User:Pdefermor

Aviation Clubs, promoting aviation to all
Flying is a myth long dreamt, that men made come true, when the wings which they engineered one day with passion opened for them, and those to follow, the infinite skies and the never ending space behind. It is a pure and lasting feeling of absolute freedom, of ethereal power over the elements, of simple joy.

Flying the “Wild Blue” is most of times a quite solitary activity when in the air, still, once back to solid ground, aviation enthusiasts  tend to join together to share their common  passion. As states the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission, “Aviation is particularly fortunate that its pilots, aircraft owners, and flying buffs alike are very enthusiastic about their profession, vocation, or hobby and enjoy associating with other like-minded individuals”.

The Aerial Experiment Association, founded in 1907 by Alexander Graham (well known aviator Glenn Curtiss was a member) was probably the first such organization in the World. Created in 1953, the Experimental Aircraft Association, or EAA, has become a 170,000-member organization which represents a large spectrum of recreational aviation. Open to all aviation enthusiasts, the EAA “encourages general aviation, sport flying, homebuilt aircraft owners, and antique civil and military aircraft restorers/operators as well as sponsoring the National Association of Flight Instructors”.

The well known annual EAA Oshkosh Fly-In organized every summer in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, attracts more than 750,000 aviation enthusiasts and gathers more than 12,000 aircraft.

Herafter listing shows some of the professional and hobby organizations and clubs which deal with general aviation, pilots, and aeronautics. A significantly more extensive list can be found at www.landings.com

Aviation Club international : www.aviationclub.aero

American Aviation Historical Society: www.aahs-online.org

B-17 Combat Crewmen & Wingmen: www.b-17combatcrewmen.org

Experimental Aircraft Association: www.eaa.org

The First Flight Society: www.firstflight.org

Lawyers' Flying Association: www.stapley.co.uk/lfa.htm

Lawyer Pilots Bar Association: www.lpba.org

The Ninety-Nines (International Women Pilots): www.ninety-nines.org

Society of Experimental Test Pilots : www.setp.org

Pdefermor (talk) 12:25, 23 May 2009 (UTC)