2026 Director Elections

Non-Owner Seats (1 Open)

Rob Mai

Hello Boys & Girls and all the children of Plus One.

My name is Rob Mai, and I have been a member of the best flying club in world since May 2004. I have decided to throw my name in because I think with the experience that I have in my life I can help make the club better for everyone that has been enjoying the freedom of flight like I have. I have been a CFI for 23 years and currently serve as a Senior instructor for the club.

A little “Rob” history…. I was born & raised in Queens, NY (I still have my somewhat NY accent). I came to San Diego in 1996 after I joined the US Navy in October of ’95. I retired in 2015 and while I was in, I worked in the maintenance field as an Avionics Technician. During my time I have worked many jobs in the Navy. I worked as a Work & Production Center Supervisor, Quality Assurance Rep, Production and Maintenance Control. I also did several collateral duties (too many to mention) along with my job as a technician.

During my time in San Diego, I started to take flying lessons. I unfortunately did not start in Plus 1. (Please do not hold that against me). I started flying in March 1997 on my own time and money. I earned all my pilot ratings, Private, Instrument, single, multi & sea plane commercial along with my AGI, AGII, CFI, CFII & MEI and finally my ATP. I also earned my Airframe & Powerplant license when I graduated High School. And lastly my FCC General Radio Telephone Operator License – Radar Endorsement & my Radiotelephone Operator’s Permit: Restricted.

I do work well with others! I know many of the current board members and I have worked with them in the past. I know many of the club owners and I have a good relationship with them.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope you all make the right decision.

Fly Safe

Rob Mai

John Scott

I’m running for re-election to the non-owner seat on the Plus One Flyers board, where I’ve served for the past 8 years.

If you’ve been around the club for a while, you may know me from the community side. I started the Plus One Flyers Facebook Group, which has grown to over 1,000 members and is still the most active place in the club to connect with other members. I run the Casa Machado happy hours that draw 20 to 30 members every month. And over the years I’ve organized fly-outs to Catalina, Big Bear, Mammoth, Sedona, Oceano, Death Valley, and most recently Kernville. I started those things because when I joined Plus One in 2016, the community I craved was non-existent. I’ll keep finding ways to bring members together because that’s still the most reliable way I know to turn “people who rent the same airplanes” into an actual club community.

But the community-building is the visible part. The board work is the part most members don’t see, and it’s where I spend most of my energy.

My perspective on the board. I’m still the only director who isn’t an aircraft owner, a club CFI, or a club employee. That’s not a knock on the rest of the board. They’re a dedicated group who care about the club. But it means I’m the one director whose vote is structurally free of any financial or professional conflict of interest. When the board talks about rules, policies, and budgets, I’m voting purely as a renter advocating for renters. That perspective represents the overwhelming majority of our roughly 2,500 members and it deserves a seat at the table.

My philosophy. Plus One Flyers is a 501(c)(7), a nonprofit social club. That means members aren’t customers, and you’re certainly not just a number. You’re effectively shareholders. Your return isn’t a dividend, it’s your experience in the club. So when the board makes decisions, the question I keep asking is: does this make the member experience better, or does it quietly dilute what makes this place special? When a budget recently came forward that would have raised member dues, I authored an alternative, co-sponsored by four other directors, that held dues flat by reining in spending instead. Existing members shouldn’t be the first place we look to close a gap.

Flight training pays the bills and keeps us insurable, and I’m glad we have it. But there are at least four different places to learn to fly at MYF alone. What makes Plus One worth being part of is the rest of it: the rare aircraft, the complex machines, the tailwheel and aerobatic options, the flexibility, the community. I want to keep us focused on all of it so we don’t become just another flight training outfit.

I also believe we don’t punish our way to safety. Members who feel like part of a community treat the planes better, fly more often, stay current, and look out for each other. Education and connection do more for our safety record than financial penalties ever will. That’s the lens I bring to those conversations.

What I’m asking you to send me back to do is the board work. The community programs I’ll keep running either way.

Pushing for real oversight, proper governance, transparency, and fiscal responsibility. The club’s money and rules belong to the members.
Advocating for regular renters on every issue that comes before the board, because I’m one of them.
Being reachable. If you have a concern, a question, or just want to come fly somewhere, my email is right below.

It’s been an honor to serve, and I’d be grateful for the chance to keep doing it.

