Today, Perry Worth Elementary Kindergarten classes enjoyed a fun filled, educational day at the airprot!  Carl Winkler, did a fabulous job teaching them all about the different types of airplanes.  He showed them all the moving parts of a Piper and explained to them why they were very important in the flight of the aircraft.  The kids were so very well behaved and had a great interest in learning about aviation and flying airplanes!  Maybe this trip will inspire some of these kids to one day become a pilot!!  Aviation education at a young age is important to continue the growth of general aviation, we always are willing to host field trips for our local schools and organizations.  Thanks again, Carl for a wonderful event!

Lawmaker Highlights Small Business Impact From Aircraft Tax-Change Proposal

March 19, 2013

The possible negative consequences from altering the tax-depreciation schedule for general aviation aircraft were recently highlighted by Rep. Todd Rokita (R-4-IN) during a hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2014 budget.

At issue was an amendment to a bill, sponsored by House Democrats, which would have altered the depreciation schedule for non-commercial aircraft purchases from five years to seven years. The White House has repeatedly called for an end to what the president terms the “corporate jet tax loophole,” asserting the adjustment would yield $3 billion in additional revenue over the next 10 years.

In the March 13 hearing in the United States House of Representatives Budget Committee, Rokita said the proposed amendment sought to “demagogue” business aircraft users, and would’ve harmed small business owners and general aviation pilots operating their aircraft on a variety of missions.

“We get some kind of satisfaction out of saying that they don't pay their fair share,” he added.

Rokita, himself a commercial pilot, then displayed a photo of Dan and Andi Montgomery, owners of Indiana fixed-base operator Montgomery Aviation, which supports general aviation operations including medical flights, airborne search-and-rescue, disaster relief, and law enforcement and agricultural support roles.

“Do they look like globe-trotting, jet millionaires to you?” he asked rhetorically. “They're small business owners.”

Watch Rep. Rokita's Comments in Support of GA Small Businesses

Rokita reiterated that any estimated gains from the depreciation schedule adjustment would be offset by the profoundly negative impact to all general aviation, including business aviation, which contributes more than $150 billion annually to the economy and employs more than 1.2 million Americans. Businesses relying on general aviation would be hit with increased capital costs, he added, as well as a drop in aggregate demand, manufacturing employment, and the number of GA service providers.

“When we demagogue the ‘jet-tax loophole’, and those people who might benefit from a simple business depreciation schedule, you might think about the real face of general aviation and the people who work in it who serve this country, and who we'd really hurt,” Rokita added. The amendment was ultimately voted down by the committee, by a vote of 17 to 22.

NBAA Senior Vice President, Government Affairs Lisa Piccione welcomed the groundswell of support from congressional lawmakers for the industry.

“Our Association is gratified by the support our industry has received from elected officials like Rep. Rokita and others in the House and Senate, who recognize that general aviation is an essential tool for citizens, companies, and communities across the country,” she said.

Article Originally published by NBAA - http://www.nbaa.org/admin/taxes/depreciation/20130319-lawmaker-highlights-small-business-impact-from-aircraft-tax-change-proposal.php

On February 24, Bill Harrelson, an EAA member from Fredericksburg, VA launched a record breaking flight in his modified Lancair IV (N6ZQ) from Montgomery Aviation at the Grissom Aeroplex (GUS).  He flew non-stop from Grissom to Honolulu, Hawaii - a 4,000 mile, 22.5 hour flight.  He then flew from Honolulu to Guam taking 17.6 hours and going 3,000 miles, then flew from Guam to Jacksonville, FL non-stop going 7,051nm in 38 hours, 29 minutes.  You can learn about the entire trek and the modified Lancair by reading the entire EAA story. http://www.eaa.org/news/2013/2013-03-05_long-distance-lancair.asp

Did you know that our Redbird Full Motion Simulator can be used for Instrument Proficiency and Currency??  Well it can!  J.C. Buehler, a FAA Examiner explains how this can be done:

The Redbird can be used it two ways:

1) to maintain instrument proficiency; and,

2) for an Instrument Proficiency Check, there are simple answers to both issues

In short:

1. The Redbird can be used to maintain instrument proficiency under FAR 61.57.

2. The Redbird can be used for PART of the Instrument Proficiency Check. The AATD Redbird does NOT qualify for the Circle to Land requirement, nor the Instrument Practical Test Standard (PTS) requirement for a landing out of an approach. [The Redbird is not presently authorized for any landing proficiency or currency requirements.] 

