Please sign up for a volunteer shift at the SAFE booth. You'll get to meet lots of other veteran CFIs, and also earn free admission to AirVenture. SAFE is incentivizing volunteers with daily admission for working a two-hour shift and weekly admission for working a full day at the SAFE booth! Sign up HERE

The SAFE Dinner will be held on the EAA Campus again this year in the Partner Resource Center (PRC): bigger and better! Please save Thursday, July 27th for our annual SAFE membership meeting/dinner. Enjoy a full meal, dessert, and drinks for $40. Tickets will be available as soon as we finalize the menu. View pictures from last year!

The annual election of three new members to the 9-person SAFE Board of Directors will be held Saturday, June 10 through Saturday, June 17. Voting is via a secure connection on the web any time during that week.

All current SAFE members will receive an e-mail invitation just before voting opens, with a special access code to enter the voting booth.

Each year, three of the nine Board seats are up for election. Board members can serve only two three-year terms, thus ensuring continuously fresh representation for SAFE membership.

The four candidates for this year's three seats include Michael Miley, Andy Chan, Dorothy Shick and Newlan Parker. Andy and Newlan are current board members.

Volunteer CFIs are needed for training during Airventure, from July 24 through July 29. About 40 CFIs are needed each day in the PPC to staff the AATDs and other roles. Volunteer CFI benefits include an AirVenture admission for the days scheduled; four or more shifts earn volunteers a weekly wristband. Auto parking and lodging is free for one night per shift worked. To volunteer, fill out the EAA PPC CFI application. Volunteers will complete an online training session, and onsite training starting Sunday, July 23 and continuing through the show.

SAFE supports non-expiring CFI certificates. The FAA recently proposed that CFI certificates be made permanent like other pilot certificates, rather than expiring every two years. Instead, recency-of-experience requirements would apply, and FIRCs would satisfy those requirements The NPRM is here. Please share *your* feedback is welcome HERE.

The NPRM, published two weeks ago, leaves unchanged the current renewal methods, which allow for passing a practical test, endorsing at least five students for a practical test with an 80 percent pass rate; serving as a company check pilot, chief flight instructor, company check airman or CFI in a 121 or 135 operation; completing an approved FIRC; or passing an official U.S. Armed Forces military instructor pilot or pilot examiner proficiency check. The proposed rule would also let instructors establish recent experience by serving as a flight instructor for FAASTeam programs.

Aviation news magazine AvWeb's Kate O'Connor has written a summary of the new rule, available here.

SAFE supports the proposal. "Requiring an expiration date on a CFI is overly burdensome, costly and provides few safety benefits," said SAFE Executive Director David St George. "We are making some specific recommendations to the FAA, but we're happy the FAA is thinking about this change. Reducing the requirements for CFIs educating new CFIs is not acceptable though"

SAFE does NOT support a part of the proposal that would lower the bar for CFIs training new instructors. "We already have new CFIs, basically student teachers, doing the majority of instruction in the US," said SAFE Executive Director David St George. "SAFE campaigns for increased instructor preparation and professionalism, not lowered preparation and professionalism! This is a very bad idea."

Rather than requiring two years of experience, fresh instructors could start teaching new CFIs after recommending at least five applicants for a certificate or rating with an 80 percent first-time pass rate. Alternatively, those with 200 hours dual given who graduate from an FAA-approved Flight Instructor Enhanced Qualification Training Program (FIEQTP) would be allowed to skip the two-year requirement.

St George suggested that the SAFE's already-established and well-regarded CFI-PRO outreach, which encourages interaction between more experienced CFIs and new instructors, could help prepare newbies for life in the right seat.

"The original inspiration was the 20-year-old Orlando FSDO CFI Special Emphasis Program, which in only two years was able to reduce instructional accidents in their very busy flight district by an astounding 60%," he said. "Elevating educator excellence has a proven effect on safety and pilot quality."

SAFE was founded in 2009 with the express purpose of improving aviation safety by increasing CFI professionalism. Its training library online has an unparalleled collection of CFI and training resources for SAFE members.

A medical examiner at UND says pilot mental health awareness is better now, but many challenges still exist.

William R. Hoffman led a research group that surveyed more than 3,500 pilots asking if pilots had ever avoided healthcare appointments for fear of certificate loss. More than 56 percent reported such avoidance in the past; a similar, earlier study showed more than 60 percent.

"While the FAA certainly deserves credit for recently enacting several positive changes, a major gap remains," wrote Dr. Hoffman.."For these reasons and others, stakeholders are calling for new ways to screen, monitor, and certify pilots regarding their mental health."

