2014 World Assembly Update
 

IAOPA Secretary General and the Senior Vice President in the European Region recently participated in a planning session with the 2014 World Assembly host AOPA-China and began laying out the agenda for the upcoming event. The World Assembly will be held in Beijing with registration and a welcome reception starting the evening of Tuesday, September 9th and will conclude at noon on Saturday, September 13th. AOPA-China has arranged an optional follow-on tour of Beijing’s cultural attractions on Sunday and Monday, September 14 -15 for those interested in participating. Details are being finalized on a unique aviation experience that no pilot will want to miss. The formal invitation letter will be going out to affiliates shortly and we strongly encourage everyone to attend this world class event. Registration is planned to be open beginning March 1, 2014. Stay tuned for more details and specific instructions on how/where to register.

 

Provisional Membership for AOPA-Argentina
 

IAOPA Headquarters has received an application for membership from the Argentina Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA-Argentina). The Secretary General has examined the information provided with this application and has certified that the Association meets the requirements for admission as specified in the IAOPA Constitution and Bylaws. Therefore, based on the quality of their application, provisional membership has been granted to AOPA-Argentina effective January 6, 2014.

In accordance with Article XXVI, a notice was sent to the IAOPA Board requesting approval of AOPA-Argentina for full membership in IAOPA. Unless more than 33% of the Board, on a unit vote basis, disapproves of this application within 60 days from the time of notification, the provisionally accepted Association shall become a full, accredited member. If approved by the IAOPA Board, AOPA-Argentina will become the 73rd affiliate of the International Council. Please take a minute and welcome our new affiliate.

 

First AOPA-India Fly-In a Great Success
 

The two day event held 29 - 30 November 2013 at Baramati airfield saw the gathering of over 150 pilots and owners from across the country. While the weather played spoilsport for many aircraft that had planned a fly-in, the enthusiasm of the members meant that many made long overnight drives to participate in the first AOPA-India meet. Paramotor pilots, private pilots, trike flyers, skydivers, paragliders and distinguished Air Force and airline pilots from Madurai, Bangalore, Mysore, Coorg, Hyderabad, Sholapur, Ahmednagar, Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Satara, Ahmedabad, met and shared experiences for the first time. The meet provided a wonderful opportunity for aviation enthusiasts to connect and exchange information. At an interactive session in the evening at hotel City-Inn, members animatedly discussed various issues related to General Aviation, procedures to own an aircraft, and regulatory issues. Cross country flights and a bonfire-barbeque night rounded off the evening with bonhomie and cheer.

 

AOPA-Greece now has a Voice
 

At the beginning all doors seemed to be closed. AOPA-Greece was tipped that the National CAA was moving toward a new Airspace Classification structure without formal consultation with the users. To face the problem, AOPA-Greece called for support from IAOPA Europe. Martin Robinson responded immediately with a detailed presentation of the consultation requirements set forth by the European Regulations. According to these, every National CAA is obliged to establish consultation mechanisms with the stakeholders, on the subject of Airspace Classification.

Armed with a clear picture on the legal situation, AOPA-Greece arranged for a meeting with the CAA Governor which ended with a clear promise that formal consultation will precede any decision on Airspace Structure. Cooperation within AOPA through IAOPA is a unique way to protect and to promote general aviation.

 

AOPA-Portugal fighting for a Unicom Frequency
 

Many Portuguese aerodromes, even if certified or licensed by the Portuguese aviation authority, INAC, do not have a specific radio frequency attributed. In such cases, blind transmissions when approaching or leaving such aerodromes, as it is always recommended for safety operation in non-controlled aerodromes, is problematic, since there is no generally used frequency where all pilots are transmitting or listening.

Since 2008, AOPA- Portugal has been requesting INAC to create a generally used frequency, or Unicom frequency, following what is standard practice in the USA or in New Zealand, but not in Europe. The request has been renewed in June 2013 with new INAC management, and further discussion has followed.

