by Mark Baker
AOPA President & CEO
Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine August/September 2023 Digital Issue
Excitement was in the air. At press time, we were only weeks away from the world’s largest airshow, when thousands of planes, pilots and spectators descended upon Oshkosh to make Wittman Field, as it’s often proclaimed, the world’s busiest airport in the world that week. I’ve been to OSH many times, but each time it’s like being there for the very first time.
Whether you’re a long-time pilot, newly certificated, an aircraft owner or just someone who shares our amazing passion, being at AirVenture is like being a kid in an aviation candy store. We walk around the grounds in amazement of so many different types of aircraft, kick tires (not too hard, I hope), peek inside, and chat about adventures.
Many of us who have been flying for a while may actually have an eye on a new aircraft (or our first one), a trade-up, a new glass panel or some other exciting upgrade. But as you walk around the grounds at AirVenture – or any other airshow or at any other airport around this great country – it’s obvious that many people who are looking at aircraft and exploring aviation are doing so from the outside. They’re looking through the GA window wondering if that could ever be them.
It’s on all of us in GA to help them get to yes. Whether it’s the dream of flying or the desire to have one’s own aircraft, you can see the passion and see the wishing in their eyes. As a community, we need to do everything reasonable and practical to bring them closer to reality.
Don’t get me wrong – flying is not an inexpensive pursuit, and we need to be mindful of that. Getting a pilot’s certificate takes time and money, and demand for used aircraft is driving prices up. Fuel, hangars, and insurance adds to the cost. But aviation doesn’t have to be completely out of someone’s reach, and we all need to do what we can to bring new pilots – and aircraft owners – into our fold.
Building the pilot population is a top goal at AOPA, and turning those dreams into a reality is exactly why programs like AOPA’s You Can Fly exists. We want to show those with the passion that they can fly, and provide them with a roadmap and tools to get them aloft and stay there safely.
We’ve certainly seen no shortage of aspiring aviators. In the past three years, the AOPA Foundation has received thousands of applications for our flight training scholarships – from folks of all ages and all walks of life. We have awarded more than $4.5 million in scholarships to more than 525 recipients, helping to bridge that gap between wishing and flying.
I also know that for most pilots, the bug hits early on. A core focus of You Can Fly – our High School STEM initiative – now engages more than 16,000 students in schools across the country. Since we began the High School initiative, which is supported by generous donors to the AOPA Foundation (thank you!), more than 50,000 students have been introduced to career opportunities in the aviation world through world-class STEM education. And what we’re hearing – more than 70 percent of the program’s first graduates say that they are actively pursuing an aviation career – shows that we are on the right track for GA.
For those who take the next step, one of the ways to keep costs in line is to make flight training as efficient as possible. Whether it’s a rotating roster of flight instructors or a not-so-well thought out instructional plan, hours can rack up which means money racks up, too. Unfortunately, for those reasons and others, the number of students not completing their training has also racked up. We need to fix that.
Our AOPA Flight Training Advantage initiative is an innovative tool for students and CFIs, designed to make the training process fully organized, transparent, forward-looking, and efficient. Right now, more than 1,700 flight schools and independent CFIs are signed on to AFTA, with more than 8,000 training hours logged since its inception.
Once pilots get their certificate, a big issue is access and cost – where can I rent an airplane near me at a reasonable cost. We have an initiative for that – our AOPA Flying Clubs team has helped more than 225 clubs form, which provides greater access and more affordability.
The holy grail for many aviators is to own their own airplane. The freedom to fly is one thing – but to go up and travel across America whenever and wherever you want is a whole different ballgame. Our Aircraft Finance team has the knowledge and passion to help aviators explore options to purchase virtually any type of aircraft.
As a community, it lifts us all when we band together to bring general aviation closer to those with the spark. Let’s continue to light those flames and grow this wonderful, shared passion. Blue skies!