The IPC is, of course, conducted in accordance with the Instrument PTS. Only one (1) landing is required during an Instrument Practical Test and or during an PIC conducted by a CFI-I, Examiner or FAA Inspector. A circle-to-land approach is also required. Therefore, according to the AC guidance—and input from the Indy FSDO—the IPC must include at least one circling approach and a landing from an approach. Everything else required in the practical test/IPC- unusual attitude recovery, approaches, holding and nav tracking procedures-can be done in the Redbird. [This does not mean that I can administer part of an initial Instrument check ride. The full check must still be given in an aircraft. Part of the IRA test can only be done in an AATD or sim under a Part 142 certificate where the Redbird (or sim) is evaluated and authorized for use by the school certificate holder.]

The instructors can refer to AC61-139, issued by AFS-800, the FAA office responsible for simulator and AATD certification and authorizations.

Below are some excerpts from the AC, along with industry comments.

“On August 21, 2009, the FAA published revisions to 14 CFR Part 61 (the rules that govern the certification of pilots and flight instructors), including the use of (AATDs) and flight simulators for training and to maintain instrument proficiency. …

The new rules (specifically §61.51) offer greater flexibility in the use of approved AATDs* and flight simulators in training for certificates and ratings and to maintain instrument currency. The FAA's comments in the Federal Register…clarify the agency's interpretation of the regulations.

For example, §61.51(b)(2) and §61.51(a) require that an authorized instructor must be present in the flight simulator, …or AATD when instrument training time is logged for training and aeronautical experience for meeting the requirements for a certificate, rating, or flight review. The instructor must sign the trainee's logbook and verify training time and session content. 

The FAA's comments on the new rules, however, clarify several points. First, the FAA explains what "present" means in this context. 

Examples of situations in which an authorized instructor will be considered present would be where an authorized instructor is seated at a center control panel in a flight simulation lab and is monitoring each student’s performance from control panel display. Another example would be a situation where an instructor assigns a student several instrument tasks and then leaves the room. In such cases, if the flight training device has a monitoring and tracking system that allows the authorized instructor to review the entire training session, the instructor need not be physically present. Another example would be a situation where one authorized instructor monitors several students simultaneously in the same room at a flight simulation lab.

The new rules also change §61.57(c) "to allow use of aviation training devices (AATD), flight simulators (FS),for maintaining instrument recent flight experience." 

The new rules also change §61.57(c) "to allow use of aviation training devices (ATD), flight simulators (FS), for maintaining instrument recent flight experience." 

The FAA is allowing different means to maintain instrument currency. The pilot may use whatever method best suits his or her needs to maintain instrument currency by using the actual aircraft, flight simulator, flight training device, or aviation training device, or a combination of all.

The FAA's comments on the new rules: 

Subject to certain limitations, a pilot may choose completing his/her instrument experience requirements in an aircraft and/or through use of an…AATD. The simulation devices must be representative of the category of aircraft suitable for the instrument rating privileges that the pilot desires to maintain. Under new §61.57(c)(2), a person may use a flight simulator or flight training device exclusively by performing and logging at least three hours of instrument recent flight experience within the six calendar months before the month of the flight.

Under new §61.57(c)(3), a person may use an AATD exclusively by performing and logging at least three hours of instrument recent flight experience within the two calendar months before the month of the flight. (The FAA has) deliberately established differences between the use of an AATD, and flight training devices because use of an aviation training device to maintain instrument recent flight experience is a relatively new concept. The FAA wants to further evaluate its use before we allow use of AATDs equal to that of flight simulators and flight training devices. Under new §61.57(c)(4), a person could combine use of the aircraft and AATD to obtain instrument experience. When a pilot elects to combine use of an aircraft and simulation device, FAA requires, under new §61.57(c)(4), completion of one hour of instrument flight time in the aircraft and three hours in the FS, FTD, or ATD within the preceding 6 calendar months. Under new § 61.57(c)(5), a person may combine use of an FS or FTD flight training, and an ATD to obtain instrument recent flight experience. 

