Right Seat: Welcome

I’m aware how childish this is and that I should just suck it up, but it bothers me enough that after a recent frustrating experience with my family doctor I decided I’d had enough and switched practitioners, hoping for a better experience. The new doctor was polite, asking basic health questions, and then noticed I was a first-time patient. “Well, you’re welcome here,” he said. That simple gesture completely changed my outlook on the experience.

At AOPA we talk a lot about the idea of welcoming pilots into the aviation community. For many people who have been flying for decades, the idea of needing to reach out and take an active role in making aviation more inclusive might seem odd, but my guess is that as a student pilot you understand it perfectly. Flight training can be intimidating for many reasons, and the entire community can seem foreign.

Creating a welcoming community is one reason AOPA started a series of yearly regional fly-ins. These events bring together the best that aviation has to offer. And they give us a reason to fly. Each Saturday fly-in is held at an airport carefully selected to, over time, provide an opportunity for almost every pilot in the country to reach a fly-in with only a few hours of flying. Everything happens at the airport, and flying in is straightforward and relatively easy.

This year we’ve expanded the shows to provide an in-depth learning experience on Friday. Each of the year’s four fly-ins features a series of detailed workshops aimed at everything from understanding weather and maintenance to overwater flying and mountain flying techniques. On Friday evening, there’s a big party, usually right on the ramp with a live band, food, and lots of new flying friends.

Saturday is the core of the show and features everything from free seminars to aircraft exhibits. AOPA President Mark Baker speaks at each show, detailing the association’s latest advocacy and initiatives. There are dozens of seminars where attendees can learn about getting more from their iPads, how to avoid loss-of-control accidents, how to get more out of flight service, and so on.

Between the seminars you can spend time walking the aircraft display area, which includes a wide variety of aircraft. We’ve had military jets, new piston airplanes, homebuilts, warbirds, and pretty much everything in between. It’s fun to simply stroll around, talk to the airplanes’ owners, and learn more about the other equipment you share the sky with.

Dozens of exhibitors line a hangar or tent during the event, giving you the chance to try a headset, check out equipment for that airplane you’re dreaming of buying, or simply ask questions about ADS-B.

Finally, like any respectable aviation gathering, we keep you well fed with a pancake breakfast and catered lunch, and most of the events have a free ice cream social in the afternoon.

If anyone hasn’t specifically told you yet, you are welcome here—in the aviation community, and especially at an AOPA fly-in near you.