I've begun to wonder how much AOPA and NBAA missions are beginning to coincide. I'm still with AOPA (and EAA, of course), and still feel like I am receiving benefit (I don't receive the AOPA mag, instead I get Flight Training which is actually pretty decent) but keeping an eye on where things go, especially with the dues increasing so much over the past few years. AOPA needs to increase its efforts in terms of promoting small potatoes GA to continue to keep my interest.
I don't even care about the dues increases. That's essentially just inflation. It's what they do with the dues and how effective they are that counts.
I've said it before, they're out of touch with the "O" in their name and should remove it. Your assertion that they're essentially an arm of NBAA is the same sentiment.
I learn more about maintaining and operating an airplane from articles in Sport Aviation. Even an old one like mine. AOPA refuses to publish prices on any of those things they do in their "better than new" series (or gasp, negotiate discounts for those things as part of advertising them for the manufacturers). Etc.
Until you get to the ASF or Flight Training, AOPA completely ignores the majority of the 70s-built fleet that still fills the ramps at most airports.
Seen any pushes to lower certification costs on avionics? Any AOPA articles pointing out that there's an EAB flying the same instrument approaches right next to the other airplanes for half the price and doing it safer with an affordable autopilot? Nope. They instead tout ADS-B like it's a panacea when it's not.
They simply don't represent owners. That's their biggest strategic mistake. I certainly have the money to buy a membership but if they ignore me as a 70s-vintage owner, why would I? They're busy having lunch with the Cirrus salespeople at some event somewhere. And that's fine. Their choice. But it isn't helping the average Joe with a Cessna or Piper out.
They lose consistently on the political front, too. BasicMed is a compromise between what it should have been (glider rules) and what it became. They actually PUSHED for the ADS-B mandate and STILL can't articulate why they did so. PBOR and similar, they were as surprised those happened as anyone.
EAA even for their size being smaller, consistently demands concessions for the little guy. Although I must admit, EAA picking up J. Mac was a mistake. There's not a more out of touch person with the little guy than him. At least from his writing. Never met the guy. But flight reviews of bizjets worked better for him at Flying. He's trying to learn to be a little guy. I'll give him credit for that.
Boyer at least walked the talk. He could do the Jet set crowd one day after showing up to talk to the rest of us in his Cessna. It meant a lot when you'd go to a seminar and he'd say he landed it at the GA airport a couple hours ago and grabbed a ride over to give the talk, and he would fly out again tomorrow in it to give the next one 500 miles down the road. He lived it. Flying across the country in an old piston GA airplane and wearing out the shoe leather at least part of the time.
