AOPA Action

Reid-Hillview Airport to Remain Open

Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose, California, will remain open following the failure of a closure resolution before the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on November 19. Only two of the five supervisors voted to close the critical East San Jose reliever airport.

The crucial vote came after more than 4 hours of testimony before the board. Airport supporters clearly outnumbered opponents in the packed chambers.

Bill Dunn, AOPA vice president for regional affairs, told the board that when the county bought Reid-Hillview from private owners in 1961, it made a commitment to operate the facility as an airport. The county had also accepted federal grants to purchase and develop the airport. Those grants obligated the county to continue operating Reid-Hillview and keep it available for public use.

AOPA had threatened to take whatever steps necessary, including legal action, to prevent closure of Reid-Hillview.

The FAA also warned against closure. In a November 15 letter to the board, Acting Administrator Linda Hall Daschle wrote, "Any action to close the airport will be considered a breach of the grant agreements and grounds for enforcement action."

Reid-Hillview's status had been in doubt for nearly two decades as Santa Clara County officials waged an effort to close the airport. Those efforts continued despite numerous county-funded studies demonstrating the area's need for airport capacity and supporting Reid-Hillview's safety.

Two supervisors, including Supervisor Ron Gonzales, ultimately changed positions on airport closure; he originally had voted to study the closure but said that — based on the studies — he now believed that Reid-Hillview was safe and needed.

In voting to keep the airport open, the board also recommended that the county apply to FAA for funds to mitigate noise near the airport and to relocate Tully Road on the south side of Reid-Hillview to provide a larger clear zone.

"Our success in keeping Reid-Hillview open was due to the tireless work of a broad-based coalition of aviation and community interests," said Dunn. "The Citizens for Responsible Airport Management and Policy (CRAMP), the Reid-Hillview Airport Association, the League of Women Voters, and the San Jose Chamber of Commerce are just a few of the many organizations to be thanked for helping to preserve this vital reliever airport."

AOPA Appeal to Illinois Members Pays Off in State Legislation on Meigs Field

AOPA has continued to pursue a legislative solution to save Chicago's Merrill C. Meigs Field from demolition. However, it took an impressive show of grass- roots support to convince legislators that they should vote to save this important general aviation facility, said Cindy Highbarger, AOPA's director of state legislative affairs.

In early December, both houses of the Illinois legislature passed a bill that will allow the state to take control of Meigs Field from the city of Chicago.

AOPA had reached out to more than 12,000 Illinois members to encourage their participation in this very public debate. AOPA Legislative Action President Phil Boyer made a major impression on state lawmakers with a personal letter to each one, accompanied by a color photograph of Meigs Field with Xs on its runway in front of Chicago's business district.

In an October 1 ruling, a federal court denied a temporary restraining order to keep Meigs Field open and operating. The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with that lower court's decision. Still pending at press time, however, was a case in the Illinois Appellate Court that would decide whether, under existing aeronautics law, the state has the power to seize control of the property and reopen Meigs Field. A decision on that case was not expected until the first of the year.

AOPA Appoints National Representative for Canada

AOPA has appointed its first national representative to serve the needs of AOPA members in another country.

Bill Peppler, an AOPA member since 1952 and former official of the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA), has been appointed Canadian national representative for AOPA. Nearly 10,000 AOPA members reside outside the United States, including nearly 2,000 in Canada.

"Choosing a respected Canadian aviator symbolizes AOPA's respect for Canadian aviation and our commitment to serving the needs of our Canadian members," said AOPA President Phil Boyer.

The move comes as several crucial issues have emerged in Canada with potentially serious implications for both Canadian and U.S. aviation. On November 1, Canada implemented the first fully privatized air traffic control and air navigation system in the world. AOPA strongly opposes air traffic control privatization.

In addition, Canadian-U.S. issues are increasingly linked because of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and other cooperative initiatives. For example, a recent joint U.S.-Canadian strategy paper calls for Canada to implement a 90-percent reduction of "the use, generation, or release of alkyl lead" — for example, in leaded motor fuels. The dilemma of leaded aviation gasoline now becomes a major issue in Canada, as well as in the United States.

Canadian general aviation currently lacks representation in the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations (IAOPA), and its interests are therefore unrepresented before the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), at which IAOPA represents general aviation.

