AOPA works to reduce your cost of flying
From the very birth of powered flight, pilots have been concerned about cost. Two bicycle builders from Dayton, Ohio, had to literally mount an expedition, establish a camp, and ship their airplane to the windswept dunes of Kill Devil Hill, North Carolina, before the Wright Flyer could make its first historic hops. We have it easy by comparison — just hop in the car and drive to the nearest airport; and if you live on a residential airport, you can skip the part about the car.
The cost of flying was on the minds of AOPA's founders 58 years ago. "…To promote the economy, safety, and popularity of flight in aircraft…including the pilotage thereof," reads your association's original certificate of incorporation, written in 1939. Responding to your concerns, we reiterated this longstanding policy in 1996, reminding every AOPA staff member to clearly focus his or her priorities on those issues that impact pilots financially.
How expensive is general aviation flying today? In 1972, I rented a Cessna 150 for $15 per hour; fuel was 50 cents per gallon. Last year, the same FBO offered a Cessna 152, an updated version of the venerable 150, for $45 per hour — a 300-percent increase. But that comparison must be put into context. Because the cumulative rate of inflation from 1972 to 1996 was nearly 320 percent, the hourly rate for that 152 should have been $48. So even though the aircraft rental in this example costs considerably more today, it actually represents a better value.
What about aircraft ownership? In 1976, the typical new home cost $44,000, and a new Cessna 172 cost $32,000 — or 73 percent of the cost of the house. By 1996, a comparable new house cost $171,000 and a new-production Skyhawk cost about 78 percent of that, or $134,000. The relative values are essentially the same.
Nevertheless, we as pilots and aircraft owners would all benefit from lower flying costs. If it costs us less to fly, we could all fly more hours for the same expense. And not only would we get to spend more time in the sky, but our increased aeronautical activity would provide an important boost to the general aviation economy and improve pilot proficiency. Our industry is showing some signs of growth, much of it as a result of product liability reform legislation enacted in 1994 — but general aviation still faces many threats, including onerous new regulations, additional attempts to levy unnecessary user fees, and a declining pilot population.
Every aircraft owner potentially saved $115 last year when teamwork by AOPA and AOPA Legislative Action led to the termination of Federal Communications Commission aircraft radio station license fees and to the issuance of prorated refunds. In 1995, FCC had increased the cost of an aircraft radio station license from $15 for 3 years to $115 for 10 years. Although the actual cost per year increased slightly, paying these charges in one lump sum was an economic burden for many AOPA members. Congress had to be convinced to pass legislation ending the domestic license requirement. The licenses are still required for international flight, however.
AOPA petitioned the FAA to extend the duration of Class III airman medical certificates, and the FAA did. For pilots age 40 or younger, the duration of these certificates has increased from 2 to 3 years. This change is projected to save affected pilots $7.6 million over the next 6 years.
Another significant notice of proposed rulemaking issued by the FAA last year sought to impose expensive inspection and maintenance requirements on all aircraft equipped with Lycoming engines and fixed-pitch propellers. This would have impacted 77,100 aircraft worldwide, including 46,600 registered in the United States. As a result of much work by your association, the FAA has proposed to reduce the number of affected aircraft to 16,357; only 9,814 are U.S. registered. At a conservative estimate of $480 per inspection, multiplied by 60,743 aircraft, this reduction will save owners almost $30 million. Renters benefit, too, because these costs eventually would be reflected in higher hourly rental rates. An AOPA press release noted that the airworthiness directive originally proposed to address the Lycoming crankshaft issue would have cost $1 billion; it caught top-level attention at the FAA and helped to force a reexamination of the issue. Your association's efforts on this matter are continuing.
A covert attempt by the FAA to discontinue the primary radar function at half of the country's air route traffic control centers — by deleting maintenance money for the equipment, instead of following normal regulatory procedures — ultimately would have required a transponder with a Mode C encoder on board every aircraft flying above 6,000 feet msl. AOPA enlisted support from the entire aviation community for the retention of primary radar, and the FAA proposal was dropped.
Each landing and takeoff can be measured in dollars when general aviation operations cross international borders. After a 5-year push by your association for U.S. Customs Service reform, the Customs Service implemented the General Aviation Telephonic Entry program along the entire northern U.S. border as a test. Many pilots are beginning to take advantage of this fledgling program and fly directly to their Customs-approved airport, saving both time and fuel.
