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| SAFE represents nearly 1,700 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 three 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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Hello SAFE members and supporters! Thanks for reading and welcome to an issue is full of great opportunities. Our SAFE Dinner sign-up (Oshkosh) is open and please also join our Master CFI reunion this year with JoAnn and Sandy Hill at 4:30 in the terminal (more details soon)! The EAA Pilot Proficiency Center needs CFIs (free training; free admission and lodging may be available!) THe new website for this will be live June 7th.
Please get involved with all these programs (cash prizes, free CFI training, discounts oh my!) Thanks for supporting and growing your all-volunteer CFI professional organization. Visit our new SAFE website and see you at AirVenture Please volunteer to help!
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SAFE Board Election June 5-15
Review Candidates Now
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The SAFE Board of Directors election is this month! Five talented and well-qualified candidates are competing for three available positions.
Biographies and position statements
for each are available on the SAFE web site.
"Please vote!" urged SAFE Chair David St. George. "The election week is from June 5 through June 15, and your vote will help decide the future of our organization." Only current full SAFE members may vote for the three Board positions available, using the internet-based voting site VotingPlace
. Here are instructions on
how to log in to the SAFE web site and vote
.
SAFE was founded in 2009 to promote professionalism for aviation educators and provide CFI and classroom resources. One of the founding pillars of the organization requires a nine-member Board of Directors selected from the membership. Each director is elected for a three-year term to ensure that members will have a continued voice in the organization. Terms are staggered so fresh candidates are required every year.
The five candidates for this year's three SAFE Board positions are Dr. John A. Kolmos of New York; Wayman Alfredo Luy of Florida; Cres Wise of Georgia; Veronica T. Cote of Massachusetts and H.C. "Hobie" Tomlinson of Vermont.
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Revamped SAFE Website Debuts
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SAFE is growing dramatically in membership (currently nearly 1,700 of the nation's top CFIs and DPEs, as well as classroom aviation educators), and the demand for an attractive and resource-filled website has become apparent.
"
See our new website
," suggested SAFE Communications Director Kevin D Murphy. "It's still very much under development, but we think you'll like the new look and new resources for aviation professionals."
In large letters near the top, the new website reiterates that SAFE is member driven, professional organization open to all aviation educators and works to advance aviation safety and standards and promote aviation education as a viable career choice.
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SAFE Calls For Pilot Proficiency Heros
Free Training, Potential Free Admission and Lodging
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Want to be a mover and shaker for aviation safety? Volunteer CFIs are still needed for this year's EAA Pilot Proficiency Center at AirVenture, Monday, July 23 to Sunday, July 22.
Complete the sign-up form now
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 "Please join other CFI professionals at the EAA Pilot Proficiency Program at AirVenture this year," said David St. George, SAFE Chair. "Instructors volunteering will be treated like celebrities, with free training and potentially free admission and lodging at Oshkosh." He added that the national flight training database leverages an instructor's skills all year on Redbirds around the country.
The Pilot Proficiency Center is free to airshow participants and uses cutting edge technology and Red Bird Simulators. It will
operate every day of the show, from Monday July 23 to Sunday, July 29. St. George said it takes 36 volunteer CFIs each day, including 14 to operate the same number of Redbird AATDs, two to operate the Redbird Xwind trainer and two for the Ready Room to help pilots select the scenarios they would like to fly.
Online CFI training is required to teach the PPC scenarios and to review pilot performance, and will be made available to CFIs registered to teach. Hands on training for CFIs is scheduled for Sunday July 22 from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Full information and an application to teach this year is available on the
EAA Pilot Proficiency website
, scheduled to be active June 7.
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CFI Liability: What's Your Exposure?
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Ferrell is a founding partner of Carr & Ferrell, a Silicon Valley law firm that specializes in patent litigation and intellectual property matters. He is a Cirrus CSIP instructor and a longtime Cirrus SR-22 owner. In the interview, he talks candidly about why he chooses to teach as a CFI, even with the additional liability, and what steps he takes to mitigate that additional risk, which include insurance on his airplane, CFI insurance and an umbrella liability policy.
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What's A PEGASAS? The FAA Explains
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 The May/June 2018 issue of FAA Safety Briefing focuses on the FAA's Center of Excellence for general aviation research, the Partnership for Enhancing General Aviation Safety, Accessibility, and Sustainability (PEGASAS). This partnership helps coordinate between government, academia and industry to advance aviation technologies and expand FAA research capabilities.
Features in this issue include:
Let It Flow! PEGASAS Inspires a River of Research by Susan Parson.
Pushing the Envelope A Plan of "Attack" for Loss of Control by Tom Hoffmann.
