AOPA Annual Meeting Rules Raise Questions About Access and Transparency The timing couldn’t be worse. Or more telling. As the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association prepares for its May 12 Annual Meeting, it has released a set of “Rules of Conduct” that raise serious questions—not about order, but about openness. On paper, the rules sound routine. In practice, they create a tightly controlled environment where member participation is sharply limited and leadership authority is absolute. Only 20 members—out of an organization representing hundreds of thousands—will be allowed to speak. Each gets two minutes. That’s not a dialogue. That’s a pressure valve. The Chair retains unilateral authority over what business may be discussed, what may be added, and who may remain in the room. Combined with broad language about “disruption” and “derogatory” speech, this creates a mechanism where uncomfortable questions can be curtailed at will.
