The AOPA Web site (AOPA Online) is divided into two sections-one for the public and one for members. From the AOPA Online home page, either section can be easily accessed using menu bars on the left side of the screen. The home page itself is constantly updated with aviation news, the association's positions on major issues, and the outcome of AOPA's various regulatory and legislative initiatives.
Clicking on "AOPA Pilot" links you to the magazine's feature articles, including the "New Pilot" features of particular interest to students and recently minted private pilots. A special "New Pilot" page ( www.aopa.org/members/ files/pilot/idxnwpi.html ) lists more than 100 articles from AOPA Pilot that student pilots will find useful.
The "President's Page" button links you to dozens of my "President's Position" editorials from AOPA Pilot. These editorials set forth AOPA policy on a range of issues, many of which are relevant for today's new and experienced pilots. They also reflect some of my personal aviation philosophy, growing out of three decades and some 5,500 hours of flying.
On the same page, you'll find a schedule of my speaking engagements and pilot town meetings, which I hold across the country. Student pilots are welcome, and many who have attended say they have gained a lot from meeting the experienced pilots who take part.
The AOPA Air Safety Foundation contributes a great deal to AOPA Online, including the Safety Advisor series of publications. Each issue explores in depth a question of technique, procedure, or technology.
For instance, a lot of student pilots are curious about the recently developed PCATDs (personal computer-based aviation training devices). A full treatment of the subject is contained in an ASF Safety Advisor (www.aopa.org/asf/publications/sa10.html). It reviews the history of flight simulation since Edwin Link invented the "bloody blue box" half a century ago; it explains the difference between the new PCATDs and their predecessor devices; and it provides an evaluation and training outline that balances PCATD instruction with in-flight instruction.
Also accessible through the "Air Safety Foundation" button on the home page are many "Safety Pilot" columns written by ASF Executive Director Bruce Landsberg for AOPA Pilot. There's also a wealth of information on ASF safety courses and seminars, the McAllister-Burnside Aviation Scholarships, and the annual Nall Report on general aviation accident trends. The Nall Report will give you insight into leading accident causes. It's important reading for pilots at all experience levels.
In addition to these features, the public-access area of AOPA Online includes a classified ad section, which lists aircraft, avionics, headsets, pilot courses, and other aviation items. And there's an aircraft database that will give you specifics on any given model of general aviation airplane.
In the "Members Only" area, pilots can access extensive aviation databases, the material in the AOPA library, and AOPA's Airport Directory.
Finding an aviation medical examiner is a 10-second process with the online AME database. Plug in your zip code and up pops a list of all the AMEs in your area. And the same AOPA Online "Medical Issues" page ( www.aopa.org/members/files/medical/index.shtml) will give you AOPA's Guide to Medical Certification, a list of FAA-approved medications and guidance on dozens of conditions that might affect your next medical certificate.
Among the most important and convenient services available to pilots in the "Members Only" area is up-to-date weather, including graphic depictions and radar images, plain-language forecasts, and METARs and TAFs. To go along with the weather reports, AOPA Online provides free interface with GTE Duats for flight planning and FAA flight plan filing.
In between issues of AOPA Flight Training magazine, you have all these resources-enough to satisfy any pilot's information appetite. That's because AOPA continues to believe that "a good pilot is always learning."
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