AOPA prepares for its 80th birthday
Fly-in, museum opening—and more to come
By Julie Summers Walker
May 2019 marks the eightieth anniversary of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, formed in the months before World War II began. In recognition of that event, AOPA will lead its 2019 Fly-In schedule with a member and community event at its headquarters in Frederick, Maryland, May 10 and 11. The two-day event will feature all the hallmarks of AOPA’s successful fly-ins—seminars, displays, exhibitors, food, parties, and fun. In addition, commemorative World War II-era events are also planned. Frederick will be a stop on the Daks Over Normandy flight of C–47s and DC–3s planned to cross the Atlantic and land in France for the anniversary of D-Day; four or five will stop in Frederick.
The creative staff at AOPA has installed an interactive museum in the back lobby of its headquarters building. Designed to look like the inside of a hangar—walls are of a corrugated aluminum—the museum features artifacts from the past 80 years of association history. There’s a collection of bolo ties, the shoestring necktie with ornamental clasps that became a favorite collectors’ item among AOPA convention-goers in the 1960s. There’s the first copy of the “AOPA Section” in Popular Aviation; first signatures from members; first membership applications; books, memos, correspondence, and more. Members are encouraged to visit headquarters and see the museum, which will feature an ever-changing collection of memorabilia. A four-panel TV shows segments from AOPA Live and other aviation videos.
Also in celebration of the eightieth anniversary is Freedom to Fly: The Story of General Aviation in America, a beautiful coffee-table book of AOPA’s history with little-seen artifacts and stunning photography. Written by the editors of AOPA Pilot, the book traces the beginnings of the association as it is reflected in the role general aviation has played in the United States since the Wright brothers. Order your copy online.
Email [email protected]
Web: www.aopa.org/freedomtoflybook
Highlights of the museum
- Original membership roster from 1939.
- Original charter membership invitation circa 1940.
- Multiple pins and patches from Plantation Parties, Conventions, Expos, Summits.
- Correspondence to AOPA from well-known figures such as President Richard Nixon and astronaut Gordon Cooper.
- Challenge coins.
- AOPA memorabilia from the tenth, twenty-fifth, fiftieth, and seventy-fifth anniversaries.
- Antique aviation instruments.
- License plate topper from 1939.
- The original AOPA Air Safety Foundation survival kit.
Curator Chris Rose welcomes unique and unusual submissions from members such as jewelry, watches, pins, and patches. Contact [email protected]
Meet Max: A model member
Senior Photographer Chris Rose spearheaded most of the museum project and one of his more ambitious endeavors was to outfit “Max,” a mannequin, in AOPA clothing from the 1970s. Max sports a red AOPA-logoed windbreaker (circa 1979), an AOPA member hat with gold military insignia (“scrambled eggs”), a bolo tie with numerous clasps, and an AOPA air aid ruler in his arm pocket. He’s carrying an AOPA rolling travel bag. “The jacket was sent in by a member,” Rose said. “It’s been sitting in a file cabinet. Instead of simply displaying the folded jacket, I said why don’t we go all out and dress a mannequin up like a member who’d be walking the AOPA convention hall in the late 1970s or early ’80s.” Members are encouraged to come meet Max. The museum is open during AOPA’s regular business hours, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday.
Member Services
Tips from PIC: All gummed up
Dealing with arthritis
By Kathleen Dondzila King
I recently flew in a Piper Cub and had to strategize how to climb into the aircraft. Forget being graceful; just getting into the small seat took some thoughtful maneuvering. If you experience similar challenges with joint pain, there is much we can do to relieve symptoms that doesn’t involve taking medication. The treatment, however, does require self-discipline in two areas: Losing weight and exercise. Small changes help noticeably and shedding just five or 10 pounds, when combined with regular exercises such as walking or bicycling, can significantly improve flexibility.
If your condition is more advanced and you have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis or even rheumatoid arthritis, and are under a physician’s care, there is good news regarding airman medical certification. In years past, certification warranted a special issuance medical certificate, but new FAA guidelines allow aviation medical examiners to issue medical certificates without written or verbal FAA approval. Through the new CACI (conditions aviation medical examiners can issue) certification process, worksheets provide both your treating physician and your AME with a checklist of information needed for office certification.
You can download the arthritis worksheet from the FAA’s website and bring it to your treating physician, who will provide the information outlined on the sheet. Then, take the worksheet and the medical reports to your AME, who will confirm that everything on the worksheet meets the guidelines. Your AME can issue your certificate at the time of the FAA physical examination.
If you have further questions about arthritis or any other medical condition, give the medical certification specialists at AOPA a call Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time, 800-USA-AOPA (872-2672).
Kathleen Dondzila King is AOPA’s technical communications manager and instrument-rated private pilot.
Membership: Choose ‘the card for pilots’
Maximize your earnings
Make the most of your time and money with the new AOPA World Mastercard and get rewarded for the purchases that matter to you. Here are three ways you can maximize your earning:
- Use your rewards program to your advantage. You earn up to 4 percent cash back on the purchases you make. Your categories don’t change every quarter, so it is easy to remember where your earning potential is greatest. Using your card for select AOPA purchases, AOPA partners, and aviation-related categories reaps the best rewards.