AOPA has now been officially informed that the request, after approval of NAV, as national manager of radio frequencies, is seen favorably by INAC, but the Portuguese authorities wish to consult first with Spanish authorities and with EASA in order to make sure that such initiative would not conflict with any ongoing initiative in the same area. AOPA is not aware however of any such parallel initiative.

Portugal is a country where VFR flying in uncontrolled airspace benefits, in terms of air safety, from an excellent flight following service, provided by the militaries, and the only requirement is that a flight plan should be submitted in advance.

But when the flight ends in the vicinity of an airfield without a specific radio frequency, the pilot cannot announce to the local traffic what he is doing, nor can he hear any transmission by other pilots in the nearby areas. With the new Unicom frequency, which is expected to be applicable within 10 NM of the airfield and within a certain maximum height above the ground, the pilot may transmit blind and hear any transmission in the same frequency. But since there may be several aerodromes near each other, he should start his transmission with the clear identification of the local airfield to which he is transmitting.

AOPA-Portugal congratulates itself and all Portuguese pilots for this improvement in air safety, which is due to its persistence, and hopes that in the future other European countries should adopt the same solution.

 

AOPA-China 2^nd Flight Training Exhibition (2014)
 

The second AOPA-China Flight Training Exhibition will be held at Shenzhen Convention and exhibition center from 3-6 July 2014. This is to implement the State Council’s Recommendations on Promoting the Development of Civil Aviation, respond to the call of the 12th 5-Year Plan of China’s Civil Aviation Development, enhance the collaboration of international and domestic aviation organizations, improve China’s pilot training capability, and promote the development of China’s general aviation industry. The exhibition is jointly organized by AOPA-China and the Transport Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, the Flight Standard Department of CAAC is fully supportive of this event. For more information on the event contact Tony Xue at tony.xue@aopachina.com.

 

AeroExpo UK Confirms Partnership with AOPA-UK and Airsoc
 

The organizers of AeroExpo UK are pleased to confirm a working partnership with AOPA-United Kingdom (AOPA-UK) and Airsoc for its 2014 event. AeroExpo UK seeks to establish a regular AOPA Members Fly-In at its annual event. The partnership involves co-promotion of all organizations. Through this partnership, AOPA-UK and Airsoc want to reach out to members at the AeroExpo UK 2014, meeting face to face and also looking to make contact with new candidates for membership and building relationships.

AOPA-U K, a not-for-profit organization, carries out and meets the interests of the members, such as pilots and owners of aircraft. It also helps to promote the safety, utility, economy and the popularity of flight in general aviation aircraft. Balloons, microlights, sea planes, fixed wing singles, airships, twin piston and turbine, and helicopters are all part of the clientele of AOPA-UK who receive their services.

AOPA's aim includes the maintenance and overlooking of proper regulations inside the United Kingdom and Europe instead of just regulations revolving around a few specific issues or entities. Their activities are supplementary to the functions of various representative organizations that deal with a specific focus, including instrument rated pilots, vintage, microlights, business flying, homebuilt, gliding, and a wide range of other ways of getting into the air.

Airsoc.com is an aviation social network website incorporating social networking, up to the minute news articles and advertising. Airsoc's website offers pilots and aviation enthusiasts a place of interest, fascination, and fun creating a great place to learn about and appreciate all aspects of aviation. Airsoc's mission is to create a community where all lovers of aviation can learn, interact, share, buy and sell. This partnership will help create a strong networking collaboration between all organizations in helping bring all aviation sectors together.
Find AOPA-UK online at: www.aopa.co.uk and Airsoc at: www.airsoc.com.

 

IAOPA Partners with ICAO on Runway Safety
 

IAOPA and the Air Safety Institute have teamed up with ICAO to improve runway safety. ICAO is working with the international civil aviation community and leading the collaborative effort required to reduce the number of runway-related accidents and incidents worldwide. Starting with the Global Runway Safety Symposium (GRSS) in 2011, ICAO has continued to bring the community together to raise awareness and share information supporting effective solutions.

