Flight Training - May 2014 - 14

PREFLIGHT»

AOPA ACTION

AOPA unveils guide to help start flying clubs
Provides a 'useful roadmap'
AOPA RECENTLY RELEASED

a helpful tool that will steer
members through the critical
steps of starting a flying club.
AOPA's Guide to Starting a
Flying Club identifies the most
important aspects to consider
when bringing a club from
inception to full operation.
"This guide was created
to provide a useful roadmap
to pilots starting a club,"
said Woody Cahall, leader of
AOPA's flying club initiative.
"It addresses the biggest roadblocks to starting new flying
clubs and it provides commonsense advice that pilots will be
able to apply when launching
clubs all over the country."
Each chapter in the guide
covers a specific topic of
interest from how to choose
the right aircraft to insurance
considerations. AOPA has
also assembled a collection of
sample documents, forms, and
other useful resources, like
sample operating rules and
aircraft lease agreements.
Download AOPA's Guide
to Starting a Flying Club on
the website (www.aopa.org/
Pilot-Resources/Flying-Clubs/
Club-Resources).

AOPA's 2012 research on
flying clubs proved the overwhelmingly positive impact
clubs have on the GA community. The survey found that
more than half of all active
pilots are past or present
members of a flying club and
virtually all of them consider
club membership a positive
experience.
AOPA's efforts around flying
clubs are aimed at building a
stronger community in which
more people earn pilot certificates, pilots are more active,
and the flying lifetime of pilots
is extended.
In addition to the new
starter guide, AOPA provides
many other resources to help
strengthen existing clubs and
encourage new ones:
* AOPA Flying Club Insurance Program-Several
exciting features includes the
ability to "stack" non-owner
policy limits. A club member
who owns 20 percent or less
of the club aircraft and has significantly greater assets than
other members can buy a nonowner policy and have those
policy limits "stack" on top
of the club aircraft insurance

CLUB CONNECTOR
NEWSLETTER
A monthly newsletter for the
entire flying club community. We
talk everything from club operations to multi-club fly-outs. If
you are a member or officer of an
existing club or looking to start
one, we have something for you
(www.aopa.org/Pilot-Resources/
Flying-Clubs).

policy limits. This provides
a means for individual flying
club members to secure the
higher liability protections
they might individually desire
or require. This is a kind of
policy customizability never
before found in a club policy.
The program also allows for
special rates for clubs between
three and 10 members (with
flat rates available as needed
for clubs that grow beyond
that level). And it is now easy
for clubs with more than 10
members to get insurance,
and the new program does not
charge for "social members."
* Aircraft Finance-Through
its finance company, AOPA
has a new program that offers
up to 50 percent financing

with no personal guaranties
for established clubs and, on
an exception basis, for larger
start-up clubs. If a member
of the flying club is able to
guarantee the loan, AOPA
Aviation Finance Company
has programs that provide up
to 70 percent financing.
* Flying Club Finder-An
online tool that allows pilots
to locate the nearest clubs in
AOPA's national network.
* Club Connector- A monthly
newsletter that allows clubs to
share information, resources,
best practices and work
together on issues of mutual
concern.
* Flying Club webinars
* AOPA Flying Club Network
Facebook Page
"There are more than 600
flying clubs in the U.S. and
AOPA is committed to helping grow that number," said
Cahall. "Flying clubs have
introduced thousands of
people to the fun and camaraderie of flying. As the GA
industry seeks to reverse rising
costs and diminishing pilot
numbers, flying clubs are one
important solution to keeping
GA strong and growing."

INDUSTRY NEWS

Bell, Enstrom, building new helicopters
Flight testing beginning
A LEADER IN its field since 1967, the Bell JetRanger 206 now has
a new design, a separation of the two words in its name, and a
new number-the $1 million, five-seat Bell 505 Jet Ranger X.
Announced in the spring of 2013, it should fly by the end of the
year. Chinese-owned Enstrom Helicopters also has a new
$400,000 TH180 piston-engine trainer expected to be certified
in 2015. A 210-horsepower Lycoming HIO-390 engine powers it.
The hourly operating cost is expected to be $175.

14 /

FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

The Jet Ranger X speed and range, 125 knots true airspeed
and 360 nautical miles, are close to the original, but the useful
load at 1,500 pounds is much higher. Actual speed and especially range will be determined once the helicopter begins flight
testing. It has a few other upgrades such as Garmin G1000H
integrated avionics and a Turbomeca Arrius 2R engine with
computerized engine control. The engine was to have been run
for the first time on a test bench in April.

http://www.aopa.org/Pilot-Resources/Flying-Clubs http://www.aopa.org/Pilot-Resources/Flying-Clubs/Club-Resources http://www.aopa.org/Pilot-Resources/Flying-Clubs/Club-Resources http://FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

Flight Training - May 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - May 2014