Reps. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.) and Sam Graves (R-Mo.) have introduced a bill in the U.S. House that seeks to abolish the third-class medical certificate for many pilots who fly recreationally. The General Aviation Pilot Protection Act of 2013, co-sponsored by Reps. Bill Flores (R-Texas), Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), and Richard Hanna (R-NY), would […]
Pilots
‘A Personal Flyer’s Guide to More Enjoyable Flying’
Capt. David C. Koch, author of “False Security: The Real Story About Airline Safety” and executive director of the Center For Airmanship Excellence, has released a new book, “A Personal Flyer’s Guide to More Enjoyable Flying,” which, he says, “provides guidance for personal flyers on how to adopt a new paradigm in personal flying that […]
Recommendations to improve pilot training and testing released
A joint industry-FAA working group has issued recommendations that will offer clearer written and practical test standards for student pilots and those pursuing advanced certificates. The working group overhauled and drafted new standards that students could be tested on during both written and practical exams, once the FAA adopts the new standards, according to officials […]
The Cheapskate’s Guide to Getting Your Pilot’s License
Do you know someone who doesn’t pursue their dream of learning to fly because it costs too much? “The Cheapskate’s Guide to Getting Your Pilot’s License” might be just the ticket for them to get their ticket. Author Mike Arman, a pilot since 1978 and FAA Advanced Ground School Instructor, guides readers to a license […]
BMI could trigger additional scrutiny with proposed policy
The FAA is targeting pilots (and controllers) with a “proposed obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) policy.” Pilots and controllers with a Body Mass Index (calculate yours here) with 40 and higher, will be the initial target. Federal Air Surgeon Fred Tilton wrote in recent medical bulletin those pilots “will have to be evaluated by a physician who […]
Looming pilot shortage threatens GA
What some describe as a coming pilot shortage is already here for others, notes Wichita Business Journal aviation writer Daniel McCoy in a recent blog. “Kansas State University Salina’s professional pilot program is having trouble finding flight instructors,” he writes. “Other flight schools are having trouble making a go of it. And over it all looms […]
Observations and invitations
Attached to the main administration building at the Santa Monica Airport in Southern California is an observation deck. It’s a wide concrete structure with a curved metal railing that allows excellent views of the area, reaching from the Hollywood sign in the northeast all the way around to the Pacific Ocean on the southwest. A […]
Continuing a family tradition
More than 30 years ago, Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) taught his son Perry to fly in the family’s 1954 Grumman Tiger. Perry’s first cross-country flight after he soloed was to Oshkosh, his dad sitting proudly in the seat beside him. Fast forward to this year’s Oshkosh and Inhofe, a regular at Oshkosh no matter what […]
iLog 2.0 released
Cockpit Apps, a company offering iPad solutions for the cockpit, has released iLOG 2.0, incorporating several new capabilities and enhancements resulting from customer input. Introduced last year, iLOG provides pilots with a tool to create FAA-compliant flight and maintenance logs using an iPad. The app is designed to reduce a pilot’s workload while increasing efficiency […]