Is AOPA Forgetting about the little guy?

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?

sad, but true.

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James Blakely wrote:

So, what do you think?

I think that the typical AOPA member will have to sell whatever they give away
ASAP to pay the taxes, and it's great that the planes they are giving away are
valuable enough for me to afford to do something nice with what would be left
over if I won one of them.

If I win the WACO, I can sell it and have about $150k left over after taxes. That
will buy a very nice, useful airplane.

George Patterson
Great discoveries are not announced with "Eureka!". What's usually said is
"Hummmmm... That's interesting...."

I've often thought as you do and although I'm a member but have
elected to not receive their magazine for a few years now. What you
have to look at is how hard the current leadership of AOPA is working
for you now. As far as the giveaways go, don't worry you'll never win
one.


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?

In article
, "James
Blakely" wrote:

Is it just me, or is it that AOPA is starting to ignore the Spam-can
pilot?

[snip]
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 don't AOPA is "starting" to ignore the spam-can, I don't think
they've ever really loved the "weekend" pilot or the sport flyer
(at least not since I joined in 1988).

--
Bob Noel

"Bob Noel" wrote in message
...
Is it just me, or is it that AOPA is starting to ignore the Spam-can
pilot?

I don't AOPA is "starting" to ignore the spam-can, I don't think
they've ever really loved the "weekend" pilot or the sport flyer
(at least not since I joined in 1988).

Ok. Then tell us how the AOPA can do a better job of pleasing you.

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

On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 02:29:52 GMT, "G.R. Patterson III"
wrote:



James Blakely wrote:

So, what do you think?

I think that the typical AOPA member will have to sell whatever they give away
ASAP to pay the taxes, and it's great that the planes they are giving away are
valuable enough for me to afford to do something nice with what would be left
over if I won one of them.

If I win the WACO, I can sell it and have about $150k left over after taxes. That
will buy a very nice, useful airplane.

George Patterson
Great discoveries are not announced with "Eureka!". What's usually said is
"Hummmmm... That's interesting...."

Americans get taxed on material prizes as well as cash? Wow! It makes
winning a new car or house or plane or whatever a burden to the wrong
person!

"Jordan" wrote in message
...

|
| Americans get taxed on material prizes as well as cash? Wow! It makes
| winning a new car or house or plane or whatever a burden to the wrong
| person!

There are exceptions. You are not taxed on gifts, so if you did not enter a
contest or something like that you do not have to pay taxes on the prize.
Thus the Nobel Prize is not taxable but winning the Waco is. The IRS
believes that you had to do something to win the Waco (renew your AOPA
membership), but that the Nobel is given to you despite the fact that you
did nothing to get it.

The IRS could give lessons to the FAA in writing arbitrary and nonsensical
regulations.

Yes, winning a big prize can be a big burden. People who win big prizes on
TV game shows often return the prizes after the show simply because they
cannot afford to pay the taxes. There have been some real horror stories.
One contestant decided to keep her mink, found that she could not pay the
taxes, could not sell it (prospective buyers severely damaged the mink
during the process, eventually rendering it worthless), and nearly lost
everything she owned. IIRC it even broke up her marriage.

Even cash can cause a problem. A janitor won hundreds of thousands of
dollars playing blackjack in Vegas on New Year's Eve, but by morning he had
lost it all. The IRS came after him for his 'gambling income.' The janitor
asserted that he could take his gambling losses against his income. The IRS
agreed, but you can only take your gambling losses against your winnings
that same year. Since his losses came after midnight, he could only take
them against his winnings, if any, of the following year. This case was so
disastrous that casinos are now required to withhold a percentage of your
winnings for tax purposes.

Some organized crime figures have attempted to claim that their percentage
is actually 'gifts' from their underlings, but that never worked. Now they
either launder their money through legitimate businesses or, as in one
notorious case, declare it all as miscellaneous income and pay the taxes. It
would have been fun if he had tried to itemize his business expenses:
"payments to Senators and Congressmen, $3 million," etc.

"Jordan" wrote in message ...
Americans get taxed on material prizes as well as cash? Wow! It makes
winning a new car or house or plane or whatever a burden to the wrong
person!

Certainly, it's just like any other income. You get taxed on the value. What's
really absolutely stupid is that if you win a "new" car, you get taxed on the MSRP
irregardless of what the going rate is, or the fact that this "new" car depreciates
70% in the first few feet it's driven.