AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2024 - 28

BRIEFING
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Find, share, plan, fly
AOPA integrates events calendar into airport directory
BY NIKI BRITTON
THE AOPA AIRPORT DIRECTORY, a
longtime member-favorite flight
planning tool, now includes listings
for aviation events across the country,
which users can find by date, event
type, name, or location. The new
AOPA Events Calendar allows airport
staff and event coordinators to easily
add their own event through the site's
event submission form. Anyone with
an AOPA online account can submit
a new event; an AOPA membership
is not required to create an account.
And with more than 200,000 unique
users, the AOPA Airport Directory
is the perfect location for promoting
events to pilots and aviation enthusiasts
alike. When searching for events by
location, in-person events appear on an
interactive map, and both in-person and
virtual events will appear in a scrollable
list. When an event is selected, users
will find details as well as pertinent
airport information regarding runways,
fuel availability, and parking.
Those utilizing AOPA's Airport
Directory site will notice the new
" Nearby Events " section on each
airport's details page that displays all
in-person events within 100 miles of
the selected airport.
28
AOPA PILOT / January 2024
" We want to make it
as easy as possible for
pilots and members of
the community to find
and share different
types of family-friendly
aviation events. "
" We want to make it as easy as
possible for pilots and members of the
community to find and share different
types of family-friendly aviation events
that go beyond fly-ins and airshows, "
said Eric Rush, AOPA director of
product development. " We hope the
public will join us in expanding our
event list. "
The database features social events
such as airshows, fly-ins and fly-outs,
pancake breakfasts, airport open
houses, poker runs, community airport
days, and display days, but also includes
educational seminars, conferences,
and workshops like AOPA's Rusty
Pilots seminars and AOPA Flying Club
gatherings, safety seminars, and flying
workshops. niki.britton@aopa.org
aopa.org/destinations/?t=events
Whitaker confirmed as
new FAA administrator
Michael Whitaker was confirmed by the
Senate as the next FAA administrator on
October 24 and assumed the duties of
the office within days. The Senate voted
unanimously (98-0) to confirm Whitaker, who
will serve a five-year term ending in 2028.
Van's Aircraft reports cash crunch
With more than 11,000 kit builds completed
by 2022, and hundreds more still in
progress, Van's Aircraft delivered " difficult "
news in late October about the company's
financial state, and announced a two-week
push to conduct an " internal assessment "
that is likely to lead to price increases.
Meanwhile, refunds are on hold and many
customers voiced anxiety.
Few preliminary clues in fatal
Lake Placid accident
A preliminary report from the NTSB notes
that the Cessna 177RG flown by former
NFL champion Russ Francis, with Richard
McSpadden, the longtime leader of the
AOPA Air Safety Institute, in the right seat,
struck an embankment near the runway
that the Cardinal was attempting to return
to following a reported malfunction.
Francis and McSpadden both died in the
October 1 accident.
New CEO at uAVIONIX
uAvionix, which began as a drone technology
producer and later established a foothold
in general aviation with low-cost ADS-B
solutions, has acquired Iris Automation,
another drone-related firm with GA ambition.
The deal with Iris, makers of computer vision
airspace awareness products, also provided
uAvionix with a new CEO: commercial pilot
and CFI Jon Damush.
aopa.org
http://www.aopa.org http://www.aopa.org/destinations/?t=events http://www.aopa.org
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2024