As a result of the GRSS, ICAO and its Runway Safety Program Partners (IAOPA included) have been working together to minimize the risks of runway incursions, runway excursions and other events linked to runway safety by establishing, promoting and enhancing multidisciplinary runway safety teams at individual airports. Collaboration has also supported the development of comprehensive runway safety toolkits and the conducting of regional runway safety seminars. For more information and to view the Air Safety Institute resources go to http://www.icao.int/safety/RunwaySafety/Pages/default.aspx.

 

Fly to Ukraine this Summer
 

AOPA-Ukraine is once again involved in organizing the annual aviation, motorcycle, and rock music festival in Ushgorod, just across the border from Slovakia, and is inviting all AOPA members to visit July 17 - 20, 2014. The festival has become massively popular with bikers and pilots in its previous two years, and details of the program will be available by the middle of April on the AOPA-Ukraine website www.aopa.ua, at which time registration will start. If you’re looking for somewhere different to fly to this year, put Ushgorod in the diary!

 

Memorial Rally Flight Hans Gutmann
 

AOPA-Luxembourg has announced details for the Memorial Rally Flight honoring Hans Gutmann. The next rally will take place around the 13th to the 22nd, June 2014 and is already in the planning stage. Every year, pilots from all over Europe fly together, across borders, to countries all over Europe. Flying that way, they pay tribute to Hans Gutmann, the renowned Austrian airman, who organized so many long-range trips. Jean Birgen, as Technical Officer FAO-GAX and board member of UPL-AOPA Luxembourg, has taken over responsibility to organize the annual long-range rally. The rally will start in Luxembourg and destinations include:

Contact points: jean.birgen@instalfit.lu or info@aerosport.lu or FAX: (+352) 42303230
Pilots are not required to participate in the full trip (3000NM). They can choose to start from any of the intermediate stops, make their final landing at the airport of their choice, and participate in parts of the rally only.

The Air Safety Institute “Accident Case Study: Delayed Reaction”

“The airplane’s encounter with un-forecast severe icing conditions, which were characterized by high ice accretion rates, and the pilot's failure…to depart the icing conditions in an expeditious manner, resulted in a loss of airplane control.” Those were the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) sobering findings, which concluded its investigation of an ill-fated flight that ended a few short minutes after takeoff, ending the lives of a pilot, his wife, two children, and a business colleague. It is a chilling testimony to just how quickly things can go wrong in certain weather situations—even for an experienced, well-trained pilot flying a capable aircraft. At the time of the accident, the most prominent weather feature in the area was a cold front that had moved south across the region earlier that morning. Behind it lay a band of moisture that, in combination with freezing temperatures aloft, created the potential for dangerous icing conditions. The pilot and his passengers had just departed the airport in a Socata TBM 700, a high-performance aircraft that can cruise at nearly 300 knots and up to 30,000 feet—well above the weather. The aircraft should have landed safely at their intended destination a few hours later—but instead it plummeted to the ground from nearly 18,000 feet, impacting a nearby highway. Witnesses reported seeing pieces of the airplane separating during flight, and examination of the wreckage confirmed that the outboard section of the right wing had separated in flight at a relatively low altitude.

How could things have gone so badly wrong? The events leading up to this terrible tragedy are the subject of the Air Safety Institute’s Accident Case Study: Delayed Reaction. Using audio of the pilot’s discussions with air traffic control and factual information from the NTSB, the Air Safety Institute has pieced together the story of this tragic flight and examined the factors that led to its sudden, shocking end in the hopes that we as pilots can learn from them (http://www.aopa.org/AOPA-Live.aspx?watch=%7B9CC22A1C-9960-43A5-AC03-3757498BE36C%7D#ooid=g4bWpuZzr-DPJUjV5CYMZF_y24Z2ob-q).

 

Pass this Newsletter on to Your Members
 

Nothing can keep existing members, and attract new members like reminding them of the great work that AOPA Affiliates, and IAOPA, are doing on national, regional, and international levels to keep them flying. Great work is being done in all parts of the globe to advance the interests of general aviation and the best way to share the message is to make sure that this newsletter gets to as many members and non-members alike. So I encourage you to publish this on your website, send on via email to your members, and do what you can to help spread the word.

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