Spring Safety Highlight: FAA TRACON Education Program Held at Creve Coeur Airport

By Carmelo Turdo

The Greater St. Louis Flight Instructors Association (GSLFIA) hosted an FAA Wings Program session at Creve Coeur Airport Tuesday evening. STL TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach Control Facility) Controller Pete Seddon returned to provide an interactive, scenario-based discussion covering common issues facing controllers and pilots as they work together to safely navigate U.S. airspace. 

Seddon framed each scenario from the controller's point of view and then led the discussion on the recommended pilot response for a successful outcome. Topics of discussion centered on the importance of see and avoid during cruise flight and visual confirmation of aircraft while under approach control. Another critical safety issue addressed by Seddon during the program was the overreliance of ADS-B data by pilots of general aviation aircraft as well as in large commercial jets. ADS-B data lags real time and the aircraft's transponder may have calibration errors, leading to a false sense of security for anyone relying on ADS-B data instead of maintaining a proper scan. He also reminded the attendees that "Have him on ADS-B" is not a suitable response to a "Maintain visual separation" directive from a controller.

Here we include some views of the session, including introduction of Pete Seddon by GSLFIA President, Keith Mueller, and Board Member Greg Pochapsky.

The Aero Experience thanks the GSLFIA, Pete Seddon, the FAA St. Louis FSDO and everyone who participated in this program. The next TRACON presentation is scheduled for April 22 at the Piston Aviation facility at St. Louis Regional Airport.

Tracon Education Program Held at Creve Coeur Airport

By Carmelo Turdo

The Greater St. Louis Flight Instructors Association (GSLFIA) hosted an FAA Wings Program session, "Gateway" St. Louis TRACON 2.0, at Creve Coeur Airport Tuesday evening. STL TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach Control Facility) Controller Pete Seddon returned to provide an interactive, scenario-based discussion covering common issues facing controllers and pilots as they work together to safely navigate U.S. airspace. 

Seddon, also a pilot, framed each scenario from the controller's point of view and then led the discussion on the recommended pilot response for a successful outcome. Topics of discussion included navigating through each class of airspace, emergency declarations, severe weather operations, controller hand-offs, flight following and ADS-B limitations. 

Here we include some views of the session and GSLFIA President, Keith Mueller.

Midwest Regional Safety Seminar Held In St. Louis

By Carmelo Turdo

The Midwest Regional Safety Seminar, hosted by the FAA Safety Team, the Greater St. Louis Rotor & Wing Association and Helicopters Inc. was held Saturday, November 6 at Spirit of St. Louis Airport. Over 60 attendees participated, receiving credit towards the FAA's WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program. Registration opened at 7:00 A.M. and the program ran from 8:00 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. A variety of topics were discussed, all applicable to fixed wing and rotorcraft flight. The sessions were held in a large, climate-controlled hangar what offered just the right "atmosphere" for the occasion.

Susie Welter Dixon registers attendees first thing through the door

Presenters for the sessions included:

Bill Hopper, Helicopters Inc. Director of Safety:
Seminar Introductions

Randy Ottinger, STL FSDO Program Manager:
The Airport Environment and Runway Safety

Dr. Pierre Moeser:
Aviation Medical Implications of CBD and Marijuana

Fred Harms, STL FAAST Team Lead Representative:
Night Review

Stan Rose, Helicopter Safety Alliance CEO:
How to Crash a Helicopter

Phil Dixon, MEM FSDO FAAST Team Program Manager:
Here's Something You May Not Have Known

Fred Harms, STL FAAST Team Lead Representative:
A License to Learn

Bill Hopper, Helicopters Inc. Director of Safety:
Aircraft Magneto Care

Lunch was provided by Elite Aviation, the flight school and aircraft maintenance service provider located at Spirit of St. Louis Airport within eyeshot of the seminar location. 

Sponsor table displays were available throughout the day. Setter Hills Market featured some of their personalized and engraved products used to promote events and businesses. They specialize in serving small businesses and small batch production.

Gateway Flight Solutions, based at nearby Creve Coeur Airport, demonstrated their new offerings as a dealer of Aspen and Avidyne Avionics along with their comprehensive flight training, aircraft maintenance and fleet management services. They had an aircraft on display outside of the hangar that incorporated a recent avionics panel upgrade.  

No aviation event is complete without the swag raffle, and this one was no exception! Paul Goldasich managed the giveaways as the event wound down. 

