How to annoy your First Officer

My career as a pilot involved spending more than a decade as a First Officer, a copilot to those not initiated into the terms of aviation. After more than ten years and 4,000 hours of flying as an FO at four different companies, I am uniquely qualified to speak on behalf of FOs everywhere and explain to captains what rubs their second-in-command the wrong way. Read on and discover how to annoy your FO.

1. Keep your hand on the flap handle on an approach. This is a common move for both experienced and inexperienced captains. While flying an approach, when the captain feels that it is time to lower the flaps, I would often notice the captain place his hand on the flap handle, just waiting for the second when I, as the flying pilot, would call for the flaps.

I don’t know whether they thought I would forget to call for the flaps, wanted to give me a subtle reminder, or just wanted to keep themselves from forgetting. Regardless, I found it annoying and would often delay calling for the flaps just make them keep their hand in an uncomfortable position.

If the landing checklist is completed properly, the flaps will not be forgotten. As long as flying pilot complies with aircraft limitations and company standard operating procedures, the flying pilot has discretion on when to call for the flaps. If the nonflying pilot believes that the flaps have been forgotten, a better way to remind them is verbally, stating, for example, “We are still at flaps 20.”

2. Never let him fly. FOs are qualified pilots. Often, since aviation new hires typically go to the bottom of the seniority list, the FO might even be more qualified than the captain. The vast majority of FOs are more than capable of safely flying the airplane.

FOs are supposed to be able to land the airplane successfully, not just lower the landing gear and work the radios. Nevertheless, flying is a perishable skill. How can an FO improve and stay current if he never touches the controls? Your life may one day depend upon your FO’s ability to fly an approach to minimums or land in a strong crosswind.

As an instructor, I saw a number of pilots who had logged hundreds of hours in an aircraft type, but who had very little actual experience flying it. This caused difficulty and more than a few problems in simulator training when a First Officer upgraded to captain.

The captain who never lets his FO fly or only rarely throws them a bone with a short leg does his fellow pilots a disservice. The fairest way to divide legs is the way that most airlines do it, by alternating each leg. This helps both pilots to maintain proficiency and interest.

3. Don’t keep him in the loop. CRM (cockpit resource management) is not just three random letters from the alphabet. If your FO going to effectively back you up, he needs to know what’s going on. This includes planning items like changes to flight plans and weather forecasts as well as more basic things like announcing what switches you are flipping. Particularly if the captain is the nonflying pilot, it matters if you do something like switch the anti-ice on or off. Don’t just do things and expect your FO to automatically know what you’re doing and thinking.

Most FOs can’t read their wife’s mind; they certainly can’t read yours.

4. Don’t start a radio conversation and expect him to finish it. Many times, even though the FO is the pilot monitoring, the captain will initiate a radio conversation with ATC. This in itself is not a problem. Sometimes it is simply more expedient to say something yourself than relay it through your fellow pilot.

The problem comes when the captain initiates an exchange and then fails to follow through. Often the initial exchange is followed immediately by an altitude or frequency change, leaving the FO to wonder “will he respond or not?” Usually there is a pregnant pause while neither pilot answers and the FO scrambles to acknowledge the instruction. It would be much easier for the captain to respond since he was already talking to the controller.

5. Don’t share the paperwork. Typically programming the flight plan is an FO duty, but how can he put in an “as filed” route if you squirrel away the flight plan in an undisclosed location on the left side of the cockpit? Further, as mentioned earlier, the FO cannot cross check the captain if he doesn’t know what the captain’s plan is. For example, without the flight plan or dispatch release showing the amount of fuel required for the flight, the FO cannot verify that the aircraft is properly fueled.

A good captain puts the paperwork in the middle where both pilots can check it as needed. A great captain makes the FO his own copy. Captains who don’t print out flight plans make FOs want to pull their hair out.

