Coming up: it's big, draggy, and very useful.
We put a Pilatus Porter to the test.
Uber launches a flying service
and we've got the details.
Plus, take a scenic flight
over the San Francisco Bay.
AOPA Live this week begins in just a moment.
(intense upbeat rock music)
(pleasant upbeat instrumental music)
This is AOPA Live This Week
with Tom Haines and Melissa Rudinger.
Our fly-in to Livermore, California is next weekend.
The area is full of beautiful scenery with lush valleys,
rugged mountains, and rocky shoreline.
Of course, the best way to experience
the beauty of the area is by flying over it.
AOPA Live's Josh Cochran takes us on a scenic flight
over the Bay area.
(pleasant instrumental music) (airplane engine)
(plane engine starts)
Today I'm flying with local Livermore pilot Brad Allard
in his Cessna 182 owned by Attitude Aviation.
I'm a corporate pilot so I primarily fly turboprops
here in the Bay area for a lot of our clients.
(pleasant instrumental music)
We're taking off at a Livermore airport
for a scenic tour of the Bay area.
This flight requires navigating a lot of complex airspace,
but the reward is an amazing view of the famous landmarks
around San Francisco.
Good afternoon.
Cessna 374 Tango Charlie just off of Livermore
looking for the Bay tour beginning at
(muffled by microphone)
making our way around if you could do that today.
The big thing with doing these Bay tours like this
is you gotta communicate to ATC.
As long as you communicate generally they have no problem
working ya in. Uh huh.
As soon as there's any hesitation that you don't know,
kind of, what you're doing,
or you're not able to communicate what you're doing
then they won't grant you this Bay tour.
Yeah, that makes sense.
(pleasant instrumental music)
And I love this kinda flyin'.
Yeah, this is kinda flying.
It's what general aviation really is all about.
Yeah, freedom.
We got the Ritz comin' up here.
This is a big thing for people on the west coast.
After we fly past the Ritz-Carlton
we take in the beautiful views of the rocky coast
and cruise along next to Half Moon Bay Airport.
Cool airport.
Really is.
You can camp there for free.
It's all set up for like fire pits and picnic tables.
Have you landed there much?
Ah, yeah.
My wife and I come over here a lot for dinner.
Great place to pop in and out of.
There are so many great restaurants right downtown.
If you want something fancy you just jump in a Uber
and go down to the Ritz-Carlton.
(pleasant instrumental music)
After Half Moon Bay,
we head toward the Golden Gate Bridge.
This still blows my mind,
just how close you can get to the Golden Gate Bridge.
Yeah, it's really neat.
(pleasant instrumental music)
And near the Golden Gate we circle
another San Francisco attraction: Alcatraz.
After Alcatraz we overfly the city,
taking in the incredible views.
(pleasant instrumental music)
Number 4 Tango Charlie, you done with the tour?
We're done and we're gonna head back to Livermore.
A special thanks to Attitude Aviation
for giving us this glimpse of all the incredible flying
around Livermore.
Josh Cochran, AOPA Live.
(pleasant instrumental music)
You can find out more about all of the Livermore
fly-in attractions on the AOPA website.
Meanwhile, Cuba is out.
New rules announced by the Trump administration
ban private air travel to the island nation.
The administration's been working since 2017
to close doors opened during the Obama administration.
A softening of Cuba policy began back in 2015
and led to lifting of the decades-old travel restrictions.
You may remember we showed you how easy it was back then
to fly there, well, that's all over now.
You can read more on our website.
Well, even if you can't fly to Cuba in real life,
you'll be able to do so virtually
in the new Microsoft Flight Simulator.
The beloved simulator hasn't been updated in 13 years,
and now Microsoft is relaunching it next year.
Microsoft says users will be able to fly
highly-detailed aircraft with incredibly realistic scenery.
You'll be able to create a flight plan
and fly anywhere in the world, day or night,
while facing challenging weather.
The flight sim will be available for PC and Xbox One.
