AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2019 - 6

PRESIDENT'S POSITION

A family affair

BY MARK BAKER
President and CEO

Oshkosh brings aviation together

AOPA President
MARK BAKER

will speak to
members in a Pilot
Town Hall at EAA
AirVenture.

6 | AOPA PILOT August 2019

FOR ONE WEEK IN MID-SUMMER, Wisconsin's Wittman
Regional Airport boasts the world's greatest aviation
celebration as nearly 10,000 aircraft and a crowd of
more than 600,000 gather for endless aeronautical
activities. Walking around the flight line and seeing the
iconic brown arch signals we've arrived at our annual
family reunion-minus the clashing personalities, political debates, and opinionated Uncle Earl. To the average
bystander, it's just another airshow, but to pilots and
aviation enthusiasts, it's the homecoming we've been
waiting for.
Arriving at Oshkosh is a rite of passage. Whether it's
your first time or you've been coming for the past 50 years,
it's an exhilarating tradition. Aircraft from every decade,
thrilling aerobatic airshows, educational workshops and
seminars, and one unforgettable campground. It's the gettogether of a lifetime, but it's the people that lure us back
year after year. They're the family we never knew we had.
Just as family reunions come with a cast of characters
from all walks of life, EAA AirVenture is host to hundreds
of aircraft of all different types.
Take the vintage aircraft. They're like our grandparents reminding us of our history and eras past. Then
there's the popular crowd, the Cessnas and Pipers-classics in most GA families. The aerobatic aircraft are like the
jocks of aviation; they live to show off and compete. Then
there are the tech-savvy drones, the newest addition to
our airspace. We'll call them the millennials.
No matter what you fly or what aircraft you're passionate about, there are thousands more like you, just
waiting to hang out at Oshkosh. I've learned the best way
to keep in touch with these friends throughout the year
is by joining a type club or a local flying club.
I've been a regular at AirVenture over the decades-
long before I became president of AOPA-and I am
constantly amazed at the magnitude of our GA community. Wide-eyed kids gazing up at the aerobatic performers
pulling negative Gs takes me back to when I first found
the spark. My childhood was spent riding my bike to the
local airport and bumming rides off anyone who would
take me flying. I later got my wings in my twenties and
have never looked back.
But flying is often an elusive dream to those who don't
come from an aviation background. Someone planted the
aviation seed in me, and as flight instructors, airport managers, performers, or casual weekend fliers, it's up to us to
spark that enthusiasm in someone else. There are so many

opportunities and thrills that come with being a part of
this tight-knit community, so it's a bit alarming to read
headline after headline of an impending pilot shortage.
Thankfully the numbers are heading in the right
direction. The number of original certificates, active aircraft, new aircraft shipments, and AOPA memberships
have increased over the past two years. In 2018, the number of student pilot certificates issued was up 18 percent;
private certificates were up 17 percent; and commercial
certificates up 16 percent.
Many of the positive trends can be attributed to organizations striving to make flying more accessible and
affordable. Some 55,000 pilots are now flying under
BasicMed, the simpler aviation medical program. AOPA's
You Can Fly program is improving experiences for pilots
and encouraging them to stay active. You Can Fly's Rusty
Pilots initiative has seen huge success in getting more than
7,000 lapsed pilots back in the air.
From older pilots to younger pilots, it's clear You Can
Fly is making a difference. You Can Fly's High School
Aviation STEM curriculum will be implemented in
more than 160 schools for the 2019-2020 school year;
141 schools will be teaching the ninth grade courses and
118 schools will be teaching the tenth grade courses. The
curriculum introduces students to careers in aviation and
shows them the dream is within reach.
But AOPA isn't working alone to build our pilot
population. We are working collaboratively with other
organizations, industry leaders, and community groups
to attract more people to aviation and keep flying exciting. It also helps when we see generous donations pouring
in to support work done through the AOPA Foundation
and the Ray Foundation, which supports all of these initiatives helping us attract new pilots.
AOPA has never strayed from its mission to make
flying safe, fun, and affordable, but we can't do it alone.
It's up to us as individuals to introduce friends, family,
and kids to aviation and show them what is attainable.
Would you be where you are today if someone hadn't
introduced you to aviation? It's time we invite as many
as we can to our next family reunion, whether it's "the
World's Greatest Aviation Celebration"; the AOPA
regional fly-in at Tullahoma, Tennessee, in September;
or just your neighborhood airport. We can all make a
difference.
AOPA
EMAIL mark@aopa.org

AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2019

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