AOPA Action

AOPA Commits To 1996 Convention In San Jose To Focus National Attention On Airport Controversy

AOPA will stick with plans to hold its 1996 convention in San Jose, California, to focus national attention on the Reid-Hillview Airport controversy.

"Rather than fold our tent and walk away from the Reid- Hillview issue in San Jose, AOPA will use AOPA Expo '96 as a platform to educate decision makers and citizens alike on general aviation's value to area business, commerce, and quality of life," said AOPA President Phil Boyer.

AOPA has long labored in defense of the beleaguered Reid-Hillview Airport east of downtown San Jose, a reliever airport key to both South Bay-area general aviation and city plans to upgrade the nearby San Jose International Airport.

Once rural but now surrounded by urban development, Reid-Hillview has been targeted for closure by Santa Clara County politicians, despite the area's need for airport capacity if local aircraft are displaced by new facilities at the San Jose air carrier hub.

Last fall some pilots began urging AOPA to move its convention in order to avoid rewarding an area that refuses to stand behind a crucial and symbolic airport asset. Reid- Hillview's status has been in doubt for nearly two decades, and it has become a national symbol of urbanization problems and inadequate land-use policy.

AOPA Expo '96 is expected to attract 10,000 attendees and generate some $5 million in economic activity. The event will be held from October 17 through 19.

AOPA Calls for OK of Loran and GPS for Approach DME, IFR Operations

AOPA is asking that VFR or IFR en route- and terminal- approved loran and GPS (global positioning system) receivers be approved for distance measuring purposes on instrument approaches. AOPA is also asking the FAA to permit IFR use of panel-mount VFR loran or GPS and handheld GPS receivers.

"The FAA wants to withdraw from its commitment to install distance measuring equipment (DME) at 87 locations throughout the United States and Caribbean," said Doug Helton, AOPA's vice president for regulatory policy. "It might well be that the $22 million budgeted for these 87 new ground-based installations could be better spent furthering the transition to the satellite-based GPS. Our alternative would do just that.

"DME can lower required minimum descent altitudes on instrument approaches," Helton said. "General aviation would not want to give up the advantage DME offers at those 87 additional sites. But authorization of loran or GPS for the DME job would be a viable alternative. They offer DME's benefits while saving government funding better applied to new technology."

AOPA proposes that all loran and GPS receivers currently approved for IFR en route and terminal operations be approved for distance measuring purposes on instrument approaches. "AOPA believes that software in these receivers is capable of performing distance measuring safely and, in some cases, more accurately than many DME receivers," said Helton.

AOPA is also recommending new IFR applications for panel-mount VFR lorans and GPSs, as well as for handheld GPS units. Changing technical standards and the market's uncertainty about the slow transition to GPS have limited many purchasers thus far to loran or lower-priced non-IFR GPS receivers.

AOPA has recommended that the FAA consider approving appropriate panel-mount VFR-only loran and GPS receivers for en route and terminal IFR navigation. These units are normally more accurate and efficient than the traditional VOR and ADF receivers they succeed, although VOR or ADF could still be required as a backup.

AOPA also proposed the approval of handheld GPS receivers for IFR, but only for en route navigation. The proposal foresees handheld GPS operation only with a hard- mounted antenna and external power, plus VOR or ADF redundancy.

"If the FAA will not permit new applications of existing VFR loran and GPS, then pilots would certainly want many of those new DMEs for the advantages they offer, however costly," concluded Helton.

Did You Know...

...that AOPA Online has scheduled the following conferences for February?

• February 6: Ray Speciale, Yodice and Associates; "Minimizing Tax Problems of Aircraft Ownership."
• February 13: Jeff Broomall, AOPA Online forum administrator; "What Would You Like To See on AOPA Online?"
• February 20: Bruce Landsberg, executive director, AOPA Air Safety Foundation; "The Hazards of Night Flying."
• February 27: Tom Chapman, executive director, AOPA Legislative Action; "What You Can Do To Save General Aviation From the Politicians."

