Organization Matches Planes With Pilots
When ANN first heard
of the Aircraft Partnership Association (APA) earlier this year,
the airplane "matchmaking" service struck us as one of the more
truly innovative ideas to come to general aviation. As it turns
out, at least 1,499 other people agree.
APA recently signed up its 1,500th new member, posting a profile
on the Association's website to help achieve their dream of
aircraft ownership by using technology to facilitate forming
private partnerships.
As ANN reported in April, the APA encourages
pilots to post their profiles on-line for free in an endeavor to
match like-minded aviators who want to share the cost of
owning/operating an aircraft through private partnerships. APA uses
web-based programs to facilitate partnerships that include the type
of aircraft desired, airport of choice, flying experience and
more.
Similar in concept to online dating sites like eHarmony.com, the
entire matching/selection process occurs on-line before potential
partners ever meet.
"We've seen our membership grow at an increasing rate since we
launched the Aircraft Partnership Association in April," said David
A. Kruger, President of APA. "Our recent participation at industry
events, on-line advertsing, word of mouth among pilots and mentions
on blogs, e-newsletters and magazines is getting the word out."
APA allows members to post their partnership profile for free on
a secure searchable database called the Virtual Pilot Lounge. From
there, members may search a secure on-line profile database for
partners based on location, type of aircraft, and cost. This
feature also includes optional email alerts when new members join
APA in your area. The site also provides a mechanism for members to
post Request for Quotes (RFQ's) for goods and services from select
APA Vendors.
Other tools slated to be launched soon include Aircraft Flight
Scheduling, Maintenance Scheduling, Aircraft Logbook and
Partnership Bookkeeping.
"We believe that the key to success is to quickly build the
membership database," Kruger added. "Consequently, we're offering a
free limited APA membership as a launch promotion to every pilot
who is interested in sharing the total cost of ownership."
APA charges a $29 fee for members to join... though for a
limited time, the organization allows "early adopters" to sign up
for free, and use APA's current range of services for no
charge.