6,500 Attend AOPA Fly-In at Frederick
AOPA's Fly-In and Open House on Saturday, June 3, attracted 6,500 visitors and 760 aircraft. The annual event allows AOPA members to visit AOPA headquarters and talk with staff about GA concerns.
House Approves Record FAA Budget, Funds Programs Critical to GA
The U.S. House of Representatives on May 19 approved a $12.58 billion FAA budget for 2001, a 25-percent increase over this year's budget.
"This is dramatic evidence of how the AIR-21 legislation has 'unlocked' the aviation trust fund for the betterment of all aviation," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "And it demonstrates once again that Congress can and will appropriate sufficient funds for the FAA without having to resort to new user fees."
The record-setting budget includes many programs advocated by AOPA that are important to general aviation, including air traffic control and flight service station modernization and funds for the loran system.
The budget bill includes significantly increased funding for aviation fuel research, as AOPA had requested. The effort would continue to seek a suitable replacement for leaded aviation gasoline. The FAA's overall research budget was increased some 18 percent.
House approval came despite fears that congressional appropriators might contradict the intent of AIR-21 and create a budget crisis by ending the traditional contribution of the general taxpayer. These "April 15" tax dollars pay for military use of the ATC system and contribute to the FAA's budget for the general public good.
"The House appropriated sufficient money for every important GA program in 2001," Boyer said. "In fact, 2001 may become the year of aviation."
The U.S. Senate still must approve the FAA's 2001 budget.
AOPA's Boyer Tells Sen. McCain No on User Fees at Confirmation Hearing
AOPA President Phil Boyer stood his ground on May 4 as U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain challenged AOPA's opposition to user fees.
"General aviation already pays its 'user fees' through federal fuel excise taxes," Boyer told McCain. "No, we don't need to impose individual charges for air traffic control services."
President Clinton nominated Boyer to be the voice of GA pilots and aircraft owners on the prestigious new FAA Management Advisory Council (MAC). The Senate hearing was part of the confirmation process for all MAC nominees.
Because of AOPA's continued opposition to user fees, McCain told Boyer, "I seriously question your qualifications for this council."
The disagreement between Boyer and McCain dates back to 1995, when McCain had objected to AOPA's forceful efforts to advocate its members' opposition to GA user fees.
AOPA argues that user fees would be inefficient and a detriment to safety, pointing out that GA is not the cause of an increasing number of airline flight delays. The vast majority of GA pilots fly VFR without using the en route air traffic control system, and do not use airports with heavy airline traffic.
AOPA Contradicts Airline Pilots on LAHSO
A squabble between the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and the FAA over simultaneous landings on intersecting runways has spilled over into GA territory, but AOPA says it should be a nonissue.
The FAA proposed the land And hold short operations (LAHSO) program in 1997 to increase airport capacity. The plan requires, when directed, a landing aircraft to hold short of the intersection with another runway with landing traffic.
But ALPA pilots are balking, saying they "can't rely" on the training and experience of GA pilots to successfully comply with a LAHSO clearance.
"This should be a nonissue," declared AOPA President Phil Boyer. "First, our pilots rarely use the large hubs populated by airliners, if only for reasons of cost and convenience. Second, the shortest possible runway length for LAHSO is 2,500 feet, which is longer than some GA runways anyway. Finally, in regard to training, pilots must demonstrate short-field landings and compliance with ATC clearances before they're certificated."
Boyer noted that the time and resources devoted to LAHSO would have been better spent on the runway incursion issue.
AOPA to Co-Chair Runway Incursion Team
Dennis Roberts, AOPA's vice president and executive director of government and technical affairs, has been named to co-chair the FAA team responsible for implementing runway incursion solutions.
Along with an Air Line Pilots Association official and an FAA representative, Roberts will guide the FAA/Industry Runway Incursion Joint Safety Implementation Team in choosing the best measures suggested by a top-level FAA advisory team last year.
Minimizing runway incursions — inadvertent trespasses on active runways — is an FAA priority. Last year, 322 runway incursion incidents were recorded, just three fewer than in 1998. About two-thirds of these each year involve GA aircraft. Pilots are not always to blame. Of the incursions in 1999, some 80 were attributed to ATC mistakes.
