Action in the states

“AOPA believes protecting the freedom to fly means protecting the freedom to fly from the water,” said AOPA President Mark Baker, who also serves on the board of the SPA. “Many of my greatest experiences in aviation come from flying seaplanes and we are fortunate to have members and advocates like state Sen. Bill Coley. We will continue to work with the Seaplane Pilots Association and other groups to increase access across the country.” Coley, who is a pilot and AOPA member, said the rule change should increase tourism and emphasized Ohio’s aviation history: “As the birthplace of aviation, it is incumbent upon us to make our state a place that welcomes aviation enthusiasts.”

Ohio officials held a press conference this summer to announce the expansion of seaplane access at Grand Lake St. Marys, the only lake in Ohio currently open to seaplane landings.

Jim Priest, the Ohio field director for SPA and an AOPA member since 1960, has long advocated for greater seaplane access. Priest said the rule change “puts Ohio on an equal basis with other states.”

State government officials and representatives from various industries, including AOPA, gathered in Chicago recently for the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Legislative Summit. NCSL is a bipartisan group focused on providing state legislators with “the tools, information and resources to craft the best solutions to difficult problems.”

AOPA and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the National Business Aviation Association, and the Alliance for Aviation Across America created an “Aviation Alley” at the event’s exhibition hall.

“For the first time, the industry spoke with a unified voice in a centralized location at the NCSL Summit to most effectively tell the story of the positive impacts GA has on communities from the 1.1 million American jobs to medical and mercy flights,” said AOPA Director of State Government Affairs Jared Esselman.

Esselman, who was appointed to the NCSL Foundation board of directors at the summit, said contacts from the conference and his new position will help to further AOPA’s efforts to promote the economic viability of airports, reduce the cost of flying, and reduce unnecessary regulations on pilots.

Advocating for your region

Through AOPA staff, a network of seven regional managers, and a corps of 2,500 Airport Support Network volunteers, AOPA advocates for its members at the state and local levels to:

• Promote, protect, and defend America’s community airports.
• Maintain sufficient state and local funding for GA airports and infrastructure.
• Prevent excess state taxation on flying.
• Protect general aviation from unnecessary state and local regulation.
• View proposed releases of airport property that could affect your local airport.
• Please click on your state on the map online to see news, blog posts, and tweets for your region.