FAA Safety Team | Safer Skies Through Education

The following seminar may be of interest to you: "Note Date Change! - Winter Mountain Flying - Now January 18th" Topic: Winter Mountain Flying On Saturday, January 18, 2014 at 9:00 AM Location: Greenville Jet Center 100 Tower Drive Conference Room - Unit 8 Greenville, SC 29607 Select Number: SO1352570 Description: Join Airwolf at the Greenville Downtown Airport for a timely and informative seminar on winter flying in the mountains. Mr. Justin Wallace, an Airwolf CFI, will be covering several topics concerning the hazards of mountain flying ranging from pre-flight planning considerations, emergency & survival, winter weather threats, as well as cold weather operations including engine care & much more! To view further details and registration information for this seminar, click here. The sponsor for this seminar is: SC FAASTeam The FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) is committed to providing equal access to this meeting/event for all participants. If you need alternative formats or services because of a disability, please communicate your request as soon as possible with the person in the 'Contact Information' area of the meeting/event notice. Note that two weeks is usually required to arrange services. The following credit(s) are available for the WINGS/AMT Programs: Basic Knowledge 3 - 1 Credit Click here to view the WINGS help page
Invite a fellow pilot to the next WINGS Safety Seminar in your area.
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FAAST Blast — Week of Dec 23 – Dec 29, 2013 Biweekly FAA Safety Briefing News Update

FAA Safety Team | Safer Skies Through Education
FAAST Blast
Notice Number: NOTC5108


QR Codes Enhance AeroNav Charts
            Beginning with the October 17, 2013, print cycle, all AeroNav charting products began to feature Quick Response (QR) codes that points pilots to additional flight information sources. QR codes are the special box-shaped barcodes that, with the aid of a smartphone, can be scanned and have you directed to a specific website or email address. According to Eric Freed, FAA Enroute and Visual Charts Group Manager, “Each QR code will direct the pilot to a series of web-links that will provide easier access to important/updated flight information to be used during the flight planning process.” These include Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs), Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs), and chart update bulletins. Check out this time- and space-saving tool on your next flight and as an aside, if, in the course of planning or executing your flight path, you happen to notice a wind turbine farm on your route, be sure to maintain a safe distance and beware of the potential hazard for shedding ice!
 
AD Revised for Various Aircraft with Wing Lift Struts
            Last week, the FAA issued a revision to Airworthiness Directive (AD) 99-01-05 that affects certain aircraft with wing lift struts and requires inspection and replacement procedures for corroded/cracked wing lift strut forks. The revised AD clarifies the FAA’s intent of required actions if the seal on a sealed wing lift strut is ever improperly broken. The AD is effective January 14, 2014, and can be viewed here: http://go.usa.gov/ZDJ4.
 
Airman Testing Reform Update
            You may have heard about the Airman Certification Standards (ACS) project, but do you know what it’s all about? How about its effect on the Practical Test Standards (PTS), or airman training requirements? To learn more about the collaborative efforts behind the ACS and its potential impact on you as an airman (or airman-in-training), see the special two-page Q&A on page 15 of the November/December 2013 issue (www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing/) of FAA Safety Briefing magazine.  
 
Happy Holidays!            Happy holidays from all of us on the FAA Safety Briefing staff. We wish you an enjoyable New Year and safe journeys in 2014! And just in case you’re still looking for that last-minute gift, consider giving your favorite pilot or mechanic a free online subscription to FAA Safety Briefing. Just go to www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing/, click on the subscribe link (green checkmark), and register your e-mail address. From there you’ll find FAA Safety Briefing as a subscription option under the Flight Standards category. You (or your gift recipient) will get an email each time a new issue is available online. Cheers!
 
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Hydroswing doors are back in business

Hydroswing® is Back! The Original Hydraulic Door is Better than Ever at a Significantly Reduced Price!

 

Hydroswing®, the benchmark in single panel hydraulic door systems, is back!  After listening to the needs of the market, and making significant changes in production and pricing, Hydroswing® North America is open for business and emerging once again as a key player in the aviation, agriculture and architectural door market.

 

We’ve made some BIG changes. Hydroswing® is now being manufactured in ISO 9001 approved global manufacturing plants allowing for a 25+% price cost reduction in our final product.

