June, 2009
Vol. VI, No. 6 |
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Welcome
to the
Over the
Airwaves
aviation journal. This complimentary e-publication
is prepared monthly for pilots and aviation enthusiasts around the
world. Its aim
is to promote
flight safety, encourage students and new pilots, and to build
enthusiasm for aviation in general.
Complacency to Catastrophe!! Few activities rival the wonder of flight. Climbing up through the clouds and viewing a sunrise from 8,500 feet is as good as it gets. Monitoring the gauges while sipping hot tea and listening to Frank Sinatra on the XM radio (okay, so I'm old) is pure pleasure for me! Add in a magical destination like Martha's Vineyard or the Bahamas with my wife and 19 year old daughter on board and I'm in airplane heaven. It just doesn't get any better than this! Each of you reading this page, too, can quickly recount your most favorite flying experiences. Whether it's simply kicking the tires of your first very own airplane or landing a 650,000 pound B747 in a crosswind at Narita, Japan, the joy of flying surpasses nearly every other endeavor known to man. It is an intoxicating experience! Hmmmm . . . . could it be the intoxicating part that occasionally gets us into trouble? Could it be the wonderment of flight, the automation of the panel, the reliability of the engine hum, the music piped through our headset, or the casual conversation in the cockpit that takes us away from the job of flying the airplane? Fortunately, in the grand scheme of things, flying is about the safest way to travel. Airline flight is the safest way to travel, by a long shot. General aviation, in the hands of a proficient pilot, is a very close second. But let a little bit of complacency drift into the cockpit and all bets are off. This was tragically demonstrated on the evening of February 12, 2009 when Continental Express (operated by Colgan Air) Flight 3407 suddenly went out of control while on approach to the Buffalo/Niagara International Airport. Within seconds, a perfectly normal flight operation turned into an unimaginable scenario that left 50 people dead in a burning mess of molten metal. What went wrong? The facts are in. A three month long investigation that culminated in several days of NTSB hearings in Washington, DC concluded that a single bit of complacency in the cockpit, coupled with numerous other contributing factors, led to one of the worst air disasters in the United States. Here's a quick summary of the the final moments of that ill-fated flight. Buffalo approach control cleared Flight 3407 down to 2,300 feet. The pilot's response was easy. First, he adjusted the altitude pre-select knob on the autopilot and retarded the throttles to produce a gentle descent. Second, upon reaching 2,300 feet, the pilot should have the power back up to approach cruise speed. But the pilot didn't perform the second part!! As the airplane leveled off at 2,300 feet, it required the addition of power to maintain level flight. Complicating the matter was the accumulation of some drag-inducing ice that required even more power to maintain level flight. The autopilot responded to the absence of required additional power by increasing pitch. Meanwhile, the pilot and first officer continued to engage in casual conversation unrelated to flying the airplane. As the aircraft's pitch angle continued to increase, the airplane came precariously close to a wing stall. Suddenly the yoke began to shake violently indicating an impending stall. Either the pilot or the first officer (or both) grabbed the yoke and yanked it aggressively rearward, an action that pulled the airplane into a complete stall, yaw, and spin. That action, alone, sealed the fate of all aboard. The seeds of this disaster were planted years earlier! Let's put the time-line in reverse by going back to this flight crew's initial training as student pilots just learning to fly. Somewhere between taking their first flight, solo, and checkride, these two pilots should have been taught the critical role of airspeed in maintaining flight. Equally important, they should have learned what causes stall and, equally important, how to recover from a stall. This is piloting 101 stuff. Whether or not these two pilots actually did learn about stalls and how to recover from them relates directly to the tragic crash of Flight 3407. The simple fact of the matter is that they likely did not! Here's why. The teaching of stalls and stall recovery is arguably the weakest link in most primary flight training programs. Instead of taking their students through deep stalls, cross-controlled, and accelerated stalls, novice flight instructors instruct their students to begin stall recovery procedures immediately after the first sound of the stall horn or after the first buffet of the controls. By not allowing their students to experience a full stall break in either level or banked flight, they deny them the opportunity to sense the sudden surprise and possible disorientation this maneuver often produces. Equally bad, many designated pilot examiners (DPEs) are uncomfortable testing full stall breaks performed by students and airplanes with which they are unfamiliar. Instead, they interrupt the stall prematurely, then move on to the next procedure. Consequently, student pilots slip through the system and often move up through their ratings without ever experiencing a full stall, much a less proper recovery from one. Such was apparently the case with the crew of Flight 3407. Who's fault is it anyway? As with most aviation shortcomings, we can often trace the problem back to its source. If Flight 3407 crash investigators look back far enough to the primary training records of the pilot and first officer, they will likely discover the source of the problem. They will find either a flight school or, perhaps, even the specific flight instructor responsible for allowing these two pilots to move forward beyond the private pilot level without ever satisfactorily performing a full stall and proper stall recovery. When they find that, the real reason why Flight 3407 crash will be discovered. So how about you? Take a look at your own flight training. Can you comfortably execute a full cross-controlled or accelerated stall with proper recovery? Do you even know what those maneuvers are? If so, rest assured, you've likely been trained well. However, if there is any doubt in your mind, stop flying until you secure the necessary training to do so. This single piece of advice, had it been heard and adhered to by the crew of Flight 3407, would have likely made it possible for 50 people, including themselves, to live another day! In summary, flying is a wonderful experience. But a single moment of complacency coupled with poor or incomplete training can produce a catastrophe in less time than it takes to properly recover from a stall.
