By Robbie Culver, Type Club Coalition Chair
On Tuesday, July 22, EAA’s Type Club Coalition held its annual meeting during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in the PHP Conference Center Heritage Gallery Conference Room. The Type Club Coalition (TCC) is an organization of owner and builder groups brought together for the common purpose of increasing the level of safety in the general aviation community. Previous years have included discussions on insurance challenges, transition training, the Additional Pilot Program for E-AB aircraft, and task-based flight testing — much of which is a common theme and an ongoing challenge for all.
If you own an aircraft, regardless if it is certified or experimental, type clubs represent an inexpensive and effective way to learn more about your aircraft. If you are considering purchasing or building a specific type, this can also provide a method to find transition training resources or best practices to build, maintain and/or operate the type.
Since its inception, the TCC has diligently worked with type clubs of both certified and experimental aircraft to act as a conduit for safety-related information and best practices. Originally founded as an effort to address the GA/E-AB accident rate, the organization has grown to include more than just type clubs, and has fostered relationships with the NTSB, FAA, and AOPA, among others.
Jeff Edwards, who has a doctorate in aviation and holds airline transport pilot and CFI certificates, is the founder of the Lancair Owners and Builders Organization (LOBO). He shared ongoing challenges with Experimental Amateur Built (EAB) turbine and turboprop FAA-approved inspection program requirements. Through diligence and consistent communication, Jeff was able to work with the FAA to implement a change to an onerous requirement that was not consistent with other single-engine turbine-powered aircraft.
LOBO was founded to address the type’s accident rate, and the LOBO training program has produced significant results. The accident rate for the type has dropped dramatically. LOBO used data, training, and quality control processes to address the issue and has shared the information and best practices across the EAB community via the TCC.
Matt Speare, director of training and LOBO instructor, shared training statistics and resulting data that reflect LOBO’s mission. LOBO has endorsed 13 CFIs to implement the structured type-specific training program. To measure the effectiveness of the LOBO training, a dataset was prepared to compare fatal accidents involving LOBO-trained versus non-LOBO-trained pilots. The results are staggering, as less than 2% of fatal accidents involve pilots who completed the program.
Tom Charpentier, EAA government relations director, shared with the TCC the specifics of the MOSAIC (Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification) final rule, which had been announced literally minutes before the meeting began.
The general consensus of the TCC members mirrors that of the aviation community as a whole — MOSAIC represents a dramatic and historic change for general aviation. Tom was among a key group that diligently worked to see MOSAIC implemented.
See https://www.eaa.org/eaa/aviation-interests/type-club-coalition for more information.