MAKE CHAPTER 288 YOUR AVIATION HOME! E-AB, TYPE CERTIFIED, VINTAGE, WARBIRD, ETC.
CFIT and Normalization of Deviation Bias
Make no mistake, human beings are programmed to push their limits. In a society where records are made to be broken, training, coaching, and practice are designed to progress our performance over time. This yields continuous improvement of output and production efficiency. In order to keep up, many people are eager to take advantage of a shortcut, but pushing the limits has its limits.
The General Aviation Joint Safety Committee (GAJSC) study of Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) Accidents suggests that human biases may compromise effective pilot decision-making and lead to CFIT accidents. To minimize the risk, it’s important to recognize these biases and learn how to effectively manage things within our control and plan for dealing with the unexpected.
THE DECEMBER EAA WEBINAR SCHEDULE
CLICK ON THE TITLE or 'REGISTER' TO GO THE REGISTRATION PAGE
DECEMBER WEBINARS
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 6 at 7 p.m. CST
Deadly Switches
Qualifies for FAA WINGS and AMT credit.
Mike Busch
That ubiquitous key-operated ignition switch in most single-engine piston airplanes is fraught with peril. There are two different designs that have different failure modes and are subject to different airworthiness directives. Yet one critical failure mode is unaddressed by any of these ADs and has resulted in death, serious injury, and costly property damage. Maintenance expert Mike Busch discusses how and why these switches fail and what you can do to protect yourself from the deadly consequences. If you own or fly an aircraft with a key-operated ignition switch, this webinar is a must-see.
Register ›
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12, AT 7 P.M. CST
The Clyde Lee and Earl Iverson Story | Museum Webinars Series
Presenters: Amelia Anderson and Chris Henry
In a time when flying the Atlantic was only for the daring, one team with an Oshkosh tie decided to give it a try. Let’s talk about this footstep in aviation history.
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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, AT 7 P.M. CST
Starting a Flying Club
Presenter: Timm Bogenhagen
EAA’s initiative to support the formation of flying clubs by the members of EAA’s chapter network continues to grow, and Timm Bogenhagen from the EAA will help you learn the basics of forming a separate nonprofit flying club at your local airport!
Register ›
Fatal Accidents Drop
EAA says the number of amateur-built fatal accidents dropped by 28 percent compared to the previous year.
During the FAA’s 12-month period, which concluded Sept. 30, 2023, there were 28 fatal accidents in amateur-built aircraft—down from 39 fatal accidents in the previous year. Additionally, experimental category aircraft saw a nearly 30 percent decrease in fatal events compared to the prior 12-month period.
While the accident rate per flight hour data will not be available until the FAA releases its general aviation survey next year, EAA says the total number of accidents over the past year in experimental aircraft reached a historic low.
“The activity data is necessary to paint the full picture, but the initial indications are very positive indeed,” said Sean Elliott, EAA’s vice president of advocacy and safety. “It shows a continuing trend toward safer operations, even as total hours flown increase. It reminds us that safety is an ongoing journey that always needs the highest attention of our flying community.”
According to the association, “the homebuilt fatal accident total has been cut by nearly half over the past 15 years, from 598 in the period from 1998-2007, to 338 from 2014-2023.”
LASER CUT HOLE ISSUES - FROM VAN's AIRCRAFT
Update: November 10, 2023
Laser Cut Parts List updated; Service Letter SL-00091 published
Van’s Aircraft has published an updated Laser Cut Parts List (R6), which reflects further analysis on parts manufacturing dates and reclassifies certain parts.
- Part classifications have been developed through an analysis of the airworthiness and service life of these parts. A summary of this investigation, “Laser-Cut Parts Engineering Evaluation,” is available on the Van’s Aircraft website.
- As of R6 of this document the “First Date in Inventory” has been updated to a highly conservative date that represents the first point in time that a Laser-cutting vendor was directed to make that specific part number. This date is before parts made it to the shelf. With certainty, for any given part number, a kit packed before this date contains a punched version of that part. After this date there is a possibility that a part is laser cut.