6. Act like a check airman. The captain and FO may not be equals, but it is not the captain’s job to test my knowledge. The FO not required to let you quiz him on memory items and aircraft limitations. I have learned a lot from some great captains, but they didn’t act like instructors, let alone check airmen. If every flight feels like a checkride, the crew is going to have a miserable time together. Unless you are a check airman, don’t act like one.

7. Try to do his job. A competent FOs knows his flows. He can run a checklist. He is trained to program the FMS and work the radios. Let him do his job. Don’t try to do it for him. CRM teaches that both pilots have their role and should stick to it.

When you try to do the FO’s job as well as yours, you break his routine and increase the chance of errors and mistakes. Do you really want the FO to try to race you to retract the flaps after landing? There are very few things that need to be done quickly in an airplane and having both pilots competing to reach the same control first is a recipe for disaster.

The other extreme is the FO who will let the captain take his duties. This may work well until the first time the captain misses and item and the FO, who is now simply along for the ride, doesn’t catch it either.

8. Use nonstandard procedures. You will be captain on the next trip, but odds are that your FO will be flying with a different captain. Make it easy for him. Use standard procedures. If he spend several days getting used to your nonstandard way of doing things, he’s going to have to relearn the right way to do things next week or next month.

The whole idea of standardization is that everyone does things the same way and that any two crew members can be comfortable together without a long period of adaptation. Keep it standard. He’s an FO, not a chameleon.

9. Shut him down. Your FO your backup. His job is to question you when something seems amiss. This requires open lines of communication. Countless airplanes and lives have been lost because First Officers didn’t speak up. In some cases, captains intimidated their First Officers into silence. CRM has been around for nearly half a century, but there are still captains with this sort of god complex.

It is in your interest for your FO to speak up. It requires teamwork to safely and efficiently fly a turbine airplane. If you intimidate your crew into silence, you may both pay the ultimate price.

10. Lose his trust. Both crewmembers are professionals. Our wellbeing and careers depend upon a certain level of competence. Everyone makes mistakes, but if you repeatedly get your FO into trouble he will spend more time crosschecking you than doing his own job. This is just as bad as when the captain tries to do both jobs.

To be an effective captain, the captain must be familiar with basic knowledge items such as aircraft limitations and FARs. NOTAMs should be closely checked before each flight in addition to the weather. Before flying an arrival or departure procedure, check the plate closely and be sure to look for notes, crossing restrictions and speeds. The captain should also possess basic airmanship skills. This may seem basic, but it is the cause for many mistakes and violations.

If the crew is to be an effective team, both pilots need to be able to depend on each other. If you and your FO have a long history of filing NASA or ASAP reports, you probably need to evaluate our performance as a team.

When considering how to treat your FO, it is important to ask yourself how your actions affect safety and CRM (for more information on CRM, consult GlobalAir.com’s Aviation Directory for courses on cockpit resource management). While safety is paramount on any flight, it will normally be enhanced by making FO more involved in the decision making process and showing that your value and respect his opinion and skills.

Read the full article on Aviation Examiner

My first trip to the world's busiest airport... in a small propeller plane

In June 1995, I was a flight instructor at the Ben Epps Airport (KAHN) in Athens, Ga. I had just graduated from the University of Georgia and was about to leave my part-time job flight instructing for a job in the claims department of the now defunct Fortune Insurance Company in Jacksonville, Fla.

Even though airline hiring was going on at the time, I hadn’t really thought about an airline career. The mid-1990s were at the height of the pay-for-training years in which airlines would hire pilots as long as the pilots agreed to pay for their own initial simulator training. This could cost tens of thousands of dollars and, with several student loans already, I didn’t want to add to my debt load.

As I got ready to depart Athens for a new insurance career, Ken, one of my star students, was trying to meet the requirements for a commercial license. Ken was professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Georgia and had been bitten by the flying bug. He had already earned his private license, his instrument rating, and now had his sights set on becoming a commercial pilot.