Numerous other initiatives had direct, tangible economic impact on you, our members. For example, an effort to restore personal property taxes on aircraft in Connecticut was defeated; fuel tax collections in Rhode Island were eliminated; and privately owned, public-use airports in Maryland received property tax relief. In addition, AOPA convinced the FAA to issue GPS notams whenever the military conducts intentional jamming of the signals; helped to redesign the San Diego Class B airspace, recommending a reduction in size, higher floors, suggested VFR routings, and the use of visible geographical landmarks as boundaries; and documented deficiencies of the proposed San Francisco Class B airspace, which resulted in the FAA's continuing to work with airspace users.
AOPA took on an international flavor in 1996 when Bill Peppler was appointed as your association's first national representative for Canada. Canadian general aviation pilots have not been represented at the International Civil Aviation Organization since the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) withdrew from the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations 3 years ago. To address this lack of representation, and because of the recent privatization of Canada's air navigation system — which is of significant concern to pilots in the United States and Canada alike — AOPA now represents more than 1,600 Canadian pilots. Our efforts in Canada are important to all North American pilots, considering the fact that more than 50,000 U.S. general aviation flights a year cross the Canadian border.
Your association distributed 484 press releases to the nation's aviation and general circulation press last year, informing them on key issues and demonstrating AOPA's leadership for general aviation. Proactive responses to the Jessica Dubroff crash and the collision at Quincy, Illinois, helped to ensure that the general public received accurate information on pilot certification standards and aircraft operations at uncontrolled fields. Your association had a much higher presence in national mass media during 1996 than previously, and the overall impression on the public was very positive.
We conducted 28 Pilot Town Meetings, informing 6,300 pilots and involving them in AOPA last year. The final meeting of the year, held in Boston on December 5, was my 100th. More than 23,000 pilots have attended these popular sessions since they began in 1991.
AOPA came to the grass roots during 1996 with the specially painted AOPA "Blueprint 182," The Spirit of Revitalization. This unique airborne ambassador stood in for the 1996 AOPA Sweepstakes airplane — Cessna's first new 182, which had not yet rolled off the assembly line in Independence, Kansas — and made more than 100 stops at airshows, fly-ins, and FBOs from coast to coast. Michael David Raisler, a 26-year-old Project Pilot Instructor CFI from Clermont, Florida, was selected at random as winner of the First New 182.
Three years ago, we launched the AOPA Aircraft Insurance Program. Since then, thousands of AOPA members have found it valuable because it is competitively priced and fills gaps in coverages, such as "family sublimits," which other policies use to reduce the amount of coverage available to members of your family. Because of this program's growth, the AOPA Insurance Agency now ranks as the largest pleasure and business aircraft insurance agency in the country.
AOPA has built upon this success by launching the AOPA Non-Owned Aircraft Insurance Program. Four out of five pilots rent or borrow aircraft when they fly, and the majority of renters believe that the FBO is providing coverage when they rent. Unfortunately, in most cases the FBO protects itself but provides little or no coverage for the renter. That's why rental insurance is so important, no matter what policy you buy. The AOPA Renters Insurance Program offers an excellent value and includes full family coverage without sublimits.
The AOPA Legal Services Plan reached a record high of more than 40,000 participants last year. This popular program continues to play a critical role in assisting AOPA members faced with medical certification problems or FAA enforcement actions resulting in fines, certificate suspensions, or certificate revocations. New coverage for the review of rental and tie-down/hangar agreements was extremely popular in 1996.
Your association's well-trained, professional staff answered more than 300,000 member calls on the Pilot Information Center (800/USA-AOPA) last year. These men and women, many of them pilots, regularly help members to get out of or avoid sticky situations both on the ground and in the air; they also help to reduce the cost of flying with maintenance tips, aircraft purchase assistance and valuations, and more. Other questions posed by callers involve membership administration, AOPA Air Safety Foundation seminars, chart orders, and our title and escrow services. This free center continues to be one of the most valuable member benefits offered by AOPA.
AOPA Online, your association's revised and updated Web site (www.aopa.org), was launched in December; in a matter of weeks, more than 10,000 of you had visited the site's new members-only area.
Reducing the cost of flying will continue to be a major focus of your association, as it has since 1939. We will continue to build on last year's work as we move through 1997, and we have some exciting new initiatives in the works as well.
Saving airports
Because the loss of irreplaceable downtown airports means inconvenience and increased travel expenses for members, your association last year led battles to save several such facilities. A major win last year was Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose, California, which will continue to operate as the primary reliever airport to San Jose International Airport. Loss of this vital facility would have forced the relocation of more than 400 based aircraft, burdening members with added travel time to the airport, higher operating costs in the form of delays in Class B or C airspace in the Bay Area, and increased monthly tiedown or hangar rental fees.
To demonstrate our support for Reid-Hillview, we chose it for the aircraft static displays during AOPA Expo '96 in San Jose last October. Attendance set a convention record of 9,068 people, and a record 382 exhibit booths were booked — more than in the previous year. Expo revenue exceeded $1 million for the first time.
