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Top Stories
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Article
Like most maiden flights of a new design, Burt Rutan's SkiGull test flight produced a to-do list, but was a success overall. The legendary aircraft designer reported the results in an email to friends, noting that it will not be his final design, though it will be the last he builds with his own hands. Read more...
 
Article
Free scheduling software is among a suite of new benefits and tools now available to flying clubs, AOPA announced Dec. 3. Read more...
AOPA Live This Week
AOPA editors pitted a pair of freshly reimagined Cessna two-seaters head-to-head in a fly-off for the bantamweight trainer title. The Cessna 150 and 152 were lined up on the ramp, a coin was flipped, and the drag race began. Flight training excellence is all about the people who make it happen at schools, institutions, and airports across the country. AOPA invited the nation's best to Frederick, Maryland, to honor their achievements with the 2015 Flight Training Excellence Awards. The association also released a number of new resources for flying clubs, including free online scheduling software. Watch AOPA Live This Week®, Dec. 3...
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Technique and Safety
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Flash-based; login required
With a new IFR rating in his wallet and his family on board his Cessna 172, Heath Wells expected to comfortably complete a flight across central Pennsylvania. But Mother Nature had other plans that almost spoiled the day. Watch Real Pilot Story: Icing Encounter to learn what Wells found out the hard way...
IFR Fix
With ice accreting, the aircraft no longer able to climb, and peaks of the Sierras nearby, all the pilot wanted was an escape. Read more...
Safety Spotlight
According to the AOPA Air Safety Institute, "the best type of accident is one that's avoided." With that in mind, are you fully prepared to make the right choices for the best outcome the next time you fly? Sharpen your decision-making process with a little help from the Aeronautical Decision Making Safety Spotlight.
Webinar
Lockheed Martin and AOPA will host a webinar Dec. 10 at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time to explain the advanced flight planning capabilities available to pilots at www.1800wxbrief.com. Lockheed Martin staff will be on hand to answer questions.
Register...
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Advocacy
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Advocacy
Laboratory tests of unleaded avgas candidate fuels are nearing conclusion, and finalists will be chosen soon. The FAA has now offered a peek behind the scenes of the testing process, releasing a detailed document including photos of the test rigs and laboratories and the most up-to-date information on the program with a goal of completion in 2018. Read more...
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Health
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Pilot Protection Services
Dr. Warren Silberman, former manager of FAA Aerospace Medical Certification, offers advice on what to do if you are charged with a DUI offense. Read more...
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Technology
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Article
Terrafugia, the Boston-area startup working to build flying cars (or "roadable aircraft"), will soon fly an unmanned version of its latest design. Scaled to one-tenth size, the miniature TF-X will allow engineers to test and refine the design before a full-scale prototype is built. Read more...
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Opinion
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Blog
The NTSB annals are full of accidents and incidents that happen on the backside of the holiday curve, when people are saturated with food, family, and good times—and sometimes rushing to get back for work, school, or other ordinary pressures. Suddenly pilots everywhere feel the pinch of get-home-itis. Opinion Leaders blogger Amy Laboda offers tips for "short circuiting the day-after get-home-itis syndrome." Read more...
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Gear
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Article
The benefits of lithium-ion batteries moved one step closer to use in light general aviation aircraft when Transport Canada Civil Aviation approved the installation of the True Blue Power battery for use in the Beechcraft A36 Bonanza. Read more...
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Travel
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Flash-based; login required
During this holiday season, are you planning to take your aircraft across the U.S. border? If so, don't forget to electronically submit flight details to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and make sure to include passenger and crew manifests. Brush up on the process with the AOPA Air Safety Institute's online course, Understanding eAPIS: A Pilot's Guide to Online Customs Reporting. Take the course...
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Financial
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Article
Business jet manufacturer Gulfstream will trim 1,100 jobs, but testing of its new 18-passenger G500 will proceed as planned. Read more...
Article
Solar Impulse 2 has secured $20 million in new funding from corporate backers to complete its around-the-world journey promoting renewable energy. Read more...
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Webinar
Learn the steps and procedures for buying and selling an aircraft in an AOPA Pilot Protection Services webinar Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The webinar will include legal and tax tips concerning the pre-purchase inspection of an aircraft, contract review and negotiation, title searches, the bill of sale, sales-and-use tax, and aircraft registration. Register today...
