AOPA Legislative Action Urges Congress to Retain ATC Oversight
Speaking for AOPA Legislative Action, AOPA President Phil Boyer told the Senate subcommittee considering the FAA's future that Congress should continue as the "board of directors" of the nation's air transportation system.
"Congress has created the world's safest and most efficient air transportation system," Boyer said. He praised the effectiveness of Congress as overseer of the system, noting its responsiveness to user demands for new aviation technology such as GPS for civilian navigation.
"I wonder if an ATC corporation would have made the same farsighted decision as Congress on GPS," Boyer remarked, recalling that AOPA's early GPS proposals were not solidly supported by private industry.
Boyer held that a private or corporate ATC structure would not magically improve system efficiency. Such proposals, he declared, "threaten to put economics before safety."
He urged the subcommittee to give favorable consideration to bills now before Congress that would reform FAA within government, granting the agency significant relief from hobbling procurement and personnel procedures. He was referring to the Duncan-Lightfoot bill (HR1392) and to S928, sponsored by senators Inhofe, Burns and Kassebaum.
These bills, Boyer said, would give FAA the flexibility to improve operations, save money, and procure new technology more expeditiously. Such a reform plan, he said, "will bring increased efficiency and professionalism to FAA and air traffic control while maintaining a high level of safety."
A copy of Boyer's testimony may be downloaded from AOPA Online on CompuServe (filename atctest.txt in Library 14, AOPA Issues and Events).
FAA Issues ANPRM on Piper Wing Spars; Member Comments Sought
The FAA is currently reviewing two incidents in the Netherlands in which corrosion on the wing spars of Piper PA-28-series airplanes was so extensive that the wings had to be replaced. The corrosion, which was discovered in the wing fuel tank area, caused the wing spar material to come off in flakes and strips (exfoliation).
A review of the U.S. service difficulty history on Piper PA-28- and PA-32-series airplanes revealed several incidents in which exfoliation corrosion was found on the wing in the tank area. In at least two instances, the corrosion was found on the affected airplanes upon removal of the fuel tanks during a repair.
In order to determine what action to take (if any) regarding possible exfoliation corrosion on PA-28- and PA-32-series airplanes, the FAA has issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to provide an opportunity for the general public to participate in the decision whether to initiate rulemaking.
Interested persons are encouraged to provide information that describes what they consider the best action to be taken to resolve the possible problem. In this regard, the FAA is especially interested in comments and viewpoints on the following:
- Have you had the fuel tanks removed on one of the affected airplanes? If so, was corrosion detected on the wing spar (upper cap, lower cap, or web) in the fuel tank bay?
- Has corrosion been detected on the main wing spar in the vicinity of the fuel tanks? If so, where was the corrosion, and how much corrosion was found?
- Has the wing been repaired or replaced because of corrosion in the fuel tank area?
- In your opinion, how accessible is the main wing spar in the vicinity of the fuel tank for inspection purposes? Would it be helpful to install additional access plates inboard and outboard of the fuel tank?
- Please provide the following: (a) model, serial number, and total number of hours in service of the airplane; (b) the present geographical location of your airplane and the known geographical history of the airplane.
Submit comments (in triplicate) on or before October 20, 1995, to FAA Central Region; Office of the Assistant Chief Counsel; Attention: Rules Docket No. 95-CE-28-AD; Room 1558; 601 E. 12th Street; Kansas City, Missouri 64106. Please send a copy to AOPA's Department of Regulatory Policy, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701.
A copy of the ANPRM may be downloaded from AOPA Online on CompuServe (filename exfol.txt in Library 3, Aircraft Ownership). Comments can also be filed electronically via e-mail to AOPA's Department of Regulatory Policy. AOPA will deliver the comments to the FAA. The CompuServe e-mail address is 102475,1613. The Internet e-mail address is [email protected].
