- Coming up, a major milestone,
5,000 rusty pilots back in the air.
- [Tom] Starting them young kids flying Cubs
plus drones to the rescue.
- [Melissa] And flying a Hot Rod we
jump into the Turbine Legend.
AOPA Live begins in just a moment.
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- [Announcer] This is AOPA Live This Week with
Tom Haines and Melissa Rudinger.
AOPA's You Can Fly program is getting more and more people
back in the air.
And this week you can fly celebrating
yet another major milestone.
- Ted, you are the 5,000th rusty pilot
to return to active flying, congratulations.
(clapping).
- Oh wow that's cool, that's really cool to know.
- [Tom] That's our rusty pilot team surprising
Ted Malone of Scottsdale, Arizona.
Rusty pilot started four years ago,
since then more than 700 back to flying seminars
nationwide and more than 5,000 people
have used a rusty pilot seminar to spring back
into the left seat.
- I love it I honestly
the feeling first time, you know
taking the controls and landed the aircraft
it brought me right back to my pilot days.
It was just so much fun, I realized how stupid
I had been, you know for letting it lapse.
- People go into the seminars thinking
this is going to be really difficult
and I'm not sure this is a great idea,
I don't know why I signed up for the seminar,
but when they leave the seminar
they start thinking you know what
this isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.
I remembered a lot more than I thought I was going to.
And I don't think this is a problem,
I think this is something that I can actually do.
- You'd be so surprised how quickly everything comes back.
You know that initial training that you go through
kind of trains your body, you have so much
muscle memory and it's amazing how quickly that steps back.
- Well if it's something that you're considering
as a rusty pilot, you ought to at least
attend the course, again, if you're an AOPA member
it's free to attend.
It can't hurt to sit in and see what you're missing.
- [Tom] And you can find more about our rusty pilot program
on this webpage rustypilot.org,
and there's a map of rusty pilot seminars near you.
So I think Ted's experience is what I've seen a lot
when I've run into the people
who have been through the program
and then back, and I'd also talked to
flight instructors who have flown with some
really rusty pilots, how quickly it really does come back
and people have a great experience.
- It's really exciting to see the crowds
that come to the seminars and we do them
at AirVenture and Summer Fun.
It's always packed.
- It's always packed, and one place you
can find a rusty pilot seminar is in New Mexico,
at our Santa Fe fly in, it's just one of dozens
of seminars and workshops that will be offered there
on the high desert.
Santa Fe fly in is a little more than a month away,
September 14 and 15, you can find out more
about all of our 2018 fly ins
at the URL there on your screen.
- The AOPA You Can Fly program is leading the way
for flying clubs, this year alone 30 new clubs
are up and running thanks to the program.
This weekend we hosted a number of club leaders
at the You Can Fly Academy in Frederick, Maryland.
We wanted to help them with an all day workshop.
Sessions dove deep into details
on best practices covering everything from
finances and taxes to engaging social activities.
Michael Hangartner is the manager of the
flying club initiative, he says the event was a success
and that the information flowed in many directions.
- [Michael] There's just so much knowledge
that's out there in different clubs.
I mean every flying club is different.
They are all unique, they've all
gone through different things.
And so there's a lots of information
and knowledge that different clubs have accrued
that they can share with one another.
- [Melissa] If you'd like to join or be one of
the dozens of flying club started by the AOPA
You Can Fly Program, head to our website.
We have year's worth of finely tuned, tested
and trusted resources for you.
- Another part of the You Can Fly program
is the high school initiative.
The goal is to introduce students to aviation
at an early age.
AOPA Live's Josh Cochran has the story
about a nonprofit that is hoping to give students
using AOPA's high school curriculum
the chance to fly for free.
- [Josh] It's going back to the way flight training
used to be, learning a simple affordable
fun to fly airplane.
- [Daryl] It harkens back to the days
of stick and rudder training.
The Cub is just the quintessential trainer.
It's a recognizable airplane,
they see the yellow airplane with
the black lightning bolt, and kids and adults
of all ages can relate to the Cub.
- [Josh] And the hope is that especially young people
will relate to the Cub, that's the idea
behind the nonprofit Kids Fly Cubs.
- [Daryl] Future plans for Kids Fly
is to contact teachers that are science teachers
around the area throughout Florida
and South Georgia and get them the curriculum
that AOPA has, and then if those students
complete that curriculum will try to show up
to their airport and give them a logged flight lesson.
If it's as successful as we hope it will be,
then we'll expand it throughout the country.
- [Josh] The program was kicked off
when American Legend aircraft decided to lend
its first Cub named Tweety to the nonprofit
to use for flight training.
Legend builds factory new Cubs
that fall into the LSA category.
