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September, 2003

BREAKING NEWS
YOU MAY NEED:

Want free Av Weather on the web? Better say so, quick!

The FAA and National Weather Service (NWS) have been putting free aviation weather reports and maps on the web. They're thinking about keeping the experimental service permanent. But to get your two-cents worth in, you better act quick. Their 24-hour-a-day technical support for the Aviation Digital Data Service (ADDS) Web site will end, if not enough pilots push for it. Claiming "the ADDS site is a real step forward," AOPA Regulatory Affairs V.P. Melissa Bailey warns "Pilots need to let the government hear that message loud and clear." In addition to linking pilots to all the basic weather data and maps, ADDS includes a "Flight Path Tool", a customizable weather graphics page, which lets pilots overlay various weather information, including scroll-over pilot reports, TAFs and METAR's. The deadline for submitting comments is September 5, 2003. Check their webpage for details: http://adds.aviationweather.gov.

Washington ADIZ brief escape window:

Aircraft currently trapped inside Washington's ADIZ, for lack of transponders and radios, have a brief way out. The Transporation Security Administration, with the FAA, is requiring that pilots answer an eight-item checklist between Aug. 23 and Sept. 12, 2003 (11:59 p.m.), to be eligible for legal relocation. By phone, fax, or e-mail, supply the following info: aircraft owner's full name; pilot's full name (if different from aircraft owner); contact telephone number(s); e-mail address(es); aircraft tail number; aircraft location (with latitude/longitude coordinates); radio and transponder capabilities. This information should be submitted no later than midnight, September 12, to the TSA by telephone (571/227-1538), or fax to (571/221-2948). Then wait for their directions. We hope you see this in time, but we just got the news in mid-August.

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OTHER BIG NEWS:
(partial stories; for the FULL stories, pick up a FREE copy of In Flight USA from your local FBO, pilot's lounge, aviation dealer, service shop or pilot's store.)

Sport Pilot License out of FAA to DOT

FAA Administrator Marion Blakey announced at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh that she's passed on a proposed rule to the Department of Transporation, which would authorize a new Sport Pilot certificate, and possibly the use of a driver's license in lieu of a medical certificate.... This may give people who are no longer physically fit enough to fly as private pilots the option to fly certified light planes within tighter limits....

FAA Issues Plastic Airmen's Certificates

With growing security concerns, AOPA recommended that pilots be issued plastic, credit-card-type licenses (shown above) in place of the flimsy, easily-forged paper certificates. FAA concurred, and will now issue such cards for all future issuances of airmen's certificates. They have new security features, including a hologram with the FAA seal. The plastic licenses will be issued to all new and existing airmen as they achieve higher levels or additional ratings. If you need to replace a lost or damaged certificate, you'll get the new plastic....

Air Safety Foundation study surprise:
Experienced pilots most at risk for stall/spin death

Aug. 11 -- A new study by the AOPA Air Safety Foundation refutes some common beliefs among general aviation pilots about stalls and spins. Using data from the ASF's General Aviation Safety Database, the study reveals student pilots are NOT the likely stall/spin culprits!

"A common misconception is that student pilots are most likely to suffer fatal stall/spin-type accidents," says ASF Executive Director Bruce Landsberg. "ASF's research shows that's completely untrue. Pilots with commercial pilot certificates are far more likely to be involved in such accidents, and private pilots aren't far behind."

Stall-and-spin-related accidents are one of the foremost killers in general aviation, accounting for one in 10 GA accidents, with a fatality rate around 28 percent. Fatal stall/spin crashes most often start at (or below) traffic-pattern altitude (generally 1,000 feet above ground level) -- too low to recover from even a one-turn spin. Even pilots with aerobatic training stand virtually no chance of recovery from a stall/spin at that altitude....

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