"We must assure that any new regulations or required equipment to reduce incursions is economically justified and will improve GA safety," Roberts said. He added that AOPA would watch for any attempts to preclude GA access to airspace or airports.
AOPA Proposes Consolidated FAA Source for Safety-Critical Data
AOPA has suggested the creation of an aeronautical information service (AIS) within the FAA to improve delivery of aeronautical charts and other safety-critical navigational data.
Currently, some six federal agencies and FAA offices share responsibility for such things as VFR and IFR aeronautical charts, approach charts, the airport/facility directory, GPS data, notams, and flight checks of airways and instrument approaches.
AOPA's suggested AIS would eliminate overlapping and duplicate efforts. "It would be cheaper and more efficient. Most important, it would get this safety information into the hands of the people who need it more quickly," said Dennis Roberts, AOPA vice president and executive director of government and technical affairs.
The most visible change to pilots would be that the FAA, not the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, would publish aeronautical charts. Less obvious benefits could include faster development of the long-promised GPS database; conversion of maps to digital data, leading to electronic chart distribution; and streamlining GPS approach development.
A copy of AOPA's AIS proposal is available on AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2000/ais_proposal.pdf).
Advanced Avionics Contributing to Loss of Basic Nav Skills?
Many AOPA members believe that GPS moving-map displays and other advanced avionics may be contributing to loss of basic pilot navigational skills, AOPA President Phil Boyer told members of the Aircraft Electronics Association during his keynote address at the forty-third annual AEA convention in Reno, Nevada, on May 7.
And owners of avionics shops attending Boyer's presentation agreed, signaling their opinions during his speech with AOPA's Perception Analyzer instant-response units.
"It won't be long before many pilots — even those of many single-engine aircraft — will enjoy terrain mapping, ground proximity warnings, collision-avoidance help, lightning-strike data, radar returns, and near-real-time weather graphics and text," declared Boyer. "But the new avionics demand pilot vigilance, not total dependence.
"If a 'Love Bug' virus were to invade one of these modern marvels, we pilots must have the basic navigational skills to continue a safe flight."
SPA, AOPA Win Concessions on Lake Wing Spar Ad
Quick action by the Seaplane Pilots Association and AOPA has assured that owners of REVO, Inc., Lake amphibians will not be required to have the wings removed from their aircraft to check for possible cracks in wing spar caps.
FAA Airworthiness Directive 2000-10-22, issued May 26, had originally proposed complete removal of wings and separation of the spar doubler from the spar cap as part of the inspection. But after considering SPA and AOPA research on the problem, the FAA issued an AD requiring only a simple one-time visual inspection of the spar doubler.
"The FAA's original proposal would have cost an additional $2,500 to $3,000 per aircraft and probably would have done more serious damage to the wing spar than the cracks the procedure was intended to find," declared SPA Executive Director Mike Volk. "But why bother? The spar doubler has to be installed anyway."
The AD affects all certificated Lake Buccaneer and Renegade models, and requires the inspection within 12 months or 50 hours time in service from the AD effective date of June 20. It calls for inspection of the spar doubler, replacement if necessary, and for installation of a reinforcing doubler on the wing spar at all four wing attach points.
Based on SPA and AOPA research, Volk had also suggested that compliance time for the lower-powered LA-4 and LA-4-200 Buccaneers be relaxed to reflect the less severe damage observed in those models, but the FAA did not adopt that suggestion in the final AD.
The final rule includes a comment period that runs until July 28. The full text of the AD is available on AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org/members/files/airdirect/2000/20001022ad.txt).
FAA to AOPA: Flight Instruction in Aircraft Without Dual Brakes is Legal
The FAA has given AOPA a new letter of interpretation making it clear that it's legal to give flight instruction in Mooneys, Bonanzas, Piper Apaches, and other aircraft without dual brakes.
AOPA requested the ruling after receiving reports that some FAA inspectors were issuing violation notices to pilots and instructors for flight training in these popular aircraft. Their actions were based on a misinterpretation of the "dual controls" requirement of FAR 91.109.