"On a more human level, thousands of Canadian pilots fly in the United States every year, and American fliers transit the Canadian border every day, especially in the necessary overflight of Canadian territory en route to Alaska and Europe," said AOPA's Boyer.

"Not only will our Canadian members be better served, but more American pilots will come to know Canada and the Canadians so much better, hopefully choosing to visit or do business there someday. This can only add to the longstanding friendship of our two nations, which share the longest open and peaceful border in the world."

AOPA will offer Canadian AOPA members services previously unavailable in Canada, including access to AOPA's toll-free Pilot Information Center and its AOPA Online computer-based information services via the Internet.

Peppler, AOPA 93529, is a 10,000-hour pilot for whom the Peppler River and Peppler Lake in the Quebec interior were named in recognition of his successful bush flying activities. Originally trained in a 1938 tail-skid J-3 Cub, he served with the Canadian Armed Forces in World War II. A commercial pilot after the war, he delivered new airplanes for Aeronca's Canadian distributor and was chief flight instructor for an Ontario flight school.

As a bush pilot, he flew de Havilland Beaver and Douglas DC-3 aircraft on wheels, floats, and skis. In 1954 and 1955 he managed Fort Churchill air supply operations supporting Cold War construction of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line radar net across northern Canada, then North America's first line of defense against over-the-pole and great circle route intercontinental bombers and ICBMs.

Peppler was general manager of Canada's largest aviation organization, the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association, from 1957 until 1996 and was editor of Canadian Flight magazine, COPA Newsletter, and the COPA Flight Safety Bulletin. He was the founding editor of Canadian General Aviation News, which became Canada's largest circulation monthly aviation newspaper.

He is the longest-serving general aviation member on various Canadian government-industry consultative committees and will represent AOPA members at these ongoing rulemaking meetings.

Peppler holds a Canadian senior commercial and a U.S. commercial pilot certificate as well as a Canadian aircraft maintenance engineer license. He and his wife Isabel (also an aviation technical author, a 30-year pilot, and a member of The Ninety-Nines) own a C35 Bonanza and a Cessna 150.

AOPA's new Canadian national representative will continue to reside at his home in Ottawa.

AOPA Opposes U.S.-Canada Agreement Banning Use of Leaded Aviation Gasoline by Year 2000

AOPA is opposing a proposed agreement between the United States and Canada that would ban the use of leaded aviation gasoline by the year 2000.

AOPA told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that the proposal would pose a "serious safety risk" and "devastate the already depressed aviation industry, impacting the public far beyond those individuals directly involved in aviation."

AOPA Canadian National Representative Bill Peppler made similar objections to Environment Canada.

The proposed early ban of leaded aviation fuel is part of a larger U.S.- Canadian effort to eliminate "persistent toxic substances" in the Great Lakes Basin.

"Despite the best efforts of the aviation and petroleum industries, we haven't yet developed a high-octane unleaded fuel that can be used safely in today's high-powered aircraft engines," said AOPA's director of aviation standards, Douglas Macnair.

Macnair said that the general aviation industry has made a concerted effort to develop an unleaded fuel since the U.S. Congress passed the Clean Air Act of 1990. This broad-based research program has included aircraft and engine manufacturers, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, petroleum refiners, AOPA, and other aviation interests.

"This proposed ban would essentially ground general aviation in the United States and Canada," said Macnair. "AOPA is strongly opposed to a ban on leaded avgas when there is no suitable alternative. We strongly urge Environment Canada and EPA to reexamine the issues of aviation safety and economics before committing the industry to a treaty requirement that cannot possibly be met."

Final FCC Rule Eliminates Aircraft Radio Station Licenses; Refunds Available

Following the passage of AOPA-supported legislation, the Federal Communications Commission has now permanently abolished radio licensing requirements and fees for domestic aircraft radios. Aircraft owners can get a partial refund for radio station licenses issued after July 17, 1994.

"AOPA has fought for a long time to reduce and finally eliminate this unnecessary cost of flying," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "We hope to soon eliminate the radio license requirement for some international flights as well."

AOPA and AOPA Legislative Action have worked to get FCC registration and fees waived for aviation radio transmitters. Aircraft owners have had to register aircraft radio equipment with the FCC every 10 years, at a cost of up to $115 per transmitter.

