'The Hardest Working Guy In GA Talks About Life At The Helm Of AOPA' As part of our end-of-year wrap-up, ANN posited that if AOPA, as the world's largest pilot's association, is the 600 pound gorilla of aero-organizations; then there should be little question that AOPA President, Phil Boyer, ranks as 'King Kong.' Humorous as that title might be, the description is pretty much on target when you measure the man against the job he has done for the 415,000++ members of the AOPA -- and aviators, in general. Throughout the industry, few will doubt that Phil Boyer is one of the hardest working guys in GA... if not in all of aviation. Phil has been a tireless advocate for the value of GA, and an aggressive soldier in the fight against all those who would deprive us of the freedoms and privileges we have as flyers. Still, it was the battle over User Fees where Phil Boyer identified himself as a "scrapper" and a guy who would not quit... and aviation benefited greatly from having a watchdog at the ready. Phil is a thoroughly unique character on the general aviation scene... he's personable, professional, thoroughly in charge, and yet has the talent to delegate tasks amongst his troops aggressively so that things that need attention get done -- and get done 'right now.' I've worked with this guy for a number of years -- I've seen him elated, I've seen him angry, I've seen him frustrated, and I've seen him attacked from a number of corners... but I've never seen him beaten -- not even for the slightest moment... and despite the fact that GA has been fighting some of the biggest challenges we've known in years, Boyer not only is ready for the fight -- he seems more specifically suited to this task than anyone we know. Phil Boyer became President of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association on January 1, 1991, adding onto a career as a senior-level broadcasting executive and general aviation (GA) advocate. A 7,000+ hour instrument and ME-rated pilot, Phil has been flying for more than 30 years, and 15 of ...
