Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Feb 10, 2026 · 53 min · 19 segments
Max talks with Matt Bergwall, Executive Director of the Vision Jet Product Line at Cirrus, about the just-announced Cirrus SF50 G3 Vision Jet—and before that, he offers an unusually personal look at…
Max TrescottHost
Matt BergwallGuest
From multiple sources, AOPA announced on February 4th that President and CEO Darren Pleasence has stepped out of the day-to-day top job and into an advisory role, while the Board of Trustees searches for AOPA's next leader.
AOPA said day-to-day operations will be jointly led by CFO Jill Baker and Senior VP of Membership Strategy and Growth Katie Pribble, serving as acting co-presidents during the transition.
The organization said its advocacy work and member services will continue uninterrupted.
AvBrief.com described Pleasance's exit as a surprise dismissal and reported sharp criticism of the board across pilot forums and social media.
AvReef also reported Pleasance told them he has a house in Frederick and spends two weekends a month at his family home in Bend.
AOPA noted that Cirrus Aircraft co-founder and former CEO Dale Klapmeyer joined the Board of Trustees earlier that week, and AvReef reported Pleasance called it unfounded to suggest Klapmeyer drove the outcome.
Habbrief also cited anonymous sources saying it had direct knowledge that AOPA retained a crisis management firm on a $250,000 retainer, while noting it has not been able to confirm that directly with the association.
On February 7th, the board published an open letter to members acknowledging the volume of calls and emails and emphasizing fiduciary oversight, organizational stability, and continuity of AOPA's mission as the search proceeds.
The Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General wants to get to the bottom of ATC controller shortages and is launching a major audit of systems used to recruit, train, and deploy new controllers.
Nelda Smith, Principal Assistant Inspector General for Auditing and Evaluations, said she will concentrate on the FAA's latest efforts to swell the ranks of controllers, which are down 3,500 from the full complement recommended for running the system.
Quote, acknowledging this challenge, in February 2025, The Secretary of Transportation announced a campaign to supercharge controller hiring, the memo says.
Of these, more than 8,300 applicants were referred to the FAA Academy for testing, resulting in approximately 600 trainees, the highest number of Academy students in history.
Smith said she wants to find ways to help the agency achieve its goal of hiring 8,900 controllers in the next three years.
Quote, our objectives are to assess, one, FAA's efforts to address the academy instructor shortages, training capacity limitations, and trainee failure rates, and two, the academy's progress with updating the air traffic controller training program curriculum.
The FAA is encouraging Part 91, 91K, and 135 operators to expand spatial disorientation, or SD, training for pilots, according to a recent Information for Operators, or INFO, guidance.
The info cites the NTSB, which continues to identify spatial disorientation as a serious safety concern.
From multiple sources, AOPA announced on February 4th that President and CEO Darren Pleasence has stepped out of the day-to-day top job and into an advisory role, while the Board of Trustees searches for AOPA's next leader.
AOPA said day-to-day operations will be jointly led by CFO Jill Baker and Senior VP of Membership Strategy and Growth Katie Pribble, serving as acting co-presidents during the transition.
The organization said its advocacy work and member services will continue uninterrupted.
AvBrief.com described Pleasance's exit as a surprise dismissal and reported sharp criticism of the board across pilot forums and social media.
AvReef also reported Pleasance told them he has a house in Frederick and spends two weekends a month at his family home in Bend.
AOPA noted that Cirrus Aircraft co-founder and former CEO Dale Klapmeyer joined the Board of Trustees earlier that week, and AvReef reported Pleasance called it unfounded to suggest Klapmeyer drove the outcome.
Habbrief also cited anonymous sources saying it had direct knowledge that AOPA retained a crisis management firm on a $250,000 retainer, while noting it has not been able to confirm that directly with the association.
On February 7th, the board published an open letter to members acknowledging the volume of calls and emails and emphasizing fiduciary oversight, organizational stability, and continuity of AOPA's mission as the search proceeds.
The Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General wants to get to the bottom of ATC controller shortages and is launching a major audit of systems used to recruit, train, and deploy new controllers.
Nelda Smith, Principal Assistant Inspector General for Auditing and Evaluations, said she will concentrate on the FAA's latest efforts to swell the ranks of controllers, which are down 3,500 from the full complement recommended for running the system.
Quote, acknowledging this challenge, in February 2025, The Secretary of Transportation announced a campaign to supercharge controller hiring, the memo says.
Of these, more than 8,300 applicants were referred to the FAA Academy for testing, resulting in approximately 600 trainees, the highest number of Academy students in history.
Smith said she wants to find ways to help the agency achieve its goal of hiring 8,900 controllers in the next three years.
Quote, our objectives are to assess, one, FAA's efforts to address the academy instructor shortages, training capacity limitations, and trainee failure rates, and two, the academy's progress with updating the air traffic controller training program curriculum.
The FAA is encouraging Part 91, 91K, and 135 operators to expand spatial disorientation, or SD, training for pilots, according to a recent Information for Operators, or INFO, guidance.
The info cites the NTSB, which continues to identify spatial disorientation as a serious safety concern.
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