[Paul_Sengupta]

There are free landing vouchers in the LAA mag as well...

[IMCR]

I think the correct answer is numbers. AOPA US has a huge membership base and therefore is able to operate on smaller margins.

I have said for some time that if AOPA UK could increase its membership significantly that would be good for us all.

I forget the actual numbers (and doubtless will be quickly corrected, which I dont mind) but I think well over 50% of US pilots are members and less than 10% in the UK.

[johnm]

I think the correct answer is numbers. AOPA US has a huge membership base and therefore is able to operate on smaller margins.

I have said for some time that if AOPA UK could increase its membership significantly that would be good for us all.

I forget the actual numbers (and doubtless will be quickly corrected, which I dont mind) but I think well over 50% of US pilots are members and less than 10% in the UK.

There are just over 600,000 private pilots in the US and AOPA has just under 400,000 members.

There about 28,000 private pilots in the UK but I don't know how many members AOPA has

[flybymike]

I think AOPA UK has around two or three thousand members. A dismal reflection on the whole PPL population.

I was offered free membership for a year when I got my licence in the early eighties.

I’ve been a continuous member ever since.

[CloudHound]

I joined when I bought my plane. For just the legal advice it is worth the fee.

Not that I need any.

Yet

[Flyin'Dutch']

I joined when I bought my plane. For just the legal advice it is worth the fee.

Not that I need any.

Yet

And the free initial legal advice is no longer part of the package - ask Peter Spencer

[PeteSpencer]

I joined when I bought my plane. For just the legal advice it is worth the fee.

Not that I need any.

Yet

When I wrote off a 1/4million bucks Archer in USA a few years back, I contacted AOPA for my free legal advice:
It was:
' you'd better get yourself a lawyer'

Peter

[TheFarmer]

AOPA is (in the same way as all fraternities have) a ‘layer of cash extraction’ from the system. We all see it in our industries, and AOPA is a perfect example of this.

I’d rather attach my testicles to a Sukhoi’s smoke system on a hot day in Mombasa than pay them any of my money.

They’re a well publicised and organised bunch who make certain people who fly feel like they’re a member of something a bit special and who can then put a little sticker on their Audi Q7’s rear window (next to the faded 2011 Goodwood Revival one) with full public pride of that they’re telling everyone they fly when the traffic on the M40 gets a bit manky.

In real terms, and if they were an item you’d physically bought, they’d be about as useful as one of those £199 flight bags with multi-colour zips.










During a solar eclipse.

[CloudHound]

Should I cancel then? I’m a member of the LAA too.

I thought contributing to a body which I saw get things done when at the CAA and is now pushing forward with Project GAINS was worth it.

The free legal bit isn’t a show stopper btw.

[TheFarmer]

The free legal bit is a con. Like the NFU free legal thing is a also a con, and anyone who believes it is naive.

I’ve used it, and all that happens is you get handed to a legal team who are the ‘preferred’ team* and you get a few hours of free advice that takes you down a very expensive road that you’re then committed to. I’ve spent £112,000 in legal fees in the last 19 months that started like this.

* The legal business who tendered the best ‘free two hours’ rate.

Join if you want, but you’re just keeping a load of recently retired blokes in their ‘I’m not quite retired yet’ zone.

Stick with the LAA and avoid the money grabbing gimmicks.

[Chris Martyr]

Realistically , in this country if you operate an aeroplane on a CofA , then AOPA membership probably does make sense .

If however , you fly an Annexe 2 aircraft on a PtF , then you are probably far better served by our friends at Turweston . [ ],,,,,and it's cheaper .

The Farmer puts it far more eloquently than I ,,[ ]

Oh and by the way ,,,@TheFarmer ,,,the real mugs aren't the ones with the 2011 Revival stickers . It's the ones with the GRRC stickers !....[ ]

[IMCR]

Wow - just wow.

Where are all the usual suspects?

Hat, coat, ..... walking stick, where are my specs.

[johnm]

Those of us who fly grown up aeroplanes rather than toys or left overs from a bygone age join AOPA and PPL/IR and occasionally give LAA members the price of a cup of tea and admire their toy, or do I mean tool, boxes.

[TheFarmer]

I rest my case.

[IMCR]

I have just unbolted one engine and ditched the IFR plates.

I hope I am ok now.