Creamie, m’ old mate,
This has about as much to do with the current AOPA turmoil’s as your post, but what the heck.
At the FLOT ( or FLOP, depending on your point of view) Conference, CASA canvassed the views of “industry” as to new mechanisms for setting up any flying school operation. The proposal includes greatly simplified procedures for the initial establishment of a school for GA training.
I believe it has a lot of merit.
Sadly, “senior members of the flying training industry” kiboshed the proposal, and not only from the usual and expected point of view of commercial self-interest. Their real fear was the fear of the unknown, of not having every little detail ticked off ( ie; approved) in advance by CASA, at very great cost in time and money.
Thus eliminating that standard justification/excuse: “It is/was approved by CASA”.
So much for rugged self reliance, a culture of mutual fear of self dependence would be closer to the real reason this surprising
( from CASA) proposal was rejected.
Tootle pip!!
PS
I think Axiom’s mate Bob Murphie has a proposal of great merit for the future of AOPA, and as he has tried to explain to everybody, Bob Murphie is prepared to put 12 months of his own time into setting up the state chapters, before the members at the 2004 AGM gives a final yes or no.
Get behind the Murphie idea, he needs 100 names to get it on the 2003 AGM agenda, to start working on the proposal, for final decisions by the members in 2004. AOPA has everything to gain, and nothing to loose, from the Murphie proposal. No permanent or radical changes would happen until after the 2004 AGM.
What could be more reasonable and less threatening to the power hungry than that ??