Well, there's no shortage of opinions! I'll expand a little on where I was going with this.
First, we do need strong representation in Washington to protect our interests. AOPA is the front line on this and has been for many years.
I've got a collection of Flying magazines dating back to the 1940s. At that time AOPA didn't have their own magazine; it was a section in Flying. One amusing thing to me is that ANY change to the staus quo was anathema to them. When the VOR system and VHF communications were being phased in the early 1950s, AOPA was there protesting that thousands of radios would become obsolete, forcing owners to buy expensive new VHF radios (No argrument there!)
Same thing happened later with light airplane transponders. AOPA
felt any light plane should have the right to fly into JFK without one. After a series of jetliner/GA collisions in the late 1960s they insisted that see and avoid was perfectly viable, and the jet crews were at fault for not spotting the other airplane in time, even at speeds of nearly 300 MPH below 10,000 feet.
Don't misunderstand me; I fully support AOPA and the work they do. By digging in their heels on every possible change to the freedoms we enjoy as private pilots, we get the best shot on minimizing the damage. I have been in AOPA for nearly 20 years, and plan on remaining one.
The EAA is more problematic. It's not nearly as effective a lobbying organisation as AOPA, sometimes they appear to working at cross-purposes.
I hate to sound cynical, but the EAA has turned into a cash cow for
Poberezny and company. They must collect close to 12 million in dues alone from 170,000 members, assuming an average of 70 bucks per. They get to buy and fly lots of neat airplanes, like the B-17 Sentimental
Journey, a B-25 ect. I know they are a non-profit org, but it seems to me
that the money that goes through AOPA does a lot more good for our right to fly than anything EAA has done, especially lately.
Incidently, as you model airplane guys know, the same complaint has been made about the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) for years -
that the organisation has evolved into a self-serving, bloated organism
more attendant to its own needs than the members it was supposed to serve.
Of course, I could be wrong
...Russ Farris
All glory is fleeting...
