Online FIRC FAQs

No, you do not have to be an AOPA Member. All you need to take the AOPA eFIRC is a free AOPA Web Account. You can create this account during your initial purchase of the eFIRC course or create it here: www.aopa.org/login/ before you purchase the course.

If you are an existing AOPA member or have an AOPA Web Account, like the one used for other Air Safety Institute courses and safety quizzes, simply log in to your account before purchasing and then continue to use your AOPA login to access the eFIRC.

After purchase, you have full access to the course until you have completed the course requirements. If you want to review more than the required four mandatory electives, we suggest that you leave one of the required mandatory modules incomplete until you have reviewed the additional electives. Then complete your final mandatory module to trigger your course completion.

If you complete your course within your 4-month completion window, which is your recent experience end month and the three months previous, you will still have access to the course until your original recent experience end date (REED) to explore other electives or access resources.

Remember, to maintain your current recency month, complete your last mandatory module in the eFIRC and sign your electronic 8710-1 on IACRA.faa.gov when you are within your 4-month recency window. If you complete the eFIRC outside of your current recency window, you will be assigned a new REED.

You are welcome to start reviewing the eFIRC any time before your recent experience end date, up to 24 months in advance, but to maintain your current CFI recent experience month.

• Do not complete more than eight lessons until you are less than one year from recency requirements.
• Do not complete the last of the mandatory modules until you are inside your recency window—within the three months preceding the month of recent experience, as per FAR 61.197; see illustration above.
• Do not sign your electronic 8710-1 on IACRA.faa.gov until you are within your 4-month recency window

You are welcome to start reviewing the eFIRC any time before your recent experience end date (REED), up to 24 months in advance; however, to maintain your current CFI renewal cycle (expiration month),

• Do not complete more than eight lessons until you are less than one year from recent experience requirements.
• Do not complete the last of the mandatory modules until you are inside your recency window—within the three months preceding the month of recent experience, as per FAR 61.197; see illustration below.
• Do not sign your electronic 8710-1 on IACRA.faa.gov until you are within your 4-month recency window.
• Do take the opportunity to review any additional electives that you find interesting, beyond the four required to complete the course. To do this leave one of the required mandatory modules incomplete so you do not trigger the course completion early.

Remember, to maintain your current recent experience month, complete your last mandatory module in the eFIRC and sign your electronic 8710-1 on IACRA.faa.gov when you are within your 4-month recency window. If you complete the eFIRC outside of your current recency window, you will be assigned a new recent experience end date.

Upon initial eFIRC course purchase you are sent a confirmation email that has an integration link. If not then click this; eFIRC Integration Link to verify your purchase in the eFIRC course system.

Troubleshooting Tip:

• If you get an access denied message, be sure to log in using the same login information you used during your purchase to access the eFIRC course. Be aware, if you share your computer with users that also have AOPA account logins, make sure to sign out of any other AOPA accounts on AOPA.org before attempting to access the eFIRC course. 

If you are returning to the course after taking a break, go to efirc.aopa.org. If you are not already logged in on AOPA.org, you will be prompted to login with your account associated with your eFIRC purchase.

A CFI should continue to endorse their clients' logbooks in the same detailed manner as before. Instead of using the "expiration date," you will now sign with the "Recent Experience End Date."

EXAMPLE: Jodee Patten, CFI 1234567 RE 12/26

For further guidance, refer to Section 30, Flight Instructor Recent Experience, in Advisory Circular 61-65J, which provides useful examples.

If this is your first attempt to access the course after your purchase, make sure you have clicked the required eFIRC Integration Link either here or in the purchase confirmation email you should have received. This will pass your purchase confirmation to the eFIRC and allow you to access the course.

After clicking the integration link, sometimes it helps to log out of AOPA.org and then log back in. You should now be able to access the course at eFIRC.aopa.org

The AOPA Air Safety Institute eFIRC uses a single AOPA Web Account log on. This reduces the number of login and passwords that you need to remember. When purchasing the course, you either logged in using an existing AOPA account or created a free AOPA Web Account. You will log into this account when you visit eFIRC.AOPA.org to complete your course work.

Troubleshooting Tips:

• If you get an access denied message, be sure to log in using the same login information you used during your purchase to access the eFIRC course.
• Log out of AOPA.org and log back in. This can often help.
• Be aware, if you share your computer with users that also have AOPA account logins, make sure to sign out of any other AOPA accounts on AOPA.org before attempting to access the eFIRC course.
• Is this is your first attempt to access the course after purchase? Make sure you have clicked the required eFIRC Integration Link either here or in the purchase confirmation email you should have received. This passed your purchase confirmation to the course for access.

