Says Entire Industry Needs To Work 'Arm-In-Arm' To Reduce Decline In Pilot Population

Mark Baker, the newly-appointed head of AOPA, says that his first order of business is to be sure that everything the organization does is perceived by the members as adding value to their membership.

In a telephone interview with ANN Editor in Chief Jim Campbell Wednesday, Baker says that he is currently doing a "deep dive" into the organization, but he knows that it is important for the membership to see the organization as having value in preserving their "freedom to fly."

"Maybe we need to do some adjustment to our primary reason to exist, which is advocacy, legal services, (and) pilot centers," he said. But Baker also asked for patience while he gets settled into his new position.

Baker said that the industry as a whole needs to work "arm-in-arm" to increase the pilot population, either from new pilots learning to fly or lapsed pilots getting re-engaged in general aviation. Part of that, he said, starts with a "positive airport experience." He said when people have choices with their discretionary time and dollars, there has to be access and a high "fun factor" return for the activity to retain their interest. He said one of the assets he can bring from his retail background is helping to create that value proposition for both new and returning pilots.

Baker said when it comes to some regulatory issues affecting GA, such as 3rd class medicals and revisions to Part 23 "the FAA owes our population an answer." He said that in his view, the 3rd class medical issue in particular is not "dead," as has been suggested by the FAA. "Maybe not now, but how do we get to a 'Yes' is more my view on this thing. I want to spend a lot of my energy on this, because I think it makes sense, and the math makes sense, and we've got to find out how we get to the correct 'yes'."

We'll have more excerpts from the interview in the coming days, and you can hear Baker's responses on our daily 'Aero-Briefings' podcasts with Glen Moyer.

FMI: www.aopa.org, /podcasts/casts/3/ann-special-feature-MBaker-2013-09-26.mp3