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| SAFE represents nearly 1,600 of the industry's top aviation professionals in 49 states and nine foreign countries, including the majority of Master Instructors and numerous General Aviation Awards winners in all four awards categories. |
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Chair's Corner
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by David St. George, SAFE Chair
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David St George
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Happy New Year to all of you! This yearly greeting also always brings to mind a review and new resolutions. We are happy to report that, thanks to you,
SAFE grew dramatically in 2017 and ended the year with close to 1,600 of the world's best aviation educators as members. We also launched our very successful
CFI Professionalism screen-casts
with the help of our friends at
Gold Seal Groundschool
. We also added even greater value to your
member benefits and discounts
. It's still true that you can MORE THAN pay for your annual membership just by using SAFE member discounts and other benefits.
We met with members and represented SAFE in 2017's at both Sun 'N Fun and Oshkosh (a record-setting show for us) but also attended the
AOPA Regional Fly-Ins
, We hope to see you at the
U.S. Sport Pilot Expo
in Sebring, Florida January 23rd-27th and all of the 2018 AOPA shows.
On this year's SAFE wish list, we're planning on even greater member involvement and outreach. We currently need volunteers for our Governance and Membership committees; please
e-mail me
if you can help. Volunteering on SAFE committees is a great way to familiarize yourself with your organization's board and leadership opportunities.
Stay SAFE in the air and have a wonderful New Year.
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House Measure Easing 1,500-Hour
ATP Requirement Still On Hold
Also on hold: ATC Privatization, FAA Funding
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 As of press time, the House version of the FAA reauthorization bill, H.R. 2997, is still on hold despite the offer of Senator John Thune (R-SD) to drop the provision easing the requirement for 1,500 flight hours for an ATP. Thune had originally introduced the provision in the Senate's version of the FAA bill (S. 1405) to curb the increasing pilot shortage among regional airlines.
"It may be that the bill is not the best place to get that addressed, if we can get that addressed in another form," Thune said. "If we feel like we're making sufficient headway on the 1,500 hours or at least on the pilot shortage issue in some other venue then we might be able to just start moving our bill." He noted that DOT Secretary Elaine Chao's attention to the pilot shortage and willingness to address it through regulation could obviate the need for the legislative fix.
FAA funding expires March 31.
S. 1405, which has already been approved by the Senate Commerce Committee and does not seek to separate the ATC from the FAA, is expected to move through the Senate, on a bipartisan basis, early next year. The Senate measure also includes provisions that would provide millions of dollars for
infrastructure projects
at smaller airports often used for GA flight training. It is expected to be voted on by the Senate early this year.
Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) has reportedly been unable to round up enough votes to move H.R. 2997 out of his House committee. The respective bills in each chamber of Congress will have to be reconciled before final passage of FAA funding.
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WCA Offers $10,000 in Training Scholarships
Deadline next Monday
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 Women in Corporate Aviation (WCA) is coordinating four scholarships totaling
$10,000 worth of flight training
, but the deadline to submit applications is January 8, just one week away. Entrants must be members of WCA.
WCA will award scholarships from Air Training International for a flight procedures course; Charlie Bravo Aviation, aircraft acquisitions course; Dassault Falcon Jet, safety and/or management course; and a USC Viterbi Aviation Safety and Security program.
"
We encourage any member - whether a pilot, maintenance technician, flight attendant, or aspiring aviation leader - to apply for a scholarship," said WCA president Cindy Youngblood. "There is a wide variety of training opportunities available for nearly any role within the business aviation industry."
Winners will be notified on February 15, and the awards will be announced at a ceremony at the International Women in Aviation Conference in Reno, Nevada, on March 23.
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More NORSEE Equipment Certified
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Non-required safety equipment for GA aircraft is blossoming since  the FAA in 2016 first allowed such equipment without the traditional rigorous and costly certification which inflated the price of such equipment.
The latest is a Levil Aviation unit that can be mounted on the wing to provide a self-powered, wireless source of backup data including position, an attitude heading and reference system (AHRS), and angle of attack indicator. The unit also provides ADS-B In (but not Out) capability.
Levil has begun to fill preorders for the device, which is called a Broadcasting Outer Module, or BOM. It does look like a bomb (see picture), but has no explosives.
The unit is 10 inches long, 2 inches wide, and weighs just under one pound. Retail price for the BOM is $1,295 without an ADS-B receiver and $1,595 with. It measures 10 inches long and weighs just under a pound.
The company said it will begin filling preorders by the end of December and commence general sales at the Sun 'n Fun International Fly-In and Expo in April 2018.
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BizAv Jobs Forecast Flat in 2018
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Business aviation industry insiders expect 2018 to be a "reset year," with business aircraft deliveries generally expected to be flat compared with 2017, limiting the number of new bizav crewmembers needed. A recovery is expected in 2019.
