Why I won't renew AOPA membership again

[RobertGary1]

I used to be an AOPA member in the 90's. I recall they did a lot for aviation. They had a help line you could call if you had questions or issues and they would fight against airports that restricted access to small airplanes.

After our local airport unilaterally decided to ban ultralights I decided to renew my EAA and AOPA memberships and get them involved. EAA had a regional rep call me back and wrote a very nice letter to the county informing them the ban was not legal and offering to help. AOPA did nothing. Literally nothing. I asked them if they would at least write a letter so I could show the supervisors that pilots did not support this ban (a couple pilots told them everyone hates small planes). My request for a letter stating AOPA opposed this restriction was met with

"AOPA refrains from acting as a hammer for hire"

What??? Isn't that literally what AOPA is? A group to represent pilots? 

BTW: If you call AOPA to ask an aviation or medical question today you'll simply be told you need to "upgrade" your membership.

-Robert
 

[hammdo]

Robert, I have a good one for you.

In 2019 after my heart attack and pace maker surgery, I upgraded to 'full membership' to get medical certificate advice. Talked to an AOPA rep and they told me no way I'd get my medical. I mean Zero chance. No options or what I could do. I was really surprised by that.

I decided to contact an AME who helps pilots and bingo, a year later 3rd class special issuance. His advice was to turn off the Defibrillator in the pace maker (since I didn't need it ) and that was the key. Now, I'm basic med. I would have expected AOPA to give me options or, query more like my AME did.

I'm up for renewal but really not sure. At this point I may just go with lowest renewal and stick with that...

They are not the org they used to be...

-Don

[ArtVandelay]

If you have insurance through AOPA and you fail to renew, what happens to the insurance coverage…canceled?

[RobertGary1]

1 hour ago, ArtVandelay said:

If you have insurance through AOPA and you fail to renew, what happens to the insurance coverage…canceled?

Aopa licenses their names for insurance they don’t sell it themselves. 

[EricJ]

3 hours ago, hammdo said:

They are not the org they used to be...

The world is not at all like it used to be.   I think such organizations find themselves between a rock and a hard spot far more often these days than in the past.   

e.g., On the ultralight issue, given how those guys behave at some airports, I suspect the AOPA may be getting requests from pilots on both sides on that one and is therefore just refraining from getting involved. 

 

[DXB]

Interesting discussion - I'm curious how many owners here who fly exclusively certified aircraft find value from their AOPA vs EAA memberships.  I am a member of the former but not the latter, but am open to joining EAA and/or dropping AOPA. My AOPA+Basic Pilot Protection Services membership did have some value for me when a vindictive ex filed a false report on the FAA anonymous pilot reporting system regarding my using medications that are not on the approved medication list.  Their lawyer reviewed and edited the response letter I had to send back to the FAA and I would say overall did a good job helping clear up the issue.  I was a little miffed that they pushed me to buy additional legal services (referring me to their preferred list of local lawyers) that I really didn't need in my particular situation (I declined).  However, I was certainly glad I had the membership when this came up.

[A64Pilot]

Their legal services  gave me some invaluable advice some years ago, not that I did anything bad, but gave me advice as to what not to say.

Not a current member but should renew, that advice upon retrospect was invaluable

[Utah20Gflyer]

I didn't renew recently, I don't like the woke/PC stuff they've been getting into.  I expect an aviation organization to be about aviation and not pushing social revolution. 

[TNIndy]

I'm a member and try to support both EAA and AOPA but when I called AOPA in 2017 to ask about insurance and financing for a Mooney two of them told me I shouldn't buy a Mooney. Obviously I didn't take their advice

Edited September 6, 2022 by TNIndy
Misspelling

[DCarlton]

I resisted joining AOPA for years.  Finally joined when GA started getting pushed out by biz jets and jet palaces in SOCAL.  Let the magazines pile up.  Rarely read them.  When I retired, I started taking the time to read the magazines; it's a good publication; not to jet centric; something for everyone.  Cancelled my other aviation mags.  Now I've started using their IFLIGHT flight planner.  I like it.  So now I'm getting some return on investment...    

[1980Mooney]

11 hours ago, RobertGary1 said:

I used to be an AOPA member in the 90's. I recall they did a lot for aviation. They had a help line you could call if you had questions or issues and they would fight against airports that restricted access to small airplanes.

