Renowned author Maya Angelou once described a character as “hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between.” This should also be held as an ideal among flying clubs; the club that has a plan in place to combat potential crises will likely be able to weather storms that could prove catastrophic for those less prepared. This issue will focus on steps you can take to make sure your club is ready for anything.
Have you thought about what your club's procedures would be if you had an aircraft long overdue? What about if your club aircraft experienced a serious incident or accident? In March 2018, the Pompano Beach Flying Club experienced the latter when its Cherokee Six crashed during an attempted go-around. Fortunately, there were no injuries, but the aircraft was totaled. Read this month's Club Spotlight to find out how the club dealt with things in the aftermath of the accident, including working with FAA and NTSB investigations, dealing with insurance, and reviewing club policies and safety procedures. To find out what your club can do to plan for contingencies we don't like to think about, our Question of the Month discusses how you can be prepared for the worst.
In addition to planning ahead, it is vital that clubs do everything they can to prevent accidents by actively promoting safety. The Event Spotlight looks at ten ways you can make a safety stand-down a success, while this month's Safety article focuses on ways that you can cultivate and maintain a healthy safety culture within your flying club.
Regardless of the size of your flying club, or the type of aircraft that you fly, we hope that this issue will be of benefit. Have fun, and fly safe!
California Fly-in'
AOPA Fly-In season will continue with its second event of the year, which will be held on June 21 and 22 in Livermore, CA (KLVK). The two-day fly-in will include workshops, a Friday Flightline Cookout, seminars, exhibits, presentations, and much more! For additional information regarding the 2019 AOPA Fly-Ins, please visit www.aopa.org/fly-ins. We hope to see you there!
AirVenture Awaits!
In addition to the upcoming AOPA Fly-In, EAA AirVenture is quickly approaching! The 2019 EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI (KOSH) will run from Monday, July 22 through Sunday, July 28. For those of you who will be attending the event, check out some of the AOPA seminars and come visit us at the AOPA tent. AOPA Great Lakes Ambassador Andy Miller will be giving a Maximum Fun, Minimum Cost seminar on Friday, July 26 at 2:00. Also, for those of you in flying clubs, be sure to come to our Flying Club Social on Friday evening at 5:30 for food, drinks, and an opportunity to mingle with members of other clubs across the United States.
AOPA Hosts Teacher Workshops
The AOPA High School Initiative hosted high school teachers from across the country for a tenth-grade teacher workshop June 7-9. Over forty teachers attended the event in person, and more than 70 were able to attend remotely. Workshop attendees were given an in-depth look at lessons in AOPA's recently developed tenth-grade curriculum, and also had opportunities to participate in hands-on activities and experiments. AOPA will be hosting an eleventh-grade teacher workshop from June 25-27, at which its new eleventh-grade curriculum will be unveiled for the first time to teachers.
Like the Flying Clubs Initiative, the High School Initiative is funded purely through generous donations to the AOPA Foundation.