Want to know more before voting, or just join the mailing list for the social side of Plus One Flyers? Visit: https://adventuretakesflight.com/election

John Scott

Instrument Rated Private Pilot
john@adventuretakesflight.com

Owner Seats (7 Open)

Gregg Beaty

Dear Plus One Flyers Members,

What a ride it has been. Another election has rolled around and I would like your support in my bid for re-election to the Plus One Flyers Board of Directors. My love of flying, commitment to service, and desire to see continued success of the club are my motivations for wanting to remain on the Board.

I have served on the Board as a non-owner from 2013–2015 and as an owner from 2016–2026. My years of service on the Plus One Flyers Board have been an educational process. I have developed a sound understanding of the functioning of the club from a pilot’s, instructor’s, board member’s, and executive perspective. I am currently serving as the Club’s President, having been appointed in July of 2021.

Flying Background

My aviation background spans the past 21 years and 5,350+ hours, all starting as a Plus One Flyers Member. I received my private certificate in 2005. The challenges and joys of flight have since led me to advanced ratings including CFI, CFII, MEI, and ATP. In addition to teaching, I fly my personal P210 and co-own N83679, the club’s Super Cub. I also have over hours of contract flying in several Pilatus PC-12s.

Business Experience

2011–Present: President/Chief Pilot, Pro-Air Ventures. Providing flight instruction, aircraft management services, executive business management services, contract pilot services, and hard money lending for residential real estate rehabilitation.
1990–2015: Director, Center for Oral, Maxillofacial and Implant Reconstructive Surgery.
2004–2011: Director, Point Loma Community Bank / Sunrise Bank San Diego.

Goals for My Next Term

If re-elected, my goals are to:

Continue to help guide the club’s operations in a safe and responsible manner.
Continue to build our strategic financial reserves.
Keep our insurance coverage in force.
Ensure continued access to quality aircraft for our members.
Enhance high-quality educational opportunities for the general membership within the club structure.

Thanks for considering me to represent your interests on the Board of our world-class club.

Gregg Beaty

Anthony Bellizzi

I am excited to run for a position on the Plus One Flyers Board of Directors. As a pilot, instructor, aircraft owner, and longtime aviation enthusiast in San Diego, I have a deep appreciation for what Plus One Flyers provides to the local flying community. The club offers something truly special: access to a wide variety of aircraft, a strong network of members and instructors, and a shared passion for safe, affordable, and enjoyable flying.

My aviation background has given me a broad perspective on the needs of the club. As a CFI/CFII, I work directly with pilots at different experience levels and understand how important aircraft availability, maintenance, safety culture, communication, and fair policies are to the member experience. As the owner of N1495U, a Cessna 172, and N76351, a Cessna 140, I also understand the owner side of the club and the importance of balancing the needs of aircraft owners, renters, instructors, and the organization as a whole.

I am running for the Board because I want to give back to a club that plays such an important role in general aviation in San Diego. Plus One Flyers is already an outstanding organization, but I believe there are always opportunities to make a great club even better. My goal would be to support practical improvements that benefit members, owners, and CFIs while preserving what makes Plus One unique.

If elected, I would focus on clear communication, responsible decision-making, operational efficiency, and maintaining a strong safety-first culture. I believe the best version of Plus One is one where members feel heard, owners feel supported, instructors feel valued, and everyone works together to keep flying accessible, safe, and enjoyable.

I would be honored to serve the members of Plus One Flyers and help contribute to the continued success of the club. I would greatly appreciate your vote for the Board of Directors.

Dave Gordon

I am asking for your vote to re-elect me to the Plus One Flyers Board of Directors (BOD).

I’ve been a member of Plus One for more than 25 years and have been on the BOD for most of that time, first as a non-owner and then as an owner. I am an active member of the club, as an owner and CFII. As you likely know, I own several aircraft in the club, five C172’s and a BE-76 Duchess. All of my aircraft are well equipped and well maintained. I do my best to make sure my aircraft are available for the members as much as possible and at a reasonable rental rate.

As one of 15 directors, I have always tried to advocate for all members. I believe it is the director’s responsibility to ensure the club is operating smoothly, in a fair and open manner and provides service to all of the members of the club. I serve on several sub-committees of the BOD and in each of these, I have advocated to make sure the club treats all members fairly. I am at the airport almost every day and often talk to members, answer their questions and listen to your feedback. If you have questions about the election, please feel free to ask me.

I serve on the Airport Advisory Committee, which meets monthly with the City folks that run the airport. I am also the AOPA Airport Support Network Volunteer. As the ASN volunteer, it is my job to provide early warning to AOPA about efforts to shut down an airport or efforts to restrict out freedom to fly. Fortunately, our airport is not under threat of closure as has happened to other airports but there are other concerns. As you likely know, the Executive Airpark ramp at KMYF has been in extremely poor shape. I have been lobbying for more than four years for Crownair to re-pave it and recently they did so (at least to a substantial section).

