By CJP President David Miller

Many great things are happening with CJP this spring. In fact, there has hardly been any time to sit back and take a breath, which could be a good thing with all the pollen in the air right now.

Before I tell you about some of our latest initiatives, though, I’d like to recognize an exciting trend I’ve seen of late. When all is said and done, CJP is all about our collective pride in operating Citation aircraft – there’s a reason why it’s the first word in our group’s name, after all – and over the past few months I’ve been happy to observe several of our Members taking delivery of new, and “new to them,” Citation jets.

Whether it was their first-ever Citation, or an upgrade over an earlier aircraft, these Members have shared details about their purchasing and operating experiences with others through our Forums, and in gatherings such as our CJP Regional Events. Each time, I’m absolutely thrilled with the excitement and passion I see whenever they’re talking about their new aircraft.

Flying a Citation: that’s just something that you can’t be very humble about, right? As our Members look forward to enjoying their jets in the warm months ahead, CJP is also firming up plans for our upcoming Annual Convention taking place Sept. 9-13 at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, CO.

Among the changes we’ve implemented for this year’s event, based on comments from attendees at past Conventions, is that Members will see many more Companion activities tailored to our non-flying spouses and family members. We’re also nearly ready to announce our exciting Keynote Speaker for the event, and details about early registration discounts will be coming soon as well.

Even as we look towards the “big” event in September, I’m also happy to report that our Regional Event in New Orleans, which concludes May 3, looks to be a tremendous success… and Cyrus Sigari and his team are already busy making plans for our next gathering, which by popular demand will return to the Napa Valley, CA from Aug. 20-23.

We’re also working with our Sponsors and Partners to ensure their offerings represent opportunities and value for Members. I’m looking forward to spending some time with the team at Rockwell Collins in early May, as CJP Executive Director Lt. Col. Jon Huggins, Stuart Fred, and I head to Cedar Rapids, IA for a daylong strategy session to discuss our Members’ NextGen avionics requirements and ADS-B equipage issues.

Speaking of Huggy, he has truly added a new dimension to our team at CJP through his hands-on approach to a wide variety of tasks. Most recently, he kept Members abreast of the progress made as CJP upgraded our IT software behind our association’s web site at www.citationjetpilots.com.

Though the rollout was a smashing success overall, our Members did report a few minor bugs, and Huggy and COO Cheryl Hardy were instrumental towards ensuring that their concerns were quickly addressed and rectified.

As you can see, springtime is in full bloom (Achoo!) at your Citation Jet Pilots Owners Pilots Association. There will be more exciting news as the year goes on, particularly regarding new benefits for our Members. Stay tuned!