Flight Training

The FAA is accepting comments until Dec. 21 on its proposed new ATP certification standards, which have been posted online. The standards were revised by an industry group chaired by David Oord, AOPA senior director of regulatory affairs, working with the FAA’s Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee. The working group proposed the new standards, and the […]

As the oft-paraphrased aphorism goes, all is well when the ties that bind us are stronger than the stresses that can separate us. The same goes for parking an aircraft. When we properly secure it after a flight, it’s reasonable to expect it’ll be there when we return. Once we release the ties that bind […]

The FAA has proposed a regulatory change that would allow flight training in experimental light sport aircraft (E-LSA) to be conducted for compensation or hire under a letter of deviation authority (LODA). Aviation organizations including the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association (LAMA) and United States Ultralight Association (USUA) have been working toward […]

It’s easy to forget, as we move along through our busy lives day to day, that things used to be different. We didn’t always carry computers in our pockets, we didn’t always have seat belts in our cars, and flight planning once involved paper charts and rulers and E6-Bs. It makes me feel pretty old […]

Last week, EAA committed a million dollars to flight-training scholarships, and this week, FedEx stepped up, funding $2.5 million in scholarships for students pursuing aviation professions—not just pilots, but also maintenance technicians and more. “E-commerce is driving increasing demands on both air and ground transportation networks at a time when large numbers of workers in […]

All student pilots practice off-airport landings but a 36-year-old beginner was in the left seat for a freeway landing that looked pretty textbook on Friday. The student was on final for Gillespie Field in El Cajon, California, when the Cherokee he and his instructor were in went quiet. The instructor managed to tuck the aircraft […]

The other evening I headed into the pilot’s lounge at the virtual airport as the sun was approaching the horizon. I wanted to sit in one of the, um, experienced, OK, beat up, recliners, look out the windows at the runway and experience the quiet magic as dusk settled in. Once in the room, I […]

Airshow legend Sean D. Tucker is the recipient of this year’s Al Ueltschi Award for Humanitarian Leadership for his work with at-risk youth in the Bob Hoover Academy. Tucker accepted the award at the opening session of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA-BACE) convention in Orlando on Tuesday. Tucker and his son Eric co-founded the […]

EAA has announced it will fund up to $10,000 each toward the cost of flight training for up to 100 young people, thanks to a $1 million grant from the Ray Foundation. The foundation, based in Naples, Florida, aims to help boost the flight-training success rate from the current 20 percent to 80 percent. The […]

The Commonwealth of Virginia requires motor vehicles to undergo annual safety inspections. An authorized mechanic checks the lights, horn, brakes, tires, steering, suspension, etc., to make sure they’re within service limits (sound familiar?). In neighboring Maryland, on the other hand, just one safety inspection is required, when a vehicle is initially registered. After that, it’s […]