Aviation Fraternity or Snobbery?

[G2T]

I think the Expos are the wrong place to go to find friendly conversation, there is too much business going on. Go to Sun'nFun or Oshkosh and camp next to your airplane. You will be assured friendly conversation. We flew into Oshkosh and camped there a couple of years ago and met more people than I knew what to do with.

 

[A Squared]

Well, I dont see ANY other organizations stepping up and supporting GA.

EAA


And they have a much better magazine.

 

[Way2Broke]

I think AOPA has its place in the world. I keep my pre-paid legal with them and the 1(800) number is great for getting questions answered (I just wish they kept longer hours). I went to the expo one year, and I can relate to your concerns. But look at it this way, those vendors paid big bucks to set up at the Expo and they want to get a return out of their investment. My biggest complaint about AOPA is all the junk mail I get from them. It seems to me if they did not send a renewal notice ever other day they could save alot of money and do things like keep small airports open.

 

[wrxpilot]

I don't think thats the case at all.
If it weren't for AOPA I think we would be seeing user fees out the a$$ and a lot more airport closures.

My beef is with the ******************************-bag sales guys sizing you up to see if your net worth warrants even a grunt and a head nod.

I've definitely had different experiences at Sun-n-Fun (I know, EAA not AOPA). But the same sales guys I'm sure. The first year I went (2004) was when I was just a poor, mid-20s student pilot. I have to say the a/c salesman were very nice to me. Talked with me, allowed me to tour the a/c as long as I wanted (and they weren't hovering over me). I'm not talking about the kitplanes either... Citations, Gulfstreams, etc. The only company that kinda blew us off was Diamond. The pilots at Sun-n-Fun all seemed friendly to me too, like the aviation fraternity feeling you're talking about.

Have you ever been to a boat show in Ft. Lauderdale or Palm Beach? That's where the snobs are (salesman and show visitors). I was treated VERY rudely by pretty much everybody at the Palm Beach boat show.

 

[wrxpilot]

Expos and such have a purpose, but what do you expect from a bunch of self-important wannabes hanging around a booth in their polo shirts? They're trolling for memberships and for someone to stroke their egos.

Fugawe

I have NEVER experienced that kind of attitude from anybody at AOPA, whether it be at a show, safety seminar, talking to them on the phone, or exchanging emails with Phil Boyer himself. I wish I could say the same about some of the other associations I'm part of. AOPA is far above any of them in value, service, and effectiveness IMO.

 

[siucavflight]

Well, I dont see ANY other organizations stepping up and supporting GA. What have YOU done for your profession lately??

I joined the EAA, and also go to the local airport commission meetings at the local GA airport by my house (PWK).

 

[agpilot34]

I'm an EAA member as well, but I still dont think they do as much overall for GA as the AOPA does. Now if you're a kitbuilder, there's no better bunch to be associated with.

 

[TrafficInSight]

Unfortunately, I get the very same feeling. With a few exceptions, reading the magazine gives me the impression that none of the authors and/or members featured in there would be all too genuinely interested in anything I have to say.

Which is fine, since I feel similarly about the subjects of their articles: the writing is redundant and painfully inoffensive, the humor is tepid, and they always seem slightly detached from reality.

Just my POV though.

I miss Bax

 

[MFRskyknight]

To add to what I said earlier, I would much rather see a world with AOPA than without them, and I will continue to renew my membership for as long as I have anything to do with airplanes. However, I think they exist primarily to serve a political function, rather than a fraternal one, and I have no problem with that. Representation, information, and legal protection are their strong suits; humor,
brotherhood, and the way the world really works are not (Project Pilot, while harmless and well-intentioned, is a rather naive idea). It's this side of AOPA that turns me off. Like somebody else said, the easiest (and best) way to satisy a need for association is simply to hang around the airport and talk to the people there.

 

[CalifDan]

I was there for all three days including the day prior for the parade of planes. I did not have any of the negative experiences described above. I made a point of sitting at occupied tables during morning and afternoon coffee or food breaks and met new people from various parts of the country, an fbo owner who spent 20 minutes telling me all about how he came to be one, and a Columbia sales guy. Some flew in, some did not. No attitude from any of them.

I saw Phil Boyer walking through the show and exchanged a short "good show" comment. He was obviously in a hurry, but did take time to say thanks. The Cessna guys let me occupy the left seat of the Mustang and I obviously was not a potential buyer. That said, I would think these sales people would have gotten far enough to understand that people with money don't always look like they have money.

I agree that AOPA is as much political as anything and the experience will be different than Oshkosh, a local EAA event or even your local pilots group. The thing is, we need all of the above. If you had attended the last general session you would have a better understanding of the important and unique niche AOPA fills for GA.