If you are returning to the course after taking a break, go to efirc.aopa.org. If you are not already logged in on AOPA.org, you will be prompted to login with your account associated with your eFIRC purchase.

AOPA members and users with an existing AOPA Web Account, like the one used for other Air Safety Institute online courses and quizzes, please use your existing login. Note, you do not need to be an AOPA Member to take the AOPA Air Safety Institute eFIRC, but you will need to set up a free AOPA Web Account. You can create this account during your initial purchase of the course or create it here: www.aopa.org/login/

The AOPA Air Safety Institute eFIRC uses your AOPA account login, this can be your AOPA Member or your free AOPA Web Account login. To reset your password, go to www.aopa.org/login/ and click the link for "Forgot Password?" under the login boxes.

Since the eFIRC is using your AOPA Member/Web Account login, you will need to log out on AOPA.org to change the user logged into the eFIRC. There is no direct sign out/log out feature in the eFIRC. However, you can use the "switch user" option detailed below.

How to Switch Users in the eFIRC:

1. Close the eFIRC course and go to the AOPA website, www.aopa.org.
2. Log out of the current AOPA account, this can be done at the top right of any page on the site. Click on your name and select "sign out."
3. Click "Login"  and enter your desired AOPA web account information.
4. Return to the eFIRC. It will still be logged on as the previous user. This is okay.
5. Go under your profile, the person icon in the upper right of the eFIRC in the orange bar. Select "Switch User."

The eFIRC should reload with your desired AOPA web account logged in.

Confirmed that you are logged into the correct AOPA Web Account on AOPA.org. You must use the same account that you created or were logged into when you purchased the eFIRC course to access the course.

If you are not sure, visit www.aopa.org to confirm that you have the correct account logged in. The name associated with your account in will appear in the upper right side of the page. If it is not the account associated with your eFIRC purchase, select “sign out” from the menu under the account name. Then click “login” to log back in with the correct account associated with your eFIRC purchase.

If this is the first time accessing the course since your purchase, you can click the link in the confirmation email or you can click this; eFIRC Integration Link to verify your purchase in the eFIRC course system. This should allow you access to the course.

If this does not work, try clearing your browser cookie and cache for the eFIRC. This may be necessary if the computer/tablet is shared with multiple users or AOPA Web Accounts taking the eFIRC.

How to Clear Browser Cache:

• For Google Chrome: Video / Instructions
• For Microsoft Edge: Video / Instructions
• For Safari on iPad: Video / Instructions
• For Safari on Mac: Video / Instructions
• For Firefox: Video / Instructions
• For Internet Explorer: Instructions with in page video

Tip: If you do not remember what account you used to purchase the eFIRC, check the receipt email you received after you made the purchase. Or please contact Member Services for help with your purchase, 1-800-AOPA-USA (800-872.2672) M-F 8:30AM-6:00PM ET.

Your email address, phone number and AOPA main account address on file are stored in your AOPA profile. Simply login to your account and go to “My Account” or visit www.aopa.org/account/aopaaccount. You will see options to edit your personal information on the left side of the screen.

Note your CFI specific information, like the address that will appear on your graduation certificate, can be different from your address on file with your AOPA account. It is important that the CFI information matches your certificate on file with the FAA as it will appear on your graduation certificate. This information can be edited during your purchase of the eFIRC or on the eFIRC CFI form page at www.aopa.org/account/cfiinformationupdate any time.

If you do have changes that you need to make on your current certificate, like an address change on file with the FAA, should be done with the FAA first, before updating it in the eFIRC. They must match.

WINGs credit is sent automatically on completion. To make sure that you get the credit with your existing FAA WINGs account, the email in your AOPA account should match the one on record with the FAA. To update the email address, simply login to your account and visit www.aopa.org/account/aopaaccount. You will see options to edit your personal information on the left side of the screen.

Remediation in eLearning is when a learner (that is you) has answered a question incorrectly and is returned to the portion of the training (that is the slide or slides in the module's lesson) where this content was originally covered. This method of training helps reinforce understanding of the course material.

In the eFIRC, you will be given the opportunity to review the questions you missed in a module quiz and then be directed to the module's specific lesson page to review the question's related content. Simply click the large orange "next" button on the lesson slide, the same one that you navigated the course with, once you have reviewed the course content to be returned quiz to review any remaining questions. Remember to review all of them, look for the progress bar below the review content button that has a check for each question that you have review.

After the quiz is graded, you will be presented with any missed question(s) with the correct answer highlighted. Click on the "review content" button below the question displayed to be automatically sent to the related slide or slides within the module's related lesson. After reviewing the related content in the eFIRC use the large orange “Next” button, the same one you navigated the course with, to navigate from the required slide(s) back to the quiz to review any remaining missed questions.

