You need AFTA

Improving flight training for everyone

May 1, 2022

AOPA Flight Training Advantage (AFTA) is a web portal- and iPad-based training application that will help make the process of flight training more effective for the student, the flight instructor, and the flight school.

AFTA individually customizes each student’s lesson just for them. It keeps pace with their progress, so they know what to expect and how to prepare for each lesson. Students can see how they’ve performed with a full detailed lesson history—instantly on their phone, computer, or other device. Students can check their training progress; access tips, videos, and articles in support of critical skills they need to master; and earn badges that will entice them to keep going. AFTA saves students time and money by streamlining training.

CFIs and flight schools benefit from AFTA, too. Lesson prep, access to student records, and grading to airmen certification standards helps deliver an efficient, high-quality flight training experience.

AFTA automatically assigns lesson elements based on student performance, while giving CFIs and schools the flexibility to modify on demand. Students appreciate having anytime access to their lesson history, progress reports, and lesson prep materials. Instructors enjoy automating lesson creation, assigning study materials, and tracking student progress.

aopa.org/afta

WHAT DO YOU GET WITH AFTA?

A tool to save time and money while getting more out of flight training.
Personalized and flexible lesson plans that automatically adapt to your skill level.
Visibility into your flight training progress at a glance or in detail, so you always know where you are in the training program.
Easy-to-find study and lesson prep materials.
Anytime access to notes and grades from previous lessons.
Lesson feedback from every flight so you know how you’re doing and how you can improve.
Anywhere access to your school’s digital learning resources.

An easy way to remember and share training highlights.

Ask AOPA

What’s our vector, Victor?

Safe passage through the airways

By Craig Brown

Q: I am just learning about navigation. What can you tell me about a federal airway?

A: A federal airway is an electronic navigation route, established by certain VOR/vortac radials, that provides safe passage to aircraft on cross-country flights. Many federal airways crisscross the country and they make up what is known as the “low altitude airway structure.”

It is termed low altitude as airways can be used for navigation from 1,200 feet agl up to but not including 18,000 feet msl. Each airway segment has a minimum altitude it must be flown in order to safely clear terrain and receive the navigational signal from the vortac station. While primarily for use by pilots flying under instrument flight rules (IFR), they may also be used for VFR flights.

On sectional charts, they can be found by the thin, light blue lines emanating outward from vortac stations. The radial, or course, is noted in degrees at the edge of the compass rose. Along the course is the airway’s number (name) such as V44 or V501, as well as the mileage of that route in a small blue box. As they are all identified with the letter V, they are also known as Victor airways. The typical naming convention has east/west airways even numbered, while north/south airways are odd numbered, just like the U.S. Interstate highway system.

As far as navigating, they are flown the same way any other vortac radial is flown. Keep the course deviation indicator needle centered with the proper course dialed in and you will remain on the centerline. Incidentally, airways extend outward from the radial centerline by four nautical miles on each side, eight miles total. They are like a long, slim rectangular box of protected airspace to fly within. How to fly radials, however, is a different topic for a different day.

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Craig Brown is a senior aviation technical specialist in the AOPA Pilot Information Center.