Aircraft Owner Groups Deliver Many Benefits for Members

Aircraft type clubs and owner associations have always offered significant benefits for members, especially for aircraft that are no longer manufactured. But now these groups are stepping up with compelling new reasons to join.

One of the most interesting recent developments is the launch of new insurance underwriters dedicated to the needs of owner-pilots teaming up with these associations. Class A Insurance and 5X5 Aviation Insurance—partnering with the Citation Jet Pilots (CJP) and Piper M-Class Owners & Pilots (PMOPA) associations, respectively—recently began offering coverage for high-performance airplanes.

Both direct-to-consumer underwriters provide special discounts for owner association members, and neither focuses on pilot age as a factor to deny coverage, relying instead on flight data to support the underwriting process.

Another sign of the resurgence of owner clubs was the September MU-2 Pilot’s Review of Proficiency (PROP) seminar hosted by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America (MHIA) in Plano, Texas. The PROP seminars used to be held nearly every two years before taking a long break, and now the company is planning to continue serving MU-2 owners and prospective buyers with ongoing safety events. For MU-2 owners, there is also an owners’ association called MU-2 Flyers, and it holds safety seminars called MAX RPMs.

Almost every aircraft type has an owner association—for example, the newly formed Kodiak Owners and Pilots Society, created to serve the owners of the more than 350 Kodiak single-engine turboprops that have been delivered (the line was purchased by Daher in 2019). CJP has long been the go-to for safety information about Cessna Citations, and its members have an enviable safety record, thanks to CJP’s ongoing efforts to improve their flying skills.

Pilatus PC-12 owners have the Pilatus Owners and Pilots Association, and TBM flyers have the TBM Owners and Pilots Association. These groups aren’t just for smaller aircraft; a few years ago, a group of owners formed the Independent Falcon Aircraft Operators Association.

Meanwhile, PMOPA held its annual convention in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, last month, with 260 attendees and 70 airplanes flown to Kenosha Regional Airport.

“This year’s PMOPA convention demonstrated the association’s ongoing commitment to excellence in education, safety, and member engagement,” said PMOPA CEO Mike Nichols. “From robust, safety-focused programming and a dynamic exhibit hall to exceptional networking opportunities, the event reflected the strength of our community and the value PMOPA delivers to its members.”

Aircraft associations are not only gatherings of like-minded aircraft owners and operators, but many also offer advanced training programs that go well beyond minimum FAA requirements. Participation in these training programs can help offset insurance costs, especially when coupled with flight data monitoring systems that record and analyze pilot performance and the new direct-to-consumer insurance underwriters.

Safety Assurance

Evidence that owner-group safety programs work comes not only from CJP but also from the TBM Proficient Pilot Program (TBM-PPP), which launched at the 2024 Avex Aviation Safety Seminar. In its first year, TBM-PPP’s 50 members with a collective total of 70,000 accident-free hours helped move the group towards its goal of 100 members, three years, and zero accidents.

Flight data is recorded using Daher’s Me & My TBM platform, and “TBM-PPP monitors every flight, flags performance drift early, and builds accountability through a member-run safety management system and peer ‘safety buddy’ reviews—without punitive measures,” according to the group.

At the recent MU-2 PROP seminar, owners of many of the more than 200 still-flying MU-2s flew to Addison Airport in Texas for two days of sharing information and MU-2 learning sessions. Also attending were pilots interested in buying MU-2s who wanted to learn more before making a purchase decision. The MU-2 is priced relatively well and is still fully supported by Mitsubishi and its U.S. MHIA team in Dallas.

The first day started with a presentation by Ron Renz, a long-time MU-2 pilot and owner, flight-test pilot, engineer, and mechanic, who focused on knowing your airplane. “When was the last time you really looked at your AFM or POM?” he asked, pointing out that because MU-2s are getting older, each one is unique, with multiple modifications that pilots need to understand.

“There are no MU-2s the same,” he said. “Not a single MU-2 has the factory configuration anymore. Have you studied your installation? Look at the AFM, the limitations, and understand the gotchas; everyone has them.”

Each modification is required to have instructions for continued airworthiness (ICA). “Every mod has something in the maintenance section that you need to do,” Renz explained. “Is your shop doing those? If they don’t know about [the ICA]…that’s one reason why you go to the MU-2 service center.”

Peter Voulgaris, a SimCom instructor who teaches the MU-2 program, echoed Renz’s advice during his engine systems presentation. “It’s important to train,” he said. “We’re trying to get you to go back in the books and understand what they say. If you have a problem, it’s important to go into the checklist. If you’re in sheer panic mode and logic has deserted you, it’s hard to understand what these lines [on the checklist] are about.”