If you did not pass the quiz on your first attempt, you are required to review all the missed questions (called remediation) before being able to retake the module quiz. You will see your quiz review progress in the checkboxes below the current question in review. Once the content review is complete, there will be checkmarks in each box of the progress indicators, you will see a “retake quiz” button appear.

If you did not pass on the second attempt, review the material for all the missed questions. Once you are done please contact us to have the quiz reset so you can retake it.

Email us at [email protected] or call 800-USA-AOPA (872-2672) Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., ET. For phone support, press option 5 for AOPA website technical support.

Note, you can continue to review other modules in the eFIRC while your quiz status is being reset.

If you passed the quiz, the content review of any missed questions is not required before proceeding with the course but is recommended for general knowledge review.

You can view your overall course progress in detail in your course transcript at anytime. Your transcript is located within the eFIRC course. You will find your profile icon in the upper right hand corner, in the orange bar. Click on the icon and select "My Profile." Here you will find your course progress transcript listed under "My Courses," click on the blue download icon to view. You can also access your certificates, including your completion and graduation certificates once they are issued, under "My Certificates" here in your profile.

If you click on links these links to view your course transcript or certificates and are only seeing what appears to be a blank screen, your browser may be blocking the document from loading. To see these files you will need to turn off you browser's pop-up blockers, see the instructions below. Once the pop-up blockers are off, close the blank window and click the link again and view the document.

How to turn off Pop-Up Blockers:

• Google Chrome (PC, Mac and Tablets): Instruction PDF
• Firefox Browser (PC and Mac): Instruction PDF
• Safari Browser (iPAD and Mac): Instruction PDF
• Internet Edge/Explorer (PC): Instruction PDF

You will find a profile icon in the upper right-hand corner, in the orange bar of the eFIRC. Click on the icon and select "My Profile." Then on the left side of the page, click "My Certificates."

After you have completed the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) module within the eFIRC, you can click "download" for your TSA GA Security certificate.

Close the eFIRC course window, log out on AOPA.org, and then clear the cache in your browser and try logging in again. Depending upon the browser you’re using, this is accomplished differently. The following will give you instructions on how to do this in your browser.

How to Clear Browser Cache:

• For Google Chrome: Video / Instructions
• For Microsoft Edge: Video / Instructions
• For Safari on iPad: Video / Instructions
• For Safari on Mac: Video / Instructions
• For Firefox: Video / Instructions
• For Internet Explorer: Instructions with in page video

The quizzes are now all in HTML5 and some browser preferences, like a user selected preferred font size, font style or a page displaying in an enlarged viewing scale may affect the appearance of the quiz. Try resetting your browser to default display settings.

If the issue you are experiencing has not been covered in the above, please submit your issue here, www.efirc.com/support.

If you click on links in the course that have document icons or to view your course transcript or certificates and are only seeing what appears to be a blank screen, your browser is blocking the document from loading. To see these files you will need to turn off you browser's pop-up blockers, see the instructions below. Once the pop-up blockers are off, close the blank window and click the link again and view the document.

How to turn off Pop-Up Blockers:

• Google Chrome (PC, Mac and Tablets): Instruction PDF
• Firefox Browser (PC and Mac): Instruction PDF
• Safari Browser (iPAD and Mac): Instruction PDF
• Internet Edge/Explorer (PC): Instruction PDF

Pop-up blockers are required to be turned off during your completion of the 8710 form in the IACRA website. IACRA utilizes pop-ups throughout the completion steps for review and authorization of information. If you are getting messages that the form is incomplete, turn off your browser's pop-up blocker and review the form to make sure you did not miss a step that was located in a pop-up.

How to turn off Pop-Up Blockers:

• Google Chrome (PC, Mac and Tablets): Instruction PDF
• Firefox Browser (PC and Mac): Instruction PDF
• Safari Browser (iPAD and Mac): Instruction PDF
• Internet Edge/Explorer (PC): Instruction PDF

The videos embedded in the course are YouTube videos. Click on the lower right corner of the video on the small box icon, the video should display full screen. Note some browsers do not support this feature.

While in the online FIRC course, look under the resources button at the top of the screen or visit eFIRC CFI Resources page on AOPA.org. Most modules also have related resources available within the module in the right menu (on larger screens) or below the lessons (on smaller screens). These resources include PDFs and links with additional information you can give to your students on specific ASI courses and materials. You can also send your students directly to AirSafetyInstitute.org to explore all of our online safety materials ranging from videos, courses, online quizzes and podcasts.