About this time, one of the flying magazines ran an article about a general aviation pilot who had been flying around Atlanta at night and, on a lark, asked the approach controller for touch and go landings at Hartsfield International (KATL). To most people, Hartsfield is THE Atlanta airport. It is the hub and headquarters of Delta Air Lines and, until its merger with Southwest is complete, Airtran. According to CNN, ATL is the busiest passenger airport in the world with more than 95 million passengers passing through its terminals in 2012. The airport’s website reports that there are almost 2,500 departures and arrivals each day.

Ken read the article about the touch and goes at the world’s busiest airport and hatched an idea. He wanted to make a cross-country trip from Athens to Hartsfield. Even though he was a licensed pilot, Ken did not feel comfortable making the trip by himself so he asked me to join him. Flying the trip under instrument flight rules would make it easier to get in and out of Hartsfield, we hoped. Pilots must have a clearance to enter the busy Class B airspace around Atlanta and it comes automatically when you fly IFR. As an added bonus, Ken could log the trip as a cross-country flight to meet commercial pilot license requirements.

On the day of the trip, June 26, 1995, we rented a Piper Warrior from Sonny’s Air Service, the small flight school at the Athens airport where I worked. The low-wing single-engine airplane seated four and was the fastest rental plane in Sonny’s fleet. Ken flew while I sat in the right seat, my usual perch while instructing. We also brought along Brooks, one of my friends who wasn’t a pilot but who loved airplanes and flying.

After almost 20 years the details of the trip are a little hazy in my memory. I remember the controller (who probably wasn’t very pleased to have us disrupting the flow of his traffic) making us do 360 degree turns while we waited for a gap in the never-ending line of airline jets approaching for landing. We finally found a gap between Delta and ValueJet, the forerunner of AirTran, and made our landing on runway 9 right, up to that point in my flying career, was the largest piece of pavement I had ever seen.  We made the approach and landing at about 120 knots, about as fast as a Warrior can fly and about as slow as an airliner can fly.

I remember taxiing to the FBO (fixed base operator), the terminal for private airplanes on the north side of Hartsfield. Ken paid the landing fee which was about $25 for our Warrior as I recall. We explored the FBO and filled our tanks with free cookies in the pilot lounge.

When we got ready to leave, we started the engine and got our clearance. The ground controller, rather than having us taxi to the end of the nearest runway, directed us to a runway intersection directly in front of the FBO on taxiway “Dixie.” (Normally taxiways are named for letters of the phonetic alphabet. In Atlanta, where Delta Air Lines is based, taxiway “Delta” is renamed taxiway “Dixie” to avoid confusion.) I had always been taught to never accept an intersection takeoff and had given my students the same advice. In this case, however, the runway in front of us was 9,000 feet long and 150 feet wide. The Piper could almost take off going across it. A glance at the airport chart showed that we had approximately 5,000 feet remaining from the intersection, nearly a mile and about as long as the runway at Athens. Judging that to be a sufficient distance, we accepted the takeoff clearance and were soon on our way.

The trip back to Athens was uneventful. We returned home, our exploratory mission successful, and now had the bragging rights that came from flying into Hartsfield and mixing with the kerosene burners who props were invisible inside their jet engine nacelles. The entire round trip had taken just under two hours.

Soon after that trip, I left Athens to start work at an insurance company. Office work didn’t take, however. I never quit flying and a few years later I went back to full-time instructing, this time in Florida at the FlightSafety Academy. A few years after that, I returned to Hartsfield, this time as the First Officer of a Delta Connection Canadair Regional Jet. Since then I have returned there flying corporate jets back to the same FBO (although it is now under new management). My current job has taken me back to Hartsfield as a simulator instructor.

Ken’s love of flying eventually led him to become a Certified Flight Instructor in addition to his teaching duties at the University. While Brooks never became a pilot, he fulfilled his love of aviation through building and flying remote control airplanes.

