Seminars offer tech-savvy tips to make your flying easier

Advanced avionics, iPads, and new flight service capabilities online put a wealth of traffic, weather, and safety-of-flight information at our fingertips. But do we know how to access all of those features? Is there a better way to manage the information in the cockpit?

AOPA seminars at Sun 'n Fun in Lakeland, Florida, April 21 through 26, will provide practical tips on how to use technology to make your flying safer and more efficient, giving you more time to have fun.

Multiple seminars will help you maximize your use of the iPad in flight. If you use your iPad to display Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) traffic and weather information, AOPA’s Eric Rush will help you understand what you are seeing—but more importantly, what you aren’t. Understanding that the traffic you see on your iPad isn’t a complete picture of the traffic around you is an important distinction in flying with ADS-B traffic information. Sporty’s John Zimmerman will share real-world tips for flying with the iPad and offer advanced technique to help you get the most from your device. Garmin’s Jan Mackenzie will cover how to plan a flight and file a flight plan on the iPad, and then how to use it effectively en route.

If you call Flight Service for briefings and to file or close flight plans, you may be surprised by some of the new online enhancements Lockheed Martin has made. In “Not the Flight Service Station you once knew,” Lockheed’s Joe Daniele will explain the newest pilot-centric capabilities at www.1800wxbrief.com.

If you are interested in upgrading the avionics in your aircraft, AOPA Editor in Chief Tom Haines will walk you through the process.

And, find out how Avidyne is using data from the NTSB and the Air Safety Institute to improve technically advanced aircraft by developing the next generation of glass-cockpit avionics.

See the schedule and complete list of AOPA seminars featuring presenters from Sporty’s, Jeppesen, Garmin, Lockheed, John and Martha King, FreeFlight, Rod Machado, Avidyne, and NORAD. Remember, as an AOPA member, you can get a $5 discount on the daily adult Sun 'n Fun admission pass and $30 off the adult weekly pass. Just enter promo code “AOPA217” when you purchase your tickets on Sun 'n Fun's website.