To emphasize his point, Voulgaris explained a confusing situation where one of the engine’s beta lights doesn’t illuminate and what that could mean when landing on a contaminated runway at night, when the drag from beta mode and also reverse thrust may be needed to avoid a runway overrun.

The MU-2 stopping distance chart is based on using beta mode, but not reverse thrust. “If you don’t see the beta light, that engine isn’t going to reverse,” he explained. “You have to decide if you use one [engine’s reverse thrust] or just try to go with brakes. If it’s contaminated, it is an interesting situation. If the beta light doesn’t illuminate…be careful. You could end up with asymmetry in your stopping.

“Most people, when they’re presented with this problem, they don’t understand what they’re seeing. Try to learn as much as you can out of this.”

No New Autopilot on the Horizon

One of the critical issues raised by MU-2 owners during the seminar was the lack of a Garmin autopilot upgrade for the twin turboprop. Although the MU-2 fleet has a variety of avionics installed, no two are the same, and many owners have settled on Garmin upgrades and want to add a modern digital autopilot to their airplanes. The original Sperry and Bendix autopilots still work and can be serviced, but they are getting old, and Bendix servo clutches are in short supply.

“We don’t have it on our schedule,” said Joe Megna, Garmin aviation and autopilot product manager. “The certification team is very busy [with] other certifications. I know the need for a new autopilot.” Megna, who spent many years working on MU-2s, asked the audience for raised hands to indicate interest in a Garmin autopilot, and almost every person in the room raised a hand.

Megna pointed out that a Garmin autopilot upgrade for the MU-2 would also require installation of a TXi display, but no one seemed fazed by that prospect. One MU-2 owner said he is avoiding any upgrades at the moment because he wants to wait for a Garmin autopilot and doesn’t want to install something that would have to be removed for the upgrade or spend money on Garmin equipment if a new autopilot isn’t in the cards. “Garmin’s losing $100,000 to $200,000 [per MU-2] because there’s no autopilot,” he said. “Why give Garmin money when I don’t see the effort? I’m really sore about this. I just want to give Garmin money.”

The most recent twin turboprop for which Garmin certified an autopilot was the Piper Cheyenne II, of which there are about 250 worldwide. That fleet is more homogeneous compared to the MU-2s, which are split between short- and long-body models. Garmin would have to research how much work would be required to certify an autopilot to cover most MU-2 configurations, Megna explained.

“For me, it’s about safety,” he assured the audience. “What I need to do to drive this home…I need to present to leadership that this is going to be worth the effort.”

Tom Kislan, founding member of the MU-2 Flyers association and an MU-2 owner, started a database of MU-2 owners interested in a Garmin autopilot and asked them to indicate whether they would be willing to put down a deposit. “We know our voices are heard more as a group than as individuals,” he said.

“I’m your best advocate in Garmin to get this done,” Megna said. “My key thing is how many are out there, but also how many projects [it would take] to cover the models. We only have one or two I’m getting pushed through in the next year and a half. Now it’s what’s next? If they said let’s go ahead, we wouldn’t be able to start until the third quarter of 2026, and it’s an eight- to nine-month project.”

Operations and Safety

The next day of PROP 2025 focused more on operational aspects of MU-2 ownership. Master of ceremonies for the day was Pat Cannon, a designated pilot examiner and 11,000-hour MU-2 pilot who was instrumental in developing the marque’s icing training program and who has held the same role for all of the PROP programs since 1982.

Although it wasn’t MU-2-related, NTSB board member Michael Graham’s analysis of two accidents was nevertheless illuminating. He had been hoping to provide an update on the most recent MU-2 accident, on April 12 near Copake, New York, but none of the docket information had been released. “My mantra,” Graham said, “is respect the unexpected and manage your risks. Things don’t always turn out like you planned.”

Cannon and Rick Wheldon, who was also involved in MU-2 icing research and development of the MU-2’s Alpha Systems angle-of-attack upgrade, gave an update on icing training and mitigation. MU-2 pilots must undergo icing training by viewing the official MU-2 icing video either once or every two years, depending on how their MU-2 is equipped. The video is now shorter and updated with information on new icing forecasts and a more in-depth discussion of types of icing, according to Cannon.

Wheldon and Cannon shared photos from an icing encounter by an MU-2 pilot who encountered what was likely supercooled large droplet (SLD) icing over Vancouver, Canada. The pilot described the icing as “Like somebody was taking yogurt and throwing it over the airplane with a spoon.” After the ice-detector light illuminated, airspeed dropped by 10 knots in 30 seconds, and the pilot added power and descended.

While the deicing boots were working, ice was accumulating behind the boots. Cannon said he suspected that the icing this pilot encountered was SLD-sized, from 200 to 300 microns, far larger than the 50 microns used in certification testing. “This is an emergency,” Cannon said.