- A handful of parts were removed from the list because after further analysis, it was determined that those parts were not delivered as laser-cut.
- The list has been re-sorted and is now displayed as earliest to latest date.
- For kits assembled as quickbuild kits or to the quickbuild stage, or beyond, Van’s is evaluating and will be providing alternate means of repair where disassembly is impractical or overly burdensome.
Service Letter SL-00091 has been published. It refers the reader to the updated Laser-Cut Parts List as well as the Laser-Cut Parts Engineering Evaluation document, and addresses the use and inspection of these parts.
In addition, the team at Van’s Aircraft is completing customer specific laser cut parts lists for each individual kit based on the date each kit was crated (and when the quickbuild kit was assembled). These will be communicated directly to individual customers in the near future. Van’s will communicate additional information about the laser cut parts replacement program when these customer-specific lists are delivered.
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From AV2023
Van's presented a forum on Tuesday morning at AV2023 regarding the laser cutting issues. One of the builders, Brian Chesteen, took a video of the presentation. I have provided the link below if you want to watch it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO1pKlyPqvk
VAN's UPDATES WILL BECOME MORE DETAILED AND POSTED EVERY WEEK
IF YOU HAVE A 2022 OR NEWER VAN'S AIRCRAFT OR PARTS BE SURE TO READ THESE UPDATES
VAN'S AIRCRAFT LINK TO THIS IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
IRREGULARLY IRREGULAR - from AOPA
Over the last few months we talked about fast heartbeats, slow heartbeats, delayed heartbeats and extra heartbeats. There’s still one more arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm) that we need to cover, irregular heartbeats, since the FAA will also require special issuance and cardiac evaluation if you’re found to have it.
The most common is called “atrial fibrillation” (“A-fib” or just “AF” for short) and as the name implies it’s a chaotic, irregular heart rhythm that’s generated in the atrium. Docs call it “irregularly irregular” since your pulse, heart rate, and rhythm change from moment to moment. This is different from a heart rhythm that’s “regularly irregular” like having one of those PVCs from a few months ago every few beats in a more or less steady cadence.
To continue reading this article, click on the link below:
Transition Training
The lack of transition training has been cited as a causal factor in many GA accidents. Accidents frequently result from pilots being unprepared for challenges presented by the new, or different, aircraft they are flying. Even when pilots are legally certificated to operate aircraft within a specific category and class, significant differences can exist among different types of aircraft within that category and class — thus necessitating the need for effective transition training. Click the button below to learn more.
SEE WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE BUILDING
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED! IF YOU'RE A BUILDING AN AIRCRAFT AND WOULD LIKE TO DOCUMENT YOUR BUILD, I WOULD STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO USE THE EAA'S BUILDER WEBSITE
TO SEE AND USE THE WEBSITE GO TO:
https://eaabuilderslog.org/?blhome
Thanks go out to Don White from Merritt Island (and also one of our members) who voluntarily created this site for EAA!!!
TO SAVE TIME AND SEE JUST WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE BUILDING
CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW
Commercial Space Integration into the National Airspace System
This Concept of Operations is the foundational document for managing the integration of commercial space launch/reentry operations into the NAS. The scope encompasses the FAA’s mid-term to far-term time frames. It provides focus on and methods for efficiently integrating the operations with other NAS operations.
The development of the Commercial Space Integration into the NAS (CSINAS) ConOps is a Level 2, or Service Level, ConOps. This classification indicates that all future efforts will trace to this document as the high-level, long-term vision.
This ConOps will be used as guidance to derive concept-level requirements for services, systems, technologies, tools, procedures, training, and policies that support commercial space launch/reentry operations integration. It can also be used as a reference for assessing concept feasibility through research validation activities.
