We liked it so much, we wanted you back as soon as possible. Frederick Municipal Airport (FDK) will host AOPA’s second 2015 regional fly-in just eight months after our first FDK “Homecoming” Fly-In last October. This spring event promises to deliver more amazing aviation celebrations, including a special screening of Living in the Age of Airplanes by filmmaker Brian J. Terwilliger, a formation flyover by the Breitling Jet Team, and a new performance by airshow great Michael Goulian. That’s in addition to breakfast served by AOPA staff, seminars by some of general aviation’s most experienced pilots, more than 10 food trucks delivering diverse lunch choices, aircraft displays, manufacturer exhibits, and a pilot town hall with AOPA President Mark Baker.
Frederick Municipal Airport—the home of the headquarters of AOPA—is conveniently situated near Washington, D.C.; Baltimore; and Annapolis, Maryland, the state capital. It was established in 1946 and a tower was erected in 2010. Operations include resident GA aircraft, corporate airplanes, a based Maryland State Police helicopter; an FBO; helicopter training, and a renowned restaurant, The Airways Inn, in the original terminal building. On 588 acres near the city center, the airport has more than 130,000 operations per year. AOPA moved its national headquarters here in 1983. Some 180 staffers work theFrederick office; AOPA also has offices in Washington, D.C., and Wichita.
Make a weekend of your visit to FDK for Homecoming; the annual Frederick Festival of the Arts takes place June 6 and 7 along Carroll Creek downtown.
www.aopa.org/fly-ins
AOPA’s next Fly-In is June 6 at Frederick Municipal Airport (FDK) in Maryland.
2015 AOPA Fly-Ins
Salinas Municipal Airport
(SNS)—May 16, 2015
Frederick Municipal Airport
(FDK)—June 6, 2015
Anoka County-Blaine Airport
(ANE)—August 22, 2015
Colorado Springs Municipal Airport
(COS)—September 26, 2015
Tullahoma Regional Airport
(THA)—October 10, 2015
Join us
AOPA Fly-In takes place place at Frederick Municipal Airport (FDK) on June 6. RSVP online to join us.
A community of pilots
We celebrate flying every day
By Julie Summers Walker
Some of the many pilots who work for your association.
Do you have to be a pilot to work for AOPA? No. But one of the first things you do when you take a job with the association is take an introductory flight—that is, if you’re not already certificated. One of the many CFI-rated colleagues takes the new employee flying in one of the association’s aircraft—a Cessna 172 or 182. Certificated new-employee pilots are checked out in the association aircraft after they have completed a three-month trial period. Pilots get reimbursed for about 30 hours of flying throughout the year; new pilots get reimbursed for training.
So how many pilots work for AOPA? Nearly 60 percent of the staff. Many took advantage of the student pilot training offered and taught by fellow employees, and about half were already pilots when they were hired. As I write this, a flight briefing is taking place across from my office. Staff pilot Mark Evans (more than 10,000 hours) is preparing eMedia Editor Sarah Deener (fewer than 500 hours) for her solo flight from the Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In in Florida back to Maryland in the Reimagined 152. Later, a pilot briefing will take place preparing photographer Chris Rose for a formation flight during which pilots Tom Haines and Dave Hirschman will discuss the photo mission and two safety pilots will also be identified.
A wall inside the building identifies some of the 14 CFIs available to instruct, and every time a new pilot solos, a photograph of the event is signed by staff and displayed on that same wall (my favorite is Editor Ian Twombly hugging the big canopy of the R22 he soloed while getting his helicopter rating). Congratulatory emails are sent association-wide each time a pilot achieves a goal.
Ratings and endorsements are also supported by the association—Editor in Chief Tom Haines recently was type rated in the Cessna Citation, and Senior Vice President of Communications Katie Pribyl got her seaplane rating. Many staff pilots are also aircraft owners; Technical Editor Jill Tallman bought her Piper Cherokee 140 (Miss J) after 700 hours, and Hirschman buys and sells airplanes like most people buy and sell cars—often even faster.
Email [email protected]
BY THE NUMBERS
107 Pilots on staff
44 Commercial pilots
11 ATPs
7 Current student pilots
35 CFIs
49 500 hours or less
8 More than 5,000 hours
17 Aircraft owners
27% are female pilots (beats the national average of 6 percent!)