Don't let this happen to you! Fly safe, fly smart. Slips . . . . a powerful tool if performed correctly! Forward or side slips are powerful tools in the proficient pilot's arsenal of maneuvering techniques. Used mostly to slow the aircraft immediately prior to landing, slips also have a way of getting the non-proficient pilot in trouble . . . very deep trouble.
After conducting six passes over the runway, the pilot was able to extend the left main landing gear about two-thirds of the way down. The pilot continued to circle the airport within the traffic pattern as the witnesses located on the ground advised him to "slip the airplane to the left then right." Witnesses reported that while the airplane was on downwind for the runway at an altitude of about 400-500 feet above ground level, the airplane "appeared to enter a slip" followed by an immediate roll to the right into a nose-low attitude, and then descended into terrain. The pilot was killed.
Regrettably, this was the accident
pilot's first flight in the airplane, which he had just
recently purchased.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines
the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed
while maneuvering to land, resulting in an
aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was
the pilot's diverted attention while attempting to
extend the landing gear. --
NTSB Report Slips . . . beware!
Thus, when slipping an airplane it becomes CRITICALLY important that we not be anywhere near a stall condition. The way to achieve this, of course, is to simultaneously lower the nose and apply left aileron as we press right rudder to "yaw" the airplane. By lowering the nose, we ensure that aircraft's pitch attitude is well below the critical angle of attack, which is that point where a stall is produced. In the accident scenario described above, the pilot "yawed" the airplane in an attempt to help force the gear down rather than to slow the airplane for landing. Flying slow in the pattern, he was likely close to a stall. Without lowering the nose, the added drag caused by the yaw likely produced a classic stall/spin condition, which is not recoverable at low (pattern) altitudes. This tragic accident, again, points to the critical need for all of us to get out and practice level, cross-control, and accelerated stalls at a safe altitude, of course. Doing so would have likely prevented the tragic death of the TF-51D pilot discussed above.
Know Before You Go!
This comes as no surprise when we consider the increasing complexity of the national airspace system. Whether flying IFR or VFR, we are all one quick step from receiving the following ATC message: "Nxxxxx, I have a telephone number for you. Advise ready to copy." That's generally the first signal that we committed a grievous procedural error aloft. I know because I've received this message numerous times!
The message is simple . . . know your charts! It goes without saying that we pilots have a responsibility to comply with all applicable aviation charts. VFR pilots, in particular, have a particularly heavy burden for chart compliance because ATC may not be there to help you along.
Take a look at the
above terminal area chart (TAC) for the New Orleans Class B
airspace. Would you feel comfortable flying through
this airspace VFR at, say 2,000 feet MSL without talking to
ATC? If not, it may be time to bone up on your
charting skills! Stretching the Envelope! General aviation is typically a regional activity. Kansas-based pilots fly the flatlands. East coast pilots fly in congested airspace. Alaska pilots are comfortable flying through mountain passes. Thunderstorms are nothing new to Florida pilots, and icing is a fact of life for those of us living around the Great Lakes.
