Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) was incorporated on May 15, 1939, and is headquartered at 421 Aviation Way in Frederick, Maryland, with an office in Washington, DC. It describes members in 75 countries numbering in the hundreds of thousands and has been a tax-exempt 501(c)(4) organization since 1998. Its stated mission is to ensure the sky remains within reach of everyone who dreams of becoming a pilot.

AOPA's event program is aimed at pilots and aircraft owners. Its own fly-ins include the AOPA Fly-In at the Buckeye Air Fair in Buckeye, Arizona, held in February, and its presence at the Triple Tree Fly-In in Woodruff, South Carolina; it also stages AOPA areas inside SUN 'n FUN and EAA AirVenture, plus an Aviation Career Expo and a High School Aviation STEM Symposium. The 2026 Buckeye prospectus cites more than 30,000 attendees and over 500 aircraft.

Exhibitors choose indoor pipe-and-drape booths in 10x10 or 10x20 sizes or outdoor spaces for aircraft and mobile sales trailers, with aircraft priced by maximum takeoff weight and separate standard and nonprofit/government rates. AOPA says more than 60% of attendees bought or planned to buy from an exhibitor. Aircraft arriving outside the published display window are directed to the host airport's FBO ramp first.