After our local airport unilaterally decided to ban ultralights I decided to renew my EAA and AOPA memberships and get them involved. EAA had a regional rep call me back and wrote a very nice letter to the county informing them the ban was not legal and offering to help. AOPA did nothing. Literally nothing. I asked them if they would at least write a letter so I could show the supervisors that pilots did not support this ban (a couple pilots told them everyone hates small planes). My request for a letter stating AOPA opposed this restriction was met with

"AOPA refrains from acting as a hammer for hire"

What??? Isn't that literally what AOPA is? A group to represent pilots? 

BTW: If you call AOPA to ask an aviation or medical question today you'll simply be told you need to "upgrade" your membership.

-Robert

 

7 hours ago, EricJ said:

The world is not at all like it used to be.   I think such organizations find themselves between a rock and a hard spot far more often these days than in the past.   

e.g., On the ultralight issue, given how those guys behave at some airports, I suspect the AOPA may be getting requests from pilots on both sides on that one and is therefore just refraining from getting involved. 

On the Ultralight issue, your local airport and the AOPA did the right thing.  With no transponder and no ADSB, they are a dangerous nuisance and recently killed an unsuspecting pilot here in my stomping grounds. 

http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2021/12/cessna-208b-grand-caravan-n1116n-fatal.html

https://abc13.com/fort-bend-county-plane-crash-cessna-collides-with-paraglider-fulshear/11496178/

Edited September 4, 2022 by 1980Mooney

[1980Mooney]

1 hour ago, Utah20Gflyer said:

I didn't renew recently, I don't like the woke/PC stuff they've been getting into.  I expect an aviation organization to be about aviation and not pushing social revolution. 

Can you give an example or two of what you are talking about?  Maybe I have it confused with a different benign aviation publication.

[Will.iam]

I have paramotor glider and it’s great for flying close to the ground where regular planes can’t fly. But flying 1000’s of feet up is not very fun and quite dangerous as you can not move quickly compared to an airplane. You are like the turkey buzzards we all hate as pilots because they can cause alot of damage. Unfortunately the people who fly paramotor gliders i think do not realize the issue of how fast an airplane can be upon you until it’s too late.  Sort of like riding a bicycle on a hiway if a car doesn’t see you in time it’s going to end bad for both. 

[Eight8Victor]

7 hours ago, 1980Mooney said:

Can you give an example or two of what you are talking about?  Maybe I have it confused with a different benign aviation publication.

Here’s one from about the time I gave up my membership.

[67 m20F chump]

Oh man it looks like flying a Bonanza has some unexpected side effects.  I dropped my membership in the 90’s when my plane was hangared with AOPA’s. Phil B was the president and the guy was a kinda a jerk.  Real stand-off unfriendly guy.  You don’t get my money.  EAA all the way.

[Marauder]

Thanks for the reminder for why I am letting my membership lapse. The first time was when Boyer was running around saying how important it was he flew in a Citation.

Pretty impressive salaries for an organization that reported $46M in revenues. To put things in perspective, a CEO for a company in the private sector that generates between $25M and $100M in revenues has a total annual compensation between $350k and $500k. Even if you applied the aviation markup…

Blame this one on my former career:

https://www.aopa.org/-/media/Files/AOPA/Home/About-AOPA/Governance/2020_AOPA_Form-990_Public-Inspection-Copy.pdf

Take note of the reported travel expenses.





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[201er]

1 hour ago, Marauder said:

Thanks for the reminder for why I am letting my membership lapse. The first time was when Boyer was running around saying how important it was he flew in a Citation.

Pretty impressive salaries for an organization that reported $46M in revenues. To put things in perspective, a CEO for a company in the private sector that generates between $25M and $100M in revenues has a total annual compensation between $350k and $500k. Even if you applied the aviation markup…

I figured Mark Baker could chip in for lost dues cause I didn’t renew membership. It was working out to about 10% of my dues going toward his salary alone. I’d be cool with how much he was getting paid if he delivered some kind of mesmerizing results, but in reality all AOPA is doing is letting GA run into the ground more slowly.

[Marauder]

I figured Mark Baker could chip in for lost dues cause I didn’t renew membership. It was working out to about 10% of my dues going toward his salary alone. I’d be cool with how much he was getting paid if he delivered some kind of mesmerizing results, but in reality all AOPA is doing is letting GA run into the ground more slowly.

I was a bit surprised at only $30k was spent in the “lobbying” category. Hmmm….

