AOPA gives $200,000 grant to fund Air Safety Foundation video distribution

AOPA gives $200,000 grant to fund Air Safety Foundation video distribution

More than 30,000 pilots will receive one of two AOPA Air Safety Foundation safety videos this year, thanks to a $200,000 grant from AOPA.

AOPA President Phil Boyer presented the grant to ASF Executive Director Bruce Landsberg during AOPA Expo 2000 in Long Beach, California, in October. And to highlight the safety foundation's fiftieth anniversary, Boyer presented the grant in the form of four $50,000 checks.

The money will fund the free distribution of two ASF safety videos: Lost and Crossed and Weather Decision Making. ASF plans to mail the VHS tapes to newly certificated private pilots and newly rated instrument pilots before the end of the year.

"Safety is foremost in the mind of almost every pilot," said Landsberg. "This generous grant from AOPA will help pilots hone their knowledge, giving them an edge in the pursuit of safe flight."

This is the second year that AOPA has funded distribution of the free safety shows, produced as part of an ASF's "Project V" (for video) initiative. The effort is designed to reach the tens of thousands of pilots who are unable to attend one of the more than 200 live safety seminars presented by ASF each year throughout the United States.

The two videos were produced in 1999 after ASF research identified the main concerns of new private pilots as getting lost, and getting "crossed up" in crosswind landings. The same research effort found that newly rated instrument pilots were most concerned about their ability to find and interpret weather information.

Lost and Crossed is a 35-minute dramatic video of a pilot who loses his way on cross-country trip. It reviews basic navigation and orientation procedures and suggests ways to avoid the eventual forced landing.

The video also offers real-world tips for handling crosswind landings. Lost and Crossed will be sent to pilots who have recently passed their private pilot checkride.

Weather Decision Making will be sent to selected new IFR pilots. The 55-minute video follows a flight from Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., to Bradford in northwestern Pennsylvania. It takes the viewer inside the cockpit and into the world of air traffic control and flight service as they interact with the flight.

The program focuses on weather flying strategies and tactics. The video gives practical tips on how to get the best weather information from ATC and flight service, and how to use that information "real time" to cope with challenging weather.

"Since its founding in 1939, AOPA has been the leading activist for the improvement of general aviation safety," said Phil Boyer, AOPA president. "We're proud to help our sister organization in its vital mission of providing practical, useful safety information to more pilots."

The independent, nonprofit Air Safety Foundation is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year. It was created in 1950 to provide education and safety programs specifically for general aviation. ASF research, publications, and seminars have helped reduce GA accidents by almost 75 percent.

Air Safety Foundation activities are funded primarily by voluntary contributions from pilots.

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November 2, 2000