Originally published on Aviation Examiner

Canada to the rescue at Salute America Air Show

As the 2013 air show season draws to a close, it was set to go out with a bang at the Salute America Air Show near Atlanta. The show, held on Oct. 5-6 at the Paulding Northwest Atlanta airport in Dallas, Ga. (airport details can be found on GlobalAir.com) featured a variety of aviation acts. Saturday night’s show included rare twilight aerobatic acts.

Many 2013 air shows were canceled due to the sequester budget cuts enacted earlier this year. The military jets and helicopters often featured at local air shows were in short supply due to the cuts in the defense budget. For the first half of the summer, the Air Force Thunderbirds and the Navy Blue Angels were grounded, prompting the cancellation of many air shows. The Thunderbirds resumed flying in July when the Air Force found money to fund the unit. At Wisconsin’s Oshkosh air show, the FAA charged the Experimental Aircraft Association to operate a temporary control tower at the field.

It is ironic then that the only active duty military aircraft featured at the Salute America Air Show were a pair of Canadian Air Force CF-18 Hornets. A star attraction was the Royal Canadian Air Force Hornet Demonstration Team which performed daylight and twilight routines. A second CF-18 was on hand as a static display.

Although no U.S. military aircraft were present at the Salute America Air Show, the pilot of the Canadian CF-18 unfurled an American flag from his cockpit in a show of friendship as he taxied in from his first performance on Saturday. In a return salute, a Lucas Oil skydiver in an American flag parachute streamed a Canadian Maple Leaf flag from his back later in the day.

Aficionados of World War II aircraft thrilled to a North American P-51 Mustang and Chance Vought F4U Corsair. Both warbirds performed separately and then joined for a formation flight in front of the crowd. The P-51, flown by Stan Musak, is a veteran of both WWII and Korea. Although Corsairs are also famous for their service in WWII, this particular airplane was built in 1945 and served primarily in Korea. The Corsair was flown by Jim Tobul.

The Aeroshell Aerobatic Team also performed in both the daylight and twilight shows. The team, sponsored by Aeroshell, a division of the Shell oil company that produces aviation lubricants and fuels, flies vintage North American T-6 Texans that were used to train military pilots in WWII. The four airplanes wowed the crowd with their coordinated formation aerobatics.

A second aerobatic team to perform was Team Aerostar. The team uses Yakovlev Yak-52s, Soviet-era Russian military trainers. After watching the three Russian airplanes perform, airshow fans could go to the vendor area to get a firsthand look at what it is like to fly formation aerobatics at the AOPA/Redbird Simulator trailer.

There were several solo performers as well. Lucas Oil sponsored Mike Wiskus and his Pitts biplane as well as a team of skydivers. “Skipper” Hyle performed in another AT-6 Harvard, the British version of the Texan trainer. Chuck Coleman flew an Extra 300L and Gary Rower demonstrated another WWII trainer, the Super Stearman biplane. Gary Ward performed in the ultramodern, carbon fiber MX-2.

Another popular performer was Bill Braack in the Smoke-n-Thunder jet car. The car is powered by a Westinghouse J34-48 jet engine that was originally used to power a North American T-2 Buckeye trainer jet used by the U.S. Navy. The 26 foot long car can be driven to almost 400 miles per hour by the engine’s 6,000 pounds of thrust.

During the day show, Braack in the jet car raced Mike Wiskus in the Lucas Oil Pitts. In the evening show, Braack thrilled the crowd with bursts of afterburner in a nighttime speed run down the runway.

The final act of the show was aerobatic pilot and musician Elgin Wells flying his one-of-kind Starjammer. The Starjammer is an aerobatic airplane that is equipped with lights and speakers for a unique after-dark performance that must be seen to be appreciated. A fireworks display followed Saturday’s show.

There were also many static displays for airshow patrons to enjoy. In addition to the Canadian Air Force CF-18, there were two vintage DC-3s. One was in the livery of a classic airliner while the other was a restored U.S. Air Force AC-47 gunship owned by the American Flight Museum. Phoenix Air, a local Georgia company that contracts with the military, also had one of its Learjets on display. Civil Air Patrol recruiters were on hand and a variety of general aviation aircraft that included a Pilatus PC-12, a classic Stinson 108, and Hughes 600N helicopter.

