Magic in the gatherings

We all talk about the wonderful places we’ll fly to in 2023 and, yes, I have a busy agenda set for the year. But for me, there’s nothing more exciting than seeing the faces of our members and the wonderful members of our general aviation community. Flying is our pastime, but spending time with good friends around the airport is our passion.

There are no better times to come together as a GA community to share our enthusiasm, tell our stories, and bask in friendship than at aviation events. Gatherings at airports and communities large and small, city or rural, east or west, day or night, our common denominator is this unbridled enthusiasm for taking flight—and talking about it. Talking a lot!

This year is shaping up to be a busy one for aviation events, and it already has kicked off at the AOPA Fly-In at the Buckeye Air Fair in Arizona. I had an amazing time seeing our members in the Grand Canyon State—swapping stories and experiencing warm camaraderie with both old and newly made friends.

The Buckeye Air Fair represented a refinement in the way we approach events at AOPA. Instead of putting on the whole event from A to Z, like we’ve done for fly-ins, hangouts, and other happenings, our focus is now to work with existing events to partner what we do best—aviation—with what they do best—putting on an airshow.

While our event strategy has evolved, what hasn’t changed is our focus on bringing the most engaging, exciting, and educational experiences to the aviation world, and providing you with a rewarding opportunity to interact with your peers, AOPA, and the aviation business community.

I hope many of you got to fly in (or drive if you had to!) to Buckeye, but if not, there will many more opportunities to experience the magic of an aviation gathering with us the rest of this year.

There’s absolutely nothing better than to share this passion we all have for flight.Staying true to our direction, we’ll be partnering with our good friends at the Triple Tree Aerodrome in South Carolina in September. We’ll be staging an AOPA Oasis at its much-anticipated annual event. For those of you who have flown into Triple Tree, you know that an incredible grass runway, gorgeous scenery, and Southern hospitality combine for one of the most amazing experiences in GA. We can’t wait.

AOPA will be back with another Aviator Showcase, also in September, and we’ll be about as close to home as you can get—at our home airport in Frederick, Maryland. We love showing off FDK, and we look forward to bringing pilots and aircraft owners together with the experts in avionics and cockpit technology, flight planning and weather resources, and aircraft manufacturing and sales. The showcase will truly be an aviation buyer’s paradise.

Of course, we have a lot of friends who put on tremendous events, and this year should be better than ever. We’re just about to head to Lakeland, Florida, for the annual Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo. You know that when you’re at Lakeland Linder International Airport, the airshow season is in full swing.

Speaking of airshows and aviation events, the discussion starts and ends with EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Having attended Oshkosh for north of 40 years, landing there (on land or sea) is always like doing it for the first time. There’s no greater place to connect with our members, make new friends, see amazing aviation demos, and simply soak up everything imaginable in aviation.

Other events where you’ll see AOPA this year include STOL gatherings throughout 2023, the great Air Race Classic in June, and the Reno Air Races in September. What a year.

While each of these events has its own flavor and unique ingredients, they will all add up to an amazing year ahead for aviation, and exciting times for me and the AOPA team. There’s absolutely nothing better than to share this passion we all have for flight. Stay safe and see you down the runway. Blue skies!

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