But with passage of AOPA-supported legislation incorporated into the 1996 Telecommunications Act, Congress gave FCC authority to remove the aircraft radio fee. Following passage of the Act, AOPA petitioned FCC to drop the radio license requirement.

On April 12, 1996, FCC adopted a preliminary rule removing licensing requirements for domestic aircraft radios. On November 12 FCC published the final rule eliminating the radio license requirement and subsequently issued procedures for obtaining a refund.

A refund will automatically be issued to aircraft owners who have applied for but not received a radio license. According to FCC, the $75 refund check should arrive between January and March. Some 16,000 aircraft owners will receive automatic refunds.

Owners who were issued a license after July 17, 1994, are entitled to a refund of up to $63 of the regulatory fee for the unexpired years of the license. However, the application fee won't be returned.

To obtain a refund, submit the station license with "Refund" written across the top to: Federal Communications Commission, Aircraft Refund, 1270 Fairfield Road, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 17325-7245.

If the radio station license was issued prior to July 18, 1994, the aircraft owner paid only a $35 application fee, which will not be refunded.

AOPA Will Not Miss Former Transportation Secretary

AOPA President Phil Boyer says that former Secretary of Transportation Federico Pena will not be missed by the general aviation community.

"Secretary Pena never demonstrated an understanding of the value of general aviation in the nation's air transportation system," said Boyer. "His focus remained on the air carriers. But even then he seemed more concerned about White House and DOT politics than the best interests of our aviation system."

Boyer said that Pena's micromanagement of all federal transportation agencies ignored the expertise of many talented government professionals, needlessly delaying and politicizing key decisions.

"One need only examine this record to understand why the Federal Aviation Administration should be an independent federal agency again," said Boyer.

Boyer cited DOT interference in the revision of FAR Part 67 aviation medical regulations and the long-delayed release of the final rewrite of revised FAR Part 61 pilot certification rules.

"Far too much time was spent early in his tenure pushing the ill- conceived idea of running the air traffic control system under a corporation, much like the U.S. Postal Service."

Sweepstakes 172, 182: Whois Winning What, When?

Here's what's happening with AOPA's Sweepstakes Cessnas:

January 10 — The First New 172, grand prize in AOPA's 1995 sweepstakes (already won by Sharon Hauser of San Jose, California) will roll out of the factory in Independence, Kansas. Hauser will be on hand to see her airplane prepared for its final delivery flight to California.

Mid-January — From among all valid entries received through December 31, 1996, the name of the lucky winner in AOPA's 1996 sweepstakes will be drawn at random by the computers at the accounting firm of Ernst & Young. After verification and winner notification, the winner of the First New 182 will be announced in AOPA Pilot, along with the winners of the first prize Bendix/King avionics suite and handheld GPS second prizes.

February 1 — During ceremonies at her home airport in San Jose, Sharon Hauser's First New 172 will be delivered to its proud new owner. Local pilots: You're welcome to attend.

March — When released from the factory, the First New 182 will be delivered to the AOPA Sweeps '96 winner at the general aviation airport closest to his or her residence.

The Blueprint 182? It's being retired and sold to recover its cost of standing in for the under-construction First New 182.

1997's AOPA Sweepstakes Grand Prize? It'll be a Piper that we're calling The Ultimate Arrow. (See " Sharpening an Arrow," p. 61.)

Blueprint 182 Finishes Coast-To-Coast Tour, Real 182 Almost Ready for Winner In AOPA Sweepstakes '96

With the real First New 182 almost ready for a winner selected at random in January, AOPA's stand-in "Blueprint 182" made the last stop on its 1996 tour at the Sumter, South Carolina, fly-in held by the spirited fliers of the South Carolina Breakfast Club. Completing the 182's 8-month weekend schedule were California airshows/fly-ins in Temecula, Torrance, Tracy, Fresno, Salinas, Monterey, and San Jose, and "whistle stop" visits to San Diego, Tucson, Phoenix, and points east. Texas stops included San Antonio and Galveston Museum of Flight airshows, plus stops at Dallas' Redbird and Addison airports and Ft. Worth's Meacham Field and Northwest Airport. After fueling in New Orleans and Pensacola, the deep blue 182 was on display at the NBAA business aircraft show in Orlando, the Zephyrhills (Florida) fly-in, and brief visits at Lantana, Ft. Lauderdale Executive, Jacksonville's Craig Field, and the Comair Academy flight school in Sanford. (Avon Park, Sebring, and Stuart, Florida, appearances were canceled because of 30- to 50-knot November winds.) Volunteer AOPA staffers donated their weekends and vacation days to bring this symbol of AOPA's 1996 sweepstakes to airports coast-to-coast.

