AOPA Services

Safety begins at home

July 5, 2007

When the air feels thick and humid enough to drink, and dark cumulus clouds are building a fortress just a few miles from your home airport, that's no time to be in the traffic pattern. Summer's convective activity may seek to ground you on many a warm afternoon. But even if you can't fly, with that time and a few clicks of a mouse, you can spend some quality time learning about thunderstorms, or low ceilings and visibility, or runway safety.

These topics--and a host of others for pilots of all experience levels--are among the free online courses offered by the AOPA Air Safety Foundation. ASF online safety courses are self-paced and easy to use. Most take about 45 to 60 minutes. And if you can't finish the course in the allotted time, the site automatically saves your progress, allowing you return to it whenever you wish.

Here's a sample of topics particularly suited to student pilots:

SkySpotter: Pireps Made Easy. Pilot reports, or pireps, are a great source of real-time, in-flight weather conditions. This course covers how to get, use, and give pireps to help you become a better SkySpotter--and a safer pilot.

GPS for VFR Operations. This course explains how the Global Positioning System works and how you can use it to make your next VFR flight safer and more efficient. (An IFR version of this course is available for instrument-rated pilots.)

Runway Safety. Runway incursions impose a significant but unnecessary risk for pilots and their passengers. Runway Safety is designed to help pilots avoid and prevent runway incursions by examining the various factors involved.

Be sure to check out all of the resources available on the ASF Web site, including Safety Advisors, Safety Quizzes, and numerous publications on the issues that matter to pilots. They're available to you 24/7, and they're free.

PILOT INFORMATION CENTER Members can receive answers to flight training and other aviation questions, and join or renew by telephone, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday
800/USA-AOPA (872-2672)
Via the Internet	ft.aopa.org/ask
24-HOUR ONLINE MEMBER ASSISTANCE To join or renew, or for information about the free six-month AOPA Flight Training membership, e-mail [email protected] or visit the Web site. A wide variety of aviation information is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
AOPA AIR SAFETY FOUNDATION ONLINE SAFETY CENTER Dedicated to providing general aviation pilot education and safety programs online.
Via the Internet	www.asf.org
Dial	800/638-3101
AOPA MEMBER PRODUCTS
AOPA Aircraft Financing Program	800/62-PLANE
AOPA Aircraft Insurance Program	800/622-AOPA
Non-owned aircraft and CFI policies available
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AOPA Legal Services Plan	800/USA-AOPA
Other products	800/USA-AOPA
RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS
Ask an AOPA flight instructor	ft.aopa.org/ask
AOPA Flight Training magazine article archive	ft.aopa.org/archive
Aviation library	ft.aopa.org/library
Supplemental information arranged by stage of training	ft.aopa.org/student
Virtual flight bag, including online weather and airport directory	ft.aopa.org/flightbag
NEW ADDRESS? Send your new address and membership number to AOPA, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701
Fax	301/695-2375
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ONLINE GUIDE TO AOPA MEMBER SERVICES
	www.aopa.org/join/

AOPA Services

Safety begins at home

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