Also, they spent $54k on “boats and airplanes”. Didn’t know they had a boat. Hmmm…

My disappointment with them involved their medical assistance program. I was dealing with an issue that would require an SI and they basically provided no help on how to proceed. I ended up using a helpful AME who guided me through the bureaucratic system.

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[Fly Boomer]

14 hours ago, DCarlton said:

I resisted joining AOPA for years.  Finally joined when GA started getting pushed out by biz jets and jet palaces in SOCAL.  Let the magazines pile up.  Rarely read them.  When I retired, I started taking the time to read the magazines; it's a good publication; not to jet centric; something for everyone.  Cancelled my other aviation mags.  Now I've started using their IFLIGHT flight planner.  I like it.  So now I'm getting some return on investment...    

I dropped Flying Magazine because I no longer felt that they had something for everyone.  AOPA may not be what they once were, but they still do a lot of advocacy that I appreciate.

EDIT:  After reading beyond DCarlton's post above, I would add that I was not pleased with their response when I asked for help with a purchase contract.  They sent a list of attorneys.  None were local.  Guy in Dallas said "you can't afford me".  Not too helpful.

[chriscalandro]

So you joined AOPA specifically to get them engaged in an argument with your airport (the airport manager absolutely has the right to restrict operations due to safety concerns) and you’re mad because they told you that’s not what they do?

 

Were you expecting a cheap lawyer?

it sounds a lot like you joined ONLY because you thought you could get them to fight your specific battle.

 

[RobertGary1]

3 hours ago, chriscalandro said:

So you joined AOPA specifically to get them engaged in an argument with your airport (the airport manager absolutely has the right to restrict operations due to safety concerns) and you’re mad because they told you that’s not what they do?

 

Were you expecting a cheap lawyer?

it sounds a lot like you joined ONLY because you thought you could get them to fight your specific battle.

 

You are 100% wrong. An airport under federal grant obligations can only enact such restrictions at the direction of the faa. You have been misinformed. 
The faa has already informed them they are in violation. 

we already have lawyer .   All we wanted was a letter 

i wonder how you’d feel if an airport arbitrarily banned single engine GA. I’m sure you wouldn’t expect anything of Aopa 

[RobertGary1]

18 hours ago, 1980Mooney said:

 

On the Ultralight issue, your local airport and the AOPA did the right thing.  With no transponder and no ADSB, they are a dangerous nuisance and recently killed an unsuspecting pilot here in my stomping grounds. 

http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2021/12/cessna-208b-grand-caravan-n1116n-fatal.html

https://abc13.com/fort-bend-county-plane-crash-cessna-collides-with-paraglider-fulshear/11496178/

Transponder and ads-b is something we’ve been arguing with the faa with for years. I think they’ll eventually allow it. Let your voice be heard and support us in getting it approved. 

[EricJ]

17 minutes ago, RobertGary1 said:

i wonder how you’d feel if an airport arbitrarily banned single engine GA. I’m sure you wouldn’t expect anything of Aopa 

That's sort-of happening in many places already.   Busy "jet ports" just make it more and more uncomfortable and expensive for piston GA to go there.   They obviously don't outright ban, but it winds up being similar.    Scottsdale is sort of in this process and has been for a while.   It's death by a thousand cuts...a little at a time so you barely notice.

[Scott Ashton]

22 minutes ago, RobertGary1 said:

You are 100% wrong. An airport under federal grant obligations can only enact such restrictions at the direction of the faa. You have been misinformed. 
The faa has already informed them they are in violation. 

we already have lawyer .   All we wanted was a letter 

i wonder how you’d feel if an airport arbitrarily banned single engine GA. I’m sure you wouldn’t expect anything of Aopa 

He’s actually not entirely wrong.   If the FAA decides not to enforce their own regulations, private citizens cannot force the FAA to do so…meaning that airport sponsors have more leeway than you think….

[RobertGary1]

13 minutes ago, EricJ said:

That's sort-of happening in many places already.   Busy "jet ports" just make it more and more uncomfortable and expensive for piston GA to go there.   They obviously don't outright ban, but it winds up being similar.    Scottsdale is sort of in this process and has been for a while.   It's death by a thousand cuts...a little at a time so you barely notice.

That’s too bad. I always use sky harbor and they’re amazingly GA friendly. 
 

I have noticed that all the little reliever fields around Phoenix are far more expensive than the fields around the SF Bay Area. I go to San Jose often for work and it’s cheaper than little Scottsdale:)