"It was absurd," AOPA President Phil Boyer said. "That meant the FAA was saying you couldn't get checked out or receive recurrent training in the airplane you actually fly."
In an April 27 letter to AOPA, FAA Assistant Chief Counsel Donald P. Byrne wrote, "The term dual controls...refers to flight controls [e.g., pitch, yaw, and roll controls]. These flight controls are the only required dual controls for purposes of meeting the requirements under section 91.109(a)" (emphasis added).
For more information, see AOPA's regulatory brief ( www.aopa.org/whatsnew/regulatory/regdual.html).
AOPA Argues for Key Coastal Strip North of Boston
AOPA has added its voice to those trying to preserve historic Plum Island Airport, which serves the popular Newburyport area of the Massachusetts coast.
Its current owner, The Society for Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA), is considering closing the airport, which dates from 1910, in part over concern that an aircraft may crash into a museum farm located near the runway.
"AOPA does not dispute the need to protect this historic farm, but outright airport closure is not the only choice available," Bill Dunn, AOPA vice president of regional affairs, wrote SPNEA.
The association noted that three area airports had already closed, leaving pilots few options other than Plum Island along the I-95 corridor between the Boston suburbs and southern New Hampshire. The airport provides more than $2.9 million per year in jobs and economic support to the community, which generally supports continued airport operation.
AOPA Questions California Tax on Hangars, Tiedowns
AOPA is questioning the application of the so-called possessory interest tax on hangar and tiedown space rentals at publicly owned airports in Southern California's Orange County.
"Orange County may be pushing the boundaries of the law by its application of this tax provision," said Bill Dunn, AOPA vice president of regional affairs.
AOPA asked the county for information to prove fair assessments and proper proceeds distribution, and questioned whether month-to-month renters should be subject to the tax at all. (The tax only applies to those who have long-term use of the property.)
AOPA also questioned how the county determined the value of hangar and tiedown use, and therefore the tax level. More information is available on AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2000/00-2-017.html).
Action in the States
AOPA Airport Support Network volunteer activity is italicized. For information on how you can help AOPA's efforts to save your local airport, visit www.aopa.org/asn/ on AOPA Online.
Florida. Tallahassee: AOPA Regional Representative Nelson Rhodes has learned that some 4,000 pilots are on waiting lists for T-hangars in the state. The high cost of hangar construction, because of stringent Florida building codes, is blamed for the shortage.
Idaho. Volunteers for the AOPA Airport Support Network are still needed for target airports Burley Municipal and Friedman Memorial in Hailey.
Illinois. Springfield: The Illinois Department of Transportation has announced that it will fund upgrades for all AWOS units in the state and pay for links to the flight service station weather-reporting network. AOPA had urged such links. West Chicago: AOPA ASN volunteer Dan Swanson reports that a proposal for a six-turbine "peaker" power plant less than a mile from Runway 33 at DuPage Airport has been withdrawn. But several other proposals for such plants are waiting in the wings; area pilots are concerned about possible turbulence, clouds, fog, or icing caused by plant emissions.
Indiana. Elkhart: AOPA ASN volunteer David Dodson is working with local officials to prevent construction of apartments under Runway 27 at Elkhart Municipal Airport. The proposed apartments are less than one mile from the runway threshold. Muncie: At his first meeting as a member of the Delaware County Airport Authority, AOPA ASN volunteer Kurt Alexander questioned its decision not to purchase available land just off the main runway at Delaware County-Johnson Field to protect against future encroachment. Encroachment is the leading cause of operating restrictions at airports. Wabash: A fly-in open house at Wabash Municipal Airport on May 6 attracted about 500 local residents and 60 aircraft. AOPA ASN volunteer Steven Gray, co-owner of Prop Boys Aviation, LLC, sponsored the event.
Iowa. Des Moines: AOPA has asked Des Moines International Airport officials to reconsider a decision to close Runway 13R/31L and to revise the airport master plan to include a 4,000-foot GA runway parallel to Runway 13L/31R, which is to be lengthened. AOPA ASN volunteer Chris Andrews has been working with local officials and pilots to build support.
