Mike DuShane SBA Tower/TRACON

Transcription

1 April 2013 Mike DuShane SBA Tower/TRACON Upcoming Events: Events Calendar EAA 527 Meeting, Thursday, April 11 at 7:30pm, SBA Visitors Center April Flyout to Pine Mountain Lake (E45) hosted by Ken and Lynne Orloff Sunday, May 5, Flyout to Death Valley (LO6) for Furnace Creek Brunch Saturday, May 18, EAA Young Eagles, Santa Ynez Airport (KIZA) EAA Webinars - See List at the end of this newsletter Classic/Antique Aircraft displays at Santa Ynez (IZA) (Third Saturdays), Santa Paula (SZP) (First Sundays) and Oceano (L52) (Second Saturday and Sunday) Thought for the Month Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter Mark Twain Mike DuShane - Speaker for Thursday, April 11 Mike will talk about the effect of the Federal Sequester on the closure of FAA Airport Towers and the effect on operations and safety. Mike will also the SBA Master Plan. I grew up in Minneapolis, MN, and graduated from the University of North Dakota with a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics degree in My career with the FAA began in 2006 and I spent my first year and a half at Minneapolis Center where I learned enroute Air Traffic Control. Ever since I graduated from UND, I had always wanted to work at a tower with a view. After a year and a half at the center I had enough experience to transfer to a local VFR tower and chose Flying Cloud ATCT as my next appointment. This is where my passion for aviation grew even more. Flying Cloud is a reliever airport for MSP international and handles mostly GA, turboprop and jet charter aircraft. In the summer of 2010, I was once again eligible for a promotion and was very lucky to be offered Santa Barbara Tower/TRACON. My future career plans are still up in the air but I feel very satisfied having Tower, TRACON, and Center certifications, along with a private pilots license. My wife and I have called Santa Barbara home since October of 2010 and absolutely love it. She works for Deckers Outdoor Corp. and you might see her teaching a yoga class downtown in her free time. We both enjoy the outdoors, specifically downhill skiing, hiking, camping, and have recently taken up surfing. We really enjoy living in Santa Barbara and hope to be here for many years to come!

2 Article from the Los Angeles TIMES, 4/6/2013 by Joan Lowy, Associated Press The closings of control towers at 149 small airports, due to begin this weekend because of government-wide spending cuts, are being delayed until mid-june, federal regulators announced Friday. The Federal Aviation Administration said it needs more time to deal with legal challenges to the closures. Also, about 50 air-port authorities and other stakeholders have indicated they want to fund the operations of the towers themselves rather than see them shut down, and more time will be needed to work out those plans, the agency said in a statement. The first 24 tower closures were scheduled to begin Sunday, with the rest coming over the next few weeks. Obama administration officials have said the closures are necessary to accomplish automatic spending cuts required by Congress. Despite the delay, the FAA said it will stop funding all 149 of the airport towers, which are operated by private contractors, on June 15. Under the new schedule, the closures will be implemented at once rather than a gradual phase-in as had been planned. Airport operators in several states, including Florida, Illinois and Washington state, and the U.S. Contract TowerAssociation, which represents the companies that operate contract towers, have filed lawsuits with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington seeking to halt the closures. The suits contend that the closures violated a federal law meant to ensure major changes at airports do not erode safety, and unfairly targeted the program for an outsized share of the more than $600 million the agency is required to trim from its budget by the end of September. The administration has decided to make tower closures the poster child of sequestration (automatic spending cuts), said the group s director, J. Spencer Dickerson. We believe there are other ways they could have skinned this cat. Federal officials have insisted that the closures wouldn t affect safety. And there is evidence that with improving safety, some of the closures would make economic sense. It turns out that the FAA has been using 30-yearold data on aircraft collisions to justify the cost of operating many of the control towers, even though accident rates have improved significantly over that time. Had the FAA used more current data, it s probable that some low-traffic airport towers operated by private contractors would no longer have met the agency s criteria for funding, industry officials say. But the FAA has long been under pressure from members of Congress to open newtowers at airports in their states, not to close them. The FAA began paying contractors to staff and operate towers at a handful of small airports after President Ronald Reagan fired striking air traffic controllers in Today, there are 251 towers operated by private contractors at airports across the country at an average annual cost of more than $500,000 each. pg 2