Article
Pilot Getaways is publishing a yearly calendar to celebrate late co-founder John Kounis's life, with proceeds benefiting an AOPA flight training scholarship named in his honor. Read more...
AOPA Foundation focus
As the end of the year closes in, so does the end of the $200,000 matching challenge for the AOPA Foundation's Hat in the Ring Society. Pilots who renew their participation or upgrade their support before Dec. 31 will have their tax-deductible donations matched, dollar for dollar. Donations for Hat in the Ring Society membership range from $1,000 to $5,000 and can be broken into quarterly, monthly, or one-time gifts. Learn more...
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News and Notes
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Article
Winners of the 2015 Flight Training Excellence Awards, presented by Flight Training magazine, shared aviation training success stories and accepted silver-winged trophies and plaques for their accomplishments during a ceremony at AOPA headquarters Dec. 2. Read more...
Article
Women in Aviation, International has chosen a slate of military aviators for its 2016 International Pioneer Hall of Fame. It includes 10 women who were the first female officers to graduate from the U.S. Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training Program. Read more...
Article
The time is 1945, and the war in Europe is over. A tiny town in Texas is looking forward to welcoming back its heroes. Instead, visitors of a different kind descend on Morton in Duster, a graphic novel created by Micah Wright and Jay Lender. Read more...
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Career Opportunities
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AOPA career opportunities
Ever dream of turning your passion for aviation into a career? AOPA is looking for a member services representative, legal services plan attorney, legal services plan administrative assistant, Southern regional manager, Western Pacific regional manager, major gift officer, and account executive.To learn more about other AOPA career opportunities, visit AOPA Online.
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Question of the Week
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Question
Colder weather, ice, and snow are just around the corner—or so you thought until you pulled up to your aircraft this morning. Your aircraft is covered in frost. You can remove frost a couple of ways, but do you have to? Could you just go flying with the frost?
Answer
Part 91 of the federal aviation regulations does not prohibit light general aviation aircraft from flying with contaminated wings, assuming there are no limitations in the Pilot's Operating Handbook for your aircraft. Part 91 Subpart F restricts larger aircraft operators from flying with contamination on most aircraft surfaces. And while Subpart F doesn't apply to pilots flying a Cessna 172 or Piper Archer, experience teaches us that legal and smart aren't always the same thing. Better to remove or melt the frost before flying. For more information, see the AOPA Air Safety Institute's Aircraft Icing Safety Advisor and other resources on icing and cold weather operations.
Got a question for our technical services staff? Contact AOPA.
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Education and Seminars
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Flight Instructor Refresher Courses
Dec 5-6 - Denver, Colorado; Orlando, Florida; and Northbrook, Illinois
Jan 9-10 - Spokane, Washington; Charlotte, North Carolina; San Antonio, Texas; Santa Clara, California; and Ridgeland, Mississippi
Jan 16-17 - Portland, Oregon; Bellevue, Washington; and Elkridge, Maryland
Jan 23-24 - Rockford, Tennessee; Long Beach, California; and Ypsilanti, Michigan
For a complete schedule, see AOPA Online. Can't make it in person? Sign up for the Air Safety Institute's Online eFIRC.
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Air Safety Institute Safety Seminars
Jan 11 - Reno, Nevada; and The Woodlands, Texas
Jan 12 - Sacramento, California; and Houston, Texas
Jan 13 - Milpitas, California; and San Antonio, Texas
Jan 14 - Santa Rosa, California; and Austin, Texas
Topics vary—for details and a complete schedule, see AOPA Online.
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Rusty Pilot Seminars
Dec 5 - Scottsdale, Arizona; and Winter Haven, Florida
Dec 12 - Stow, Massachusetts
Dec 16 - Lancaster, California
Dec 17 - Addison, Texas
For a complete schedule, see AOPA Online.
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ePilot Editors:
Alyssa Miller
Jim Moore
David Tulis
Production Assistant:
Melissa Whitehouse
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Contributors:
Mike Collins
Sarah Deener
Dave Hirschman
Tom Horne
Alton K. Marsh
Warren Morningstar
Dan Namowitz
Jill W. Tallman
Elizabeth Tennyson
Ian J. Twombly
Julie Summers Walker
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