1999 AOPA Annual Report

Core values for the new-tech millennium

A lot has changed in general aviation since the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association was founded in Philadelphia in 1939. The airplanes that we rent and own are more sophisticated and more reliable. Radio navigation matured, and the signals that many of us now use to determine our location come from satellites orbiting 11,000 miles overhead. Instrument flight, decades ago a novelty for general aviation, has become a routine poor-weather option for more than half of us.

But a lot has remained constant during the past 60 years. Then as now, potential airport closures threatened general aviation's utility. Almost since the Wright brothers, pilots have been concerned about onerous and unnecessary government regulation. The cost of flying was as important to AOPA members in 1939 as it was in 1999.

In short, your association's core values have not changed in six decades. AOPA was formed "to promote, protect, and represent the interests of the members; to further the art, science, and industry of aeronautics and the pursuit of flying; [and] to promote the economy, safety, and popularity of flight in aircraft, including the pilotage thereof," according to the association's certificate of incorporation. Those words ring every bit as true today as they did in 1939.

Although the organization's core values remain the same, technology is bringing tremendous change to member service as we approach the new millennium and prepare to enter the next century. How will your association continue to uphold its high standards for member service in the coming decades?

The Internet's World Wide Web, essentially an easy-to-use, globe-encircling computer network, will be one very large part of the answer to that question. Your association's Web site, AOPA Online, is alone in its class among association Web sites. It's the largest membership association site in terms of information available to members — there simply are no other sites that offer so much data. And this resource is available to you 24 hours per day, seven days a week. When you need information, you're not limited to the office hours at AOPA's Frederick, Maryland, headquarters.

AOPA Online has already changed the way that we do business. The editors of AOPA Pilot ( www.aopa.org/pilot/), for example, used to work all month to produce the beautiful color magazine that arrives regularly in your mailbox. They still do that, of course, but each weekday they also post current general aviation news to the Web site ( www.aopa.org/members/). Similarly, your legislative affairs staff in Washington, D.C., provides frequent updates ( www.aopa.org/whatsnew/caphill.cfm) that inform you within hours of significant developments on Capitol Hill affecting GA. The Web site also allows us to inform you of temporary airspace restrictions issued with little advance notice.

More than 165,000 of you regularly use the members-only area of AOPA's Web site — viewing some 25 million pages of information during the year. Among the online products added or enhanced during 1999 were improved aviation weather reporting, with graphics and data from DTN ( www.aopa.org/members/wx/); AOPA's new flight-planning service ( www.aopa.org/members/plan.html); AOPA's Airport Directory ( www.aopa.org/members/airports/); and the AOPA aircraft valuation service, which features pricing data from Vref ( www.aopa.org/members/vref/). These services continue to be among the Web site's most popular pages.

In addition to all these updates and new information, your association's staff has provided a wide variety of electronic references and resources — all available around the clock. Misplace your membership guidebook? There's a complete online directory ( www.aopa.org/info/guidebook/) of all the benefits and services that you can receive as an AOPA member.

AOPA Expo 1999, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, was another "not to miss" annual convention. A record attendance of 9,749 people were treated to an expanded seminar program, exciting social events, and a remarkable 414 exhibitors. If you weren't able to make it, AOPA Online produced an online "virtual Expo" ( www.aopa.org/expo/). Expo was a success despite the deplorable condition of Atlantic City's Bader Field, cited in a General Accounting Office report as an example of failed FAA airport oversight. Another page on the Web site offers information about Expo 2000 ( www.aopa.org/expo/), which will take place in Long Beach, California, this October.

The refurbishment of AOPA's 1999 sweepstakes airplane, the Aero SUV — a highly modified 1976 Cessna 206 — was featured throughout the year in AOPA Pilot, with additional updates on AOPA Online. It's not too late to check them out — and yes, there are updates on this year's project, the Millennium Mooney ( www.aopa.org/pilot/mooney/).

We're proud of the many awards that your Web site has garnered, but we're particularly pleased that it has received the Britannica Internet Guide Award and has been honored as a select site by the Dow Jones Business Directory. These prestigious honors aren't so much for the Web site itself — it's simply another vehicle for communication, after all — but for the vast array of information conveniently available to members through the site.