As such, we become proficient operating around our home town, but what happens when we have an opportunity to venture outside of our particular region? Yep . . . we could be in for big surprises! Sadly, far too many of us do not survive these surprises . . . . like the Arizona-trained pilot who encounters hard IFR for the first time, or the good-ole-boy Texan who ventures into the fast-talking world of New York TRACON controllers. Whoa! Stretching the envelope Why wait to be caught off-guard during an unexpected trip through unfamiliar territory? Instead, develop a systematic plan to stretch your operating envelope. Contact an experienced flight instructor or flight school in some other part of the country. For example, contact Don Lee up in Talkeetna, Alaska. You're guaranteed to learn mountain flying. Want to get comfortable flying up the eastern seaboard, contact my friend Doug Stewart. Want to experience unusual attitudes in ways that could save your life sometime, call BJ Ransberry in Mesa, AZ. If you want to master IFR flying into and out of the world's busiest airports and in saturated airspace, or if you want to experience some of the worst winter weather flying in the world, or if you want master short field operations in the rolling Adirondack Mountains of upstate NY or Vermont, or you want to master the new glass panels, or explore the wonderful world of sport aviation, give us a call at Bob Miller Flight Training, Inc. (BMFT). We have custom-tailored training programs for just about any flying profile! Make it the real deal! GA flight simulators and classrooms play a role in flight training, but neither is the real deal. Okay, so the real deal costs a bit more, the training and experience you'll receive will be well worth whatever you have to pay! In summary, it's time we all get out of our flying "comfort zone" and venture into all that general aviation has to offer. Don't wait. Do it today.
Operating Limitations . . . what do they mean to you?? Every beginning pilot learns what paperwork must be on board the aircraft even before his first solo. Some students are taught to use a common mnemonic known as "A-R-O-W." Recall what the letters signify? A= airworthiness certificate; R= registration; O=operating limitations; and W= weight and balance. Let's focus on the "O" or "operating limitations." Operating limitations refer to specific things we are not permitted to do in a given aircraft. For example, some aircraft are not permitted to be flown in IFR conditions. Others are not permitted to engage in aerobatic operations. Others, like the Cessna 172 have modified restrictions. For example, spins are not permitted in the C-172 unless it is loaded in the utility category. This pilot apparently did not heed these operating limitations!!!
The pilot along with a front seat and rear seat passenger departed Long Beach Airport (LGB), Long Beach, California, with a planned destination of Montgomery Field (MYF) in San Diego. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight. Prior to departure, the pilot's friends who had been traveling along with him in another airplane were told that he planned to perform a stall/spin enroute to his destination. When making this statement, the pilot said he had previously performed stall/spins in this airplane with an instructor onboard and a passenger in the rear seat. The aircraft climbed to 7,500 feet. The pilot's friends in the accompanying aircraft watched as the airplane performed one complete spin and then recovered to normal flight. After this first spin, the pilot stated that he was going to "do it one more time," and he was going to let it spin a "little more before he start[ed] the recovery." The friends then saw them set up for another spin, enter the spin, then watched in likely horror as the airplane continued to spin until it crashed into the ocean! What went wrong here? According to the Cessna Information Manual for the 172S, intentional spins are approved when the airplane is operated in the utility category. Spins are not approved when the rear seat(s) are occupied. It also states that spins will progress at a fairly rapid rate of rotation and steep attitude if they are in excess of two rotations. During extended spins, the spin tends to change into a spiral, particularly to the right, which will be accompanied by an increase in airspeed and gravity loads on the airplane. It doesn't take an NTSB investigative team long to figure out what went wrong here. The accident airplane was NOT in the utility category. Despite what the pilot said about performing this maneuver before with a flight instructor aboard and a passenger in the back seat, this time it didn't work out as planned.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines
the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
"Failure of the pilot to regain airplane control
during an intentional stall/spin maneuver."
--
NTSB Report It pays to heed the operating limitations! Every make/model airplane is different, particularly when it comes to spins. Most GA airplanes today are NOT certified for spins. Others, like the C172S are approved for spins but only under certain conditions. This and other limitations contained in the POH are there for a reason. That reason is to keep us safe aloft. Operation outside of these limitations are, first, illegal and, second, dangerous . . . as this accident pilot discovered!
