- Coming up, see Mike Goulian score
at the Red Bull Air Race in Indianapolis.
- [Warren] We honor the best of the best in flight training,
plus travel to an FBO in Alabama
where good old southern hospitality is the norm.
- And a Light Sport Cessna 172?
Well hey, it could happen.
AOPA Live This Week begins in just a moment.
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- [Announcer] This is AOPA Live This Week
with Tom Haines and and Melissa Rudinger.
- Big news out of our Carbondale Fly-In last weekend.
- Not one, but two major announcements
that will affect most GA pilots.
First, good news for aircraft owners.
- This is breaking news,
I talked to the FAA Administrator yesterday,
he was comfortable with me telling you that early next week,
there'll be another $500 rebate available for you
that have not yet put on your personal airplane ADS-B.
- That's right, the rebate is back,
500 bucks towards the installation
of ADS-B Out in your aircraft.
Sorry, it's not retroactive, and yes, we tried.
The FAA tells us the rebate website
will be live Friday morning,
so if you haven't already installed ADS-B Out,
go buy the equipment, schedule installation,
and get a rebate reservation code from the FAA.
Once the equipment performance has been verified,
you can apply to get your $500 check.
We have an online tool to help you pick
the best product for your aircraft,
there are now solutions for under $2,000, plus installation.
And remember, ADS-B Out will be required
everywhere a transponder is required now,
the deadline is just a little more than a year away.
- Also at the show, word leaked out about industry efforts
to enhance the light sport aircraft category.
While accurate details are few and far between,
we expect to learn more next year about efforts
by the FAA, EAA, AOPA and other organizations to include
a broader range of light airplanes in the category.
Light sport aircraft are typically flown
by sport pilots, you know,
and they can self-certify their medical fitness
if they qualify for a driver's license.
And while we still don't know much about the proposal,
Mark says it should be a good thing.
- I don't think we know enough from our perspective yet,
exactly what that's going to be.
We believe that instead of going to kind of a rules-based,
to go to a performance-based is the right answer
and I know the FAA's working on that.
Now it's time to go back and refresh and say,
how do we create a training aircraft
that can get somebody a sport license
in 20 hours or so at a low cost?
And the FAA is very anxious to try to figure out
how to work with us to get that done,
us and the EAA and all the others.
I don't know enough about how that's gonna play out
and how long it's gonna take, to tell you the truth,
but I like the idea we're talking about it,
I like the idea that there's meetings on it,
and I think there's general agreement, we need to move.
- So to repeat, we really won't have many details
until the NPRM, that's notice of proposed rulemaking,
is issued in early 2020, most likely,
we'll be sure to let you know when that happens.
- And the news isn't the only great thing
to come out of the Carbondale Fly-In.
More than 7,000 people showed up
for a beautiful weekend in southern Illinois.
AOPA Live's Josh Cochran has the story.
(light instrumental music)
- [Josh] Our fly-ins draw all kinds of people
from all kinds of places.
The Lechoa family came to the fly-in from Kansas
and camped next to their Piper Saratoga.
They've flown to several of AOPA's fly-ins
around the country.
- What keeps me coming back is just the fact
that it's a fun little family getaway weekend,
and it's fun to camp next to the airplane
and see all the new things and boys coming up with aviation,
and just kind of a fun family weekend.
- [Josh] And there was no shortage
of family activities in Carbondale.
Southern Illinois University, our presenting sponsor,
set up a STEM Expo with a variety of activities
like this Boeing Link Trainer to introduce kids to aviation.
- Well we've got to get them while they're young,
we've got to make them think,
hey, it was a lot of fun to ride that machine,
maybe it'd be a lot of fun to fly a real one,
maybe that'd be a fun career.
So, start the pipeline young, keep the pipeline flowing.
- [Josh] And SIU provided a helpful group
of student volunteers to help make the fly-in possible.
- For me, volunteering isn't just something I do for hours,
I don't even need hours,
I chose to do it because I'd be around planes,
and that's enough incentive for me
to be able to be out here all day long, that's all I need.
- [Josh] And the volunteers weren't just from SIU,
we came across one super volunteer.
Craig Bloomer chose an unusual form of transportation
to get to the fly-in.
- I biked here, it was just over 250,
it was almost 300 miles.
There's no cars, it's country road,
this is great, I love it.
- [Josh] And there was no shortage of aircraft
for visitors to enjoy, from this Waco giving rides,
all the way up to this 737
used to train SIU maintenance students.
The 737 was used for the Southern Illinois Plane Pull.
Teams had to pull this 60,000 pound aircraft
12 feet as quickly as possible.
AOPA fielded a team, including President Mark Baker.
The event raised over $10,000 for the Special Olympics.
Altogether, attendees enjoyed the flying,
which once again, showcased the strength
of the general aviation community.
Josh Cochran, AOPA Live.
- Okay, so Tom, were you in on the aircraft pull?
- No, they didn't invite me for some reason.
I don't know what the reason was,
but I did not get invited to participate.
We could have 10 people on the team
and somehow I got skipped.