All conferences take place in Conference Room 1 of the AOPA Forum on CompuServe and run from 9 to 10 p.m. Eastern time.

FAA, Dot Not Listening To Users About Loran, Boyer Tells Conference

AOPA President Phil Boyer told an international conference that the U.S. government is wrong to turn off the loran navigation system.

"They just aren't listening at the FAA and DOT," Boyer said during his keynote speech to the International Radionavigation Users Conference. "The users clearly want multiple-system navigation, with loran backing up GPS. But Washington bottom-liners are hell-bent on terminating loran in four years, ignoring both safety and the desires of the general aviation community."

Boyer reiterated AOPA's appeal to the FAA and the U.S. Coast Guard to maintain loran funding through the year 2010. Loran, a marine system adopted for aviation in the 1980s, is under the control of the Coast Guard. There are now some 130,000 loran receivers in aviation use.

"We need loran to augment satellite-based navigation," said Boyer. "GPS is the system of the future, but until GPS is established as a reliable 'sole means' of navigation, the FAA must maintain redundant systems to ensure aviation safety."

Boyer noted that the 1994 Federal Radionavigation Plan calls for the phaseout of all nondirectional beacons by 2005 and the elimination of all instrument landing systems and VOR/vortac stations by 2010. The plan terminates loran in the year 2000.

"That just doesn't make fiscal sense," Boyer said. "We can maintain the loran system for about $17 million a year. In contrast, the nation's 1,041 VOR/vortacs and 1,335 NDBs cost hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Loran is clearly the most cost-effective national navigation signal available."

Boyer also noted that loran is widely used outside of aviation in industries ranging from electric power generation to broadcasting. "In fact, aviation loran units represent just 12 percent of the 1.3 million loran receivers in use in the United States alone." Boyer said that European and Asian governments are expanding loran coverage.

"GPS is great," Boyer told the conference. "We just believe that multiple-system navigation provides increased reliability and service to the users. Maintaining loran is in the best interest of safety. The FAA and DOT must revise the Federal Radionavigation Plan and keep loran operating through the year 2010."

The Radionavigation Users Conference was jointly sponsored by the GPS International Association, International Loran Association, and International Navigation Association.

ASF Announces 'Virtual' Auction

As an innovative way to raise funds for its aviation safety programs while providing fun and excitement for participants, the AOPA Air Safety Foundation will conduct a silent auction on AOPA Online, beginning February 1.

In the past the ASF Auction was conducted once a year at AOPA Expo, but AOPA members will now be able to bid on a wide array of donated items at any time, day or night, by accessing the ASF Silent Auction in the AOPA Online Forum on CompuServe. Members who do not subscribe to CompuServe may bid by mail or fax.

Depending upon the specific item up for auction, bidding for the item will be open for a period of a few days to several weeks. To access the list of auction items, check current high bids, or obtain the rules for the auction, members should click on the "Silent Auction" icon, then the "Messages" icon in the AOPA Online Forum on CompuServe.

Members without access to AOPA Online may obtain the current list of auction items and the auction rules on or after February 1 by mail from: ASF Silent Auction, AOPA Air Safety Foundation, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701.

Those wishing to participate in the auction by fax or mail should read the silent auction rules in order to be sure they are submitting timely bids.

Flying Physicians Grant $20,000 to Fund ASF Safety Review

The Flying Physicians Association has made a $20,000 grant to fund the first "topic-specific" ASF safety review on weather.

Prompted by evidence suggesting that weather causes a disproportionate number of accidents involving doctors as pilots, the FPA took the bold step of voting to fund the entire project. During the ASF reception at AOPA Expo '95, FPA President Bob Schreckengaust presented ASF Executive Director Bruce Landsberg with a check representing full payment of the grant.

The weather safety review is planned for release in the spring. Copies will be available through Sporty's Pilot Shop.

Handheld Radio Awarded To ASF Safety Seminar Participant

A Pennsylvania pilot who attended an AOPA Air Safety Foundation seminar last September has won a Sporty's JD-200 aviation-band transceiver in ASF's Safety Seminar sweepstakes.

