Advocates for Aviation Safety Foundation, Inc.

Together we can make a difference. 

Please join me in advocating a change in the WINGS Program validation period. Our argument is that it should be consistent with the Flight Review 24 month requirement.

For example, in the trailing twenty four month period, 03/01/2009 thru 2/28/2011, this change would have allowed an additional 133,728 aviators time to complete their Basic WING.

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Personal Preference: Choose One of the Following:

___ Getting an FAA Ramp Check
___ Getting Beat with and Ugly Stick

Some Dos and Donts That Might Make a Surprise Meeting With the FAA a Little Easier

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The WINGS User's Guide beta test has closed, and the completed guide may now be found on the FAASafety.gov website:

WINGS Pilot Proficiency User's Guide (PDF format) 

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It has been a busy and productive year for the Advocates for Aviation Safety Foundation (AFASF).  The number of aviators who have enrolled and qualified for WINGS credit is encouraging, but not nearly the number that will make an impact on reducing the nation’s accident and incident rate. However, I am confident that, working together, we can make significant progress towards that goal in 2011. The time is now!  We can procrastinate no longer. It is our responsibility to encourage each and every one of our aviator friends, to maintain currency and proficiency through participation in the WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program.

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An important question that pilots often ask is what type of maintenance can I perform on my airplane? In “Maintaining Your Way to Greater Safety” in the March/April 2010 FAA Safety Briefing, the topic of preventive maintenance is explored, revealing what tasks a pilot can and cannot do. Pilots who help maintain their aircraft can gain a better working knowledge of their aircraft’s systems and components. Armed with this additional technical know-how, pilots can also improve communication with their mechanics. To learn more about owner-performed preventive maintenance, check out the article on page 23 of the March/April issue of FAA Safety Briefing. Produced by the editors, FAA Safety Briefing.

Address questions or comments to: SafetyBriefing@faa.gov

Last week in Lakeland, Florida, there was plenty of sun and fun, but, importantly, in the middle of all that fun something bigger was happening. This was something that might not have seemed obvious to many, but which underscores the importance of events like Sun ’n Fun—education.  

As FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said in his remarks at the Meet the FAA forum, everyone who attends events like Sun ’n Fun walk away having learned something, whether it’s through a safety seminar, a hands-on workshop, or just exchanging stories with fellow airmen. As evidence of this thirst for safety knowledge, more than 6,000 aviation enthusiasts attended the hundreds of available programs at Sun ’n Fun. The event also marked the FAASTeam’s first Safety Stand Down, an initiative designed to improve your flying safety culture. At the Stand Down, flight instructor and aviation author Rod Machado offered some good advice: “You can fly as safely as you want to fly because flying is not a matter of luck. It’s based on choices you control.”  The key to safety, said Machado, is developing these choices into safety habits, which over time become life-long values that will help keep you safe. 

Bell Helicopter Professional Pilots Safety Program or HELIPROPS

Notice Number: NOTC2236

Bell Helicopter, Textron Inc. safety publication, Helicopter Professional Pilots Safety Program or HELIPROPS, designed for helicopter pilots is now available electronically online.  Bell’s newsletter Human AD Airworthiness for Humans is published quarterly in English and Spanish and is distributed to readers in approximately 121 countries.

A popular feature of the newsletter are articles from helicopter pilot’s own experiences flying in “unusual situations;” all for the purpose of exchanging safety information, best practices, etc, pilot to pilot.

The web site, www.heliprops.com is a free resource for pilots, mechanics, owners - operators, students and enthusiasts.  From the web site readers are able to download the Human AD newsletter, HELIPROPS Safety Posters.  The FAAST program is committed to the reduction of helicopter accidents and encourages FAAST members as well as other airmen to review this valuable source of safety information.

For more information visit the following links:

English:  http://www.bellhelicopter.com/en/training/pdf/heliprops_21_3.pdf

Spanish:  http://www.bellhelicopter.com/en/training/pdf/heliprops_21_3_span.pdf