Events and Webinars

Webinar Archives

Award Winning Customer Service: How to Excel in AOPA's Flight Training Excellence Poll
An AOPA Flight School Business Webinar

Customer service is crucial to the flight training industry and so is knowing where you stand with your clients. Learn the background behind the AOPA Flight Training Excellence Awards, find out what students are saying about our industry as a whole, and get tips on how you can succeed in the Flight Training Excellence Awards!

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"What happened to the PTS? - An Introduction to the new Airman Certification Standards (ACS)"

Check out this NAFI/AOPA webinar on the new Airman Certification Standards (ACS) featuring NAFI Vice President of Government and Industry Relations Phil Poynor and Susan Parson,??a Master CFI who is editor?of the FAA Safety Briefing magazine and?Special Technical Assistant to the director of FAA Flight Standards Service. The discussion explain the origins, rationale, and advantages of the ACS in relation to the PTS. Get the information straight from the experts on the new training standards!

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AOPA and NAFI team up to present the Flight School Business Webinar: What Do CFIs Need from their Flight Schools?

Great instructors are at the heart of a successful flight school. As Flight School operators, how do we create an environment where our CFIs can thrive while running a successful business? Join us for a round table discussion featuring AOPA Flight Training Excellence Award winning Flight School owners and NAFI Hall of Fame CFIs for the latest Flight School Business webinar. We share best practices and potential pitfalls in creating a successful environment for instructors and flight school operators.

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The Versatile CFI: Be the Instructor your Student Needs!

Have you ever had that student that is having a hard time "getting it"? Maybe a student that just needed to be matched with the "right" flight instructor? Or perhaps that one that drives you just a little crazy. No one learns in exactly the same way. Being a successful CFI means finding just the right way to best teach each individual student. Tap into a wealth of CFI experience and tips that will help you best serve your students' needs. Join us for an engaging round table discussion on how to adapt your teaching style to best serve your individual student/customers. Our panel features 4 CFIs with a great wealth and diversity of experience.

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Building Successful Customer Relationships Throughout the Pilot Lifecycle

As flight school professionals, we strive to succeed at student attainment and retention. Often we oversee the value of a student flourishing into an aircraft owner, and leaving the rental market. The relationships we build, from intro-flight to check ride, are powerful tools in developing future client bases. Listen in as we discuss opportunities and benefits that foster from the Student-Instructor relationships. Kelby Ferwerda, owner of Rochester Aviation will present this webinar and share his personal experience.

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Understanding the Real Power of Marketing

When done correctly, marketing is the intentional operation of your business to deliver the right message to the right market. Sending the right message is important, but it can be complicated. It’s easy to unintentionally send messages to your customers that work against your goals. Marketing is a strength of San Carlos Flight Center, AOPA’s 2013 Best Flight School award winner. Join owner Dan Dyer and marketing manager Terry Fiala as they share feedback and tips on what type of marketing has been successful for their operation.

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Employee vs. 1099

Aviation businesses don't have discretion when determining whether workers are employees or independent contractors. There are a variety of federal and state laws establishing tests and criteria for making that determination. This webinar, with guest presenter Ray Speciale (pilot, lawyer and CPA), will provide a general overview of the laws and tests that are used to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee. (Aired on November 13, 2013)

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Let’s Talk Leasebacks

Yodice Associates aviation attorney, Talbot Martin, discusses lease/rental agreements. Talbot will share his experience on key items to consider when deciding between lease and own, making a mutually beneficial agreement, and what “gotchyas” to look out for. (Aired on September 24, 2013)

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Flight School Finances: Blue skies or smoking hole?

Find out where your money is really going. Discover your hidden opportunities. Identify loss and new growth in this webinar hosted by Woody Cahall and The AOPA Center to Advance the Pilot Community. (Aired on August 20, 2013)

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Making the Most of Your CFI Team

Awarding-winning flight instructor and author of The Savvy Flight Instructor, Greg Brown, shares how flight school management and flight instructors can work together to ensure a great customer experience and student success. (Aired on June 18, 2013)

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Putting Media and Community Relations to Work for Your Flight School

In this webinar, you will learn from real-life examples and get expert advice from AOPA’s director of media relations, Steve Hedges. This webinar disscusses how to use your local media and community relationships to help your flight school succeed. Putting media and community relations to work for you lends credibility to your school and creates exposure to the public with little cost. (Aired on May 15, 2013)

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‘Wide Open Spaces—A glimpse into operating a flight school in a non-metro area’

This free webinar is hosted by AOPA and owner of TakeWING Aviation, Dorothy Schick. TakeWING Aviation is a leading Cessna Pilot Center and aviation club in Oregon that prides itself on “doing things”—as in, doing things better, differently, or more creatively. Dorothy shares her experience, discusses where to look for opportunities, and talks about what it takes to run a successful flight school in a non-metro area. (Aired on April 24, 2013)

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‘Branding—Low Cost and No Cost Ways to Turbocharge your Flight School’

Are you interested in ways to add value to your flight school’s training experience and differentiate your flight school from competitors? If so, join AOPA and Aviation Adventures Flight School Owner, Bob Hepp, for a one-hour webinar on branding your flight school. (Aired on March 27, 2013)

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‘10 Easy Ways to Enhance Your Flight School’

In this first webinar (aired on February 20), join AOPA’s Shannon Yeager and Brittney Miculka to go through 10 items that successful businesses use to convey a professional operation and make them more attractive to current students and potential customers.

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