Aopa Pilot January 2010 [antikvár]

POSITION BY CRAIG FULLER The state of our union Craig Fuller took the office of president In January 2009. s January arrives, we launch ourselves into a new year and a new decade. And, I complete my first year in the left seat at AOPA (see "PUot to PUot: Aviation's New Vision," page 56). It seems fitting to begin 2010 with a report on what 1 found in myfirst year and where I see our general aviation community headed. 1 douht anyone needs reminding of just how rapidly the economic growth we enjoyed in die past decade slowed to a crawl in 2009. Described by one economist as the worst economic slowdown in 75 years, this past year challenged many just to survive. StiU, the GA commtmity has proven to be resilient. Familiar with adverse business cycles, leading manufacturers took actions as necessary as they were difficult, downsizing operations. Positioning for the future is perhaps the best description—just how soon that favorable fumre presents itself remains a bit elusive, but we can be sure it will come in time, vrith effort. Despite uncertainty, manufacturers of aircraft and avionics are introducing new products. Pilots remain passionate about flymg and about the equipment they use as ariators. And, although die numbers are lower than we woidd want, new people do join our GA community every week, and thousands more express the aspiration of doing so in the foture. 1 sense a strong determination in the GA community. I heard determination from members at our AOPA Ariation Summit in Tampa. 1 heard from elected officials who fly how strongly they value GA in their states and throughout the nation. And, of course, every day 1 hear from members who are passionate about flying. Of all the many opportunities 1 enjoyed during my first year at AOPA, the ones that were most rewarding were those that allowed me to participate in events vrith our members. Whether in hangar sessions or at airshows, hundreds of you walked up and expressed your solid support for AOPA. That kind of backing encourages all of us at AOPA to keep up the battle on behalf of the entire GA community. Our communication vrith members is at the core of our existence here at AOPA. We are proud of our print pubUcations, AOPA Pilot mi Flight Training, and our fine team of editors and wiriters. Our e-publishing group continues to bring members the information tiiey want through sophisticated online and e-mail systems. And 1 have been especially pleased to see that thousands of people have explored AOPA Live and watched content created at AOPA Ariation Summit. We support our ariation community by communicating to the media and nonaviation groups. The only way to remain strong is to make sure opinion leaders and decision makers understand the value of GA. For this reason we launched the General Aviation Serves America campaign, and with the volunteer help of actors Harrison Ford and Morgan Freeman—and many others—we have reached audiences with our message about the conttibutions made by GA. We have demonstrated we are willing to stand up and be counted. Along the way, we have found many important people vrilling to joui us. Among those who have elected to stand with us in support of GA are key members of Confess. This past year found the House of Representatives and now the U.S. Senate forming, for the first time ever, general aviation caucuses. These fomms help us share information as issues develop. Then, more than 100 members oftheHouseof Representatives sent a strong and clear signal to the Obama administration that there would be no support for a user-fee proposal expected to be part of the administration's federal budget proposal later this year. There are many challenges in Washington, but Congress is filled vrith strong GA supporters. FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt has shown he botii understands GA and wants us at tiie table when issues that affect us are considered. This is critically important as the whole question of modernizing the air traffic control system—NextGen—is implemented in this decade. We must also remember that this is an election year. All members of the House of Representatives are up for reelection as are Important members of the U.S. Senate, including some who work closely vrith us to support GA. This year, of all years, 1 encourage you to engage vrith candidates for office. Ask tiiem about their view of GA. Ask them if they vrill block costly user tees or other charges that would cripple GA. Ask them if they would like more information about how GA helps their state and communities—we would be only too pleased to provide such a briefing! Finally, we remain dedicated to serving you, our members. Our products and serrices are tailored to meet your needs. By taking advantage of the AOPA credit card programs, our insurance offerings, loan programs, and many oflier services, you wiU not only help meet your own needs, you will help support AOPA and our efforts to sti^engtiien GA. We are proud of the offerings from our Member Products and Serrices team and continue to consider new opporninities. Our newest offering deserves your attennon now-the Medical Serrices Program healthcare initiative. There is sometiiing of value in tiiis program for everyone, and It s just one way we demonstrate our commitment to mak-ing sure our members have every possible tool to live healthy and fly healthy. Information about tiiese programs can be found online (www.aopa.org). We look forward to representing you in die decade ahead and pledge to do all we can to make sure our best days in aviation remain aliead of us. AOPA PILOT* 4 -lANUAHV 2010