AOPA Aviation Summit Seminar and Event Descriptions
Events and Seminars Listed in Alphabetical Order by Title
A Night for Flight Benefit and AuctionSocial Event |
Advanced iPad: Tips and Tricks for Becoming an Expert The iPad is a great cockpit tool—if you know how to integrate it into the cockpit properly. Bring your iPad to this interactive seminar that goes beyond the cool factor and digs deep on topics such as proper use during instrument flights. |
After-Hours NetworkingSocial Event |
Aircraft Buying Workshop: An Interactive Guide to Buying Your Next Airplane Join AOPA Editor in Chief Tom Haines and a team of experts as they guide an audience member through the process of identifying the most suitable airplane and then buying, financing, and insuring it. You will participate in this interactive session as we take all the mystery out of your aircraft purchase. Tom Haines Friday, 3:15 PM - 4:30 PM, Convention Center, Catalina/Madera |
Aircraft Maintenance Workshop: Part 1: Recognizing and Dealing With Maintenance Gotchas; Part 2: Anatomy of an Annual Inspection Learn from two A&P, IAs and longtime aircraft owners who view maintenance through an aircraft owner's eyes. During this workshop, you will learn how to control maintenance costs, the truth about compression tests and why exhaust valves fail, the important do's and dont's of preventive maintenance, and the real truth about annual inspections. Adrian Eichhorn Mike Busch Thursday, 3:15 PM - 4:30 PM, Convention Center, Catalina/Madera |
AOPA Foundation Charity Golf TournamentSocial Event |
Ask the CFI Roundtable In flight training or want to learn to fly? Meet with CFIs face-to-face on a variety of topics and get your questions answered! |
ATC Playback: Emergencies and Real Life Situations Named after the first air traffic controller, the Archie League Awards are given to controllers who have employed remarkable judgment and composure to preform a variety of extraordinary flight assists, many which include general aviation flights. Listen and relive these remarkable demonstrations of professionalism and teamwork. National Air Traffic Controllers Association Friday, 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM, Convention Center, Pasadena/Sierra/Ventura |
Aviator's BreakfastSocial Event |
California Dreamin' Resort PartySocial Event |
Chart Challenge: Approaches Knowing what's on the chart is one thing; knowing how to apply it in the real world is something else. Will you make the right choices on these approaches? Be prepared for a highly interactive discussion! Air Safety Institute Thursday, 3:15 PM - 4:30 PM, Convention Center, Primrose B-D Friday, 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM, Convention Center, Primrose B-D |
Chart-Smart If a picture's worth a thousand words, which preflight pictures are most valuable to you? Join AOPA Pilot Editor at Large Tom Horne as he covers the basics of selected weather charts—including surface analysis, constant-pressure, Rapid Update Cycle, and other sources of graphic weather data. There will be a look at satellite imagery, and even a peek at the mysterious Skew-T Log-P charts. How can knowing these sources of information make your flying safer? Drop by and find out. Tom Horne Thursday, 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM, Convention Center, Pasadena/Sierra/Ventura Saturday, 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM, Convention Center, Catalina/Madera |
Companion Lunch (for non-pilots)Social Event |
Demystifying Medical Special Issuances: A Dialogue of the FAA's Safety Dilemma Moderator: Jack Hastings, MD Fred Tilton, MD Warren Silberman, DO Gary Crump Thursday, 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM, Convention Center, Mojave |
East Lawn Community Speaker Series: Adventures in Flying Hear from experts and pilots who have pushed the boundaries in these inspiring, motivating talks. Exhibit Hall badge required. |
East Lawn Community Speaker Series: CFI Education Hear from experts and pilots who have pushed the boundaries in these inspiring, motivating talks. Exhibit Hall badge required. |
East Lawn Community Speaker Series: Get Out There—Things to do with your certificate Hear from experts and pilots who have pushed the boundaries in these inspiring, motivating talks. Exhibit Hall badge required. |
East Lawn Community Speaker Series: Live Well, Fly Well Topics featuring Dr. Jonathan Sackier and others Hear from experts and pilots who have pushed the boundaries in these inspiring, motivating talks. Exhibit Hall badge required. |
East Lawn Community Speaker Series: Never Again/Real Pilot Stories Hear from experts and pilots who have pushed the boundaries in these inspiring, motivating talks. Exhibit Hall badge required. |
East Lawn Community Speaker Series: Travel Series Hear from experts and pilots who have pushed the boundaries in these inspiring, motivating talks. Exhibit Hall badge required. |
FAR Refresher Attend this intensive one-hour refresher for pilots on the more important and easily forgotten general operating and flight rules of FAR Part 91, which satisfies the one-hour, ground-training requirements of the flight review. Bring your logbook to be endorsed. John Yodice Friday, 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM, Convention Center, Smoketree A-E |
