SAFETY & SERVICE

At AirShares Elite, we have successfully fostered a safety culture on par with professional flight departments and large flight-training organizations. Our Safety Management System (SMS) has been constructed in accordance with the latest research and development in this field, using technology and strict adherence to company policy, procedures, and recommended best practices.

For more details about the AirShares SMS, visit www.safety.airshareselite.com/safety.html

Our framework of safety and service is built on four pivotal pillars, which you can learn more about below:

 

Training  |  Maintenance  |  Aircraft  |  Industry Best Practices

Training

• Leadership -- AirShares Elite's Director of Flight Operations, Rich Bertoli, sets the standards for all of the training programs, operating guidelines, and currency requirements. Under Rich's leadership, our highly qualified flight instructors produce confident and competent Cirrus pilots using the latest methods and materials available. We host a bi-monthly web conference for our nationwide flight instructor network to not only share ideas about topics such as engine management and adult learning, but also to ensure that all of our customers share a uniform experience in accordance with our company vision of safety and service.

  Areas of Emphasis – Throughout transition training and beyond, we incorporate the following areas into nearly every exercise using scenario-based training methods:

   

  
  • Single-Pilot Resource Management (SRM), defined as the art and science of managing all the resources (both onboard the aircraft and from outside sources) available to a single pilot to ensure that the successful outcome of the flight is never in doubt. The tenets of which include:

  
  o Aeronautical Decision Making and Risk Management
  o Automation Management
  o Task Management
  o Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT) Awareness
  o Situational Awareness

  
  • Stewardship: The careful and responsible management of the aircraft entrusted to your care when exercising the privileges of AirShares membership.

  
  • Stick n’ Rudder: Consistent landings with a stabilized approach; maintenance of acceptable instrument hand-flying skills; and proper ground operations.

  Recurrent Training -- At AirShares, our pilots never stop learning. In addition to the comprehensive initial transition training, all of our flying customers receive regular recurrent training, alternating every 6 months between an IFR and VFR skill-set focus. We encourage participation in training events, such as the Cirrus Pilot Proficiency Program (CPPP) weekend-long seminars, High Altitude Physiology Training courses, and pursuit of advanced ratings.
  

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Maintenance

• Leadership -- Our maintenance program is overseen by Rich Bertoli, who has been instrumental in designing world-class maintenance systems and processes for AirShares Elite. We have established solid relationships with the best service centers in the business at all of our base locations and elsewhere.
  
• Process --The FAA requires general aviation aircraft to be inspected annually. However, we have chosen to maintain our aircraft to much higher standards with scripted services at 50 and 100 hour intervals, in addition to the required FAA inspections. Each aircraft in the AirShares fleet is tracked with a computerized system that logs precise information about the aircraft, its usage, maintenance due, squawks and their resolution. The system prevents an aircraft from being dispatched unless all of the required inspections have been complied with, and the aircraft is ready for flight.
  

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Aircraft

• AirShares utilizes the Cirrus SR22 and has been a preferred Cirrus partner since 2001. The SR22 includes state-of-the-art safety features including:

  CAPS™ - The Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS™), standard equipment on every Cirrus aircraft, is indicative of the visionary commitment to general aviation safety. The parachute system is designed to protect occupants in the event of an emergency by lowering the aircraft to the ground after deployment. CAPS™ revolutionized general aviation safety by providing an additional measure of safety to occupants, similar in theory to the role of airbags in automobiles. No other certified general aviation aircraft manufacturer in the world provides this safety feature as standard equipment.

  Wing Design & Stall Characteristics - Safety and innovation are unequivocally evident in the wing design and its docile low-speed handling and stall prevention characteristics. The wing is a blend of several high-performance airfoils and is easily recognizable by the extended leading edge section near the wing tips. The result is exceptional roll control authority and excellent pre-stall warning. These features, tested and proven by NASA, also provide an improved resistance to spin entry during an inadvertent stall.

  Crashworthiness - 26G (horizontal) seats keep you in your seat and in the airplane. Modern occupant protection means cockpits are built to tolerate rollover and to keep everything in the airplane tied down (and not hitting you). Standard equipment airbag-equipped, 4 point seat belts are installed to cushion an impact.

  Composite Construction - Composite materials, such as fiberglass and carbon fiber, are easily molded into complex and aerodynamic shapes. They can create very strong structures tolerant to wide variations in temperature and requiring little maintenance. For example, a bird strike to the leading edge of a traditional aluminum wing will likely cause significant damage and alter the shape of the airfoil, creating a significant flight risk. A sturdy composite wing, however, will tolerate the same impact with little to no structural damage due to its rigid construction.

  Situational Awareness and Stress Reduction - A moving map overlaid with weather, terrain, and traffic information makes a flight less stressful for pilot and passengers, making it easy to see where you are and what’s going on around you.

  Advanced cockpit automation helps manage workload during single pilot operations and makes you better equipped for a safe approach and landing after a long flight.

  The single piece windscreen and over-sized windows provide an unobstructed view on the ground and in the air. The low-mounted glared shield helps the pilot keep the runway in sight during the critical phases of take-off and landing.

  The intuitive side yoke used in Cirrus aircraft improves safety by providing the pilot with an unobstructed view of critical flight instrumentation and presents less potential for physical injury in the event of an accident.

  Comfort – Cabin comfort can reduce pilot fatigue and stress; two contributing factors that diminish pilot performance. The 49" wide cabin with ample headroom and legroom with luxurious seats make even the longest flight segments comfortable for the all occupants.
  

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Industry Best Practices

• AirShares Elite is at the forefront of the rapidly growing shared-ownership industry. In order to ensure that operators in this business create and maintain the highest level of operating standards, AirShares has become a key participant in several innovative industry groups. These groups have different purposes, but all have unique value to us, our clients, and the industry at large with multiple aspects of safety and professional standards.

  NATA - The National Air Transportation Association created an advisory committee, the Fractional Aircraft Business Council (FABC), to assist as liaison between the industry participants and the FAA. These efforts are instrumental to the FAA in helping them create a proper regulatory environment for the industry.

  FITS - AirShares Elite is a founding member of the FAA / Industry Training Standards committee. FITS' singular mission is to improve pilot learning to safely, competently, and efficiently operate a technologically advanced piston or light jet aircraft in the modern National Airspace System (NAS), by implementing training that reduces the human error element and accelerates acquisition of higher-level judgment and decision-making skills.

  COPA - The Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) is a not-for-profit membership organization established to educate, promote the safety of and support the owners and pilots of certified aircraft manufactured by Cirrus Aircraft, encourage ownership of these aircraft and provide social activities for its members. Additionally, COPA will promote goodwill towards the general aviation community. Many AirShares Elite customers, employees, and principals are members of COPA. The collective knowledge of their on-line community, their support materials, seminars, and training programs have contributed tremendously to the safe operation of Cirrus aircraft and technologically advanced aircraft (TAA) in general.

  CSIP – Cirrus Standardized Instructor Pilots (CSIP) have been personally trained and evaluated by the training specialists at Cirrus headquarters and follow the same training programs that Cirrus uses during factory flight instruction. All are held to the same high standards of excellence that Cirrus uses for flight training. The vast majority of AirShares Elite flight instructors are current or former members of this international community.
  

Are you ready to fly the Cirrus SR22 and make your flying more effective? Call us today at 800-482-5411 or click here to have an AirShares Elite professional contact you.

"I figure I have better availability to the aircraft than if I owned an entire plane outright."
- Paul Platt, Atlanta, GA