Air Safety Institute Senior Vice President and former Naval aviator George Perry has joined the Civil Air Patrol’s Board of Governors, CAP announced June 10.
With a diverse background in military and general aviation, Perry plans to help build on the organization’s traditions for safety innovation and ensure operational safety moving forward, according to a CAP media release. He held many senior aviation safety leadership positions during his time in the Navy and has led AOPA’s Air Safety Institute since 2014.
Perry learned to fly in a Cessna 152 as a teenager and stayed involved in GA through a 20-year career in the U.S. Navy. An F-18 and F-14 pilot and instructor with airline transport pilot, instrument instructor, and multiengine instructor certificates, he completed his Navy career as an F-18E squadron commanding officer and later joined Cirrus Aircraft as its director for fleet, government, and special mission sales before coming on board with AOPA.
Both AOPA and CAP, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, have a strong focus on safety and getting youth involved in aviation, and Perry’s new role with the CAP will build on that common purpose. Perry will bring his experience at the helm of the Air Safety Institute, which offers free education to pilots, to his work with the CAP chief of safety.
“Proper training, a healthy respect for risk management and thorough preparation helps mitigate risks,” Perry said. “You can truly enjoy all the things that make life worth living if you do them safely.”
Members of the CAP perform continental U.S. inland search-and-rescue missions as well as homeland security, disaster relief, and drug interdiction missions, and serve as mentors to young people in cadet programs.