 

Now you can have hydraulic doors at a bifold price – dollar for dollar and square foot for square foot…. So why would you buy anything else?

 

                               

 

The advantages of a Hydroswing:

 

·       Less than 70% of the moving parts of the bifold door

·       50% less moving parts than sectional, bottom rolling, or roller doors

·       90% less maintenance costs.

·       The Hydroswing® easily retro fits to replace the bifold, stacker, bottom rolling, top hung and sectional panel doors, and is ideal for new builds of steel, wood, post and frame, stick or block.

·       The hydraulic door can be manufactured in any size and as large as 40' tall to 150' wide.

·       PRICE. PRICE. PRICE.

 

All doors 40’ x 10’ and up to 45’ x 16’ feet are only $10,999.00* for purchase orders received by

January 12, including standards to meet a 90 MPH wind code (excluding any taxes and freight). (*Florida buyers add 15% for additional wind load steel requirements)

 

 

For more information about what’s new at Hydrowswing North America please visit www.hydroswing.com,email info@hydroswing.com, or call (800) 404-HYDRO or (858) 461-4519.

T&G at Whiteplains December 19, 2013

We had some really nice weather the last few days, and you can see that a lot of pilots at Whiteplains took advantage of it.

Video by: Don Cook

Proposed legislation would cut 3rd class medical requirement for many GA pilots

December 11, 2013 by General Aviation News Staff 13 Comments

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 require pilots who fly recreationally to hold a valid driver’s license in lieu of a third-class medical certificate and operate under specific limitations.

“This legislation addresses two goals EAA has long advocated: Eliminating excess red tape in the medical certification process while maintaining a safe way to keep pilots flying,” said Jack Pelton, EAA chairman of the board. “Our members and the general aviation community have long supported a change in the medical certification process. This proposal will maintain safety, reduce costs for pilots and the federal government, and allow people to pursue the unique freedom of flight in the same way they can pursue other powered recreational activities.”

The proposed rule would allow pilots to use a valid state driver’s license in place of the traditional medical certificate if the flights are:

• Not for compensation
• Conducted in VFR operations only, at or below 14,000 feet MSL
• No faster than 250 knots
• In aircraft with no more than six seats and no more than 6,000 pounds’ gross takeoff weight.

In addition to allowing pilots to operate common GA aircraft for recreational flying without a third-class medical, the bill mandates that the FAA prepares and sends a report to Congress detailing the impact of the bill’s passage on general aviation safety within five years of the bill’s enactment.

“EAA and other GA associations worked with Rep. Rokita in developing this legislation, as we are committed to lowering barriers to aviation participation,” said Sean Elliott, EAA vice president of advocacy and safety. “This legislation is a step toward both of those goals. The third-class medical certificate does little to evaluate the day-to-day fitness of pilots flying recreationally. There are better ways to maintain high medical standards for aviation and allow people the freedom to enjoy the world of flight.”

EAA and other aviation groups have regularly petitioned the FAA for medical certification updates and changes, most recently in the joint EAA/AOPA third-class medical certificate exemption request in March 2012. The FAA has yet to move on the request, despite more than 16,000 supportive comments to the docket during the public comment period, EAA officials say.

Brush Removal and Clean Up

Mike Moore's brush clearing project and Ed Fisher's retaining wall project, on Thursday, December 12, 2013. Photos by Dennis Ramsey.

Double click on picture to see full size.

ForeFlight Flight Planning Class

"Cross Country Flight Planning on the iPad"
Topic: Cross country flight planning on the iPad
On Saturday, December 21, 2013 at 9:00 AM
Location:
Greenville Jet Center 
100 Tower Drive
Conference Room - Unit 8
Greenville, SC 29607

Select Number:
SO1352569

Description:
Join Airwolf for a 2 hour in depth and hands-on seminar going through the flight planning process using ForeFlight.  Shannon Seigler, an Airwolf Instructor, will guide you through the planning phase as well as the actual process of pre-flighting your EFB (Electronic Flight Bag) for both VFR and IFR operations. She will also review how to edit your selections after departure.  

To view further details and registration information for this seminar, click here.

