Posted August 24 2007 by Bill Harris ICS 13820

Frequently Asked Questions

Last editted March 22 2009 by David Fitzgerald ICS 10297

How do I log in to the ICS web site?

ICS members can log in to the ICS web site by going to the login page and entering their ICS number and password, then clicking the Login button.

If you are a new member, or if you've never logged in to the ICS site, your password is probably your last name. Once logged in, you can change your password to something more secure; please see the instructions in the next FAQ.

If you've forgotten your password, and your pathfinder information includes an email address, the login page will offer to email your password to you. We encourage you to keep your information up to date, so the web site can send these messages to you, should you need them.

If you're not an ICS member, you won't be able to log in and see the members-only areas of out web site. We encourage you to sign up today, by clicking on the Signup button.

How do I make changes to my address, email, phone number etc?

ICS members can, using the ICS web site, change their own login and membership information, such as passwords, name and address, email address, phone number, etc.

To change your information, you must first log in to the ICS web site. Once logged in, click on the "Pathfinder" button, and from there, click the "Edit my information" link.

That will show you a page with all your ICS membership information, most of which you can change. If, for instance, you're moving to a summer home, you can change your address, so the Flyer will continue to be delivered. Or, if you've changed service providers and have a new email address, you can simply enter a new one right on the pathfinder page.

Another part of the pathfinder has to do with your aircraft. You can click on the link at the bottom of the page to go to the members aircraft section. There, you can enter tail number, description, and photos of as many aircraft as you care to.

Members can look each other up in the pathfinder by name, address, ics number, aircraft tail number, tribe, or region of the country.


How do I converse with other ICS members on line?

One section of the ICS web site is devoted to the ICS forum, which is a message board on which members and guests can post messages, exchange information, etc.

There are two ways to exchange messages with other forum users. You can post a message in one of the message areas, or you can use private messaging.

To post a message, first select a forum area. In general, you should try to find an area that has something to do with your topic, but if you can't, just pick one.

You can then click on the "New Topic" button, which will prompt you for a title and a message. Fill in the form, click "Submit", and your message is posted.

To reply to somebody else's post, just click on the "Post Reply" button.

If you want to send someone a private message, the procedure is very similar. You can either find a message posted by the person you'd like to send to, click on their username to see their profile, and click the "PM" button, or look them up in the member list, and then use the "PM" button. Again, you'll be asked for a topic and a message. Click "Submit", and your message will be sent. To read your private messages, click on the "Private Messages" link at the top of the forum page.

How do I set up my access to the ICS forum?

The ICS forum contains some areas which are public, ie you don't have to be a member to access them, and and some which are accessable to ICS members only. If you're an ICS member, the way to get yourself set up on the forum is to log in to the ICS web site, and then click on the "ICS Forum" button.

The first time you access the forum, that button will start the forum wizard, which will ask you some questions about what you would like your user name to be on the forum. User names are used show who posted messages, as well as letting you send private messages etc. Many people just use their real name, others like to use their aircraft tail number, or a nickname. Once you have chosen a forum user name, you are asked whether you'd like to use the forum auto-login feature, which means that you don't log in to the forum separately (recommended). Once you click the button that says you're done, the wizard remembers your login information, so that the next time you click the ICS forum button, you'll go straight to the forum. The wizard also sets you up with the proper membership information, so that you have access to all the members-only parts of the forum.

If you should ever decide you want to change your forum login information, you can do so by going to the pathfinder section, and looking up your own information page. You'll see a section for forum login info, which allows you to change your password, whether or not you use auto-login etc.

As always, there are help buttons available both in the forum wizard and in the pathfinder section that covers forum info. Please feel free to click on them for more detail about how to manage your forum experience.

Have fun surfing the forum!

I hear the ICS Board of Directors are discussing things on the Forum. How do I see what they're talking about?

One of the sections of the ICS forum is devoted to the Board of Directors discussion. This section contains regular discussions of things that the Board is working on, about the direction of ICS, financial matters, governance, and all the other nuts and bolts that keep us running. The Society believes in being open with our members, which is partly why this section is not closed off only for Board members, but is accessable to all members.

To access the Board of Directors section, you must be an ICS member. Any member can set up a forum username for him or herself, and will be able to see the members-only sections, including the Board of Directors section. Once you've set up your forum access, go to the forum, and scroll down to the second major heading.

We encourage all members to come see what the Board is talking about, and give them feedback. The Society belongs to the members, and participation by the members is what keeps us strong and growing.

Can I get access to Piper Maintenance Manuals and other technical data?

ICS maintains a collection of parts, service, and other manuals that we hope will be helpful to ICS members.