The Aero Experience thanks all who contributed to making the Midwest Regional Safety Seminar a great success. These include:

The Aero Experience New Year Update: Current and Future Midwest Aviation Stories

By Carmelo Turdo

The year 2021 is just two weeks old, and so far it has been a very active time for The Aero Experience. We have done our best to keep everyone updated with daily posts on Facebook and periodic features on this site, and here we will review the current and long-term projects about which we have reported recently. Most of the feature stories we post are from the current week, while others are the result of weeks or months of work conducting interviews, gathering media and editing the final product. 

Long-Term Projects

As mentioned above, some of our feature stories are the result of work spanning an extended period of time, especially when working with other media outlets and accommodating the availability of all parties concerned. The Aero Experience recently contributed to stories published in two highly-respected publications, the production schedules of both extending over several months.

World Airshow News, Autumn 2020

The current issue of World Airshow News includes a four-page performer profile of Patrick McAlee, airshow performer and airline pilot. The story includes photos taken during the air-to-air flight around St. Louis last July, and work on the story was conducted in September and October. Our photo flight was led by Paul Voorhees, owner of our sponsor Big River Aviation, in a specially-configured Cessna 172. The Aero Experience is a media sponsor of Patrick McAlee Airshows - ExtremeFlight, providing marketing material and feature stories for the last eight seasons. More coverage of the photo flight can be found here: The Aero Experience: Flying With The Aero Experience: Air-to Air With the Blue Demon.

FAA Safety Briefing, January/February 2021 

Another long-term project was completed this week. Photos from The Aero Experience were used to illustrate a story by Phil Dixon, FAASTeam Program Manager at the Memphis, TN FAA FSDO. The article, "Bringing Avid Aviators Together," in the January/February 2021 edition of FAA Safety Briefing magazine, features the Spirit of St. Louis Flying Club as an example of how flying clubs can make aviation safer, affordable and more fun! The visit for the photo shoot was made in November, and the issue was released on Monday. We enjoyed visiting with the club members, and it is always very satisfying to see a Midwest Aviation organization featured in a national publication.

Gateway Youth Aeronautical Foundation 

2020 saw the establishment and growth of the Gateway Youth Aeronautical Foundation, located at Creve Coeur Airport. During the year, the foundation established itself as a Missouri 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring the next generation to aviation. Current programs include flight simulation lab, 3-axis flight demonstrator, F-4 Phantom II jet fighter mobile cockpit display and Bell OH-58C Kiowa currently being prepared for flight this spring. More exhibits, aerospace education activities and career counseling services will be available later this year. One specific long-term project has taken a big step forward this week: the arrival of a second OH-58C helicopter made available through the GSA's Surplus Property Program. The year-long application process for eligibility to receive surplus property was completed in early January, and the foundation immediately applied for, and received, the helicopter. It arrived on Wednesday of this week, and it is now in the foundation's hangar facility. This on-going story will be included in our regular updates. The Aero Experience is proud to support the work of the Gateway Youth Aeronautical Foundation as a media sponsor. 

 

Future Stories Under Development

Several feature stories from our sponsors are currently in development for future publication on The Aero Experience while others are now in the planning stage. Look for these stories as they are posted in the next several weeks.

Elite Aviation Redbird MCX Full-Motion Flight Simulator

Elite Aviation, the general aviation flight school and maintenance center located at Spirit of St. Louis Airport, offers flight training and evaluation in the Redbird MCX full-motion flight simulator. The Aero Experience will feature a series of videos with Elite Aviation CFIs demonstrating the use of the simulator in various scenarios. 

Dick Horowitz Retires as Wings of Hope Chief Pilot

The Aero Experience will post a series of stories and videos based on a recent event at Wings of Hope, the global humanitarian non-profit organization headquartered at Spirit of St. Louis Airport. Dick Horowitz, the Chief Pilot for the domestic Medical Relief and Air Transport Program, made his last flight in that capacity November 30, 2020. That story appears on The Aero Experience here: The Aero Experience: Wings of Hope Salutes Career of MAT Chief Pilot Dick Horowitz. In the coming weeks, we will feature an interview with Dick Horowitz that includes reflections on the recent flight, his continuing aviation career and humanitarian aviation. Below are several photos from our visits:

These stories, and more from our other sponsors, will be coming soon to The Aero Experience. We can continue our mission to promote Midwest Aviation only with the support of our sponsors, listed to the right this page, and we encourage other aviation businesses and organizations to join our team as we expand our coverage in the new year!