Pilots attending the free ASF safety seminars register for a chance to win handheld radios in drawings that are held quarterly. The $395 transceiver was donated by Sporty's Pilot Shop.

Private pilot Frank W. Kaufman of New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, attended ASF's "Avoiding the Stall-Spin Accident" safety seminar conducted at an FAA Wings Weekend program in New Castle, Pennsylvania. Kaufman has been a pilot and AOPA member since 1990.

The AOPA Air Safety Foundation schedules free aviation safety seminars in communities nationwide. Taught by a hand- picked team of traveling aviation educators, these seminars strive to improve general aviation safety through continuing pilot education.

In the first 11 months of 1995, ASF conducted 297 safety seminars that reached 35,100 pilots nationwide. Topics included the highly acclaimed Tactical Weather Workshops, which feature interactive videos placing pilots "in the cockpit" on actual flights in difficult weather. One flight re-creates a real weather emergency.

Other seminars teach pilots how to use GPS. Multimedia presentations help pilots to learn the capabilities and limitations of GPS navigation and its role in IFR and VFR procedures.

Enhanced Legal Services Plan Generates Tremendous Interest

Member interest in AOPA's Legal Services Plan has increased significantly since the plan's benefits were enhanced last August. New plan memberships since the expanded benefits were introduced are 33 percent higher than during the same period last year; total participation in the plan is almost 40,000 members. Additions to the plan included unlimited consultation for denied medical certification and legal representation for revoked or suspended medical certificates.

"Pilots are justifiably fearful of the FAA's unfairly revoking a medical certificate," said AOPA General Counsel John S. Yodice. "Most have followed Bob Hoover's three-year fight to regain his right to fly. AOPA's enhanced Legal Services Plan can give every pilot the legal resources to fight an unjustified FAA action."

The open-panel plan permits a pilot to use an AOPA panel attorney or choose his own lawyer. Virtually all of the more than 800 AOPA panel lawyers are pilots who attend AOPA-sponsored legal seminars to improve their skills in aviation law. The plan pays panel attorneys directly.

Members using non-panel attorneys must pay their counsel directly and then are reimbursed for the portion of the expense covered by the plan. The AOPA Legal Services Plan will pay up to $120 per hour for a non-panel attorney — up from $110 per hour previously.

AOPA Legal Plan benefits include:

• Unlimited consultation with AOPA legal staff for denied medicals;
• Legal representation in medical certificate revocation or suspension cases;
• Unlimited consultation with AOPA legal staff regarding an aviation incident or accident;
• Counseling when an alcohol or drug test is requested;
• Legal representation in FAA enforcement matters (for the first time, the plan now provides legal help should the FAA appeal an NTSB ruling to a Federal appeals court);
• Attorney review of aircraft rental and leaseback agreements;
• Attorney review of hangar and tiedown agreements; and
• Consultation on federal tax matters.

"The AOPA Legal Services Plan has been specifically developed to protect pilots against unfair challenges by the FAA," said Yodice. "We've been able to improve and expand the plan to meet members' needs, yet keep the cost reasonable."

The plan costs $26 a year for AOPA members exercising private pilot privileges. Another plan enhancement includes flight engineers for the first time. They, along with flight instructors and commercial pilots, can participate for $52 a year. For pilots engaged in operations requiring an ATP certificate, the fee is $99 a year.

For more information on the new enhancements to the AOPA Legal Services Plan, or for a copy of the full plan, call 800/USA-AOPA (800/872-2672).

Members Pick 'Block Island' As New Card for 1996-1997

Who better to choose the design of the new 1996-1997 AOPA membership card than the members themselves? That's why AOPA invited members to vote for their favorite design in the new "AOPA Aviation Art Series."

The members' choice is "Block Island" by Jim Laurier. Featuring a Piper Cherokee, Laurier captures the excitement and expertise involved in taking off from the popular island airport located just 12 miles off the Rhode Island coastline — a favorite vacation spot for many aviators.

