Sat, Apr 01, 2017
Seeks To Increase Membership By Embracing New Technology
ANN April 1 Special Edition (Parody)
AOPA has announced that it will be standing up two new entities to embrace the growing drone culture in aviation.
The Drone Owner’s and Pilot’s Association (DOPA) and Drone Owner’s Policy Institute (DOPI) will be separate business entities under the AOPA umbrella, explained AOPA president and CEO Mark Baker. “With the traditional pilot population shrinking, we had to look at new ways to get our membership numbers back up. With forecasts of hundreds of thousands of drones being sold in just the next couple of years … well that’s kind of low-hanging fruit, isn’t it,” Baker said.
DOPA will be a traditional membership organization patterned after AOPA. Members will get a magazine and lapel pin to wear at drone events, and network with other members to increase camaraderie in the drone community. “When you go to a drone race … everyone seems to be in their own little virtual reality world behind VR goggles,” Baker said. “Dopa will give them an opportunity to actually interact with one another.”
DOPI will be charged with following the avalanche of new drone laws being passed by local and state governments, and trying to disseminate that information to DOPA members. “We’re going to have to add probably 100 new staffers just to keep up with the volume of new drone laws being passed at every level of government,” Baker said. “But if our membership number projections are anywhere close to accurate, paying for them should be no problem at all.
“Look, the FAA categorizes drones as “aircraft”,” Baker continued. “So why shouldn’t the AOPA have some skin in that game.” Hiring is already underway in Fredericksburg, MD.
In a related move, an anonymous source inside AOPA has sent us a secret document which details the upcoming merger of AOPA and Academy of Model Aeronautics(AMA). Leaked document states: “Since GA is just a bunch of old men and all young kids are into quads, the future of General Aviation is UAS piloted by teens on iPads. It is imperative we continue to represent GA needs in Washington.
The new organization will be called UAS Self-piloted Society of Rotorcraft (USSR) its new logo will be yellow letters on a bright red background.
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