1939年5月，美国航空器拥有者及驾驶员协会(AOPA)由5位来自费城的飞行员组织成立。此前，这5位飞行员就早已意识到成立一个强有力的国家航空组织的必要性，这有助于提高飞行安全性，降低飞行成本，使飞行事业变得更有用也更有趣。这些现在依旧AOPA的基本目标。另外，AOPA致力于通用航空对整个国家社会、文化和经济利益的公众认可工作。该协会是世界上规模最大的通用航空倡导组织，拥有大约41.5万的会员，超过全美国飞行员总数的一半，跻身于美国规模最大的会员组织的前100位，而这些最大的会员组织涵盖了所有领域。AOPA拥有专业的员工队伍，为通过互联网取得更多信息展开全天候工作。

　　AOPA是世界上规模最大，最具有影响力的通用航空协会，已经拥有数十万会员。AOPA通过安全教育、培训，优秀的领导、技术能力以及努力的工作，从而取得了突出的地位。提供联邦、州会员服务，地方各级法律服务，咨询及援助救援服务。AOPA已建成远远超过任何其他航空界服务机构。

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association was founded in May 1939 by five Philadelphia aviators who recognized the need for a strong national organization to help make flying safer, less expensive, more useful, and more fun. These remain AOPA's fundamental goals today. In addition, AOPA-USA works for public recognition of general aviation's social, cultural, and economic benefits to the nation. With some 415,000 members, more than half of the entire U.S. pilot population, AOPA-USA is by far the largest general aviation advocacy organization in the world. AOPA-USA ranks among the 100 largest membership organizations of any kind in the United States. The Association has a full-time dedicated staff and can be contacted via the internet for more information.
With hundreds of thousands of members, AOPA is the largest, most influential general aviation association in the world. AOPA has achieved its prominent position through effective advocacy, safety education and training, enlightened leadership, technical competence, and hard work. Providing member services that range from representation at the federal, state, and local levels to legal services, advice, and other assistance, AOPA has built a service organization that far exceeds any other in the aviation community.