Kassebaum Receives Hartranft Award
AOPA President Phil Boyer has presented Senator Nancy L. Kassebaum (R-KS) with her belated 1994 Hartranft Award for leadership in the 10-year battle to enact product liability reform for the general aviation industry. Also honored with last year's award were representatives Dan Glickman (D-KS; now secretary of agriculture), James V. Hansen (R-UT), and James M. Inhofe (R-OK, now a senator). Boyer also took the opportunity to express his appreciation for Kassebaum's commitment to FAA reform within government. Kassebaum was unable to receive the award at AOPA Expo '94.
AOPA Opposes Extending Age-60 Rule to Part 135 Commuters and Air Taxis
AOPA has questioned the justification for the recent FAA proposal to extend the age-60 mandatory retirement rule to pilots operating under FAR Part 135, calling the agency's logic "flawed." The association noted that "the loss of experienced pilots will have a detrimental effect on safety."
AOPA is also concerned that extending an arbitrary age restriction to Part 135 from the current Part 121 regulations affecting air transport pilots would expand a controversial provision that many perceive to be unjustified age discrimination. AOPA noted that the FAA's own "Age 60 Project Report" and numerous other scientific studies have shown no medical or performance data to justify a general rule based on age alone.
AOPA has opposed the age-60 rule since its inception in 1959, arguing that the aviation industry has demonstrated repeatedly that sufficient medical oversight can be accomplished to ensure existing levels of safety from pilots over 60.
AOPA noted that the new proposal was not prompted by safety concerns, but was instead a public relations response to negative media attention paid to Part 135 operations. In the preamble to the proposal, the FAA stated, "While the safety level of Part 135 operations has continued to improve...public perception...show[s] a need for additional measures." AOPA pointed out that the most notable recent commuter crashes crashes involved aircraft operating under Part 121, not Part 135.
Did You Know...
...that, effective September 18, the Aircraft Radio Station License fee will be reduced from $115 to $75? AOPA continues to support legislation that would abolish the license requirement for aircraft operating in the United States.
AOPA SAFETY ACTION
McAllister and Burnside Scholarship Winners Announced
Two aviation students from a Florida university have received $1,000 scholarships administered by the AOPA Air Safety Foundation and the University Aviation Association.
Daniel C. Seluk of Derry, New Hampshire, was selected to receive the 1995 McAllister Memorial Scholarship. The 1995 Burnside Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Jason Stallings of Vero Beach, Florida. Both are seniors majoring in aviation management at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne.
Eligible for the scholarships were college juniors and seniors with grade point averages of 3.25 or better on the 4.0 system. Students competed based on their scholastic record and a 250-word essay on the topic "What three factors would you address in improving general aviation safety?"
Seluck wrote, "Flight instructors have the most powerful tools for improving general aviation safety. When they maximize the application of the laws of learning to initial training, recurrent training, and emergency procedures, there will be a steady improvement in safety."
Stallings focused on FBOs and renter pilot safety. He suggested that FBOs conduct informal hangar sessions to disseminate information, permitting pilots to learn from each other. He also proposed a public awareness program to help pilots understand the critical difference between being "current," as defined by Federal Aviation Regulations, and being proficient.
The McAllister Memorial Scholarship Fund was established in 1979 by friends of Eugene and Dorothy McAllister, both enthusiastic pilots who devoted much of their lives to pilot training. Eugene McAllister, a retired contractor, was a respected flight instructor in the San Francisco Bay area. Dorothy McAllister was an active member of the Ninety-Nines.
The Donald Burnside Memorial Scholarship honors the famed aviation pioneer and co-founder of the Burnside-Ott flight school. The scholarship was created by Mitzi Burnside and by William and Robert Ott.
Both scholarships are awarded annually. Applications for the 1996 McAllister and Burnside scholarships can be obtained by writing to Scholarship, AOPA Air Safety Foundation, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701. Enclose a self-addressed envelope with 32 cents postage affixed. Applications must be received by March 31, 1996.
Did You Know...
...that, effective September 18, the Aircraft Radio Station License fee will be reduced from $115 to $75? AOPA continues to support legislation that would abolish the license requirement for aircraft operating in the United States.
ASF Produces New Training Video on Avoiding Wire Strikes
The AOPA Air Safety Foundation has produced a new video to teach pilots how to avoid wire strikes. The Terrible Truth about Wire Strikes debunks many misconceptions about these accidents.