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and for pilots all over the globe. Instrument Rating - A License to Kill! Unfortunately, there is no way the FAA can issue regulations that can protect us from ourselves. Take the example of the instrument rated pilot who logged all of his flight time on conventional round gauges then launched into IMC for the first time with a glass panel.
The builder of a recently completed home-built RV10 asked his instrument rated friend to fly with him to Sun 'n Fun last year. The builder wasn't instrument rated so having an instrument pilot along on a long flight made sense. Just one little problem . . . The only wrinkle in this story is the fact that the instrument rated friend had no experience with the glass panel in the RV10 he was being asked to fly. Instead, he had logged all or most of his instrument time in his own 1976 Cessna 177B that was equipped with conventional cockpit instruments. The RV10 they were to fly was not equipped with any vacuum operated or analog flight instruments. Instead, it was equipped with a liquid crystal display avionics suite that included a Dynon Avionics Electronic Flight Information System (EFIS) D10A.
The pilot then told ATC, "We're going to have to come up with an alternate plan here." The pilot then requested, and was provided, vectors to Auburn-Opelika Airport (AUO), Auburn, Alabama. Enroute to AUO, the pilot again amended his request and told the controller he needed an ILS approach. He requested vectors to the Columbus Metropolitan Airport (CSG) in Columbus, Georgia. Shortly after receiving the clearance to CSG, the airplane flew past the ILS localizer path. The controller then received a low altitude alert and relayed this to the pilot. The pilot responded, "We're correcting altitude here, and we flew through the ILS." The controller then cancelled the approach clearance and requested that he climb to 3,000 feet, and turn right to 270 degrees. The pilot then stated, "Do you have any location that the weather is 2,000 feet or better?" The controller responded that the pilot could consider checking the weather at AUO, to which the pilot responded, "Okay we'll do that." Over the next 17 seconds the airplane began a descending right turn from an altitude of 2,694 feet to 1,330 feet. The airplane then began a climbing right turn, and within 15 seconds reached an altitude of 2,770 feet. The last recorded GPS track observed at an altitude of 2,148 feet. The airplane had deviated approximately 400 feet above its assigned altitude and 1,200 feet below on multiple occasions throughout the last 14 minutes of the flight. The controller had twice relayed low altitude alert warnings to the pilot, and on five occasions alerted him that he was not maintaining the assigned heading. A sad ending . . . The wreckage was located at an elevation of 270 feet, about 400 feet east of the location where the final GPS track was recorded. Weather reports for airports in the vicinity of the crash scene varied between 8 and 10 miles visibility, with cloud bases between 1,200 and 2,000 feet msl and cloud tops at 4,500 feet msl. The
airplane's turning ground track and the cloud conditions
were conducive to the onset of pilot spatial disorientation.
The airplane's multiple, rapid ascents and descents are
consistent with the pilot's loss of control of the airplane
because of spatial disorientation.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines
the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
When is an instrument rating NOT an instrument rating? To most prudent pilots, this discussion should not be necessary. After all, what reasonably sane instrument rated pilot would even think he or she could successfully master IFR conditions with an unfamiliar instrument panel, particularly when transitioning for the first time from steam gauges to a glass panel? Instrument ratings are as fragile as strawberries in December. If used less frequently than once or twice a month in real IFR weather, these ratings border on being useless. Similarly, instrument skills honed on round gauges take several hours or more of practice on glass panels before they become effective. Sadly, we'll likely see increasing numbers of fatal IFR accidents as round gauge trained pilots transition to the new crop of airplanes now entering the marketplace. Lesson for all of us . . . If your near or long term plans include purchasing a new or late model airplane OR you plan to become a professional pilot, earn you instrument ticket on glass panel equipped airplanes. Otherwise, be prepared to spend time going through a lengthy transition process before going into the clag with a glass panel.
