Record-breaking attendance signals a strong outlook for general aviation
Long Beach, California, is a good a yardstick to measure aviation's progress. In the 1920s biplanes took off on a crescent-shaped beach in ocean spray and landed before the tides washed away their tracks. After city officials set aside land for California's first municipal airport, aviation became an integral part of the economy. In fact, today Boeing is the city's largest employer, with at least 17,850 employees. This is the same place where Donald Douglas started building airplanes. So it was here that some 10,800 people gathered from October 20 through 22 to realize the strength of general aviation.
But the record turnout at AOPA Expo 2000 didn't come without a few obstacles. Fog hung around on Friday, the opening day, and didn't clear until the winds picked up the following day. And there was a radar glitch that delayed airline flights earlier in the week. By Sunday, though, the sun was shining.
For Dick Ryan, traveling to Expo was easy since he bases his Cessna 172 in Long Beach. At last year's Expo in Atlantic City, New Jersey, he missed the award for longest distance traveled by 10 miles. He doesn't call himself a pilot, but rather an aviation "addict"; his 172 with tuned exhaust "flies like a scalded cat."
"This year I taxied here," he said, fresh from laughing all the way through one of Rod Machado's seminars.
Then there was Anthony Lattanzio from Rensselaer, New York, a veteran of at least 13 Expos. He flew the airlines and spent some quality time in a holding pattern after a radar facility in Palmdale, California, temporarily shut down following the installation of updated computer software.
While many drove to Expo from throughout Los Angeles County and beyond, Herman Ezzell flew his Cirrus SR20 all the way from Sarasota, Florida. Just outside of Tucson, Arizona, he encountered a dissipating thunderstorm where he had to draw on his experience as an Army pilot flying Grumman OV–1 Mohawks in Vietnam. While flying IFR at 12,000 feet he entered a cloud. "All hell broke loose with the hail to match, and I couldn't get the autopilot turned off fast enough," he said. Ezzell said he was spit out at 15,000 feet. The hail damaged the paint and the fiberglass wing tips, but the airplane was still flyable, he said, as he was returning from the static display at the airport and planning to fly to Las Vegas later that day.
Talk of aviation was as thick as the coastal fog throughout the three-day event. On shuttle buses to and from the airport there was a steady buzz of performance figures. A woman outside the convention center after the first day was bouncing along, excitedly talking on a cellular phone. "We sold an airplane today," she said. And AOPA members moved in steady streams up and down escalators in and out of the 224,000-square-foot exhibit hall. "How is it possible that the seminar could be that packed?" one man said to another on Sunday.
Inside the exhibit hall or out at the static display—Expo included more than 500 exhibits, 80 aircraft, 82 seminar topics, and 70 product demonstrations—was a dizzying cross section of the GA community. There was the usual large crowd hovering around Garmin, catchy reflecting pools at Jeppesen Sanderson's booth, and aircraft mock-ups with fresh finger and nose prints. There was also plenty of free stuff, enough to quickly fill a baggage compartment. Luckily, Dave and Ronda Holmes of Palmdale drove. They were toting bags and armfuls of trade show trinkets, including a skateboard he had won. "We're having a good time," he said.
The registration lines were a good indication that attendance was up. AOPA President Phil Boyer was studying the numbers, and by the afternoon of the second day it was clear that a record was about to be broken. By the end of the show, 10,816 people had attended. That surpassed last year's 9,749 figure in Atlantic City and tripled New Orleans' 3,601 in 1991 (Boyer's first Expo as president).
Besides being a celebration of AOPA and general aviation, it was a time to honor an organization that has been around for half a century (see " ASF at 50," November Pilot). "This is a big happy birthday to the [AOPA] Air Safety Foundation," Boyer said during the first of three general sessions.
