AOPA renewal

RogerT

RogerT

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RogerT
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Today I got the renewal for AOPA and it was 31% higher than
last year. I've been a member since 1979 .. but at what point
is it not worth it? Are most here members? Do you think it's
worth the money?

RT
 
I renewed......But....


Cue the AOPA haters in 3, 2, ......
 
1.

Not hater, but if you all keep renewing, nothing at AOPA is going to change. If you like your AOPA, you can keep your AOPA. Just like it is at a 31% increase. Gee - where have I heard that before????
 
RogerT said:
Today I got the renewal for AOPA and it was 31% higher than
last year. I've been a member since 1979 .. but at what point
is it not worth it? Are most here members? Do you think it's
worth the money?

RT
Click to expand...

Yep. I renewed. I always thought they were a bit cheap compared to most organizations I've joined.
 
Not me. Not this time. Bye bye AOPA.

I agree with the post that if we don't hit them in their pocketbook, they will never change.

Gonna send my money to Hillary. (JK).

Gonna send my money to EAA. I know EAA has a different focus, but they are still a worthwhile use of funds.
 
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The legal services plan is worth every penny.

I noticed the price was a little higher, but they did send me a headset bag, which my wife confiscated and made herself a custom AOPA purse.
 
If you have to ask you are feeling ripped off and should pass.
 
This is a re occurring theme on this blog. I guess since I got a good deal on my insurance,it's worth it to me.
 
Waste of money Roger.

Remember AOPA actively lobbied against sport pilot during its development. If it were up to AOPA you would not be flying today.
 
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I allowed my membership expire, they finally caught on, I can no longer log on..
All I use the page for was the forums.

Oh Well,,,,, Bye Bye.
 
31% in one year? I have yet to see my renewal notice.
Did any one area increase more than the other?
Dues, legal services, digital magazine.
 
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I use to read the AOPA Flight Training mag when I was getting my private. But now I have no use for it and haven't had the membership in years.
 
Pilot Protection Plan, yes. It is the one thing that AOPA offers that is truly special, IMHO. I would pay dues just to get access to that.

Safety instruction on their web page, that is a big help. Not sure if you need to be a member to use it.

Lobbying -- maybe, if they actually do it. It's hard to say, because it isn't a visible process. They can make noise about it, but how do you really know they are doing anything that matters?

Press spokesman role for GA -- not at all. They've only got "No-Comment-Katie" as a spokesperson. She's so feeble and useless that she actually said "no comment" when the Wall Street Journal called her recently to ask for a comment on ADS-B. Because she wasn't ready to say anything about one of the most important issues we face right now.
 
I don't need a membership in any club to go flying and AOPA hasn't done anything useful for the non-commercial O's in their name in over a decade. Decided there was no point in throwing good money after bad. Covered the details in previous threads on the topic.
 
RogerT said:
Today I got the renewal for AOPA and it was 31% higher than
last year. I've been a member since 1979 .. but at what point
is it not worth it? Are most here members? Do you think it's
worth the money?

RT
Click to expand...

There have been a few recent threads debating the value/merits of being an AOPA member (debating in the POA sense of the term)

fwiw - I dropped AOPA a few years ago because they aren't effective.
 
If anyone can show a competitive advantage for a retail offering through AOPA that I can't find with a few phone calls I'll eat my hat. I have insurance through Tru-Course, it was cheaper than anything linked to AOPA. I've investigated the legal services and I can duplicate that easily(it's not what you think it is from AOPA, mainly you get a phone contact, which is a referral service to an aviation atty). Wine club? GMAFB.

They used to have a pilot partnership program, forget what it was called which was pretty interesting. But - I think it's gone the way of the dodo bird. Since they were hosting it, and putting people together there was a liability aspect that AOPA didn't want to assume.

Advocacy? In the past 10 years they've been on the wrong side of nearly every aviation legislation that I can recall. To whit - ADS-B.

Glossy mag? Going away. AOPA has many millions stashed, and they spend like drunken sailors, and get basically nothing done except a few BJs for the staff. Hey - write them a check! It's just like taxes - right? (in honor of Apr 15th tomorrow).

