The Colorado Pilots Association held their Annual Meeting on November 9th at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, featuring leadership transitions, special recognition awards, and an inspiring presentation on electric aircraft technology. Outgoing President Bart Jones handed over duties to Marty Brophy as part of a planned officer rotation, while the organization celebrated outstanding members and reflected on a successful fly-in season and mountain flying training program. Guest speaker Tom Bowen, Chief Engineer of Bye Aerospace, discussed the development of electrically powered certified aircraft, highlighting the company’s progress in building sustainable aviation solutions with significantly reduced operating costs compared to traditional aircraft.
In his final message as President, Bart Jones reflected on the organization’s accomplishments, particularly the successful website transition and the recruitment of energetic new leadership including Brian and Laurie Garrett. He acknowledged that while progress has been made on key initiatives, there remains work to be done in building bench strength for future leadership. The newsletter also highlighted important updates including the reopening of Meadow Lake Airport and a critical compliance issue regarding ADS-B transponders for Canadian airspace beginning in 2023.
Key Topics
- CPA Annual Meeting and officer elections
- Website redesign and modernization project
- Bye Aerospace electric aircraft development and testing
- Meadow Lake Airport runway reopening
- ADS-B transponder diversity compliance requirements for Canada (2023)
- 2020 fly-in planning and member recruitment for hosting opportunities
- Mountain flying training program success
Events & Activities
- CPA Annual Meeting – November 9, 2019 at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (KRMM)
- Meadow Lake Airport Reopening – October 24, 2019
- 2020 Fly-In Planning Meeting – January (date to be announced); interested members invited to attend and propose fly-in destinations throughout Colorado and the western United States
- Monthly Board Meetings – First Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at KAPA; all members welcome
Member News
- Walt and Terry Barbo recognized with special awards for their longtime devotion to CPA; Terry serves as Membership Services Chairperson and Walt credited with creating and maintaining the organization
- 2020 Board of Directors Elected: Marty Brophy (President), Bart Jones (Vice President), Cindy Jewell (Treasurer), and Laurie Garrett (Recorder)
- Brian Garrett and Laurie Garrett highlighted as new energetic members bringing technical expertise and creativity to the organization through web and newsletter management
- Rob Duncan recognized for his long tenure and tireless efforts as previous Webmaster
