FSANA NEWS
Learn to Fly Month Speeding-Up
Learn to Fly Month which starts May 1, 2017, is a new annual campaign focusing on the entire month of May. FSANA expects this exciting initiative to grow year over year as more flight schools and organizations begin to collaborate.
Recently FSANA staff interviewed
Mario Andretti about his love of flight and his involvement as Learn to Fly Month Honorary Chairman.
Mario is an amazing race car driver. He's won Formula One, Indy Car, World Sports Car, and of course, NASCAR. He's been awarded Driver of the Year multiple times and even Driver of the Century. But that's not all, he also has a passion for aviation.
During our interview, Andretti stressed the fact that, as he says, "I could not have lived or could not have done [what he has done] without either general aviation, which of course I was part of, I owned aircraft since 1968, but also, commercial aviation."
He continues to note that aviation, "was a tool that allowed me to complete my career, not only [to] facilitate movements from event to event, but also to have a family with me. Otherwise, I think that even would have been impossible with the type of schedule that I was keeping."
Andretti is no stranger to a variety of aviation options, having flown multiple times on the iconic commercial airliner, the Concorde. He has owned and flown smaller aircraft such as Piper Navajos, the Mitsubishi Mu-2, and a few bigger corporate-style aircraft such as the Gulfstream IIB and Hawker 600 and 700.
While Andretti did not get a pilot's certificate, he did have the opportunity to fly some unique aircraft in his life under the guidance of qualified instructors. In addition to his own aircraft such as the Piper Navajo, he also got to fly the Hawker and even an F15, F16, and F111!
Mario believes that aviation offers a unique and rewarding career option and encourages "young people, whether male of female, to really look at the potential that there is out there for a career in flying."
FSANA looks forward to Andretti's involvement with Learn to Fly Month this year and thanks him for his support. Please enjoy the rest of Mario's interview.
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FSANA NEWS
 Six Free Tools for Promoting Your School During Learn To Fly Month
During the month of May, flight schools are encouraged to promote their own
Learn to Fly Month programs for the public that may include open houses, family aviation days, introductory ground schools, local air tours and all things related to attracting non-aviators to come out to their airport/heliport to participate. The month-long window gives flight schools plenty of flexibility within their programs and schedules to promote learning to fly, coupled with public aviation and aerospace awareness. All flight schools across the country are invited and encouraged to participate in Learn to Fly Month, not just FSANA members.
FSANA is providing this toolkit comprised of six free tools intended to help flight schools and others interested in promoting Learn to Fly Month. Please take a moment to check them out and begin to incorporate them into your business model.
- "Ideas for Flight Schools" (PDF) ... A one-pager of how to create a fun and exciting event(s) at your business
- Customizable press release template for your flight school or organization (DOC)
- Color photograph of Mario Andretti (PDF) ... Credit: Courtesy of Flight School Association of North America
- Learn to Fly Month poster with Mario Andretti (PDF)
- Learn to Fly Month logo graphic for print (PDF)
- Learn to Fly Month logo graphic for web (simply "grab" the above graphic)
Learn to Fly Month will help increase a dwindling U.S. civil pilot population and engage non-aviators to explore the wonders of flight along with the aviation and aerospace industry. Through FSANA's media networking efforts, the projected audience reach for the campaign is expected to be in the millions. A majority of the promotion will target non-aviation markets.
FSANA encourages all flight schools and others in the industry, including the supply chain and trade associations, to be involved. To find out how to participate, contact Debbie Sparks at 561-767-6826 or send an email to
[email protected].
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TRAINING NEWS
FAA to Begin Airman Practical Testing Customer Feedback Program
FSANA has been receiving feedback from various industry segments about challenges in the airman practical test segment. About a year ago, FSANA pulled together a working group of dedicated members and supporters to begin to better focus on the challenges and work with FAA to create an improved environment for U.S. practical flight testing.
The FAA/Industry group has had meetings with FAA in both Washington, DC and Oklahoma City which is where the practical test oversight is managed. Bob Rockmaker, FSANA president is pleased to see FAA welcoming the collaboration which will yield positive results for the betterment of the pilot testing community.
One of the early benchmarks was to establish some type of FAA feedback system so that all segments that are involved with the practical test arena could provide real time feedback to FAA on challenges they have faced with getting airman tested and certified. This includes:
- The amount of time required to schedule practical tests with a DPE;
- Challenges that surface during the practical tests;
- Monetary challenges that test candidates may encounter in a given FSDO;
- Other matters of interest in the practical test segment.
The FAA and FSANA have agreed that it is important for CFI's to register their airman test candidates into IACRA as soon as the candidate is prepared to take the practical test. To help collect more data, the FAA is establishing a FAA Practical Test Customer Experience Feedback option that will be available to flight training providers and applicants. The goal of this feedback email that is in the works will be to allow direct feedback to the FAA in its Oklahoma City office where practical test designee management policy is developed to be received outside of just the local FSDO district.