The sponsor for this seminar is: SC FAASTeam

The FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) is committed to providing equal access to this meeting/event for all participants. If you need alternative formats or services because of a disability, please communicate your request as soon as possible with the person in the 'Contact Information' area of the meeting/event notice. Note that two weeks is usually required to arrange services.

The following credit(s) are available for the WINGS/AMT Programs:

Basic Knowledge 3 - 1 Credit

Click here to view the WINGS help page

Shell.... new fuel for 100LL

Shell reveals unleaded avgas

New formula 10 years in the making

December 3, 2013

By Jim Moore

Shell has been working for a decade in a dedicated aviation laboratory developing an unleaded aviation fuel. Photo courtesy of Shell.

Shell Aviation, a subsidiary of the multinational oil giant Royal Dutch Shell, announced Dec. 3 that a 10-year effort in the laboratory has produced a fuel that may put a long-sought goal—once thought to be unattainable—within reach: a lead-free “performance drop-in” replacement for 100LL that could power any aircraft in the piston fleet.

“That’s our definite goal,” said Michael Sargeant, avgas commercial aviation manager for Shell Aviation, in a phone interview, when asked specifically about the ambition to produce a “performance drop-in” avgas replacement. “We’ve tested it and had some exciting and successful tests.”

The lead-free formulation has a motor octane number (MON) over 100, a critical factor in formulating a fleetwide fuel that could power high-compression engines. (Octane prevents premature ignition known as detonation, and is measured by more than one scale.) Shell’s new lead-free formula has passed preliminary tests in Lycoming engines on the ground, and a Piper Saratoga recently flew for about an hour on the fuel, according to a news release from Shell—the first of many tests that will be required for certification.

“It’s an exciting milestone,” Sargeant said, adding that the company looks forward to working with manufacturers across the general aviation industry, and various regulatory agencies. The company will pursue fleetwide certification rather than a model-by-model approach. Sargeant said tests done on the new formula to date “indicate that it’s a great candidate for fleetwide approval.”

The exact path that Shell must navigate to gain such approval remains to be established. The FAA has a goal of deploying a lead-free piston aviation fuel by 2018, though Sargeant said the company may be able to achieve required approvals and start distribution sooner than that.

Shell is the first major oil company to announce an unleaded avgas formulation. File photo.

“We believe two to three years might be possible,” Sargeant said. “That’s the timeframe that we would love to work towards. The details need to be developed.”

Sargeant said another design goal is to keep the retail price similar to avgas, though it is too early to know exactly what the new fuel would sell for. Shell has only just begun conversations with the various regulatory agencies involved. The fuel will be submitted for approval from the FAA, ASTM, and the European Aviation Safety Agency.

“AOPA welcomes Shell’s announcement of their development of a lead-free potential replacement for avgas and their engagement of the aviation industry,” said AOPA Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Rob Hackman. “We look forward to learning more about Shell’s fuel and efforts as they work with ASTM, FAA, and EASA to achieve the approvals needed to ensure the safe operations of the general aviation fleet.”

Lycoming Engines Senior Vice President and General Manager Michael Kraft praised Shell’s effort in a news release:

“They engaged Lycoming to test their fuel on our highest octane demand engine and we can confirm that it’s remarkably close to Avgas 100LL from a performance perspective,” Kraft said. “This initiative is a major step in the right direction for general aviation.”

Shell’s new unleaded aviation fuel has been tested successfully in Piper aircraft. Photo courtesy of Shell.

Shell is now among three companies that have announced unleaded formulations that could replace avgas in piston aircraft in a matter of just a few years, pending additional testing and regulatory approval. Shell is by far the largest of the companies known to be developing unleaded aviation gasoline. Sargeant said that Shell’s research team has been focused on finding a single fuel that can work for all, rather than a multi-fuel approach with different formulations to meet varying engine requirements.

“The industry doesn’t need bifurcation,” Sargeant said, noting that the company envisions making it possible by licensing or other means for other petroleum producers to manufacture and distribute the formula, which is made from existing components and will not require major changes to the production and distribution infrastructure.

“We think the secret going forward is really working with as many experts as possible,” Sargeant said.

Shell unleaded avgas

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