Van Baren plans to announce some new developments at the upcoming Northwest Aviation Conference and Trade Show Feb. He is determined that the group will remain “free forever” for pilots to join, and hopeful that the eight regional groups created in recent months and years will catch on in the same way that Flights Above the Pacific Northwest did. “Until Premium, I paid all this with my own money.” “It’s not for Brice to get a new Cessna,” Van Baren explained. So, in February 2017, he created a “premium” membership that costs $99 a year and gives subscribers access to discounts and deals offered by participating aviation businesses.Van Baren worked with Skyvector to create an app that pilots can use to share short-term plans and arrange meetups, as well as find those business partners and deals. That all adds up, and Van Baren said he found himself spending thousands of dollars a year.
Van Baren and his fellow volunteer administrators organize gatherings, print stickers (which have become coveted prizes for many members) and shirts, and market the group to spread the word. The growth of the effort has come with some expenses. It’s for pilots to be connected socially.” FATPNW or Flights Above is not about Brice. That’s what the core is,” Van Baren said.
“I think the recipe… it’s still the people themselves. Working together is very much a part of the model, and Van Baren and his fellow administrators have tapped into a desire among many pilots to share the love of flying. “We need to work together to make it safe for everyone.” “We all have the same love for flying craft,” Van Baren explained. Van Baren said that there was some pushback on that last point, but he and fellow group administrators “nipped it in the bud,” creating a graphic to post when needed that reminds members that all pilots are welcome, regardless of what they happen to fly. They are quick to remind anyone who forgets that all pilots are welcome, even drone pilots. Nearly two dozen like-minded aviators have stepped up to administer the groups, a volunteer post that is crucial to a healthy social environment. “They want to know who their hangar neighbor is.” “When they’re not flying they want to be flying … they want to be meeting people at other airports,” Van Baren said. The keys to the growth and success, Van Baren said, are not so much the local knowledge as something more basic: a shared love of and passion for aviation, and a desire to share that passion with others who feel the same. “I can’t relate to the weather patterns in Florida, for instance.” Local knowledge of weather, climate, terrain, airports, and other factors relevant to aviation helps feed interest in the group dynamic, since pilots who join can draw on the collective expertise and knowledge of each group. “We fly within those (weather) patterns,” said Van Baren, who does most of his flying in the Seattle area, though he expects to visit others in 2018 as the group launches events and gatherings across the country. The nine regional groups now established on Facebook under the Flights Above banner are (somewhat loosely) based on how the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has divided the country based on climate and weather patterns, which Van Baren said made sense for grouping aviators in an online community. “We thought we’re doing something so fun and epic here in the Pacific Northwest, let’s try to see if we can expand this to other regions that need it as well,” Van Baren said in a recent interview.