As soon as this email and the form for seeking input are finalized, FSANA will provide this to the recipients of this eNews for public use. Flight Training providers will be encouraged to use this to provide the valuable feedback to the FAA required to better understand what can be done to mitigate any testing provision challenges in the field.
FAA Requests Instructors Sign Off Applicants in IACRA as Soon as Ready for Practical Tests
Additionally, the as the FAA/Industry work on this topic has continued, we have been asked by the FAA to encourage instructors to sign-off students in IACRA as soon as they are ready for a practical test, not to wait until the day the actual test takes place.
The FAA tracks the data points of when an applicant is signed-off in IACRA for a practical test and when the actual test is completed. The difference of time between these helps them gauge how long an applicant has waited for a practical test. We know that this may not always be possible for all fight training providers based on the scheduling of a practical test and when all items for training are completed, but whenever possible we are asking that instructors complete the IACRA application and submit it as soon as the applicant is ready for the practical test to help provide better data to the FAA that will enhance our FAA/Industry efforts to understand where excessive delays are present for applicants needing practical tests.
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TRAINING NEWS
American Airlines Offers Flight School Grant Program
Because American Airlines recognizes that flight schools play a key role in generating aviation interest within their communities, they recently offered the American Airlines Flight School Grant program to support flight schools in their grassroots efforts to grow and diversify the pool of commercial aviators.
The program is eligible for all commercial flight schools and offers:
- Award amount: up to $25,000 per grant to pursue the idea outlined in the application;
- Decision criteria: awards are based on the idea's potential, creativity, and probability of success in growing and diversifying the pilot pool. Note that grants will only fund special programs, as opposed to incremental staff;
- Deadline: Sunday, April 30, 2017;
- Commitment of grant recipients: submit both an interim and final progress report to update American Airlines on your initiative's efficacy and to substantiate expenses incurred;
- Submission instructions: complete required application form.
American Airlines is hopeful that flight training providers will take this opportunity to propose a creative initiative.
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TRAINING NEWS
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Statement on Sensitive Locations
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Sensitive Locations policy, which remains in effect, provides that enforcement actions at sensitive locations should generally be avoided, and requires either prior approval from an appropriate supervisory official or exigent circumstances necessitating immediate action. DHS is committed to ensuring that people seeking to participate in activities or utilize services provided at any sensitive location are free to do so without fear or hesitation. Please visit the
ICE Sensitive Locations tab on ICE.gov to learn more about the ICE Sensitive Locations Policy.
In order for schools to enroll non-immigrant international F and M students, which many educational institutions do, federal law requires that the schools must be certified by SEVP. Federal law also requires SEVP to continuously monitor the schools and non-immigrant F and M students by collecting data and conducting site visits. Accordingly, schools that fail to comply with these requirements may be deemed ineligible to enroll foreign students or their existing certification to enroll non-immigrant F or M visa students may be withdrawn.
When will ICE visit your school?
SEVP field representatives visit schools as part of their daily duties. They enhance national security by serving as direct day-to-day liaisons between SEVP and schools certified by SEVP to enroll F and/or M non-immigrant students. They may also conduct site visits when a school is applying for SEVP certification or re-certification. Field representative visits are planned in conjunction with school officials. Field representatives do not engage with the non-immigrant student population. Please visit DHS's
Study in the States for more information about SEVP field representatives.
ICE's Homeland Security Investigations special agents or personnel from SEVP's compliance section may make unannounced site visits to schools to ensure the school is complying with federal laws and regulations governing F and M non-immigrant students. If a school wants to continue its SEVP certification, it cannot decline these visits.
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TRAINING NEWS
 Simhawk Eliminates Buyer Fees
Simhawk Inc., the global flight simulator marketplace, now provides access to over 1,000 Full Flight Simulators and announced that it is eliminating fees for its buyers.
Simhawk now provides customers with access to over 60% of the civilian flight simulators in the world, making it easier than ever for companies and individuals that need simulator time or training programs to find solutions and compare options via Simhawk.com. Since its launch, Simhawk has provided solutions to a wide variety of customers from airlines looking for simulator time or additional capacity, to corporate flight operations and owner-operators, to General Aviation pilots looking to enhance their training.
"Our mission is to make it easier for customers to find and buy simulator time and to increase the use of simulator training throughout the world." said
Chris Weinberg, founder and CEO of Simhawk. "There are more options than ever before and people don't always have the time it takes to explore them all. That's where Simhawk provides value to both buyers and sellers."
Based on the success of its recent trial program, the company has decided to permanently eliminate the 2-3% fee that buyers have previously paid to purchase simulator time and training via Simhawk.com.
