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CPPP chooses locations that combine a convenient airport for sufficient COPA members to attend, a good FBO and the availability of Cirrus service, with a hotel close to the field with meeting rooms suitable for ground instruction. Most participants fly their own plane within 500 miles, some participants live in the area and choose to drive, while some fly more than 500 miles to attend.
Friday
CPPP participants usually fly in Friday afternoon, tie-down on the ramp and check-in at the FBO for updated information about the weekend. Friday evening is a social "hangar party" welcome reception to introduce everyone, especially flight instructors to their assigned flight participants.
Saturday
Saturday morning registration checks in everyone and distributes the course notebook binders. Breakfast is either included with the hotel accommodations or provided by COPA.
The Saturday morning session, attended by all participants, covers General Aviation Safety with a focus on Cirrus accident statistics followed by a review of Normal and Emergency Procedures. Insurance companies told us that this review was the best thing we could do to reduce accidents and insurance claims! Everyone does it everytime.
If the Partner-in-Command course is offered, then partners, spouses, friends that fly with you, whomever you have registered, are invited to participate in an alternative program. If a simulator is available, then partners will go there over lunch for a brief experience to practice what they learned.
Mid-morning, the CPPP flight instructors meet separately to review the airspace, weather and procedures to handle a large flock of Cirrus airplanes departing and arriving as a group.
Lunch is provided by COPA as we split the flight participants into two groups, Flight Group A and Flight Group B and prepare for two sets of 3-hour ground sessions.
These two flight groups will alternate between flying with instructors and sitting in ground sessions. Flight Group A participants will fly first taking their instructors to the ramp and conducting flight training, while Flight Group B will first take a ground session. After the first ground session, the two groups will switch and Flight Group B will take their instructors to the ramp while Flight Group A sits in a ground session.
Saturday afternoon has two sets of ground courses, often with multiple choices of topics. Ground-only participants are welcome to choose any available topic. As the number of pre-registered participants gets high enough, COPA enlists additional instructors to teach more parallel sessions.
If there is a simulator available at the CPPP location, then we'll shuttle participants. Each simulator session will have two participants and include an instructor briefing, an hour with one pilot in the left seat flying with the other pilot in the right seat observing, an then another hour with the pilot participants switching roles.
Saturday evening, after the flying and ground sessions conclude, COPA hosts a dinner for all participants and their partners along with instructors and volunteers. Sometimes there is a formal program, other times there are informal discussions, but always there is a lot of social interaction.
Sunday
Sunday breakfast is either included with the hotel or provided by COPA.
Sunday morning has another set of ground courses with the flight groups alternating again.
Lunch is again provided by COPA when the flight groups alternate between sessions.
Sunday afternoon has the final set of ground courses.
By mid-afternoon, the program is complete and CPPP participants fly away. There is no closing session, so the weekend ends as participants are done.
After Weekend
CPPP provides a completion certificate that can be authenticated for insurance purposes.
A week or so later, we'll contact you for a follow-up on-line survey to help us use your feedback to improve the CPPP program in the future.
Home | Typical Weekend | Syllabus | Instructors | Register