- You got skipped, yeah. - Yep.
- But it sure is great to see
all those families at the fly-in so.
- It was, it was a really fun event,
the weather was great and really warm for Southern Illinois
for this time of year, but it was good.
It had lots of AOPA Live This Week viewers
stop by and say hi, so we appreciate that, thanks,
and anyhow, we're looking forward to the next one.
- The next one, and we'll have more on that
a little bit later in the show.
- Yes, we will.
And meanwhile, about 180 nautical miles
northeast of Carbondale.
- [Commentator] Home race, home favorite, home winner.
Goulian into the lead and the time is rock solid!
- [Tom] Michael Goulian wins big at Indy,
beating Canadian Pete McLeod,
he's also the first American in 10 years
to win a Red Bull Air Race on American soil.
- And Mike literally hopped out of his race plane
and into a Cirrus to fly from Indy to Frederick, Maryland
where he was the keynote speaker
for the opening of Redbird Migration 2018.
This year AOPA and the You Can Fly Academy
are honored to host this annual gathering
of the premier flight training professionals
from across the country.
Now Mike Goulian is best known for Red Bull Air Racing
and his air show performances, but he is first and foremost
a teacher and ambassador for aviation
and he had some sage advice for young flight instructors
building hours towards that airline career.
- I'll tell you a story.
So I was at the Red Bull Air Race in Indianapolis
and they have some amazing flight schools at Eagle Creek
and a couple of the other places around,
and the flight instructors were volunteering
to help out with the race,
and I met one of the kids and I said,
"Hey, tell me about what you're doing",
"Well, I'm flying at this school over there,
"I have about 700 hours" he said,
"So I have to grind out about another 700
"before I go on to the airline".
And I got really mad, and you know,
I'm supposed to be an ambassador and all this stuff
and I said, "Listen, pretty soon,
"you're gonna be a fat, retired airline pilot
"and you're gonna be lazy.
"Do me a favor, enjoy all of your students,
"enjoy every one of your flights.
"If you enjoy people,
"you'll be successful in this business.",
and I said, "What you don't realize is right now,
"you're gonna have the most fun in your career,
"so don't throw it away".
Your first job is maybe your most important job
because you're setting the hook
to tens or hundreds of people that are gonna go out
and be general aviation enthusiasts
and evangelists themselves.
- Mike is pretty passionate about the role
that flight instructors play in our business.
- He is.
It was a great talk that he gave,
talking about his experiences and what all it takes
to be successful in a Red Bull Air Race
and how that translates into being successful
in the flight school business, for example.
- Indeed. - It is,
and congratulations to Mike, great win for you.
And AOPA's You Can Fly Program is working on a lot of things
to improve the flight training experience.
Wednesday evening, we honored the best of the best,
both individual flight instructors and flight schools.
The choice of the best
is all based on customer satisfaction surveys.
We select the top performers in each of five regions.
The top CFIs are there on your screen
and we present the national honorees
at the Redbird Migration.
- The National Best Flight Instructor is Mike Biewenga
from Lake in the Hills, Illinois.
(audience applauds)
The feedback we received from Mike's students
was truly exceptional.
They described him as professional,
knowledgeable, and patient.
He provides a balance of constructive criticism and praise.
- [Tom] And there were five regional honorees
for best flight school.
The owner of the top national flight school
couldn't attend the event in Frederick,
so we surprised him in a Skype call a few hours earlier.
- We actually are calling because
we have some more good news.
We want to congratulate you on being
the 2018 Best Flight School in the nation.
- Oh, that's amazing, that's great!
Oh wow, now I really wish I was there.
That's wonderful, we're very excited about that.
We've been working hard, I know, the last couple of years
we've been down with you guys for multiple events
and other things at AOPA, and wow, thank you.
- So he was definitely surprised.
- He definitely was.
But you know, the interesting thing
in meeting all of these people, both the flight instructors
and the flight school owners through the years
that have always been at the top of our list,
is that good customer service is also good business.
These people are thriving.
- Yeah, it does make a lot of sense when you think about it
so it was really the theme of Redbird Migration this week,
about how flight schools can get better at customer service.
Coming up after the break, the flying car is finally here.
- [Warren] And find out how to get a free home-cooked meal
with your Avgas.
You're watching AOPA Live This Week.
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- Hurricane Michael just finished
hammering Florida's panhandle, causing widespread damage.
Once again, general aviation pilots
are ramping up efforts to help with relief.
Operation Airdrop is collecting donations
of food, baby supplies and medical supplies.
Their base of operations
will be Gainesville Regional Airport.
Find out how you can help at Operation Airdrop website.
- And Tom, you and I both found out what kind of good
general aviation can do in these things,
but in your speech the other night at Redbird Migration,
you also had some tips for people
who want to volunteer their aircraft.
- Yeah, I mean it's, you should go in understanding,
and ideally working with some groups,
like Operation Airdrop, Aerobridge, and some of the others
so that you're plugged into a network.
If you just kind of show up
and think you're gonna do something on your own,
it's pretty challenging.
