The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association’s You Can Fly program recently hit a milestone: Its 200th flying club.
AOPA officials recognized members of the Lake Shelbyville Flying Club in Shelby County, Illinois, during an annual Pilot Town Hall presentation at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2022.
According to Shelby County Airport Manager Scott Jefson, the pace of the club’s growth, which now has 10 members, is in part thanks to the assistance of the AOPA You Can Fly Flying Clubs initiative.
He noted they called AOPA Flying Clubs Initiative Director Steve Bateman after the club’s first meeting in January 2022.
“By the second meeting we were rocking and rolling, and things just fell into place,” he said. “We now have 10 people who were not flying who are now flying.”
The club leases a Cessna 172, which Jefson found at an estate sale, cleaned up, and flew back to the airport. After cleaning the heavy mold from the aircraft, Jefson got the aircraft airworthy, and it took its first flight with a club member May 7.
Jefson is not a member of the club he initiated. As the airport manager, he says he has too much going on to join, but he was the cog that brought it all together. He noted that pilots would often come to his office asking about rentals, with many suggesting forming a flying club to help with expenses and have an aircraft readily available.
“I realized all these people had one thing in common — me. So, I gave them all the names of people who were asking about a club, and they all reached out to one another,” he said. “I have helped them come together, but they run it on their own.”
“Having the support of the airport manager is essential,” said Bateman. “Most operators are delighted that a new aviation organization will be based at their airport, as it will likely generate fuel sales and support airport business, but the operator has to balance use and operations on the airport, and has the obligation of ensuring that all tenants play well together and that none are afforded special or exclusive rights.”
AOPA advises all new flying clubs to have a discussion with their airport managers early in the formation process about their plans. Establishing a good working relationship and having your airport manager’s support is important, AOPA officials said, adding that more often than not, they open up doors and provide unexpected resources, such as the free use of airport boardrooms for club meetings, fuel, hangar, or tie-down discounts, aircraft on the field available for sale or lease, and potential members.
The AOPA Flying Clubs Initiative is one component of the You Can Fly program, which is funded by the AOPA Foundation and is designed to get people flying and keep them flying.