President's Perspective

Tell everyone your story

Becoming a pilot is no easy task. It requires patience, practice, and persistence. Like most pilots, you probably feel justifiable pride in your achievements. Passing the knowledge test, acing a stage check, your first solo-these are just a few of the milestones you'll pass on the way to earning your certificate, and each one should make you feel proud, give you a sense of accomplishment. And, I might add that, as a pilot of 42 years, I never stop learning, and each new rung on the ladder instills in me a renewed sense of pride.

I hope you also feel pride in being part of the general aviation community. I also urgently hope you recognize how important it is not to take our GA community for granted. These days, it seems, a lot of people want to criticize general aviation as a wasteful perk for overpaid CEOs. Some even contemplated legislation that would force companies to give up their aircraft. But that's a drastic move based on a serious misrepresentation of what GA is and how it is used.

During my years in Washington, D.C., I discovered that anything that is not well understood is often vulnerable to the whims of policy makers. We all have a role to play in making sure the perception of general aviation matches the reality!

In reality, GA is a homegrown industry that pumps $150 billion into the U.S. economy each year. Some 170 million people fly in private aircraft annually. General aviation is responsible for creating more than 1 million jobs-everything from manufacturing and engineering to flight instructing and piloting. It serves thousands of small communities nationwide that just don't have access to large airline hubs. And GA moves people and goods with a degree of efficiency unparalleled by any other means of transportation.

These are some of the facts I pointed out to key members of Congress recently when I testified before the House Subcommittee on Aviation about the need to pass an FAA funding measure. But facts and figures like these can seem cold and impersonal, and there's much more to GA than numbers.

A few weeks ago I toured the Midwest, meeting with many of the leaders in the general aviation industry. During that trip I saw something remarkable. Even as tough economic realities are forcing difficult business decisions, such as slowing production or laying off workers, general aviation's leaders are looking to the future. They are preparing for the recovery they know will come, and they are innovating.

These individuals know, as I do, that general aviation serves a vital need in this country, and it will bounce back when the broader economy emerges from the current doldrums. When that happens, these individuals and the companies they lead will be ready with products and services to make general aviation flying easier, safer, more useful, and more enjoyable than ever before.

At visits to Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft, and Cirrus, I saw American engineering and manufacturing at work. These companies are designing and building everything from light sport aircraft, perfect for recreational use, all the way to large business jets that can move people from one coast to the other with unmatched efficiency. At Garmin I learned about the innovative thinking that fuels this U.S. company's global success and about future products that will deliver more information to pilots than ever before, and do it in ways that are intuitive for users. At meetings with the Aircraft Electronics Association and American Bonanza Society, I saw experts in their fields working together to promote safety and improve business for their members. And at small airports such as Missouri's Lee's Summit, I met with enthusiastic airport supporters who work closely with AOPA to preserve and promote their fields, and the interests of all the individuals and businesses that use them.

In just a few days I saw a cross-section of the best that general aviation has to offer, and it made me feel indescribably proud to be part of this great industry.

I hope the pride you feel in your own achievements as a pilot extends to the broader general aviation community. Don't be deterred by the misconceptions of GA; fight them by telling your own GA story. Let people know what general aviation means to you and what it brings to your life. As pilots-whether we are students or instructors or something in between-we are part of something bigger than ourselves. We are part of general aviation, and that's something to be proud of.

E-mail AOPA President Craig Fuller at [email protected].