Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

Six months after launching the TBM Advanced Aviator Program (TAAP), the TBM Owners and Pilots Association (TBMOPA) has signed up more than 100 participants. The program is designed “to pursue zero accidents in the TBM fleet by establishing a rigorous, professionally oriented standard of annual training and proficiency.”
TAAP participants who complete six core requirements during a 12-month period earn advanced aviator status from TBMOPA. The requirements include recurrent training with a TAAP-qualified instructor, an instrument proficiency check, adherence to TAAP operational guidelines, at least 100 hours of TBM pilot-in-command time, a sustained approach score above 80% on the Me &amp; My TBM app, and at least two approved enrichment activities.
Instructors must have at least 1,500 hours of pilot-in-command time, 500 hours in turboprops, and 100 hours in TBM single-engine turboprops. Independent instructors can qualify to become TAAP-qualified, and training to meet TAAP requirements is also available at CAE/Simcom and Goldberg Aviation.
“In just six months, TAAP has grown into something we are genuinely proud of,” said TBMOPA director of safety and training Adam Kudzin. “The pilots who have enrolled aren’t checking off boxes, but are committing to a higher standard of airmanship and joining a community that believes safety is a practice, not a destination. Reaching this milestone reinforces our belief that TAAP will become the defining safety program for TBM operators.”

News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

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TBM Advanced Aviator Program participants who complete six core requirements during a 12-month period earn advanced aviator status from TBMOPA.

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News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

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