In a normal year, airshows are one of the largest spectator sports in the United States with tens of millions in attendance. Airshow fans can only hope that by next year, the federal budget crisis will have been averted and the 2014 season will see a return of the U.S. military demonstration teams and aircraft that are so popular.

If you would like to see more pictures as well as videos from both the day and night performances at the Salute America Air Show, please visit and like the Aviation Examiner Facebook page.

 

Originally published on Aviation Examiner

Globalair.com introduces new mobile site for pilots

Globalair.com has introduced a new mobile version of its website for pilots. The site is free, but resembles many downloadable applications in both appearance and utility. The site contains a wealth of information for pilots and can be a valuable resource. Additionally, the site can be easily used by nonpilots since it does not require a pilot license or any login information.

The mobile site, which was introduced to the public at Oshkosh, contains three sections, which are selectable from the home page. Users can choose from “Aircraft for Sale,” which lists aircraft classified ads. The “Airport Resource Center” provides pilots with access to airport, airspace and weather information. The “Aviation Directory” contains listings for a variety of aviation businesses.

Clicking the “Aircraft for Sale” button takes the user to a listing of broad categories of aircraft such as “jets” or “single engine pistons.” Selecting the desired category will open a menu of manufacturers, which can then be opened into that company’s various aircraft types. Many of the listings include pictures as well as buttons to send an email to the seller or to call the seller’s phone number with a single touch.

Realistically, most people probably will never buy an airplane, but it can be fun to browse the listings and dream. For example, what red-blooded pilot wouldn’t be tempted by the listing for a 1945 North American P-51 Mustang (dual controls, based in Texas, with only 135 hours since major overhaul on its Rolls Royce Merlin engine)? If you have $2.1 million, it can be yours. (Have you bought your lottery ticket yet?) The stunning photos of this beautiful warbird alone are worth scanning the listings.

Another interesting find is a 1967 Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-21 Fishbed. This former Soviet jet fighter, which now lives in California, can be acquired for the bargain price of $79,500. This is cheaper than many single-engine propeller planes.

Speaking of single-engine piston airplanes, pilots looking for a trainer or a family airplane won’t be disappointed. There are myriad listings for more traditional airplanes such as Cessna, Piper, Cirrus, Beechcraft, and the like. Many of these smaller airplanes will fit even limited budgets, such as the 1970 Cessna 150 that lists for $20,500.

The “Aviation Resource Directory” section contains listing for many aviation related businesses and organizations. The listings contain links to websites as well as phone numbers. There are numerous categories (and subcategories) so that users can find whatever service they are looking for. Business owners and organizations can also submit their own company information for a free listing.

Probably the most useful aspect of Globalair.com’s new mobile site for the pilot on the go is the “Airport Resource” section. This section allows the user to search for a variety of aviation facilities by state or by name. Unlike many websites or apps, Globalair.com allows the user to refine their search to seaplane bases, heliports, balloon ports or STOLports.

When a facility is selected, the information about the airport is available to the user. This includes common items such as an airport diagram if available, runway information, weather, terminal procedures and an airport business directory. Globalair.com also goes a step further by including a phone numbers and directions for nearby hotels and restaurants for those pilots seeking the proverbial “$100 hamburger.” The listings even include nearby golf courses.

Users can also use the Globalair.com mobile site to look up airspace fixes. In the age of GPS when going direct to a fix is often the primary means of navigation, Globalair.com is an easy way to find important details about fixes such as latitude and longitude, the chart where it can be found, the controlling air route traffic control center, and nearby airports.

