Santa Monica Airport is Worth Saving

CalPilots

Blog: Santa Monica Airport is worth saving
Blogger and pilot Pia Bergqvist advocates on behalf of the beleaguered Santa Monica Airport in Santa Monica, Calif. “It would be a true shame to lose what I consider the most beautiful airport in the United States and a large piece of aviation history,” writes Bergqvist. The Los Angeles City Council has recommended the closure of all six flight schools at the airport. Flying

Read More

Santa Monica City Council Continues to Work Against Airport

CalPilots

Airport Commission no place for pilots
March 15, 2011 SMO — As city officials begin to look toward the possibilities of a post-2015 Santa Monica Airport, the commission that is meant to advise them on all things aviation received its fifth member, who has a history of involvement with an anti-airport neighborhood group and, like his four colleagues, has no background in aviation.

Read More

NORCAL Pilots Help Sought in Next Gen Planning

CalPilots

Northern California pilots’ help sought in NextGen planning

AOPA is asking pilots operating in airspace around San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., to help shape the introduction of enhanced procedures in their area by sharing their experience during an FAA airspace-optimization review.

Read More

FAA Safety Briefing

CalPilots

March/April Issue of FAA Safety Briefing Now Available
The new issue of FAA Safety Briefing, available on the FAA Web site at http://www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing/, supports the great safety outreach efforts the FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) is doing with its 2nd Annual Safety Standdown. The main Standdown event is on April 2 in Lakeland, Fla., in conjunction with the 2011 Sun ’n Fun International Fly-In and Expo. Also, FAASTeam members around the country are holding more than 90 local Standdown events.

Read More

Airports Are Centers of Commerce

CalPilots

Every aviator knows that our nation’s airports are misunderstood.What we typically hear is what airports cost, versus what they provide to the community. Here is a great article in General Aviation News (GAN) on what Sun and Fun means to the community monetarily. When studies are done, airports are better seen as a stimulus for the local economy.

Read More

Van Nuys – Proposed Nighttime Flight Ban Would Hurt Economy

CalPilots

THE global economic downturn dealt a painful blow to the general aviation industry.

At Van Nuys Airport, a major economic engine of the San Fernando Valley, the airfield’s largest employers have cut jobs by an unprecedented 41 percent. Since 2003, takeoffs and landings have declined an average of 10 percent per year. To put this in perspective, the last time operations dipped this low was in 1962 – when John F. Kennedy was president and man had not yet walked on the moon.

Read More

Flight School Bill Relief

CalPilots

CA bill could ease concerns of flight school certification

California Senate Bill 619, aimed at alleviating the requirements for flight schools under the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009, was introduced Feb. 18. Under the current terms of the bill, all individual flight instructors and flight schools that don’t collect money up front for flight training would be exempt from the provisions of the postsecondary act.

Read More

Pilot Insurance Gotcha

CalPilots

Pilot Insurance Gotcha!
A Dassault Falcon 900 was damaged in a landing accident. When the owner filed an insurance claim the response was a dreaded “We don’t cover that”. Earlier the chief pilot acting for the owner requested issuance of a policy that would include coverage for a copilot who met basic standards under FAR 61.55.

Read More

ASRS CALLBACK

CalPilots

Sound Advice – Listen to the Little Voice
ASRS report narratives frequently contain references to a “little voice” that offers timely advice. The voice, of course, resides within the mind of the reporter and is usually the voice of experience or sometimes just the “vocalization” of a gut feeling. While it is possible to get through some situations despite what a little voice is telling us, the following reports show that the voice usually has something important to say.

Read More