Unique Flight School Takes Off in Utah
A “flying car” flight school has been established in Nephi, Utah, near the city of Provo, to train purchasers of the 2-place Pal-V autogyro-car built by the Dutch company Pal-V.
An FAA private pilot certificate for rotorcraft will be required for purchasers.
Pal-V says it takes about 10 minutes to convert the tricycle gear car to an aircraft and a ground run of just under 600 feet will get the vehicle airborne. A full tank of unleaded fuel in the 540-pound useful load aircraft will last about 2.5 hours.
Read more…(Unique Flight School)
The Pal-V is the latest entry in the “flying car” race and the only roadable gyrocopter, rather than an airplane. It is expected to be certified and available for between $300,000 and $500,000 in the US by 2018. The company is currently using conventional autogyros for training at their Nephi base.
Other companies have been working on airplane-car combinations, including Terrafugia, Maveric LSA and Aeromobile. The fast-growing taxi company Uber has announced it will produce a fully-electric, vertical takeoff and landing plane within two years that can fly about 100 miles at 150 mph, carrying multiple passengers and a pilot. They expect to have a network of these VTOL aircraft that can transport people for approximately the price of a private ride in an UberX ground vehicle.
Clients Asking About ADS-B? Here’s How To Be An Expert
As the January 1, 2020 deadline approaches for mandatory installation of ADS-B Out equipment, more students and aircraft owners are expecting CFIs to be able to answer their questions about it. Briefly, the three most common questions are:
* “Where will ADS-B be required?” The quick answer is, “anywhere a Mode C transponder is required today.” The more technical answer is that it will be required in Class A airspace, Class B and Class C. It will also be required in Class E but only above 10,000í MSL. It will not be required in Class G or most of Class D and Class E below 10,000í MSL.
* “How does ADS-B work?” As tempting as it might be to reply, “it’s magic,” it would be more responsible to refer the questioner to any of the hundreds of web sites that explain ADS-B operation in varying degrees of complexity. One excellent place to start is Garmin’s ADS-B Academy.
* “What equipment is available at a reasonable cost?” Any published answer to this question is probably already out of date, since manufacturers are dashing to introduce ADS-B Out equipment. AOPA has an excellent ADS-B Out Selector that is kept updated with the latest offerings.
Read More….(ADS-B Academy)
Other good resources for learning more about the ADS-B Out requirement, which goes into effect on January 1, 2020, include:
* Wikipedia: In typical Wikipedia fashion, this detailed explanation of ADS-B explains the FAA’s plans for the NextGen ATC system and how ADS-B fits into those plans. It has more detail than most pilots would ever need.
* AOPA: The world’s largest pilot association has numerous pages of information on ADS-B.
* FAA’s NextGEN ATC: Surprisingly well-written and presented, this FAA site explains succinctly what ADS-B does and provides not only a coverage map but links to some of the most relevant regulations, TSO standards and advisory circulars.
* FAA Safety Briefing Magazine, the May/June 2016 issue, which separates fact from fiction about the new requirement.
* Garmin’s ADS-B Academy: Written in simple English, this site covers the basics of ADS-B, planning for installation of ADS-B equipment and a “learn more” link for pilots with an insatiable desire for more information.
* FLYING Magazine, which recently published an article on “Choosing the Right ADS-B System.”
CFI Insurance: How Do I Protect Myself As A CFI?
SAFE member Sean, renewing his SAFE CFI Non-Owned Aircraft Liability Insurance last month, asked a question many working CFIs wonder about. He writes, “All the planes I fly have either flying club insurance or on an open pilot policy, but I’m guessing that it protects the club or the owner more than me. I don’t know how much of a redundancy my CFI coverage is. Your thoughts?”
Agent John Sweeney of AIR-PROS CFI Insurance answered that question.
The most important coverage is for property damage and bodily injury. Most CFIs get the standard limit of $1,000,000 each occurrence with a sub-limit of $100,000 per passenger for injury.
Read more….(CFI Insurance)
As you correctly guessed, the flying club or owner’s insurance company pays the owner (not you as the CFI) for damage to an aircraft. Unfortunately, that insurance company can then attempt to collect from you, the CFI, if you helped cause the accident through negligence, and the aircraft owner can collect from you for his insurance deductible and loss of use. Those cases are where your CFI coverage comes to the rescue.
If the flying club is a shared ownership type club and you are a member of that club, then the insurance company probably cannot collect from the club member. If it is more of a rental operation to non-owner club members, then the insurance probably can sue a third party (such as the CFI) and collect. That is called “subrogation.”
As you know, many FBO or Club managers don’t know what their insurance policy says about subrogation. Many rental agreements state that if there is an accident, you must pay the deductible, but fails to mention that the insurance company may try to collect from you as the CFI, too.
If you’re instructing an individual owner in his aircraft, then his insurance company has the right to collect from you if you are at fault.† In most cases, you can have the owner amend his insurance policy to provide a “Waiver of Subrogation” to you by name.†There should be no premium cost or small premium charge for the owner. You should also request to be named insured, not just a named pilot.†Being a named pilot does nothing to extend coverage to you, as the CFI, unless you are also named additional insured and have the waiver of subrogation.
SAFE CFI insurance is the most comprehensive coverage available for flight instructors, covering numerous situations not covered by the two other CFI policies offered. In addition, it has the lowest premium cost of the three and gives additional discounts for participation in the FAA WINGS program and acquisition of a Master CFI accreditation.
Need A Job? Consider CFI + ATC
Have you heard? The FAA needs new air traffic controllers, and SAFE says that flight instructors can be ideal candidates for the hundreds of new controller jobs to come open in the next few years. Salaries rise to more than $172,590 per year.
A massive FAA recruitment campaign last year hired more than 1,400 new controllers, and although 2016 hiring is done, observers believe ATC under-staffing termed “critical” by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) will necessitate additional hiring soon.
“For instance, take the case of CFI Josh Haviland, a controller in the Seattle TRACON,” said David St. George, SAFE Chair. “In 2011, he and two other controllers saved a VFR-only pilot in a Mooney who was disoriented and trapped above an overcast” For that action, Haviland and two other controllers won the coveted National Association of Air Traffic Controllers (NATCA) “Archie” award.
The VFR-only pilot was in the clouds when he reported running out of gas. Haviland, the only flight instructor among the three controllers, immediately suggested the pilot go to best glide speed and level his wings.
(Hear recent real-life audio of another pilot-controller, Dwayne McLean, helping a VFR-only pilot on the east coast.)
Read more….(CFI + ATC)
“I recall closing my eyes to help visualize being in the cockpit and getting a grasp of the pilot’s perspective” said Josh. My advantage was the ability to switch to a tactical mindset without having to overcome the emotional responses that any of us would have in that pilot’s situation.
“My career as both a flight instructor and air traffic controller have been a perfect fit for one another,” he added. “I never stop learning in either role and doing both certainly helps fill in a lot of the blanks. For someone who loves to see how things work, flying and controlling work hand in hand and are a perfect match!”
According to NATCA, the number of qualified controllers has fallen nearly 10 percent since 2011. NATCA officials testified before Congress last month that staffing levels at ATC facilities all over the country are at a 27-year low, with some ATC facilities, such as the New York area, at just 60 percent of what is needed.
Applicants for a controller position must be under 31, qualify for a second-class medical certificate, pass other pre-employment tests including a more rigorous medical examination, and be willing to relocate to an FAA facility based on need. About 17 percent of the 14,000 current controllers are women and 1,251 are current CFI certificate holders.