Aopa Pilot

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is a non-profit organization located in Frederick, Maryland, dedicated to supporting general aviation. Its members are primarily pilots who engage in general aviation across the United States. AOPA works to represent the needs of its members, who are both aircraft owners and pilots, while also promoting the economic benefits, safety, usefulness, and appeal of flying general aviation aircraft.

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It feels like home

6 days ago | aopa.org | Niki Britton

Chino Airport (CNO) in San Bernadino County, California, has everything visitors could want in a public-use airport. From three lengthy runways, flight schools, plenty of transient parking, a star-studded aviation museum, and warbirds galore, pilots have their pick of things to see and do. But when it’s time to break for lunch, pilots and visitors agree, Flo’s is the place to go. Flo’s Café is unapologetically no-frills.
Danielle Parton

6 days ago | aopa.org | Julie Summers Walker

Look familiar? The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. This is Danielle Parton, niece to singer Dolly Parton, and she is an accomplished pilot and combat veteran. They look alike and sound alike, but this Parton says her famous aunt does not like to fly. This Parton, however, loves to fly. “Piloting is the only thing I’ve ever truly loved,” she says. “I love everything about an airplane. I like the way they smell, the way they sound.
Stepping into the now

6 days ago | aopa.org | Niki Britton

The Cessna 182 is a great platform straight out of the factory. It does everything it was built to do very well, and most aircraft enthusiasts agree that 182s are the perfect cross-country flier and workhorse. So, what is there to do that Cessna didn’t already get right in the late 1950s? We look to the now! The Continental O-470 is already a fantastic powerplant, but by adding just a couple of upgrades, we can give this Skylane a small power bump, better fuel efficiency, and a beefier sound.
Great aviaion books

6 days ago | aopa.org | Julie Summers Walker |Antoine de Saint-Exupery |A.J. Baime |Anne Millbrooke

Aviation novels and instructional books are a great part of your flying life—when you can’t be in the air, you can be in your reading chair living vicariously through the exploits of others or learning from their experiences and expertise. We asked our AOPA pilots for their favorite books, and many cited the same works. Ernest K. Gann’s Fate Is the Hunter was a top pick.
Oh, the flying life!

1 week ago | aopa.org | David Tulis

These members supplied photos doing what an airplane does best: fly. Keep those pics and stories coming. 1977 Piper Cherokee PA–32R Lance Ever since I can remember I’ve been ate up with flying. I’ve even made a living flying airplanes. Once I got an airplane of my own, I wanted to encourage others to experience the feeling I get when I fly. The freedom to fly wherever I want whenever I want never gets old.
Crosswind landings

1 week ago | aopa.org | Dave Hirschman

Crosswinds didn’t exist in aviation’s early days. Airfields in the first third of the twentieth century were literally open fields, sometimes with a windsock or tetrahedron in the middle. Pilots would simply note the wind direction and then take off or land into it. It was the invention of actual runways that created crosswinds—and they’ve cursed and confounded pilots ever since.
Gulfstream G800 certified

1 week ago | aopa.org | Jonathan Welsh

During certification tests, the aircraft demonstrated a range of 8,200 nautical miles at its long-range cruise speed of Mach 0.85—exceeding its projected range of 8,000 nm. The G800 has a range of 7,000 nm at its high-speed cruise of Mach 0.90 or 8,000 nm at Mach 0.87. Maximum speed is Mach 0.935 compared with the expected 0.925, Gulfstream said.
Pulitzer Electric Aircraft Race set for October in Ohio

1 week ago | aopa.org | Jonathan Welsh

The Advanced Air Mobility Institute, which is organizing the event, said the airport, which is home to the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence, won the competition to host the race, beating out bids from finalists Stockton and Salinas, California. The three finalists all have strong backgrounds in electric aircraft.
Aircraft owners, speak up for your privacy

1 week ago | aopa.org | Jim Moore

The recent change may solve more than one problem, though the FAA also may hear arguments in coming days against the new policy that Congress required (and AOPA advocated to include) in the 2024 FAA reauthorization. The FAA’s March 28 announcement that the Civil Aviation Registry Electronic Services system now allows aircraft owners to request that their name and contact information be withheld from public access included an invitation to comment on the new policy by May 5.
EAGLE calls on pilots to report unleaded experience

1 week ago | aopa.org | Jim Moore

Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin 2025-04 asks aircraft owners who have used unleaded fuel to report details of their experience, including any service difficulties or abnormal maintenance issues, or the absence of such issues. The Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions (EAGLE) initiative, of which AOPA is a founding member, called on pilots, aircraft owners, mechanics, and FBOs to “help shape the future of general aviation” by responding to the FAA’s request.