You should also bring your patience
because there's a lot of confusion frequently
and there's no power,
communications can be challenging as a result.
Come prepared to support yourself,
don't be a burden to the relief agencies,
you should have your own food and camping supplies
or whatever it takes.
And actually PALS, Patient AirLift Services
has got a great poster on their website that you can find
that gives you a lot of tips on,
if you want to participate in a relief effort,
what you could do, but the important thing
is that our general aviation airplanes
really do perform a great service in situations like this,
they can get into places
that people with big airplanes can't get to,
so particularly early on, it can be really helpful.
- Yeah, and patience clearly is the key,
you really have to be kind of zen about it.
- You do (laughs).
- Well, and AOPA is pushing forward with its ongoing efforts
to open up and chart public parking areas
for transient aircraft at publicly funded airports.
AOPA and several other aviation organizations this week
sent a letter to the acting FAA Administrator
asking that the agency establish and enforce
standardized signage and chart labeling
for all ramp areas at public use airports.
And specifically, AOPA and the other associations
want clear indications of non-FBO parking areas
that pilots can use with no, or at least, nominal charges.
- Want to be able to drive your airplane home
from the airport and park it in your garage?
Well, starting next year, you can.
The Terrafugia Transition flying car
will go on sale this month
with deliveries starting in 2019 according to the company.
The Transition will be considered a light sport aircraft
and it has a hybrid power plant and folding wings.
Still no word on how much it will cost though.
- The Air Safety Institute has another tool
for helping you to fly safely.
The Safety Highlights series have detailed information
about safety records and types of accidents
for the most popular aircraft models.
ASI has just released the Safety Highlight
for the Cessna Citation models.
You can find the report on the Air Safety Institute website.
- Speaking of Citations,
next week we'll be bringing you the show
and all the updates on the latest business aircraft
at the National Business Aviation Association Convention
in Orlando.
The event draws tens of thousands of attendees
and hundreds of new aircraft on display.
We'll have it all for you next week.
- And if you're looking for an excuse
to bring a friend or a family member
out to the airport this weekend,
Girls in Aviation Day is this Saturday.
Now the goal is to raise awareness
about all the opportunities in aviation for young women.
Check out the Women in Aviation International website
to find out what's going on at your local airport,
and we definitely need more women in aviation,
they're about 5% of the population right now.
- They are, and we definitely need more.
AOPA Fly-In to Gulf Shores presented by the
Alabama Department of Transportation Aeronautics Bureau
is just a few weeks away.
The season's last fly-in will take you to a beautiful spot.
There's warm weather and beautiful beaches waiting for you,
there's also a unique building
you'll want to see on the airport.
AOPA Live's Paul Harrop explains.
(helicopter blades whirring)
- [Paul] In a world where we have to fight to find out
how much some FBOs are going to charge us just to show up,
one place is miles from the norm.
- You know, a lot of people, if they haven't been here,
we'll explain to them what Jack's Aces is and they're like,
"What, okay, we want to go check this out".
- [Paul] And who wouldn't?
Jack's Aces is a pilot's lounge to beat them all.
- [Shawnda] We serve food seven days a week over here,
everything is home-cooked meals.
- [Paul] Gulf Air Center General Manager Shawnda Henderson
says it's all about southern hospitality,
and with that comes great southern cooking.
- And when a pilot walks in,
in the mornings we have breakfast,
as far as bacon and eggs and biscuits,
all the good southern stuff.
- Boy howdy!
And if a home-cooked meal isn't what you're after,
the porch here at Jack's Aces isn't too bad for sitting
and just airplane watching, a King Air just pulled in,
just before that, a Black Hawk and some T-6 Texan IIs.
(helicopter engine roaring)
Many of those military aircraft crews stop in
as shown by the patch collection on the wall.
- [Shawnda] It's a good place to come and hang out
and do briefing if they want.
- [Paul] And if not, there's even a PlayStation
to kill some time in a historic building.
- This used to be the old terminal building
years and years and years ago.
We expanded and got the new terminal building
and so Jack's Aces was just a shack
that was just kind of hanging out and nobody was using it.
- [Paul] And now people use it to hang out.
From the porch at Jack's Aces in Gulf Shores, Alabama,
Paul Harrop, AOPA Live.
- And Paul being way too comfortable there on the porch.
Gulf Air Center is one of three host FBOs for the fly-in.
Next week, see what goes into making this a great event.
We'd love to have you join us in Gulf Shores,
let us know if you can make it,
RSVP and find all the details on our fly-in website.
By the way, we've been in touch with airport officials
in Gulf Shores and all is well
after Hurricane Michael brushed by there this week.
- And our sweepstakes airplane as well too
because it was down there waiting
for people to show up for their--
- Yes, it is down there and I made sure
that Alyssa had it in a really secure hangar
and she tells me that all is good, so happy to hear that.
- And that's it for us this week.
If you have any thoughts on the show
please send us an email at AOPALive@aopa.org
and yes, we do read the emails,
and yes, some of your suggestions we are going to implement.
- Yes we are.
We hope you join us next week for our show from NBAA.
Thanks for watching.
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