I would suspect that being under the EAA umbrella could be a BIG benefit.
It would permit the SSA to focus on Soaring, and offload taxes, financial
reporting, membership accounting, insurance, etc. on an existing,
professional, infrastructure. The remaining downsized SSA can focus on what
is really important to the sport, both for competitive and non-competitive
pilots. In addition, we would have the clout of the EAA to help in lobbying
efforts, development of low cost / light weight transponders, etc.....

Mike Schumann

wrote in message
ups.com...
Well,
We have to consider really what SSA does for us- everyone mentions
the big stuff like plane insurance and lobbying, and the clout of AOPA
or EAA would be good there. I just think that these organizations
already have their own inertia to deal with. I doubt pursuits like
Badge / Record Claims, Sporting code changes, sailplane handicaps,
conventions, or contest management would be of any interest to them,
and that is our bread and butter.
I have been thru some corporate mergers and the sum is rarely as
effective as the parts were beforehand. Technically, it seems marrying
these groups would create something better- unfortunately, we are
dealing with folks that can't even get our books straight. Could we
trust them to keep SSA's identity and unique needs seperate and
healthy? I doubt it.
We already have an organization that does this other stuff fairly
well. We need to change the organization to make it more accountable
and less incestuous. Smaller can be better, it just has to be done
right. There is enough in SSA to save, and we don't have to do it all
tomorrow.

Just curious- How long have our dues been 55 clams? Might be time for
Mo' Money anyway. For some reason we expect to get out of a money jam
without raising taxes. Sometimes ya gotta do it.

Joe in Georgia USA
CN Open Cirrus #105


wrote:
If SSA were to merge with a larger organization, EAA would be better
suited than AOPA. The EAA already has a number of Divisions &
Affiliates under its umbrella, including:

International Aerobatic Club
http://www.iac.org/

Vintage Aircraft Association
http://www.vintageaircraft.org/

War Birds of America
http://www.warbirds-eaa.org/

National Association of Flight Instructors
http://www.nafinet.org/

EAA Ultralights
http://www.eaa.org/ultralights/index.html

Sport Pilot and Light Sport Aircraft Assoc.
http://www.sportpilot.org/

Young Eagles
http://www.youngeagles.org/

and there are more....... Each of these groups has its own magazine
and identity.

EAA promotes and fully supports each and every one of these
organizations. Makes sense that a soaring division of EAA would fit
nicely with these other groups.

In my opinion, SSA is just too small to efficiently manage itself
logistically and financially.

Jon B.
GA



Stan - VA wrote:
I think it is pretty clear that if the SSA survives this latest bout of
mismanagment that our dues will mainly go to debt payment, and not to
services for members.

Several of us at our club have considered the pros and cons of the AOPA
idea. It definitely is worth discussing.

The AOPA has some real lobbying power. If the SSA ever had any, it
won't now. The amount of $ SSA had, has, or will have to spend on
lobbying efforts probably won't even open the door for us with anyone
in Washington. AOPA's clout is another matter.

I don't know that the AOPA would be interested, but 16,000 pilots would
be a healthy addition to their membership, if that is what the SSA
membership is. Of course, some SSA are already AOPA members.

A couple of pages monthly in the AOPA magizine would probably do
soaring a world of good. Most of the potential pilots for our sport
are already power pilots.

AIG, the insurer who underwrites the policies that come from
Costello's, already has a relationship with the AOPA. Probably
Costello's has a relationship with the AOPA too. Hopefully, we
maintain our insurance in its present form.

Let's face the reality of the situation. We may soon have no national
soaring umbrella organization. We will need to deal with that in some
fashion. Better to think about the alternatives now.

Stan Scott - VA

Tony Verhulst wrote:
Nyal Williams wrote:
We have always wanted to be more like the BGA. Do you
believe that, comprising 1% of the pilot population,
we would receive any notice inside AOPA? Maybe one
page near the back of the magazine -- occasionally.

Would we receive any notice inside AOPA? No! Not even inside EAA nor
even NAFI. Case in point, I used to be a NAFI (National Association
of
Flight Instructors) member. In one of their monthly (mailed)
newsletters
(2002), they warned us that the PTS (practical Test Standard)was
changing and to make sure that we trained our students to the new
standards. When I researched the matter I discovered that ONLY the
*airplane* PTS was changing - not glider, not helicopter, ... you get
the picture. I wrote a nice letter to the organization president and
editor explaining the situation and requested a public clarification.
I
got nowhere - not even a clarification in their online newsletter
which
would have cost them nothing to distribute. After several polite
email
exchanges, I realized that unless you were an airplane instructor you
were nothing and that there was no point in me being a member. I
resigned in protest.

Expect similar treatment if we become part of AOPA.

Tony V. CFIG
http://home.comcast.net/~verhulst/SOARING