicability to certain airplanes based on airplane usage.” Comments closed on the NPRM in February 2019, but an AD has not yet been issued.
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ASI Revisits "Aiming Point"
Landing Overruns Shouldn't Happen
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"Aiming Point," explained by former ASI staffer Bob Knill, demonstrates how to use a spot on the windshield as an aiming device for students having trouble judging glide path on final. It's an old instructional technique not always taught to beginning CFIs.
"Put a piece of tape on the windshield," says Knill, "and your landings will improve."
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Career Advisory For CFIs
The landscape will change
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A respected economics magazine is describing an aviation future that could bring radical changes to pilot and CFI employment in "the next few years."
The Economist article details the rise of city landscapes filled with small Urban Air Mobility (UAM) vehicles summoned with an app on a phone. In fact, Uber is now pursuing an intra-city flying taxi service using drone-type vehicles in Dallas, Los Angeles and Melbourne, Australia by 2023.
"Particularly for younger pilots and CFIs, staying abreast with industry developments will be crucial," advised Kevin D Murphy, SAFE Communications Director. "Those aiming for a career flying UAMs should consider the fact that flying will be increasingly automated, and one pilot on the ground could be flying several UAMs."
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Redbird Migration 2019
KAPA Oct 15-17
Redbird Migration, the annual conference for the flight training industry, will hold its 2019 meeting at KAPA in Denver on October 15-17.
The three-day event will feature breakout sessions ranging from the latest Redbird updates to practical research that help solve common flight school problems. Migration officials said the four main reasons to attend are inspiration, education, networking and industry knowledge.
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Last Month's SAFE Poll
Do You Use Online Safety Programs?
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Close to three-quarters of SAFE members say they assign ASI or other online aviation education programs to their students either frequently or sometimes to illustrate a difficult-to-understand aviation concept.
All ASI and many other online programs are free and address some of the most difficult teaching issues in general aviation today.
Only 19 percent said they never or rarely assigned online safety programs to their students.
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This Month's SAFE CFI Poll
Are You Seeing The Practical Effect Of BasicMed?
Just over two years ago, the FAA reluctantly approved Basic Med, the Congressionally-mandated program allowing pilots who have had at least one AME-conducted exam to fly with subsequent medicals every four years from any state-licensed physician. An online review of aeromedical facts is required every two years.
AOPA recently said that more than 50,000 pilots are now using Basic Med to continue or resume flying. The membership association had been the prime pusher for at least 20 years for a Basic Med-type certification, and now says that Basic Med has allowed return of 50,000 lapsed pilots for whom the restrictive FAA rules around traditional AME-issued medical certificates was too much. But have you seen the results in your instruction?
Have you seen more clients and potential clients in the last two years, since Basic Med become available?
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Have you seen more clients in the last two years, since Basic Med?
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Yes, I have several Basic Med clients.
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Yes, business is good but Basic Med hasn't been a big influence.
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I haven't noticed much change in my business or local flying due to Basic Med.
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Business is down for me, but Basic Med has increased flying activity locally.
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I've seen very few Basic Med aviators at my field.
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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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Craig Michael Blumer, MCFI-Blimp
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Craig Michael Blumer of Springfield IL renewed his Master CFI certification on September 19 through
Master Instructors LLC, It marks his fifth year as a Master Certificated Flight Instructor, an accreditation that former FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said is "the best the right seat has to offer."
He instructs in singles and light twins, and is the first lighter-than-air airship (blimp) ground instructor to earn Master Instructor - Blimp certification. He serves as an instructor and pilot for Snoopy One," the
MetLife Blimp. He is also works as an Air Traffic Controller.
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Sanford C "Cres" Wise III
, a four-time Master Instructor and SAFE member, renewed his Master CFI accreditation August 31 through Master Instructors LLC.
Cres is a retired Air Force officer as well as a mission pilot, check pilot examiner and instructor pilot for the Georgia Wing of the Civil Air Patrol. Additionally, he is an assistant chief flight instructor with the
Robins Air Force Base Aero Club
as well as an assistant professor of aviation at Middle Georgia State University and serves as a FAASTeam representative for the FAA's Atlanta FSDO area.
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Still, an 8-time Master Instructor and SAFE member, is a noted aviation author and aviation educator. He is president of Atlanta Flight Inc at Gwinnett County Airport (LZU) where he specializes in primary and instrument instruction as well as ground training development and instruction.
He also serves with the Georgia Wing of the Civil Air Patrol primarily as an instructor pilot.
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David Pepitone of Polvadera NM,
a 2-time Master and SAFE member, recently renewed his Master Aviation Educator (MAE) accreditation through Master Instructors LLC.
He is also a recent recipient of the FAA's coveted Wright Brothers Master Pilot award
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Matt is an FAA-certificated aviation educator and a Part 141 chief flight instructor with
Monmouth Area Flying Club
at Lakewood Airport.
Additionally, he serves as a first officer / instructor pilot with Piedmont Airlines in Salisbury, Maryland and is a FAASTeam representative for the Teterboro FSDO.
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