AOPA Air Safety Institute will not offer in-person FIRCs in 2021AOPA Air Safety Institute will not offer in-person FIRCs in 2021

“Venues across the country continue to cancel events last minute because of local COVID-19 restrictions, and we don’t want to put our instructors in a difficult renewal position that could be caused by a cancellation one or two days before the FIRC,” said John Collins, AOPA Air Safety Institute Aviation Safety Programs manager. “While we will miss meeting in person with each of you in 2021, we hope you will find our eFIRC as educational and informative.”

The electronic FIRC offers more flexibility than in-person FIRCs that took place during weekends prior to the pandemic. You can begin the course as early as you want—even before your four-month completion window opens. The eFIRC saves your progress so you can wait to complete the course within your renewal window and keep the same expiration month. This allows you to complete the eFIRC at your leisure from your computer or tablet.

The eFIRC also lets you customize your learning with 10 elective courses, so you can focus on areas you want to strengthen for teaching your students, including specialty subjects such as seaplane safety, helicopter safety, and unmanned aircraft systems in addition to traditional topics like decision making, instrument flight, and runway safety.

“We know that one of the benefits of the in-person FIRC is the interaction with the presenter and other CFIs, so we have instructors standing by to talk to you while you are taking the eFIRC,” Collins said. “Whether you want to discuss a topic or need help with something in the course, our in-house CFIs are ready to help.”

The eFIRC costs $124, which includes processing your FAA paperwork and supports the institute’s safety education efforts. The eFIRC, which is composed of videos and interactive lessons, won a bronze medal from Association Media & Publishing for being an outstanding video course.