Page 42 - March 2016

A Flying Squadron...For Cita Jon Huggins, Executive Director, Citation Jet Pilots, Inc.
When I was flying T-38s and U-2s for the US Air Force, my squadron mates and I didn’t “own” the jets ...but sometimes it sure felt like we owned them! We flew them all over the U.S. and all over the world, experiencing some of the most unique adventures I could imagine. With those high- performance jets, there was so much to know and be good at... and keeping that proficiency simultaneously in TWO different jets made it that much more challenging.
You may be surprised to know that we have an “Owner Pilot Association (OPA)” or “type club” in the military, where the pilots come to be great aviators: it’s called “the flying squadron”. For most of my career, I was in the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, the oldest flying squadron in the United States military; I was an instructor pilot in the 1st RS for 14 years. Day-in and day-out, I worked hard to improve my skills in those aircraft, but I was also tasked with getting our new pilots the necessary instruction and knowledge they needed to become successful reconnaissance pilots. The squadron was the place where pilots came to become better at their craft. It was also a great social outlet, where kindred spirits with a passion for aviation would get together, after work or while deployed overseas, and continue “hangar flying” well into the evening.
The U-2 and T-38 are high- performance jets, each in its own right. Had I gone through initial training, and then spent the next few years trying to improve my flying skills with no outside help, I would have failed miserably... and I’d be lucky to be alive. But, having the support of the squadron... from the newest new guy to the oldest,
40 • TWIN & TURBINE
crusty, weathered senior instructor... keeps everyone challenged. Yes, our squadron “Owner Pilot Association” was instrumental in my success as a military pilot.
An OPA For Citation Pilots
Certainly, if you’ve owned or operated your own private aircraft, you’ve at least considered joining your aircraft’s Owner Pilot Association. The common experiences of the collective group are passed on to the members, along with the learning of hard lessons from those who experienced them first-hand. But when it comes to turbine aircraft, the complexities innate in them, and the requirements for a more- polished pilot skill set, makes the turbine-class OPA more than just a good idea: it will provide you the support structure that you must have to if you are going to continually improve your abilities and master your duties as Pilot in Command of these high-performance wonders. Not to mention, it will also save you significant time and money. Bottom line: if you’re an owner, operator, or otherwise directly involved with turbine aircraft, you need to be a member of your respective turbine OPA.
There are OPAs for each of the turbine-powered owner-flown aircraft currently on the market, and each of them strives to advocate for its members and provide them the tools they need to operate more efficiently. For owners of a Citation jet-variant, there is the Citation Jet Pilots Owner Pilot Association (CJP), an independent, not-for-profit OPA (www.CitationJetPilots.com). Through the support of CJP Members and CJP’s corporate partners, CJP is able to deliver a variety of member benefits that provide a compelling value proposition for joining.
CJP is the de facto “flying squadron” for Citation owners and pilots... and, like any military squadron, it is made up of members that are brand-new to Citation ownership and/or flying, all the way up to members that are on their 7th or 8th Citation. Although the vast majority of our members are single- pilot rated, many fly with another pilot, whether they are in an M2 or a Citation X.
CJP was started seven years ago when eleven people got together in Las Vegas to discuss ownership of the then-new Citation Mustang. Since then, CJP has grown into a diverse, international organization of over 900 members, of which 425+ are Citation Owners. Our owners are located world-wide, with the bulk of them residing in North America.
The Benefits Of CJP Membership
One of the biggest member benefits of CJP is its mass: the association is able to advocate for its owners and members with a significant voice. And as powerful as that voice is, it gains strength as our membership ranks grow. Our ability to leverage our size and unity is also beneficial to our corporate partners that sponsor CJP. They realize that, as CJP Partners, they are able to communicate directly and easily to all of our members, rather than spending their marketing dollars attempting to contact each person individually. In addition to Textron Aviation, our top-level Platinum Partners include jetAVIVA, ProFlight, Wagner Family of Wine, FlightSafety International, and Garmin. They, and all of our partners, have made significant investments that allow CJP to continue its mission of providing the support and education to allow our members to operate their jets efficiently, economically, and safely.
MARCH 2016