by Craig Fuller
President & CEO
Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association
And just as spring is the perfect time to give your home a good cleaning, I like to do a little spring cleaning on my piloting skills. If, like many pilots, you and your airplane hibernate during the cold winter months, you might find that dusting off the cobwebs is especially important at this time of year.
As you may know, I’ve been talking a lot this year about “getting engaged.” And at AOPA we’ve set an ambitious agenda for increasing engagement in four areas that our members and supporters say are especially critical to our future: enhancing safety, improving our image, restoring the pilot population, and protecting airports. A good spring cleaning on your piloting skills can go a long way to addressing the first two issues.
Accidents involving small aircraft are not as common as many outside aviation seem to think. But they do happen, and all too often they receive sensational coverage in the media. I don’t need to tell you that just one unfortunate accident can have severe and lasting repercussions for how the public at large views general aviation.
Fortunately, many accidents can be avoided, and making sure your piloting skills are in top condition is one way to ensure that you never end up on the evening news. There are a million ways to get and stay proficient, including taking free online courses from the AOPA Air Safety Foundation. And, while we would love to have every pilot join AOPA, you don’t have to be an AOPA member to use and benefit from the wide range of courses, seminars, quizzes, and other skill-enhancers available in person and through the AOPA Air Safety Foundation web site.
Don’t overlook your aircraft either. If it hasn’t been flown much during the winter, be sure to give it a good going over before you take it out on that first warm afternoon of the season. As with anything mechanical, airplanes don’t do well if they are left idle for too long. Fluids can dry up, seals and hoses can crack or leak, and critters can find a nice cozy winter home in all sorts of strange places.
The extra care you take with yourself and your airplane at the start of this flying season is guaranteed to pay dividends for you, your passengers, and the entire GA community.
For more ideas about how to engage in GA, and to learn what other AOPA members are doing, visit www.aopa.org/engage.
