As I have conducted Pilot Town Meetings around the country over the past 2 years, an increasing number of pilots have asked about AOPA and the Internet. If one looks at the statistics for this new, interactive communication method, it boggles the mind. An estimated 31.4 million people (a number that has been doubling every year) have access to well over 200,000 sites on the World Wide Web (a six-fold increase in the past year). And that's just the Web portion of the Internet.
Access to information has always been a key benefit of AOPA membership, and in 1984 we broke new association ground by allowing members to contact us by using a toll-free telephone number. Today, AOPA responds to almost 300,000 phone calls a year.
As many of you know, for several years your association has maintained AOPA Online on CompuServe. As the online marketplace has evolved, many members have cited the need for AOPA to be on America Online, Microsoft Network, Prodigy, and other services. Yet, all of these companies seem not only to be pointing to their own unique features, but also providing access to the Internet's World Wide Web. Since late 1995, AOPA has maintained a Web presence, but primarily it has been a description of the association and its services. However, early in 1996 we made the commitment to enhance our Web site so that it matched the philosophy we have for strong member service, and many on our staff worked all last year to construct our present service. In October, we introduced a complete graphical "make-over," with a much-improved look and vastly simplified navigation. Since the makeover, we've logged about 300,000 "hits" on the site, from more than 75 nations.
Our home page, which we hope you will bookmark on your browser, is updated continually and is packed with useful information and guidance into the rest of our service.
For example, the latest happenings in general aviation are posted as they occur. Information many of you read monthly in the "AOPA Action" pages of this magazine is available online within hours of its happening. This includes regulatory changes; legislation affecting GA; and hot topics, such as the settlement on Meigs Field in Chicago. Full details on the item are just a mouse click away.
Each category label on the left side of the page offers access to a wealth of information. The general public has access to such categories as Learning to Fly, full of useful information for the person interested in becoming a pilot; a President's Page, which includes this monthly column and more; information about AOPA and its history, departments, and services; AOPA Pilot magazine, with advertiser links and sample articles; and, of course, there's an AOPA membership application. Also contained here is a button to move into the AOPA Air Safety Foundation to find out about any upcoming courses or seminars, read any of the many valuable publications ASF produces, and even bid on items in a silent auction from which the proceeds go to support the foundation.
AOPA Legislative Action activities are categorized under the What's New section, and here you can find out about issues developing in your area of the country — perhaps even at your local airport — along with our most recent news releases highlighting AOPA activities and issues.
But what I want to particularly call to your attention is our new Members Only area, featuring a full and growing range of member services. Our "webmaster" has spent a great deal of time on the search engine that allows you to find information quickly and conveniently, even if you know only a word or two of the content. The databases include all flight schools in the United States; aviation medical examiners; an aircraft ownership list by N-number; and more than 1,300 files of text from our AOPA aviation information bank. There are free classified ads available for use by members, and a very popular list of the "hot" aviation web sites found by pilots and submitted to AOPA Online for posting. While there is a wealth of material here now, over the coming months the members' area will grow with the posting of Federal Aviation Regulations, AOPA's Airport Directory information (constantly updated, and we'll ask for your help here), first-class weather graphics and text, aircraft pricing information, and much more. Remember, this area is restricted to AOPA members only, and is another benefit of belonging to the world's largest aviation organization.
The first time you enter this area, we match your member number to our database and a password is assigned for future entry. While the registration process works just fine for the vast majority of users, some encounter problems. Most of these problems are associated with not following instructions. Please read the instructions at each stage of the process and pay particular attention to your password. Each time you reenter, it must be entered precisely as it appeared on the original registration confirmation screen — and this entry is case sensitive. The software you use to access our site must be up-to-date, and upgrades for the two most popular products are available on our site.
Communicating with members is extremely important, and whether it be in person or through Pilot magazine, our toll-free number, or the World Wide Web, your association strives to serve you with the best information, education, and advocacy for general aviation. Check out our newest way to stay in touch: http://www.aopa.org.
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