AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2020 - 14

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AOPA ACTION

FAA to open two workforce
grant programs
AOPA push gets applications back on track
THE FAA ANNOUNCED that it will soon accept
electronic applications for two Aviation
Workforce Development Grant programs
that AOPA considers critical to general
aviation's future. Notices published in the
Federal Register that outlined the programs'
criteria and opened 15-day public comment
periods signal the end of a two-year logjam
during which the programs-both created
by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, and
each providing $5 million in grants for fiscal 2020-were authorized but remained
unimplemented.
The FAA's inaction on the programs
since their creation invoked the ire of many
in Congress, who expressed their frustration in recent letters to the Department of
Transportation and the FAA noting that
aviation education, the aircraft maintenance industry, and blunting the impact of
the coronavirus pandemic all would benefit from prompt implementation.
In September, the FAA announced the
public comment period for the Aircraft
Pilots Workforce Development Grant
Program, for which Congress appropriated $5 million in fiscal 2020 to "create and
deliver a training curriculum to address the
projected shortages of aircraft pilots."
The FAA said it plans to follow up with
a notice of funding opportunity on or about

November 13 for the program that will
"expand the pilot workforce and will help
high school students receive training to
become aerospace engineers or unmanned
aircraft systems operators. The program
also prepares teachers to train students
for jobs in the aviation industry."
AOPA strongly supports science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM,
education for high school students and
works to advance it through the AOPA
High School Initiative, a component of its
You Can Fly program, to support and grow
the pilot population.
The FAA also implemented a comment period for the Aviation Maintenance
Te c h n i c a l Wo r k e r s Wo r k f o r c e
Development Grant Program, intended
"to provide grants to academia and the
aviation community to help prepare a
more inclusive talent pool of aviation
maintenance technicians, to inspire and
recruit the next generation of aviation
professionals."
As with the other program, publication of a notice of funding opportunity is
expected around November 13.
Under both grant programs, eligible
groups may apply for grants from $25,000
to $500,000, the FAA said.
aopa.org/pilot/grantprograms

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AVIATION GROUPS SEEK NEW PANDEMIC RELIEF

AOPA and six other aviation organizations asked the FAA to grant pilots and flight
instructors new two-month grace periods for meeting proficiency, medical, and certification deadlines that would be impractical to comply with between October and
December 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
*In most circumstances. Actual vacuum pump removal will vary by aircraft.
Copyright 2020 Aspen Avionics Inc. "Aspen Avionics," "Evolution Flight Display
System," and the Aspen Avionics aircraft logo are trademarks of Aspen Avionics Inc.
All rights reserved. U.S. Patent No. 8,085,168, and additional patents pending.

AOPA RECONVENES MEDICAL-EXPERT PANEL

A panel of medical experts that has helped AOPA accomplish major advocacy goals in
the past will weigh in once more in 2020 as AOPA urges the FAA to act on key proposals to modernize and streamline the medical certification process for pilots.
aopa.org/advocacy

www.aspenavionics.com

14 | AOPA PILOT November 2020

http://www.aopa.org/pilot/grantprograms http://www.aopa.org/advocacy http://www.aspenavionics.com

AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2020