And here's one airplane that probably isn't yet
in flight sim.
After two years of hard work,
GameBird has its FAA production certificate.
The aerobatic wonder is meant to do stunts
like an RC airplane can,
and it's wowed crowds at Oshkosh over the last
couple of years.
It rolls at, get this, 400 degrees per second,
and is built for plus or minus 10 Gs.
The $400,000 airplane is an acro-monster,
and it's built in Bentonville, Arkansas.
AOPA and the FAA are working together
to help get you answers about ADS-B.
We hosted a live Q and A session on the FAA's Facebook page
on Monday.
Equip Me: The Ins and Outs of ADS-B
features AOPA and FAA experts responding to questions.
You can catch a replay on Facebook,
just look for Videos under Federal Aviation Administration.
As reminder, you'll need to equip with ADS-B Out
before January 2nd if you fly in airspace
that presently requires a Mode C transponder.
AOPA's working to eliminate the danger caused
by diesel exhaust fluid or DEF contamination.
DEF is an additive for reducing emissions
in diesel-powered ground equipment,
but when mistakenly added to aircraft jet fuel,
DEF crystallizes and clogs fuel systems,
leading to engine failure.
So far there have been three engine failure incidents
caused by DEF contamination.
The DEF was mistaken for fuel system icing inhibitors
in all three incidents.
Now AOPA is part of a working group to combat the problem.
The group is calling for fuel suppliers to monitor
processes and procedures for managing DEF.
It's also recommending that the EPA allow
on-airport equipment to operate without DEF.
Well, with all the attention on D-Day commemorations
last week,
we can't forget another major effort celebrated this week:
the Berlin Airlift.
After the fall of Nazi Germany parts of Berlin
were under Soviet control and they wanted the rest of it,
so they shut off access on the ground
for the west to bring in supplies.
Not willing to let Berliners suffer,
the U.S. and allies supplied the city by air,
flying in aid using air transport aircraft.
One pilot became a legend in the process.
Colonel Gail Halvorsen became The Candy Bomber.
He'd tie candy bars and other treats
to little handkerchief parachutes
and drop the confections to the kids below.
Last week his efforts were remembered by parts
of the D-Day squadron doing a candy drop
to honor Halvorsen's efforts so many decades ago.
Halvorsen was, in fact, on hand for the event.
When we come back, Uber shows its vision
for the future of flight.
And checking out one of the best
workhorses with wings.
We'll be right back.
There are many important things to consider
before purchasing an aircraft.
Let the experts at Aero-Space Reports
help guide you through the process.
We combine expert knowledge with our longstanding
commitment to personalized customer service
to perfect your transaction.
Learn more at AeroSpaceReports.com.
Welcome back.
Uber is working to pave the way to the future
by using technology from the past.
The first peg of UberAir is called UberCopter,
and it's launching in July in New York City.
The flights will be from lower Manhattan to JFK.
Instead of some new eVTOL gizmo,
it's a standard helicopter they're using.
The service announced at the third annual
Uber Elevate Conference held in Washington, D.C. this week.
The chopper rides will be operated by Heliflight,
a current part 135 operator.
Uber is using the service as a means of understanding
how to operate a high-frequency aerial service
in an urban environment.
And that could pave the trail for one or more of the 155
vertical takeoff and landing vehicles currently in develop
to be used for the next evolution of urban air mobility.
And one of them is Jaunt Air Mobility.
They are the newest airframe partner with Uber.
The aircraft company was just formed in April
leveraging the technology the concepts it bought
from CarterCopter, a company that you may recall
long struggled to advance and certify gyrocopters
for commercial operations.
The company has worked to advance the technology
behind the aircraft and assure that it meets
Uber's requirements to be considered for it's UAM program.
Uber has set a number of parameters
for potential airframers to meet, including, among others,
a cruise speed of 150 miles an hour, 60-mile range,
ability to fly three hours' worth of 25-mile trips,
and with a capacity for a pilot and four passengers.
