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The Franco-German friendship is undeniably, what animated Philippe Coffinet during his term of vice president since 2010.

And it is precisely through the Christmas 2015 fly-in that Philippe and his wife Sylvie had organized at home in Vesoul, that I met the EMPOA team. Philippe has always been eager to tie in the French members of this association. As its name can tell, the EMPOA is indeed the European association of the pilots owner of our Mooney, our beautiful Texan planes with unrivalled performances.

Some would say that France is the 2nd country in the world of general aviation after the United States. And Germany has the largest number of Mooney in Europe. While EMPOA is definitely a European association, with members from Portugal to Poland and from Sweden to Italy, it is indeed Germany which represents 80% of our nearly 300 members. And probably that this predominance causes some socio-cultural barriers. Nevertheless, the trip to the Ile d’Yeu that Philippe had also organized in June 2017, following the general assembly held in Troyes, demonstrated the possibility of bringing together a good number of French members. For the occasion, 27 planes had joined this very nice event.

It is in this spirit that I wish to carry on. Participate to bring our French colleagues further together and contribute to the development of our association. Maybe we will see some new Mooney in Europe? And there are probably some unknown owners by whom we could do some proselytism.

Because once you push the EMPOA door open, one meets a marvelous community of pilots. Pilots a little maniac, said Mooniacs. OK. Technical and performance enthusiasts, experienced fine pilots, capable on short runways as well as with dense IFR traffic. Fans of travel to discover the world, like this couple from Mannheim who presented us last year their trip to Ushuaia with their 252. Pure dream! But EMPOA is also men, women and partner with whom we can talk about everything and spend great weekends.

As in France, one can also very easily discover lots of beautiful places in Germany, in VFR like in IFR, landing on small or big airfields. And if shorter, it’s also possible to do a midfield-crossing at Frankfurt nearly as one could do in New York or Los Angeles, but not in Paris...

Of course EMPOA offers its members substantial benefits, such as a fleet insurance policy and other privileges, that we will strive to further expand. The General Assembly of Regensburg also saw the appointment of a Spokesperson and a Technical Director, in order to pool our knowledge and promote mutual assistance in the maintenance of our machines. Having already discussed several times with Alex Haselmann, his experience and technical skills leave no doubt. He has practically rebuilt his M20K from scratch. His great attention to detail undoubtedly makes his machine one of the most beautiful and most efficient in the park.

To reinforce all this, EMPOA is now visible on a beautiful new multi-language website. And our President David Kromka has already announced, in 2020 the General Assembly will again happen in France! We will come back to you soon with place and dates so that you can book and come many.

This is the spirit by which I would like to pursue Philippe’s task. Federating and valuing the strengths of this association will be one of the contributions I would like to offer to EMPOA members by accepting this mandate.

The committee recommended me in this function in particular due to my Franco-German profile. Originally Swiss-Italian, resident in France for almost 30 years, I work in the management of a private German industrial group. I am therefore frequently in Germany where I will also be able to meet more easily with the committee. In addition to English, Italian and Spanish, I have developed the basics of German that allow me to facilitate exchanges.

I am honored by this mission and will listen to your ideas and needs.