Several months ago, I wrote about AOPA reorganizing our internal resources. With this in mind, I have brought Brenda Tibbs over to the Flying Club Initiative. Many of you may have spoken with her over the past year in her role as an Aviation Technical Specialist in the Pilot Information Center. Her enthusiasm and dedication to keeping pilots flying made her the perfect candidate to assist me with the Flying Club Initiative. Brenda is also a flight instructor with more than two thousand hours of instruction given. She will be working closely with clubs around the country in order to grow our club base and to assist our existing clubs as they grow. Brenda will be at each of our Fly-Ins this year sharing information with future club leaders and meeting those of you already established in your club.
One of the first projects Brenda has been working on is the new online document, “AOPA’s Guide to Starting a Flying Club,” developed to take much of the guess work out of forming a flying club and identifying the most important aspects to consider when bringing a club from inception to full operation.
This is a helpful new tool that will steer members through the critical steps of starting a club. Each chapter in the guide covers a specific topic of interest from how to choose the right aircraft to insurance considerations. It also includes a collection of sample documents, forms, and other useful resources, like sample operating rules and aircraft lease agreements.
“This is a very exciting time for me,” Brenda said. “I am looking forward to the opportunity to help promote flying clubs and help our members find affordable ways to stay in the air! Best of all, I will get to go to our members and meet them where they fly.”
Please help me welcome Brenda into her new role as Flying Club Specialist. She will be an asset to all of us as we move forward with our goal of expanding the pilot community through Flying Clubs. Feel free to contact her with any questions you may have.
