EAA Chapter 864 Hosts Rusty Pilots Seminar at St. Louis Regional Airport

By Carmelo Turdo

EAA Chapter 864 hosted a Rusty Pilots seminar Saturday at St. Louis Regional Airport. The program is produced by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and taught in person by a team of flight instructors from around the country. Over forty attendees participated in this highly interactive session led by Jeanne' Willerth (ATP/CFI/CFII/MEI) visiting from her home base at Kansas City-Lee's Summit Regional Airport. According to AOPA, over 13,000 pilots have returned to flying after attending a Rusty Pilots seminar or used the online resources prior to completing their next flight review. A Rusty Pilot seminar was also held at Elite Aviation's Spirit of St. Louis Airport facility in 2018.

The Rusty Pilots seminar was held in the airport's new event space off the circle drive near the F-4 jet display. EAA Chapter 864 has moved their meetings there, and it is also available to the public by arrangement through the airport director's office. Here we show the room arrangement in our coverage of the program.   

The Rusty Pilot seminar is a 3.5-hour intensive session that uses the flight scenario method to review skills that tend to atrophy from disuse over time, including aeronautical chart reading, weather METAR and TAF interpretation, airport ground operations, ATC communication and airport pattern entry and exit points to name a few. A detailed Resource Guide and Scenario Handout were provided by AOPA to facilitate the session. The exercise also reviews the aeronautical decision-making process as the group works through variables such as engine and instrument failures, unexpected storm fronts and airport closures that all pilots will eventually experience. The next step for these "rusty pilots" is to contact a local CFI and prepare for a flight review. 

EAA Chapter 864 is very active at St. Louis Regional Airport, hosting special events throughout the year along with their monthly meetings on the second Thursday of each month at 7:00 P.M. The chapter is known for their Pancake Breakfast, this year on June 20 to celebrate the launch of the Air Race Classic from the airport. They also support the popular fall Wings-N-Wheels Fly-In. Here we feature Nick Hobbs presenting a thank you gift to Jeanne' Willerth and announcing the Pancake Breakfast event. The chapter's exhibit included some new items this year - custom laser engraved gifts now available to benefit the scholarship fund. Examples of acrylic lights, with the EAA Chapter 864 logo and St. Louis Regional Airport layout, are shown below.

Another special guest at the Rusty Pilot seminar was Jenna Gerdes, Outreach Director & Development Assistant for Angel Flight Central based in Kansas City, MO. Since 1995, Angel Flight Central has been arranging flights for those needing medical or humanitarian care through a network of volunteer pilots donating their time and aircraft to helping others. Throughout the last three decades, Angel Flight Central has developed an efficient system to match pilots to flight requests, helping to ensure successful outcomes. Here we show Jenna Gerdes with her exhibit and raffling T-shirts following the seminar.

      

The Aero Experience thanks EAA Chapter 864, AOPA Rusty Pilots program, St. Louis Regional Airport and everyone who participated in this great event.

Elite Aviation Hosts AOPA Rusty Pilots Seminar In St. Louis

By Carmelo Turdo

Elite Aviation hosted the St. Louis area's spring AOPA Rusty Pilots Seminar Saturday morning at their Spirit of St. Louis Airport facility. The three-hour session was expertly presented by John McGonagill, a veteran military pilot, CFI, experimental RV-10 builder and owner, and aviation consultant from Granbury, TX. Over 40 attendees participated in the interactive, scenario-based training designed as a refresher ground school course for inactive pilots. Throughout the session, participants were encouraged to discuss their responses to each situation, and McGonagill provided real-life illustrations from his flying experience to add further realism to the training. The program essentially presents the major aspects of a flight from one general aviation airport to another, reviewing each decision point and recommended action along the way. It is intended that the "rusty pilots" gain confidence with this table-top exercise in preparation to pass the flight review needed to restore themselves to active flying status.

According to AOPA, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, there are approximately half a million pilots who have taken time away from flying currency long enough to profit from the Rusty Pilots Seminar in preparation for a flight review and restoration of flight status (provided a medical certificate can still be obtained). The AOPA seminar satisfies the minimum one hour of ground instruction required for the flight review, including instruction on pre-flight, airport operations, radio communications, airspace and charts. The "rusty pilot" and a CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) will still have to devise a program for possibly more ground instruction and a minimum of one hour of flight training prior to the flight review.

Following the Rusty Pilots Seminar training, the next step in the process of regaining flight status is to work with a CFI in creating a plan of assessment and instruction that will lead to the successful completion of the flight review. McGonagill characterized this step as a kind of negotiation, with both parties reaching agreement on the amount of training that may be needed. This plan may change according to the comfort level of the pilot or CFI based on the progress made, with either party recommending additional training. The objective is to return a confident and competent pilot back to active flight status.       

Elite Aviation, a Cessna Pilot Center, serves as a critical part of that process by providing the area's most comprehensive flight training program. Student pilots, and those pursuing advanced certificates, receive industry-leading standardized flight training in late-model Cessna 172 aircraft (including G1000 cockpit) and a newly-acquired Piper Turbo Saratoga. Training is also provided using Elite RC1 and Redbird Full-Motion MCX programmable flight simulators. Elite Aviation also provides full-service piston aircraft maintenance on site at Spirit of St. Louis Airport. 

        

The Aero Experience thanks Elite Aviation for hosting the event, John McGonagill for presenting the AOPA Rusty Pilots Seminar and all those who attended. We hope events like this one will continue to reflect well on Midwest Aviation.