UBS Global Research, in an article in Aviation International News last month, said that manufacturers appear to be planning for flat industry deliveries in 2018 with new model introductions such as the Cessna Citation Longitude, Gulfstream G500 and Bombardier Global 7000, offsetting declines in certain legacy products. UBS said it also expects Bombardier Business Aircraft, Gulfstream, and Textron Aviation to see higher deliveries this year and fewer at Dassault and Embraer Executive Jets.
UBS noted that although 2017 deliveries of business jets were expected to be 653 units and 662 for 2018, those numbers include 51 Cirrus SF50 Vision personal jets, which are often owner-flown. That will drive down the number of traditional business jets requiring a professional crew. At the same time, said the firm, sales of turboprops are down by 22 in 2017 and are expected to be down by 24 in 2018.
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SAFE LinkedIn Site Transitioning to Group Profile
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SAFE's Linked-In network site
, in place since shortly after the organization started in 2009, is being upgraded from an individual profile to a group profile to better serve members.
"It's our increasing membership and organization activity," said David St. George, SAFE Chair. "SAFE began as a small group of dedicated aviation education professionals, and a small Linked-In site was adequate. But now that we've grown to more than 1,500 education professionals worldwide and needed more room for better member opportunities."
Linked-In is a social activity website slanted heavily toward business contacts and allows professionals to develop relationships with each other, both within a particular field and across fields. SAFE's Linked-In site has 1,049 followers as of late December, 2017.
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"Mario's Rules" First Major Post
on Revamped LinkedIn Site
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 You may never had heard of Mario Tomei, but the 125-mission Vietnam veteran, who now administers FAA knowledge tests, has three rules for flying safely. Those three rules were added to
the
new SAFE Linked-In site
just before Christmas.
The three rules are:
- - Never assume you know it all; there is always more to learn and in fact, situations continually change so more study is needed.
- - Always rely on standard operating procedures and a checklist. This is especially helpful when the fertilizer hits the fan.
- - Always maintain a sense of wonder at what we accomplish daily as aviators when we defy gravity. A little fear is a good thing.
The Mario's Rules article
explains each of the rules, with sometimes startling real-life examples illustrating each point. Recommended.
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New SAFE Blog Entries
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Broadband for Your Brain,
by SAFE member David St. George. Did you know there is a ramshackle little gym outside Moscow where coaches have created more world-class tennis stars in the last 20 years than in the whole USA?
The secret is revealed in a fascinating book called
The Talent Code
, by Daniel Coyle, which explains and cites examples of how masterful instruction and performance creates world-class winners across a spectrum of diverse pursuits. Although not an aviation book, one of the examples cited relies on the value of the original Link flight simulator ("the box") in teaching instrument flying.
Prevent LOC-I; Teach Turning Stalls
. Question: in a stable, coordinated turn (level, climbing or descending) the lift on each wing is equal. True? Or False? Hopefully, you know the answer is True, but FAA DPE David St. George tells of private applicants who refuse to demonstrate a slip to land because it's "dangerous." He and SAFE member Robert Reser, who wrote "How To Fly A Plane"
encourage instructors to teach turning stalls, sometimes called Accelerated Stalls.
The SAFE program on avoiding LOC-I, originally aired in November with famed aerobatic performer Patty Wagstaff, "The Spin Doctor" Rich Stowell and FAA Designated Examiner David St. George, is
still available on YouTube
and at the
Gold Seal Ground School site
. It is free.
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Master Instructor Updates
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Burt is a ground and flight instructor as well as president of the
Oxford Flying Club
at Oxford Airport
where he specializes in primary, instrument, and multiengine training. He also serves as a professional ski instructor as well as a FAASTeam representative for the FAA's Windsor Locks FSDO.
John Shannon Mahany
, of Long Beach CA, renewed his Master CFI on December 20. He is a 6-time Master and SAFE member.
John teaches with Flight Safety International and is an independent flight and ground instructor with the Long Beach Flying Club at California's Long Beach Airport. He is also a volunteer Young Eagles pilot and flight advisor for EAA's Chapter 7 as well as a FAASTeam lead representative for the FAA's Long Beach FSDO.
Larry Alan "Bat" Cross
, of Arlington TX, earned his Master CFI-Aerobatic certification on December 20 through Master Instructors LLC.
Larry is a first-time Master Instructor - Aerobatic as well as a member of SAFE and IAC. A former US Air Force officer and instructor pilot, Larry specializes in aerobatics, upset prevention, upset recovery, and simulator training for highly experienced pilots with
Aviation Performance Solutions LLC
at Arlington Municipal Airport.
The Master Instructor designation is a national accreditation recognized by the FAA and is earned through a rigorous process of continuing professional activity and peer review. This process parallels continuing education regimens used by other professionals to enhance their knowledge base while increasing their professionalism.
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Again, thanks for your support and
Fly SAFE!
David St. George, Chair
Society of Aviation and Flight Educators
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Copyright SAFE, Inc. 2018. All rights reserved.
SAFE, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Public Charity
Editor@SafePilots.org -- Safe@SafePilots.org -- www.SafePilots.org |
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