Aero-News.Net Features OTA in Podcasts
"Clean A/C Fly Faster" is the latest in a series of podcasts Bob Miller has been doing with Aero-News.Net's Paul Plack. You can hear, or download for later listening, these 15 minute interviews and any of the previously conducted podcasts by clicking on the titles below: Podcast Titles[Click on desired titles - several minutes may be required to download.] Titles in RED are new since the last OTA. By the way, Aero-News.Net is a FREE daily online publication that is packed with aviation related news. It is the first thing I read every morning. You can log on to Aero-News.Net and subscribe for your free subscription by clicking HERE. It's Up to You to Fly Away - "It's off to Marblehead, Massachusetts"
Not only do John and Connie spend nearly every weekend in either their Cessna 210 or their Cessna 180 on floats, they are eager to share their experiences with us via this new OTA feature. Click HERE to read the next in an ongoing series of "It's Up to You to Get Away." This trip is to Marblehead, MA. This is particularly good reading for pilot spouses who haven't yet captured the excitement of flying!!!!! Read earlier "Fly Away" stories by John Bouck. Click on the links below:
Cape May, NJ Sorry . . . we couldn't resist sharing this!
Cost of a bowl of soup at homeless shelter: $0.00 dollars Having Michelle Obama Serve you your soup: $0.00 dollars Snapping a picture of a homeless person who is receiving government funded meal while taking a picture of the first lady using his $400 Blackberry cell phone: Priceless Subscribe free today to Over the Airwaves!What's new at BMFT, Inc. There may be an economic recession blanketing the world, but business continues to thrive at Bob Miller Flight Training, Inc. The month of May recorded more flight and ground hours given since our inception in December, 2007. Secret to our success? There is no secret other than aggressive marketing, use of new "glass cockpit" Cessna aircraft, employing the best instructors, and following a dynamic curriculum premised upon scenario-based training and the FITS (FAA/Industry Training Standards) model (no practice areas). Rundown of current BMFT activities
This is a time of tremendous opportunity for imaginative flight schools who are willing to depart from the traditional model of flight instruction. We know because we're doing it! Click HERE for more information on BMFT. Helpful Sponsors Please support OTA's helpful sponsors by clicking on the images below where you will find ordering information.
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There, in one single comment taken from the transcript of ill-fated Continental (operated by Colgan Air) Flight 3407, is the truth about the deplorable condition of much of general aviation flight training!
You get through your training then get hired on by a regional airline whose routes take you through some of the nastiest weather in the world. Or, as a general aviation pilot, imagine completing your instrument training without ever having been in the clouds . . . . then you rent or purchase your own airplane and shortly thereafter find yourself buried in the clag hoping that your autopilot doesn't fail. Hmmmm . . . it's not surprising why we continue to have one fatal GA accident nearly every day of the week in the United States. This tragedy is now being magnified enormously by cash-strapped regional airlines who choose to hire pilots who possess the minimum required ratings, experience, and nothing more. So what's the solution? Okay, so Florida and Arizona flight schools cannot produce overcast skies on demand. How, then, can they provide their students with actual IFR conditions? Answer . . . . they can't. Instead, they crank up the GA simulator and convince their students that "this is the real deal!" Hey, the same thing happens here in the north, as well. Just last week a young man walked into my office inquiring about our CFI course. I asked him where he had obtained his private, instrument, and commercial training. "Right here in Buffalo," he replied. I then asked him how much actual instrument time he had logged during all of this primary, instrument, and commercial training. His answer typified the abominable quality of much of today's flight training. He replied, "Less than one hour!" Keep in mind that Buffalo, NY is not Phoenix, AZ. Buffalo, NY likely has more actual IFR conditions throughout the year than any place on the globe, yet this Buffalo-trained pilot spent 99% of his instrument training time under a hood or in a simulator. And we wonder why the number one cause of fatal crashes is continued VFR flight into IFR conditions. This sad fact is shared equally between VFR-only and IFR rated pilots. Are you mad as hell, yet? Truth is, unless that training device is a $38 million Level D full-motion simulator, spending time in an GA simulator offers little more than helping students learn basic instrument and emergency procedures. As for simulating the real world IFR conditions, such devices, which are often operated by flight instructors who, themselves, have never been in the clouds are, well, a very poor second. The day of reckoning comes when these marginally trained pilots find themselves in the real world of IFR flight . . . in 200 foot ceilings, 1/2 mile visibility, with turbulence and icing threatening the safety of the flight. They either perform or they (and their passengers and victims on the ground) die. Ask the families of Continental Flight 3407. Congressional Oversight Begun The time has come to get serious about the many inherent weaknesses in our flight training industry. To this end, U.S. Representative Chris Lee, R-Clarence, NY along with Representative Louis Slaughter, R-Rochester, NY, and Representative Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, NY have recently introduced an amendment to the FAA Reauthorization Bill directing that the GAO conduct a study of the flight training industry and airline pilot hiring practices. Hopefully, such a study will bring to public attention the many shortcomings that exist in these areas. Once identified and noted, changes can then be introduced that will bring genuinely needed reform.
