WingsOfun.com Newsletter #28 (January 22, 2014)
WELCOME PILOTS
I left snowy North Carolina last Thursday for the Light Sport Expo in Sebring, Florida and returned yesterday to the prospect of more snow. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to meet a lot of great people and hang out in short sleeves during the warmer afternoon. This week’s Pilot Safety Minute video recaps this event.
The FAA does a great job at noting significant accomplishments of pilots through the Master Pilot program. Mr. Charles W. Plitt of Winston-Salem, North Carolina was profiled for his 50 years of flying in a recent Winston-Salem Journal article.* I recommend reading the entire article that discusses his background in aviation and his take on the future of flying. Congratulations to Mr. Plitt, who is still a part-time flight instructor at the Smith-Reynolds (INT) Airport.
Much to the dismay of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) community, the FAA has announced a delay in the roll out of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Small UAVs until November of 2014.** This allows the public and interested organizations to comment on the implementation of UAVs into the National Airspace System (NAS). The UAV community has pointed out that this will put the United States further behind the rest of the world at integrating UAS into the aviation system.
We received some feedback from the last newsletter about ADS-B and apologize for not getting it exactly correct. There was some confusion about where pilots that don't have ADS-B can fly. The easiest explanation I have run across is that any place you need a transponder aircraft will need ADS-B “out” in the year 2020. If a pilot is flying below 10,000 feet MSL in Class E airspace they are legal. To allow operations at airports above elevations of 10,000 feet MSL there is a provision to operate within 2500 feet AGL. There are a couple of other areas that we are seeking clarification and will update this in a future newsletter.
~TC Freeman
Chief Executive Aviation Ambassador (CEAA)
*http://www.journalnow.com/business/business_news/local/article_70de4dc8-b1dd-508f-8625-0f4c85b74435.html
**http://www.suasnews.com/2014/01/26979/dot-delays-nprm-until-nov-2014/?utm_source=sUAS+News+Daily&utm_campaign=f7e27f8b92-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b3c0776dde-f7e27f8b92-303665125
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Your opportunity to continue the dialog is on FaceBook:
http://tinyurl.com/woffb
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PILOT SAFETY MINUTE VIDEO #27 ~ Sebring Light Sport Expo Recap
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F4p31uIe2Y&list=UU_H23eNO57Y4RupYMJLgd_w&feature=share
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NEW AUDIO PRESENTATION AVAILABLE:
Special Intro Price
With the issue of sequestration, the shut-down of many Air Traffic Control Towers is a possibility. Regardless, it is important to know how to safely and efficiently operate at Non-Towered Airports. In this audio book TC Freeman discusses; straight in approaches, dealing with aircraft on extended downwind and traffic pattern entries.
Available at: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/tcfreeman
(Run time: 34 minutes)
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SEBRING SPORT AVIATION EXPO RECAP
BY TC FREEMAN
The Sebring (FL) Sport Aviation Expo was a resounding success according to event organizers. They say the event garnered a larger crowd than the previous year. The four- day event (Jan. 16 – 19, 2014) consisted of forums, vendors and aircraft distributors. An interesting aspect of the Expo is the many Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) sales that result from the multitude of demo flights that are given during the event. Seeing this type of aviation activity excites my belief in the positive future of recreational flying.
My hats off to Jana and Gary Philip did a super job at organizing the festivities and managing 240 volunteers. It was obvious that a lot of work went into the event.
For the first time the air traffic control duties were lead by long-time friend George Cline of Air Boss, Inc. As a departure from using FAA employees to staff the tower, Air Boss relied on experienced retired air traffic controllers (ATC). Air Boss received high marks for a job well done by event organizers.* I appreciate special tower access that allowed me to get some cool pictures and video.
We were honored to have been asked to present “Operations at Non-Towered Airports” as one of the many forums. Special thanks to Howie Kubsch (on-site forums coordinator) for the great hospitality! It’s was fun talking with attendees and giving away door prize copies of our newest audio presentation, “Pilot and Aircraft Performance (details coming soon).”