Legend Aircraft cofounder Darin Hart
has a long history with Cubs
and he sees this project as a way to pass on
what he has learned over the years.
- [Darin] We have to get you know, more children
and more children and more kids involved in aviation.
And fill those gaps, there is a huge demand
for pilots for the airlines and the military too.
And you know it's always, you're just passing it on
from what you did in your life
and you want to pass it on to others.
And that's what's important.
- [Josh] Darin's son Luke is the first to learn
to fly in Tweety, he soloed on his 16th birthday.
- [Luke] It was a lot of fun.
It was scary, like he just jumped out and told me to go
and I just put it in the air before
I had time to think about it.
- [Josh] And that's what Kids Fly Cubs is all about,
going back to the roots of aviation
to get kids excited about flying.
- [Daryl] I think we're seeing a need
for pilots in all facets of aviation
from GA all the way up through the airlines.
And we want kids to see that there's
more than pushing a reset button on a computer
that you can actually go out and fly an airplane.
- [Josh] Josh Cochran AOPA Live.
- You can find out more at kidsflycubs.org.
- The fourth peg of the You Can Fly program
focuses on flight training.
We need your help to improve the state
of the flight training industry.
The 2018 flight training experience survey
is open through August 13th, that's Monday.
Head to our website and tell us about
your training experiences this year.
We'll use the data to help make the whole process better.
On the website you can also enter
the 2018 flight training experience survey
sweepstakes, there are tons of great prizes to be had.
Find it all on the site.
AOPA stepping up for our drone pilot members.
AOPA joined a coalition of drone industry
and general aviation groups calling for the defeat
of an amendment to the pending FAA reauthorization bill.
It would allow state and local regulations of drones
and that would create a patchwork of regulations
that would make it difficult for drones
to serve in times of crisis.
- And here they're doing exactly that.
The Menlo Park fire district in California
is using their drones to aid in recovery efforts
from the state's massive wildfires.
The team of drone pilots from the department
is using drones to assess some of 125,000 acres
burned so far in the Carr fire.
The drone images show how much devastation
the blaze is causing, hats off to the brave
first responders fighting the blaze.
And hey, drones aren't just for work though.
One of the interesting parts of the
night air show at AirVenture was the drone light show.
You can see it was pretty cool.
On our website we have a slideshow featuring
a behind-the-scenes look at the aerial feat.
Just search drone light show.
When we come back, it was built in a week and then flew.
Find out what the one-week wonder will look like.
- [Melissa] Plus strap in and hold on,
we fly the Turbine Legend.
- [Announcer] You always knew it was your perfect airplane.
Now it can have the perfect panel.
Garmin G500-TXi and Garmin G600-TXi.
The next generation of flight displays.
- There are scammers everywhere.
The folks in our pilot information center
have been getting calls about
the National Aviation Center.
They're sending letters to aircraft owners
offering to renew the registration for only 65 bucks.
But don't do it.
You can go online with the FAA and re register
your aircraft for $5.
You have to re register every three years,
the FAA sends a notice six months before your
registration expires.
And they recommend you re register online
about five months before expiration
to allow for processing and to get
your paper registration in time.
And you can pay the $5 fee with a credit card.
- And it really is easy to do.
And hey, speaking of misleading
a would be flight sharing service
is spreading misinformation about an AOPA position
on flight sharing.
Flytenow is a small upstart that would like
to create a flight sharing platform.
The FAA shut them down citing safety
and regulatory concerns, that was upheld in court.
In fact it went all the way to the United States
Supreme Court which declined to hear the appeal.
Flytenow is attacking AOPA claiming we are fighting
to prevent flight sharing and that simply
is not true.
AOPA has always supported cost-sharing
for flights with others who have a common purpose.
We also have no issues with how pilots
communicate about their flights.
We simply believe everything must be done
with safety in mind.
AOPA has worked collaboratively with Congress,
NATA, NBAA, and others on compromise language
and that Section 516 that the House passed
FAA Reauthorization Bill, and would allow
flight sharing to move forward.
This provision received overwhelming bipartisan
support in the House of Representatives.
Earlier this week teams from AOPA, NATA and NBAA
had a conference call with Flytenow executives
where again we stated our support
for the concept of flight sharing.
Again, we have no issues with how pilots communicate,
but safety will always be our north star.
Flytenow shared their blog post on Facebook.
The comments there are not very sympathetic
to their cause, many posters sticking
up for AOPA's position.
Matt Basford writing quote "Legislation seems like
"the only logical way.
"Case law is pretty clear.
"Not only does the pilot and passengers have to share
"the costs, they also have to share a common interest
"and motivation for traveling to the desired location."