Kentucky. Bowling Green: AOPA ASN volunteer David Stalker reports that the Bowling Green-Warren Regional Airport board has suspended ramp fees imposed by a local FBO in February.
Louisiana. Baton Rouge: Funding for GA airport maintenance has been restored in the 2001 state budget. AOPA had worked for the funding with state Aviation Director Anthony M. Culp and former GA airport manager and state Sen. Jerry Theunissen of Jennings. Lake Charles: AOPA Airport Support Network Program Manager Mary Catherine Tennant enlisted five new ASN volunteers during a presentation at the Louisiana Airport Managers Association.
Maryland. Westminster: AOPA ASN volunteer Jon Buck has won a height reduction for a planned U.S. Sprint cellular telephone tower near Carroll County Regional Airport. Buck did a presentation using archived aerial photos of a neighboring airport that has suffered encroachment by residential development, towers, and commercial buildings.
Montana. Plains: AOPA ASN volunteer Dan Liljahas won compromises that will allow a new GA airport for Plains. A master plan for the airport is under development.
New Hampshire. Wolfeboro: Voters have approved creation of an airport authority for Lakes Region Airport, but failed to vote the necessary two-thirds majority for rezoning the airport from residential to airport commercial. AOPA ASN volunteer Jay Chastenay is working with New Hampshire Rep. Jeb Bradley on legislation.
North Dakota. Fargo: AOPA ASN volunteer Ron Saeger reports that West Fargo Utility Airport has been selected as GA Airport of the Year by the Airport Association of North Dakota.
South Dakota. Kennebec: A 10-by-40-foot billboard on I-90 near Kennebec reads, "Enjoy Your Lunch? Thank an Ag Pilot." The South Dakota Aviation Association campaign is reinforced by bumper stickers.
Virginia. Lynchburg: AOPA ASN volunteer Donald Blevins discovered that new airport user fees charged to a GA pilot at Lynchburg Regional Airport were in error. The fees were refunded, and the pilot received an apology from the FBO's management. Portsmouth: The privately owned Hampton Roads Airport has been purchased by Virginia Aviation Associates, LLC, owned by AOPA members Jack Fox, AOPA 190762, his son Steve Fox, AOPA 1349751, and Andy Gibbs. Plans for the field include a lengthened runway and additional hangars. "AOPA Action" had erroneously reported in May that the nonexistent "city of Hampton Roads" was interested in the property, instead of the city of Portsmouth, Virginia.
AOPA Membership Tops 360,000; Caps Nearly 20 Percent Growth Over Past Decade
More than 360,000 of your fellow pilots are members of AOPA, an all-time record and up some 60,000 from 1990. Some 110,000 members have been added since AOPA membership broke the quarter-million mark in 1985.
In addition to its traditional role as "The Voice of General Aviation," AOPA has reemphasized on-demand member information services, member education, and the defense of GA and its airports.
Requests for member assistance or technical help now total more than 300,000 a year, and information and education resources available electronically have blossomed in the past year. Some 122,000 members read industry news weekly on ePilot, AOPA's electronic newsletter. More than 170,000 members now use the AOPA Web site (www.aopa.org) for immediate technical data and information, rather than waiting for printed publications or faxes.
AOPA's commitment to members also includes as many as 30 Pilot Town Meetings around the nation each year with AOPA President Phil Boyer.
AOPA has provided one-sixth of the initial funding for a new industry-wide campaign to attract and retain young people in aviation maintenance careers. The new Make-It-Fly! Foundation seeks to reverse the decline in aviation maintenance technicians, a serious problem. After presenting a $25,000 check to Make-It-Fly! officials Michael Sonshine and Ron Jackson, AOPA President Phil Boyer challenged the industry to do more to address the problem.
FAA Knowledge Exam Testing Service Offers $10 Discount to AOPA Members
Top-rated Computer Assisted Testing Service, Inc. (CATS) now provides AOPA members with a $10 discount for any FAA knowledge test, from recreational pilot through airline transport pilot.