ASF Launches Information Campaign On Nontowered Airport Operations

The AOPA Air Safety Foundation has launched a pilot information campaign on operations at nontowered airports.

"Nontowered airports are safe, with literally thousands of accident-free operations every day," said ASF's executive director, Bruce Landsberg. "But the Quincy, Illinois, accident reminds us that pilots should redouble their vigilance when operating in this environment." The FAA requested ASF's help in reinforcing pilot education on nontower operations.

Landsberg said that 96 percent of the more than 18,000 U.S. landing facilities do not have control towers. There are more than 70 million general aviation operations a year, the majority at nontowered airports.

"Despite the large number of general aviation operations, a search of the ASF Aviation Safety Database shows an average of only five runway collisions a year," said Landsberg. "And 25 percent of those accidents occurred at airports with control towers."

Landsberg said the statistics demonstrated that general aviation pilots are following safety procedures, including communicating with other pilots on the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) and flying established traffic patterns.

To remind pilots of those procedures, ASF will take the following actions:

• Distribute a poster on safe operations at nontowered airports to more than 5,000 FBOs and flight schools;
• Publish a "Safety Advisor" booklet on nontowered airport operations, to be distributed at all ASF safety seminars and AOPA Pilot Town Meetings — some 400 different venues in 1997;
• Detail nontowered airport safety considerations in the "Safety Pilot" column in this issue of AOPA Pilot magazine (see " Safety Pilot: Ground Encounters," p. 86);
• Provide more information on nontowered airport operations in ASF's Flight Instructor Refresher Clinics. ASF will conduct refresher clinics in 123 cities in 1997;
• Make available the ASF pamphlet "Pilot Operations at Nontowered Airports" and other safety articles via AOPA Online on the Internet (http://www.aopa.org) and on AOPA Online on CompuServe .

AOPA First To Support New Piper Museum That Can Tell GA's Story

AOPA Senior Vice President-Communications Drew Steketee (right) presents the first organizational contribution to the Piper Aviation Museum Foundation after it successfully acquired the Champion Engineering Building at Piper's former Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, manufacturing complex for a new museum celebrating Piper's role in creating modern general aviation. AOPA made the landmark donation to support the concept of a museum depicting not just "hardware," but also the marketing and promotion of flying to the average American after World War II. "These are lessons the industry may need to relearn as we struggle to launch a new era in general aviation," said Steketee. Accepting for the foundation, staffed by former Lock Haven Piper employees and Pennsylvania business and civic leaders, are former Piper marketing executive John Merinar (left) and Pittsburgh insurance executive Jim Davidson, both foundation directors. The new museum will be one of the few where fly-in visitors can taxi to the front door. Visitors by car will use a convenient nearby exit off Interstate 80 in north central Pennsylvania.

AOPA Supports Alaska Air Safety With $5,000 Grant

AOPA presented a $5,000 grant to the Alaskan Aviation Safety Foundation at AOPA Expo '96.

"Since 1978, the Alaskan Aviation Safety Foundation has been working successfully to improve safety in the most challenging flying environment in the world," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "AOPA, with its 57-year dedication to making flying safer, more productive, and more fun, is pleased to help AASF continue its valuable work."

Accepting the grant was AASF Chairman Tom Wardleigh, 1994 winner of AOPA's Sharples Award for his lifetime of service to aviation safety and Alaska general aviation.

The Alaskan Aviation Safety Foundation develops and conducts safety programs tailored to Alaska's unique weather, geography, and flying conditions. Its weekly television show, Hangar Flying, now in its tenth year, is seen in more than 200 Alaskan communities.

AASF was also a leader in resisting the closure of local flight service stations, which are vital to collecting and disseminating weather information to Alaskan pilots.

AASF, along with AOPA, is currently working with the U.S. Air Force to improve communication with pilots transiting Alaska's vast military operations areas. New procedures should minimize traffic conflicts between high- performance military aircraft and general aviation.

The AOPA Air Safety Foundation has also worked closely with AASF to enhance safety in the nation's largest state by conducting its own seminars and providing AASF with safety education materials from ASF.