Members were invited to choose among "Block Island," "Lindbergh's Coupe," and "Cessna 140," the latter two by Robyn Clark. Ballots appeared in the October 1995 issue of AOPA Pilot and were also available at AOPA Expo '95. Issuance of the new membership card began in January for all new and renewing members. Each year, the AOPA membership card will feature a different work of fine art by one of aviation's most renowned artists.

Help AOPA Track What the Media is Saying About General Aviation

AOPA's Communications Division is asking members to watch their local newspapers for stories about AOPA and general aviation.

In a new experiment, AOPA Communications is shifting its expenditures from press clipping services to monitoring of aviation reporting and opinion on electronic media, on-line forums, and news services.

Accordingly, AOPA Communications is asking members to submit newspaper clippings that specifically mention AOPA or major general aviation policy issues. Clips about threatened airports are especially welcome. Clips about airline subjects are not needed.

"To promote and defend general aviation, we need to know what the press is saying across the nation," said Drew Steketee, AOPA's senior vice president for communications. "Commercial clipping services are expensive and neither as comprehensive nor as speedy as we'd like. We also need to monitor the emerging electronic media, so we'll experiment by relying more on member-submitted newspaper clips for 1996."

Send newspaper stories specifically concerning AOPA or general aviation to: AOPA Communications, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701. Each submission will be acknowledged with AOPA's thanks.

Jeppesen Weather Graphics Popular On AOPA Online

Jeppesen aviation weather graphics are becoming one of the more popular offerings now available through AOPA Online on CompuServe. AOPA members receive a 20-percent discount on the cost of any Jeppesen weather map.

"Jeppesen's enhanced maps can help pilots better understand the weather systems they'll be facing on each flight. We're especially pleased to be offering these weather graphics through AOPA Online," said AOPA President Phil Boyer.

For AOPA Online users, Jeppesen has selected 48 high- resolution weather maps specifically for general aviation.

The maps are divided into six categories:

• Radar — The U.S. radar surface weather composite shows radar echoes, frontal analysis, and surface freezing line. Six regional maps provide greater radar echo detail. Maps are updated hourly.
• Surface and weather depiction — The surface depiction includes weather station data and frontal analysis. National and regional weather depiction maps show significant weather observed hourly, including visibility; ceiling; and areas of IFR, MVFR, or VFR conditions.
• Winds and temperatures aloft — Map shows wind speed and direction, temperature, and shear values at selected pressure levels from 850 mb (5,000 feet) to 150 mb (45,000 feet).
• Low-level maps — Includes 12-, 24-, and 48-hour forecast maps and low-level significant weather forecasts.
• High-level significant weather — Includes forecasted weather between 24,000 and 60,000 feet, including fronts, jet streams, turbulence, convective activity, and tropopause heights for the United States, North Atlantic, and South America.
• Stability/Convective — Maps show atmospheric stability and include the lifted and K indices.

For pilots interested in tracking weather trends, both current and archived maps are available.

Each image viewed costs 25 cents. However, AOPA members receive a special discount, reducing the cost to 20 cents per map.

Jeppesen aviation weather graphics can be viewed by clicking on the "Aviation Weather" icon at the bottom of the AOPA Online home page and then selecting "Jeppesen Weather."

Current CompuServe subscribers can access AOPA Online simply by typing GO AOPA. Others can sign on to CompuServe and AOPA Online by calling 800/GO2AOPA.

New subscribers receive a free CompuServe Information Manager software kit (Windows, Macintosh, OS2, or DOS) customized for AOPA Online, plus a 30-day free trial on CompuServe, with a 10-hour usage credit.

AOPA Online Offers Fuel Pricing Service

Fillup Flyer Fuel Finder on AOPA Online can save pilots hundreds of dollars a year in fuel costs. The service offers data on fuel prices in four different reports: route-based, multiple destinations, state, and area.

Fuel Finder reports on AOPA Online cost $2 per minute of connect time, or about $5 each for route-based reports and about $10 each for area and state reports.