The Cessna Pilots Association was at one time the largest Cessna owner type club, setting the standard for which plenty of other owner support organizations eventually followed. It flourished through the 1990s and we’ll into the new millennium, but the unexpected passing of its founder and president, John Frank, led to a near immediate technical shutdown. The go-to for all things Cessna support (arguably a better resource than Cessna Aircraft itself) also died, but thankfully not forever. Family members, faithful supporters, contributors and a group of steadfast members combined to keep the group alive, and after a lot of time, money and reorganization, the CPA is beginning to come back.
GONE SILENT, PARTLY
Back in the early 1980s, aircraft type clubs were becoming a good resource for aircraft ownership, and their goal was to tame the rising costs of replacement parts and maintenance prices. At the same time, some aircraft owners were becoming interested in doing their own maintenance. John Frank was in Wichita, Kansas, running the American Bonanza Society, and his wife Kris was ramrodding the Flying Farmers group. Both were Cessna people and watched as type clubs were forming around them. There was one Cessna group—the Cessna Owner’s Organization—that was owned by a magazine publisher and it ran more as a business than a club, and it focused more on the social aspects of flying.