By Howard Deevers
This has nothing to do with “The Wizzard of Oz” but you have to love the name.
At local airports all over the country you will likely find a small group of aviators that have come together to have breakfast, lunch, or sometimes even more formal gatherings. There are flying clubs, the 99's, EAA Chapters, Flight schools, and many other groups that just bond together with the common interest of aviation. I belonged to two different Flying Clubs in the Pittsburgh area. One was based at a small airport in Monroeville, PA, that no longer exists. The other was based at Allegheny County airport.
The club at Monroeville was a fairly formal organization, limited to no more than 48 members. They had 4 airplanes, thus 12 members per airplane made the total to be 48. They had monthly meetings at various places in the town where we could get a suitable meeting room. With by-laws and elected officers, monthly dues, and excellent record keeping, it was a well-run club.
At Allegheny County Airport, the club called OT Aviation (stands for “On Top”) was owned by the founder and had lease-back aircraft for use by the members. Membership was not limited, and the dues were lower. The only meetings were between the owner and the flight instructors that regularly flew at that club. Safety programs were sponsored and open to all pilots, not just the club members.
I made a lot of friends at both clubs, and learned a lot about airplanes, flying, safety and responsibility of aircraft from those clubs. I am sure that at many small airports all over the country there are small groups that don't even have a name but operate like a club. By the time I moved to Arizona, I had my own airplane and did not have to rely on a club to supply an airplane, but still missed the common interest with other flyers. The Arizona Pilots Association provided common interest and events for pilots in Arizona.
What about the Flyers of Oz? At Marana Regional Airport a small group of pilots that would see each other at the airport started bonding together and became the Marana Pilots. One of the members was Ozzie Kaufman, who had been based at Marana for many years and was known by many pilots there. Ozzie passed away several years ago. Another member of the “group” would organize informal gatherings and re-named them “the Flyers of Oz” in memory of the well-known Ozzie Kaufman.
I am sure that you will find such stories at small
airports all over the country. Some with only a few members, and some with more formal structuring, but all with the common bond of aviation. Over time they will come and go just like that club in Monroeville. There is no Monroeville airport now, and the club moved out to another airport. Members moved away, retired, or passed on, and the club no longer exists either.
The Flyers of Oz still exists but members have moved away or passed on or no longer fly. There are no dues to pay, no formal programs or meetings to attend, just aviators enjoying the company of other aviators. How can you beat a deal like that? When Phil Boyer was president of AOPA he made a visit to Tucson. At that meeting he introduced a representative from the Arizona Pilots Association. I still remember his introduction: “We want for you to be members of AOPA, but we also want you to be members of your State association.” I joined that same week and have been a happy member of Arizona Pilots Association since 1999.