To peruse the manuals, click on "Technical" on the indes page. That will upen up subsections for the various categories of manuals. You can keep clicking on subsections until you see the manual you're looking for displayed in the right-hand panel of your browser. Some of the manuals can be viewed on line in HTML form, and some are downloadable as PDF files.

We add more stuff to the manuals section periodically. We encourage you to give us feedback, and forward any requests for more information to your webmaster or the technical committee.

My airplane is the best of the fleet! How do I nominate it for Comanche of the Month?

The Comanche of the Month section is a running contest, to see who's flying "the fairest of them all". Any member may nominate an aircraft for consideration for the monthly winner. To nominate your (or somebody else's) aircraft, click on "Comanche of the Month", and then "Nominate a Comanche". You will be able to see the current candidates; you may also use the form to enter a description and photo of a new nominee. You may also cast a vote for the one you like best.

Every month, the aircraft with the most votes is featured as the current winner on the Comanche of the Month page, as well as on the home page.

Keep those pictures coming!

How do I view the Comanche Flyer on line?

Starting with 2004, ICS makes available to members current and back issues of the Flyer.

To view an issue of the Flyer, click on "Comanche Flyer Online". You will see a page indexing the available issues. You can choose to view an issue in your browser, or download PDf versions which you can print.

You will also see, on the Flyer index page, a serach box. To search the online Flyers, enter the words you'd like to search for, and click the Search button. It will come back with a list of all the Flyer pages containing those keywords. Click on the page link to view.

We hope the online format of the Flyer is useful to our members. Please send any feedback on how to improve it to the webmaster

How do I search for other ICS members contact information?

The pathfinder section is accessable to all members. You can search for other members using any combination of ics number, last name, tribe, state, zip code, etc.

To search, first go to the pathfinder page. Then enter any search criteria in the boxes provided. For example, if you wanted to search for all members named "Smith", enter "Smith" in the last name box, and click Search. To search for all members named "Smith" in the Northeast tribe, enter "Smith" in the name box, and select the NE tribe in the tribe box.

You can use any combination of search criteria you want. Some combinations will not turn up any matches; in that case, reduce the number of things you're searching on, ie if were looking for Smiths in the NE tribe and didn't find any, try your search again using just the name, not the tribe. In general, you want to use as few search items as you can, as that will find the most matches.

You can also search by zip code, and specify a radial distance. So for instance if you're going into some airport in an unfamiliar area of the country, you can specify, say, 30 miles from that zip code, which will bring up all members within that area.

Finally, please note that some members have requested that their membership information be kept private. For these members, you will only see their name and ICS number.

How do I renew or sign up with a credit card?

ICS is now using a web-based registration and renewal system for our members who have access to the world wide web.

To sign up as a new member, click Sign me up! on the home page. That will lead you to the Instant Signup page, which will ask you for name, address, and contact info. Once finished filling in the form, you will be asked to supply payment information using Paypal. You can set up an account using Paypal's registration form, or you can just make a one-time payment with a credit card.

Once you've completed the paypal transaction, you'll be sent an email with your ICS number, and you're all set, you'll then be able to log in to the web site and see the members-only areas.

If you're already an ICS member, and want to renew, just log in to the web site sometime around when it's time to renew. When you log in within two months of your expiration date, you will see a message on the home page prompting you to renew. Clicking there will take you to the same registration page mentioned above, where you will confirm your information, after which you will be asked to make a payment through paypal.

You can always check your expiration date by editting your own member entry in the pathfinder section.

How do I purchase ICS merchandise?

Members can buy ICS shirts, hats, and other merchandise, by using the "Buy ICS goodies" link on the home page of the web site.

On that page, you will see a menu of items you can buy. Click on the thumbnails to see a larger picture. You can select the quantity of each item you want to add to your shopping cart. Some items, such as shirts, require you to choose a size or color, make sure you have chosen the size you want before clicking add to cart.

When you are finished, click on the "View Cart" button. That will show you a summary of what's in your shopping cart. If you would like to change items, you can delete them from your cart, and return to shopping to add more. Once you are satisfied with your order, click on the "Checkout" button to complete your transaction. You will be asked for a payment via paypal, which can be either via credit card or an e-check.

I have a technical question: How do I get answers from the technical committee?

The ICS technical committee helps our members with answers to technical questions, pointers to resources that are of use in maintaining your Comanche, and other information.

The best way to get a technical question answered is to log in to the ICS forum, and post your question in the Technical area. Someone from the technical committee will see it, and post an answer. While you're there, we encourage you to search the forum archives. Many questions about Comanches have already come up; the answer you're looking for may already be there. To search for things in the forum archives, simply click on the Search link at the top of the forum page, fill in the search keywords and any other qualifiers, and click "Search". As with the other search facilities, you can refine your search with more or fewer words or categories.

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