Flight Training Web Site New And Improved

There's a new sister to AOPA's website. The GA advocate has completely redesigned its Flight Training Web site to make it more user friendly, easier to navigate, and more logical and relevant to both the student pilot and the certificated flight instructor (CFI). And for current pilots, there is no better place on the Internet to send someone you know who is interested in learning to fly or who has started their flight training.

AOPA says the new Flight Training Web site is so much better than the original. If you want a quick overview, just click on the button in the upper right-hand corner of the home page to take a "quick tour" of all the new features.

The AOPA design team started with a "clean screen" and took a look at what student pilots really need in a Web site. They asked the experts -— the CFIs staffing AOPA's toll-free pilot assistance hotline.

They answer more than 140,000 phone calls and e-mails a year, many of them from student pilots. So they've come to know the most "frequently asked questions" (FAQs) from students. And they've developed some of the best resources to help answer those questions.

AOPA says it looked at the best way to present this information on a Web site. So knowing what a student needs, developers divided the site into the key flight training phases: pre-solo, solo, maneuvers, cross-country, and flight-test preparation. Within each section, there are FAQs that link to illuminating articles for even more information, interactive courses and quizzes, a flying skills area, and a special topics area.

The site is full of "rich media" that take advantage of the special properties of the Web to present information in new and exciting ways. Trying to learn all of those confusing signs and markings in the "big airport" environment? There's an interactive "flash card" quiz from the AOPA Air Safety Foundation that will help you burn it all into your memory.

"QTVR" technology allows you to pan around a complex airport environment and a control tower to get a better understanding of what you'll be facing the first time you head for the "big" airport.

One of the most valuable features is the "Virtual Flight Bag," a compendium of everything that's needed to plan a safe and fun flight, including links to weather, NOTAMS and temporary flight restrictions (TFRs), AOPA's Airport Directory Online, and AOPA's Real-Time Flight Planner.

The Learn to Fly selection answers questions like "Is it safe? What will I fly? How much will it cost?"

But it also offers a good primer on how it all works — from the basics of aircraft operation to the workings of air traffic control.

The CFI section holds answers to many of the working flight instructor's questions, from properly worded logbook endorsements to the AOPA Air Safety Foundation's Instructor's Guide to the Presolo Written Test. There's also a video to show CFIs how to attract and retain more students.

FMI: http://flighttraining.aopa.org