"Most pilots assume wire strikes happen on 'scuddy' days or during unauthorized buzzing," said John Steuernagle, ASF's director of program development. "But during some 90 percent of wire strike accidents, reported visibility was three miles or better. Nearly 85 percent of strikes occurred with ceilings higher than 1,000 feet."
Steuernagle said the majority of accidents involve experienced pilots operating legally. Fixed-wing aircraft were involved in four times as many wire strikes as helicopters.
An average of 115 general aviation wire strikes are reported each year, but wire strikes are known to be under-reported: Only an estimated 10 percent of strikes are reported. Dangling wires and interrupted service are mute evidence that many more aircraft hit wires but are able to continue flying.
Pilots can't expect aeronautical charts to alert them to wires. Although 70 percent of wire strikes occur below 100 feet agl, charts don't show lines built less than 200 feet above the surface.
The Terrible Truth about Wire Strikes was developed in cooperation with the California Wire Strike Prevention Working Group, a non-profit committee of aviation and utility company interests from California and around the nation. Copies of the video may be purchased for $10 plus shipping and handling by calling ASF at 800/638-3101.
AOPA REGIONAL ACTION
Air Force Abandons Proposal for New Idaho Bombing Range
After more than four years of determined opposition by Idaho aviation interests, AOPA, and environmentalists, the U.S. Air Force has abandoned a proposal to create the Idaho Training Range in the rugged Owyhee Canyonlands of southwest Idaho.
Idaho had proposed creating a bombing and training range for the Air Force and Air National Guard 40 miles west of the existing Saylor Creek Range. The new range would have required restricting airspace above it, creating a barrier to civilian air traffic in southwestern Idaho. The proposal also included creating an "electronic battlefield" between the two ranges.
The Air Force had cited as justification the training needs of nearby Mountain Home Air Force Base. But both the General Accounting Office and the Department of Defense criticized Air Force planning. AOPA said the proposal would have a serious impact on general aviation. The DOD concluded existing ranges would meet training requirements.
"Navigating the area between Saylor Creek and the Idaho Training Range would have been like trying to cross a busy freeway blindfolded," said Melissa Bailey, AOPA's director of airspace and system standards. "The range also would have affected local pipeline patrol and fish and game aircraft missions." She noted the plan's effect on interstate commerce as well, pointing to nine airports serving local residents. Environmental groups objected to potential impact on wildlife and wilderness values. Some of the area is under study for wilderness designation.
Although this proposal has been abandoned, the Air Force did say it was seeking to identify "other tactical training opportunities in Idaho."
AOPA Objects to Noise Ordinance at Pompano Beach Airport
AOPA says a new noise ordinance for the Pompano Beach Airport in south Florida is unlawful.
"The city's ordinance is a direct challenge to the FAA's authority to govern aircraft in flight," said Bill Dunn, AOPA's vice president of regional affairs, who outlined specific ordinance provisions that AOPA finds objectionable:
- The ordinance bans all stop-and-go landings and limits touch-and-go landings to business hours Monday through Friday. "This ban effectively eliminates the ability of many pilots to maintain landing proficiency during normal non-working hours," said Dunn.
- A prohibition on intersection takeoffs. AOPA said this ban encroaches on FAA jurisdiction, interfering with controllers' ability to safely and efficiently regulate the flow of air traffic. AOPA reminded Pompano Beach the courts have struck down similar local efforts to eliminate intersection takeoffs.
- A ban on glider aircraft. AOPA said this provision discriminates against a particular class of aircraft, which has been successfully challenged in court in other communities.
AOPA offered to work with the city to resolve fairly any concerns about airport operations.
"Pompano Beach should not ignore gains made in the past few months through compliance with voluntary guidelines," said Dunn. "Our information suggests noise complaints have already been dramatically reduced from a year ago. We firmly believe the needs of both the city and the airport users can be met with voluntary cooperation, without resorting to an unlawful and discriminatory ordinance."
