Retired AOPA President Still Understands What An Association Must Do To Serve An Embattled Industry
Its been nearly four years since Phil Boyer stepped down as the president of AOPA at the end of 2008. When Boyer took the controls in 1991 (only the third president in AOPA’s 69-year history), the GA industry was in crisis, beaten down by product liability lawsuits. He helped pass the General Aviation Revitalization Act, which turned around aircraft manufacturing. He also championed civilian use of GPS and WAAS, and later ADS-B to benefit general aviation. Boyer had quite an effect... He upgraded AOPA management and member service, resulting in a 40-percent membership growth -- despite declining pilot numbers. He devoted considerable assets to increasing GA advocacy and memb