Get extra lift from AOPA. Start your free membership trial today! Click here
News & Media Membership: AOPA Weather now online, in app

Membership: AOPA Weather now online, in app

Powerful suite of flight planning tools on your mobile device

March 1, 2021
The new AOPA Weather, delivered by SiriusXM Aviation, provides national and airport-specific data in a mobile-friendly format that makes it perfect for checking weather on the go via the AOPA app.
Preflight March/April 2021

AOPA members can access the new mobile-friendly AOPA Weather and iFlightPlanner for AOPA via the AOPA app as long as you are connected to the internet.

“These upgrades make our powerful suite of flight planning tools—weather, flight planning, and airports database—available from your mobile device. We specifically tailored these upgrades to make it easier for you to plan your flights on the go,” said Jiri Marousek, AOPA senior vice president of marketing. “As pilots, we need to be flexible, and we wanted our flight planning tools to be just as flexible so that you can access them whether you are at home, at the airport, or enjoying an outing at a new destination.”

AOPA Weather pulls in your home and favorite airports from your settings in the AOPA Airports and Destinations Directory, but you can also set your home and favorites from AOPA Weather by clicking on the “Home” and “Heart” icons within the METAR and TAF details for an airport. If you haven’t already selected a home or favorite, you can search by entering the airport identifier.

Get radar, satellite, wind stream, surface winds, and surface analysis charts in the Current Weather Layers and Current Weather Charts sections. Layer radar, satellite images, and the wind stream for a detailed big-picture view of what’s happening across the country. Turn off those layers to then check surface winds or the surface analysis.

In the Forecasts section, you can choose among a surface forecast, airmets, or sigmets.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration charts available from within AOPA Weather include prog charts, surface forecast, cloud forecast, winds aloft, long-range winds aloft, freezing level, icing severity, and icing probability.

Users can also check temporary flight restrictions within AOPA Weather.

aopa.org/weather

Ask AOPA

New student, new medical

How a student pilot can qualify for and fly under BasicMed

By Craig Brown

Q: A new-to-our-school student pilot came into the flight school recently and, upon checking his credentials, I noted he was flying under BasicMed. Can student pilots qualify for and fly under BasicMed?

A: Yes, they can. But there is a caveat that goes along with that. Assume someone who has never touched the controls of an aircraft walks into your school and wants to learn to fly. You give them the usual spiel about times, costs, requirements, and other considerations. This person cannot solo using BasicMed; unless he or she is flying under sport pilot regulations, the student must obtain a medical certificate (any class is fine) prior to solo. The reason is that since there is no established medical history with the FAA, a new student pilot must first begin with a medical certificate. Now, if two years later, this 44-year-old student pilot is still plugging away at earning the private pilot certificate, the medical is about to expire. There are two options to continue: Obtain a new medical certificate or qualify for and fly under BasicMed.

Since the student pilot successfully passed the first medical exam and held a medical for two years, the student is qualified to fly under the privileges of BasicMed. He or she would need to take a physical with a state-licensed doctor and then pass AOPA’s online medical self- assessment course. Obviously, a student pilot who starts and completes training in, say, a year, will likely do that entirely under the privileges of a medical certificate. That person does not need to think about BasicMed—yet.

aopa.org/basicmed

Craig Brown is a senior aviation technical specialist in the AOPA Pilot Information Center.

Related Articles