The business of information

Through calls to AOPA's toll-free Pilot Information Center, e-mail messages, and queries from the Web site, AOPA's aviation technical staff served more than 134,000 members in 1999. Renewals, changes of address, and other membership matters accounted for another 200,000 member contacts. Prompt, comprehensive replies helped to keep member satisfaction high. One major disappointment was the delayed issuance of many airman medical certificates. Each week your association's medical certification staff handled hundreds of member cases involving delays in processing medicals — up significantly over 1998. Meanwhile, the FAA's backlog for processing deferred medicals more than doubled during the same period.

Research to fulfill member requests results in the updating and creation of a variety of information products available for free on the Web site ( www.aopa.org/members/files/), including numerous detailed subject reports ( www.aopa.org/members/files/topics/).

Some 300 news releases were issued on subjects of importance to AOPA members and general aviation, ranging from user fees and the FAA's proposed "ticket" program to continuing the publication of world aeronautical charts. The Wide Area Augmentation System, an enhancement to GPS promised to provide satellite-based precision approach capability, received considerable attention in 1999. The program bogged down in a debate about the system's capabilities and cost, but showed signs of progress early this year. Other hot topics included an airworthiness directive affecting many turbocharged twin Cessna airplanes, exemptions from drug-testing requirements for charity flights, and land-and-hold-short operations at tower-controlled airports. Technology allowed us to distribute news and accompanying photography faster through e-mail and automated fax systems. AOPA news releases, as well as reports of activity by our regional representatives, are available on — you guessed it — AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org/sitemap.shtml).

Late in the year we were pleased to introduce ePilot, a free weekly e-mail newsletter. ePilot has been very well received, and more than 120,000 of you now read it every Friday morning. AOPA Online offers back issues and a subscription-request form if you don't already receive ePilot ( www.aopa.org/members/files/pilot/epilot/).

Adding new roles

To better serve student pilots, your association in the last days of 1998 purchased Flight Training magazine. Last year, AOPA Flight Training was moved in stages to AOPA headquarters, and its staff worked to build on the magazine's strong orientation to primary flight training. Astute readers will notice that we have made only minor changes to the magazine.

As part of the process, we launched a new AOPA Flight Training Web site ( http://flighttraining.aopa.org). This site allows aviation enthusiasts and new student pilots to register for a trial membership in AOPA. In addition, users of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 can go to this site for more information on flying, to find out about learning to fly, and for aviation technical support.

Students nominated to AOPA's Project Pilot program by AOPA-member mentors now receive a free six-month subscription to AOPA Flight Training, instead of the newsletters previously provided. Similarly, Project Pilot Instructor was combined with the AOPA Flight Training Instructor Program. Noted CFI, writer, and aviation humorist Rod Machado posts a monthly safety tip online for the instructor program.

In addition, we continued our support of the industry-wide Be-A-Pilot program. AOPA helped the coalition use the targeted medium of cable TV to reach thousands of highly motivated flight-training prospects. Our focus on the Internet helped the group obtain results beyond that of TV advertising alone. What's even more important is that the strategy is working — the number of student pilot certificates held in 1999 was up 4.4 percent, and the U.S. pilot population increased by 3.5 percent.

The Kennedy crisis

AOPA moved as fast as modern communications technology demanded when the national spotlight focused on John F. Kennedy Jr.'s tragic crash off Martha's Vineyard last July. As the world awoke to news of the search for Kennedy's missing airplane, your association's staff began what would total 150 media interviews in four days. The emphasis was on countering misconceptions and bias against general aviation and small-airplane flying. The unprecedented effort won kudos throughout the aviation industry, including editorials from aviation officials and editors across the nation. Most gratifying was a coveted Aviation Week and Space Technology "Laurel" — essentially an aviation Oscar — awarded to members of the AOPA team.

Intense scrutiny of GA's safety record, pilot training, and flight regulations followed the initial round of interviews. Eventually there were proposals to ban night VFR flying, along with the inevitable calls for Congress to "do something." We addressed a House aviation subcommittee hearing on aviation weather the week after the crash. A detailed presentation dispelled myths about VFR night flying and pilot training. And in an unprecedented move, a CFI on AOPA's staff used a flight simulator program — with the video image projected on the hearing-room wall — to emphasize our points with a graphic demonstration. As a result, the subcommittee declared that Congress should wait for the National Transportation Safety Board's findings about the accident before taking any action.

