A friendly reminder from our friends at the FAA and the Oregon Pilots Association:

Remember that the paper pilot certificates that you have in your wallet must be replaced by the new plastic certificates by March 31, 2010. FAR 61.19(h) reads: (h) Duration of pilot certificates. Except for a temporary certificate issued under §61.17 or a student pilot certificate issued under paragraph (b) of this section, the holder of a paper pilot certificate issued under this part may not exercise the privileges of that certificate after March 31, 2010. If your Social Security number is your pilot certificate number you can go to this link and download the form to get a new certificate without charge:

http://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/media/8060-56.pdf

If your pilot certificate does not contain your Social Security number, you have two options to obtain a new plastic certificate:

1. You can apply on-line by going to this link and the fee is $2.00: https://amsrvs.registry.faa.gov/amsrvs/ReqAcct.asp or,

2. You can fill out the paper form and mail it to the Airman Registry and the fee is $2.00. Go to this link for the form and address:

http://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/media/8060-56.pdf

If you have questions concerning the process call your local FSDO office.

Forrest Bird’s invention, the respirator, has saved millions and, at age 88, he’s still living his life to the fullest, flying his planes and working long days. Morley Safer reports. Click here to watch the recent 60 Minutes report about this remarkable man to whom many of us owe our lives or those of our family members.

Over the last eight decades, Bird has seen enough history and rubbed elbows with enough legends to rival that other Forrest, Forrest Gump. … His brainchild, the modern medical respirator, has given the breath of life to countless people around the world. It all began with a gizmo he cobbled together long ago to help a friend with emphysema breathe.

“I went to the hardware store and got a doorknob. You can see this doorknob right here at the top,” Bird explains. “So the patient would push down like this on the doorknob and blow their lungs up. He did remarkably well with it.”

The year was 1947 and Bird says he didn’t have the “foggiest” idea that he was on the trail of inventing a device that would become one of the most routine parts of emergency medicine. “I mean, this was seeing a problem and coming up with a rudimentary answer, that was all,” he says.

And that answer came from one of this tinkerer’s many passions: aviation. Bird is an old flyboy who still takes to the skies in a souped-up 1938 Piper Cub that belonged to his father.

“My daddy was a World War I pilot, and I just wanted to be able to fly like he did,” Bird says.

Bird spent World War II delivering aircraft from the factory to the front, and got to thinking along the way about the similarities between air flowing over the wings of a plane and air moving through the human lung.

“In that lung is rudimentary air foils. It’s like a million airplane wings all down through the lungs. In and out, all the way through, that facilitate your normal, spontaneous breathing. So it was just applying all this,” Bird explains. “Taking it from aviation.” …

There’s much more to this story, be sure the visit the 60 Minutes site by clicking here, or watch the video by clicking here to get the rest of the story.

Find out how Bay area pilots are helping to find new homes for rescue animals by donating their time and aircraft to Pilots and Paws, a nationwide organization of volunteer pilots dedicated to this noble task. Click here to see a recent video report about one Livermore pilot’s recent relocation of six puppies to Vancouver, potentially saving their lives.

Read the full story by clicking here.

Since Pilots N Paws started in 2008, it has grown to about 500 volunteer pilots nationwide. Together they have helped transport and save the lives of hundreds of dogs. Now they are hoping more people will be encouraged to pitch in during a special September rescue event called Pilots N Paws 5000.

“Our goal is to rescue 5,000 animals nationwide, and so we’re trying to get the word out to animal rescues, pilots, fosters — anybody else who’s willing to volunteer to help out,” said Smith.

Sept. 12th – 20th is the designated week for the Pilots N Paws 5000

“Lenny—a small, black Pekingese mix dog—arrived at Murray County Shelter in Chatsworth, Ga., with matted fur and signs of neglect. After a few days at the shelter, he was slated to be on the “kill list.” But Lenny was saved when a pilot flew him to a rescue group that nursed him back to health and found him a home in Hamburg, N.Y. Pilots N Paws connects animal shelters and pet rescue groups with volunteer pilots who take animals, like Lenny, to facilities in areas where their chances of adoption are high.”

Read more about Lenny and how you can help save the lives of other dogs by clicking here.

