December 2017 http://www.inflightusa.com 7
MarkR.Baker
President & CEO, AOPASince BasicMed took eect on
May 1, more than 23,
pilotsare now qualified to fly
under the new alternative to
third class medical
certification. This new process
is the most significant shift in
third class medical reform
since the early 1960s.
Inits first six months,
BasicMedhasachieved some
majormilestones. Already
expanded across borders,
pilots can now fly under the
new FAA medical approval in
theBahamas.The Civil Air Patrol also began accepting
BasicMedpilots this summer and we are continuing to work with
leadershipacross the globe to recognize BasicMed or similar
medicalalternatives in their countries.
Inthe next few years, BasicMed is expected to reach hundreds
ofthousandsofpilots. We continue to develop resources to help
more pilots transition over to BasicMed.
At the AOPA headquarters, our aviation and medical
certification specialists in the Pilot Information Center continue
to field hundreds of calls from members interested in learning
more about BasicMed and its benefits. If you still have questions
regarding BasicMed, you can reach the AOPA Pilot Information
Center at 888-462-3976, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6
p.m. Eastern.
Astime goes on and more doctors and AMEs familiarize
themselves with the BasicMed exam, we believe the numbers
will continue to skyrocket. If you’ve had a positive experience
with the BasicMed process and have a doctor you’d like to
recommend to AOPA and other pilots, please send us their
information through http://www.aopa.org/submit-doctors. AOPA will
befollowing up with each doctor for their approval to share
their information when the Pilot Information Center receives a
request to connect a pilot with a BasicMed friendly doctor.BasicMed is Here
to Stay
*For more information on the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
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ssoouurrccee ffoorr aavviiaattiioonn nneewwss,, iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn aanndd ffeeaattuurreess..The Com me mor ati ve Air Force
(CAF) Red Tail Squadron, Am erica’s
tr ibu te to t he Tuskegee Airmen, recen tly
wr ap ped up thei r 2017 airsh ow s eas on
with th e RIS E A BOVE: Red Tai l to ur
pa rtic ipa ting i n 30 e vents from Feb ruary
to No ve mber. The y ear m arked an evo lu -
ti on in the educat ion al out reach of the
CAF Red Tail Squadro n’s impor tan t
insp irat ional message, and the gr oup
lo oks forwar d t o a productive win ter at
the CAF Nat ional Ai rbas e in D all as
be for e he ad ing ou t fo r a ful l 20 18 seaso n
of e ve nts.
August mar ked the l aun ch o f th e
ne w C AF d ome t heat er program in co n-
ju nct ion wit h th e CAF Educati on team
and na ti onal CAF RISE ABOVE ed uca -
ti on in it iat ive. The original fi lm “Rise
Ab ove” ce le br at ing the Tuske ge e
Ai rme n, show n i n t he RIS E AB OVE
Tra ve lin g Exhi bi t m obil e m ov ie theater,
ca n now a lso be featured insi de a
po rta ble , co st- eff ectiv e, i nflatable dome
th ea ter. For t he f ir st ti me, thi s i ns pi ra -
ti ona l m essage of t he Tuskegee Airmen
can re ac h f ar b ey ond t he CAF Red Tail
Sq ua dron’ s annu al to ur t o m ult ipl e fil ms
sh own t hr ough out th e coun try at mu ltip le
even ts du ri ng t he y ear. It’ s an u pg rad e to
th e gr ou p’s educat ional outreach stru c-
tu re th at all ow s for significantly g reater
opp or tuni ties to tell the sto ry of the
Tusk ege e Air men.
In Oc to ber , th e Vi rt ual Mu seu m w as
ad ded to t heir o nli ne ed uca tion al reso urces
to sh in e a fresh l ig ht on the e xpe rie nc e o f
the Tusk eg ee Airm en. This easily ac cess i-
ble gall er y i s cu rat ed b y the CAF Re d Ta il
Squ adr on b ut p opul ated with p ho to s and
inf or mati on of it em s sign ifica nt to the
Tusk eg ee A irme n pr ovid ed b y su pp orters
that also h av e an i nt ere st in ho norin g th e
leg acy o f t he se re ma rk ab le Ame ric an fig -
ures to en su re t he ir story is no t for go tten.
Th e add it io n o f t he Virtua l Mu seu m fu r-
ther de fin es re dt ai l.o rg as th e co mp le te
reso urc e f or a ll th in gs related to th e un iqu e
kin d of in sp ira tio n t hat co me s from learn -
ing abo ut th e Tu sk eg ee Airme n.
Thi s yea r, t he C AF Red Tail
Sq ua dron al so ex pan ded their ro bu st su p-
port off eri ngs f or events tha t have
book ed t he R IS E AB OVE Tra vel ing
Exhi bit a nd or P- 51C Must an g T us keg ee
Ai rme n. Thi s com muni ty out reach pro to -
co l incl ud es v is its t o loc al sc hools a nd
oth er com mun it y v en ues be for e the sh ow
or eve nt a nd pr e-e ven t ma rke ting s uppor t
fo r ai rs ho w pro du cers and e vent pla n-
ne rs, i nc lu din g pr of ess io nal social m edia
tool s. T he S qu adron i s de ve lo pin g a
de epe r im pa ct w it h t he c ommuni tie s i t
vis its b y he lpin g pr omote the ho st eve nt
wh ile b ro adcasti ng t he mes sage of t he
Tu sk ege e Air me n t o an eve n wid er a udi-
en ce.
Als o, t he CA F Red Ta il Sq ua dr on
wa s re co gn ize d by t he E xperi me nt al
Ai rc raft Ass oc ia ti on w ith th e Air Vent ure
Os hko sh 20 17 Se rvi ce Aw ard f or the ir
cr eativ e a nd co mp elli ng p resenc e at the
ev ent ’s Kid Ve ntur e prog ra m. I n a ddit ion
to t he RIS E ABOV E Trave li ng E xhibi t as
a cen terpi ece o f t hi s fam ily-fri en dly
at tr ac ti on, t he C AF Red Ta il S qua dro n
br oug ht sp eci al g ue st T us kege e Air man
Ha rry S te wart to gr ee t a nd inte rac t wi th
kid s at th e e ven t, res ulting i n re cor d
at te nd anc e nu mbe rs.
“We t ake pr ide i n t he posit ive
imp ac t we hav e o n the communit ies we
se rve ,” sa id K ri st i Yo unki n, C AF R ed
Ta il S qua dron l ogi st ics co ordi nato r f or
the R ISE ABOVE Travel ing Exhi bit and
P- 51C Mus ta ng Tu sk eg ee A irm en. “W e
ma int ai n a r ig or ou s eve nt sc hedu le to
ens ur e we br in g the messag e of the
Tu sk ege e Ai rme n to as many new pla ce s
as po ssi ble , an d t he mo re we ca n eng age
the se c om mu nit ie s the gr ea ter our po ten -
ti al fo r honor ing these i mport ant
Am eric an he roe s a nd i ns piri ng peop le to
ri se a bov e the ir ow n o bsta cle s.”
Cont ac t Younkin at l ogi s-
tic s@ redt ail. or g o r (4 79) 22 8-45 20 to
bo ok th e CAF Red Tail Squad ron for
yo ur e ven t. T he 20 18 s che dule is f il lin g
up f as t, but so me sp ots ar e sti ll av aila ble
and re ser vat io ns c an n ow b e ma de f or
event s in 201 9. Lear n more at r edta il.o rg.201 7 AIRS HOW SEAS ON
ANO THER YEA R OF FIRS TS FOR
THE CA F RED TAIL SQUADR ON
(Co urt esy CAF Re d Tai l S quadr on)