AVWEB's Paul Bertorelli Explores How Pipistrel Builds Electric Airplanes
Slovenia-based Pipistrel is the only company currently selling a certified electric training aircraft. In this week’s news, we learned that Textron Inc., the U.S.conglomerate that includes Cessna and Beechcraft, has added Pipistrel to its stable of companies. In this video, which first appeared in 2019, find out what Textron got in the deal with an undisclosed price tag.
New Course Helps Pilots Conduct Preflight Self-Briefings
A new course developed by Flight Service and available on FAASafety.gov provides students and VFR pilots guidance on how to conduct a safe and regulatory compliant preflight self-briefing using automated weather resources. The objective of the course is to ensure that the pilot understands aviation weather basics and learns to apply meteorological and aeronautical information in a systematic manner to plan a safe flight. The course includes scenarios, real-life examples, videos, reference materials, and practice exercises for pilots to conduct on their own or with their flight instructor. Access the WINGS credit course here: http://bit.ly/ALC683.
A NEW AVIATION INSTRUCTOR'S HANDBOOK IS NOW AVAILABLE (FREE)
(FAA-H-8083-9)
Designed for ground instructors, flight instructors, and aviation maintenance instructors, the Aviation Instructor’s Handbook was developed by the Flight Standards Service, Airman Testing Standards Branch, in cooperation with aviation educators and industry to help beginning instructors understand and apply the fundamentals of instruction. This handbook provides aviation instructors with up-to-date information on learning and teaching, and how to relate this information to the task of teaching aeronautical knowledge and skills to learners. Experienced aviation instructors will also find the updated information useful for improving their effectiveness in training activities.
This handbook supersedes FAA-H-8083-9A, Aviation Instructor’s Handbook, dated 2008.
Surface Safety & Pilot-Controller Communications
The FAA has recently issued a general notice with regard to Surface Safety. Several recent Runway Incursions have been attributed to communications. The most important concept in pilot-controller communications is understanding. Pilots must acknowledge each radio communication with Air Traffic Control (ATC) by using the appropriate aircraft call sign and confirming all hold short instructions.
WHAT OVER-THE-COUNTER (OTC) MEDICATIONS CAN I TAKE AND STILL BE SAFE TO FLY?
Please touch the Drug List Button below to go directly to the FAA Document covering the subject. It's very informative!!
EAA STORE NOW ON AMAZON.COM/EAA
A selection of EAA-branded merchandise is now available through an EAA storefront via Amazon.com, bringing The Spirit of Aviation to more people via the worldwide online retailer.
The storefront at Amazon.com/EAA features some of EAA’s most popular items, from books and calendars to caps and aviation-themed metal signs. A selection of EAA and Flight Outfitters co-branded merchandise is also available through the Amazon site.
“Fascination with the world of flight stretches worldwide, so creating this outlet through Amazon allows EAA to reach aviation enthusiasts anywhere,” said Scott Powers, EAA’s director of retail operations. “Working with Amazon is an outstanding complement to the full line merchandise available through the EAA website store and in-person right here in Oshkosh.”
For shoppers who have active Amazon Prime accounts, they will be able to receive two-day free shipping as EAA merchandise will be shipped direct from Amazon’s distribution centers. In addition, shoppers using the Amazon Smile program can direct Amazon to donate 0.5 percent of the purchase price to the EAA Aviation Foundation to support EAA’s programs that grow participation in aviation. Amazon users can activate the Smile program on their accounts and designate the EAA Aviation Foundation as their favorite charity.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE WRIGHT BROTHERS
AOPA has a great article about these two inventors
WHAT YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT THE WRIGHT BROTHERS
You’d think Milton Wright would be disappointed by his two youngest sons—high school dropouts who wouldn’t move out of the family home, fussed over their appearance, never married, and jumped from job to job. First, his boys tried a newspaper and printing business, then a bicycle shop, and finally they got the dang-fool idea that they could fly.
Continue reading the article by clicking the button below