The new hourly requirements for the use of flight simulators and approved FTDs are offset, however, by allowing, in specific circumstances, a pilot to log simulated instrument time in a flight simulator or AATD without an instructor. 

A person would not need a flight instructor or ground instructor present when accomplishing the approaches, holding, and course intercepting/tracking tasks of §61.57(c)(1)(i), (ii), and (iii) in an (AATD) or flight simulator. Only when a person is required to submit to an instrument proficiency check must a flight instructor or ground instructor be present. A person is not required to have a flight instructor or ground instructor present when performing the approaches, holding, and course intercepting/tracking tasks in an aircraft. If the person is using a view-limiting device when performing the approaches, holding, and course intercepting/ tracking tasks in an aircraft, only a safety pilot is required to be present. 

Note: If a person is performing approaches, holding, and course intercepting/ tracking tasks in an aircraft in IMC, it is permissible to log the tasks without a flight instructor being present. Therefore, a person who is instrument current or is within the second 6-calendar month period (See § 61.57(d) for currency) need not have a flight instructor or ground instructor present when accomplishing the approaches, holding, and course intercepting/ tracking tasks of § 61.57(c)(1)(i), (ii), and (iii) in an approved flight training device (AATD) or flight simulator.

DOES THE FAA ALLOW YOU TO LOG TIME IN AN AATD?

Absolutely! Depending on the rating or certificate you are seeking, you may log creditable time spent training in the AATD. 

The FARs allow for:

Logging instrument flight experience and proficiency with an Instructor

•Instrument rating (maximum 20 hours) 

•Instrument rating practical test (per FAA-S-8081-4 (circling-to-land not authorized)) 

•Instrument proficiency check (per FAA-S-8081-4 (circling-to-land not authorized)) 

•Private pilot certificate (maximum 2.5 hours) 

•Commercial pilot certificate (maximum 50 hours) 

•Commercial pilot practical test (per FAA-S-8081-12) 

•Airline transport pilot certificate (maximum 25 hours) 

•Airline transport pilot practical test (per FAA-S-8081-5)

CAN I USE THE AATD FOR MY INSTRUMENT RATING CURRENCY REQUIREMENTS?

Absolutely! In fact it is a fantastic way to not only meet the currency requirements, but to maintain proficiency as well. You can meet the FAA currency requirements in about one hour in the simulator. The equivalent work in the aircraft would require about double that time. Of course, you must have an approved instructor assist you during your flight simulation

WHY SHOULD I USE THE AATD INSTEAD OF THE AIRPLANE?

The AATD is an enhancement to the aircraft. The AATD is a much more conducive classroom than the aircraft when many concepts and maneuvers are being taught. If you are having difficulty with a concept or maneuvers, for instance navigation problems with VORs or visualizing the landing flare, you can practice the maneuvers many more times in the AATD than in the aircraft. Then when you go to the aircraft, you will easily apply what you’ve learned in the simulator. In many cases, the AATD is more difficult to fly than the real aircraft. This is by design. So when you’ve mastered a procedure or concept in the simulator, you will frequently find the same elements much easier to perform in the aircraft.

Congratulations to our very own Operations Manager, Bobby Beem who passed his Commercial Multi checkride in a Cessna 310  with Eagle Flyers on February 12, 2013  at Indianapolis Executive Airport.  He is flying high and passing checkrides practically every month it seems!! Way to go and keep up the hard work!

Eagle Flyers flight school is a certified Cessna Pilot Center near Indianapolis offering flight training for sport, private, instrument, and commercial certifications.  Eagle Flyers has the region's most diverse aircraft rental fleet including a brand new Cessna 162 Skycatcher, several Cessna 172 Skyhawks, a Cessna 182 Skylane, a Cirrus SR20 and SR22, and a Beechcraft Bonanza for rent.  Eagle Flyers prides itself in employing experienced, top-notch instructors who share the same passion for flight instruction as their students do for learning.  

There are only a few things in life to which we can ascribe no true price.  Learning to fly is one of those things.  It is priceless.  The absolute joy, the overwhelming feeling of accomplishment and the exhilaration at being able to escape your earthly bonds is indescribable.  It is the adventure of a lifetime; we at Montgomery Aviation Inc. would like to invite you to experience first hand.