Globalair.com also provides weather information to the pilot’s smartphone or tablet. In addition to METARs and TAFs, Globalair.com includes aviation weather charts that are often not found on other weather sources. There are the expected radar and satellite weather maps, but also turbulence and icing potential charts, convection outlooks, winds and temperatures aloft, and significant weather prognostication charts. The lack of ability to zoom may affect the utility of some charts for users with devices that have small screens, but in general pilots and weather fans will appreciate the availability of so much information in one place at no cost. A local radar map is available on the airport resource page.

One of the most unique and useful aspects of Globalair.com’s site is the ability to compare fuel prices. In addition to listing fuel prices in the airport information section, the site has the ability to map fuel prices over a geographic area. The feature can be used for either jet fuel or 100 low-lead avgas. Think Gas Buddy for airplanes.

For example, suppose a flight crew will be flying the boss to a meeting in Denver. The meeting is downtown so the boss doesn’t have a preference on which airport to use. If the captain searches for Denver area fuel prices on Globalair.com, he would see a map of the Denver area with airports labeled. The pilot could then touch each airport to go to the airport resource page for the most recent fuel prices and other information.

Scrolling to the bottom of the map yields a list of the 10 lowest fuel prices for airports within a 50 nautical mile radius. In the case of our hypothetical flight to Denver, the cheapest jet fuel can be found at Denver’s Centennial airport (KAPA) at $4.31 per gallon. A minor drawback is that the fuel prices on the “10 cheapest list” are by airport only. The user must click the airport name on the list or icon on the map to find out which FBO has the best price. On the airport resource page, the pilot finds that Tac Air is currently the home of Denver’s cheapest jet fuel.

Because the Globalair.com is a mobile site rather than an application, it functions well for either Apple or Android products. Much of the information available on Globalair.com would cost several dollars for an app and perhaps more for a subscription. The Globalair.com site is totally free and users are not even required to log in. Users seeking the full functionality of Globalair.com can also choose to view the full site on their mobile devices.

Pilots and nonpilots alike will enjoy Globalair.com’s new mobile internet site. Whether perusing the catalog of aircraft for sale, planning a flight or checking the weather, Globalair.com provides a wealth of useful information for users.

Originally published on National Aviation Examiner

Preliminary details of UPS crash in Birmingham

Yesterday United Parcel Service Flight 1354 crashed while on approach to runway 18 in Birmingham, Al. The crash occurred at approximately 4:45 a.m. Central Time (9:45 Zulu). Both crewmembers died in the crash. The flight originated at the UPS hub in Louisville, Ky.

The hourly weather report taken shortly after the crash at 4:53 a.m. (0953Z) indicated few clouds at 1,100 feet with a broken ceiling layer at 3,500 feet. There was an overcast layer at 7,500 feet. Rain was not reported. The wind was reported from 340 degrees at four knots. This would have meant a slight tailwind for a landing on runway 18, but would have likely been within acceptable limits.

GlobalAir.com’s airport directory reports that runway 18 is 7,099 feet long. There are two instrument approaches to runway 18, a GPS approach and a localizer approach. Both approaches would have taken the airplane to a minimum altitude of 600 feet above the ground, which would have been sufficient to clear the lowest cloud layer.

The crash site was reported by Birmingham’s Fox 6 to be approximately one quarter mile north of the airport, indicating that the airplane would have been on short final to the runway. Normally the aircraft would have been about 100 above the ground at this point. Witnesses reported abnormal sounds coming from the plane’s engines, but the crew did not report any problems.

CNBC reported that the crash caused at least two explosions and a fire on the ground. The airplane came to rest in a field outside the airport perimeter. A CNBC video shows what appears to be an explosion amid the post-crash fire. Raw video from Birmingham’s WHAS also shows the post-crash fire. The crash reportedly did not damage any structures on the ground.

The pilots of the airplane were not identified, but the Moore County News reported that Shanda Carney Fanning, 37, of Lynchburg, Tenn. was killed. Fanning’s husband, Brett Fanning, is an employee at the Jack Daniels distillery. The Daily Mail reported that Fanning was the first officer of the flight.