Nearly 100 pilots gave up a lovely Idaho Saturday to attend the Community Aviation Idaho Safety Stand Down on May 19 in Nampa. Sponsors included the Idaho Division of Aeronautics, AVEMCO, SAFE, the Idaho Aviation Foundation, the Mission Aviation Fellowship, Air-O-Drome Aviation and Community Aviation.

Activities for the weekend included a pizza-and-beverage night Friday, followed by a well-attended full day of aviation safety seminars at the Nampa Civic Center. Topics included traffic pattern scenarios, energy management and a summary of how search and rescue operations work. A particularly enticing seminar was titled "Spiky Death Traps In IFR Flying." The WINGS-eligible education included 93 aviators who met with the Boise FAASTeam Program Manager and registered for the WINGS program.

The SAFE-endorsed Stand Down featured Stowell explaining and performing his Energy Management maneuvers. A five-minute video shot during the Stand Down shows Stowell explaining Energy Management's application to three-point and wheel landings.

SAFE's representative to the FAA's committee on airman testing says recent changes to airman testing are now available on the FAA website as a PDF.

Dr. Donna Wilt said the latest revisions show changes in questions on FAA airman tests implemented on April 24; other new and revised questions will be added July 31 and October 30.

FAA Handbooks expected to be released this month include the Balloon Flying Handbook, UAS Operating Handbook and A&P Technician Handbooks for general, airframe and powerplant. In June 2024, revised handbooks on Instrument Flying, PHAK, Glider Flying and Weight-Shift Control Aircraft Flying.

VEIA sounds threatening, or possibly a disease, but it's actually very good news that will help pilots trying to estimate visibility based on current images from FAA Weather Cameras. Historically, most of the cameras are in Alaska and contiguous US areas in mountainous areas, but many are now deployed in the "Lower 48" with support from local sponsors.

The most intriguing product, said FAA engineer Jenny Colavito, is the trend line of the previous six hours of estimates. "Users really like that," she said.

The new Beech Denali will debut in 2025 with the GE engine, an announcement that had been expected, Not expected was Beech's announcement last month that Garmin's emergency Autoland system would be on board. Textron Aviation said it has been included after listening to customer feedback.

Autoland is the world’s first certified system of its kind for general aviation aircraft, with the ability to activate during an emergency situation and autonomously control the aircraft, communicate with ATC, and land it without pilot intervention.

Melanie Sang, a young CFI in Florida working on her II, felt overwhelmed by the mass of information on GPS needed. So she drew this 'umbrella' chart and asked online, "Is this overkill?"

"I love it," opined SAFE member Kirsten Newbury. "Her chart shows highest levels of correlation mastery. Kudos to her good efforts."

"...the concept and information presented are right on target," said SAFE member David Thompson. "I'd love to see a cleaned-up version along with some explanatory text."

SAFE member David Dodson saved Melanie's umbrella chart to help his own students, and said, "I think this helps demystify the alphabet soup of GPS. Along with Figure 4-28 in the Instrument Procedures Handbook, a student should be able to grasp... how RNAV approaches work." Deep Practice is the secret to mastery!

YouTuber Trevor Jacob, 29, shown in a YouTube video exiting his Taylorcraft, agreed last month to plead guilty plead to a felony charge for obstructing a federal investigation. His pilot certificate was revoked in April 2022, but the new charges could result in 20 years in the lockup.

Jacob claimed that the engine of his Taylorcraft quit on Nov. 24, 2021, forcing him to bail out. He posted a YouTube video of the incident about a month later. Jacob now admits he deliberately destroyed the wreckage of the airplane he intentionally crashed “to gain online views.” Also according to the DOJ memo, Jacob “had secured a sponsorship from a company that sold various products, including a wallet. Pursuant to the sponsorship deal, Jacob agreed to promote the company’s wallet in a YouTube video that he would post.”

The May/June 2023 issue of FAA Safety Briefing magazine explores the FAA’s role in the exciting and rapidly growing world above FL 600.

Feature articles take readers behind the scenes with the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation and its safety oversight responsibilities. We also take a close look at spaceports and review how the FAA handles both safety and efficiency when it comes to protecting other airspace users during launch and reentry operations.

The May/June 2023 issue may be downloaded as a PDF.

Pilots: as you climb the ladder, don't forget to read the small print below where it says captains can earn up to $100,000 in bonuses. Those bonuses require a three-year commitment.

Avweb reports that Republic Airways is telling new pilot hires that if they leave the company in less than three years they’ll forfeit $100,000. It's part of the Republic Airways New First Officer Career Advancement Pathway Program Agreement.,

Republic FOs start at $90 per flight hour and captains make $140 after Republic and virtually every other regional sharply hiked pilot pay in response to the exodus. The airline also offers a $60,000 bonus for pilots who complete the upgrade. The minimum Part 121 experience for captains under the agreement is 850 hours (military experience counts, too) and FOs who need to build hours are expected to bid on extra flights so they qualify within a year of being hired.

