We are now offering 1.5 hours of instructor time free to every member, every six months. You can’t “bank” the time, it’s either use it or lose it! Combined with the Wings program, this will be a great way to stay safe and current. Make sure you read the Wings Program overview first before getting started here.
Some of the steps here can be done a little out of order. There’s nothing wrong with getting started on the knowledge portion before you go fly.
1. Create a Wings login on faasafety.gov.
2. Get checked out in an airplane, get a tailwheel endorsement, or just go flying with an instructor. All of these things can count towards the Flight Topics of a Wings Phase. You can ask your instructor what he thinks is a good idea to do, or search for yourself. Try searching for “ASEL” to see what can be done in our airplanes.
3. Sign up to access the Air Safety Institute’s online courses. You can either sign up with them directly for free, or join the Airplane Owner and Pilot’s Association. They’re a great organization that supports general aviation. Membership is $45 a year and includes a subscription to AOPA Pilot or Flight Training magazine, and all of their online flight planning resources, including TFR emails.
4. Complete the free online course: Do the Right Thing: Decision Making for Pilots. This will fulfill Knowledge Topic 1.
5. Complete Knowledge Topics 2 and 3. You can do this by taking more online courses, getting ground instruction or attending a safety seminar. Ask your instructor for more info, or search for them on the FAASafety.gov. The Air Safety Institute has my favorite online courses.
6. To keep current, keep completing the phases. You can do it every two years like a Flight Review, every year if you want to keep your Wings Basic phase current, or even every six months. Just a short flight with a CFI, another online course, a safety seminar or some advanced airplane training every few months is all you need to stay completely on top of it.