Aero-Tips!

A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of "there are no old, bold pilots.") It's part of what makes aviation so exciting for all of us... just when you think you've seen it all, along comes a scenario you've never imagined.

Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner, master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us -- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators, and as representatives of the flying community. Some of them, you may have heard before... but for each of us, there will also be something we might never have considered before, or something that didn't "stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized it for the practical test.

It is our unabashed goal that "Aero-Tips" will help our readers become better, safer pilots -- as well as introducing our ground-bound readers to the concepts and principles that keep those strange aluminum-and-composite contraptions in the air... and allow them to soar magnificently through it.

Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to you through the Aero-News Network. Suggestions for future Aero-Tips are always welcome, as are additions or discussion of each day's tips. Remember... when it comes to being better pilots, we're all in this together.

Aero-Tips 04.10.06

Do you own an airplane? Are you considering buying an airplane? Then you need to join a type club.

Full disclosure statement: I work full-time for a well-known aircraft "type club." In the interest of sincerity, note I belonged to the club for nearly a decade before I began working there, and I was a member of another "type club" when I owned a different type of airplane.

What's a type club?

A Type Club is an organization of airplane owners and enthusiasts that exists to provide mutual support for maintaining and operating their airplanes. AOPA lists well over 60 organizations that exist solely to support a specific model or family of airplane types.

The advantage of type clubs is that they hold the long "corporate knowledge" about the specific models of airplanes they club supports-knowledge that is oftentimes lost otherwise when manufacturers no longer actively support a specific model, or go out of business altogether.

When to join

The time to join a type club is before you buy an airplane. You need to know the differences between airplane model years (and even by serial number), the real-world performance figures and estimated ownership costs, foibles of the type for safe flight and-most importantly-what to look for when evaluating an airplane for purchase. You won't get this information anywhere but in the type clubs.

Aero-tip of the day: You'll find what you glean from a type club will make you safer, and save you many times the cost of membership. If you own a plane, or are shopping for one, join the associated type club.

FMI: Aero-Tips