But, flying should not be just a dream.  The practicality of being in charge of your own travel destiny, whether you own your own plane or choose to rent, general aviation, opens doors that only pilots have access too.  Montgomery Aviation Inc. and its flying club, “Eagle Flyers” holds your key to this whole new world.

Just think of it, possessing the ability to drive to an airport convenient to your or business, park for free within walking distance of your hangar, climb aboard your personal aircraft, take off and fly to the destination of your choice, on your schedule, and then return on your schedule.  Let’s replay that.  No parking fees, no waiting in the parking lot for the shuttle bus, no tickets to buy, no checking in, no metal detectors, no having to take your shoes off, no having to empty your pockets, no having to wait in long lines to board, and no departure delays at busy airports.  When you fly yourself the rules change.  It takes me 15 minutes to pull the plane out of the hangar, by the time you board a commercial airline, I’m 200 miles on my way.  Add in the time you’ll waste getting out of your destination airport and I’ll travel 400 miles.  I can beat a commercial airline fromIndianapolistoAtlantain the time you waste getting in and out of most commercial airports.

We are looking for people like you, people who seek out ways to improve their lives.  We have the means to introduce you to the dream.   Montgomery Aviation’s, “Eagle Flyers” is one of the few flight schools to offer training in new Cessna  and Cirrus aircraft.  Eagle Flyers, is a Cessna Pilot Center & Cirrus Pilot Training Center with the areas most experienced flight instructors.  All of our training staff are professional pilots with thousands of hour of experience.    Our instructors are not building time to go elsewhere.  They have time.  They instruct because they love aviation and the satisfaction of sharing the dream with new pilots.

Realize the dream.  Call me at 317-769-4487 or visit our website at

http://www.montgomeryaviation.net/Eagle-Flyers/

Schedule a flight and experience the dream, it’s easier than you think, in fact if you can qualify for a Indiana Driver’s License you can fly our Sky Catchers.

Sincerely,
Carl J Winkler III VP

In early November, the Aviation Association of Indiana (AAI) announced its 2012 Indiana Airports' Economic Impact Study.  The study evaluated the economic impact of the 69 public use airports in Indiana that are part of the state's official State Aviation System Plan.

The study found that Indianapolis Executive Airport contributes over $430 million in annual economic output and creates and sustains nearly 2,400 jobs with a payroll of nearly $125 million annually in Hamilton and Boone counties.  In total, Indiana’s 69 public-use airports, as part of the State’s Aviation System Plan, contribute $14.1 billion in economic output and create and sustain more than 69,000 jobs in Indiana. 

You can read the report published by AAI, Conexus Indiana, and INDOT HERE.

You can also view the press release by Indianapolis Executive Airport HERE.

Numerous media reports have been done on the study and feature Dan and Andi Montgomery:

Zionsville Times Sentinel (partial article - full article only available in print edition)

Indianapolis Star (paid archive file)

Inside Indiana Business (video)

Aviation International News featured Montgomery Aviation as their FBO profile for the month of December.  This is a great honor and wonderful exposure for the FBO and the Montgomery's.  The article covers the long history of the airport and how Dan and Andi have dedicated their lives to the growth and success of the FBO and airport.  You can read below the entire article or click this link to go to AIN website: http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2012-12-02/fbo-profile-montgomery-aviation

FBO Profile: Montgomery Aviation

AVIATION INTERNATIONAL NEWS » DECEMBER 2012

by  CURT EPSTEIN

While the operators of some FBOs may feel as if they live at the airport, Dan and Andi Montgomery of Indianapolis Executive Airport’s (TYQ) Montgomery Aviation actually do. Dan, who has been at the northern Indianapolis airport (formerly known as Terry Field) since 1989, is currently the airport manager. He and his wife, Andi, also own and operate the lone aviation services provider on the field. The couple also manages the FBOs at two other Indiana locations: Frankfurt Municipal Airport and Grissom Airbase, a joint-use military-civil facility.