ASF's mission statement is to "save lives through pilot education." Speaking of missions, Dick Hiner, ASF vice president of training, sees himself as an aviation evangelist, charged with getting the word out to the flock. In the past year ASF talked to 30,000 pilots, conducted more than 200 safety seminars, and renewed more flight instructor certificates than any other entity. As ASF Executive Director Bruce Landsberg pointed out, safety affects the whole aviation community. A single crash can spur an airworthiness directive or cause insurance rates to go up. With an ambitious fund-raising effort, ASF continues on its pilgrimage toward a higher level of aviation safety.
The following day ASF was congratulated on its fiftieth anniversary by FAA Administrator Jane Garvey, who stood before a tough crowd in a packed auditorium. "I'm going to have to ask you to thank us today," Boyer said to Garvey, referring to AOPA's help in the passage of AIR-21 legislation that unlocked the aviation trust fund and allowed more money for airports and the FAA's budget. "And please spend it wisely," he added.
Garvey said that 2000 was the safest year for general aviation, with the fatal accident rate down 9 percent from the same period a year ago. She also congratulated ASF and AOPA for helping to curb runway incursions, streamline the AD process, and reduce the medical certification backlog. She extended kudos to the AOPA Airport Support Network for letting the FAA know when there's a problem at an airport. Garvey also presented an amended type certificate to the Micco Aircraft Company for the SP26, a more powerful version of the SP20 that received certification last January.
Saturday was by far the busiest day—and a good time to be an aircraft manufacturer. As many as 20 people at a time crowded around to watch a video about Stemme motorgliders. Besides the obvious details, they wanted to know how Marc Arnold flew an S10-V 3,000 miles on eight gallons of gas. Out at the static display at the airport, Eva Loyd, who was acting as a sales representative for Stemme, was happy to see couples approach the composite ship, knowing that the decision for airplane ownership has to go through a democratic process—at least in most marriages. "When people crawl in and keep coming back, you can tell they're interested," she said. Other manufacturers noted brisk sales. In terms of total sales, though, Liberty Aerospace may have left everybody on the tarmac. The company sold 10 of its new XL–2 training airplanes.
When people weren't signing aircraft contracts, they could tour the Queen Mary on Queensway Bay or see the Aquarium of the Pacific just outside the convention center. There were also plenty of events to keep people busy at night, such as the Hollywood party where people were greeted outside by throngs of "admiring fans." The entertainment highlight was the Capitol Steps comedy troupe, which performed at the closing banquet Sunday night. The former Capitol Hill workers attempted to be funnier than Congress by performing such songs as "Clinton's Libido Loco" and "Don't Cry for Me, Giuliani." They also asked tough rhetorical questions such as "What would Al Gore say if he were alive today?" And "If a politician eats a rat, is he truly guilty of cannibalism?"
On cue, all the AOPA employees in the audience surprised Boyer by rushing the stage and holding up signs and chanting "10 more years." Boyer was celebrating his tenth anniversary with AOPA and vowed to keep annual membership dues at $39 for another year.
For those who couldn't attend Expo, AOPA once again offered an improved virtual experience on AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org/expo/). During the show, people could check the weather and event schedule; see panoramic iPix photos; read the latest association and industry news; view color images of Expo highlights; and, through a special deal with Flight Explorer, actually watch aircraft arriving and departing with real-time tracking software.
A number of people were honored at Expo for strengthening, in one way or another, the threads that make up the fabric of general aviation. Gary D. Parsons of Hawthorne, California, was the winner of the Laurence P. Sharples Award, AOPA's highest award for defending general aviation by a person who is not employed full time in GA or by the government. One of the first Airport Support Network volunteers, Parsons has been leading a local pilot effort to defeat every recent attempt to close Hawthorne Municipal Airport (Jack Northrop Field), just east of Los Angeles International (LAX). The large, single-runway airport is a key reliever airport, a GA alternative to LAX, and provides air access to the nearby cluster of major aerospace industries. He has been fighting to get locals to see the airport as a magnet for industry and not let developers turn it into a shopping mall.
