AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2019 - 6

PRESIDENT'S POSITION

Eighty years later

BY MARK BAKER
President and CEO

The freedom to fly is alive and well
SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO STOP AND LOOK at where
we've come from in order to understand where we
are going. Think about it: five guys sitting around a
table at Wings Field outside Philadelphia in 1939 (see
"The Foremost Advocate," p. 50). Do you suppose they
ever wondered, "Hmm...what's this going to look like
in 80 years?"
I think they would be surprised and proud of what
we as a community have done. The freedom to fly they
set out to protect that day is alive and well here in the
twenty-first century.
I believe that the richness of AOPA's story needs
to be celebrated. It's really the members who have
made the organization what it is today. The staff and
leadership over the years have worked hard to cre-

Because of general aviation, we know what
it is to have an unrivaled view of the world.
The circular rainbows dancing on the edges
of clouds, the morning light that bathes every
scene in an almost magical glow.

AOPA President
MARK BAKER

bought his first
airplane, a 1968
Cessna 150, while
in college.

6 | AOPA PILOT May 2019

ate an organization full of useful benefits that people
choose to belong to.
Remember, this is not like union dues. People have
a choice and we are grateful that so many have chosen to become members-and stay members, often
for decades. I've met countless members who proudly
share with me the date they joined, their member
numbers, their pins. That's what I want to celebrate.
That's a pride we need to share.
I've been a member of AOPA since I learned to fly
in the 1970s. Like many others, I had a vague awareness of how the organization started. But when I was
given the opportunity-the responsibility-to lead this
association in 2013, the first thing I did was read up
on its history, because I wanted to understand what
the founders were trying to do when they formed it
as the winds of war were blowing around the world.
What was their intent, and were we as an organization upholding those principles that they held in such
high regard?
I am pleased to see that we are upholding those
principles and that AOPA is still true to its mission

to protect the freedom to fly. As a result of this organization, general aviation in the United States is the
envy of the world.
While we pause here to reflect on our past, we
must constantly look to the future as the regulatory
and economic challenges faced by pilots in other
countries are constantly lapping at our shores. Our
tireless vigilance allows general aviation to thrive here
like nowhere else. You'll see that, decade after decade,
the organization overcame obstacle after obstacle to
keep general aviation alive.
The story of AOPA's rich history dovetails with the
growth of general aviation. AOPA's birth before World
War II ensured our access to the skies during that turbulent time and proved the value of light airplanes and
an engaged pilot population. That foundation served
general aviation well when, after the war, the industry surged and airplanes became a part of society in a
way the Wright brothers could never have imagined.
Because of general aviation, we know what it is to
have an unrivaled view of the world. The circular rainbows dancing on the edges of clouds; the morning light
that bathes every scene in an almost magical glow; the
welcome sight of home from 1,000 feet above-we are
lucky to glimpse these views.
Today some 5,000 public airports and another
15,000 landing facilities of one sort or another support our fleet of nearly 200,000 aircraft and some
600,000 pilots. This didn't all just happen by itself.
AOPA, with the support of its growing membership
over the decades, nudged, cajoled, and led government and industry to understand the importance of
this activity we call general aviation-the recreational
and business use of personal aircraft.
This freedom to fly is uniquely American, and it is
that intertwined story of government, industry, and
association that you will see on the pages of this anniversary issue. It could not happen anywhere else, but it
did happen here-and this is how it happened. AOPA
EMAIL mark@aopa.org

Read more in Freedom to Fly: AOPA and the
History of General Aviation in America, available
for $39.95.
www.aopa.org/freedomtoflybook

http://www.aopa.org/freedomtoflybook

AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2019