Legislative initiatives

When the 1998 FAA reauthorization bill failed over a disagreement about landing and takeoff slots at Washington's Reagan National Airport, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) immediately dubbed 1999 the "year of aviation" and began developing a sweeping piece of aviation legislation now known as AIR-21. Shuster, along with ranking Democrat Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.), developed the AIR-21 bill in an inclusive fashion, and AOPA legislative staff worked closely with members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for House passage.

Similar legislation to take the Airport and Airway Trust Fund off budget had barely failed to pass the House on previous occasions, and AOPA members in key congressional districts were asked to contact their elected representative in support of the legislation. The House passed AIR-21 on June 15. In October the Senate passed a bill that did not include the House's special budget treatment that would permit all aviation trust fund monies to be fully spent on aviation. Furthermore, the general fund contribution had been totally eliminated.

If AIR-21 was going to become law, the House position would need to prevail in the conference committee established to write the final version of the bill. But Shuster and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) immediately clashed over "unlocking" the trust fund. No agreement was possible before Congress adjourned in November.

In order to bolster the House position, early in 2000 AOPA issued a National Pilot Alert to all 355,000-plus AOPA members, encouraging them to write to their senators in support of AIR-21. The timing of the National Pilot Alert and your thoughtful responses to your senators were perfect. A deal was struck for $40 billion in FAA funding over the next three years, with $33 billion coming from the trust fund and the remainder from the general fund.

Although the issue wasn't resolved until early this year, general aviation has fared very well in the legislation. AOPA initiatives pertaining to the protections of pilots' rights during emergency certificate revocations, the transfer of the aeronautical charting function from NOAA to the FAA, and new protections against the closure of airports or release of airport property without prior notice were retained in the final bill. The airport protections in particular were the direct result of an AOPA request to Congress, and the need was reinforced by the GAO report blasting the FAA's stewardship of airports. The FAA reauthorization bill and associated assurances of stable funding were all the more important because of the FAA's apparent inability to harness new technology and more capable computers to handle the growth of air traffic — especially that of major and regional airlines — on a timely basis. GA's needs were relatively minor by comparison, but even the small OASIS computer modernization program for flight service stations was literally decades late and failing to meet expectations.

Saving airports

Of course, the cost of flying becomes irrelevant when there's no GA-friendly airport near your destination — or, even worse, no airport at all. One problem last year forced AOPA to the mat with city and airport officials in San Jose, California, where the expansion of San Jose International was not backed by promised facilities for displaced light aircraft at Reid-Hillview Airport and other nearby facilities. Continued urbanization and several high-profile crashes in New Jersey, protesting neighbors at Solberg-Hunterdon and Central Jersey Regional airports, and parking facilities eliminated by expansion at Teterboro and Morristown airports presented the same specter on the East Coast: fewer places for light aircraft and no alternatives.

To meet such challenges, AOPA continued to refine its Airport Support Network ( www.aopa.org/asn/) during 1999, and by year's end volunteers were in place at more than 700 public-use airports across the nation. ASN volunteers use e-mail and the Web site as their primary means of communication, both with AOPA and with each other.

Important partnerships

Your association requires much more revenue than is generated by your $39 annual dues payment in order to maintain current levels of member service. Advertising sales in AOPA Pilot, AOPA Flight Training, AOPA ePilot, and AOPA's Airport Directory play a key role in funding important programs such as the Airport Support Network, AOPA Project Pilot, and myriad legislative initiatives. But even that isn't enough.

More than a third of AOPA's annual revenue is earned from royalties resulting from member use of AOPA Certified products and services ( www.aopa.org/info/certified/). That income has allowed your association to hold annual dues at $39 for an incredible 10 consecutive years — and no dues increase for 2000 extends that run to 11 years.