AOPA's Hartranft Award, which recognizes a government official for contributions to general aviation during the previous year, went to Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.). "When the AIR-21 process stalled in late 1999, Sen. Lott shouldered the challenge, pulled the conferees together, and addressed concerns regarding the legislation in the Senate. AIR-21 succeeded in committee, and in the Senate, because of Trent Lott's leadership," Boyer said.
In other awards, Rinker Buck of The Hartford Courant won the Max Karant Journalism Award in the print category for his coverage of the John F. Kennedy Jr. tragedy. The award is given for fair, accurate, and insightful coverage (see " AOPA Action"). TV newsman Steve Grant, anchorman at KYTV in Springfield, Missouri, won Karant honors for his coverage of an airport improvement controversy in a nearby Missouri town. Scott Thompson of KOTV in Tulsa, Oklahoma, took home Karant honors for covering the last production facility for Funk airplanes. And the Karant radio winner was Susan Wiencek, news director of WNND-FM in Chicago, for her story about Chicago's Lifeline Pilots organization.
With the record turnout, how will the GA community fare next year? There are some positive indicators as AOPA staff members make serious headway on hosting Expo 2001 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, November 8 through 10. AOPA's membership has exceeded 365,000, the highest it's ever been, and the pilot population is slowly growing. A key to growth is the industry's Be A Pilot program that was built upon AOPA's original research.
Drew Steketee, AOPA's senior vice president of communications for nine years, was officially introduced by Boyer at Expo 2000 as Be A Pilot's new president and CEO. It will be his goal to strengthen a once-mysterious factor that predicted the health of the GA community: new student starts. As research showed, when the student pilot figures go down, everything from used aircraft registrations to fuel consumption drops off. "We need to reach out to today's generation, which is very different from the past," Steketee said. "And I want to be the Johnny Appleseed of learning to fly."
New Benefits for AOPA Members
A number of new programs and benefits were announced at AOPA Expo 2000. From better credit card deals to charts on the Internet, the following is a rundown of the new things you'll be getting as an AOPA member:
- The return on the AOPA FBO Rebate Program has been nearly doubled. Beginning January 1, members who use an AOPA Visa or MasterCard at any qualified FBO can request a 5-percent credit rebate for eligible purchases, including aircraft rentals, flight instruction, maintenance, pilot supplies, and fuel. Qualified FBOs are listed in the AOPA Airport Directory and online ( www.aopa.org/members/airports/).
- Starting in January, AOPA members will be able to download from AOPA Online for free current NOS instrument approach procedures (IAPs), standard terminal arrivals (STARs), departure procedures (DPs), and all change notices for the United States. Another enhancement to the Airport Directory Online that will be available on the first of the year is being able to download the entire database to home computers and Palm-based electronic organizers.
- Also beginning in January, AOPA members will be eligible to participate in a special AOPA-certified auto insurance program with aviation-related enhancements and low rates. Underwritten by member companies of American International Group Inc. (AIG), the program, for instance, waives a portion of the deductible if your car is damaged in an airport parking lot while you're flying. More details on the program will be forthcoming.
- The free ePilot e-mail newsletter has been growing quickly ever since it was launched in October 1999. As it nears the 200,000-circulation mark, AOPA staff members have been working to customize the weekly publication. Starting with calendar items, members will get information specific to their geographic regions. The plan is to eventually expand it to include other things such as aircraft-specific airworthiness directives. To sign up for ePilot, see AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org/members/files/pilot/epilot/).
- The AOPA Air Safety Foundation and Jeppesen Sanderson Inc. have teamed up to offer CFI renewals over the Internet. And help is only a telephone call or e-mail message away. The course costs $149. For more information, see AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2000/00-4-007.html).
- The member recognition program has been expanded. All pilots who have been AOPA members for 10 and 20 years will receive special lapel pins. The pins will be mailed to pilots the month after their anniversaries. AOPA will do a special mailing this month to pilots who have already passed the 10- and 20-year marks. — NAF
Visit AOPA's Virtual Expo ( www.aopa.org/expo/). E-mail the author at [email protected].