- Choose cash back. The AOPA credit card allows you to redeem your points for gift cards, travel, merchandise, and other rewards. With cash back as a statement credit, you will get the best return for your reward, since in some cases you are receiving up to 4 percent on your purchase.
- Use your reward points well before they expire. Three years can fly by before you know it. Make a habit of redeeming your points so you don’t miss out on your rewards.
Reward points can be redeemed for cash back or other items provided through AOPA Pilot Rewards. The statement credit will reduce your balance, but you are still required to make at least your minimum payment. A minimum of 2,500 points is needed to redeem for cash back. Values for non-cash back redemption items such as merchandise, gift cards, and travel may vary.
AssuredPartners Aerospace, AOPA form strategic partnership
AssuredPartners has acquired the aviation insurance policies owned by the AOPA Insurance Agency. The transition will allow AOPA to focus its resources on financing the long-term health of the association and funding critical initiatives including growing the pilot population. AOPA Insurance Agency policy holders will be notified of the change, but there will be no change in their current premiums or renewal dates.
As the preferred agency for AOPA, APA will provide AOPA members access to the same insurance carriers that AOPA Insurance Agency has used. APA also has broad capabilities to better serve AOPA members needing commercial aviation insurance products. Nonaviation insurance products including life, AD&D, and auto will remain with AOPA.
AOPA Air Safety Institute
Fuel is a four-letter word
Give avgas the respect it deserves
By Bob Knill
“I like to run the tanks dry in my airplane. It keeps the carb clean,” said no pilot, ever. Yet each year, the NTSB accident database fills with stories of pilots making forced landings because they ran out of fuel. While these events seem ludicrous, the fact that it happens so frequently tells us that we are not as impervious to such blatant mistakes as we like to believe.
Let’s face it, refueling our airplanes is not high on our list of things to look forward to. At least with our cars, we drive up to the gas pump, swipe our credit card, fill ’er up, and drive away. No grounding wires to attach. No long, heavy hoses to drag around the other side of the car after one side is topped off. No rewinding of the fuel hose back onto its reel. And no climbing on top of the car the way we have to do with high-wing aircraft.
Even if we choose full-service fuel at the FBO, we then wait for the truck to arrive, pull the airplane out of the hangar early, and make sure they’re giving us what we asked for. Fueling before a flight is a chore. But it’s a necessary chore, and one we should not take lightly.
It seems obvious, but fuel is important. Without fuel, the weather forecast isn’t relevant. Yet we spend hours looking at charts and forecasts, but can’t be bothered to take a few extra minutes to confirm what’s in our tanks.
So, it pays to be a little more attentive to what’s really turning our propellers. The AOPA Air Safety Institute has a fun, entertaining video that talks about all these issues, and how we can start training ourselves to stop treating our avgas like a dirty word and give it the respect it deserves.
Bob Knill is a writer on assignment with the AOPA Air Safety Institute.
Web: www.airsafetyinstitute.org/safetyvideos/fuelmanagement
New from ASI
Low, fast, and headed for a crash
Few have the love of aviation like aerobatic pilot Sean D. Tucker. His passion for flying shines through in every conversation he engages, and his dedication to his craft is infectious—even when that craft contains a great deal of risk. For any pilot who has faced a true in-flight emergency, it can be hard to muster the courage to climb back into the cockpit. In this episode of the There I Was… podcast from the AOPA Air Safety Institute, Tucker recalls one flight where he lost elevator control and had to rely on his in-depth knowledge of his airplane and smart decisions to save his life, and how he dealt with the fear and emotions of getting back to work.
Web: www.airsafetyinstitute.org/thereiwasaerodynamics
Iced over
We all know ice formation on airplanes that aren’t equipped to deal with it is bad. From a broad perspective, it completely changes the aerodynamics of our airplanes. More narrowly, it adds drag without a corresponding increase in lift. But also, airframe ice can create situations counter to what we’re trained to deal with, especially if it’s forming on the tail. In this video from the AOPA Air Safety Institute, AOPA Editor at Large and weather expert Tom Horne talks about the dangers of airframe icing and how you can counteract it.
Web: www.airsafetyinstitute.org/videos/airframeice
New Safety Seminar: 'Peaks to Pavement: Applying Lessons from the Backcountry'
Hear about many of the nuances involved in backcountry flying. Register today online.
Pilot Protection Services
Medically speaking: Fast track it
Five tips for working with the FAA
By Gary Crump
Most of the world is pretty much on board with electronic communications, and email is a convenient way to do just about anything, including digitally signing important documents. However, twenty-first-century communication hasn’t yet been embraced by the FAA’s Aerospace Medical Certification Division, and sending hard-copy records for review is primarily still done the old-fashioned way—snail mail, fax (yes, fax!), or overnight mail.
When you send something to the FAA for review, you will eventually hear from the agency, but it will take a while—on average, about 60 to 90 days. There are some tips that can help the FAA’s medical certification staff get to your case a little more efficiently (at right).
Enroll in AOPA’s Pilot Protection Services so that we can make periodic inquiries with the FAA to make sure your case hasn’t hit a dead end. At the Plus level of PPS, we can also review the records package before you send it in to make sure you have everything that’s needed and the information looks favorable for issuance of a certificate.
Gary Crump, AOPA’s director of medical certification, is a former operating room technician and professional firefighter/emergency medical technician and a commercial pilot.
Web: www.aopa.org/pps
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