Page 6 - Volume 14 Number 4

PRESIDENT’SCOLUMN
Ahhh, the worst of winter is behind us I write this. COPA had its traditional BBQ luncheon that
was well attended and a great way for COPA members to gather, despite some last-minute location changes; fortunately, the connected world allowed us to get the word out.
There are many exciting avionics innovations starting to hit the market. Sun ‘n Fun brought out numerous announcements that look promising, many of which are likely to grace the cockpit of early Cirrus aircraft. I am excited to see them all at AirVenture this year; it won’t be long before it’s in full swing and many of us are gathered together at OSH. It’s not too late to join the C2A annual mass arrival at Oshkosh. If you’d like to do so, the C2A
organization is running multiple clinics in various parts of the country for those who want to learn and participate in formation flying.
I am extremely happy to announce that COPA is continuing to grow – membership has increased to over 5,800 members. We have done this by focusing on our core principles of adding value for the members, providing outstanding social opp- ortunities, offering a forum to discuss and learn from each other, and delivering world-class training. We are quickly closing in on 6,000 members, and I anticipate we will make that before Migration in New Orleans.
While it is rewarding to see this member growth, it is not without its challenges. Our IT environment is increasingly fragile and Board Member Mitch Sellers, who heads up our IT, has his hands full trying to move us from a highly modified Telligent platform to a standard product. Seemingly every week we have some issue that trickles in; believe me we work very hard on this and I hope we can shore it up soon.
We also have had a record at- tendance at CPPPs so far this year. We set records in attendance for both Lakeland, Florida, and Van Nuys, California, as well as having great attendance internationally. Keep coming, we believe it is the best program of its kind in aviation.
Fly safe.
Roger Whittier COPA President
and great flying is starting up for most of
our members (at least those of us in the Northern Hemisphere). We can look forward to a smaller amount of ice and less powerful winter winds and temperatures. On the other hand, with the weather change we can also expect more thunderstorms and different perils. Be careful; we all know that it is important to brief and plan for weather challenges presented by
each of the seasons.
There is no stronger confirmation of summer than the beginning of airshow season. Sun ‘n Fun just closed as
4 ■ COPA Pilot
MAY 2019