The accident aircraft was reported to be an Airbus A300F4-600R. According to Airliners.net, the A300F4-600R is a modification of the A300 which first flew in 1983. First flight of the A300-600 was in 1987. The updated A300 incorporated a more advanced cockpit and increased range. The “R” denotes a long range version with a fuel trim tank in the tail and a higher maximum takeoff weight. The “F” denotes a freighter version of the aircraft. The UPS website notes that the company operated 53 of the heavy Airbus freighters.

The Aviation Safety Network lists a total of 21 hull-loss accidents for the A300 series. Only one of these accidents, the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in Belle Harbor, N.Y. on November 12, 2001, was in the United States. This accident was determined to have been caused by the first officer’s excessive rudder inputs in response to a possible encounter with wake turbulence.

The Birmingham crash is the second fatal UPS Airlines crash. On September 3, 2010, UPS Flight 6 caught fire and crashed 45 minutes after takeoff from the Dubai airport in Qatar. Both crewmembers aboard the Boeing 747-400F were killed. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the crash according to Reuters, but the official report of the crash by the General Civil Aviation Authority of the United Arab Emirates focuses on the cargo of lithium batteries as a source of ignition for the fire.

In 2006, another UPS freighter was destroyed by fire in Philadelphia. The crew successfully made an emergency landing and escaped safely, but the DC-8-71F was destroyed. The NTSB report traced the fire to lithium batteries contained in electronic devices that were being shipped on board the plane.

The NTSB has dispatched an investigation team to Birmingham, but has not yet commented on the specific details of the accident.

Originally published on National Aviation Examiner

New FAA copilot rules in effect

A new Federal Aviation Administration rule that requires copilots on U.S. airlines to have additional training and flight experience is now in effect. The final rule, required by the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010, was published in the Federal Register on July 15, 2013.

Previously, first officers on scheduled airline flights were only required to hold a commercial pilot license. The commercial license requires a total of 250 hours flight time. Under the new rule, airline first officers are required to hold an airline transport pilot license. The ATP requires 1,500 hours of flight time. Pilots must be at least 23 years old to earn an ATP.

The rule also includes provision for some pilots to obtain a restricted ATP with fewer than 1,500 flight hours. To qualify for the restricted ATP, pilots must be at least 21 years old and must either be a military trained pilot or hold a bachelor’s or associate’s degree in an aviation major.

There are other requirements in the new rule as well. First officers in scheduled airline service must also hold a second class medical certificate. If the aircraft requires three or more pilots, the first officer must also have a type rating for the specific aircraft type to be flown and a first class medical certificate. Airline captains were previously required to hold an ATP, a type rating, and a first class medical certificate. A new requirement under the rule is that captains must have a minimum of 1,000 hours in air carrier operations.

The new rule was passed by Congress after the February 12, 2009 crash of Colgan Airlines/Continental Connection Flight 3407 in Buffalo, N.Y. The NTSB report faulted pilot training at the regional airline as a factor. The new rules also come in the wake of the July 6, 2013 crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 in San Francisco. Although the NTSB is still investigating the accident, early indications are that the crew training may have played a role in the accident according to Politico.

Kevin Kuhlman, professor of aviation and aerospace science at Metropolitan State University of Denver, is not sure that the rule change will be worthwhile. “It seems logical that more hours equals safety,” he argues in the Denver Post, “but the reality is that it is the quality of the training not the quantity that matters. That’s what the (Asiana Airlines) and Colgan accidents really show.”

Kuhlman also is concerned that the new requirements may lead some pilots to falsify their flight times. Pilot flight times are maintained largely by an honor system in which pilots log their flight hours in a personal log book. It is only when pilots are finally hired by commercial operators that their times are tracked by others. Even then, the company only keeps track of flight time earned by the pilot while at that particular company.

Another potential problem is that the more stringent requirements for an airline career may dissuade people from beginning an aviation career, especially after a decade of wage and benefit cuts for airline employees. When paired with looming retirements as hundreds of airline pilots reach age 65, the new rule may trigger a severe shortage of pilots qualified to fly airliners.

