From dream to checkride: Summit offers activities for all
The excitement at AOPA Aviation Summit isn’t just for certificated pilots.
With everything from simulator flights to educational forums, Summit offers activities bound to spark an interest in flying in prospective pilots and provide student pilots with tools to help them pass their checkride. While more experienced aviators check out forums on spin training or instrument flight rules, their friends and family can get information about learning to fly, get a feel for the controls in a simulator, experience a discovery flight at Long Beach-Daugherty Field, and enjoy breakfast or barbecue at the airport.
While visitors look at aircraft of all shapes and sizes at Airportfest at Long Beach Airport, they can stop by the AOPA Learn to Fly Center to find out more about flight training—including how AOPA programs can help them accomplish their goals—and enter daily drawings. Complimentary round-trip ground transportation departs from the Long Beach Convention Center every 20 minutes. If they’re interested in flying, visitors won’t have to wait long to take to the skies: California Flight Center is offering discovery flights for the special price of $99. Plus, a free pilot logbook and a Flyvie video of the first flight experience will be souvenirs to share with friends and family.
Also at the Learn to Fly Center, visitors can try their hand at a full-motion Redbird FMX flight simulator. Sponsored by Redbird Flight Simulations and King Schools, simulators also will be available in the Long Beach Convention Center at the AOPA Let’s Go Flying booth (No. 747) and Women’s Wing (booth No. 217) in the exhibit hall. While they’re in the convention center, prospective pilots can sign up for the free AOPA Let’s Go Flying newsletter, learn how to get a free six-month subscription to Flight Training magazine, and get answers to flight training questions.
For someone newly interested in learning to fly, the requirements for earning a certificate can be bewildering. Forums and mini-forums such as aviation humorist Rod Machado’s “Learning to Fly” at Airportfest Nov. 13 at 10 a.m. and “Everything You Wanted to Know About Learning to Fly but Were Afraid to Ask” in the exhibit hall Nov. 13 at 1:15 p.m. can help demystify the process. Frequent right-seat passengers can become more comfortable in the cockpit by becoming a “Pinch-Hitter” every day at 2 p.m. in the convention center. See if the sport pilot solution is right for you Nov. 11 at 3:30 p.m. and find out why everyone should learn to fly Nov. 13 at 2 p.m.
For help with the challenges of flight training, attendees can check out the “Fast Track to Your Pilot Certificate” Nov. 13 at 10 a.m. or “How to Pass Any Checkride” on Nov. 13 at 11:30 a.m. Students can also join Flight Training magazine for a new pilot roundtable Nov. 13 at 1 p.m., “Flying for a Living: Strategies for Getting Hired” Nov. 13 at 11:30 a.m. or attend “Women Leaders in Aviation” Nov. 12 at 10 a.m.
Airportfest offers opportunities for the whole family to enjoy a day at the airport—complete with a pancake breakfast at 9 a.m. and a barbecue at 5 p.m. Nov. 13. Tickets will be on sale online at the convention center, or on site.
AOPA Aviation Summit takes place in Long Beach, Calif., Nov. 11 through 13. Advance registration discounts are available through Oct. 29.— AOPA ePublishing staff
