One of AOPA's premier member benefits is the team of dedicated pilots and instructors who interact one-on-one with members. Together, they own 11 aircraft and have more than 53,000 hours accumulated over 321 years in aviation. Any member can reach the specialists by calling 800/USA-AOPA (872-2672) or through AOPA's World Wide Web site (www.aopa.org).
When AOPA was incorporated in 1939, the founders handed down three commandments: make aviation safer, more fun, and as inexpensive as possible. For 58 years we've been faithful to those commandments and have no plans to do otherwise.
But commandment-keeping doesn't mean "no change." In the early 1980s, AOPA saw that the information age was upon us and opened the toll-free member assistance line. Now, more than 100,000 members a year use those lines for aviation technical information and advice and rank it as one of AOPA's most valued member services.
AOPA recently opened two other avenues for information to make flying safer, more fun, and as inexpensive as possible. The AOPA Web site (www.aopa.org) was officially commissioned in December 1996, and in the short time since then, AOPA Online has brought news and information to the aeronautical lives of more than 45,000 members. Like the telephone service, both new programs are free to members and easy to use, even for technophobes, as this month's column will demonstrate.
To connect to AOPA's Online, climb onto the Internet and type in www.aopa. org. You'll need your member number to enter the "members-only" area.
This column normally offers answers by an AOPA aviation technical specialist to a few specific questions, but I'm not going to do that. Instead, I'm giving you a list of the 20 most-asked questions, no doubt including some that you've wondered about, and indicating where to find the answers on the AOPA Web site and in a couple of other readily-available places. Give the system a try, and if for some reason you don't succeed, give my fellow aviation specialists or me a call on the toll-free member assistance line and one of us will provide you the answers.
Where can I find information to help me write an aircraft sales contract? www.aopa.org/members/files/guides/
How can I figure out the operating costs of an aircraft? https://www.aopa.org/apps/iforms/opcosts/
Where's a good source of free aviation weather? www.aopa.org/members/wx/
Can I change the oil on my own aircraft? www.aopa.org/members/files/guides/
What is the AOPA Project Pilot Mentor Program all about? http://flighttraining.aopa.org/projectpilot/
What are the regulations on logging pilot-in-command time? www.aopa.org/members/files/topics/pic.html
What are the regulations regarding mountain flying and supplemental oxygen use on a aircraft? www.aopa.org/members/files/guides/
Any sources for up-to-the-minute classified ads for aviation items? www.aopa.org/classifieds/
Where can I find a list of aviation medical examiners in my area? www.aopa.org/members/databases/medical/
I need a list of flight schools in my area. www.aopa.org/learntofly/school/
What paperwork do I need to do to sell my aircraft? www.aopa.org/members/files/topics/paperwork.html
What aircraft type groups might help me as a Bonanza (or any other type of aircraft) owner? AOPA's Airport Directory
I need help in logging onto the AOPA Online Web site. www.aopa.org/loginfaqs.html
My wallet with my pilot certificate in it was stolen. How do I get a replacement? AOPA's Airport Directory, 1997 edition, pages 1-4
Kathy Minner joined AOPA Aviation Services in September 1996. She is a 110-hour private pilot and just underwent the agonizing and expensive process of updating the panel in her 1956 Beech G35 Bonanza. She is working on her instrument rating.
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