In addition to asking you to vote for me, I am also asking you to vote for other candidates that will make the club better. We have a handful of relatively new aircraft owners that are running for the BOD. When voting, please don’t just vote for someone on name recognition. I recommend voting based on what they have done (or not done) for the club and the members. Seven of the seats that are up for election/ re-election are owner seats and one is a non-owner seat. For the owner seats, I recommend you look at the aircraft those owners have in the club and ask yourself – “is this an aircraft that adds value to the club and would I like to or am I able to fly it”.

I believe Plus One is the best flying club in the country and it has gotten there because of the efforts of a relatively small group of people. I am proud to have been a part of those efforts and ask for your support to continue to do so. If you have questions or concerns about club issues or business, feel free to contact me.

Thank You,

Dave Gordon

Jim Kapenas

My name is James Kapenas and I’ve been a Plus One member for 26 years. I am a senior instructor in the club and also a Master and Gold Seal Flight instructor. I currently have five airplanes in the club. I am an active flight instructor within the club, G550 captain and former airline pilot. I have a vested interest in seeing Plus One Flyers excel as an organization and to ensure that each member is well represented and treated with dignity and respect. It is a responsibility that I do not take lightly! It would be an honor to serve on the board of directors and represent our owners and members once again. Thank you for your consideration.

Kevin May

I have been a Plus One member for 22 years, and my involvement has steadily deepened over that time. I became a club CFI ten years ago, later an aircraft owner, and for the past two years have served as a director. I am at either MYF or SEE most days of the week, regularly flying and instructing in nearly all aircraft models in the fleet. In addition, I bring more than 30 years of leadership and management experience to the board, gained as a Navy civilian project manager and as a Navy Special Warfare Officer. I hold a graduate degree in Program Management and have managed large budgets while leading teams of varying sizes.

I believe Plus One is one of the finest flying clubs in the world. I also believe that we can make it better. What truly sets Plus One apart is the diversity of aircraft and experiences available to members. A pilot can begin as a student, complete all their training, and go on to enjoy a lifetime of flying—from traveling cross country in high-performance aircraft to mastering true stick and rudder flying in a classic taildragger to competing in aerobatics— all within the club. That breadth makes Plus One exceptional.

In recent years, however, many good aircraft have left the club, reducing the size of the fleet and making planes harder to book. While market forces have contributed, I believe we can do more to retain aircraft and bring in new owners. Expanding the fleet while preserving the diversity that makes Plus One unique is one of my top priorities as a director.

I am equally committed to transparency in governance. I will continue to encourage member participation in board meetings and advocate for open, well-communicated fiscal and operational decisions made in the best interests of the membership.

Finally, I see the role of a director as fundamentally representative. Maintaining an active, open dialogue with members is essential to ensuring that leadership remains aligned with member priorities. I welcome those conversations and encourage members to share their ideas, concerns, and suggestions with me at any time.

If these priorities resonate with you, I would appreciate your support in continuing to serve on the board.

Joel Perez

Hi everyone.

My name is Joel Perez, and I’m running for the Plus One Flyers Board of Directors seat as an aircraft owner.

I own N734RE, a Cessna 172N mainly used for flight training. I joined Plus One back in 2005, and like many members, I’ve been in and out of flying over the years. I went from being a non-current rusty pilot to proficient again, earned my commercial certificate, became an aircraft owner, and now serve as a practicing CFI.

That journey allows me to see Plus One Flyers from every side, as a member, a renter, a student, an owner, and now an instructor. That perspective is what I’d like to bring to the board.

Professionally, I’m an aerospace engineer specializing in jet engines, rocket propulsion, AI development tools, and software deployment. I’m an Associate Fellow with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and Non-Profit Deputy Director of Membership for the AIAA Western Region.

If elected, my focus is transparency, safety, open communication on how decisions are made, simple tools for dispatch, along with data-driven analysis to reduce risk and keep cost affordable and practical for our members.

Plus One has given me a lot over the years, and I’d be honored to give back by serving this community.

You can watch my intro video at: https://youtu.be/G7jgmgSiizY or learn more about my qualifications at https://jlpfly.com

Thank you for your time — I appreciate your support and happy flying.

