The State Of AOPA
In contrast to AOPA
Expo General Session meetings over the previous two days,
Saturday's opening meeting was much less a rallying cry to arms...
and more an update on the state of your Aircraft Owners and Pilots
Association.
AOPA President Phil Boyer led off with a nod to our Veterans,
who help keep our skies free, before noting this expo looks to be a
record breaker; as of the close of the Expo Friday, slightly over
11,000 people were in attendance. That's within 700 attendees of
the all-time attendance record from 2002... which, incidentally,
was also the last time Expo was held in Palm Springs.
AOPA membership at the end of October topped 409,318 -- "which
I'll go ahead and round up to 410,000 now," Boyer joked.
After the numbers, the topic turned to politics. The AOPA
political action committee was hard at work during this last
election, which Boyer says turned out quite positively for aviation
interests.
Ninety percent of the candidates that AOPA supported were
elected. The committee "doesn't buy us votes, it buys us access,"
states Boyer.
Next up was Jeff Myers, AOPA Executive Vice President of
Communications. Myers reiterated AOPA's constant vigilance against
aviation foes. "Leave no story unchallenged." is the creed.
Interviews are done via, phone, in-person and by satellite feed.
AOPA also has a small studio set up allowing immediate response to
aviation issues. A recent example being the Cory Lidle
accident.
Myers also introduced Erik Lindbergh (below), the spokesman for
Project Pilot. Project Pilot is designed to "provide encouragement"
says Myers.
About 3,000 pilots are signed up on the AOPA Project Pilot
website. AOPA members who sign up are provided with learning
materials and more for both mentor and protege. Bringing new blood
into the pilot pool is the goal; those student pilots with mentors
are three times more likely to achieve their goal of a Private
Pilot license.
A revamped AOPA website was also previewed. Taking member
suggestions into account, the site has become less a cluttered
closet and more neat, and easy to navigate. The rollout is expected
in the summer.
Andy Cebula, Executive Vice President for Government Affairs
briefed on Airport closures. Seven staff members are located in
Frederick, MD... and there are 13 regional reps. Added to those
folks are the almost 1700 volunteers across the country who are the
early warning eyes and ears on possible airport actions.
The action against Mayor Daley and Meigs Field was applauded
with the fines levied against Chicago, the repayment of misused
Airport funds and the Meigs Legacy Provision enacted. The Meigs
Legacy Provision calls for proper channels to be followed for
airport closings and heavy fines if legal steps are not
followed.
Two recent wins against airport closings were close to home for
SoCal residents Oceanside and Bakersfield, CA remain open.
Especially significant was the stern letter from the FAA opposing
the closing of Bakersfield.
Next, Karen "Sugar Mama" (her term! -- Ed.) Gebhart,
Executive Vice President for Non-Dues Revenue, showed us the money.
She is carrying the gauntlet Boyer set down 15 years ago to keep
dues the same $39 as long as he is President. Then where does the
revenue come from the others spend? Member products account
for 35%, ads 30%, member dues 28%, ROI and other 10%.
The AOPA revamped the credit card program prior to the take over
of MBNA by Bank of America. This new program will run to 2012. The
prior rebate limit maximum has been removed. In place is a point
system, which can be used for cash, travel or gift cards. Many
aviation purchases earn double points while non-aviation purchases
earn single point. Suppliers like Sporty's and King are subscribing
to double points, so remember Christmas is near, treat yourself and
benefit AOPA at the same time.
With an 18% rise in calls to the AOPA Legal Services over the
past year the $29 fee to use the services is a bargain that also
benefits AOPA.
The last speaker was
Bruce Landsberg, Executive Director of the award winning Air Safety
Foundation. He gave us the good news: a 71% improvement in
General Aviation accidents since 1967.
This improvement could probably be even better in the coming
years if more pilots took advantage of the AOPA On-Line Safety
courses. A mere 5.5% of the pilot population has accessed at least
one course. With topics from Mountain Flying to Thunderstorms, any
pilot can access these courses and benefit from them. Turn off the
TV for an hour and head for the computer, you're sure to learn
something.
An added benefit of taking a course is AIG (Aviation Insurance
Group) offering extra cost cutting benefits to those who complete
one of the courses.
Landsberg also pointed out the Air Safety Foundation is not
supported by "Sugar Mama" but by 3% Federal Grants, 17% from AOPA
courses and a whopping 80% from donations. Again, Christmas is just
around the corner, remember to give.