On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 00:47:13 GMT, "James Blakely"
wrote:

Is it just me, or is it that AOPA is starting to ignore the Spam-can pilot?
I've been a member for about 5 years now and each year, the airplane they
give away becomes more impractical. They claim the Waco is worth $200k but
it is a day VFR only aircraft. How useful is that? Now, next year, they
are giving away a twin. What percentage of pilots have a ME ticket? How
many could get insurance?

It is not just the airplanes either. I used to think that the AOPApilot
magazine was one of the best. Now, almost half of it is dedicated to
turbine operations. I do not see a turbine in my future at all.

It really seems to me like AOPA is moving away from the weekend pilot and
moving toward the semi-professional pilot. It seems to me that they are
just supporting part 91 operations just because that is where most
professional pilots get their start.

So, what do you think?

I think AOPA does an ok job of mixing GA interests, especially when
considering the varied base of their constituents (private,
commercial, ATP, light GA owners, heavy GA owners). I fly a Cherokee,
and certainly enjoy the articles on latest/greatest avionics and
planes. If you are looking for someting different - I find the
type-specific magazines (Cessna Pilots Association, Cherokee Pilots
Association, etc) to be good sources of spam-can info.

As far as the WACO give-away, I think it is great. What a cool plane!
If the pilot who wins doesn't like it, they can always trade/sell it
for something of equivalent value. As others have already pointed out
many pilots won't be able to afford the taxes on the plane, so they
will have to sell no matter what.

AOPA and flying have gone a bit overboard on the turbine operations
sections, but I think this is being driven by the surge in the light
jet industry, ie Eclipse, MustangJet, etc. It might be a fad,
particularly if the 6-seat jet market never materializes.

Regardless of what they put in their magazine, and what they give away
- I do think AOPA does a good job of fighting against TFRs and other
GA-oppressive legislation. They are our best hope against scandalous
news reporting, and overzealous Congressmen.

-Nathan