Page 28 - Marketing Times v1

“One of my greatest joys is to help other pilots achieve that same level of mastery,
and see their excitement build as they learn how easy it is to safely y an
airplane. That’s why I’m a ight instructor. And that’s what’s so great about serving the members of ABS... my entire job is built around helping nine thousand ABS members safely enjoy their wonderful Beechcraft airplanes.”
—Thomas Turner ABS Air Safety Foundation Executive Director
WICHITA, KANSAS
A Higher Outlook
American Bonanza Society
BY JILLIAN LACROSS
FEW PEOPLE GET TO EXPERIENCE THE FEELING OF FLYING
AN AIRCRAFT AND TAKING IN THE LANDSCAPE FROM A
BIRDS-EYE VIEW. For the members of the American Bonanza Society (ABS), one of the longest running and most well-respected aviation organizations in the world, ying
is a normal part of life. The board, staff,
and members of this association have two missions: enjoying general aviation, and preserving the aging Beechcraft eet. The rst is simple, but the second takes more thought. Preservation means not only maintaining
the aircraft mechanically, technically, and cosmetically; but ensuring that the eet doesn’t lose one to incident, which means developing pilots who are committed to safety and training.
But general aviation is in a tight spot. What used to be a more common pastime and source of travel has become more expensive, even considered extravagant. That’s not the greatest challenge, according to Thomas Turner, ABS Air Safety Foundation Executive Director. “The greatest challenge ABS faces is the challenge that faces the entire personal aviation industry – the declining number of pilots. It’s not generally known, but ABS attracts sixty to a hundred new members every month. We’ve maintained this recruiting level for the entire past decade, even through the economic downturn. So the challenge isn’t attracting new members, it’s retaining those we already have. Attrition runs as much as a hundred
or more per month, meaning even though we have great rst-time enrollments we, like the rest of the industry, are in a gradual membership decline,” says Turner.
This fact poses a challenge for the Air Safety Foundation (ASF), the branch of ABS primarily responsible for the training programs and resources members nd so valuable. “We’ve introduced more new products and services to train pilots, ight instructors, and mechanics in the past three years than ABS and the Foundation have provided in the previous forty-four years of its existence,” explains Turner.
“We’ve got to be reducing the eet decline through our efforts. And members are stepping up with their donations as a result. The Foundation’s biggest challenge, then, is to continue to create and deliver industry- leading, value-added services for the members of ABS, and to encourage members to make use of those services. To achieve
the Foundation’s mission, then, we have to continuously improve upon and increase the number and availability of high-quality products and services that make owning, ying, and maintaining a Beechcraft even safer and more enjoyable.”
KEEPING PILOTS IN THE SKY
Being a part of ABS has great value to members. Among the bene ts, members get a magazine every month, technical advice and parts source, af liation with a select insurance agency, a members-only website section
that includes downloadable Pilot’s Operating
28 Traverse City Marketing Times • Fall 2014
|