New Aging General Aviation Education and Training Website Designed to Assist Pilots, Mechanics

July 28, 2010 - From accident reports to FAA maintenance alerts, the new Aging General Aviation Education website provides a single, stable access point to type-specific aging aircraft maintenance information.

The goal of this site is to provide the general aviation community with the information needed to maintain the safety of older general aviation airplanes. Users can easily locate articles and resources relevant to nearly any make and model of aging aircraft. With these features, determining whether a problem is a common occurrence within a particular make or model is just a click away.

A unique feature on the site called “WAR Stories” details actual accident occurrences in which aging aircraft maintenance is a factor. This feature is intended to help users identify potential problems that may occur in certain types of aircraft. Users can also easily upload their own WAR Stories, which will then be added to the site after review, allowing pilots and mechanics to create a social network in which to communicate their experiences and documentations.

The site includes recommended continued education and training curricula for owners, pilots, airframe and powerplant mechanics, avionics technicians, structural designated engineering representatives (DER), airframe aviation safety engineers (ASE), systems/equipment DERs, systems ASEs and aviation safety inspectors.

Other resources include an extensive list of aircraft type clubs, an archive of FAA aging aircraft-related documents (including Special Airworthiness Information Bulletins, Advisory Circulars, Airworthiness Directives and Maintenance Alerts) and quick links to other FAA document databases.

The searchable database of FAA Maintenance Alerts allows users to identify all maintenance alerts connected to particular makes and models. Each Maintenance Alert included on the new site is linked to the original source PDF file generated by the FAA. The alerts range from July 1996 to present day.

Type clubs are strongly encouraged to link to www.aginggeneralaviation.org. Promotional boxes, information sheets and press releases are available on the site for download. Type clubs are also welcome to submit WAR Stories and other useful resources for inclusion in the site’s database.

The Aging General Education & Training website is hosted, developed and maintained by Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research.