AOPA, SPA block Seaplane Ban on Idaho's Snake River
The U.S. Forest Service has rescinded a proposed ban on seaplane operations in Idaho's Hells Canyon National Recreation Area following an appeal by AOPA and the Seaplane Pilots Association.
The Forest Service had wanted to prohibit seaplanes from landing on the Snake River along a 71-mile stretch north of the Hells Canyon Dam, claiming a "high accident risk" to river users.
"But there is no record of any accidents on the Snake River involving a seaplane and other users," said Melissa Bailey, AOPA's director of airspace and system standards. "And the Forest Service admitted that the number of seaplanes using the Snake is too small to count."
Robert Richardson, executive director of the Seaplane Pilots Association, said there are fewer than two accidents a year in North America involving a seaplane and another vessel. "On average, there has been less than one injury-accident every five years. The record clearly demonstrates that seaplanes can operate safely with other users of navigable waters."
Richardson noted that seaplanes must be operated under the same rules as powerboats when on the water. "But unlike powerboat operators, seaplane pilots are specifically trained and must be certified by the federal government. That contributes to the excellent seaplane safety record."
AOPA and SPA argued the ban was unreasonable and asked that seaplanes be given the same status as powerboats in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.
Richard A. Ferraro, deputy regional forester for the Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Region, concluded that the record didn't support prohibiting seaplanes, and he reversed the ban.
AOPA Advises County to Get on With Business at Reid-Hillview
AOPA has advised Santa Clara County, California, supervisors to accept the conclusions of a study they commissioned, stop claiming safety problems, and support — not close — San Jose reliever Reid-Hillview Airport.
"Stop the unnecessary expenditure of valuable taxpayer dollars on an unjustifiable agenda," AOPA President Phil Boyer told Santa Clara County Commission Chairman Michael Honda. "Study after study — all funded by the county — has shown unequivocally that the airport is a safe facility," Boyer said. The city's own San Jose Mercury News has termed spending $260,000 on yet another study "absolutely ludicrous."
Reid-Hillview was a rural airport when it opened in 1939. Urban development in East San Jose has fostered a decades-long debate over the safety of neighborhoods now surrounding the airport. A 1990 crash prompted the county to commission a risk analysis by SRI International, the former Stanford Research Institute, on what danger the chance of off-airport crashes posed within a five-mile radius of Reid-Hillview.
SRI's report found that neighborhood dangers would actually increase with conversion of the airport to residential or commercial use. SRI said closing the airport would result in an 800 to 1,300 times greater chance of injuries, largely due to increased vehicular traffic accidents that would be generated by development on the site. Now county supervisors want to spend $260,000 on another study.
SRI said closing Reid-Hillview Airport would also deprive the community of $90 million in annual economic benefits, including the $41.5 million contribution of Reid-Hillview itself plus a portion of the $68 million generated by general aviation at San Jose International.
"AOPA is totally committed to ensuring the future of this bellwether California airport," said Boyer. "We are prepared to pursue any and all avenues of recourse necessary to retain this vital aviation facility."
Aviation facilities in San Jose are of special interest to AOPA, since it has selected the city as the site of AOPA Expo '96. The three-day event is expected to bring nearly 10,000 aviators and their families to San Jose in October 1996.
AOPA INTERNATIONAL ACTION
AOPA Applauds New Canadian Customs Procedures
AOPA, long an advocate of simplified Customs procedures for law-abiding fliers, has praised a new Canadian system of clearing Customs by telephone. A similar U.S. Customs program for Canadian-U.S. border crossings is expected soon.
"Thanks, Canada, for your early implementation of a system that will eliminate the hassle for honest pilots and allow Customs to concentrate on those who do not participate in, but evade, Customs procedures," said AOPA President Phil Boyer.
The Canadian system, effective July 1, allows telephone clearance into Canada of pre-registered participating aircraft, pilots, and frequent passengers through seven general aviation airports in Ontario.
