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 2,200 members include many of the best-known, best-credentialed and most experienced CFIs and many Designated Pilot Examiners.
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Registration Open
Learn And Grow As Professional CFI
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Registration is
open and the agenda is
now available for the October CFI-PRO
tm workshop at AOPA in Frederick MD (KFDK), October 2 and 3.
The celebrated Redbird guru
Mike McCurdy has been added to the presenter list and will be demonstrating his proven simulator instructional techniques. Also,
Mindstar's Billy WInburn will demonstrate the new Proficiency 365 scenarios, which are eligible for WINGS credit in the Redbird.
They join previously-announced presenters that include
Rich Stowell, AKA "the spin doctor" and industry expert at the
NTSB Loss of Control Hearings (YouTube), as well as former National CFI of the Year Doug Stewart and well-known CFIs Hobie Tomlinson and Ken Wittekiend.
"Expect surprises and lots of networking and interaction with other CFIs," said SAFE Executive Director David St George. "and remember, this workshop is for everyone - even if you are working on your CFI."
The clinic will be held at the AOPA Learn to Fly Center on the Frederick, MD airport. Two-day classroom tuition is $375. Carbs and coffee will be provided in the morning, lunch at noon and a special dinner Wednesday evening with AOPA people at the
National Aviation Community Center.
The focus of the workshop is on improving aviation educator professionalism and increasing understanding of basic flight dynamics. The course includes details on SAFE '
Envelope Extension' maneuvers, which are skill-building techniques that can be flown in any Part 23 training-type airplane.
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ICAO Plan Added To ACS
New Private Must Explain ICAO Form
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Active CFIs are aware that an ICAO flight plan is now required and
teach that form. Less-active CFIs, perhaps with less-active students, may be hazy on the issue, since the requirement just took effect last Tuesday.
"The
newly revised Private ACS calls for an applicant to explain filing a VFR flight plan, and it's the ICAO form the DPE will want to know about," said David St George, SAFE Executive Director. St George is also an active DPE,
"It's one of those myriad slip-up points in the process of getting an applicant ready for his or her practical exam," he said. "We wanted to make sure no SAFE members got caught in that potential trap." The ICAO flight plan requirement took effect August 27.
A complete preflight pilot checklist based on the ICAO flight plan i
s available free from SAFE, and simplified guidance for filing the international form is
here.
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FSS Direct Contact Declines
But Service Is Still Invaluable, SAFE Says
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Fewer pilots are depending on telephone briefings from Flight Service these days, but SAFE says the service remains invaluable, as the just-released AOPA 2019 Weather Survey shows the continued shift to self-briefing via the internet and other sources.
"There's been a steady decline in the number of FSS-provided briefings as more airmen adopt modern technology and rely on self-briefing and inflight weather availability via FIS-B," explained SAFE Executive Director David St George. "In the 2019 survey, it showed just 37 percent of pilots in the continental US contacted an FSS for initial preflight planning, down from 40 percent in 2018 and 54 percent in 2017."
The survey also showed that pilots relied more heavily on FSS personnel for weather information immediately before flights, and uniformly praised their expertise, ("They) consistently indicate it is an important safety resource when a question comes up regarding weather for a given flight," said the report. "FSS specialists should remain available and accessible during preflight and inflight for GA pilots as they are a primary resource when it comes to weather understanding.
Other findings in the report showed that pilots were not finding as much value in some legacy weather products. Specifically identified as candidates for elimination were venerable Wind and Temperature Aloft Forecasts, the Weather Depiction Chart and textual airmets,
The full 2019 AOPA Weather Survey is available
here.
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"Come An' Sit A Spell"
SAFE Invites CFIs To Tullahoma AOPA Fly-In
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SAFE is extending an invitation to CFIs attending the AOPA Flyin at Tullahoma TN to "come an' sit a spell" on Friday and Saturday, September 13-14 at the SAFE display booth.
"Let's talk about problems in flight training today and share ideas," said David St George, SAFE Executive Director. "SAFE is all about improving CFI professionalism and stature."
In 2019, the non-profit SAFE expanded its presence at both the April Sun 'n Fun airshow and the July AirVenture with triple and double-wide booths for expanded member contact and demos of new training devices and software. In addition, SAFE has displayed at the AOPA two-day fly-in events in Frederick MD and Livermore CA and will be at the
Tullahoma TN event Sept 13 & 14. New promotions will be a SAFE hat and 30-day trial to Plane English App for educators joining at the show.
SAFE created
the best CFI insurance program in the business, has a CFI Mentoring program and represents SAFE members on ACS and GAJSC working groups that will help determine the shape of the flight training industry in the future.
The organization is also launching its first
SAFE CFI-PROtm workshop to teach CFIs better ways to train students in avoiding loss of control inflight (LOC-I). The $375 workshop October 2 and 3 in Frederick MD features nationally famous instructors and is
now registering.
