July 31, 2009 - Oshkosh, Wisconsin  - Among the many great uses of private aircraft is international travel, and American pilots enjoy a variety of choices as close by as Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico—foreign nations as close as a single hop.

But for some pilots the prospect of navigating the government bureaucracy is a bit intimidating, particularly regarding the new eAPIS mechanism —the Electronic Advance Passenger Information System.

US Customs & Border Protection launched eAPIS earlier this year and pilots visiting EAA AirVenture can tap help right on the fly-in grounds.

Any flier who successfully navigated the process of earning a pilot’s certificate should by able to negotiate the eAPIS process and open more of the world to their flying desires.

Officials with the CBP, an agency of the Department of Homeland Security, are on hand to answer questions and demonstrate how the online system works at the Federal Pavilion, near the flightline north of the Brown Arch.

If you miss getting help here at AirVenture, start with a visit to https://eapis.cbp.dhs.gov/help.html.