Senate to consider FAA reauthorization plan
By Elizabeth Tennyson
The Senate Commerce Committee approved its own version of FAA reauthorization legislation in March, passing it to the full Senate for consideration. The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2016 (S.2658) would authorize FAA funding through September 2017. The bill contains third class medical reform language that passed the Senate in December 2015 but does not include user fees for general aviation, instead relying on the current system of excise taxes on fuel. In addition, the legislation would authorize annual increases in Airport Improvement Program funding, streamline certification for light GA aircraft, support a transition to unleaded aviation fuel, and make it easier to install modern safety equipment in legacy aircraft.
“This bill includes meaningful reforms that the general aviation community wants and needs—especially changes to the third class medical and the aircraft certification process,” said AOPA President Mark Baker. “Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) has been a strong supporter of general aviation, and we hope the Senate will move quickly to pass this legislation—which could save general aviation pilots hundreds of millions of dollars, improve general aviation safety, and strengthen the GA industry.”
The House and the Senate approved another short-term funding extension in March, giving Congress until July 15 to complete negotiations on a reauthorization bill. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved its own bill, H.R.4441 also known as the AIRR Act, in February. But the inclusion of a highly controversial provision to privatize air traffic control functions has stalled that bill.
AOPA continues to lead the effort to build support for third class medical reform. The Senate passed the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 (S.571) in December, and AOPA continues to work with the House to see medical reform reach the president’s desk, either through standalone legislation or as part of FAA reauthorization.
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Headlines that affect you
Recent news from the aviation world
NATA PRESIDENT RESIGNS
National Air Transportation President and CEO Thomas L. Hendricks announced his intention to resign August 31, 2016. —GA News
COLLEEN HOOVER DIES
The “perfect/better half” of the Bob/Colleen Hoover marriage has left this world. —Aero-News Network
NASA WINS COLLIER
The Dawn project team, which launched a NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory mission to the distant reaches of our solar system, won the 2015 Robert J. Collier Trophy. —AOPA.org
Baker on the move
AOPA President Mark Baker has signed an agreement to serve the association another five years.
Last month
April 5-10—Sun ’n Fun International Fly-In, Lakeland, Florida
April 28—AirSpace Minnesota, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
This month
May 2—Wisconsin Aviation Conference, Oshkosh
May 18—AOPA Board of Trustees meeting, South Carolina
May 21—AOPA Fly-In, Beaufort, North Carolina
“The industry is interested in getting products out to the marketplace that we know are proven and tested. The next step is to get them certified—and it will mean lower cost, better outcome.”
(See “A Step in the Right Direction,” page 32.)
Action in the states
This month’s focus: Eastern Region
AOPA is surveying members in Connecticut about their aircraft purchases. The information will be used to support pro-GA legislative initiatives in the state. Meanwhile, Eastern Regional Manager Sean Collins has been working closely with the New York Aviation Management Association to promote general aviation. Collins was invited to speak to the group’s General Aviation Committee about opportunities for growing GA in New York. And on March 15 and 16 he visited the New York State House in Albany to advocate for increased funding for the Empire State’s public-use airports. His visit was part of the annual Capitol Advocacy Day, which AOPA helps to sponsor.
In New Hampshire, Gov. Maggie Hassan issued a proclamation recognizing March as GA Appreciation Month. Also in New Hampshire, Collins met with members of New Hampshire Aviation Caucus to discuss the need for additional airport funding in the state and took part in a meeting of the Granite State Airport Managers Association where he received a budget briefing from state Aeronautics Administrator Tricia Lambert. In Maine, Collins was slated to meet with several state lawmakers to continue discussions about creating a general aviation caucus in the state.
Advocating for your region
Through AOPA staff, a network of seven regional managers, and a corps of 2,500 Airport Support Network volunteers, AOPA advocates for its members at the state and local levels to:
- Promote, protect, and defend America’s community airports.
- Maintain sufficient state and local funding for GA airports and infrastructure.