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New CFI-Friendly Features
For Redbird Simulators
Redbird Corvus Emulates ADS-B Signal
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Are you a CFI instructing in Redbird simulators? With the company's new control panel Navigator, you can now schedule failures in advance. The new Navigator also simplifies repositioning the aircraft by automatically identifying nearby airports.
Are you in ecstasy yet? Wait, it gets better.
The new Redbird Corvus software on the simulator will link to your client's EFB running ForeFlight, and provide ADS-B-like input. In addition to representing own-ship position, Corvus broadcasts AHRS and TIS-B information. The company says FIS-B functionality, for weather and airspace information, will be available in future updates.
Although Corvus works only with ForeFlight, company CEO Todd Willinger said he was open to expanding its EFB compatibility list, but noted that Foreflight already has 92% of the market. He added that Redbird makes a product called Cygnus that portrays ownship position and AHRS data, although not an ADS-B feed, that can be used with other EFBs like Garmin Pilot, WingX Pro or Jeppesen's Flite Deck Pro.
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Urban Air Taxis: A New 135?
Could They Be The Next Timebuilding Job?
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An article in Bloomberg Businessweek last month painted a rosy future for piloted drone-like air taxi operations, suggesting that such intra-city air taxis could be common by 2028, charging perhaps $50 a trip. and could be an additional way for ambitious pilots to build flight hours.
On the downside, the Bloomberg article says, automation will take over the job of live pilots sooner rather than later, with one pilot running several drones at once from the ground. The article guesses this will happen in the next 15-20 years.
The magazine has
previously reviewed the more than half dozen companies with working people-size prototypes.
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New Batteries For eFlyer2
Claim: Twice The Power At Half The Weight
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A new Lithium-Ion (Li) battery with twice the power at half the weight may power the Bye Aerospace eFlyer 4 by its expected certification date in 2022.
Bye Aerospace, which is developing the new training-type electric aircraft, announced last month it is working with
British firm OXIS Energy to develop lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery cells that will give nearly twice as much energy with half as much weight.
The $349,000, four-seat eFlyer 4 was expected to have a cruise speed of 165 knots and an endurance of 4.2 hours with the more conventional Li batteries used in testing. Those batteries have an energy density of about 260 watt hours per kilogram of weight.
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The makers of
Plane English, an app for both Android and iOS, are the latest supporters of SAFE's mission of improved professionalism in flight instruction.
"Just listen to the radio exchanges anywhere near large training bases with large numbers of foreign students," observed Kevin D Murphy, SAFE Communications Director. "The need for an app like this is undeniable."
Plane English is an aviation-language app that shows the student what to say, records the student's effort and critiques it immediately for words mispronounced or missing, Each lesson follows a flight's radio communications in its usual sequence, such as departing a towered airport. Once a lesson is over, the student is rated for speech accuracy, rate and delay.
A monthly subscription to the service is $9.99; annually $59.99. Free licenses are available for members joining SAFE.
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PD Programs Blossom
Things Have Never Looked Rosier
For Ab Initio Pilots...Or Their CFIs
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Southwest Opens PDP
Offers Right Seat Time In Owned Regionals
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As the full effects of long-scoffed-at pilot shortage unfold, airlines and even aviation companies are establishing their own Pilot Development Programs (PDP), some with career development ladders.
Southwest Airlines last month announced it was setting up a PDP for its future pilots, offering right-seat time in its Part 135 regional subsidiaries after enrollees learn to fly to help them reach the coveted 1,500 hour
mark. Called "Our Destination 225 Degrees," it is set to start next year.
"Our program will help reduce dependency on the open market by allowing us to train future pilots how to fly," said a Southwest Airlines spokesman, "and, specifically, how to fly the Southwest Way." Southwest signed a 10-year agreement last month with large flight training provider CAE.
More than than 700 new pilots are expected to enter the ab initio program, learn to fly and then build their time either as CFIs or as first officers with FAR Part 135 carriers XOJET Aviation and Jet Linx. Each new pilot be provided a Southwest mentor, and when eligible they can apply for first officer positions at Southwest.
Cadets are responsible for the cost of the program, which the company said is less than $100,000 for the four- to five-year program.
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Textron Aviation Starts PDP
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Te
xtron Aviation has set up a Pilot Development Program (PDP) to train its own future captains, demo pilots, instructors and others piloting Textron's diverse line of aircraft. They're particularly looking for early-career CFIs who have a four-year degree and an FAA commercial certificate with ME and CFII ratings.
To get into the program, you'll need about 500 hours total and 200 dual given.
Gerlach said the CFI rating is especially important for a pilot's role as demo pilot, for the skills involved in explaining while demonstrating. "So we’re looking for an early career aviator with some reasonable amount of instruction experience,” he said.