Weather ... Or Not? Weather Technology in the Cockpit by Sabrina Woods.
LED There Be Light Working to Enhance Airport Lighting by Paul Cianciolo.
Remote Sensors? Rumble Strips? Heated Pavements? Oh My! Three Fresh Approaches to Improve Runway Surfaces and Safety by Jennifer Caron
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Singularity. Using Collective Data to Drive Safety Improvement by James Williams
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ForeFlight Debuts "Airspace Advisor"
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GPS moving map maker
Foreflight
has added automatic airspace highlighting and an "airspace in profile" view to its signature Foreflight 10 Mobile application for iPad.
"I love the new airspace advisor in profile view in ForeFlight 10," said SAFE Chair David St. George, who used the new version last month while ferrying a tailwheel Bellanca to the northeast. "Notice the MOA just ahead of the airplane icon, which makes it easy to avoid 'clipping' part of special use airspace at either the top or bottom. What a great enhancement to situational awareness and safety!"
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PSI Likely Winner Of FAA Knowledge Testing Contract
Increases Chance FBOs, Flight Schools Will Retain Testing Centers
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A source involved with FAA training and testing told SAFE last week that the FAA knowledge test contract will go to PSI/LaserGrade Computer Testing, one of the two companies currently providing testing services across the country. If confirmed, it means that aviation knowledge test centers are more likely to remain with FBOs and flight schools than moved to non-airport locations.
SAFE has been encouraging the FAA to take into consideration the realities of slim-margin flight school businesses, since testing centers provide another revenue stream.
The official word of the award was due May 3, but as of May 31 had not been announced. Currently, PSI and Computer Assisted Testing Services (CATS) are the two providers of testing services, both charging $150 for FAA knowledge tests. The newly selected contract winner will be required to accommodate as many as 150,000 airman exam applicants nationally every year.
Until computerized testing for airman knowledge tests debuted, the examinations were free at local FAA offices.
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ADS-B Equipage Deadline Countdown Underway
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As of this issue of SAFE eNews, the deadline for mandatory ADS-B equipage is just 18 months away, and your clients who own aircraft are likely to be asking questions, since only about 22 percent of GA aircraft are so far ADS-B equipped.
As of May 1, 40,368 GA fixed wing GA aircraft have reported being equipped with ADS-B, and 36,706 of those have successfully passed the FAA certification process. The number of fixed-wing active GA aircraft in the US currently is roughly 180,000.
Almost any question about ADS-B equipage, including which ADS-B units are now approved, can be answered by the
FAA's ADS-B page.
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"The Nevada Triangle" Documentary Found
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SAFE member Steve Schroeder, one of SAFE's founding members, is featured in a new documentary on
The Nevada Triangle
, the supposedly dangerous triangular area in the southwest part of the state. The 47-minute documentary was produced by SBS One, the Australian Public Broadcasting network, and is a fascinating examination of 'waves' and 'downdrafts.'
Numerous unexplained, and some as-yet undiscovered, crashes have occurred over the years in the dry and rocky Nevada Triangle. But it wasn't until 2008, when hikers found the crash of Chicago businessman Steve Fossett in the Triangle's Great Basin Desert, that the area received national attention in the aviation press.
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CFI Shortage Official, GAO and WAPO Confirms
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 In the May 21 edition of the Washington Post, a headline confirms what flight schools have known for months: the CFI shortage is real, and the market is responding. The article cites US Aviation Academy's offer of a $2,500 bonus and a wage of between $27 and $35 an hour for new CFIs, a wage it has raised by about 15 percent recently.
"Pilot-Hungry Airlines Are Raiding Flight Schools" reads the headline of the article by Andrew Van Dam. Although the article is limited to collegiate aviation, many Part 61 and part 141 independent flight schools are feeling the pinch. In the past few months, several have asked SAFE for referrals to instructors.
"We're short on CFIs if you know anyone who wants to move to Colorado," wrote Jane Carpenter, owner of Leading Edge Flight Training in Loveland, CO.
"It's by far the best market I've seen for CFIs since the early 1970s, during GA's heyday," said Kevin D Murphy, SAFE Communications Director. "Actually, I think it's better for CFIs now than it was then when the pilot population reached a peak of almost 800,000 active pilots."
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SAFE Member Offers Free 'Airport Simulator'
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An active SAFE member in Canada is offering other SAFE members a limited supply of the free, innovative, non-electronic "Airport Simulator" to help explain airport operations to student pilots or rusty aviators. Only six of the simulators remain, although he says he might consider making more if demand is sufficient.