Pilots first apply to Canadian officials for a CANPASS permit specific to both the aircraft and persons who normally enter Canada aboard it. The pilot then calls Revenue Canada at 800/265-6233 at least one hour, but not more than 72 hours, before flying into Canada. The call must inform Customs of ETA, airport, CANPASS number, purpose and length of stay, and the names, birth dates, and citizenships of all passengers on board.
Arrivals under these procedures are allowed any time the designated airport being used is open for landings.
Those who do not obtain the CANPASS permit in advance may land during normal Customs office hours only.
CANPASS applicants must provide documents to prove citizenship or permanent residence. U.S. citizens or legal residents must meet normal Canadian visitor requirements of good health, lack of a criminal or narcotic record, and financial fitness to enter the country.
Application forms for CANPASS are available through AOPA.
The CANPASS program is the result of the recent "Canada/United States Accord on Our Shared Border," a set of initiatives to promote trade, tourism, and travel; strengthen the Customs enforcement capabilities of both nations; and reduce costs to travelers and government alike.
The program is applicable to arrivals from the U.S. to the Canadian airports of Brantford, Buttonville, Goderich, Oshawa Municipal, Pelee Island, Peterborough, and Sarnia.
The corresponding U.S. program has been delayed from its anticipated mid-summer start-up. AOPA continues to pursue an early implementation of the U.S. program.
Did You Know...
...that the Canadian Mapping Office now sells IFR approach charts, SIDs, and STARs by geographic region? For more information, call 800/465-MAPS from the United States or Canada.
AOPA MEMBERSHIP ACTION
Colorado Farmer Wins Second AOPA Sweepstakes Drawing
Gerry Bret Ohr, 35, a wheat farmer in northeastern Colorado, is the winner in the second drawing for the 1994 AOPA Sweepstakes. On July 14 his postcard entry was selected by random computer drawing from among all eligible postcard entries submitted in AOPA's 1994 Sweepstakes. An inadvertent computer error by the sweepstakes administration firm had omitted postcard entries from the original January drawing.
An AOPA member since 1992, Ohr earned his private pilot certificate in 1988 with the encouragement of a neighboring farmer. He soon became a partner in, and later owner of, a 1972 Cessna 172. Just last year, Ohr sold the aircraft. "I thought I'd never own another plane," Ohr said.
Ohr, his wife Julie, and their two sons live near rural Lindon, Colorado, some 100 miles east of Denver. He had just returned home to refuel farm equipment when AOPA called to inform him of his good fortune.
"I'm so stunned I'm in shock," Ohr responded, but quickly recovered to joke, "If I weren't here, you could always get me at my work number — it's the cellular phone in the tractor!" Ohr chose the alternative $125,000 cash prize and hopes to find a utility aircraft suitable for dirt-strip operations.
The second grand prize was funded by the independent sweepstakes administration firm responsible for the error in the original drawing, not by AOPA.
Expo '95: Technology, Exhibit Hall, New Aircraft, and CFI Day
Time is short to make plans for AOPA Expo '95, to be held Thursday through Saturday, October 19 to 21, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Programs highlight new technology and the nearby FAA Technical Center, which will host a limited number of tours. Events begin on October 19 with the Phil Boyer and Team AOPA report to the membership. Friday, October 20 — CFI Day — features a session with FAA Administrator David Hinson, who will later present the winners of industry's CFI and Maintenance Technician of the Year awards. The October 20 Expo Luncheon also features Project Pilot's entertaining new CFI marketing mentor, aviation humorist Ralph Hood, and AOPA's tribute to the CAP subchasers of World War II, who were based in Atlantic City. Deadline for advance registration (and money-saving package plans) is September 22. Don't miss the 330 exhibitors and numerous product demonstrations in Expo's 100,000-square-foot exhibit hall (our biggest ever), plus 60 display aircraft and 90 hours of educational seminars over three days. On-site registration will be available. Call 800/942-4269 for information and a brochure.
Did You Know...
...that effective September 10, CompuServe's monthly membership fee of $9.95 will include five hours of access to virtually all CompuServe services, including forums, e-mail, and the Internet? Additional hours will be billed at $2.95. For more information, contact Bob Massey, CompuServe president and CEO (GO WELCOME).
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