Building momentum
July 21, 2009 by GAServesAmerica
Watch highlights from the General Aviation Serves America event in Charlotte, N.C.
I have just returned from a great General Aviation Serves America event in Charlotte, N.C., and I want to tell you about it because I believe it’s a good indicator of what we have accomplished so far—both on Capitol Hill and within our own GA community.
About 250 people came to Wilson Air Center for the event.
If you’ve been following the campaign, you know I’ve been traveling around the country, meeting with pilots, aircraft owners and operators, FBO personnel, airport managers, and others to share the General Aviation Serves America message and seek support for our ongoing outreach efforts. When I first began to make these stops, few people had heard much about the campaign. The gatherings were small, and in many ways, I was starting from scratch, educating people about the issues facing GA and focusing on the fundamental principles of the campaign.
But now the momentum is picking up, and I am having a very different experience when I meet with new groups around the country.
In Charlotte, the event was hosted by Bob Wilson, owner of Wilson Air Center at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, and organized by the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), the association that represents FBOs and other GA businesses. NATA is also a critical partner in our General Aviation Serves America outreach efforts.
Attendees were treated to an impressive aircraft display.
Some 250 people attended and Bob, well-known for his hospitality and customer service, put on a very impressive event. More than a dozen members of the local EAA chapter volunteered their time to help shepherd guests and provide information, and contributed a beautiful RV-7 to the aircraft display. Naturally, we also brought the AOPA Let’s Go Flying Sweepstakes Cirrus to be displayed alongside such diverse offerings as business jets, trainers, and turboprops of varying sizes and makes.
It was great to see so many different segments of the aviation community coming together in one place for one purpose—to help protect and promote our freedom to fly. The diversity of the audience and the aircraft, and the active involvement of members of NATA and EAA along with AOPA was a great show of strength and unity.
And at this event, many in the audience were already familiar with the campaign and its goals—great evidence that our message is being heard. They listened attentively as NATA President Jim Coyne and I talked about the issues of greatest concern and the importance of spreading the General Aviation Serves America message beyond Capitol Hill.
To me, the audience interest and knowledge, the variety of participants, and involvement of so many groups shows just how far we’ve come since we launched this campaign a few short months ago. We’re building momentum behind our message, now it’s up to all of us to keep it growing.
July 27th, 2009 at 9:38 am
Thank you for your including Charlotte EAA Chapter 309 in your event coverage. We as other EAA Chapters welcome the opportunity to support General Aviation Serves America!
September 20th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
GA needs repositioning of its brand as being the *seed* to America’s aviation greatness, and not it’s *weed*. I’m seeing this message in the campaign here and there, it needs to be amplified and integrated as part of the central GA idenity. If we talk only dollars and current tactical benefits that is a much harder sell.
Below I’ve reproduced my comment posted on the NPR coverage related to the USA today story.
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What seems to be forgotten in all this is that the United States is the birthplace of aviation, and the undisputed global leader in aerospace and aeronautics.
It got there because we have invested in the infrastructure to create a community and environment where interest in aviation flourishes. From Young Eagles program where pilots volunteer to kindle the spark in aviation among kids, to companies like Garmin that create entirely new industries, to institutions providing training and education to many of the world’s pilots and mechanics, to NASA producing engineers, scientists and astronauts — all this is possible because of a vibrant, thriving ecosystem that allows USA to conquer greater heights in this discipline. Only several goverments banding together to create the likes of Airbus can the world even aim to compete with the US.
So that’s why GA is important. It should not be viewed as a competitor to the airline industry but the seed that keep America competitive in the word for many decades to come. Otherwise we stand to lose our competitiveness in aviation and aerospace like we have in so many other industries.
And that is a cost to the USA that no one can ever fathom.
September 20th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
I’d like to say thank you to the GA Serves America campaign and kudos to Parth for his comments on the NPR site in response to the USA Today ’story’ on the 17th. I’ve been watching the news outlets since that time and have set-up http://www.save-ga.org to capture information and provide links to resources. If you would like to get involved you can send any negative news coverage, (newspaper, radio or tv station, date, title of story, reporter, etc…) to action@save-ga.org or visit http://www.save-ga.org for links and information.