Created by member
Jim Walker
of Brampton, Ontario, the simulator is a large (30" x 48") semi-rigid diagram of a typical airport layout, laminated for easy write-on, wipe-off note taking. Walker says he uses it for teaching taxiway and runway markings, crosswind landing techniques, maneuvering in the pattern and communications.
"At Redbird Migration last year, a flight instructor from Alaska saw my airport simulator and bought it," said Walker. "A mother in England wanted one for her son. My wife used it during her PPL training. An FAA guy in Washington had one delivered."
Walker says he will give away all remaining six airport simulators without cost except for postage. "(It) will be in the $30 range," he said. "The box is four feet long and the postal system charges for being annoyed by this unusual shape."
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With CFI Market Booming, SAFE Offers "A Mindset of Professionalism"
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 Deficiencies in the current pilot training system - including new CFIs with virtually no real-world experience teaching ab initio pilots - calls for special attention to professionalism, SAFE Chair David St. George wrote last month in an entry on the
SAFE Blog
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"It's so very easy to get dull, bored and cynical as a CFI with frequent similar lessons around the pattern," he writes. "Pretty soon we become egotistical and toxic. Reference to an established Code of Ethics like the SAFE Standard or the excellent Model Code of Conduct is a good tonic for both guidance and inspiration."
For all instructors, SAFE's Resource Center public section consolidates many of the publicly available aids to professionalism and flight operations, but the Members Only section of the online reference has much more in-depth, original material collected from various sources, including many of the top CFIs and Designated Pilot Examiners in the US.
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How Long Should An IFR Rating Take? Here's One Answer
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When your next instrument student asks how long it will take to earn the rating, here's one answer you can supply. An AOPA poll of its members last month, both IFR-rated and not, showed that nearly half (48 percent) of instrument rated pilots completed their training within six months, while just 22 percent took longer than 12 months.
More encouraging for the flight training industry, about 20 percent (one in five) respondents to the poll said they were pilots who were not yet instrument rated but planned to pursue the rating. AOPA noted that the poll was not a scientific sampling of all pilots and should not be used for research.
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FAA Adds 10 ACS-Related Pubs
They're All Free
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The FAA has asked SAFE to notify members that new versions of several ACS-related publications have been added to the
Airman Testing webpage
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Airlines Sign for SAFE-Supported Upset Training
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Legacy airlines Delta and United have signed with
Aviation Performance Solutions
(APS) of Mesa, AZ for pilot training in upset prevention and recovery. The FAA last year required all US air carriers to augment their training to include conditions unique to upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT).
"APS is honored to work with two of the largest US airlines to improve air safety by aiding them in refining the most efficient, cost-effective and results-oriented upset training program for their pilots," said Paul Ransbury, President of APS.
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Master Instructor Updates
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| Vicki Lynn Sherman |
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The 2011 National FAASTeam Representative of the Year,
Vicki is a primary, instrument and ground training instructor with Aero Moto Flight Training LLC at Flagler County Executive Airport (FIN) in Palm Coast, Florida. Additionally, she operates
Aero Supplies and Express
in Daytona Beach and is active in The Ninety-Nines. She serves as a FAASTeam representative for the FAA's Orlando / Tampa FSDO.
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Michael B Traud |
Michael B Traud, a Sacramento-area pilot examiner and a resident of Gold River, CA renewed his accreditation as a Master CFI through
Master Instructors LLC, the international accrediting authority for all six Master Instructor designations as well as the FAA-approved Master Instructor Continuing Education Program.
He first earned this national professional accreditation in 2004, has held it continuously since then, and is one of only 15 worldwide to earn the credential eight times.
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Michael C. Demulling
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Michael C Demulling of New Richmond, WI, a 9-time Master and a
SAFE
member, renewed his Master CFI accreditation in April through the
Master Instructors LLC
program.
Mike is the manager of
New Richmond Regional Airport
as well as chief pilot for
White House Custom Colour.
He is also a volunteer pilot for the Saint Croix County Sheriff's Department and operates Mike Demulling Flight Training where he specializes in primary, instrument, recurrent, and Aerostar flight and ground training.
Colonel Lee "Monty" Hall
, a 1st-time Master as well as a member of SAFE, recently earned his Master
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Lee Monty Hall
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CFI-Aerobatic accreditation through
Master Instructors LLC
. A retired US Air Force F-16 Group commander and F-16 instructor pilot, Monty served as site manager for the USAF Initial Flight Training program in Pueblo, Colorado. Currently, he is an advanced instructor pilot with Aviation Performance Solutions LLC (www.APSTraining.com) at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (IWA) where he specializes in upset prevention and recovery training (UPRT) that is geared toward experienced aviators.
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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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