AOPA remains hopeful that Flytenow
will work with the industry and the FAA
to see their concept of public transportation
brought to fruition safely and responsibly.
- There are many wonders during the week of Oshkosh,
not the least of which is a one-week wonder.
Over the course of the week this RV-12
went from nothing to airworthy and flying
thanks to the help of volunteers.
They also helped pick the paint.
And now we know what it looks like.
This is the winning selection
from the Sherwin-Williams aerospace pick the paint poll.
The graphic artistry is the work of the team
at Scheme Designers.
More than 3,000 voted in the contest.
- Speaking of new airplanes, there were quite a few
sold in the second quarter of the year.
General Aviation Manufacturer's Association
has the Q2 numbers out and things are looking up.
Airplane shipments are up 5% compared
to the first half of last year.
Much of that has to do with the demand
for training aircraft.
And of course as demand for airplanes goes up,
so does the need for engines.
Continental Motors is pouring the foundation
for their new plant in Mobile, Alabama.
This is what it will look like when it's done.
The 275,000 square-foot facility will serve as
an advanced engine and parts plant.
There will also be an area to develop
and experiment with new techniques
such as additive manufacturing and automation.
- And someone has to be able to work
on all those airplanes and engines.
Delta Air Lines is helping spur the next generation
of aircraft mechanics.
The airline is offering nine grants totaling $350,000.
The money is going to technical colleges
near their headquarters in Georgia
to enhance maintenance training, support and awareness.
- Finally this week AOPA editor at large
Dave Hirschman shows us what it's like
to fly the ultra high performance Turbine Legend,
a kit airplane powered by a Walter turboprop.
(upbeat music)
- [Dave] The Turbine Legend has the sleek shape
and military paint scheme of the classic
warbird fighter, but it's a totally different animal.
This kit airplane is designed to provide
exceptional performance as well as the reliability
and IFR capability of a modern turboprop.
And owner and pilot David Peeler said it gives him
the best of both worlds.
- [David] It's kind of one of the old school
IFR panel, we've got a Garmin 530 and Garman 430 in it.
And all the typical analog gauges,
but it's really well laid out.
It feels like a fighter, big bubble cockpit,
in a bubble canopy.
It's got that, the seat is reclined about 30 degrees.
Stick with the throttle right where
in typically a warbird or fighter would be.
We'll turn the oil pumps on then we're going
to hit the start.
It's super simple, pushbutton start
and basically monitor the start.
The Turbine Legend is actually easier to operate.
It's a low workload airplane.
Once you get up and go there's not much to do,
other than take that one lever and go
front and back with it.
We're not waiting any length of time
to let it warm up.
You get in there in the wintertime,
you got to crank it, close the canopy
and by the time we get to the runway, we're ready to go.
Take off, we try to hit about 97, 98% power.
10 to 15 degrees of flaps, because it is high wing loaded,
and it's a lot like a warbird,
you need to let it fly off the runway.
Best climb is somewhere around 130, 150 knots.
If you really want it to climb, it take do
four to 6,000 feet per minute, if you want to
point the nose up and leave the power up.
Pull it back to idle, there's 80 knots right now.
(radio chatter)
There's 70 knots.
There's 60, 60 knots.
Not to shabby huh?
- [Dave] Wow.
- [David] I'm typically somewhere between
12 and say 14 or 15,000.
I think other operators will learn to take 'em
a little higher, somewhere up in the higher teens.
We have oxygen on board, just typical rules
is why we wear it, and a lot of the legs
are fairly short 300 nautical mile legs.
Virtually by the time you hit your cruising altitude,
it's almost time to descend in that airplane.
From the downwind I fly a curving approach,
on the base to final and you're looking at 90 knots.
Once you've touched down, you can put it into beta
on auto reverse and you can stop it on a dime.
We have a little bit of positive pressure,
and we're using more aileron pressure that aileron
roll rate, if you know what I mean.
- [Dave] The turboprop makes the Turbine Legend
incredibly smooth in the air.
And the 650 horsepower engine doesn't
have to be treated with kid gloves
the way a big supercharged piston engine does.
The Turbine Legend is light and nimble in flight.
It rolls about 120 degrees per second.
It's composite airframe is stressed for aerobatics.
The Walter engine can be flown economically
in high altitude in cruise or it can provide
kerosene guzzling heart pounding performance down low.
It all depends on whether the pilot
wants to fly like a fighter or a traveler.
Dave Hirschman AOPA Live.
- [Tom] You can read more about the Turbine Legend
edition of AOPA Pilot's Magazine.
And wow does that look like fun.
- It does and it looks like he can be fun
or practical in their use.
- You can get out of town if you want (chuckle).
- That's it for this edition, join us next time
for another AOPA Live This Week.
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