Welcome to the Safety Section of the Flying Clubs Newsletter, Club Connector!
Every month we provide resources for flying club safety officers to keep their clubs informed and safe. We include links to PDFs of presentations that we use at our own meetings, so there is always a topic for your club’s next safety meeting. Along with the presentations, we also provide links to relevant articles, videos, and other media that you may also find useful. You can find this month’s safety article and the full archive, here: https://youcanfly.aopa.org/flying-clubs/flying-club-newsletter/safety
Okay then, let’s get on with this month’s safety topic!
July 2024 Safety Topic of the Month: Short Field Operations
Background:
Mismanagement of short field operations is cited in many NTSB reports that involve pilots both with, and without, actual short field experience. It should be no great surprise that training and practice in short field operations will not only improve your short field landing and take-off performance, but also normal flight operations. It's all about precision and practice.
Inaccurate or incomplete performance calculations/expectations and improper short field techniques are often cited as major causal factors, so additional training in short field operations will reduce loss of control and controlled flight into terrain occurrences.
Learning Points:
Please download and use these slides at your club’s next safety meeting:
July 2024 Safety Topic of the Month: Short Field OperationsOther Safety Resources:
Here is a reminder of just some of the resources available to all pilots:
FAASTeam:
The FAASTeam website is the portal to a vast array of courses, videos, links, and much more. Remember that WINGS not only encompasses “knowledge” activities, but also flight activities. Use the various search options to narrow down, to say, flight activities for a basic phase of WINGS, and you’ll be able to find a syllabus and often a worksheet for each flight activity.
Don’t forget to regularly revisit these FAA safety gems:
Wait—what—you don’t do WINGS?
That’s a big shame—you are missing out on a free pilot proficiency program that will help you enjoy your flying even more, allow you to earn a flight review every 12-months just by flying, and may provide insurance discounts.
The FAASTeam WINGS pilot proficiency program is the best way for general aviation pilots to ensure they are competent, confident, and safe in their flight operations. Oh, and being perpetually proficient will save you money in the long run.
If you are interested in using the FAASTeam WINGS program for your personal flying or with your flying club, create an account on the FAASTeam website, http://www.faasafety.gov, and explore the collection of courses and flight activities. Also, feel free to contact me (Steve Bateman, Lead Representative and FAA WINGSPro), and I’d be pleased to walk you through the program.
More on “WINGS for Clubs” can be found here in Flying Clubs Radio Episode 8 and the May 2020 Question of the Month.
AOPA Air Safety Institute:
https://www.aopa.org/training-and-safety/air-safety-institute
AOPA’s Air Safety Institute, which by the way is funded by the AOPA Foundation just like the Flying Clubs Initiative, is packed with amazing content, including exceptional videos, podcasts, accident analysis, online courses, recorded webinars and more. Completing these activities may also earn WINGS credits. Of particular interest to flying club safety officers is the recently updated Safety to Go section. There, you can download a selection of topics, each coming with PowerPoint slides and speaker’s notes!