In another example, AOPA became the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit filed in federal court against the City of Chicago, which closed lakefront Meigs Field. Direct-mail alerts went to every AOPA member in Illinois, and personal letters from me — along with color photos of the airport — were hand-delivered to each member of the Illinois legislature. Association staff met with state officials in Springfield. On December 6, the State of Illinois took decisive legislative action to seize control of Meigs Field from the City of Chicago, and a later agreement between the state and city guaranteed the airport's reopening for 5 years. If Chicago seeks to close the airport at that time, AOPA will resume the fight.
Reversing a disturbing trend
There is no question that product liability reform and the production of new aircraft are important to the future of general aviation. But it's the other side of the equation — new student pilot starts — that is the key to GA's growth. What good is a new airplane if there isn't anybody to fly it?
Unfortunately, student pilot starts are at the lowest point since the end of World War II. That's why your association teamed up with the General Aviation Manufacturers Association to launch GA Team 2000. The industrywide educational and promotional "Stop Dreaming, Start Flying" campaign to bring new people into aviation now has more than 100 founding members, representing all aspects of GA. Most important, competing companies, organizations, and magazines are working together to raise student pilot starts back to nearly 100,000 per year by the turn of the century, compared to the current 60,000.
GA Team 2000 complements AOPA's Project Pilot programs, which will continue. In AOPA Project Pilot Mentor, an AOPA member nominates a friend, coworker, or family member as a prospective pilot. The mentor's role is to answer questions, help the individual to find a flight school, and provide encouragement throughout the flight-training process. AOPA provides the student with a kit that includes an informative videotape and a special issue of AOPA Pilot, and both mentor and student will receive regular newsletters to help them through the process. At the end of last year, a total of 15,439 mentors had enrolled 19,629 students in the program.
AOPA Project Pilot Instructor, on the other hand, provides CFIs with information that will help them to be more effective in their critical roles. With more than 50,000 flight instructors on our membership rolls, AOPA represents the world's largest membership of CFIs. When 1996 came to a close, 6,311 active flight instructors were enrolled in Project Pilot Instructor, an exclusive benefit just for CFIs.
Leveraging your membership dues
As an AOPA member, you receive more in benefits from your association than the $39 you pay in annual dues — an additional $57.47 last year, to be exact. AOPA uses advertising revenues, royalties from the use of AOPA products and services, and other income to help keep general aviation strong and your dues low. I am proud to note that membership dues have not increased in 6 years.
AOPA products and services provided revenue of almost $8.2 million last year, which was 10 percent above 1995. This impressive revenue growth resulted from increased popularity of these programs with you, the member, as reflected in AOPA credit card acquisitions and purchase activity, AOPA Financial Services Program deposits, and the AOPA Legal Services Plan. Member participation in and revenue from the AOPA Travelers Club doubled in 1996.
Administration of AOPA's Aircraft Financing Program moved last year to MBNA America, which already operated the AOPA credit card program and provided the AOPA-endorsed financial services products. Our program continues to be the only national aircraft lender that does not charge any fees or points, and it offers members-only rates that are generally lower than can be found elsewhere.
The number of members carrying an AOPA credit card grew by 12 percent last year, while the money market and CD programs grew by 23 and 50 percent, respectively. AOPA launched the new Platinum version of the AOPA credit card with higher credit limits, lower rates, and enhanced benefits. We also started the new AOPA Installment Loan Program, which features no fees, low rates, and fixed repayment terms for purchases ranging from avionics to engine overhauls to home improvements.
Advertising revenue from AOPA Pilot and AOPA's Airport Directory, your renamed and enhanced annual reference book, totaled $7.7 million last year. Both publications continued efforts to reduce their production costs, freeing money for important advocacy issues.
Setting the record straight
AOPA responded immediately and aggressively to the national press following the death of Jessica Dubroff, her father, and her flight instructor in the crash of a Cessna Cardinal in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on April 11. The 7-year-old was attempting to become the youngest girl to fly an airplane across the country.
I appeared on CNN's Larry King Live and ABC's Good Morning America and conducted numerous other network TV and radio interviews. Other staff members answered the media's telephoned questions almost continually, providing more than 100 interviews during the 48 hours following the accident.
AOPA interviews were published or quoted by the Associated Press, United Press International, The New York Times, Newsweek, Time, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Examiner, and countless other publications. Our public-relations effort defused public outrage and finger-pointing; combined with AOPA Legislative Action's skilled lobbying, it helped to avoid onerous knee-jerk legislation that might have devastated organized programs that introduce young people to flight.
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