- Prevent excess state taxation on flying.
- Protect general aviation from unnecessary state and local regulation.
- View proposed releases of airport property that could affect your local airport.
- Please click on your state on the map online to see news, blogs posts, and tweets for your region.
Meet Your Regional Manager
Sean Collins, Eastern Region
Sean Collins has served as AOPA’s Eastern regional manager since 2013 and works concurrently as one of AOPA’s You Can Fly Ambassadors. He is responsible for general aviation state advocacy, policy, and other aviation-related issues in Maine; Vermont; New Hampshire; New York; Massachusetts; Connecticut; Rhode Island; New Jersey; Delaware; Maryland; Washington, D.C.; Virginia; West Virginia; and Pennsylvania. He began his career with AOPA in 2007 working as an aviation technical specialist in the AOPA Pilot Information Center, was named senior technical specialist in 2010, and in 2012 became manager of the AOPA Pilot Information Center. Collins resides in Maine with his wife and 3-year-old daughter.
Alaska Region
Tom George, Fairbanks, Alaska, [email protected]
Northwest Mountain Region
Warren Hendrickson, Seattle, Washington, [email protected]
Western Pacific Region
Melissa McCaffrey, Temecula, California, [email protected]
Central Southwest Region
Yasmina Platt, Houston, Texas, [email protected]
Great Lakes Region
Bryan Budds, Detroit, Michigan, [email protected]
Southern Region
Steve Hedges, Columbus, North Carolina, [email protected]
Eastern Region
Sean Collins, Bangor, Maine, [email protected]
Saving Airports
‘Truly special’ airport
Fullerton airport day set for May 7
By Julie Summers Walker
Not too long ago, Fullerton Airport (FUL) in southern California was much like many neglected airports—underfunded, underutilized, and underwhelming. Not so today. “We’ve gone from dormant to having a whole great new life,” says Fullerton Airport Pilots Association (FAPA) President Jim Gandee.
Gandee says his association and its cherished airport should be a role model for other airports. “We have turned the airport around and it is growing,” he says, noting that Fullerton went from a 30-percent vacancy rate to “people knocking on our door.” Gandee says Fullerton is so successful because the association “stepped up to the plate,” working with the city in the search for a new airport manager; in fact, the city asked a FAPA member to sit in on the interview process. They work closely with AOPA Airport Support Network volunteer Tom Mauss, hold monthly safety seminars with guest speakers, and are active in the community.
On May 7 the association and its members will host its annual Fullerton Airport Day, when more than 6,000 area residents, community members, pilots, and aviation enthusiasts will descend on this “resurrected” airport in the Los Angeles Basin.
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Venice Airport has ‘smashing’ success
What was once a victim of “benign neglect,” according to its supporters, is now a smashing success. Venice Municipal Airport (VNC) in Venice, Florida, held a block-crushing ceremony to celebrate the recent completion of runway safety improvements, which include the use of crushable concrete that slows an aircraft from overrunning the threshold and, in this case, possibly entering the Intracoastal Waterway. More than $25 million in airport improvement projects have been completed since the Venice Aviation Society was formed to save the airport in 2010 (see “Benign Neglect,” January 2014 AOPA Pilot). –JSW
GA advocate honored
California general aviation advocate Elliott Sanders is the 2015 winner of the Laurence P. Sharples Perpetual Award. The award is presented annually to those who have made the most significant contributions to the advancement of GA.
For more than a decade, Sanders, AOPA’s Airport Support Network volunteer at Van Nuys Airport, participated in the effort to protect piston-aircraft pilots’ access to the airport while the growth of other aviation segments was encroaching on GA. Sanders also was instrumental in developing The Park at Van Nuys, a 30-acre propeller aircraft facility.
“For the past 10 years, Mr. Sanders devoted significant time and resources to ensuring that general aviation piston aircraft would continue to have a home on Van Nuys Airport,” said AOPA Senior Director of Government Affairs Dawn Veatch.
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