According to
Aviation International News writer Jerry Siebenmark
, the PDP was implemented to counter the increasing effects of the pilot shortage and provide new Textron Aviation pilots a defined career path. He quotes Gerlach as saying, "
There’s potential for them beyond the cockpit, and we’ve had pilots come through who have gone on to become very successful as production or flight-test pilots,”
At any given time, about 20 pilots are in the program at different phases - from pistons to turboprops to turbofans - of training. At the end of the training, each will be qualified as a demo pilot and PIC in each Textron type of aircraft.
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IFR Approach Brush-Up
Free AOPA Air Safety Institute Quizzes
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Safety Quizzes are full of surprising tidbits, and they're all free from the Air Safety Institute. Recent titles include "Into A Black Hole," "The Almost ILS," "Boardwalk Approach" "A Tale Of Two ILSs," and the thrilling "LDA Into Hartford."
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B4UFLY Updated, Simplified
Red, Yellow, Green Lights
More Easily Understood
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An update is now in place for B4UFLY, the free FAA app for helping pilots and less experienced operators ensure drone flights are safe and legal.
Previous versions confused some operators just wanting to know if it was legal to fly their drone. The updated software makes it easier to understand if it’s OK to fly with commands like “Good to Go”, “Warning”, and “Do Not Fly,” and a red, yellow, or green light.
Real-time information from the FAA is also in the app, such as TFRs near airports or stadiums as well as more permanent airspace restrictions, including military training routes.
In the future, officials said, B4UFLY will take into account factors like weather or major events like a public emergency or natural disaster.
B4UFLY is available in Apple and Android. More than 700,000 people have downloaded the app since its initial release in 2016.
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Al Haynes, United 232 Hero, Dies At 87
"He was the essence of professionalism," said SAFE Executive Director David St George. "After his heroism in saving 184 of the 296 people on board United 232, he spent the rest of his life working to prevent future such air disasters."
Haynes was captain of United Airlines Flight 232, which was bound from Denver to Chicago. After the DC-10 jet suffered a catastrophic failure of its tail-mounted engine over northwest Iowa, resulted in the loss of all the hydraulic power and flight controls, Haynes and his crew made an emergency landing at the Sioux City airport. The jet stayed aloft while the pilots made a series of 360-degree turns to the right, modulating the banks with power as it approached the airport. On the final impact, the aircraft's right wing broke off, causing the fuselage to cartwheel in a fiery ball before sliding to a stop upside down in a corn field at the end of a secondary runway.
Haynes was celebrated nationally for keeping his cool in a crisis and overcoming a nearly impossible situation. But he never considered himself a hero, choosing instead to give all the credit to his co-pilots and crew. In a 2010 interview with The Journal newspaper of Sioux City, Haynes noted "the captain gets all the credit, like a quarterback on a football team who won the big game. But, it's a team effort. That's what I stress."
Haynes passed away in a hospital in his home town of Seattle near the end of August, just a week shy of his 88th birthday.
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Last Month's SAFE Poll
How Many CFIs Per Private?
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Too often, ambitious CFIs with 1,500 hours leave both their employers and students in a lurch in their eagerness to fly the big iron. But what is this doing to the flight instruction industry as a whole, especially with the boom in fresh student starts?
SAFE Executive Director and FAA DPE David St George recently had a practical test applicant who had been flying for 14 months, with 14 different instructors due to CFIs leaving for airline jobs.
Last month's question was:
how many instructors did you have for your own private certificate?
No respondents cited 11 or more CFIs for their own private pilot certificate, but the number reporting from 2-5 were a slight majority, with those reporting 6-10 not far behind.
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This Month's SAFE CFI Poll
Do You Use ASI Safety Programs For Your Students?
High quality online aviation safety education is increasingly available - in many cases for free - but do CFIs make sure their students take advantage of it ? "In many cases, they do not, and their students are losing out on valuable free safety education," said Kevin D Murphy. SAFE Communications Director.
The largest single purveyor of free online safety videos, quizzes and other well-produced GA education is the AOPA Air Safety Institute. Other low-cost or free online safety helps are available online.
Do you regularly assign ASI (or other) online safety programs to your students as part of their ground school preparation?
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Do you assign ASI (or other) online safety programs to your students?
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Sometimes for specific info, e.g., aerodynamics of stalls
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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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Phil "Opie" Oppenheimer, MCFI-A
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A retired US Air Force squadron commander and F-16 instructor pilot, Opie is the chief pilot and director of flight operations as well as an instructor with
Aviation Performance Solutions LLC
at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (IWA). He specializes in upset prevention and recovery training while also serving as president and CEO of OP Aviation & Consulting LLC
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James Edward 'Jim' McCord, MCFI
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A former volunteer Angel Flight pilot, Jim serves on the Sonoma County Aviation Commission and is a FAASTeam representative for the FAA's Oakland FSDO area.
Additionally, he is an independent flight instructor with
RAM Aviation
at Santa Rosa's Charles M Schulz - Sonoma County Airport (STS). He is also a certificated light sport aircraft repairman.
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