How to Pass Any Checkride Jason Blair Saturday, 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM, Convention Center, Mojave |
How to Save Your Life in an Aircraft Accident Avoiding an aircraft accident is best but is not always possible. Dr. Fries will discuss how to save life and limb when unexpected events occur and will demonstrate the proper use of safety belts, gliding techniques, managing in-flight fires, limiting injuries in forced landings, and safely exiting your aircraft. Dr. Ian Blair Fries Friday, 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM, Convention Center, Mojave |
International Flights the Easy Way Learn from the experts just how easy it can be to cross our north and south borders to visit great destinations. This seminar will cover the easy way to do flight planning to Canada, Mexico, and the Bahamas, as well as some Central America and Caribbean locations. The second half of the meeting will give you an opportunity to choose a break-out session with the expert for your region of interest. Rick Gardner Friday, 3:15 PM - 4:30 PM, Convention Center, Smoketree A-E |
iPad 101 Learn the basics of buying, setting up, and integrating the iPad into your flying. If you are thinking about buying an iPad or you recently purchased one and you're looking to get more out of the device, you won't want to miss this interactive and informative seminar. Moderator: Ian Twombly John Zimmerman Thursday, 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM, Convention Center, Catalina/Madera Friday, 3:15 PM - 4:30 PM, Convention Center, Primrose B-D |
Learning Pavilion: Learn to Fly Topics Thirty-minute updates on the newest aviation technology and tools to help you meet your flying goals. Exhibit Hall badge required. |
Learning Pavilion: New Apps for Pilots Thirty-minute updates on the newest aviation technology and tools to help you meet your flying goals. Exhibit Hall badge required. |
Learning Pavilion: Pilot/Controller Communications Tips Thirty-minute updates on the newest aviation technology and tools to help you meet your flying goals. Exhibit Hall badge required. |
Learning Pavilion: Report Out - New in Aviation: AOPA/EAA Medical Exemption Request Thirty-minute updates on the newest aviation technology and tools to help you meet your flying goals. Exhibit Hall badge required. David Oord Doug Macnair Saturday, 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM, Convention Center, Learning Pavilion |
Learning Pavilion: Report Out - New in Aviation: General Aviation Focus at the NTSB Thirty-minute updates on the newest aviation technology and tools to help you meet your flying goals. Exhibit Hall badge required. Christopher Hart Earl Weener Thursday, 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM, Convention Center, Learning Pavilion |
Learning Pavilion: Report Out - New in Aviation: NextGen: How New Technology and Capabilities Impact GA Thirty-minute updates on the newest aviation technology and tools to help you meet your flying goals. Exhibit Hall badge required. Heidi Williams Friday, 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM, Convention Center, Learning Pavilion |
Learning Pavilion: Top Technology Updates You'll Face in the Next 10 Years Thirty-minute updates on the newest aviation technology and tools to help you meet your flying goals. Exhibit Hall badge required. |
Light Business Aircraft Conference: Mission Critical: Using Aviation to Grow Your Business You travel for business. You own (or rent) general aviation airplanes. Why not combine the two to gain efficiency and proficiency? Many companies successfully utilize high-performance piston-powered aircraft to be more successful in business. This presentation will address safety considerations, options for using a co-pilot, and benefits to the pilot and their business. |
Light Business Aircraft Conference: Preserve Your Deductions: Avoid the Top 5 Tax Mistakes in Business Aircraft Ownership To encourage investment in business assets, Congress and the Internal Revenue Code provide deductions for legitimate uses. Your business airplane is one such asset. This session will discuss the most common mistakes business aircraft owners make, thereby losing deductions, and how to correct those mistakes to maximize the (financial) benefit of aircraft ownership and operations. Ample time for Q&A will be allocated so your questions will be answered. Jed Wolcott Eli Mansour Lou Meiners Thursday, 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM, Convention Center, Smoketree A-E |
Light Business Aircraft Conference: Purchasing Pre-Owned vs. New Business Aircraft Piston, turboprop, or jet. What are the advantages and tradeoffs when considering the purchasing of either a new or pre-owned business aircraft? What makes the best sense for your mission? What factors must you consider to make the best choice for your business? What does the market look like today, what will it look like in the future, and when is the ideal time to buy? This session will answer these questions, and more. Cyrus Sigari Mike Shafer Friday, 3:15 PM - 4:30 PM, Convention Center, Mojave |
