What We Need To Do and Where We Need To Go, From Here… (Part 2 of 2)

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'"

-- Erma Bombeck

Opinion, Analysis and Observation by ANN CEO/Editor-In-Chief, Jim Campbell

• Barnstorming: Resume Course As Filed (Part 1)

I could spend days telling you of other travesties… but those tales are better served by the book and documentary project that will come – and by doing so, acting NOT out of revenge for the way we were treated and cheated… but as a stern warning to this embattled industry that this is how you destroy the aviation world… pilot by pilot, company by company, dream by dream.

I have countless reports of Cirrus deceit, Cirrus lies, and Cirrus misconduct… all of which contributed to damages done to a number of fine people, great companies and the fervent hopes they had for their involvement in an industry they clearly loved.

Based on my evaluation and observation, the Aviation World really got hurt by the decision-makers (and some of their drones) at Cirrus… by Brent Wouters, by Todd Simmons, by Bill King, by John Strohl, by Dale Klapmeier, by Jon Duplaise, and by Pat Waddick (among others). And these are some of the same folks now parading themselves around as the new saviors of Cirrus, hushing, minimizing, and disregarding the “body count” I believe they left behind, the folks horribly damaged by their broken promises and frauds, and the FACT that I trust history will come to show that this was (IMO) one of the most deceitful and regrettable chapters in the GA world for this decade – if not longer.

Since this event transpired, I have not flown in a Cirrus, despite the fact that I once enjoyed and appreciated the aircraft a great deal. But now, after hundreds of hours of hard flying in these birds (including the difficult, emotional journey all the way across the country to Vicki’s Memorial Service), I have come to avoid them… my skin crawls every time I see one…reminding me that this is a company built (in recent years) on lies, run (principally) by a guy who threw his own brother (and one of the finest guys in GA) under the bus, whose people lied to us -- and to many others -- time and time again (even under oath!), and who now take credit for and rewrite history as to how the company achieved the fading greatness it is now squandering.

While the story of the Klapmeier brothers and the occasional comparisons to the Wright Brothers make great copy, there is no question as to who carried the load in seeing Cirrus come into being – but Cirrus seems to be telling a different version, of late – it’s all about Dale (pictured below) – while Alan has become barely a footnote – and as I understand it now, another legal foe.

I find that disgusting… is there anyone out there who really believes that Cirrus would have been nearly as successful if it had been started by Dale, instead of Alan? Based on my observations of well over a decade, Cirrus would have been just fine without Dale’s involvement… but I dare anyone to tell me how Cirrus would have come into being at all without Alan… Yet, if you listen to recent boasts and such, Cirrus seems to be trying to suggest that Alan didn’t have that much to do with it, minimizing his contributions, talents and skills… and I know that not to be true. I was there throughout most of the development processes that resulted in Cirrus… I know much more about this story than most…

These historical revisions are but part of a series of many arrogant, self-serving distortions we’ve observed coming from what used to be one of the most promising companies in the GA world.

Mind you; Cirrus gamed the system and they did it maliciously well. We heard time and time again from some of the most respected law enforcement organizations in the nation that we appeared to be victims of a crime… but that the damages done to us did not achieve a damage threshold (often quoted at a million dollars or so, necessary for their supervisors to sign off on dedicating the proper resources) that would have allowed them to pursue criminal solutions on our behalf. Our civil remedies were a horrific maelstrom of hype, delay, extraordinary (and ever escalating) costs, and bluster—and one where the truth got cast aside as if it mattered not at all.

Justice no longer appears to be about what is right and wrong… it has become a game of finances, hyperbole, bluster, paper-work (and the ability to bury one’s adversaries underneath a pile of it), but most of all, it’s about the abuse of ‘power’ – even though that power may be wielded by a vicious, dishonest, malevolent force.
BUT… enough of this -- for now. It’s time to get back on track… finish licking our wounds, recover from the assault, shore up our business model, and do what so many expect of us – to be honest and aggressive members of the aviation community and to do our utmost to see the aviation world survive.

But yes, as bright as our future still is, the next few months are going to be tough.

For now, I have two major issues to pursue… the building of an all-new ANN (and I kid you not... this is a BIG deal)… one that builds on the pioneering work we’ve done over the last decade and a half… and also updates our mission to fight the drastic concerns we see for the future of the industry. We have truly innovative ideas and programs to implement… and we have the will to see them through. But… if it’s to happen in enough time to forestall so much of the damage that we see coming, it is best done quickly… and for that, we’re going to seek your assistance and support.

We’re going to be aggressively expanding our business efforts so that the result is a company that can do more with the additional resources we generate.

We’re re-introducing some great books we published, in the past, as E-Books… available for Kindle, iPhone, iPad, you name it… and we hope you’ll deem them worthy of your purchase.

We have a number of exciting NEW book projects we’ll be offering in the near future and we hope you’ll buy those as well.

We’re making a big push to enhance our sponsor base, and we hope you’ll support that.

We’re going to need your thoughts, attention, input and consideration for a program we’ll be announcing in greater detail, shortly, called the “Grassroots Initiative” – but the key to its value lies in getting YOUR participation. More info to follow…

And above all, we’re going to pay greater attention to “business” so that we can increase and accelerate what we do for you… and be ready to pick up where we left off before Cirrus went nuts.

And the final issue?

It’s a personal one.

I am finishing this a few days after my friend of many years, and now my sweetheart, returned home… she has been away, overseas, for many many months and has now returned home to me… and to be a permanent part of my life from here on out.

WOW.

