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News & Media Training and Safety Tip: Seeing the light

Training and Safety Tip: Seeing the light

AOPA Flight Training
VOL 22, ISSUE 2 January 14, 2022
Training and Safety Tips
Seeing the light
Sponsored by Aircraft Spruce
Seeing the light
If you experience a radio failure and must land at a towered airport, remembering the light gun signals you learned during early training will become vital. Read more >
Technique
Login required
Anticipate, recognize, and act to correct
Learn to make good choices every time you fly with the AOPA Air Safety Institute's Do the Right Thing: Decision Making for Pilots online course.
Flight Training News
Instructor report
Primacy
One of the best ways to ensure your flying is safe and rewarding is to start with a good flight instructor. Read more >
Five questions
Building blocks of confidence
Learning to scuba dive gave Shelby Nowak the confidence she needed to pursue flight training. Now she has 1,000 hours total time and is type rated in CE 500 and 525 Cessna Citations. Read more >
You Can Fly
Right at home
Rhode Island-based Air Ventures Flying School, AOPA's 2021 Flight Training Experience Awards best flight school in the Eastern region, aims to teach pilots to use and enjoy their certificates. Read more >
Road trip
Exercise your certificate on a flight to Grand Bahama
Just 56 nautical miles off the coast of Florida lies the perfect opportunity for a new pilot to make a border crossing and cross off a bucket list item while soaking up some sunshine. Read more >
Podcast
'Ask the A&Ps': 'It's not our job to be the safety police'
Our A&Ps tackle your questions about mysterious metal in the filter, reporting an aircraft owner to the FAA, when to change ELT batteries, and making the elusive perfect hot start. Submit your questions to Ask the A&Ps. Listen to the podcast >
AOPA Live This Week
Tecnam's techy twin; Small Cessna, big city; Fuel update
Electronic engine controls impress AOPA Pilot Editor at Large Tom Horne while flying the Tecnam P2012 Traveller; a Skyhawk pilot finds a warm welcome at a big-city airport; and AOPA's latest fuel reporting. Watch AOPA Live This Week® >
Career News
Article
FlightSafety purchases Frasca International
Frasca International, a family-owned flight simulator company in Urbana, Illinois, has been acquired by FlightSafety International. Read more >
Article
Delta drops degree requirement for pilot applicants
Delta Air Lines pilot recruiting announced on January 6 that the airline is no longer turning away applicants who don't have a bachelor's degree. Read more >
Article
Common sense
It should be a given in the professional flying environment, but pilots still succumb to one bad habit that can cause safety issues and lead to termination: cellphone use. Read more >
AOPA Foundation focus
Work toward your flight instructor certificate with AOPA scholarship
The AOPA Foundation is offering the Robert Bossi Memorial Instructor Scholarship, worth $5,000, to an AOPA member to work on his or her flight instructor, instrument instructor, or multiengine instructor certificate or rating. Bossi was a Vietnam War veteran who learned to fly using funds from the GI Bill and led a successful career as an instructor and corporate pilot. Learn more about this and other scholarship opportunities >
Aviation job board
Job of the week: Government affairs director, Garmin International
Garmin International is hiring a full-time government affairs director to represent the company in Washington, D.C., and be responsible for coordinating strategies and initiatives and for lobbying for Garmin's business interests. Read the full description and apply today >
AOPA career opportunities
Join the AOPA team
Ever dream of turning your passion for aviation into a career? AOPA is looking for a vice president of brand and member experience, a UX/UI designer, a mobile app developer, a High School Initiative coordinator, a safety content producer, a loan processor, and a development content manager. Learn about AOPA career opportunities >
Training Products and Resources
Webinar
NTSB Insider: Accident investigations revealed
Curious how the NTSB accident investigation process works? Get a behind-the-scenes look during this AOPA Air Safety Institute webinar January 20 at 7 p.m. Eastern.
Note: Products listed have not been evaluated by Flight Training editors unless otherwise noted. AOPA assumes no responsibility for products or services listed or for claims or actions by manufacturers or vendors.
Member Benefits
Article
New Pilot Guides debut with changes
The AOPA Pilot Guides: Bahamas and Caribbean editions have been a proven staple for pilots, and the just-released editions have some great enhancements. Read more >
Pilot Protection Services
Managing postoperative pain with opioids
Before you have a surgical procedure, consider your pain management regimen upon discharge. Read more >
Member benefit
Aircraft financing timeline
Learn what the timeline for financing an airplane should look like. Read more >
Photo of the Week
Whatever floats your plane
Whatever floats your plane
Two Maine float manufacturers take very different approaches when it comes to opening waterways to a variety of aircraft including this Cessna 185 Skywagon photographed by AOPA Senior Photographer Chris Rose. See more of Rose's work and read about PK Floats and Clamar Floats in the January issue of AOPA Pilot. Be sure to follow @flywithAOPA on Instagram to see more photos from AOPA members and staff.
Final Exam
Question

I am a CFI and am considering returning to active instruction after 15 years. How much technology should I introduce to new primary students? Is it best to stick to paper charts and logbooks at first, or is there a benefit to using tools like ForeFlight from the start?
Answer
One instructor highlighted the importance of training and testing student pilots on their ability to use the tools they would use after receiving their certificate and suggested starting with a sectional chart, pencil, paper log, plotter, and E6B as tools to create an understanding of the basic concepts before introducing more high-tech tools. Read the full answer and join the discussion >

This discussion is from our online Pilot Information Center, where you can ask questions, contribute answers, earn badges, and join our growing pilot community online. (Log in to the online Pilot Information Center using your AOPA website username and password to see this discussion.) Did you know that student pilots who join AOPA are three times more likely to complete their flight training? Membership includes unlimited access to aviation information by phone (800-USA-AOPA, weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time) or from AOPA Online. Have a question for our technical services staff? Contact AOPA.
Education & Seminars
Stay sharp with AOPA's webinars, podcasts, and videos.
Upcoming AOPA webinars
Jan 20, 7 p.m. EST AOPA Air Safety Institute NTSB Insider: Accident investigations revealed
Jan 27, 12 p.m. EST 'Don't Get Rusty' series: Ice, ice, maybe?
Feb 17, 2 p.m. EST AOPA Rusty Pilots - Webinar edition
Feb 18, 8 p.m. EST AOPA Rusty Pilots - Webinar edition (Redding, California)
See the full webinar schedule in our online Pilot Information Center. (Log in to our online Pilot Information Center using your AOPA website username and password to view these events.) View our recently recorded webinars (registration required).
Latest AOPA Pilot Lounge videos
Kim Kissh: What it's like to be a corporate pilot
Inspiration4 commander Jared Isaacman
CFI, student debrief emergency landing in Hawaii
For a full list of Pilot Lounge videos, see the AOPA Live® YouTube channel.
AOPA podcasts
'Ask the A&Ps': 'It's not our job to be the safety police'
'Hangar Talk': Future of avgas tops 2021 GA news stories
'Pilot Briefing': Week of Jan. 10, 2022
'There I was...': Genesah Duffy and Lynn McNorton
'Never Again': Suckered in
To see all AOPA podcasts, visit AOPA Online.
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