National Air Transportation Association (NATA) president James Coyne announced this week that he will be stepping down at the end of this year when his seven-year contract expires. Coyne has been at the helm of NATA for 18 years.

“The NATA board of directors and I have decided that 2012 will be my last year as president of NATA,” he wrote to members. Coyne told AIN that this “absolutely” was a mutual decision between himself and the board, though he stressed that “it is not a retirement, and I plan on continuing to be involved in Washington and an advocate for private aviation–it will just be in a different manner.”

In the meantime, Coyne will still lead NATA and support the board in the transition process. “There is a lot to do by the end of the year,” he said, “This is an election year after all.”

After his term runs out, Coyne will consult for NATA and he otherwise “plans to keep busy, and to continue to fly my airplane.” In fact, he told AIN that several post-NATA opportunities have already materialized, though he hasn’t committed to anything yet. “I love politics and I love aviation, so whatever I do will be related to these two things,” he concluded.