A high-tech industry in the dark?
For the few days I spent my time wandering the grounds of EAA Airventure looking to see just how well my two careers (web development and aviation) really mesh. My question was simple, just how has the internet changed the face of general aviation? The answer to this was actually a little more positive than I originally expected. In fact, unlike many industries where the internet seems to be utilized as little more than an online store, for general aviation it has become a lot more.
I’ve personally been using the net for aviation tools since the later 1990s. At that point things were rather simple. There were a couple of weather sites with “official” data and if you really knew where to look you might be able to file a flight plan, although there was no guarantee it would make it into the ATC system and, more often than not, it didn’t. When I got home I could order a few things online from some of the biggest vendors like Sporty’s, but that was about it. For the general aviation was already a little behind the ball when it came to the potential of using the internet for many of a pilot’s daily tasks.
Let’s fast-forward to today. Weather is available with ease from a browser or even a cell-phone browser, and now filing a flight plan on takes only a few clicks and is far more reliable than it used to be. In addition, the internet has become instrumental in 2 areas that can often be most important to the average pilot.
First there is regulation. The FAA and other agencies have done an excellent job in adopting web technologies for all sorts of functions that used to require a lot more effort. For example, a student pilot who is applying for a private-pilot certificate can now do so online through one of the FAA’s newest systems. In addition, the once nightmare logistical chores of getting through customs and other special circumstances have now been greatly reduced through the use of more online forms and automatic processing.
Second, there is training. Here is where the internet has made the greatest advances. Only a few years ago nearly all training involved an expensive session with an instructor at the local airport. This time-consuming and expensive option not only was an inconvenience for many, but also limited many students to the knowledge and experience from only one person. If your instructor was new and didn’t have the experience to answer your question you were just out of luck as for many pilots near smaller airports there just wasn’t any other options.
Today things are a little different. If you’re stumped on a question there are numerous options such as forums like jetcareers that can help you 24 hours a day with very quick response times. In many cases full classes are available online for everything from CFI renewal to full aviation degrees which can be invaluable to any pilot who doesn’t get to spend too much time at his/her home. These two innovations have been so heavily utilized that a CFI who has passed the flying part of his or her checkride never has to see anyone again to keep their certificate current. What once required another checkride or a full weekend in a classroom followed by a trip to a FSDO can now be done completely online with everything from the class itself to the filing of the forms done without talking to anyone. Even the traditional schools have made use of the internet as many of the largest universities and smaller schools use custom applications to run nearly every operational area of their flight schools.
Although these two areas seemed to have benefited the most from the internet, they are not the only ones who have made use of it. From maintenance to aircraft purchasing, the internet has more functions in general aviation than in any of the other industries I’ve been a part of. As a whole I would say that general aviation has been left in the dark, but has in fact ran at breakneck speed towards the internet light.
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