REDBIRD'S MIGRATION TRAINING: A NEW PARADIGM
After a year of research and training at its San Marcos, Texas Skyport simulator lab, Redbird Flight Simulations is poised to roll out a new simulator-based pilot training program that expands its business beyond sim sales and into the wider market of flight training delivery. The training could, in some iterations, be based on a fixed-cost, fixed-time model that Redbird says it has had success with at its San Marcos location. Redbird will continue to market its line of affordable simulators while a separate company called Redbird Media will produce training support and outreach materials based on simulator-centric training. The new system is called Migration and will capitalize on what Redbird has learned from a year of intensive research on simulator training methods at its San Marcos facility. More...

HIGHTOWER OUT AT EAA
In a surprise announcement Monday, EAA President and CEO Rod Hightower said he was stepping down effective immediately. The decision came following an EAA board of directors meeting in which former Cessna CEO Jack Pelton was elected chairman. EAA spokesman Dick Knapinski said Pelton will oversee the search for a new president for the organization. "I will be working closely with the EAA board of directors to ensure a seamless transition to a new leader," Pelton said. He will meet with staff on Tuesday. Hightower said he was leaving due to family concerns. “When I accepted the position two years ago I believed that we could as a family relocate to the Oshkosh area," he said. But with five kids still in school, "It would simply be too great a hardship on my family to move them.” Pelton said he and the EAA board members "thank Rod for his service [and] understand how difficult it is to relocate a family of school-age children." More...

AIRLINES' SAFETY RECORD HAMPERS CHANGE
More than three and a half years have passed since the last airline fatality in the U.S., The Associated Press reported last week, and that record is making it harder for the FAA to impose expensive new safety rules on the industry. Overall, the last 10 years have been the safest time ever for the airlines. "The extraordinary safety record that has been achieved in the United States ironically could be the single biggest reason the FAA isn't able to act proactively and ensure safety into the future," Bill Voss, president of the Flight Safety Foundation, told the AP. The FAA started to work on new rules for training airline pilots in 1999, the AP says. The process was revisited after the Colgan crash in 2009, and the new rules are not expected to take effect until 2019. More...

AVIATORS LOST: MITCHELL, UELTSCHI, AND McGOVERN
Aviation's elder generation lost several luminaries recently -- Albert Lee Ueltschi, the founder of FlightSafety International; Monte Mitchell, a former president of the Aircraft Electronics Association; and George McGovern, best known for his political career, who flew a B-24 bomber during World War II. Ueltschi, who died on Oct. 18 at age 95, learned to fly at age 16. He flew the line for Pan Am, then started FlightSafety in 1951. He sold it for $1.5 billion in 1968, earning a spot on Forbes' list of the 400 richest Americans. Mitchell died Oct. 16 at age 83. His work "was crucial to establishing the General Aviation Revitalization Act and having the milestone legislation signed into law," said Pete Bunce, president of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. More...

HAWAIIAN CHARTER EARNS SAFETY CERTIFICATION
A Hawaiian helicopter tour and fixed-wing charter and scheduled air service company has become the first in the U.S. to earn International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) accreditation. Schumann Aviation, which operates Makani Kai Helicopters and Makani Kai Air, earned the certification in October after a thorough audit by the standards organization. "The IS-BAO accreditation for Makani Kai is unique as it is the only company in the country, out of 478 operators so certified, with multiple types of flight operations, spanning air tour to airline, to achieve such a high safety rating," said Richard Schuman, president. "Although preparing for the safety audit was a lengthy and arduous process, this accreditation demonstrates that we value safety above all." More...

GAMA: DIFFERENT WORLD AHEAD
FAA budget cutbacks are almost certain to directly impact the industry next, according to General Aviation Manufacturers Association president Pete Bunce. "The world will be different starting next year," Bunce told participants Tuesday at Red Bird Simulations second annual flight training industry conference in San Marcos, Texas. "There will be cuts made," he added, explaining that these might result in a more difficult regulatory environment for the short term. On the other hand, Bunce said a proposed revision of FAR Part 23 which is now underway shows promise of reducing the hoops aircraft manufacturers and modifiers have to jump through to gain certification approvals for new aircraft and mods. More...

MORRIS PROMOTED

David Morris

David Morris is the new division nanager for flight operations for the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics. He's been with the department since 2008 and was formerly a Nebraska state trooper.
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WHITE NEW FLEXJET PRESIDENT

Deanna White

Deanna White has been named president of Flexjet. She was formerly the company's VP of finance and administration. She replaces Fred Reid, who is retiring.
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