AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013 - 48

AOPA FINANCIAL REPORT |

ADVANCING
A CAUSE

Finding lift in aviation’s headwinds

THE ECONOMIC TURMOIL THAT STARTED HALF
a decade ago has not been kind to general aviation. Like
almost all segments of society, pilots have seen their jobs
disappear, their savings erode, home equity evaporate,
and their incomes stagnate at the same time that fuel
prices in particular have soared. The resulting reduction
in flying has impacted aviation companies and associations alike. As with other organizations, AOPA has not
been immune from the economic doldrums. While the
organization’s 2012 revenue was down some 15 percent
from 2008, forcing a reduction in expenses, AOPA’s
effectiveness in its core missions of advocacy and pilot
information remain focused, intact, and world-class.
Members consistently insist that advocacy be job one
for AOPA, and from that we have not wavered. Efforts
around advocacy, representation, and outreach consume
31 percent of total revenue, a slight increase from 2011 that
partly is a result of major new initiatives to stabilize and
grow the pilot population. Stemming the 30-year decline
in the pilot population has become a significant goal for
AOPA. Starting with our now landmark flight training
initiative study in 2010, the organization has focused
through its new Center to Advance the Pilot Community
on finding new resources for improving the student pilot
completion rate; helping existing pilots fly more, and more
cost effectively, through flying clubs; and identifying ways
to bring lapsed pilots back into the community.
Our Government Affairs team works on Capitol Hill,
at the FAA and other agencies, and at the state and local
levels to fend off onerous legislation and regulation that
can stifle aviation and our freedom to fly. With great
support in Congress through the GA caucuses, we’ve
defeated attempts at user fees. At the state level, work by
our regional and state affairs teams has saved pilots hundreds of millions of dollars through tax reductions and by
defeating proposed tax increases. For five years running,
AOPA has battled every state aviation fuel tax increase
proposal and won, saving pilots millions of dollars.

48 | AOPA PILOT September 2013

With the support of local pilot groups, more than
2,500 AOPA Airport Support Network volunteers, and
seven regional managers, our crack team of state affairs
specialists worked some 374 issues in all 50 states last year.
Most significantly, in Florida a state sales tax exemption
on aviation maintenance will save pilots $16 million to
$20 million a year. Meanwhile, in Michigan—after years
of attempts by lawmakers to raise new fees for airport
improvement—AOPA initiated and got a bill passed that
dedicates a portion of the existing aviation fuel tax to aviation infrastructure, and stopped the call for new fees.
Every day, technical specialists work on important
regulatory issues, including carving a path to a new
unleaded aviation fuel, working with the FAA and industry to decrease onerous aircraft certification costs, bring
sanity to pilot medical certification requirements, and
to keep Department of Homeland Security agents from
running roughshod over pilot liberties and privacy.
On a more personal level, aviation and membership specialists in two call centers last year responded
to some 275,000 member inquiries, running the gamut
from membership renewals and medical situations to
interpretations of the most technical regulations. Even
as we reduced expenses elsewhere, we have increased
the investment in the Pilot Information Center and
extended its hours to 8 p.m. Eastern to better serve
members nationwide.
Part of what allows our legislative and regulatory
staffs to be so effective is the ability to educate members on major issues and then engage them politically in
support of our causes. To that end, we use numerous communication channels to reach members wherever they
are—in print, at a desktop computer, on a mobile device,
or on their web-enabled television. Our award-winning
media products lead all others in aviation in their quality
and effectiveness. AOPA Pilot is by far the largest aviation
publication in the world. Flight Training is the only publication dedicated to the support of student pilots and CFIs,

AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2013