SCAPA is very pleased to announce that Kids Day 2009 at San Carlos Airport was a fantastic success. A dedicated corps of volunteers, under the direction of Dave Duffy, turned in a superb performance on Aug. 18th that brought together aircraft, aviators, and emergency vehicles from around the Bay Area to provide lifelong pro-aviation memories for over 100 kids from the Coastside Childrens summer camp.

In just a few short years some of these kids could be part of the incoming class at the Air Force Academy or a local flight school. SCAPA is pleased to have contributed a small part of the background that may lead them in either direction.

Thanks are due to a huge group of folks who donated their time and in some cases vehicles and aircraft to this crusade for the promotion of aviation to tomorrow’s pilots. Key people included Dave Duffy, Karen Morss and Lucy Ball the red standard poodle, Carl Mauck, David Aliamus of Coastside Children, Norma Baldwin, Grace Castillo of the California Highway Patrol, Sandy Correia of Stanford Medical heliflight, D.J.Cullen of San Mateo County Airports, UJ Emetron of Diamond Aviation, Hollie Gilbert, Taara Hoffman of Coastside Children, Airports Manager Mark Larson of San Mateo County Airports, Dan McLaughlin, President of the Half Moon Bay Pilots Association, Jerry Grainger, Mike Mullooly, Chris Piety, Curt Sanford, Steve Scott, Nancy Stock, Carol Ford, President of the San Carlos Airport Association, Curt Nehring, and Jim Wadleigh of San Mateo County Airports. (if we’ve missed your name, please drop a line to webmaster@sancarlospilots.org)

The following photos give some idea what this fantastic day in the sun at the airport looked like.

2 Women, 8 Days, 1 World Record for ALS

On Sunday Sept. 13, 2009 at 2PM the Oakland Aviation Museum will host a presentation by two pilots who flew around the world in eight days as part of their quest to raise $1 million for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) research.
One of the pilots, Ms. CarolAnn Garratt, will give a one-hour presentation followed by a book signing.

Come on out and hear how these outstanding pilots are doing their part to help find a cure for ALS.

What is ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease?
“Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Motor Neurone Disease, MND in Europe, is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disease that attacks the motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. With over 350,000 people worldwide afflicted with ALS, the cause of the disease is still unknown. Ninety percent of patients diagnosed with ALS die within 5 years since there is currently no cure. The diseases itself has no prejudice – attacking anyone despite age, ethnicity or gender.”

Widely known as the Mecca of Aviation, the Airventure Convention in Oshkosh, WI is held every year at the end of July and attracts pilots and aviation enthusiasts from all over the world. Watch some highlights of this year’s gathering here, courtesy of slickhutto, who comments:

“After an excellent 10 day trip that was condensed into 6 hours of HD video, I am finally able to present to you this year’s EAA Airventure music video. To the tune of “The Killers – All These Things That I’ve Done” I’ve created a montage of some of this year’s highlights. Enjoy!”

If this describes you, check out one reporter’s experience with a demonstration lesson at an airport near Chicago.

You can do the same thing here at San Carlos Aiport at any of the flight schools listed here. Just call up and ask them to set you up with a demonstration lesson and you’ll be on your way to becoming a pilot.

There’s a fantastic multimedia presentation here that explains a lot about what it takes to become a pilot. Don’t wait, if it’s something you’ve always wanted to do, call one of our flight schools today and get on out to the San Carlos Airport. The sky is waiting.

SCApA sends our congratulations to the volunteer pilots and supporters of Reid Hillview Airport who organized a fantastically successful Take Flight for Kids Day this past Sat. Aug. 8th. Their efforts introduced 750 South Bay children to aviation and provided free rides in small planes and helicopters. According to the Mercury News story, “The passengers were mostly special-needs children, who have afflictions ranging from attention-deficit disorder to autism to Down syndrome. Some were disadvantaged youths.”

After returning from a flight, one of the children remarked “It was cool,” he said, adding, “Who knows, maybe one day I can fly on my own.”

This event clearly demonstrates the spirit of volunteerism and outreach that characterizes the community of small plane pilots and our willingness to give back to the community.

SCAPA continues this tradition with our own Kids Day on Aug. 18, 2009 at San Carlos Airport. We will host over a hundred young children for a wonderful morning at the airport including ground-based tours of planes, rescue helicopters, police cars, and an airport fire engine.