AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2016 - 6

PRESIDENT'S POSITION

You Can Fly takes off

BY MARK BAKER
AOPA President and CEO

Programs aim to get, keep people flying

AOPA President
MARK BAKER sold
his van while in
college to buy his
first airplane, a
Cessna 150.

6 | AOPA PILOT February 2016

IF YOU'RE A REGULAR READER, you know I write often
about the importance of growing and strengthening
the general aviation community. That's an idea that's
close to my heart and, I believe, one that's critical to
the future of GA.
There's no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes
to building our community. That's why, about a year ago,
we created an umbrella program that would allow us
to simultaneously pursue many different approaches.
We called it You Can Fly.
Under the You Can Fly umbrella, we gathered programs to support flying clubs, encourage best practices
in flight training, get lapsed pilots back in the air, bring
AOPA's resources and expertise to pilot groups across
the country, help high school students learn more
about aviation opportunities, and make flying more
accessible and affordable.
What makes You Can Fly so special is not just the
variety of programs it encompasses, but also the rigor
with which they're managed and evaluated. We want
to tangibly move the needle when it comes to getting
people flying and keeping them flying, and to do that
we need to measure our achievements so we can focus
our resources on what works. I want to share some of
those measurements with you now.
All around the country there are pilots who've
stopped flying for one reason or another. Many want to
get back in the air, but where to start? AOPA answered
that question with Rusty Pilot seminars designed to
help lapsed pilots get current on regulations, procedures, and more. Attending a seminar is free and
qualifies for the ground portion of the flight review.
Many of the events are hosted by flight schools, making
it easy to sign up for some flight training at the same
time. In 2015 alone, we held 103 Rusty Pilot seminars.
More than 3,500 people took part, and 26 percent of
them report that they are back in the left seat. Since
the program started in 2014, we've helped more than
1,200 pilots return to active flying status.
To build a community, make aircraft more accessible, and make flying more affordable, we've been
working to support flying clubs. Through our Flying
Clubs Initiative, we helped start 10 new flying clubs in
2015 and worked with dozens of other groups to help
them grow, improve operations, or begin the formation
process. We've also launched free scheduling software
that allows clubs in AOPA's Flying Club Network to

schedule aircraft and instructors, create invoices, and
accept credit card payments. And we've improved the
Flying Club Finder, making it easier than ever to find the
perfect club based not only on location but also on the
types of aircraft, services, and amenities offered.
The AOPA You Can Fly Ambassadors have a big
role to play, too. We started with just two full-time
ambassadors who spend their days visiting airports
in their regions, talking to pilots, meeting with flight
schools and clubs, hosting educational seminars,
and generally bringing AOPA's resources to the pilot
community. They were so successful in 2015 that we
recently added a third full-time ambassador and have
plans to expand the program further in 2016.
Our Flight Training Initiative helps newcomers to
aviation have a positive training experience by sharing information about best practices and recognizing
the very best flight schools and instructors. This year
AOPA received more than 7,100 responses to a survey
asking students about their training experiences, and
from those responses we identified top schools and
CFIs nationwide to receive Flight Training Excellence
Awards. In December 2015, we recognized the winners
at an awards ceremony at AOPA's headquarters (see
"Flight Training Winners Announced," p. 46).
The most recent addition to the You Can Fly program is the AOPA High School Initiative, designed to
bring aviation education into high schools nationwide.
My first formal aviation education came when I took
a ground school class in high school, and I'm excited
to work with educators to bring similar opportunities
to a new generation of young people.
We held our first High School Aviation Symposium
in November 2015, and more than 150 educators, administrators, pilots, and aviation industry leaders took part.
It was a chance to share ideas, learn about the value of
adding aviation education to STEM (science, technology,
engineering, and math) programs, and discuss opportunities to start or grow aviation education programs.
The numbers tell the story. You Can Fly is making a difference for the future of general aviation. Of
course, this is just the first chapter. There's a lot more
to be done, and we're committed to growing the program, trying new things, measuring the results, and
keeping you informed.
AOPA
EMAIL mark@aopa.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2016