I had the opportunity to sit in on a few forums during my visit. One interesting one was presented by John Zapp of FlyingMusicians.org. He discussed the two passions near and dear to me, playing music and flying. According to John, approximately half of all pilots are musicians. I’m not speaking of just professional musicians, while there are several, but those that play for the sheer fun of it. He also noted that during the 1970’s United Airlines focused pilot recruiting efforts on students that were in college music programs. I have frequently pointed out to students the common aspects between flying and music. I can tune a couple of Beech Baron engines like the strings of a guitar, ha!
After sitting in on a couple of presentations pertaining to Light Sport Aircraft maintenance it became apparent that there are a lot of differences between LSA and certificated aircraft maintenance. While not legally required, many Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) mechanics are taking the three-week certification course to get up to speed on the particulars of LSA. A&Ps (and pilots) can easily fall into the trap of thinking that since LSA are simpler they require no extra training. Wrong. The building materials, powerplants and maintenance log entries are substantially different.
I was also pleased to meet representatives from the Recreational Pilots Association about their legislative efforts to reduce liability to property owners that allow aircraft operations. They also have a passion for developing a network of airports that offer overnight campsites to pilots. I encourage all interested pilots to get involved with this organization.
It did the heart good to see all of the aviation activity taking place at the Sebring Airport. Better still was meeting all the people working hard to make their aviation dreams come true.
WELCOME PILOTS
I left snowy North Carolina last Thursday for the Light Sport Expo in Sebring, Florida and returned yesterday to the prospect of more snow. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to meet a lot of great people and hang out in short sleeves during the warmer afternoon. This week’s Pilot Safety Minute video recaps this event.
The FAA does a great job at noting significant accomplishments of pilots through the Master Pilot program. Mr. Charles W. Plitt of Winston-Salem, North Carolina was profiled for his 50 years of flying in a recent Winston-Salem Journal article.* I recommend reading the entire article that discusses his background in aviation and his take on the future of flying. Congratulations to Mr. Plitt, who is still a part-time flight instructor at the Smith-Reynolds (INT) Airport.
Much to the dismay of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) community, the FAA has announced a delay in the roll out of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Small UAVs until November of 2014.** This allows the public and interested organizations to comment on the implementation of UAVs into the National Airspace System (NAS). The UAV community has pointed out that this will put the United States further behind the rest of the world at integrating UAS into the aviation system.
We received some feedback from the last newsletter about ADS-B and apologize for not getting it exactly correct. There was some confusion about where pilots that don't have ADS-B can fly. The easiest explanation I have run across is that any place you need a transponder aircraft will need ADS-B “out” in the year 2020. If a pilot is flying below 10,000 feet MSL in Class E airspace they are legal. To allow operations at airports above elevations of 10,000 feet MSL there is a provision to operate within 2500 feet AGL. There are a couple of other areas that we are seeking clarification and will update this in a future newsletter.
~TC Freeman
Chief Executive Aviation Ambassador (CEAA)
*http://www.journalnow.com/business/business_news/local/article_70de4dc8-b1dd-508f-8625-0f4c85b74435.html
**http://www.suasnews.com/2014/01/26979/dot-delays-nprm-until-nov-2014/?utm_source=sUAS+News+Daily&utm_campaign=f7e27f8b92-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b3c0776dde-f7e27f8b92-303665125
********************************************************************
Your opportunity to continue the dialog is on FaceBook:
http://tinyurl.com/woffb
**********************************************************************
PILOT SAFETY MINUTE VIDEO #27 ~ Sebring Light Sport Expo Recap
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F4p31uIe2Y&list=UU_H23eNO57Y4RupYMJLgd_w&feature=share
********************************************************
NEW AUDIO PRESENTATION AVAILABLE:
Special Intro Price
With the issue of sequestration, the shut-down of many Air Traffic Control Towers is a possibility. Regardless, it is important to know how to safely and efficiently operate at Non-Towered Airports. In this audio book TC Freeman discusses; straight in approaches, dealing with aircraft on extended downwind and traffic pattern entries.
Available at: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/tcfreeman
(Run time: 34 minutes)
***************************************************************
SEBRING SPORT AVIATION EXPO RECAP
BY TC FREEMAN
The Sebring (FL) Sport Aviation Expo was a resounding success according to event organizers. They say the event garnered a larger crowd than the previous year. The four- day event (Jan. 16 – 19, 2014) consisted of forums, vendors and aircraft distributors. An interesting aspect of the Expo is the many Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) sales that result from the multitude of demo flights that are given during the event. Seeing this type of aviation activity excites my belief in the positive future of recreational flying.