Dan had served at the airport as its maintenance provider, and in 2000 the couple offered to take over management of the ramshackle FBO run by the private airport’s owner as well. They moved their family onto the field and began to offer service whenever it was required. When they took over, there were 40 aircraft based at the airport, half of them gliders and the remainder a mix of flyable and un-flyable piston-engine airplanes. That first year, the couple sold 50,000 gallons of fuel. In 2001 the FBO welcomed its first based business jet, owned by someone who is still with them and now owns a Learjet 45XR and a helicopter.

Opportunities for Growth

In 2003, when the original owner of the airport retired, Hamilton County purchased and renamed the field. That same year Montgomery completed its first 18,000-sq-ft corporate hangar and office building, which quickly filled to capacity. The new structure allowed the FBO to vacate the old terminal, referred to as “the shack.” The number of based aircraft continued to climb, and three years later the Montgomerys added an 8,000-sq-ft terminal and another 18,000-sq-ft hangar as part of a nearly $2 million upgrade. They also added an 18,000-sq-ft canopy.

Today the nontower airport, which sees some 60,000 operations a year, is home to approximately 100 aircraft, including 22 business jets, a GIII among them, and the Avfuel-branded location will pump more than 700,000 gallons of fuel this year, according to Andi Montgomery. The FBO occupies a footprint of eight acres and can accommodate aircraft the size of a Boeing BBJ. The location also offers a flight school and a Part 145 maintenance station that can handle engine changes and Phase I to IV inspections on Cessna Citations. The business is also half owner of charter provider SolutionsAir, which operates a Citation I as well as a pair of King Airs and a Pilatus PC-12.

The FBO’s fuel farm can store 24,000 gallons of jet-A dispensed from either a 5,000-gallon tanker or a renovated military truck that can hold 8,000 gallons. For avgas the location offers a self-fueling option or the services of a 4,000-gallon tanker.

The FBO is open generally from 5:30 a.m. until 9 p.m., but having its operators living on the airport provides benefits for customers. “We post those hours, but I tell people just tell me when you are coming and we’ll be there,” Andi Montgomery told AIN. Among the amenities offered are free Wi-Fi throughout the terminal, crew cars, WSI weather and a computer-equipped pilot lounge/snooze room with showers. The FBO also has two conference rooms that can seat 12 and eight people respectively, and onsite car rental.

The Montgomerys believe in community involvement and the need to show the best face of general aviation to the neighborhood. To that end, the company has provided its light- and sound-equipped canopy as the venue for many local events, including an annual Downs Syndrome Indiana fundraiser, aero club dinners and concerts. Once a year, a local church even celebrates Mass under the shelter, followed by a pot-luck picnic. Around Halloween, part of one of the FBO’s hangars hosts a safe “trick or treating” party for local children, who are treated to such fun and games as a candy drop and taxiway rides on the FBO’s World War II-vintage truck. Andi Montgomery sees exposing guests to aviation as a side benefit: “Those kids come in and play in half the hangar, but they are looking at the jets and the helicopter.”

During last year’s Super Bowl, the facility found itself swamped with more than 60 business jets and the Montgomerys were forced to turn away business, including one well known pilot/actor. When one potential customer was told beforehand that there was no more parking space for a large jet, the customer said he would fly his King Air to the game instead. The location scrambled for equipment such as chocks to accommodate the surge, and more than 100 volunteers turned out to help. Local restaurants were on hand greeting arriving guests with appetizers, as others steered them to the Super Bowl desk and then out to the 100 rental cars and 30 limousines at the terminal’s front entrance. On Super Bowl Sunday Indianapolis Executive was the second busiest airport behind Indianapolis International. That day Montgomery Aviation recorded 92 operations, including 30 jets that landed, unloaded their passengers and returned later to pick them up after the game. A bonus, according to Montgomery, was the evening temperature, which dipped just low enough for all those parked aircraft to require de-icing before departure.

This month's edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine has a large feature focusing on the 75th Anniversary of the Piper Cub.  Longtime friends of Dan and Andi Montgomery, Steve and Jo Alcorn took the trip of a lifetime ferrying a Piper Cub from Bedford, IN to Winter Haven, FL.  The entire trip was detailed in the magazine and is now available online:

http://www.aopa.org/members/files/pilot/2012/november/f_cub.html