The AOPA benefit includes one free retest, if necessary.
CATS offers more than 300 airport locations and 10-minute walk-in service. The company has been in the aviation field since 1988.
The CATS Web site ( www.catstest.com) includes a search engine for finding the nearest FAA testing site.
To register for an FAA knowledge exam, call CATS at 800/947-4228. A valid AOPA membership number is required for the $10 AOPA discount.
Majority of Pilots Rent, so AOPA Relaunches Renters Insurance
Citing statistics showing that nearly 80 percent of pilots fly rented or borrowed aircraft, AOPA has relaunched its AOPA Personal Nonowned Aircraft Insurance Program.
"Insurance policies usually protect the FBO or flight school, but may leave the renter pilot without coverage," said Greg Sterling, executive vice president of the AOPA Insurance Agency. "Smart renter pilots need to verify if, and how, they are covered."
The revamped AOPA renters' coverage is available for bodily injury and property damage up to $1 million for each occurrence and $200,000 per passenger. Aircraft damage coverage is available up to $150,000.
Sterling pointed out that the new offer includes optional employer coverage and broadly defined "purpose of use" provisions to help counter common employer objections to employee business flying.
For information on the AOPA Personal Nonowned Aircraft Insurance Program, call 800/622-AOPA (2672) or visit the Web site ( www.aopa.org/rentersinsurance.html).
AOPA Air Safety Foundation
What Has the AOPA Air Safety Foundation Done for You?
The AOPA Air Safety Foundation spent more than $3.2 million last year on educational programs, safety publications, and research, and has documented its efforts for 1999 and the contributors who made it possible.
In 1999, ASF received about $2.18 million in contributions, $1.5 million in restricted funding and other income, and $1.21 million in additional funding for specific programs. The foundation's endowment, providing more predictable resources for future years, grew to a healthy $1.75 million. ASF conducted 258 evening and weekend safety seminars in 1999, attended by more than 32,000 pilots, and also ran cooperative seminar programs with the FAA and state aviation agencies in Florida, Idaho, Iowa, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia.
New for 1999 were ASF's "More Never Again" seminars examining accident causes. Other featured programs addressed collision avoidance, operations at nontowered airports, mountain flying, and stall/spin avoidance. Also new last year was Project V, which brought safety education home to some 30,000 new private and recently rated instrument pilots through free home videos. More than 7,000 CFIs, representing more than 25 percent of those who revalidate their CFI certificates with classroom instruction, attended ASF Flight Instructor Revalidation Clinics in 1999.
While participating in industry-wide safety efforts on weather decision making and controlled flight into terrain, ASF worked on the thorny issue of runway incursions, pioneering a way for VFR pilots to obtain the airport taxi diagrams that IFR pilots have on instrument approach charts.
A new, more succinct Safety Highlights pamphlet series began in 1999, starting with Cessna 172 Safety Highlights. A special ASF propeller safety Safety Advisor publication, sponsored by Hartzell Propeller, was mailed to almost every piston-engine aircraft owner in the United States. Meanwhile, the Flying Physicians Association sponsored another safety advisor on go/no-go decisions for charitable medical flights.
Contributors of $100 or more during 1999 will receive a copy of the ASF's Report to Donors. It is also available on the Web site ( www.aopa.org/asf/development/donorreport.pdf).
Arizona Pilot Wins ASF Transceiver Prize
John M. Wait of Phoenix, Arizona, is the winner of a Sporty's handheld transceiver after attending an ASF "More Never Again" seminar in Mesa, Arizona, in February.
The seminar discusses what went wrong during real-life brushes with disaster. Pilots learn how to deal with weather challenges and how to improve their decision making. They discuss IFR and VFR options and strategies, plus how IFR training can make VFR flying easier.
"I would rather learn from mistakes covered in the presentation than make them myself," Wait said. The 147-hour pilot flies an Aeronca Champ.
ASF's critically acclaimed seminars are presented nationwide and funded largely by individual pilots' tax-deductible donations. Information and schedules can be found in this section of AOPA Pilot magazine or on AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org/asf/seminars/).
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