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Pilatus Owners & Pilots Association
by Grant Boyd
The Pilatus Owners & Pilots Association (POPA) was founded in 1996 to help educate Pilatus owners and pilots on their aircraft and to ensure the safety of the fleet. And just as the installed base of Pilatus aircraft has grown, the group has, too, over the last 27 years. Now, POPA’s membership consists of 700 unique aircraft serials, including more than 50 PC-24s.
The organization has three employees: an executive director (Laura Mason), a marketing director, and a convention director. POPA’s eight-member board has re-elections every two years, and members can serve up to eight years in total.
Paul Bell, the board’s president, has been a member of POPA since 2012, a year after he purchased his first Pilatus from the factory. Bell has been a member of the board for five years and now owns a PC-12 NGX. When asked about the organization’s biggest accomplishments during his tenure, he points to one of POPA’s main focuses – safety.
February 2024 / TWIN & TURBINE • 13