Thanks to the units that completed their annual Safety Day in Jan, Feb or March. I know it maybe a change from the former October date, but the reason for the change took the pressure of getting the safety day completed in one month during one of our busy times. Thought I might include the instructions here so you can save them for next year. Once completed the unit safety officer or commander inputs the data into e-services just like any safety meeting. What is important is that under name of training it must state "Annual Unit Safety Day" as the title. Also check off the box for indicating that this is the annual safety day. If you have a member attend another unit's Safety Day, make sure that the unit visited records your member on their attendance sheet. That will automatically record your member on your roster as completed the training.

Pilot's Tip - I subscribe to this safety service and noticed the following and thought it might make a good topic for a pilot meeting or safety meeting. It involves a pilot stating that he can't do something. Take a second and read it and then discuss it with other pilots.

Doug Stewart:

"...one of the most important words we have in our pilot vocabulary when dealing with ATC is the word Unable.

Air traffic control sometimes can ask you to do something that you are completely incapable of doing. It might be - I remember this. I was going into the vineyard and I was in a Cirrus, an SR-20. The controller said, Can you give me your best speed to the marker? I said, No problem, and I was. I gave them my best speed. We were doing about 145 or so. He said, Can't you give me 160? And I said, Did you see this is an SR-20 not an SR-22. Unable. He had a King Air behind me. I said, If you want to turn me out, that's fine. Turn me out and bring whoever's behind me past and bring me back in, but I'm going as fast as I can.

It might be that your aircraft is capable of it; but you as a pilot are incapable of staying ahead of the aircraft. Perhaps ATC is pushing you to give you that best speed, but it's too fast for you to stay ahead. You've got to be able to say, Unable. Or if they turn you 20° to the right and looking with your third world radar out the front window you see, My gosh! That looks like a cell going up to at least 60,000 feet, that sucker's going to tear my airplane apart. Unable.

It's a magic word that we have to be able to use all the time."

Spring Aircraft Topics - Spring has arrived and with it, the birds and bees. No, this isn't a discussion of that, but more about the nesting habits of birds and also bees.  They are looking for a new home, out of the weather and a nice place to make a new home. So on your pre-flight, really check under the hood, but also take off an inspection plate and look inside the plane, see if you are carrying any extra passengers. Just remember to replace the inspections plates. Give it a good look over.  Better to find them on the ground instead of in the air.

And we get questions - And today's question comes from Chuck Kleschick who asked if the Aircraft Ground Handling Video and test need to be taking each year. The answer from National is yes it does need to be performed and the test taken each year. Taking the test automatically records it on your record and it also counts towards your monthly safety requirement. Two requirements done for the time to do just one. 

Safety Conference Call - For all Group Safety Officers and Group Commanders and unit safety officers and the unit commanders. We will be conducting our next Safety conference call on May 13 at 21:00 hrs (9 PM). A reminder with the instructions for the conference call will be sent out May 6. But the dial in number and id number should be the same. This call will count as completing your monthly safety requirement using the same procedure as our last meeting. Please plan to attend, the call will last less than 45 minutes.