President's Position: Aviation’s next tipping point

General aviation is no different.

Like all great stories, general aviation has had its ups and downs—from the early barnstorming days to stagnancy following the Great Recession and the September 11 terrorist attacks. Sure, days past are fondly remembered as an era of cheap avgas and explosive growth in the pilot population, but I believe we are on the cusp of the next golden age of aviation.

And no matter what you consider your favorite aviation era, AOPA has been there through it all. This year marks the eightieth anniversary of our great organization—an important milestone as we’ve worked for decades to protect and advance the freedom to fly.

I’ve spent nearly a lifetime around this addicting and thrilling world of aviation, and yes, I’ll admit that some things aren’t like they used to be. Our industry is not without its challenges.

Obstacles—from regulations to an aging pilot population—have defined our industry for some time. But despite those hurdles, we’ve hit a tipping point. Today we are flying more hours more safely; more people are learning to fly; and we are making progress on ensuring the places we want to fly are more accessible. These metrics come together to tell a story of an industry regaining strength.

Pilots can give themselves a pat on the back for an increase in flight hours. According to the FAA, fixed-wing piston GA pilots in 2017 flew 35,364 more hours compared to the previous year—the third year in a row this key indicator has seen gains. And flight hours for all of GA increased for the fourth year in a row. Although the gains may seem small, it’s significant that they are gains as opposed to declines, and that they are occurring over multiple consecutive years.

Not only have pilots been racking up more flight hours, but they have been flying more safely as well. Ten years ago, the industry came together with the government and set out to reduce the GA fatal accident rate per 100,000 flight hours by 10 percent—no more than one fatal accident per 100,000 flight hours. And having just beat that goal, GA is safer than ever, and our industry-leading AOPA Air Safety Institute will continue to produce free content, host seminars, and work with other groups to give pilots the resources they need to fly safer.

With an explosive demand for aviation jobs, we’ve also seen an uptick in the number of students starting flight training following years of decline. In 2017, 38,401 people started flight training according to the FAA, an increase of 1,689 from the previous year.

As an organization, AOPA is doing its part to introduce younger generations to aviation through our You Can Fly program, which is funded by donations to the AOPA Foundation. One major focus of You Can Fly is the AOPA high school aviation-based science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum, which is already in more than 80 schools and reaching almost 2,000 students across the country. These students are learning about aviation and gaining skills that can lead them to fulfilling and exciting careers in an industry we all love to be in or around.

Protecting the freedom to fly also means ensuring pilots have reasonable access to airports they want to visit and are not being taken advantage of. For almost two years AOPA has worked to understand and fight the effect of egregious and often unknown fees on airport access. Recently, five other major aviation associations—including the National Air Transportation Association which represents FBOs, joined AOPA in calling on FBOs—to clearly communicate all fees online. Pilots should be able to easily determine what they should expect to pay when they land, especially at publicly funded airports, and this industrywide call for transparency will bring with it more accountability and encourage pilots to visit places where they may have hesitated previously because of unknown costs.

Regardless of whether you think we are entering the next golden age of aviation, I think we can all agree that things are looking up, and opportunities for young people are growing by the day. And through it all, AOPA has and will continue to work every day to make flying more accessible and safer for today’s, and tomorrow’s, pilots.

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