A good place for you to find specific resources to share is to start in ASI's Safety Centers. These pages are broken out by topic and includes links to AOPA Air Safety Institute content by safety topic. Or go beyond the textbook with ASI’s comprehensive library of Safety Spotlight reports on critical safety issues.

Your progress transcript and certificates open in a new window that Safari may be blocking. You may need to turn off pop-up blockers in Safari on the iPad;

1. Launch the iOS Settings (Gear Icon on main iPad screen)
2. Scroll down and select Safari in the main menu
3. Under the General section, click the toggle next to Block Pop-ups to disable the pop-up blocker. A green toggle indicates an enabled pop-up blocker.

For a how to guide with images, view our guide "How to Turn Off Pop Up Blockers in Safari on the iPad."

You can repeat these steps to enable the pop-up blockers in Safari when done.

The eFIRC is optimized for iOS 16 and 17. Sometimes older devices or iPads have a problem with completing lessons when there are too many tabs open in Safari, too many open applications running in the background or if the cookies and cache are full.

Tip: Try to no leave in the middle of a lesson until you see the final completion slide of a lesson.

To start, close any extra tabs that you may have open in Safari by clicking the browser window page, the overlapping box icon in the upper right of the screen. Close any windows that you do not need open for the eFIRC.

To clear up more iPad memory, open up the app switcher by double-pressing the Home button (note that you're actually pressing the button down here-you aren't just tapping the Touch ID sensor). You'll get a series of screens that appear, like small photos or stacked playing cards, these are all your open apps. You can swipe upward until you flick it off the screen to close it, repeat for all open apps except for your browser app with the eFIRC.

To clear Safari browser cookies and cache on the iPad, from the Home screen, tap Settings (gear icon) and select Safari.

• To Clear History: underneath the Privacy header, tap Clear History, confirm by again selecting Clear History.
• To Clear Cookies and Data: underneath the Privacy header, tap Clear Cookies and Data, confirm by again selecting Clear Cookies and Data.
• Once you're done, either tap on an open app or press the Home button.

For a how to guide with images, view this guide "How to Clear Browser Cache in Safari on the iPad."

These techniques should help clear up more memory for your iPad and browser to continue your eFIRC.

Try not to leave a lesson mid-way through, get to the final slide in the lesson before leaving may help.

Another possible solution to resolve the issue, please try to clear your browser’s cache and delete cookies.  Depending upon the browser you’re using, this is accomplished differently. The following will give you instructions on how to do this in your browser.

How to Clear Browser Cache:

• For Google Chrome: Video / Instructions
• For Microsoft Edge: Video / Instructions
• For Safari on iPad: Video / Instructions
• For Safari on Mac: Video / Instructions
• For Firefox: Video / Instructions
• For Internet Explorer: Instructions with in page video

Note: If running Internet Explorer 9, please enable the ‘web page compatibility mode’ setting in Internet Options – Security – Custom Level, learn how here

All the videos in the eFIRC are YouTube videos and should display on all browsers. Check your connection speed, slower connections like cellular may not load videos very well. If you are still having an issue, please try to clear your browser's cache and delete cookies. Depending upon the browser you're using, this is accomplished differently. The following will give you instructions on how to do this in your browser.

How to Clear Browser Cache:

• For Internet Explorer: Video / Instructions
• For Microsoft Edge: Video / Instructions
• For Google Chrome: Video / Instructions
• For Firefox: Video / Instructions
  

Military and Government Employees: Beware that some government facilities are blocking YouTube videos from being viewed on their networks. If you are included in this group, you may need to review the eFIRC on a personal network outside of the government facility.

You must complete the lessons within a module in succession, so first confirm that you have access to the the lesson by making sure that the lesson you are accessing does not have a lock icon next to it. If it does have a lock icon, the previous lesson must be completed first.

If the lesson, before the one you are trying to open, does not have a green checkbox on the right it is still in progress. Note, progress within an individual lesson is not tracked. So if you start a lesson, try to complete it. If you leave in the middle of a lesson you will need to start it over. You will need to complete the lesson, it will display a green checkbox, before you can "unlock" the lesson after it.

If the above does not resolve the issue, please try to clear your browser's cache and delete cookies. Also make sure you are using the most up-to-date version of the browser. Depending upon the browser you're using, this is accomplished differently. The following will give you instructions on how to do this in your browser.

How to Clear Browser Cache:

• For Google Chrome: Video / Instructions
• For Microsoft Edge: Video / Instructions
• For Safari on iPad: Video / Instructions
• For Safari on Mac: Video / Instructions
• For Firefox: Video / Instructions
• For Internet Explorer: Instructions with in page video