My hats off to Jana and Gary Philip did a super job at organizing the festivities and managing 240 volunteers. It was obvious that a lot of work went into the event.
For the first time the air traffic control duties were lead by long-time friend George Cline of Air Boss, Inc. As a departure from using FAA employees to staff the tower, Air Boss relied on experienced retired air traffic controllers (ATC). Air Boss received high marks for a job well done by event organizers.* I appreciate special tower access that allowed me to get some cool pictures and video.
We were honored to have been asked to present “Operations at Non-Towered Airports” as one of the many forums. Special thanks to Howie Kubsch (on-site forums coordinator) for the great hospitality! It’s was fun talking with attendees and giving away door prize copies of our newest audio presentation, “Pilot and Aircraft Performance (details coming soon).”
I had the opportunity to sit in on a few forums during my visit. One interesting one was presented by John Zapp of FlyingMusicians.org. He discussed the two passions near and dear to me, playing music and flying. According to John, approximately half of all pilots are musicians. I’m not speaking of just professional musicians, while there are several, but those that play for the sheer fun of it. He also noted that during the 1970’s United Airlines focused pilot recruiting efforts on students that were in college music programs. I have frequently pointed out to students the common aspects between flying and music. I can tune a couple of Beech Baron engines like the strings of a guitar, ha!
After sitting in on a couple of presentations pertaining to Light Sport Aircraft maintenance it became apparent that there are a lot of differences between LSA and certificated aircraft maintenance. While not legally required, many Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) mechanics are taking the three-week certification course to get up to speed on the particulars of LSA. A&Ps (and pilots) can easily fall into the trap of thinking that since LSA are simpler they require no extra training. Wrong. The building materials, powerplants and maintenance log entries are substantially different.
I was also pleased to meet representatives from the Recreational Pilots Association about their legislative efforts to reduce liability to property owners that allow aircraft operations. They also have a passion for developing a network of airports that offer overnight campsites to pilots. I encourage all interested pilots to get involved with this organization.
It did the heart good to see all of the aviation activity taking place at the Sebring Airport. Better still was meeting all the people working hard to make their aviation dreams come true.
“Someday is a disease that will take your
dreams to the grave with you.”
~Tim Ferriss, author of the “4 Hour Workweek”
The message here, get out and fly!
*http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=fd5850aba1ae63b8949b385ad&id=35e7a95b08&e=8ba098cde1
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OPERATION: FLY NC NEWS
Discuss OP: Fly NC with fellow pilots at: https://www.facebook.com/messages/?action=read&tid=alsnt5SzT1aq%2FJy8joa%2B7g#!/groups/189450767792238/
In a recent meeting the Western North Carolina Pilots Association (http://flywncpa.org/) President Nancy Marstall gave accolades to Donald Short of Arden, NC for completing the Gold level of the Operation: Fly NC program.
Please contact us if you would like us to give a presentation to your aviation group about Operation: Fly NC. We would be happy to recognize those that have completed the various levels of the program.
Stamp NOTAMS
*Siler City (5W8), the stamp is in a mailbox with a Fly NC logo on a column outside the door to the FBO, so it can be accessed anytime.
*The stamp is missing from the mailbox at Hyde County (7W6).
Upcoming Events: Good for OP: FLY NC stamp/signature, most posted to: www.SocialFlight.com.
*(UPDATED!) Saturday, February 15, 2014 (TBA) B Bar D Flight Training (Allegro), Raleigh Executive South Jetport (TTA). Seminar topic: Operations at Non-Towered Airports. Contact: B Bar D at: (919) 775-2224
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eBook
*INCLUDES SPECIAL CAREER PILOT SECTION!
Available at Amazon.com (click here) or
http://tinyurl.com/lw2s674
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OUR FAVORITE VIDEOS FROM THE WEB ~ Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome
June 6, 2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvxXto5TPok&list=PL0D5E87A4EBBD7080&feature=share&index=77
Enjoy the sights and sounds of yesteryear!
