Explore the world from the airport out with ‘AOPA Travel Pilot’

“You’ve seen videos, photos, and features of exotic adventures our editors have experienced, but we wanted to offer you a way to enjoy those same kinds of trips,” said Tom Haines, AOPA senior vice president of Media, Communications, and Outreach and Events. “What we’re doing with Travel Pilot is giving you features that provide advice on how to fly to destinations, what to do, where to stay, and cool places to eat.

“All of us working on this project are pilots. We’ve learned what’s it’s like to travel by GA airplane and we hope to inspire others to give it a try too. Whether you’re looking for a new airport restaurant to visit or want to find some hidden gem of a golf course near an airport, we can help you get more out of your aviation experience.”

Pilot and travel writer Crista Videriksen Worthy weaves photo-rich features together in a way that has had our members asking for more for over a year.

“We’re always looking for new and fun destinations and wanted you to know that, for us, your effort adds inestimable value to my almost 40-year-old AOPA membership,” one member recently wrote to Worthy.

Worthy has single-engine land and sea ratings and has built 1,200 hours flying around the United States with her pilot-husband, Fred, and their children since 1995. Although her favorite places to explore are the backcountry strips of Idaho and Utah's red rock country, she’s traveled to 44 states and flown to 38 of those.

“The first trip we ever took in our Cessna 210 was a 17-day trip with our three kids,” Worthy said. “We flew from Santa Monica up to northern California, and then across the country, stopping in Utah; Nebraska; Indiana; Baltimore; Washington, D.C.; North Carolina; Disney World; Alabama; New Orleans; New Mexico; Nevada; and back home. The plane hauled it all. We could fly non-stop from Santa Monica to Mount Rushmore and be there in five hours.”

Many of the locations Worthy writes about come from travels with her family, so she knows how to highlight attractions that will appeal to multiple people and age ranges. She’s been writing about interesting places to fly since 2006, and covers areas that you can reach for a fun lunch, a day trip, a long weekend, or a cross-country or international adventure such as one of her favorite epic flights in Canada.

“Perhaps the most scenic flight ever was over the spine of the Canadian Rockies, from Banff to Jasper, with hundreds of glaciers below us, and lakes with every imaginable hue of turquoise,” she said. (You can re-create Worthy’s trip through her series of articles about flying the Canadian Rockies.)

Worthy is also editor of The Flyline, the monthly publication of the Idaho Aviation Association, and keeps safety at the forefront of her flying. In many of her backcountry articles, Worthy shares tips and advice to help keep pilots safe. She lives by the mantra, “You can always go another day!” if the weather or winds aren’t favorable for the backcountry area she wants to explore.

Her articles, along with others from our editors, will get you planning your next trip in no time.

Each issue of the AOPA Travel Pilot email newsletter will feature a handful of stories, stunning photos, an engaging video, links to our suite of flight planning tools including our new airport search feature, and a calendar of upcoming aviation events. We’re personalizing the calendar to display events in your region of the country. Even better, we’ll feature up to three members-only travel discounts to help bring down the cost of hotels, rental cars, and more.

The April 1 launch coincides with the recent debut of AOPA’s new travel planning suite that lets you search airports by types of runways and amenities, such as grass or paved, towered or nontowered, fuel availability, and more; or search for things to do in an area around an airport, such as golfing, hiking, or restaurants on the field.

Sign up today to start receiving AOPA Travel Pilot for free! You’re a pilot—you were made for adventure, and we’ll help you live it!