The rest of the seminar included a case study of an MU-2 accident in Argentina, a discussion of training requirements, and an update on the MU-2 training program at SimCom, engine rigging and adjustments, operational tips, and another case study of an MU-2 accident involving an extremely fatigued cargo pilot.

No New Autopilot on the Horizon

One of the critical issues raised by MU-2 owners during the seminar was the lack of a Garmin autopilot upgrade for the twin turboprop. Although the MU-2 fleet has a variety of avionics installed, no two are the same, and many owners have settled on Garmin upgrades and want to add a modern digital autopilot to their airplanes. The original Sperry and Bendix autopilots still work and can be serviced, but they are getting old, and Bendix servo clutches are in short supply.

“We don’t have it on our schedule,” said Joe Megna, Garmin aviation and autopilot product manager. “The certification team is very busy [with] other certifications. I know the need for a new autopilot.” Megna, who spent many years working on MU-2s, asked the audience for raised hands to indicate interest in a Garmin autopilot, and almost every person in the room raised a hand.

Megna pointed out that a Garmin autopilot upgrade for the MU-2 would also require installation of a TXi display, but no one seemed fazed by that prospect. One MU-2 owner said he is avoiding any upgrades at the moment because he wants to wait for a Garmin autopilot and doesn’t want to install something that would have to be removed for the upgrade or spend money on Garmin equipment if a new autopilot isn’t in the cards. “Garmin’s losing $100,000 to $200,000 [per MU-2] because there’s no autopilot,” he said. “Why give Garmin money when I don’t see the effort? I’m really sore about this. I just want to give Garmin money.”

The most recent twin turboprop for which Garmin certified an autopilot was the Piper Cheyenne II, of which there are about 250 worldwide. That fleet is more homogeneous compared to the MU-2s, which are split between short- and long-body models. Garmin would have to research how much work would be required to certify an autopilot to cover most MU-2 configurations, Megna explained.

“For me, it’s about safety,” he assured the audience. “What I need to do to drive this home…I need to present to leadership that this is going to be worth the effort.”

Tom Kislan, founding member of the MU-2 Flyers association and an MU-2 owner, started a database of MU-2 owners interested in a Garmin autopilot and asked them to indicate whether they would be willing to put down a deposit. “We know our voices are heard more as a group than as individuals,” he said.

“I’m your best advocate in Garmin to get this done,” Megna said. “My key thing is how many are out there, but also how many projects [it would take] to cover the models. We only have one or two I’m getting pushed through in the next year and a half. Now it’s what’s next? If they said let’s go ahead, we wouldn’t be able to start until the third quarter of 2026, and it’s an eight- to nine-month project.”

Operations and Safety

The next day of PROP 2025 focused more on operational aspects of MU-2 ownership. Master of ceremonies for the day was Pat Cannon, a designated pilot examiner and 11,000-hour MU-2 pilot who was instrumental in developing the marque’s icing training program and who has held the same role for all of the PROP programs since 1982.

Although it wasn’t MU-2-related, NTSB board member Michael Graham’s analysis of two accidents was nevertheless illuminating. He had been hoping to provide an update on the most recent MU-2 accident, on April 12 near Copake, New York, but none of the docket information had been released. “My mantra,” Graham said, “is respect the unexpected and manage your risks. Things don’t always turn out like you planned.”

Cannon and Rick Wheldon, who was also involved in MU-2 icing research and development of the MU-2’s Alpha Systems angle-of-attack upgrade, gave an update on icing training and mitigation. MU-2 pilots must undergo icing training by viewing the official MU-2 icing video either once or every two years, depending on how their MU-2 is equipped. The video is now shorter and updated with information on new icing forecasts and a more in-depth discussion of types of icing, according to Cannon.

Wheldon and Cannon shared photos from an icing encounter by an MU-2 pilot who encountered what was likely supercooled large droplet (SLD) icing over Vancouver, Canada. The pilot described the icing as “Like somebody was taking yogurt and throwing it over the airplane with a spoon.” After the ice-detector light illuminated, airspeed dropped by 10 knots in 30 seconds, and the pilot added power and descended.

While the deicing boots were working, ice was accumulating behind the boots. Cannon said he suspected that the icing this pilot encountered was SLD-sized, from 200 to 300 microns, far larger than the 50 microns used in certification testing. “This is an emergency,” Cannon said.

The rest of the seminar included a case study of an MU-2 accident in Argentina, a discussion of training requirements, and an update on the MU-2 training program at SimCom, engine rigging and adjustments, operational tips, and another case study of an MU-2 accident involving an extremely fatigued cargo pilot.