By Jim Timm 
January 2016
I hope all of you had a merry Christmas and a safe time welcoming in the New Year. So far this winter the weather has produced some great opportunities to get in some quality flying time. I hope many of you have been able to take advantage of it. Thanks to all of you for flying safely, and as a result, we ended the year with a very good safety record. Let’s keep it up; I appreciate not having to write a long safety report each month. I’m looking forward to seeing you at the upcoming flying events.
Finally, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation has passed the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2, bringing significant third class medical reform one more step closer to reality. However, it still has a very long way to go. Under the present revised bill, the FAA will have a year from the date the legislation becomes law to produce a final rule reflecting the legislation’s provisions. If the final rule is not readyone yearof the bill’s enactment, pilots will be allowed to fly under the guidelines set out in the legislation without facing FAA enforcement action. The bill that was passed by the committee appears to me to be so convoluted in its requirements that it would almost seem to be easier to continue with the present Third Class Medical requirements.To recap a bit of what is proposed:
“Under the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2, most pilots who have held a valid third class medical, either regular or special issuance,10 yearsthe legislation’s enactment would never need to get anothermedical exam. The rule would apply to pilots flying VFR or IFR in aircraft weighing up to 6,000 pounds and carrying up to five passengers at altitudes below 18,000 feet and speeds up to 250 knots.
• Pilots who develop certain medical conditions, including a small list of specific cardiac, mental health, or neurological conditions, will have to get an FAA special issuance medical one time only.
• For pilots who have not had a valid medical in the past 10 years and those who have never applied for and received a medical certificate, a one-time third class medical certification by an aviation medical examiner will be required. After a pilot has been medically certified once, either through the regular or special issuance processes, he or she also will be able to fly indefinitely without needing to go through thecertification process again.
• After pilots have met these requirements, they will need to visit their personal physician once every four years for a medical exam. Pilots will need to fill out a form and provide it to the doctor performing the exam. The form will include a short questionnaire for pilots as well as a list of items the doctor must include in the examination. Following the exam, both the physician and the pilot must sign the form. The pilot must make a note of the visit and keep the signed form in his or her logbook.
• While the form will includeof the items that are now part of the third class medical exam, it will not require the doctor to make a “pass/fail” judgment, and no information about the exam needs to be provided to the FAA unless it is specifically requested. In addition to the medical exam by a personal physician once every four years, pilots will be required to take a free online education course on aeromedical factors every two years. The course will be designed to increase awareness and understanding of medical factors that can affect a pilot’s fitness to fly.”
I would think that trying to get your family doctor to use an FAA medical exam form and sign it for you is fantasy. You will probably still have to go to an AME to get the required checkup. It all appears to have really strayed far away from the original intent of simplifying the private pilot medical requirements by only having a valid driver’s license in lieu of an FAA medical certificate.
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
It’s good to see that some of the interesting high-tech items that the experimental aircraft are able to enjoy, continue to make their way into certified aircraft use. The latest I noticed was that the FAA issued a TSO approval for the Sandia 340 electronic attitude indicator permitting its use in certified aircraft. Actually, it’s a four-in-one instrument, providing attitude, airspeed, altitude, and slip. The instrument can be installed as a replacement for an existing vacuum driven attitude indicator as a minor installation under the FAA’s new policy statement for part 23 aircraft, and it will fit in a standard 3” instrument opening. Because it’s electronic, I think it should be great as it shouldn’t tumble in unusual attitudes or get the bearings damaged from too many hard landings with a resultant short service life, and expensive overhauls, and besides, it weighs less than a pound. It’s got to be next on the must have list.
Significant airport construction activity is still ongoing in the Phoenix and Tucson area, and also around the state. Be sure to check for NOTAMs before taking off for another airport so you don’t encounter a nasty surprise when you get there. Also, continue to be sure to add TFRs to your preflight check list.
This past aviation accident reporting period has been both good and bad. The good news was that the NSTB issued only two reports of accidents in Arizona, and one of the reports did not contain accident details, which would indicate it was minor in nature regarding injuries. In the other report, which did contain details, the airplane lost power while landing, and landed short of the runway in unsuitable terrain, seriously damaging the airplane, but nether occupant was injured. The bad news is there was a helicopter accident on December 15 near Superior in which there were two fatalities and one serious injury. Because of the serious nature of the accident, the NTSB will normally issue a preliminary report when the accident notice is published, and at the time this was written, the accident report had not been issued.
The APA is still working with various airports around the state, providing the pilot and aircraft owner perspective in the process of updating Airport Master Plans. An update of the Sedona Airport (SED), Deer Valley Airport (DVT), and Grand Canyon Airport (GCN) master plans are currently in process.
THINGS TO DO - PLACES TO GO FOR BREAKFAST:
• The firstthe month fly in breakfast at Coolidge Municipal Airport (P08) restarts this month. Due to health department issues, a lunch wagon vendor was used this month, leaving many unhappy. The Lions club will be back in business serving their own breakfast in November!
• The secondSaturdaythe month, Ryan Field (RYN) fly in buffet breakfast should be restarting this month. However, breakfast is available at the restaurant next door.
• The Falcon Field EAA Warbirds Squadron Breakfast on the thirdrestarting.
• The thirdthe month there is a fly in breakfast at Benson (E95) at Southwest Aviation. (There are special fuel prices for breakfast attendees.)
• The last Saturday of the month there is still a fly in breakfast at Casa Grande Municipal Airport (CGZ).The Airport has a new restaurant, Foxtrot Cafe, operating in the Terminal Building. They are open:30am to 2:00pm Monday, but on the last Saturday of the month they have a “fly in breakfast special” on the menu; the price for adults is $7 and kids $5.
Check with the APA Getaway Flights program and online calendar for fun weekend places to fly.