EAA President, Leadership Team Explore Further Collaboration on Aviation Issues with AOPA

EAA AVIATION CENTER, OSHKOSH, Wis. — (March 3, 2011) — Rod Hightower, president and CEO of the Experimental Aircraft Association, and members of EAA’s leadership team spent two days this week at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) headquarters in Frederick, Md. They met with AOPA President and CEO Craig L. Fuller and his leadership team, discussing ways the two organizations can work together to promote general aviation and protect the freedom to fly. It was Hightower’s first visit to AOPA.

During the meetings, the leadership teams shared broad overviews of what each association and their members are doing to support GA, and talked about how the two groups might collaborate in those efforts and future activities.

“EAA’s grassroots chapter system gives us great access at the community level, and AOPA’s members have shown their willingness time and again to stand up and support GA,” Hightower said. “Our two organizations work diligently to defend our members’ interests, but is there any better ‘sales pitch’ for GA than a pilot sharing his love of flight?”

“Here at AOPA, our theme for 2011 is ‘Rally GA,’ so it’s important that we look for ways the two largest general aviation organizations can work together on behalf of GA,” Fuller added. “We’ve spent the last two days looking at our individual programs and initiatives to see where they align and how we can make them work better for our members and all pilots.”

This week’s meeting is part of the two associations’ ongoing collaboration to support a combined membership of more than half a million, and promote and protect general aviation.

For more than 70 years, AOPA has protected general aviation pilots’ freedom to fly, providing value, service, and education to a membership that currently numbers more than 400,000.

EAA embodies the spirit of aviation through the world’s most engaged community of aviation enthusiasts. EAA’s 160,000 members and 1,000 local chapters enjoy the fun and camaraderie of sharing their passion for flying, building and restoring recreational aircraft. For more information on EAA and its programs, call 800-JOIN-EAA (800-564-6322) or go to www.eaa.org. For continual news updates, connect with www.twitter.com/EAAupdate.