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News & Media You Can Fly: Flying Club primer

You Can Fly: Flying Club primer

How to get help starting a club

February 1, 2019
One of the many gratifying things about flying clubs is how eager members are to help each other. The staff of AOPA’s You Can Fly Flying Clubs initiative finds that members of one club are more than happy to talk to members of other clubs, but sometimes they don’t know how to initiate the contact or what help they might offer.
February 2019 Pilot Briefing
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AOPA’s You Can Fly program supports flying clubs, encourages best practices in flight training, gets lapsed pilots back in the air, brings AOPA’s resources and expertise to pilot groups across the country, and helps high school students learn more about careers in aviation. AOPA’s You Can Fly program and the AOPA Air Safety Institute are funded by charitable donations to the AOPA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization.

Web: www.aopafoundation.org

If you are searching for help, reach out to the staff at You Can Fly or the AOPA ambassador in your area. As well as helping start new clubs, the You Can Fly flying clubs team works with existing clubs on topics such as operations, budgeting, strategic planning, and more. Staff members are in contact with clubs nationwide, so they may know a club that could provide some advice.

An example of this happened recently when an officer of a 60-member club asked for help on better ways to track maintenance of its fleet of five aircraft. The flying clubs team pointed him to the TSS Flying Club in Gaithersburg, Maryland, which is similar in size and fleet, and its maintenance officer shared the methods it uses to track maintenance.

Another way to find clubs is to use the AOPA Flying Club Finder tool. This map-based tool lets you search for a flying club by using key words such as airport ID, club name, ZIP code, and a state abbreviation. Information in the finder includes the number of members and aircraft, the facilities that the club offers, and contact information for club officers.

If you are not already a member, consider joining the AOPA Flying Club Network Facebook page. It is a closed group, so you will have to request access, but then you’ll be able to post information and requests. Use the page to post notices, photos, club news, or inform the community about an upcoming event.

Many clubs post detailed information on their own websites and/or Facebook pages. You may be able to view and download copies of bylaws, operating rules, aircraft checklists, and perhaps see a social calendar, which could give you ideas for events to hold at your own club. 

Once clubs contact each other, the relationship often grows into one of mutual mentoring and help. The You Can Fly team recently held the first Flying Club Workshop at the AOPA You Can Fly Academy in Frederick, Maryland—an event designed to foster interaction between clubs. 

Club members who attended the workshop have remained in contact, providing insight and advice to one another. AOPA plans to organize more workshops in different parts of the country in 2019. Come along both to learn from other clubs and to share your own experiences.

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