President's Perspective

AOPA Expo offers hours of education

Learning about aviation can be done in a number of ways. There's ground school, which may be presented in a classroom environment, or you can choose to learn the material using one of the many CD- or DVD-based programs--or even online courses. There's ground instruction, the time spent with your flight instructor before (and after) a flight.

There are other, unique opportunities as well. For example, how would you like to spend three fun-filled days learning more about flying than you ever thought possible? What if you could mix that learning with fun, a bit of frivolity, and a fascinating look at almost everything new and exciting in general aviation (GA)?

The opportunity I'm talking about is AOPA Expo 2006, your association's annual convention and trade show, which takes place November 9 through 11 in Palm Springs, California. Each year this event draws some 10,000 of your fellow aviators--from students to airline pilots--and their friends and family, and it looks like this year could set another record for attendance.

This year's Expo will feature an astounding collection of the newest gear and accessories, more than 500 exhibitors with virtually everything GA has to offer--including the latest in glass-cockpit technologies--and nearly 80 hours of educational seminars. In addition, more than 80 aircraft will be on display, ranging from new light sport aircraft to personal jets. Cessna, Cirrus, Columbia, Diamond, and Eclipse are among the manufacturers who will be participating.

Expo's slate of more than five dozen seminars offers something for every pilot. Topics range from VFR decision-making for pilots to using portable Global Positioning System receivers safely, and from radio communications to getting the most out of today's flight service system. Want to know more about aircraft ownership? The new light sport aircraft? How to obtain weather information using the Internet? Expo has a seminar for you.

Of special note is the AOPA Air Safety Foundation's perennial favorite, the Pinch-Hitter^� Ground School. This widely acclaimed program, which will be offered twice during Expo, is geared toward spouses and other frequent GA passengers. It teaches the basics of flying, including the principles of how to land if the pilot becomes incapacitated. Graduates of the course often say it increases their enjoyment of GA flying--some even go on to become pilots themselves.

AOPA will look to the future in Expo's the three general sessions. The opening session, on November 9, will address the future of the FAA. Friday's general session looks at the future of general aviation--what will the aircraft, airports, and pilots of the future look like, and what does that mean to us? In the closing general session on November 11, AOPA's top management will review the association's accomplishments over the past year and look ahead; AOPA's expanded Project Pilot (see "President's Perspective: AOPA Project Pilot Grows," July 2006 AOPA Flight Training) will be in the spotlight.

Have you ever seen 80 aircraft taxi down city streets? Palm Springs features the AOPA Parade of Planes, a nose-to-tail procession of new and unique aircraft, taxiing smartly from the Palms Springs International Airport to the aircraft display area at the Convention Center. It will kick off Expo on Wednesday, November 8. If you can arrive in Palm Springs a little early, be sure to mark out a good spot along East Alejo Street or North Avenida Caballeros for the parade, which starts at 2 p.m. The south side of Alejo or the west side of Avenida Caballeros will give you best lighting for photographs of this dramatic event.

Aside from promoting GA by taxiing a large flock of sleek, beautiful new GA airplanes down city streets, there's a very prosaic reason for the Parade of Planes: it's the quickest and easiest way to move all those airplanes from the airport to the Convention Center, where you can admire them up close and personal during Expo.

Up-to-date information about AOPA Expo 2006 can be found on AOPA Online. At this site, you can preregister for Expo and also plan your Expo experience by selecting the seminars and other events you'd like to see, then printing out your customized schedule.

If for some reason you can't be at this year's Expo in person, you can experience it vicariously, via the "Virtual Expo" on the AOPA Web site during the event. With rapid-fire updates and vivid pictures of the festivities, it's almost--not quite, but almost--as good as being there. Unfortunately, you can't attend the many educational seminars via the Web.

We all know that a good pilot is always learning. That learning will be easy--and fun--at AOPA Expo 2006.