3 VP Jo Duffy Provided This Announcement Meeting about the new regulations around the Channel Islands. Tues, Apr 9 8pm, Airport Visitor Center Don t forget to visit our new website: pg 3

4 EAA Webinars at EAA offers a regular series of webinars to its members. These live multimedia presentations are informative and interactive, allowing the presenter to use slides and audio, while audience members can ask questions, chat, or be polled for their opinion. Registration is required, and space is limited. Click the title of any of the presentations to register. Some EAA Webinars qualify for credit in the FAA's WINGS or AMT awards program. See the FAA Safety site for details and to register 4/10/13 7 p.m. CDT Surviving Inadvertent IMC FAA Wings Credit Eric Basile Continued VFR flight into IMC is the number one cause of weather-related accidents in general aviation! Everyone thinks they're a pretty safe, conservative pilot - yet every year, dozens of good pilots fall victim to this all-too-common accident phenomenon. It's easy to think that these accidents just happen to "other pilots," but this seminar will show you that even the safest pilot can be persuaded to take risks and make poor decisions. This thought-provoking presentation takes a look at pilot decision-making psychology, physiological factors, and stress. Get the "straight scoop" on why these accidents happen, and how to avoid becoming a statistic. Includes a riveting audio recording of a pilot's real-life encounter with inadvertent IMC conditions! 4/17/13 7 p.m. CDT How Your Next Medical Might be a Whole Lot Easier Dr. Greg Pinnell Dr. Greg Pinnell of the EAA Aeromedical Advisory Council describes CACI, a program recently unveiled by the FAA that represents a big milestone in special issuance reform. The program reduces headaches with many common special issuances and will get you back in the air much more quickly. 4/24/13 7 p.m. CDT All About the Sonerai: An Affordable Homebuilt Aircraft Fred Keip Fred Keip, Sonerai owner/builder/pilot,retired editor of the Sonerai Newsletter, and member of the EAA Homebuilt Aircraft Council, discusses the complete line of Sonerai airplanes: VW-powered sport airplanes designed by Homebuilders Hall of Fame member John Monnett, the father of the Sonex line of airplanes. 5/01/13 8 p.m. CDT AOG (Aircraft on Ground): When Your Airplane Breaks Away From Home FAA AMT & Wings Credit Mike Busch Maintenance expert Mike Busch discusses how to deal with every aircraft owner's worst nightmare: a mechanical breakdown away from home base. 5/08/13 7 p.m. CDT Homebuilt Airworthiness Inspections Joe Gauthier Joe Gauthier, FAA Designated Airworthiness Representative (DAR) and member of the EAA Homebuilt Aircraft Council discusses preparations to ensure a smooth FAA inspection leading to the issuance of an experimental amateur-built airworthiness certificate. Joe presents a detailed checklist approach to ensure your fully prepared for the final FAA inspection. 5/22/13 7 p.m. CDT Rotax 912 Fuels and Carburetion Dean Vogel Dean Vogel from Lockwood Aviation discusses fuels and carburetion to help owners and mechanics care for their Rotax 912 engines. The carburetors require careful attention, and are key to smooth engine operation and longevity. Lockwood Aviation is a leader in maintenance and repair of Rotax engines. 5/29/13 7 p.m. CDT Demystifying Weight and Balance Fred Keip Fred Keip, Sonerai builder, Technical Counselor, and Homebuilt Aircraft Council member, discusses the three easy steps of correctly performing the weight and balance calculations needed to certify your homebuilt aircraft project. 6/05/13 8 p.m. CDT Help! My Engine is Making Metal! FAA AMT & Wings Credit Mike Busch At a routine oil change, your mechanic discovers metal in your engine's oil filter. Now what? Maintenance expert Mike Busch has dealt with such scenarios hundreds of times, and offers a detailed roadmap. pg 4 7 / 0 3 / 1

5 EAA Chapter 527 Santa Barbara, California President Carl Hopkins 805// Vice Pres. Jo Duffy 805/ Treasurer Roger Waldron PO box 1382, Santa Barbara, CA Annual Dues: $15.00 Secretary/Webmaster: John Wiley Newsletter Editor: Still Chase / Meetings are held the 2 nd Thursday of the month at 7:30 pm., at the NEW VISITORS' CENTER, 45 Hartley Place, Santa Barbara Airport (SBA). Visitors are always welcome! pg 5