The 12 major airlines have averaged about 1,100 new hires per month in the last year and hiring is expected to continue. The pilot retirement woes (and thus increased hiring) are expected to peak in 2026.

Airline recruiters are also still active; the Future and Active Pilot Advisors (FAPA) had 1,200 total registrations at its first four hiring events.

Timothy Genc of FAPA said, “Across the board, pilot retirement numbers will continue to build each year until they peak in 2026, After that, they start trickling down, but not dramatically. Early outs took a lot of those retiring pilots out of the mix, but there are enough left to continue being a pilot supply factor over the next few years. So, as rough as contending with retirements has been so far, it is going to get worse."

These GA-related companies support SAFE and its mission to improve professionalism in aviation education. Please patronize them when choosing a product or service. Click on the logo to go to that company's web site.

The Master Instructor designation is a national FAA-recognized professional accreditation and parallels other professionals' continuing education regimens to increase their professionalism. The Master's designation must be renewed biennially and significantly surpasses FAA requirements for renewing the candidate's flight instructor certificate. Of the 122,000 flight instructors in the US, fewer than 800 have earned the Master Instructor designation, Most are SAFE members.

Master Instructors is pleased to welcome the newest and youngest member of the Master Instructor community, Toby Rice of Dickson TN.

Toby is an ATP, corporate pilot and owner of Wingman Flight Academy LLC in Dickson. He specializes in teaching flight instructors, advanced aircraft and avionics along with "real-world" practical flying for aircraft owners.

A passionate "stick-and-rudder" guy, he has experience in over 85 makes/models, including airplanes (land/sea), gyroplanes, and gliders. Toby has an online coaching/consulting company where he helps independent flight CFIs start and scale their businesses and help them excel for their clients while making a living working part-time.

Heather McNevin of Northfield, MN earned her third accreditation as a Master Aviation Educator.

Heather has been an ATC specialist with an ARTCC for 16 years and holds an FAA commercial pilot certificate with DC3 and B25 type ratings and is a CFI/CFII/MEI

She's flown 60 different aircraft types in her more than 26 years as a pilot. Her career spans FBO management, aviation security, airfield operations, flight school management and airborne fire patrol. Heather has a Master of Science degree in Aeronautics through Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with dual specializations in Human Factors and Aviation/Aerospace Safety Systems.

She is presently pursuing her PhD in Aerospace at the University of North Dakota and is part of a research team conducting aerospace safety research on a variety of subjects including safety management systems and safety reporting, gender issues in aviation, near midair collision events, and general aviation safety. Heather is an active FAA Safety Team Representative with the Minneapolis FSDO.

Master Instructors is honored to announce that Adam Boyd of Cabot AR has received his second accreditation as a Master Flight Instructor.

Adam lives in Cabot with his wife Anna of 18 years, and children Walker and Olivia. He is a C-130H Instructor Pilot with the Arkansas Air National Guard, training new pilots how to fly the C-130s.

Adam is also President of Wildwood Aerospace LLC where he works as a CFI and DPE serving central Arkansas. Adam also volunteers with the Civil Air Patrol and with Angel Flight South Central. He also enjoys working on his 1958 Beechcraft Travelair and 1946 Aeronca Champ.

Master Instructors is pleased to welcome a new Master CFI, Paul Kortopates. Paul is a San Diego-based independent instructor specializing in Mooney-specific training, instrument and avionics instruction. He serves as President of the San Diego Aviation Safety Counselors, is a FAASTeam Lead Representative for the San Diego FSDO and is the CFI for the San Diego chapter of the IMC Club. He is a frequent instructor and speaker at the Mooney Safety Foundation Pilot Proficiency Programs.

Paul is an adjunct instructor in Aviation at Miramar College, and is an A&P/IA for the aircraft owner service Savvy Aviation. He owns a Mooney 252/Encore and flies extensively in Mexico and Central America with his pilot wife.

Master Instructors is pleased to announce that Michael Koelbl of Whitesboro TX has received the accreditation as a Master Instructor for the first time.

Michael has been flying since 1984. His travels have taken him all over the EU and USA. He says, “I have come to love education as my life’s hobby and not as a career. It is a passion of mine to teach and be taught.”

Welcome, Michael to the Master Educator community!

SAFE is a 501(c)(3) educational, not-for-profit professional organization building aviation educator excellence and aviation safety. Our more than 4,500 members include many of the best-known, best-credentialed and most experienced CFIs as well as many FAA Designated Pilot Examiners.

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