While we in the aviation community think we can police ourselves, the facts reveal otherwise. Since those GA membership organizations who claim to speak for us will not initiate flight training reform, perhaps out of concern that such change will create hardship on its members or ruffle the feathers of their advertisers, then the matter must be taken up by our lawmakers. Regrettably, this is akin to performing surgery with an axe, but there appears to be no other way. It should come as no surprise to anybody that AOPA and the other GA organizations will stand up and proudly proclaim that they ARE doing their part to improve flight training. That part, however, is not enough. Mass marketing training DVDs, hosting flight training seminars, and mounting interactive training websites cannot and will not correct basic deficiencies in rules and regulations by which flight training and pilot proficiency are currently being defined. Please stay tuned. This battle is far from over. Should the status quo be maintained and we continue to see no decline in our fatal accident rate and we watch in horror as another airliner full of people crash and burn in the hands of inept crew members, then we . . . who support our membership organizations with our dues and our advertising dollars . . . are partially to blame. We are living in the year 2009. Pilot error, whether in a Cessna 152, a B777 and every make and model airplane inbetween is the cause of nearly 80 percent of all fatal crashes. With reasonable legislative reform, we could realistically reduce this number down to less than 20 percent. And we could achieve this and still enjoy the wonder, joy, and freedom of flight. It can be done. Maybe we just need to get our industry
spokespersons out of the way. Fly safe, Bob Miller, CFII, ATP Saturday, June 13: Buffalo-Lancaster Airport (KBQR)
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©2004-2008 Over the Airwaves [TM], Buffalo, New York, USA. Over the Airwaves is written, prepared, and published by Bob Miller Flight Training, Inc., Buffalo, NY, who is solely responsible for its contents. ISSN 1937-3848. Over the Airwaves is a registered trademark. Any use of this name , image, or reproduction, duplication, or replication of this electronic publication and/or prior issues in whole or in part without the express written permission is strictly prohibited. Forwarding, dissemination, distribution, and/or circulation of the Over the Airwaves Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is permitted under the terms of this trademark and copyright. |
Take
the case of an amateur built TF 51D experimental airplane
(example pictured right).
According to the NTSB report, the
pilot was unable to extend the left main landing gear after
departure and conducted a series of low approaches over the
runway while talking via radio to people located on the
ground.
Slipping
is a deliberate "yawing" of the aircraft which, when
performed properly, dramatically increases its parasitic
(form) drag. This, in turn, is a highly effective way
of "putting the brakes on" prior to landing. We
know, of course, what happens when a yaw is combined with a
stall. Yep, a spin results.
Some
number of years ago the FAA surveyed airline pilots and
asked them to rank, in order, their major risk factor concerns
when flying the line. Included as options were (1)
weather; (2) mechanical problems; (3) disruptive passengers;
etc. When the results came in, the #1 major risk
factor concern expressed by the majority of survey respondents
was: "Getting from point A to point B without a
violation!"
It
is difficult to imagine the following scenario, but it
really happened. This past June, a 2006 Cessna 172S
was rented from San Diego
Flight Training International, Inc.
Here's
how this tragic story unfolded.
The
pair took off into IFR conditions from the Lebanon Municipal
Airport, Lebanon, TN around noon on April 7, 2008.
Enroute, they requested a VOR approach to Weedon Field in
Eufaula, AL and were cleared down to 4,000 feet some 20
miles north of the airport.
Imagine having the piloting skills, time,
money, enthusiastic spouse, and capable airplane to spend
long weekends flying to romantic places throughout the
Western Hemisphere.
As a pilot, imagine taking the
right seat of an airliner carrying 47 people and having
little or no experience ever flying in the clouds.
Strange as this may sound, this is what often happens when
you do all or most of your primary, instrument, and
commercial flight training in Florida and Arizona. 
I
sent a copy of a new release announcing this amendment to
AOPA through the Air Safety Foundation's chief flight
instructor, J. J. Greenway, for comment. Curiously,
but not surprisingly, I heard nothing back from them.
There goes that "maintenance of status quo"
thing again!