And company Safran is working with Uber to standardize
the cabin and passenger experience for any of the airframes
that make it into the UberAir program.
Thomas Lee is a Vice President for the company.
He says it's all about seamless and enjoyable ride
for the user.
So we've envisioned a utilitarian cabin
that is very easy to load and unload, to maintain,
and have a fantastic amazing experience.
The seats are slightly moved towards the windows
so the passengers are looking out the windows
and getting a great view,
and we're very proud of this outcome.
So my first time to an Uber Elevate.
It's the third one that they've held, first time in D.C.
Theme this year is all about certification
and working in the regulatory environment as they try
to push forward on this vision of eVTOL
and how it is that we have all of these
ridesharing services by air.
And it was interesting to see who was there,
Secretary of Transportation spoke,
the acting FAA Administrator spoke,
and several other FAA folks were involved in the panels.
And so, clearly they're really trying to work with
government officials to make it all happen.
They are, and you know, we had a number of staff there,
because, as you know, we in the government affairs division,
we're on top of this. (laughs)
We wanna make sure they're integrated safely
and that it's an efficient system.
Right.
So we had a number of staff there and they all reported
that it was a really robust conference.
It was.
Lots going on, very interesting.
And while Uber is working on aircraft of the future,
Ampaire is working to add hybrid electric power
to existing airplanes.
The company unveiled the Ampaire 337
last week in California.
The company claims the aircraft is the highest capacity
hybrid electric airplane ever flown.
You may recognize it as a Cessna 337 Skymaster,
or Mixmaster, as it's sometimes called,
with the rear continental engine replaced
with Ampaire's electric propulsion system.
The electric motor is powered solely by a battery pack
which must be charged before the flight.
The company says the configuration reduces
greenhouse gas emissions and operating costs.
Ampaire hopes to use the airplane design
for regular commercial service by 2021.
And Amazon says they'll be delivering packages via drone
in just months.
The company unveiled a new aircraft
which uses computer vision and artificial intelligence
to pick its way through obstacles,
including the ability to detect and avoid aircraft.
Amazon reports its new drone can fly up to 15 miles
delivering packages to customers
within 30 minutes of an order.
There are still many questions about the technology
so it isn't clear how Amazon will reach its goal
of autonomous package delivery in the coming months.
And speaking of flying packages,
Uber announced this week that it will be getting a test
program in San Diego to deliver McDonald's food via drone.
The drone will deliver it to a landing site
or even the roof of an Uber car near the customer,
and a driver will take it to your door.
That's quite a scheme! (laughing)
That is quite a scheme,
because you can never get your McDonald's food
fast enough, you know?
And now, if they just bring it in the house
so you don't have to get off the couch,
that's even better.
That's, yeah.
Of course, it's fast food, right?
Right.
So we had the first new Drone Advisory Committee meeting
last week, there's a lot of drone stuff happening
in Washington this week,
and when you talk about a fast timeline,
some of the taskings are to come up with recommendations
to help integrate drones within 90 days.
Wow.
So while that's pretty ambitious,
it does show that there's a real push to do this
and do this sooner rather than later.
Right, and that was a real theme of acting Administrator
Elwell's comments at the Uber Elevate Conference this week,
was all about trying to help the FAA be more fleet,
and being able to keep up with industry
in getting regulations drafted in an appropriate timeframe
so that we can take advantage of this new technology.
So it's a lot happening and the FAA,
it's nice to see them really trying to step up.
And we'll see where it goes.
It is.
But we'll do it safely.
Yeah, absolutely.
That's priority.
And continuing on that drone theme,
the FAA just approved the first part 107 waiver
allowing unmanned aircraft to fly over people
that can be replicated with off-the-shelf products.
The waiver allows flights over people using DJI's
Phantom Four quadcopters fitted with ParaZero's
SafeAir parachute systems.
The parachute automatically deploys as arms extend
to stop the propellers in the event of an aircraft failure.
The waiver represents a significant step forward
making advanced drone operations routine.
You can read more about it on our website.
