Approximately 25 people attended the November 11th press conference to announce the GA Pilot Training Reform Symposium. Both SAFE Chair Doug Stewart and Symposium Committee Chair Bob Wright delivered opening remarks. The time and place for the symposium were set as well: May 4-5, 2011 in Atlanta, GA.

Participating with SAFE at the head of the press conference were John and Martha King of King Schools, Julie Filucci of Cessna Aircraft Company, Matt Mathias of Lightspeed Aviation, and Hal Shevers of Sporty's. The audience included numerous National and Regional General Aviation Award recipients and Master Instructors, as well as representatives from Avemco, Aviation Insurance Resources, and Master Instructors, LLC.

Aero-News TV conducted several on-camera interviews that will be aired on the Aero-News Network in the near future. In the meantime, listen to the 13-1/2-minute podcast between SAFE Chair Doug Stewart and Aero-News' Paul Plack.

The GA Pilot Training Reform Symposium is a cooperative effort among industry stakeholders. SAFE is driving the process and chairing the event. The symposium's success -- and ultimately, its potential impact on the future of our industry -- will depend on volunteers.

Help your organization and your industry, volunteer today! We will need assistance and expertise in various areas between now and the symposium, as well as volunteers on-site to make the symposium run smoothly and efficiently.

The symposium will be held May 4-5, 2011 in Atlanta, GA at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at the Atlanta International Airport. Event registration and check-in will be open on the afternoon of May 3rd. Please contact us if you are able to help out during the planning stages and/or during the symposium itself.

According to AOPA, "Lack of educational quality, customer focus, community, and information sharing are the four key reasons student pilots drop out of flight training." This and other research was presented during the day-long AOPA Flight Training Summit convened on November 10th in Long Beach, CA.

"More than 100 of the industry's top minds" gathered to interact during what AOPA dubbed a major flight training summit. Although SAFE is a small organization, the membership is populated with many acknowledged leaders in the aviation education community. Thus it was no surprise that at least 15 percent of those attending this invitation-only event also belonged to SAFE.

AOPA's Student Retention Initiative is an important piece of the training reform puzzle.

On November 12th, nearly 30 SAFE members and potential members gathered for a 90-minute, round table discussion about SAFE, its various initiatives, and other pressing aviation topics. The dialogue was fast and plentiful.

Thanks to a cooperative effort between the Library Editorial Review Committee (LERC) and our webmaster, the SAFE Library now contains an extensive list of links to material contained on the AOPA Air Safety Institute (ASI) website. Formerly the Air Safety Foundation, ASI is a nonprofit, tax exempt organization "promoting safety and pilot proficiency in general aviation through quality training, education, research, analysis, and the dissemination of information."

To access the ASI links cataloged in the SAFE Library, log in and follow the path Members Only > Library > Enter > Non-Government Materials... > General Organizations & Associations > Air Safety Institute (we hope to streamline the library process in the near future).