October 12, 2020 : Sporty's Academy

Biweekly Bulletin – October 12, 2020

SPORTY’S ACADEMY EXPANDS TRAINING FLEET

Cessna 172S Skyhawk joins flight line

The high demand for pilot training makes N176ME, a Cessna 172 Skyhawk, a much-needed addition to the Sporty’s ECA training fleet. The Cessna Skyhawk is the ultimate training aircraft and the most popular single-engine aircraft ever built.

This pristine, Millennium edition 172S is available for all phases of training and includes a KLN94 navigator and KAP140 dual axis autopilot with 521 lbs. of useful load available with full fuel.

Learn more at https://sportysacademy.com/n176me/.

FAA ISSUES ADDITIONAL AMENDMENT FOR COVID RELIEF

Additional 2 month grace period granted

The FAA issued a final rule on September 30, 2020, that further amends Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) 118 (COVID relief for pilots). The most recent SFAR essentially provides an additional 2-month grace periods for flight reviews, medicals and knowledge test results.

As a reminder, the additional relief for flight reviews applies to commercial operations, or, as a Private pilot provided the pilot has at least 500 hours of total time, 400 hours PIC, and 50 hours PIC in the last 12 months. The kinds of operations permitted are those that are:

incidental to business or employment
in support of family medical needs or to transport essential goods for personal use
necessary to fly an aircraft to a location in order to meet a requirement of the relief

MAKING EFFECTIVE USE OF WEATHER INFORMATION

Learn how to analyze the abundance of weather information

Today’s pilots enjoy an abundance of weather information sources, but having weather information available is only part of the weather decision-making equation. Knowing how to acquire, interpret, and make operational decisions based on weather information is essential to safe flying.

The FAA Safety Team’s latest FlySafe topic acquaints GA pilots with available weather information sources and offers guidance on making well-informed weather decisions.

Have a closer look at https://medium.com/faa/

Access the FlySafe fact sheet at https://www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing/

WHAT’S THE POINT OF GROUND REFERENCE MANEUVERS?

From Sporty’s Student Pilot News

by John Zimmerman

Confession: I hated ground reference maneuvers as a student pilot. S-turns, turns around a point, rectangular courses—it all seemed like busy work, a way to rack up flight hours without learning anything or having any fun. I wanted to perfect my landings and learn how to fly 200-mile trips, and all this time locked in the practice area wasn’t helping.

Or so I thought. While it took a while, my flight instructor finally broke through and explained why we were spending so much time on ground reference maneuvers. He told me to stop focusing on the minutiae and the rigid FAA test standards, and to start focusing on the bigger picture. We were really learning how to read the wind, how to visualize the airplane’s track over the ground, and how to coordinate control inputs. It was about aircraft mastery and making it go exactly where we wanted, no matter what the wind conditions.

This little speech worked. I didn’t instantly love turns around a point, but I did begin to appreciate that doing this simple maneuver really well was going to help me make better landings.

FAA MEDICALS AND BASIC MED AT SPORTY’S

Scheduling now for fall/winter 2020

Regulatory update: the FAA is allowing pilots to continue to fly if their medical certificate expires between March 31 and June 30 to reduce the burden on the country’s healthcare system and limit the potential spread of the virus.

FAA Aviation Medical Examiner, Dr. John Held, offers aviation medical exams and basic med evaluations at Sporty’s Clermont County Airport on select Saturdays. The cost of the exam is $120. An EKG (if required) is subject to an additional $35 fee.

DATE	TIME
Saturday, November 7	9am – 1pm
Saturday, December 5	9am – 1pm

To schedule, please call Sporty’s at 513.735.9100 ext. 0.

For pilots pursuing Basic Med, the required online training is available through two approved sources – AOPA and Mayo Clinic.

VIDEO TIP: AERODYNAMICS OF INDUCED AND PARASITE DRAG

During your flight training, you’ll learn all about the 4 forces acting on the airplane in flight, including lift, thrust, weight and drag. This week’s tip takes a closer look at the aerodynamic forces that cause the rearward force of drag, including a breakdown of parasite vs. induced drag.