It's draggy as can be,
but it's one of the most useful airplanes on the planet.
AOPA Editor at Large Dave Hirschman shows us
one of the very last Pilatus Porters.
(airplane roaring)
It's a missionary and a mercenary,
a soldier and a spy.
The Pilatus PC-6 Porter is a legendary Swiss utility plane
with as many uses as a Swiss Army Knife.
But after 60 years of continuous production,
the Porter assembly line is scheduled to shut down for good
late this year.
This is one of the last new Porters
and it's headed to Brazil,
where it will serve as an air ambulance
in remote regions of the Amazon.
Very few Porters are fitted with amphibious floats
like this towering airplane,
but the raw power and thick wing that make the Porter
such a capable STOL airplane also allow it
to get on and off the water quickly and easily.
Sure, the floats add weight and drag,
but what the heck?
It's a slow airplane anyway, so you're not giving up much.
And it will still carry just about anything
you can fit inside the cavernous cabin.
Porters are popular among skydivers, extreme skiiers,
missionaries, and tour operators,
but these airplanes aren't saints.
Porters are widely used by military
and paramilitary organizations
and CIA contractor Air America flew them extensively
in southeast Asia.
In fact, a Porter makes a cameo appearance
in the 1990 Hollywood movie Air America,
with an impressive hillside landing
that upstages actors Robert Downey Jr. and Mel Gibson.
Swiss pilot Cedric Gitchenko provided a demo of this Porter
on Wipaire amphibious floats in central Florida.
The airplane is big and ungainly on the outside
with sliding cargo doors that look like
they came off a minivan,
but inside it's roomy and modern,
and it flies a lot better than it looks
with crisp, well-balanced controls and gobs of power.
There are about 300 Porters flying around the world today,
mostly doing rugged jobs in austere regions.
And even though the assembly line for new Porters
has stopped,
these tough airplanes are sure to soldier on
for decades to come,
because no other aircraft can do what they do.
After our brief introduction,
it's easy to see why the pilots who fly Porters
and the people who depend on them absolutely adore them.
Dave Hirschman, AOPA Live. (plane engine roaring)
Read more from Dave about the Porter
in the July edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine.
It's a pilot's worst nightmare:
losing an engine over the open ocean.
That's what happened to Cirrus pilot Ed Regensburg
and his passenger as they were flying in the Caribbean.
Ed and Jillian Harner, the pilot of the Coast Guard aircraft
who helped with the rescue
tell the story in the latest Air Safety Institute
There I Was podcast.
(suspenseful music)
So the front of the airplane started to shudder
and the propellor stopped dead center
in the middle of the windshield, and I said,
okay, we definitely lost the engine.
Welcome to another edition of There I Was,
a podcast where we put you in the cockpit
with pilots in interesting situations
and we learn how they flew out of them.
I'm your host, Richard McSpadden.
In today's episode we have an exciting adventure
with Ed Regensburg.
Ed's a 25-year general aviation pilot with over 3300 hours.
He's IFR certified, he's flown Cirruses for about 15 years,
but before that, he's got time in a 210, a 172, an RV-6,
among other airplanes.
We also have today Lieutenant Jillian Harner
from the United States Coast Guard.
Jillian went through Naval pilot training.
She's got over 1700 hours,
she's out of the U.S. Coast Guard station in Miami,
and flies an HC-144.
So welcome Jillian and Ed to the There I Was podcast.
You can find the rest of the podcast
on the Air Safety Institute website or on your podcast app.
Well, that's our program for you this week.
If you're watching on YouTube, please like us and subscribe.
And if you have anything to say about it,
either leave a comment on YouTube or write us directly:
aopalive@aopa.org.
See ya next week.
(upbeat instrumental music)
Purchasing your own aircraft
is an exciting experience.
AOPA Finance simplifies the process,
saving you money with lower interest rates
and hassle-free loans
so you get into your new aircraft sooner.
AOPA Finance.
The right approach to buying an aircraft.