Joel Perez

Plus One Flyers Aircraft Owner / CFI

N734RE

Tom Reid

Dear Plus One Members,

The year was 1992. My brother, David Reid, had accumulated enough hours as a CFII that he was looking at jet jobs. He gave me a blank logbook and a whiz wheel and told me that he would not be a CFII much longer, so if I wanted him to teach me to fly, it was now or never. I jumped at the chance. My first logbook entry is in July 1992, so I must have joined Plus One then. Hard to believe it was 34 years ago! Dave gave me some good advice then (he’s given me excellent advice my whole life, whether I asked for it or not). He told me to join Plus One Flyers, because it was the best flying club at MYF, and to join AOPA, because they helped pilots. I did both, and that advice is still good 36 years later. If you are not a member of AOPA Legal, do it today. It is the best $60 you will every spend. I got all my ratings, PPL, Commercial, IFR, tail dragger, HP, complex, etc. in P1 airplanes. I will be forever grateful for that.

Today, Plus One is the largest flying club in the world, and I still think it is the best flying club in the world. If you vote for me, I will do my best to keep it that way. Right now, the club is in the best financial position it has ever been in. Our operations staff is the best, ever. We have improved safety, systems, the website, and many other things that help the members. (I know, ScheduleMaster… but in the background it runs everything.) Every aspect of the club experience has improved over time. The fleet has been shrinking, unfortunately, but that is due to economic factors, and we are doing our best to increase the fleet size and talk owners into leasing their airplanes to the club. We now have a dedicated owner ambassador (yours truly) to help folks navigate the process.

Belonging to this club is a privilege, and one that we need to protect and nurture. The owners that lease their aircraft to the club are investing a great deal of time, money, hard work, and risk to lease their aircraft to us. We need to say thank you to the owners every time we see them and treat their aircraft with care and respect. The secret sauce of Plus One is the symbiotic relationship between the owners and the renters.

As in every organization, there are always naysayers and people with different opinions. Sometimes that is a good thing. If you’ve been on the ramp lately, I’m sure you’ve overheard some people who complain to anyone who will listen that the club isn’t being run properly, or that the funds aren’t being used properly, but that’s not true. (That guy is an absolute Closet Jumping Magpie) Some people just complain all the time no matter what. If you’ve been approached by one of these complainers, take it with a grain of salt. Please, come to a board meeting and see how well the club really is run. We are doing quite well, thank you. Please keep this in mind when you vote.

Thanks for your time,

Tom Reid

N756RA

Paul Shew

I’ve been a member of Plus One Flyers since 2013 and an aircraft owner in the club since 2015. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to be involved with several aircraft that many of you enjoy flying today. Through that experience, I’ve come to really appreciate what makes this club special — the balance between great aircraft availability, reasonable costs, and a strong sense of community.

Like many of you, I’m both a user of the club and an owner, so I understand the importance of making decisions that work for everyone. My goal is to help ensure we continue to grow in a way that gives members more options to fly while keeping costs fair and sustainable for both members and owners.

Outside of the club, I’ve spent over 20 years in leadership roles in aerospace and defense, where I’ve focused on building teams, improving operations, and making practical, balanced decisions in complex environments. I’ll bring that same approach to the board — listening, being thoughtful, and working collaboratively to support what’s best for the club.

Plus One has been a big part of my flying life, and I’d appreciate the opportunity to give back and help shape its future.

Paul

Pratt Templeton

Fellow Plus One Flyers Members,

It’s an honor to seek your vote for the Board of Directors. After five years as an active member, this club has become central to my life as a pilot — and I want to help ensure it remains the premier flying club in the country for years to come.

As a pilot, I fly what we fly. I know what it’s like to plan around aircraft availability, to care deeply about maintenance quality, and to rely on the instructors who keep our standards high. I’ve also recently become an aircraft owner, which has given me real appreciation for the responsibility and effort that come with the privilege of ownership. Competing in aerobatics has further deepened my respect for precision and safety culture — values I’d bring to every Board decision.

Professionally, I’m a Vice President at a private equity firm and hold a BBA in Management, giving me a strong foundation in client advisory and building long-term strategic partnerships. I’ve also served as a director on multiple non-profit boards, so I understand good governance: help set strategy, exercise fiduciary care, and support the staff who execute.

If elected, my priorities are straightforward: financial stewardship of the fleet, continued investment in safety and training, and protecting the access and affordability that make Plus One special. Just as important, I want to focus on the people side of the club — fostering a stronger sense of community among our pilots and bringing fresh ideas to drive member engagement.

Thank you for your consideration.