The AOPA credit card program ( www.aopa.org/info/certified/creditcards.html), which features a 3-percent rebate on all qualifying purchases charged at FBOs, by the end of 1999 had put more than $2.4 million into members' wallets. This benefit, paid by credit card issuer MBNA America — not AOPA or your FBO — has made the credit card one of our strongest member-supported programs. No other aviation organization so directly helps pilots cut the cost of flying.

Last year the AOPA Insurance Agency ( www.aopa.org/info/certified/ia-own.html) had more than 20,000 active policies in place, a record high. Realizing that one policy is not going to be right for every member, we introduced several new insurance products last year. Insurance for rented aircraft ( www.aopa.org/info/certified/ia-rent.html) has especially grown; AOPA is one of few insurers offering that product. The Web site offers both product information and an online application.

We continue to see strong participation in our other programs, such as the Aviation AD&D insurance ( www.aopa.org/info/certified/aviationadd.html) and Legal Services Plan ( www.aopa.org/info/certified/lsp.html). Our Aircraft Financing ( www.aopa.org/info/certified/afp.html) and Title and Escrow ( www.aopa.org/info/certified/tne/) services provided key benefits to many members who purchased aircraft during 1999.

Other AOPA Certified programs helped members to achieve a variety of financial goals, and car rental discounts saved money on both business and personal travel. Would you like a spectacular photo from the pages of AOPA Pilot to use as wallpaper on your computer desktop? Visit AOPA's OnlineGallery ( www.aopa.org/pilot/gallery/), where you can also buy framed prints to decorate that empty wall.

Outreach

Some 5,827 people attended the 27 Pilot Town Meetings ( www.aopa.org/prez/) that AOPA conducted in 1999. Nearly 40,000 pilots have attended more than 200 Pilot Town Meetings held during the past decade. In 1999, I even held meetings with the pilot community in Alaska, where general aviation for many is the lifeblood of the state. We also recognized the role of women in aviation by participating in the dedication of The Ninety-Nines' Museum of Women Pilots in Oklahoma.

AOPA continued to furnish aviation education information — classroom materials and teachers' guides numbering in the tens of thousands — to both teachers and members ( www.aopa.org/path/). We also helped the University Aviation Association in its efforts to better market the capabilities of the nation's 200 college and university aviation programs.

You, our members, were honored late last year with special AOPA commemorative pins recognizing longevity with the organization. Commemorative wings were presented to all 25-,30-, 40-, and 50-year members. Members qualifying for this recognition in the future will receive the wings at the appropriate membership anniversary.

The future

What changes will AOPA's next 60 years hold? I expect that there will be amazing new ways to communicate with and serve you that are beyond our comprehension today. GPS will provide ILS-like precision instrument approaches, and color multifunction displays will take the place of mechanical gauges. Leaded fuel will become a thing of the past, and today's engines will be replaced. But I think that your association's core values are good for another 60-year run. — Phil Boyer, President

1999 AOPA Air Safety Foundation Annual Report

Untangling the Safety Web

The general aviation accident rate continues to improve

Your AOPA Air Safety Foundation finished the century — and entered its fiftieth-anniversary year — working on several fronts to improve general aviation safety and provide the continuing education that all aviators need. Instead of looking back nostalgically to the past, however, we embraced the technology of the future with the Internet. The ASF Web site ( www.aopa.org/asf/) has proven to be highly successful in reaching out to pilots; it played a part in nearly all ASF activities during 1999.

The John F. Kennedy Jr. accident, as well as some other high-profile losses, thrust GA into a difficult spotlight. We were able to provide AOPA with statistics and perspective to address an insatiable media appetite. Many of the media were directed to ASF's Web site to read last year's Joseph T. Nall Report ( www.aopa.org/asf/publications/99nall.html). There's nothing like starting with the facts to improve the accuracy of a story. The overall GA safety picture continued a trend toward safer flight, as the Nall Report explains. It has become GA's source for an early look at safety data.

ASF was actually ahead of the Kennedy crisis. Poor weather decision making is one suspected cause of the accident, which is still under investigation. The foundation has offered more than 1,000 free weather decision-making seminars in the past five years.

Free safety seminars ( www.aopa.org/asf/seminars/) are one of ASF's most visible and popular activities. Last year we made 258 presentations to more than 32,000 pilots. Working in concert with the FAA's Aviation Safety Program, ASF also teamed up with several states — including Florida, Idaho, Iowa, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia — to promote safe flight.

