Boyer, Subordinates, Deliver Message On Where We Stand

It was a comprehensive look at where the nation's biggest aviation advocacy group stands as we close out 2005. At the AOPA Expo in Tampa, FL, a bright and cheery Phil Boyer introduced his management team to the somewhat bright and cheery audience at the 0900 general session Saturday: Andy Cebula, Sr. Vice President of Government and Technical Affairs; Harvey Cohen, Senior Vice President of Development; Karen Gebhart, Senior Vice President Products and Services; Tom Haines, Senior Vice President of Publications; Bruce Landsberg, Executive Director of the Air Safety Foundation; Jeff Myers, Executive Vice President of Communications; and Dave Speer, Senior Vice President of Advertising.

Boyer began his presentation talking about Jonathan Livingston Seagull and the profound influence the story has had on a lot of pilots "to appreciate the bird-like freedom of flight. That freedom, in February 2003, was taken away for many of the Washington, DC, area pilots."

Boyer, of course, was referring to the ADIZ which surrounds the nation's capitol. Boyer's call to action last month generated almost 19,000 formal comments from pilots to the FAA on the agency's proposal to make the ADIZ a permanent feature of the airspace over Washington.

He showed a video of the 69-year old pilot who flew a Cessna 150 to within three miles of the White House last May, forcing the evacuation of the executive mansion, the Capitol and the US Treasury. After being escorted by military and TSA aircraft to Frederick Municipal Airport -- home of the AOPA -- Heyden "Jim" Schaeffer was forced to lie on the ground at gunpoint while he was brusquely frisked and handcuffed. "Do we really need to go that far?" asked Boyer in Saturday's speech. He said the fight continues to ensure that we do not.

Following Boyer's speech, ASF chief Landsberg cited what he called good news on GA accidents. Last year, the number of GA accidents dropped seven-percent compared to 2003. Fatal accidents declined in number as well, down five-percent last year compared to the year before.

Some of the coming attractions for the AOPA Online Safety Center:

• December - GPS for VFR
• Spring '06 - GPS for IFR

Landsberg said he was proud of the "depth of industry participation" for the engine and propeller online presentation.

Development VP Harvey Cohen acknowledged it doesn't take long to say, "Give money." Funds are necessary to continue the AOPA's work on behalf of general aviation, he said. "One AOPA equals a strong GA," he told the crowd.

Andy Cebula, promoted on stage by Boyer to his new post as executive vice president of government affairs, credited his leadership team with gains on Capitol Hill and in state legislatures around the country. More 1,500 volunteers work regionally and locally "to promote, protect and defend America's community airports," he said. A prime example of that teamwork, he said, was the success in keeping developers from sinking their teeth into the prime real estate surrounding that Tampa airstrip. The airport is located on prime waterfront land and has developers drooling. Thanks to a massive education effort, Cebula said, area voters decided to ban developers from endangering the airport.

Also on Cebula's agenda: Monitoring the flight service station switchover. On October 4, FSS was outsourced to Lockheed Martin. That switch-over was part of a cost-saving effort at the FAA, a move aimed at avoiding the imposition of pilot user fees, he said.

Also promoted in a surprise move from the podium, Karen Gephart was bumped up to become executive vice president of non-dues revenue. She talked about insurance coverage -- an issue that ranks third among members, according to Boyer. Gephart recommended renters "truly check out" their FBO policies. As a renter herself, Gephart said, she learned "the FBO insurance coverage is really protecting [the FBO], not me." AOPA has insurance available, she said. She urged pilots to take advantage of that in order to protect themselves from liability issues.

Speaking on the debate over the influence of a pilot's age on aviation accidents, Gephart said she and her team found "no direct indication that older pilots have any specific or unique or more complex type of accidents than any other age group."

Jeff Myers, executive vice president of communications, has been part of the Boyer Brain Trust for two years. While the AOPA pilot magazine thrives, he said, technology has helped grow the AOPA web site to more than 60,000 pages. More than 400 of those pages are updated monthly, he said. Add to that 75-100 new stories a month and you can see where Jeff and his staff don't sleep much. AOPA has a "special" site for the general public -- www.gaservingamerica.org. Myers said that web site gives the general public the low-down on general aviation.

One of the methods that seemed to help the general media discover general aviation last year was putting reporters in the air. Flying the AOPA company Bonanza, he said, staffers took a local reporter up for an orientation flight. Since then, he said, the pilot's stories about aviation have become much more balanced, proving the value of such a ride-along program.

FMI: www.aopa.org