Light Business Aircraft Conference: The Turbine Transition Owner-pilots flying for business often consider transitioning to turbine aircraft. This panel presentation will discuss how hard it is, what is involved, and what it costs. Turboprop and turbojet (including the type rating process) transitions will be discussed with an emphasis on safety and best practices for operations post-transition. John and Martha King Thursday, 3:15 PM - 4:30 PM, Convention Center, Mojave |
Live Long and Prosper: Why You Need Oxygen Flying piston aircraft? Mixture lean with ascent, air is thinner "up there." Oxygen-poor flight damages your body—not just in the flight levels, increases error risk, and for your passengers is unconscionable, if not unconscious. After a game show with prizes, we will demonstrate the impact of oxygen, consider costs, and review how those who don't know how to breathe have problems. So inhale, laugh, and, maybe, save your life. Dr. Jonathan Sackier Friday, 3:15 PM - 4:30 PM, Convention Center, Pasadena/Sierra/Ventura |
Lunch on the East LawnSocial Event |
Medical/Health Roundtable
Bob Posner, MD Jack Hastings, MD Dr. Ian Blair Fries Warren Silberman, DO Fred Tilton, MD Dr. Jonathan Sackier Gary Crump Thursday, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM, Convention Center, Mesquite B/C Friday, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM, Convention Center, Mesquite B/C Saturday, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM, Convention Center, Mesquite B/C |
Navigating the Nation's Busy Airspace Air traffic controllers discuss best practices and tips to help pilots navigate through the some of the busiest airspace in the National Airspace System. This discussion will cover navigating in and around Class B and C airspace, weather procedures, communications techniques, and other tips to ensure a safe flight. National Air Traffic Controllers Association Thursday, 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM, Convention Center, Pasadena/Sierra/Ventura Saturday, 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM, Convention Center, Smoketree A-E |
Night Flying Safety: Operational Hazards and Physical Limitations Good news: You're a pilot capable of flying day or night! Bad news: You probably weren't taught how to reduce risks associated with flying during the hours of darkness! Find out what you should know about dark adaptations, visual illusions, operational hazards, and the regulations that pertain to night flying. Adrian Eichhorn Friday, 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM, Convention Center, Mojave Saturday, 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM, Convention Center, Smoketree A-E |
Oklahoma, We Have a Problem: Medical Red Pens and How to Avoid Them |
Palm Springs Aerial TramwaySocial Event |
Palm Springs Air MuseumSocial Event |
Parade of PlanesSocial Event |
Pinch-Hitter® Would your non-flying companion rather be a participant than a passenger? Could he or she take over in the unlikely event that you became incapacitated? This two-hour seminar covers need-to-know information on using the radio, navigating, and even landing the airplane in an emergency. Susan Parson Thursday, 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM, Convention Center, Mesquite B/C Friday, 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM, Convention Center, Mesquite B/C Saturday, 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM, Convention Center, Mesquite B/C |
Practical Mountain Flying Mountain flying skills aren't only for the backcountry. John Kounis, editor of Pilot Getaways magazine, uses real-world examples such as crossing the Rocky Mountains, landing at Aspen, or simply getting out of the Los Angeles Basin to illustrate mountain flying topics including route planning, mountain meteorology, aircraft performance, and emergencies. John Kounis Thursday, 3:15 PM - 4:30 PM, Convention Center, Pasadena/Sierra/Ventura |
Practical Tips for Flying GPS- and WAAS-Based Approaches Learn practical tips for flying GPS and WAAS approaches from the 2008 National CFI of the Year. Max Trescott Thursday, 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM, Convention Center, Smoketree A-E Friday, 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM, Convention Center, Pasadena/Sierra/Ventura |
Product Showcases AOPA is introducing a whole new way for exhibitors to showcase their products for you this year, during four consecutive 15-minute Product Showcase segments. Each participating exhibitor will "host" a table, where they will demonstrate or discuss their product. You will be able to join in at any time during the hour session. At the end of each 15-minute segment, you are encouraged to move to another showcase of interest, allowing a new group of attendees to visit with the hosts. |
Protecting Yourself From FAA Enforcement Learn the essentials every pilot should know about responding to the FAA, the ASRP "get out of jail free" program, when and why would a pilot need legal help, how to get help quickly and inexpensively, and much more! Followed by interactive sessions with Legal Services Plan attorneys. John Yodice Kathy Yodice Thursday, 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM, Convention Center, Mojave |