However, preaching to the converted is not enough to bring GA safety to the next level. With a generous grant from AOPA and some special donors, ASF embarked on a new way to bring the safety message home — literally. Project V (for video), targeting new VFR and recently instrument-rated pilots, sends a free videotape directly to the pilot. Our funding sources allowed the distribution of 30,000 tapes, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. "Excellent!" and "Thanks" were the most frequent responses to a survey about the tapes, and comments such as "I would pass this on but want to keep it for reference" were common. Will Project V have a long-term effect on safety? Obviously it's too soon to tell, but bold new initiatives are needed to reach pilots who may not have the time or inclination to attend a seminar. We hope to generate the needed funds to continue this outstanding program in 2000.

ASF continued as a leader in flight instructor education with our Flight Instructor Refresher Clinics. More than 7,000 CFIs opted to train with the leading live program. Continuous updates and the most seasoned instruction team in the country provide an excellent value to renewing CFIs. As a public service to all flight instructors, ASF continued to provide all 75,000 with a free subscription to our quarterly newsletter, Instructor Report. It reviewed instructional accidents, teaching techniques, and causes of busts on recent practical tests. For those who have missed back issues, they have been posted online ( http://data.aopa2.org/asf/inst_reports.cfm), and all CFIs and students have access to ASF's acclaimed Safety Advisor series on the Web ( www.aopa.org/asf/publications/).

ASF worked closely with the FAA on runway incursion issues by participating in multiple meetings and continuing to suggest simple, commonsense solutions. Along with the FAA, we conducted dozens of safety programs on operations at towered airports. These programs were a great way for pilots to learn about problems and become educated on procedures in their local airspace. ASF also encouraged the FAA to offer free airport taxi diagrams that can be printed off the ASF Web site ( www.aopa.org/asf/publications/taxi/) for use in the cockpit. Although the charts are published in IFR manuals, VFR pilots need access to this critical information; the diagrams became available early this year.

ASF staff also participated in countless meetings with the FAA and industry groups to draft safety initiatives in the areas of weather forecasting, decision making, and avoiding controlled flight into terrain. It takes time, energy, and patience, but the payoff will be significant improvements in these critical safety areas. These are long-term strategies, however, and it is likely to be some time before the results become evident.

Hartzell Propeller provided sponsorship to send our Propeller Safety Safety Advisor to almost every piston-aircraft owner in the country. The Flying Physicians Association sponsored a safety advisor to help pilots flying charitable medical missions make the right go/no-go decisions. The advisor series now has more than a dozen topic areas and has proven to be an effective means to provide a quick single-topic refresher for both pilots and CFIs.

Topic indexes added to ASF's Web site made it easier for Web surfers to find safety information. Instructors could sign up for recurrent training online, and ASF's long-running program for flying companions, the Pinch-Hitter® Course, was also available for online registration.

ASF was one of the very first organizations to have an online auction, beating eBay into the business by almost three years. Last year the auction generated nearly $50,000 in support of your foundation's safety seminars. That revenue is very important to ASF, because the $1 voluntary contribution paid with your AOPA membership dues comprises only a small portion of our budget. I am pleased to report that, thanks to your generosity and that of our corporate sponsors, your foundation completed the year on sound financial footing.

Last year we launched a new program designed to develop the long-term potential for continuing GA safety education. For the very first time, by making a $2,500 gift to ASF — most of which is tax-deductible — pilots will receive a lifetime membership in AOPA and be able to endow a $100 annual gift to the foundation. More than 100 pilots have signed up so far for the Life Associate program ( www.aopa.org/asf/development/life_associate.html), which provides the beginning of a solid endowment for ongoing safety activities.

Our Life Hat in the Ring Society ( www.aopa.org/asf/development/lifehat.html) membership — earned with a one-time donation of $25,000 — also continues to grow. These endowments provide ASF with the capability to update our technology, improve the Web site, and make safety information more accessible to all pilots. Thank you for your continued support, and please help us to make the AOPA Air Safety Foundation's fiftieth year one to celebrate for GA safety. — Bruce Landsberg, Executive Director