"We're all about removing barriers and encouraging customers, including those that aren't currently using simulators to take advantage of the capacity that is out there," continued Weinberg. "Simhawk has never required any membership fees to use its platform so the buyer's fees seemed out of place and we think this will give people another good reason to try our platform."
As part of this change, Simhawk will now require a non-refundable deposit from buyers when they accept a proposal on Simhawk.com. However, the deposit will be fully credited towards the purchase price of simulator time or training when the transaction is completed.
About Simhawk
Simhawk is a global flight simulator marketplace that matches buyers and sellers of flight simulator time. Customers that need to buy simulator time or training services can find the best available options, without having to contact multiple providers. Simhawk also provides simulator operators and training service providers with a cost effective way of selling excess capacity and availability to a global network of customers. For more information about Simhawk, please visit
About Simhawk.
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TRAINING NEWS
UAV Focused on Training Market Released
Pro S3 has announced the release of the Venture T lines of multi-rotor UAV's. Venture T offers unique capabilities concentrated in a single package, designed specifically for UAV training schools.
Daniele Camatti, CEO of Pro S3, says "UAV training activities requires specific performance characteristics not usually available in a standard commercial drone package". The intense usage requires a large number of batteries in order to allow continuous training activities during the day while serving a high number of students. The Venture T has been configured to allow for changing the flight performance and response to command in accordance with the student skill level.
The Venture T has been configured so that novice pilots simply cannot over fly the unit reducing the possibility of damage due to panicky stick inputs in the "float" mode of operation.
The system consists of the following:
- High grade RC controller with main flight data telemetry
- Buddy-buddy wireless system allowing cable free operations
- Single axis student operations (instructor decides which axis put under student control)
- Mode 1 to 5 instructor/student operations
- Instructor selectable command response
- Instructor selectable flight mode, simulating several flying conditions
- Instructor selectable failsafe operation for emergency simulation
- Inflight motor failure simulation (octo version only)
- 8 batteries allowing standard 10 minutes missions
- GCS ground full telemetry for instructor maneuver checking and evaluation
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SEVP InFocus Webinar for Flight Training Providers April 12, 2:00-3:00 pm EDT
FSANA has received notification from the SEVP program that they will be offering a webinar for flight training providers this April 12 from 2:00-3:00 pm EDT to highlight news and updates about flight training under this program.
The webinar will discuss the latest program news and updates affecting SEVP-certified schools and international students, including information about planned SEVIS enhancements and new resources on Study in the States.
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TRAINING NEWS
Website Offers Free Lookup of FAA Knowledge Test Report Codes
Instructor and FAA Designated Pilot Examiner Jason Blair got tired of looking up FAA Knowledge Test Codes that "were found deficient" by students on their tests in a PDF or on a scrolling website, so he has created a website that is available for free to students, instructors, and examiners, to do it for them.
Check out http://www.FAATestCodeLookup.com to enter and report the subject areas associated with the knowledge test codes on your, your student, or your applicant's knowledge test report. The site works for both pilot and maintenance FAA Knowledge Test reports.
Use it just to look up the codes, or to the site's full capacity by entering your and/or your instructor's email along with the knowledge test ID code to create a record that could be used to input into IACRA in the event of loss of the knowledge test report.
In either case, the site makes it easier to create a record and report of the knowledge test codes and the associated topics for review and study prior to further testing.
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Be Recognized as a FSANA Supporting Partner
FSANA is a dynamic trade association that represents the interests of flight training providers. Our members are motivated and successful business operators that provide flight training in the United States and foreign countries. Your company, or a company you know, is encouraged to support FSANA in its achievements by becoming a "Partner."
FSANA's core platforms include:
- Helping flight training businesses operate successfully and profitably;
- Increasing the pilot population;
- Working with other aviation and aerospace industry associations and companies to promote quality flight training pipeline development;
- Providing programs and services that will assist FSANA members to better serve their customers and local communities;
- Promoting best practices in the flight training community;
- Reducing the general aviation incident and accident rates;
- Engaging both youth and adults to explore aviation and aerospace.
For their part, FSANA Partners receive year-round brand exposure in both print and electronic platforms in multiple channels and a host of other benefits.
To learn more, please contact
Debbie Sparks
, vice president, at
[email protected]
or
561-767-6826.
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Flight School Seeking Investment Capital
An
established
and successful Part 61 and 141 flight school is seeking $1M-3M investment capital for new enterprise start-up. Qualified parties please call 863-327-6880.
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We want feedback from the readers of this newsletter! Tell us what is important to you
as a school owner, manager or chief flight instructor. We will share comments received
in an upcoming edition of
Flight Schools News eMonthly
.
Send your thoughts to [email protected].
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Click on images to download sample Aero program brochures
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