Following his stint as a legislator and Speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives, attorney Robbie Wills of Conway became a certified pilot. His Wills Law Firm was brought in to represent the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), a very well-known international community representing pilots.
During this time, it was suggested to Wills that he coordinate with the state’s general aviation association.
“I started looking around, and there wasn’t one,” Wills said. “We’ve got a very active aerospace industry association that does a great job representing the defense contractors in the state, but in terms of general aviation, general aviation airports and businesses that service general aviation aircraft, there really wasn’t an association looking out for the pilots and the business interests in the state.”
Along with a few other associates, Wills founded the Arkansas General Aviation Association (AGAA) in 2018 to advocate for additional state and federal funding for Arkansas airport safety improvements, pilot training, maintenance mechanic certification programs and ultimately, a “general aviation business-friendly” climate in the state. Wills serves as the president of AGAA.
AGAA also serves as a trade association for mechanics, certified flight instructors, avionics technicians and others working in the general aviation industry.
They also hope to be a social outlet for pilots in Arkansas. While many pilots in the state already belong to associations such as AOPA and Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), there is a huge benefit to having a local association that allows them opportunities to meet up and visit with other local pilots.
Currently, the group has roughly 500 members.
“The more we can support infrastructure at our general aviation airports, the more economic activity can be generated,” Wills said.
One major initiative of AGAA is to promote the need for funding to build hangars. With more than 100 airports in the state, most have some kind of large hangar or individual hangars for aircraft.
“All of the airports that I’ve visited with have pretty long waiting lists of pilots who would locate aircraft at that particular airport if they had a hangar for them. If an airplane is located at an airport and it buys fuel from that airport and gets its maintenance done at that airport, it generates a lot of secondary economic activity other than just them making a rent payment to that airport,” Wills said.
He estimates that there are probably 200 airplanes that would be based in Arkansas if there was adequate hangar space.
“This means that the state’s Division of Aeronautics, which would love to fund grant programs and other means of financing for these hangar projects, is limited in resources. So anything the legislature can do to increase the funding available to the Arkansas Division of Aeronautics would be an improvement. We think there’s probably a two-or-three times return on investment when it comes to building hangars”
AGAA also aims to help airports upgrade weather reporting capabilities, improve runway lighting and upgrade technology. The association also lobbies on behalf of local airports.
“We’ve found that even a lot of elected county officials just aren’t as familiar as they could be with the business side of the airport and how airports are economic-development engines for local communities, so we try to connect airport managers with their local elected officials,” Wills said. “When there is an issue at a local airport, we try to get the local representatives and senators involved to try and resolve it.”
AGAA also provides information and updates on regulations pertaining directly to pilots. One of its future goals is a major convention.
“We would love to have an annual fly-in convention where pilots from all around the state can converge on one airport for a day of education and social gathering,” Wills said.
For now, AGAA’s annual event consists of a general body meeting in Little Rock.
“The governor, last year and this year as well, was kind enough to issue a proclamation declaring that particular day General Aviation Day,” Wills said.
This year’s meeting was scheduled for April 14 but has been postponed due to coronavirus concerns. For more information, visit https://argenav.org.
Association Roundup is a look at the organizations representing Arkansas industries.
