A life of service
It’s been a labor of love. There’s no other way to describe 40 years of volunteer service working to preserve the freedom to fly.
When Paul Heintz retires from AOPA’s Board of Trustees on September 11, 2015, he can look back on a career helping to oversee the association through all five of its presidents, dozens of advocacy wins, and a changing pilot population that foretells of many challenges ahead.
Heintz’s connection to flying was strong from a young age. “I don’t remember ever not wanting to fly,” he says. It’s in his DNA. His father was a pilot in World War II, his mother flew gliders, and his grandfather took lessons in 1912. While in school he took his then-girlfriend Jane for a ride in his Aeronca Champ. They continue to fly together today in their Cessna 210. “I’ve been very blessed,” he says. “She’ll fly with me any time and in any weather.”
Their four children have enjoyed flying with him over the years, and one is now an air traffic controller, which leads to the occasional broadcast reunion. “Are you coming for dinner tonight, dear?” Jane once asked soon after landing.
Their trips originate at Heintz’s beloved Wings Field, AOPA’s birthplace. In fact, it was through hanging out at the airport and meeting three of the association’s founders that he was invited to join the board. As the years passed he went from tenant to advocate as the airport faced closure a few times. Putting his passion for preserving airports into practice, Heintz gathered investors to buy the airport some years ago. It’s now a vibrant field with a unique aviation country club. Upstairs in that club AOPA was formed some 77 years ago, and eating there with Heintz reinforces that his history and the association’s story are one.
Heintz continues to work in a prominent Philadelphia law firm, taking on everything from nonprofit law to the occasional aviation case. He makes time for trips with Jane, including what he describes as his favorite flight yet—they took a month last year and flew all across the country. “Flying gives me a joy and release that no other hobby could,” he says. “To this day I will tear up going through clouds, a sunset, or just looking out on a beautiful day and wondering how those wings are holding me up and giving me such joy. That feeling has never left me and I don’t think it ever will.”
Email [email protected]
Logbook
Who | Paul Heintz, attorney and member of AOPA Board of Trustees
Hours | 4,300
Favorite aircraft | Cessna 210
Extra | Heintz’s book, Flying for Fun, was published in 1995.
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described where Paul Heintz's son is a controller. We regret the error.
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