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US AOPA president to retire

Phil Boyer, the president of US AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) is to retire at the end of the year.

Boyer has been at the controls of AOPA, the largest pilots’ organisation in the world, for 18 years. During that time he has steered it through some tricky situations – most notably the aftermath of 9/11 which left light aviation grounded in the US for some time. Most people believe that without Boyer’s influence and his quiet, analytical and common-sense approach, small aircraft would have remained on the ground for much longer.

He has also been involved in many other battles on behalf of light aviation, including the civilian use of GPS, product liability reforms and more recently the user fee debates.

Boyer’s successor, who will take over on 1 January 2009, has already been appointed: Craig Fuller. Fuller was President Ronald Reagan’s assistant for cabinet affairs and served as Vice President George H.W. Bush’s chief of staff, so he’ll know his way around Washington politics!

Boyer has been saying for some time that he was planning to retire, and is planning to “get my life back” and “enjoy the GA that AOPA fights so hard to preserve.”

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