AOPA 2007 Safety and Philanthropy Report - (Page 2)

MESSAGE FROM: BRUCE LANDSBERG EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AOPA AIR SAFETY FOUNDATION A colleague recently exclaimed about technologies changing GA. In addition to the Internet, he mentioned glass cockpits, datalink weather, hazard detection systems, WAAS, new airframes, and so on. That’s all true. But my first reaction was that the really important things in GA haven’t changed at all. The fundamental truths of physics and aerodynamics remain the same, and human nature is as predictably mysterious as ever. Technology is a major factor in GA and in the work of the AOPA Air Safety Foundation. Among our many projects we continue to study the effects of Tech- nologically Advanced Aircraft (TAA) on flying safety and how pilots are adapting to them. We’re also examining how inexpensive computer-based training systems can help pilots learn to fly. The AOPA Air Safety Foundation has harnessed technology and broadband Internet to deliver more and better quality educational materials. Pilots are responding with more than 20,000 online safety course completions every month and tracking their progress with online transcripts. United Technologies also made it possible to record dozens of educational seminars at last year’s AOPA Expo in Hartford, Connecticut, and make them available online worldwide, 24 hours a day. The overall numbers are impressive. We reached pilots directly with educational courses more than 1.2 million times last year and saw increased safety seminar attendance and usage of ASF Safety Quizzes funded by the Sporty’s Foundation, downloaded materials, and DVDs. There’s much more in the works with new courses in instrument flying, airspace, and new entries in the Real Pilot Stories series. Our core research is growing in areas including the effects of aging on our flying. Your support makes all of this important work possible and—uniquely—free and available to all pilots. I tell pilots that flying is as safe as they want to make it. Your commitment to continued safety education proves that you want to make it even safer. Yes, there is much change in GA safety education. But, the importance of your donations to the AOPA Air Safety Foundation remains a never-changing constant. Safe flying, Bruce Landsberg 2

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AOPA 2007 Safety and Philanthropy Report

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