President's Perspective

You can share the thrill

As a student pilot, I'm willing to bet that one of the biggest thrills in your life is the experience of learning to fly. Even today, I clearly remember my introductory flight in a general aviation airplane. The dials, knobs, and switches fascinated me--even though I didn't understand most of them, except for the fuel gauges. I was amazed by seeing the world from an entirely new perspective, and by the fact that I actually was flying the airplane! And while it was all overwhelming, there was also that spark: "Hey, I can do this! I can be a pilot!"

We want, we need, a lot more people to discover that they too can become pilots. So how can we do this better? We asked the experts. We asked you.

During May and June, we asked you to give us your ideas on how AOPA could convince more people to go flying. Last month, I referred to our progress in reviewing more than 6,000 survey responses and hundreds of e-mails and letters (see "President's Perspective: Spreading the Word," July 2008 AOPA Flight Training). When we printed the responses, it made a stack of paper more than two feet tall. And I can assure you that your AOPA staff has read and considered every single comment.

As I noted in the July issue, some of your ideas come through over and over again. You said it's critical to get a prospective pilot out to the airport to experience flight firsthand.

You also told us that we need to do a better job of explaining how useful flying is. Yes, it's fun and challenging, but it's also a great way to connect with family and friends, explore new destinations, or expand your business. You told us you want to be more involved in getting someone started in flying, but you'd like AOPA to help make it easier for you to do so.

Many of you gave us great ideas for getting the message out, such as billboards inside major airline terminals or advertising on family-oriented cable channels. Other ideas included creating and promoting more social activities related to flying, or helping flight schools to improve the customer experience.

Your association will be testing many of your ideas as we take more bold steps to convince more people to go flying. We're doing more research, looking at best practices from other industries, and refining our messaging to more directly target the people who have the time, money, and interest to start flying now. We know they're out there. Our research says that some 760,000 Americans are "very interested" in learning to fly, and have the resources to do it. We're reaching out to encourage them to take the next step, to get out to an airport and experience GA firsthand so they can understand the practical value of flying.

We're continuing to do the things that we know work. We took over and reinvigorated the aviation industry's learn-to-fly public relations campaign. Last year we placed flying stories in newspapers, magazines, and on TV and radio stations, resulting in some 269 million impressions--reaching 245 percent more people than the year before. A recent story in a Denver magazine, for example, encouraged 22 people to go to one local flight school and take a $99 introductory flight. Nine of them are already in flight training.

We know the Web works, too, and beginning in July, you're going to see a whole new online presence and approach. Our new Web site will become the single destination for all potential pilots. It will be engaging, entertaining, and exciting. And it will be more than just an information portal--we'll show people engaged in the experience of flying with videos and personal stories about the ways pilots use general aviation for business, family travel, challenge, and adventure. We will address the barriers to entry, and show that learning to fly is not as difficult or as expensive as some people think. Our new online presence will help potential pilots pick a flight school and instructor. And we'll create the opportunity for rich social media on this new Web site, to provide encouragement and support from fellow pilots and from AOPA. And we're working on new marketing strategies to drive more interested people to www.LetsGoFlying.org.

I've mentioned before that the pilot population is declining and, if we don't reverse that trend, general aviation's future is very much at risk. That's why your help is so critical, and so very much appreciated.

There is one more thing you can do. Call your friend or colleague or neighbor who's expressed an interest in flying, and--with the approval of your flight instructor, of course--invite them to ride in the backseat during your lesson this weekend. (If you've already earned your pilot certificate, schedule an airplane and take 'em up!) Remember the thrill the first time you went flying? Sharing that experience with someone else is almost as great a thrill. If you don't believe me, try it yourself.

Beginning in July, you can visit the Let's Go Flying Web site.