After the heartache of past tragedies, no one could be more surprised to see my life take such a great and exciting turn as my impending marriage means now to me… but that is balanced negatively with the fact that I will not be able to offer her half of what I’d like to -- until I rebuild and recover from the damage done by Cirrus. They owed us a LOT of money for services that we provided, faithfully (and by their own admission, properly), for years and we will not see any of it. They reneged on a contract that was worth a great deal of money. My retirement was wiped out. I lost a house I truly loved along a beautiful grass airstrip. I am no longer an aircraft owner. Many of my advertisers were mysteriously harassed or received Anti-ANN mailings during this period and a few seem to have been affected – especially those with close relationships with Cirrus—for instance, I still can’t get a call returned from Garmin’s Carl Wolf despite trying a number of times over the last two years (while always treating them professionally and covering them aggressively—as is proper). My company was damaged, needed improvements and upgrades for ANN and its staff have been on hold, and I’ve got real debt to deal with for the first time in decades and a lot of work to do to recover.

Yes, it’s going to be a hell of an interesting year…

While the prospects for recovery are excellent, the next year will be a struggle that I did not want for her… and will impede all the things that a man in love wants to give to his sweetheart… we’ll not have the wedding I’d like for her, we’ll not have some of the freedoms and joys I’d love to offer, and we will have to knuckle down and work hard to fix the damage created by the greed and dishonesty we experienced over the last few years… and all this from a member of an industry that I used to brag about… extolling its wonders, its people and its joys… pretty much discolored and dishonored by what I see to be errant creeps who got greedy, evasive, screwed a great number of wonderful people… and then tried to shut us up when we complained about it… or worse, shut us down.

She deserves better than this and I want so much better for her… but the greed and vicious conduct we endured at the hands of the Cirrus gang has precluded much of that… for now.

Mind you, we will recover… of that I have no doubt.

And yet… this is the same Cirrus that asked for my help and editorial effort time and time again (which I was happy to undertake… back when Cirrus was a progressive, honest company that made me proud of being a part of the GA community) and what occurred thereafter is the result of the hatred Brent Wouters expressed to me (often profanely) about all things Alan Klapmeier and anyone he saw as being on Alan’s side; this is the Dale Klapmeier who acted as my friend while his brother ran Cirrus and turned into (IMO) a cold, vicious, calculating bastard that told family friends of his desire to harm me… and did… and thus did the same to the people I care about most… my sweetheart, my family, my staff and my friends.

After all the amazing stories I’ve told her of the wonders of aviation, and the incredibly spirited flyers that populate it, the Cirrus debacle sure makes it hard for outsiders to understand why I still adhere to my beliefs that aviation is inhabited by some of the most amazing people I know – despite the few I am so deeply ashamed of.

And still, together, we look forward to getting back in touch with the best and brightest of the aviation world.
So as I noted, in the coming weeks, we’re going to buckle down and do some serious business and even ask for your aid and support in doing so. Please be patient with us…and do know that we would appreciate your support and patronage as we start unveiling these great new book products that we feel will not only bring great benefit to the SportAv and GA world, but will also help us accelerate our plans to push the ANN agenda and further the start of a new GA revolution.

Yes, we’re going to be dropping quite a few sales-pitches on you for projects that we really do believe you’ll find interesting … but it’ll happen with a lot less urgency than what you’d associate with a certain alphabet association from Frederick, MD and there will be NO wine club involved (grin)…

We would appreciate your support, your speaking up for us and our efforts with the businesses you work with in the aviation world (who may be potential sponsors for ANN) and your continued patronage as we deal with the cards we’ve been dealt and start work anew on ANN’s exciting, innovative, radical next generation.

So… time to get back to business… so that we can keep you informed and educated, inspire greater and more aggressive change in the aviation world, build a new-generation of aviation media, and pursue a much more healthy business model, for ANN, to support it.

And if history persists, way too often we'll be going it alone (as a company)... where we'll do the hard stories, solo, until the evidence becomes so ponderous or the circumstances so ridiculous (or more to the point, the public outcry becomes impossible to ignore) that others finally follow where we've led, no doubt claiming that they were on to the stories all along or otherwise boasting of their meager journalistic exploits... while cashing Cirrus sponsor checks (or others of questionable virtue)... oblivious to the fact that they've accomplished little more than re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. 

We've raised the alarm time and time again, over 100 times as I recall, for stories of serious note... and too many times we've been ridiculed, belittled, attacked (by those about whom these stories are written, or their associates in an effort to minimize our impact) and harassed for our efforts... but to the best of my knowledge, EVERY time, we've been proven to be right... and never have we been proven wrong. 

Sooner or later, that pesky little fact has to sink in.

We've paid a helluva price... and watched good people and good companies/organizations get screwed, hurt or even killed... but we've never broken faith with you, and we're not ready to do so now. 

So... there you have it... this is what we faced and this is where we stand... to tell you the truth, to protect your freedoms, to keep you safe from harm (physical or financial) and to (most of all) spread the joy of flight to those who understand its allure and to those who will someday join us. As always, you are ALL invited to be a part of this, to let us know what's important to you, and to participate actively in the Aero-News process and revolution... it is our fondest desire that the true mission of ANN be shared by grassroots flyers all over the world... the same people we've worked for every day.

Thank you for bearing with me through this... and from here on out, let's all do great things and help rebuild and recraft the aviation world so that we may all know that the future of aviation is assured. We all deserve so much better than what we've seen and experienced these past few years...

FMI: What Do YOU Think? ANN Readers Are Welcome and Encouraged To Respond!!!, No Good Deed Ever Goes Unpunished: Taking On The Cirrus Fiasco, Part 1, No Good Deed Ever Goes Unpunished: Taking On The Cirrus Fiasco, Part 2