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Todd McClamroch from My Flight Blog.com is our guest this episode. Todd’s site is one of the longest running General Aviation blogs around, and has been featured in the press including Wall Street Journal, AOPA Pilot and AOPA Flight Training Magazine. We talk about reasons for the high dropout rate among student pilots, including the lack of inclusion in pilot communities, the role of the CFI and mentors in helping students complete their flight training, and the the value of events for students. You can follow Todd on Twitter at @MyFlightBlog.
Be sure to see Max, Rob, Dan, and David at the Become a Pilot Family Day and Fly-In June 18, 2011, 10 a.m. – 3p.m., at the National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center next to Dulles International Airport. The Geeks will be joining Milford and Charlie from FlightTime Radio, along with some other aviation podcasters as they broadcast their show live.
Normally, FlightTime Radio runs for an hour, but we’re going to buy a second hour of air time for this event. You can help by making a small donation to buy another hour of time for aviation greatness on the radio station. See http://www.airplanegeeks.com/send-the-airplane-geeks-to-washington/ for more information.
The week’s aviation news:
- Number of ILFC tardy customers doubled in 1st qtr
- Delayed by bigotry?
- No explanation for ‘outbreak of insanity’ on planes
- FAA updates proposed air carrier crew training rules
- GA Avgas Coalition Vows To Fight Avgas Lawsuit
- General Aviation Shipments Continue to Decline
- Firebird intelligence gathering aircraft makes pilots an optional extra
Steve Visscher and Grant McHerron from the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast provide an interesting Australia Desk Report with Stephen Force from the Airspeed podcast. Be sure to check out the Acrocamp site to follow the progress of that documentary film. The Plane Crazy Down Under podcast is on Twitter at @pcdu, Steve at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124.
In this week’s Across the Pond segment, Pieter Johnson talks with Diego López-Salazar from the Spanish aviation podcast AeroPodcast about the strength of Spanish airlines and if the threat of striking airport workers has finally subisided in Spain. Find Pieter on Twitter at @Nascothornet and Diego at
@dlopezsalazar.
Mentions:
Follow the @AirplaneGeeks on Twitter and on Facebook, send us email at thegeeks@airplanegeeks.com, or leave a message on our listener line: (361) GEEKS01.
Opening and closing music is provided by Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at http://www.brotherloverocks.com/.
You asked about good flying shows or documentaries. HIGHLY recommended is Nova’s “Battle of the X-Planes.” You will even learn EXACTLY how the lift fan works. It’s available on Netflix on disk or to watch instantly.
Concerning air ambulance operations:
Helicopters make up 74% of air ambulance fleets. [1] About half of all air ambulance transports are inter-hospital, and about a third are picking up patients at the scene of an accident. [2] Fixed-wing aircraft are usually used for long-distance, inter-hospital transfers.
As far as actual accident rates go, the GAO found some issues:
“In response to our prior recommendation that FAA collect flight activity data, FAA surveyed all helicopter air ambulance operators in 2008, but fewer than 40 percent responded, thereby raising questions about the reliability of the information collected.” [1]
The NTSB added Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) to its “Most Wanted” list of safety issues after a series of HEMS accidents in 2008, and hearings were held in 2009 to find out more about the problem. [3] Dr. Ira Blumen presented analysis on HEMS accident rates against other types (GA, helicopter, Part 135, Part 121). He found HEMS accident rates were comparable to other aircraft, but the fatality rates were higher. [4] This is as expected, for reasons you pointed out in the podcast.
The FAA issued proposed rules changes in response to the NTSB findings. The proposed changes included equipage, procedures, training requirements, weather restrictions, and paperwork. [5] The FAA opened the rules up for comments until January this year, and plans to have the next draft of HEMS rules on September 30, 2011. [6] So, Gus’s operation will probably have some changes mandated in the pretty near future to address the safety issues.
References:
[1] http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09627t.pdf
[2] http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10907.pdf
[3] http://www.ntsb.gov/Events/Hearing-HEMS/default.htm
[4] http://ntsb.gov/Events/Hearing-HEMS/NTSB-2009-8a-Blumen-revised-final-version.pdf
[5] http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgNPRM.nsf/0/86E411A3C29B1C2D862577BA0064C980
[6] http://www.faa.gov/about/plans_reports/media/AVS%20Final%20FY11%20BP%2010-11-08.pdf
Sorry for the long post, Geeks, this is an area of particular interest to me. Lots of info in those references for interested parties (hope the links don’t get stripped…) Love the podcast!
-Dan
(in the DC metro area, hope to see you at Dulles next month!)
But speaking of movies, I don’t remember if Barnstorming was mentioned, but I think it’s pretty good:
http://www.barnstormingmovie.com/
The NTSB added Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) to its “Most Wanted” list of safety issues after a series of HEMS accidents in 2008, and hearings were held in 2009 to find out more about the problem. [3] Dr. Ira Blumen presented analysis on HEMS accident rates against other types (GA, helicopter, Part 135, Part 121). He found HEMS accident rates were comparable to other aircraft, but the fatality rates were higher. [4] This is as expected, for reasons you pointed out in the podcast.
+1
Geeks! Great pod cast as always. Hard to wait until Tuesday for the next. Will try to make it up to DC and NASM for June 18th. If only to get a picture of the Geek CG and a Ariplane Geeks button. Attended the Cullman, Alabama Air Show May 21st. I did an informal survey with the pilots that stopped by my booth. 17 of them had heard about your podcast and many others learned about it. The air show proceeds went to the Cullen disaster relief from the recent Tornado devastation.
Thanks for the tip, i watched the Battle of the X-Planes this morning, thanks again!
I definitely agree with you Dan.
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