Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA)

In theory, the AOPA has a "fly friendly" policy whose tenants include:

• Vary your practice area 
• Be aware of noise sensitive areas
• Fly at or preferably above the legal altitude for your flight
• Use the lowest safe and practical RPM when at lower altitudes

As part of this "fly friendly" philosophy, AOPA has created the Airport Support Network (ASN) as a mechanism to reduce anti-airport sentiment.  Each airport has an individual assigned to it and their responsibility is to inform AOPA headquarters of any political or public opinion developments that may affect their appointed airports. They attend public meetings associated with airport matters and assist in the promotion of local airport activities to enhance the airport's public image as well as act as the AOPA liaison with local pilot associations, user groups, airport advisory commissions, and airport management.

AOPA promotes the economic and safety benefits of an airport to the community.  These may be valid arguments for adjacent communities such as Bedford, Concord, Lexington or Lincoln since they are the recipients of tax dollars, numerous jobs and safety vehicles (e.g. fire apparatus).  However, for communities such as ours which are located 20 miles from the airports originating the noise, these arguments are not valid.

To date, the only involvement AOPA has had with our efforts has been Bradford von Weise's physical attendance at meetings in Senator Ted Kennedy's office and Rep. Marty Meehan's office.  In January 2004, Plane Sense of Groton emailed two attachments (#1) FAA's Raptor data clearly depicting a "non-fly friendly" distribution of GA activity and #2) a letter from the Groton Selectmen to Rep. Marty Meehan's office) to Phil Boyer (AOPA President), Craig Dotlo (Northeast Region) and Bradford von Weise (Hanscom ASN).  We were requesting AOPA's assistance to instill a socially responsible pursuit of GA activity.

Letter of Phil Boyer who believes that the pilots have not responded with respect and considers this noise "earth shattering" (bottom of page):

Phil Boyer's letter

AOPA Noise Police article:

The Noise Police Are Here by Peter A. Bedell which was printed in the AOPA Pilot (August 2001). An excerpt of this article: “Pilots have to fly responsibly and realize the consequences of their actions.  For example, making 10 circles over a house a at 500 feet agl only proves that your freedom is now intruding on the lives of all your neighbors.  It should also be the responsibility of all flight instructors to remind their students to be aware of the noise that aircraft create."

AOPA Airport Support Network website

Articles written by the AOPA ASN reps:

• Bradford von Weise's (Hanscom Field) July 2001 "Fly Friendly" editorial states that the Hanscom Field flight schools advocate and support the Flying Friendly Program that was to be implemented in 2001.
• Graham Smith (Nashua) 2002 "Fly Friendly" article in the Nashua Airport newsletter

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