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  • Welcome

    Welcome to the North Dakota Pilots Association website. We hope you'll take the time to get to know more about NDPA and consider joining us in our mission to protect and promote aviation in North Dakota. Join NDPA

  • Scholarship

    We love aviation, and we want to help those who want to get involved and become pilots themselves. Find out more about our NDPA scholarship program, and how you can help donate and take part in this great opportunity. Get Involved

  • Events Calendar

    There's lots to do for pilots in North Dakota! Check out our Calendar of Events to make sure you don't miss a single Fly-In, Poker Run, Museum, or $100 Hamburger! Start Taxiing

  • Find Your District

    The NDPA recently organized the state into Districts, giving each pilot a more personal and local connection. Stay tuned as we get you in contact with your district director! Learn More

Send Us Your Photos!

NDPA would like to share your photos of aviation events around North Dakota. If you attend an event, please email us your photos and information and we'll add it to our website.

Call for Help from Pilots: Give PIREPS

There are many weather reports and forecasts that pilots can use to try and determine what’s happening aloft.  But nothing is as useful and accurate as actual reports from other pilots.  Pilot reports (PIREPS) are always important, but there is a special call for them from the Aviation Weather Center.  Read the notice below and make sure to give PIREPS whenever you fly.  If you need a quick refresher on PIREPS, see Chapter 12 of the Aviation Weather Services book.

Late Night PIREPS: Request for assistance

Notice Number: NOTC3737

The Aviation Weather Center is calling for an extra effort on the part of pilots, controllers and dispatchers for PIREPS from 02-11 UTC each evening/night through Sep. 1, 2012, in support of research on low level turbulence. Here is more detail from their website:

Call for night-time PIREPs. The Aviation Weather Center is conducting research project on low level turbulence away from the influences of terrain and in the presence of stronger wind. The AWC is requesting Pilots, controllers, and dispatchers make an extra effort to provide PIREPs below 12,000 feet during the nighttime hours–primarily from 0200 UTC through 1100 UTC. The focus of this project runs across the central plains; from Texas to Canada, between the Rockies and the Ohio River Valley, but any nighttime PIREP is greatly appreciated. The project runs through September 1, 2012.

This Notice request brought to you by FAASTeam Representative Patrick Ayd / General Forecaster / National Weather Service / Bismarck, ND, and the Great Lakes Region FAASTeam.

The Future: FAA Releases NextGen Update

Those that have attended the Upper Midwest Aviation Symposium in the past or those that have been keeping up with future trends in aviation are familiar with the transition to NextGen, the overhaul of the national airspace system. The FAA has released an update to its NextGen Implementation Plan which gives an overview of the current status of the transition and a look towards the future.

The report points out that the FAA has been busy developing new instrument approach procedures based on NextGen technology. These are the WAAS approaches that use GPS to provide guidance to the runway similar to what an ILS provides. In 2011 the FAA published 354 of these approaches and they continue to develop more. A number of airports here in North Dakota are now benefiting from WAAS approaches.

ADS-B, the satellite based successor to radar, continues to expand its coverage area. The photo shows the current coverage area and the FAA states they will have full coverage by early 2014.

One paragraph, while vague, is particularly interesting. It states, “During the 2013-2015 time frame, we plan to develop and implement mechanisms to provide NAS users with information about the current and future status of Special Activity Airspace (airspace set aside for military training and other specialized use), enabling more efficient flight planning.”

While there is clearly a long way to go before NextGen is fully implemented it is clear that the FAA is making progress. It will not be long before NextGen is the reality of our national airspace system instead of the future. You can click here to read the full report and learn more about the NextGen system.