AOPA facebook site hacked more than a day ago. Still not secured:
http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81324
 
The 10% parts discount I got one time paid for the dues last year. So last year was a wash. I'm going to get the PPS this year. IF I needed the legal services, you can't beat that price with a stick. Fingers crossed....
 
NoHeat said:
... Anyway, here is the AOPA explanation of the reason for the increase:
http://www.aopa.org/Membership/Memb...-Asked-Questions/Membership-Dues-Increase-FAQ

One of their points is that the dues have mostly been unchanged for many years, until now. ...
Click to expand...

Sophistry. They have about $80M in "reserves." This is wildly more than peer groups. They don't need the money and the argument that time passing with dues unchanged is justification for an increase is silly on its face.

The reserves are about 200% of annual revenue. For comparison, from the NRA tax returns the NRA reserves are 18% of revenue. NBAA reserves at 70% of revenue, which also seems a bit high. These are stable businesses with predictable income, relatively small fixed costs, and no large capital investment needs. Large reserves are not needed in such businesses.
 
airdale said:
Sophistry. They have about $80M in "reserves." This is wildly more than peer groups. They don't need the money and the argument that time passing with dues unchanged is justification for an increase is silly on its face.

The reserves are about 200% of annual revenue. For comparison, from the NRA tax returns the NRA reserves are 18% of revenue. NBAA reserves at 70% of revenue, which also seems a bit high. These are stable businesses with predictable income, relatively small fixed costs, and no large capital investment needs. Large reserves are not needed in such businesses.
Click to expand...

What are the reserves compared to annual expenses? To me, that would be more interesting.
 
Bob Noel said:
What are the reserves compared to annual expenses? To me, that would be more interesting.
Click to expand...
Expenses are close to revenue, maybe $1-2M less depending on the year.

You can download the tax returns (actually, of any nonprofit) at www.guidestar.org. You have to register for free and registration does not result in any significant amount of spam or other hassle.

FWIW I spent an evening on guidestar looking at peer organizations' reserves and none even came close (as % of revenue) to the hoard that AOPA has over-collected from its members.

There's also a consolidated financial statement on the AOPA site. I don't have the link handy though.
 
Bob Noel said:
What are the reserves compared to annual expenses? To me, that would be more interesting.
Click to expand...

The AOPA model doesn't strike me as having wildly varying exposure to large expenses like an insurance carrier, or underwriting agent. I don't know if they are party to a huge lawsuit where they would need a huge reserve, but if they are, they should have some liability insurance themselves to cover that. They aren't launching any new goods or services that might seriously affect their income, and they sure aren't spending extravagantly on the upcoming Nov 2015 elections(no fed offices up for grabs). So, what particular expense exposure are you looking for that could justify a 200% reserve?
 
docmirror said:
... what particular expense exposure are you looking for that could justify a 200% reserve?
Click to expand...
AOPA will tell you that 200% is recommended (by whom?) for nonprofits. More sophistry.

As you correctly imply, someone with unpredictable expenses or unpredictable income needs larger reserves. Disaster relief organizations for example, or charities that rely solely on large bequests.

But AOPA has none of that. Dues and insurance agency commissions are stable and predictable. They might be declining over the years, but in the real world that kind of thing is dealt with by rightsizing organizations. Lower insurance commission income = lower head count in the insurance agency, for example.

I can't come up with a plausible unforeseen event that would suddenly produce a need for $20M, much less one that would need $80M.

A few years ago, the entire assets of the Air Safety Foundation were only $25M. Maybe that's changed but I'm sure that alll of ASF is still much smaller than the hoard.
 
Unit74 said:
The 10% parts discount I got one time paid for the dues last year. So last year was a wash. I'm going to get the PPS this year. IF I needed the legal services, you can't beat that price with a stick. Fingers crossed....
Click to expand...


Read the fine print carefully. That program is not selling what you think they're selling. They'll be reluctant to send you the full welcome packet with the actual agreement unless you sign up, but they will if you press. I went the dumb route and added it on years ago and then read the fine print in the welcome kit and realized I hadn't bought much that a Google search and asking for references wouldn't accomplish.
 
Geico266 said:
Waste of money Roger.

Remember AOPA actively lobbied against sport pilot during its development. If it were up to AOPA you would not be flying today.
Click to expand...

I'd forgot about that. I'd be flying .. it would just be costing me for a
medical every 2 years.
 
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