Originally published as National Aviation Examiner

AOPA offers new free youth membership

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association has announced a new youth membership program called AV8Rs. The program, which is free, is open to youths between 13 and 18 years old and is intended to spur interest in aviation among young people.

According to the AOPA, the initiative is designed to make an early connection with students who may have an aviation interest and “raise awareness of aviation and flight through education, engagement, cultivation and support.” The organization hopes that the AV8Rs will help to reverse the decline in the U.S. pilot population. Increasing costs and a slow economy have combined to shrink the number of pilots at an alarming rate according to Forbes.

The free membership in AV8Rs includes a membership card, an AV8Rs sling bag, and a digital subscription to Flight Training magazine. Additionally, there are AOPA AV8R communities on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, tumblr and Youtube. There is also a newsletter, an AV8R blog written by teens and a help line for young prospective pilots. AV8Rs will also have the chance to win flight training scholarships.

Students interested in aviation have several other options as well. The Experimental Aircraft Association’s Young Eagle program offers free flights for young people between ages 8 and 17. The Civil Air Patrol’s Cadet Program is oriented around the organization’s military background as an auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. The Boy Scouts of America offers Aviation Exploring as one of its programs for older teens. Several other aviation organizations also offer scholarships.

Since 9/11, many have lamented that increased security has made aviation inaccessible to many kids. The airport fence is now tightly controlled at many airports. The Great Recession and rising fuel prices have made it more difficult to afford flying lessons. Airline bankruptcies, pay cuts, and furloughs mean that the incentive for many prospective pilots is gone. Perhaps programs like AOPA’s AV8Rs will help to restore an interest in aviation among America’s students.

To join AV8Rs, register at the AOPA website.

Citation Ten makes Cessna fastest once again

Cessna Aircraft Corporation announced this week that its new Citation Ten will be the world’s fastest civil aircraft. After the retirement of the Concorde, Cessna’s Citation X was the fastest civil airplane with a maximum Mach number of 0.92 until Gulfstream unveiled its new G650 business jet. The G650 boasted a maximum Mach of 0.925. In an August 24 press release, Cessna revealed that the new Citation Ten will have a maximum Mach of 0.935.

A speed of Mach 0.935 means that the Citation Ten will be capable of traveling at 93.5 percent of the speed of sound. This is equivalent to almost 700 miles per hour (1,126 kilometers per hour).

Scott Ernest, Cessna President and CEO, said, “As our founder Clyde Cessna said, ‘speed is the only reason for flying,’ so at Cessna we design, engineer, manufacture and fly the fastest civil aircraft in the world – not for us, but for our customers so they can work faster, more efficiently and get the job done.”

Cessna also notes that in addition to an increase in speed over the old Citation X, the new Ten will also have increased payload capacity and range. The Ten will have a range of 3,245 nautical miles (3,734 statute miles or 6,009 kilometers), an increase of almost 200 miles over the X. Payload is also slated to increase by about 200 pounds (90 kilograms).

As a part of the celebration surrounding Cessna’s return to preeminence among fast jets, the company also announced that it will have a presence on all four race cars that are part of the Chip Ganassi Racing Team. Ganassi Racing operates a Citation X according to Professional Pilot magazine.

In the press release, Ganassi says, “My teams compete in nearly 70 races a year and I try to make it to as many as I can.” He continues, “The races might be on the same weekend and sometimes even on the same day and thousands of miles apart. So like any business owner, time is one of my most valuable assets. This airplane shrinks the map for me and has become a vital piece of my business allowing me to spend more time at the track and with my teams. You couldn’t put a value on how important it is to my business.”

The Citation Ten is currently undergoing flight testing and certification. It first flew in January 2012 at Cessna’s factory in Wichita, Kan. According to Cessna, first deliveries of the Ten are scheduled for January 2013.

Disclosure:  The author is employed as a pilot by a division of Cessna and Textron.

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