AOPA's non-reaction to "Secret No Fly Zone"

Myself, I think AOPA's primary objective is to emulate the NRA, they want to be just like the NRA with as much clout in Washington as the NRA. Airplanes, and the associated problems with them are their primary vehicle for raising funds, in order to gain more political clout.

Building membership and their lobbying efforts are first and foremost above all else. A situation with one little nobody glider pilot is not going to drain AOPA resources or time unless there is a solid media event surrounding it, where AOPA can take it's bows.

AOPA has become nothing but a private sector bureaucracy that has drifted too far from it's primary mission, that of promoting aviation and providing support for pilots and aircraft owners. It is hard to tell what they are promoting, AOPA or aviation. It is however, crystal clear who AOPA supports the most...AOPA.

-John
 
Here is an example of the AOPA doing what the AOPA should be doing, i.e. watching the federal register for new regulations that can have the side effect of killing airports or restricting general aviation.

I wonder how many of the pilots who quit the AOPA and/or EAA because people working for those organizations fly GA airplanes are reading the Federal Register every day looking for this kind of thing.



In the case of any individual airport, the AOPA can help (as they did in keeping KGTU open here in central Texas), but really it's the local pilots who will have to do the heavy lifting. Parachuting in a bunch of guys from Washington with briefcases can help some, but there is only so much outsiders can do in any community.
 
It could be, by drawing calm attention to the idiocy in Darlington County, AOPA has already served a useful purpose in punishing Darlington County for the astoundingly stupid actions of its LEOs and court. People around the United States are now ridiculing and castigating this sheriff and his associates. They didn't get away with their dimwit drama. They were brought up short, their weak excuses held up to light of day looked even flimsier.

Unfortunately, they made the whole county look bad. They confirmed the bad-comedy bumbling stereotypes Yankees have of Southerner law enforcement, and I dare say cost the county significant business and tourist dollars as disgusted pilots go elsewhere. They won't care how much the town and surrounding area might have to offer, or how nice the lady who runs the cafe in town is, they won't stop there to find out. Or anywhere close to there, most likely. And they won't forget. I haven't forgotten Chicago Meigs, have you? My dollars don't go there, either.

And this one instance of a poorly-informed and poorly-behaved country sheriff will overpower years of good news from my part of the world. Won't matter how beautiful the historic countryside is, won't matter how impressive the business climate is in South Carolina, how remarkable and progressive the whole region may be, what people will remember for years is this absurd miscarriage of justice by a stupid sheriff and his colleagues, a bunch of them, at least some of whom darn well should have known better.

.
 
AdamZ said:
FYI AOPA LIVE http://www.aopa.org/aopalive/this-week/?cmp=ALTW:L2
Featured this incident again today and hinted at how the matter was being addressed. Apparently a Congressman is even looking into hearings.
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Wow, Craig sure is right on top of things. The first thing he said was the pilot 'circled over the plant'. Which is wrong, and is very material to the 'loitering' wording of the post 9/11 changes.

What a doof, and the editor didn't catch either.
 
alaskaflyer said:
Obviously the most useful thing to remedy THAT is juvenile harassment on their social media sites. How could they fail to see the error of their ways after that?!?
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Like it or not, that's the modern equivalent of a million man march.

Want to play as a government agency or business in public media, expect backlash when you do something stupid.

Nothing juvenile about most of the comments posted, that I saw. People posted displeasure and links to information. DCSO deleted them. People posted again.

Any good PIO would have told whoever was posting articles about parachutes in France into nuclear facilities on their page to stop digging a bigger hole. Smart organizations hire PR professionals to handle their social media contact points, or they just don't play at all.

Post something ultra-stupid in the modern town square and sign it "Sheriff" and you're going to hear from all corners of the Earth. Pretty normal nowadays.
 
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