President's Perspective

You can still learn, even when you can't fly

For many of us, opening that new calendar to January means winter weather. Cold temperatures, gusty winds, and snow--or other frozen precipitation--can mean postponed lessons in many parts of the country. After a few weather-induced cancellations, when you and your flight instructor run out of things to cover in ground school, your training may be delayed. Most students find that frustrating.

If you're learning to fly in a cold-weather climate, I share your pain. Here in Maryland, the winter weather is relatively mild, and there are few days I can't fly the Cessna 172 I own with my wife, Lois. But I'm still learning all the idiosyncrasies of my "new" airplane, a 60-year-old Waco that I've owned for a couple of years. It's a two-place, open-cockpit biplane, so winter flights tend to be brisk--and my Waco tends to spend the colder months in its hangar.

How can you stay challenged during the cold temperatures and short days of the winter months? What can you do to continue to learn? Even those of you in warm-weather states occasionally will be grounded by rain, fog, or wind.

Trust me, this can be an issue for experienced pilots as well as students. And the AOPA Air Safety Foundation has a perfect solution to help you keep learning any time you can't be flying. ASF's Online Safety Center offers a variety of interactive online safety courses that you can take, free of charge, at any time of the day or night--and at any time of the year, for that matter.

Many of the courses address topics of interest to students and new pilots, and they often can provide more information than your ground school or self-study program can offer. Here are a few examples:

• GPS for VFR Operations. This course offers a clear explanation of how the global positioning system works, and how you can use it to make your next flight under visual flight rules more efficient, enjoyable, and safe.
• Weather Wise: Ceiling and Visibility. Low ceilings and restricted visibilities pose a significant threat to the safety of your flight. With a little knowledge you can minimize this risk.
• Runway Safety. Find out why some of aviation's worst accidents have happened on the ground. The knowledge you gain will help you to avoid runway incursions.
• SkySpotter: Pireps Made Easy. Pilot reports, which are created by pilots and which benefit other pilots, are an excellent source of real-time, in-flight weather conditions--but many pilots are apprehensive about making them. Learn how to get, use, and give pireps.
• Say Intentions: When You Need ATC's Help. When things start to go wrong on a flight, pilots often forget one of the most useful resources in the cockpit. The radio will put you in touch with air traffic controllers, who can provide an array of helpful information.
• Engine and Propeller. A better understanding of engine and propeller operations can minimize wear and tear, increasing aircraft reliability and ultimately reducing your operating expenses.

Other online courses cover such topics as airspace, mountain flying, and thunderstorms. Most of these courses run 45 to 60 minutes, and all of them are free.

What, you've taken all those courses and you still want more? ASF just launched SafetyCasts, free online videos of safety programs presented during AOPA Expo 2007 last fall in Hartford, Connecticut. Sponsored by United Technologies Corporation, SafetyCasts will soon grow to a library of almost 30 hours of safety-related presentations.

Of course, the Air Safety Foundation has a lot more to offer than online safety courses and videos. If you haven't visited ASF's site lately, you'll be in for a pleasant surprise. As part of a comprehensive redesign, the ASF Web site--along with the rest of AOPA Online--got a sleek new look, and significantly enhanced navigation to boot.

Among other content, the site still offers all of the Air Safety Foundation's high-quality print publications. ASF's hallmark Safety Advisors address many subjects critically important to student pilots, including takeoffs and landings, weather, airspace, fuel awareness, collision avoidance, and operations at both tower-controlled and nontowered airports. For a quick, easy way to interactively assess and expand your aeronautical knowledge, take a Sporty's Safety Quiz. More than two dozen are now available. Take a quiz and earn a chance to win a Sporty's Air-Scan V aviation radio/scanner--listening to aviation frequencies is a great way to improve your own radio communication skills.

Take advantage of these informative, well-produced offerings. Before you know it, the weather will improve, you'll be flying again--and you'll be a better-informed and safer pilot, too. Maybe I'll see you in the traffic pattern; I'll be in the red Waco.