Website: http://co-opa.com/ March 2011, Vol. 11, Issue 2 President's Message: The Flight Services building was full of energy for last months meeting. The Bend Airport Master Planning meeting upstairs and the CO-OPA downstairs. Attendance was good for both with some cross over of attendance. More on the Master Plan below. This month back to our normal plan. The CO-OPA will meet downstairs at our usual 6pm and potluck at 6:30pm.. A lot of airport planning has been happening and there will be lots to discuss. Calendar: 17 March – Monthly Meeting 19 March – Monthly Flyout 21 April – Monthly Meeting 23 April – Monthly Flyout 19 May – Monthly Meeting 21 May – Monthly Flyout 16 June – Monthly Meeting 18 June – Monthly Flyout My Inbox: Don Wilfong has emailed every to mention that the 2011 dues are now due. CO-OPA is the best deal in aviation at $10/year. You can email dues to: CO-OPA c/o Don Wilfong 210 S. E. Cessna Dr. Bend, OR 97702 Also be sure to pay your state OPA dues of $25. You can pay online: http://www.oregonpilot.org/membership/dues/ In other news, Deschutes County is looking for someone, or some group, to adopt the highway adjacent to KBDN. I have asked for details, might be something we can do. And the best news for last. The OPA will have a big annual meeting this year. Aviation humorist Rod Machado has been booked. Even better this year the even wil be in Sunriver. Great things are in the planning stage. So add the date to your calenders now: 9/10/11 Web doings: As we have all heard, the FAA will now require all N numbers to renew every three years, and pay for the priviledge.. The good news is that you can pay online at FAA.gov. The bad news is that you need a code that is only on the snail mail they sent you, and those mails will be spread out over three years. I bet I miss it, when it comes, in the mass of junk mail. Don Wilfong found that NOAA now has a cool active map of flight conditions. Check it out: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/zoa/mwmap3.php?map=usa As always you can check out current and past CO-OPA newsletters, view our membership list and view hot aviation links on our website at: http://co-opa.com To access the members only areas the username is "BDN" and the password is "123.0". February Fly-Not: Last month the weather gods were not kind, so a large group plowed through the weather to Jacksons Corner for breakfast. Good to change things up now and then so speak for your favorite place. Winter VFR signaling procedures': Greetings fellow Pilots, Flying over the Ochocco Mts to Monument 6-8 times each winter, I not only carry adequate survival gear, but I also review 'signaling procedures' just in case of an emergency or precautionary landing. Most of my knowledge comes from the McCall Mt Flying School and the Challis Mt Flying Seminar I participated in, in the 90's. Below is an excellent example of one of the suggested procedures, a photo taken by search and rescue of a stranded individual... Tailwinds and warm hugs,    Richard   (-: Random Thoughts: We may have turned over a New Year, but some things, like taxes, take a while to really be done. The 2010 Nall report, about aviation accidents in 2009, is just out. You can grab a copy from the AOPA web site: http://www.aopa.org/asf/publications/nall.html Since the next best thing to flying is reading about I suggest everyone grab a copy. It is a great way to learn what not to do while aviating. Strangely, total flight hours dropped 10% from 2008 to 2009, but accidents only went down 5% and fatalities actually went up. Deferred maintenance seems to be the culprit. 86% of GA accidents happened in daylight VMC, so avoiding night flying and bad weather are usually good things they will not seriously make our flying safely. 76% of GA accidents were by pilots rated Commercial or ATP, so more ratings is not the answer either. The biggest standout to me is that Private operations have 67% more accidents than Commercial flights have. The rules for commercial flight are not seriously more restrictive than those for private flights. So try to fly every flight to those slightly higher standards and know that you are doing the sage thing. – Gary E. Miller Newsletter Inputs: Send your newletter tidbits to: gem@rellim.com