Real World IFR Sure, you breezed through the checkride or aced that last proficiency check. But you're still hesitant to venture aloft on that "three hundred and one" day. Find out how pilots who fly every day in all kinds of weather do it. ASI's "Real World IFR" safety seminar goes beyond basic IFR training into the work of professional piloting. Bruce Landsberg Thursday, 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM, Convention Center, Primrose B-D |
Return of the Parade of PlanesSocial Event |
Some Assembly Required: Successfully Completing Your Next FAA Medical Application—Online! Effective October 1, 2012, the FAA paper medical application form 8500-8 will become obsolete, and all pilots will be required to submit the form electronically. FAA MedXpress, the online medical application, is the same form we're all familiar with; it's just the online version, and now it's the only way to complete the FAA medical application. Join in on this interactive session on where to find the form online, and how to avoid mistakes in completing it. Moderator: Gary Crump Warren Silberman, DO Friday, 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM, Convention Center, Catalina/Madera Saturday, 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM, Convention Center, Catalina/Madera |
The Kings on Risk Management: Practical Tools and Essential Tips John and Martha King use humor and stories from real-world, cross-country experience to vividly illustrate principles of risk management and pass along practical and insightful tools you will use forever. Pilots throughout the world regard John and Martha as their personal aviation mentors from their videos and multimedia training programs. John and Martha King Saturday, 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM, Convention Center, Primrose B-D |
Tips and Tricks for Flying the G1000, Avidyne, and Perspective Glass Cockpits Should you learn to fly in a glass cockpit, or if you're already a pilot, how should you go about transitioning into a glass cockpit? What are some of the common gotchas pilots face as they transition into these exciting new aircraft? Max Trescott teaches daily in glass cockpit aircraft and explains what you need to know to fly these aircraft safely. Max Trescott Saturday, 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM, Convention Center, Pasadena/Sierra/Ventura |
VillageFestSocial Event |
Weather on the Fly Let's face it: Datalink weather rules. This method of delivering in-cockpit weather information has become nearly universal among general aviation pilots, and datalink carries the promise of near-foolproof tactical weather avoidance. But there are Nexrad radar signatures that spell big trouble. In this fast-paced, two-segment presentation, AOPA Pilot Editor at Large Tom Horne reviews those signatures, and AOPA Pilot Associate Editor Ian Twombly goes over some of the most useful iPad weather services, techniques, and apps available on the merket. What'll it be—Foreflight or WingX? Come on by and learn more. Tom Horne Friday, 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM, Convention Center, Catalina/Madera |
What Went Wrong? Sometimes the cause of an aircraft accident is obvious. Other times, it takes everything from CSI-style forensics to old-fashioned sleuthing to figure out where things went awry. This seminar looks at general aviation accidents through the eyes of the investigator—starting at the scene and working backward to reconnect the shattered links of the accident chain. Kristine Hartzell Friday, 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM, Convention Center, Smoketree A-E Saturday, 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM, Convention Center, Pasadena/Sierra/Ventura |
Wild West Desert AdventureSocial Event |
Yoke and Pedal: Secrets to Better Piloting Proficiency Is it OK to use two hands to flare an airplane? Should you crab or sideslip during a crosswind landing? Are you approaching too fast or too slow? Should you always land on the numbers? Do you need an inclinometer to fly coordinated? What's the most important thing you need to do to avoid stalling and spinning an airplane on final approach? These and other important stick and rudder topics are sure to elevate your flying proficiency and make you a more confident aviator. Rod Machado Friday, 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM, Convention Center, Primrose B-D |
Your Guide to Handling In-Flight Emergencies With a little caution, good judgment, and reasonable equipment, you can expect to fly safely for most of your piloting days. Once in a great while, however, you might experience a rare in-flight emergency. This is when you need to know exactly what to do to solve the problem. Rod will provide solutions to some of aviation's most serious airborne problems. Flying with confidence requires that you are knowledgeable about potential in-flight problems and have appropriate solutions for each of them. Rod Machado Thursday, 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM, Convention Center, Primrose B-D |
