Should You Join AOPA? Discussion with AOPA President Mark Baker- InTheHangar Ep 123

00:00 Intro
02:00 What is the Mission of AOPA?
02:57 What are the General Aviation issues AOPA is working on right now?
05:40 Why is membership in AOPA worth it?
06:50 US General Aviation has it good compared to rest of the world - AOPA Advocacy
08:09 How has General Aviation fared during the pandemic?
09:30 The fight at the local area for the bad actor FBO's
10:30 What are other benefits of AOPA membership?
11:04 Medical and Legal help
12:24 FAA regs throttle innovation, what is AOPA doing about that?
15:08 What are objections to membership in AOPA?
16:30 Closing thoughts

Order the teeshirts there as well!

[nateabelflyingclub]

Definitely worth it, Mark and his team work tirelessly to make sure we continue to have the freedoms we enjoy in GA. Our local AOPA Ambassador Pat Brown is a shining example of their commitment to our community.

[briancuffle]

Love the show. Please keep it up. I am 48, and the show has encourage me to take flying lessons. I hope to get my papers, and one day be on your show. Thanks guys.

[aviation]

1:00 I don't need to watch any more of this video, I know what the answer will be. Thanks for saving me 16 minutes inorder to get the answer to your question.

[davidturner]

I’m also a later in life hopeful to be pilot....I joined AOPA just to get answers about medical concerns that even the AME couldn’t answer. I sent an email to AOPA with my questions and concerns and expected a reply over the next several days, maybe, instead I got a reply within a couple hours with all the information I needed along with the offer to look over all of the information to be sure everything was in order before I submit it to the FAA. Those emails and the fact my worries were reduced so I could make a plan were worth the price of admission.

[viccabrales]

I joined to take advantage of the PPS. Their Pilot protection services are definitely worth it. They have helped me out tremendously! Without them I would've been lost in the legal entanglements of the NTSB and the FAA. Another great show Christy and Dan.

[jeffreymitchell]

I thought only pilots and owners could join. Thank you for this video and for the free way information about AOPA and their mission is. I’m off to join. 😃👍

[duckbow]

Resounding YES. I'm a millennial, very much not the typical AOPA age group, and I owe my freedom to fly to the pilots before me who have organized and defended this right. There are only a handful of nations where general aviation exists and is as healthy and vibrant as it is here in US and Canada. Long live AOPA.

Btw, Mark Baker or AOPA, if you're reading, you do need to do a better job engaging with the next generation.

[CLdriver]

I’m a Canadian aviator and I support AOPA. Their many Resources are the best in the world

[RandyBroderick]

I canceled my AOPA membership last year. When it came time to renew my insurance, the rate went up like $80. I called my insurance company and asked about it and they explained to me that if you are an AOPA member, they give you a discount. I immediately reinstated my membership!

[jan]

Another excellent video, Dan and Christy. Thank you.

[richardfox]

I know first hand Mark is a great guy who works hard for us! I also know he is a bulldog for our interests!
There is this other thing out there, AQP-V. Thank goodness I never experienced the problems it addresses because I'd be dead and not writing this. It taught me what I didn't know.
How do you put egos aside to save lives? The peace pipe, maybe?

[paratyshow]

Another interesting episode, thanks Dan and Christy.

[stanley]

Many of the programs Mr. Baker talks of had roots in the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). For example, Young Eagles started more than 25 years ago. IMO, EAA is more about the private pilot and small airplanes, AOPA is more about corporate aviation, turbines and jets.

[Pilot_engineer_]

My only complaint is that I can't use the website. The upgrade does not allow anyone with an older Android phone or tablet to use the app. 😮 So why?
Can you have "app lite."

[peteranderson]

While aviation is a constant struggle no matter where you are, we have an embarrassment of riches in many ways here in the US. One of the biggest is that we have not one, but multiple organizations like the AOPA and EAA that work hard to secure General Aviation from stifling overregulation as well as the promotion of aviation safety.

[SmittySmithsonite]

I know the importance of advocacy. Every single hobby I've had since I was a kid seems to be hated by the powers that be, and was destined to be regulated out of existence. I watched my favorite pastime of off-roading become nearly nonexistent up here in MA in just 3 decades flat, since teenagers and 20-somethings don't hold alot of political clout (besides that, there was no one to fight for us here). All the places I spent my childhood riding are off limits today. My second pastime of target shooting doesn't need any explanation - if not for the NRA, I believe 2A would've been decimated in the 90's. I can definitely see a big benefit of having a advocacy group backing aviation, especially today with some of the crazy talk we've been hearing from certain politicians. I don't hold a pilot's license (yet), but I'll definitely be joining AOPA sometime in the future. I've enjoyed watching their weekly AOPA Live YouTube show for a long time, although I've missed the past several months just due to lack of time. " Support the sport " they used to say in the day - never dreamed I'd see the hundreds of ATV's and dirt bikes I'd see on trails behind my parent's house vanish in just 3 decades. If it can happen there, it can happen with ANY motorized activity.

Anyway ... I've rambled enough! Great show as always, Dan & Christy!

[richard]

I am in Melbourne AUSTRALIA, and been an AOPA USA member for years, I look for the new Info, and any procedures that could be applied here 👍, but why is a Garmin 480w still so expensive, we would love to update at a reasonable cost.

never again after finding out what Baker makes.

[tomedgar]

Sorry but this is the first time in 10 years that I did not renew my membership. I want my dollars to go for the cause and not inflated executive salaries. Ask Mark about his salary. Is their balance sheet public? I don’t believe it will be justified for the size of the organization he is running.

[PuppyDogPilot]

I am a member of EAA and the Seaplane Pilots Association. I used to be in AOPA as well but gave it up. They represent me and my flying the least, by far. Now if I flew jets or turboprops, it might be different. That's where their interests lie.