Flight Training - May 2013 - 12

PREFLIGHT»

NEWS

Fuller to step down as AOPA president and CEO
Departure set for later this year
AOPA PRESIDENT CRAIG Fuller has
announced he will step down from his
position and from the Board of Trustees. He plans to remain in his current
role until a successor is ready to assume
the position. The board will conduct a
national search for his successor. Following Fuller's decision to leave AOPA,
the succession process was developed by
working together, Chairman of the Board
William C. Trimble III said.
Fuller, who took office January 1, 2009,
will assist with the search and the transition to a new administration.
Fuller, 62, noted that he made a fiveyear commitment to AOPA when he was
appointed president. As he approaches
the fulfillment of that commitment, he
said he is looking forward to taking on
new challenges and opportunities. “I have
flown since age 17, and flying has been
part of my life ever since. I will always be
grateful to the AOPA Board of Trustees
for having given me the opportunity to
serve the general aviation community

AOPA PRESIDENT Craig Fuller.

and AOPA’s 385,000 members in a leadership position,” said Fuller. “It has been
a privilege to work with my colleagues on
a strong set of initiatives that have built
on the decades of hard work by AOPA
trustees and members of the management team.
"With the end of my five-year commitment approaching, this is an appropriate
time for me to consider new opportuni-

ties and allow the board time to recruit a
successor. The process of finding a new
leader can now go forward as all of us at
AOPA roll up our sleeves to fight the dayto-day battles that seem to keep coming
our way,” said Fuller. “The team will not
miss a beat this year as we lay the groundwork for the future.”
“During his more than four years as
president of AOPA, Craig has advocated
strongly on behalf of the general aviation
community in Washington, built bridges
with the other aviation associations,
improved member communications, and
generated promising ideas for tomorrow,” said Trimble. “We recognize the
importance of finding a leader who can
continue to inspire all of us in these
challenging times. We are focused on
finding a leader who shares our vision
and convictions, as well as the talent and
capabilities necessary to achieve our
goals.” Trimble said the board will form
a search committee shortly and retain an
executive search firm.

SUCCESS STORY

From gliders to gas
Young pilot learns the ropes in an airplane
I ORIGINALLY STARTED flying in gliders about a year and a half ago because
I wanted to learn to fly as soon as possible, and powered flight lessons were
quite a bit more expensive than glider lessons. My parents required that I
turn 16 before taking any kind of flight lessons and that I pay for at least half
of my training—the first half. My glider instructors at Moriarty Airport are
really great, and I have been able to work at the airport to partially offset the
cost of learning to fly. In August 2012 I successfully became a private pilot
with a glider rating. At the beginning of 2013 I began powered flight training
and after only six hours I soloed! Soloing so quickly really means a lot to
me because I see how much I have progressed overall and how much the
glider experience helped me.
When flying solo in the sky I know it is where I belong. My glider training and amazing instructors helped immensely in my training. I am now
working toward getting my private pilot single-engine airplane certification and am on track to finish by the time I turn 18 in March! I intend to
pursue a career in aviation, hopefully as a pilot.
Share your experience on Flight Training’s Facebook page.

12 /

FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

Name: Tomas Babuska
Age: 17
Event: First powered solo
Where: Alexander Municipal Airport (E80), Belen,
New Mexico
Airplane: Piper Cherokee 140

http://FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

Flight Training - May 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - May 2013