AOPA Battles 'Class B Creep'
"Aircraft calling, stand by and remain clear of the Class Bravo."
That's a phrase you may be hearing more from air traffic controllers. In the past six months, AOPA has detected a serious push from FAA facility managers for more Class B airspace.
"AOPA is fighting this 'Class B creep,'" says Melissa K. Bailey, AOPA vice president of air traffic services. "We'll push back to make sure these airspace restrictions are absolutely necessary, and when they are, that they accommodate the needs of all the users. The FAA doesn't own the airspace, it manages it for the users, including us GA pilots."
Class B airspace has been established around the nation's busiest airports to offer more protection against midair collisions involving airliners.
The push for more Class B is due, in part, to the growth in airline travel. Under current FAA standards, if more than 3.5 million passengers annually pass through the primary airport, or if the airport has more than 300,000 takeoffs and landings — half of them air carrier operations — in a year, the airport is a candidate for Class B airspace.
"But passenger count is not a valid measure of the number of aircraft operations in a terminal area," says Bailey. "With today's large passenger aircraft like the Airbus 300 and Boeing's 777 and 747-400, even a moderately busy airport can meet the passenger criteria."
AOPA supports Class B airspace when safety truly demands it, but since 1999 has pushed the FAA for more realistic criteria for establishment of the more restrictive airspace.
Class B Can Create Both Safety and Convenience Issues for GA
A common GA safety issue in Class B proposals is "airspace compression," the squeezing of VFR traffic flying under Class B airspace. Airspace compression increases the risk of a GA midair collision, so AOPA frequently argues for a higher floor, or an airspace "cutout" above airports that lie beneath Class B airspace.
The recently proposed redesign of the Cincinnati, Ohio, Class B includes such a cutout for Clermont County Airport. AOPA is also now scrutinizing the design for a proposed Class B around the Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina for reasonable access to satellite airports.
When the FAA cites safety reasons for changing airspace, AOPA can often propose less restrictive ways of accomplishing the same goal. At Salt Lake City International Airport in Utah, for example, the FAA claimed that an increase in area near-midair collisions required an expansion of the existing Class B airspace. AOPA challenged the FAA's data and offered a commonsense solution: Chart the most used air carrier arrival and departure tracks so that VFR pilots would know where they would likely encounter heavy traffic.
A recent survey showed that some 50 percent of AOPA members choose to go around Class B airspace, even though it will add extra time and distance to their flight. And sometimes a transient VFR pilot just can't get clearance through a Class B.
AOPA works to improve GA access by advocating VFR corridors. The association is also working with the FAA to develop GPS-defined VFR routes through Class B airspace. Controllers are more likely to clear VFR pilots through the airspace along specific routes.
Finally, AOPA is an active participant in various industry groups working to build consensus on airspace redesign and the most effective ways to ensure both safety and access.
User groups: Democracy in action
Airspace Design: Are You Part of the Solution?
AOPA has repeatedly maintained that the best airspace design comes from the people who use it, and that's why the association encourages pilots to participate in airspace user groups when a redesign of local airspace is proposed.
And responding to AOPA advocacy, the FAA has committed to following that user group process.
These groups include local pilots and aviation organizations and are usually sponsored by state aviation departments. The FAA can't be an official member of the group because of government regulations covering rulemaking, but local controllers provide expertise and advice on proposed airspace designs.
User groups take a "cookie cutter" Class B or C design and modify it. The designs often include visual landmarks to define airspace boundaries and account for local conditions (such as satellite airports, practice areas, and geographic features). The FAA uses the group design as the basis for its proposal, published as a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
If airspace changes are proposed for your area, participation in informal airspace meetings can provide an opportunity to offer your thoughts and experience on how to design airspace that is safe, efficient, and meets the needs of GA pilots.
For more information on airspace user groups, visit AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org/members/files/airspace/tcagroup.html).
Pioneers in Aviation
Boyer Honors Floatplane Legend
AOPA President Phil Boyer, representing the Seaplane Pilots Association board, awarded a presidential citation to 80-year-old Philadelphia floatplane legend Bob Mills at an April dinner and ceremony. Mills received the award for his "extraordinary courage and dedication in maintaining the nation's oldest seaplane base on the Delaware River for six productive decades." Mills sold the land and closed the base last year.
His father, Frank, was hired in 1915 to manage the then-new seaplane operation. Flying an Aeronca, Bob soloed at the seaplane base in 1940. Following World War II and the death of his father, Bob and his two brothers ran the base and adjacent marina.
Bush Budget Keeps User Fee Options Open
An AOPA analysis of the Bush administration budget proposal for fiscal year 2002 reveals that it does not exclude the possibility of aviation user fees.
The plan proposes $13.3 billion in FAA spending for the budget year that starts October 1, the level required by last year's AIR-21 legislation that unlocked the aviation trust fund. An early threat to that funding from the Office of Management and Budget was uncovered in February by AOPA and turned back.
Of most concern to GA pilots is the proposed deletion of AOPA-supported language prohibiting taxpayer dollars from being used to develop user fee plans not previously approved by Congress. The administration also reiterated its desire to "examine the success that various nations, including Canada, have experienced with…ATC [systems] owned and operated by private companies."
AOPA is also watching the possibility that a combination of the administration's proposed tax cuts and the Senate's proposed increases in discretionary spending could leave the AIR-21 funding levels vulnerable to a last-minute budget "deal."
AOPA has consistently opposed user fees and supported adequate funding for FAA modernization.
AOPA: Aspen Crash May Help NOTAM Reforms
The late-March crash of a Gulfstream III in Aspen, Colorado, pointed to some of the shortcomings in the FAA's notices to airmen (notam) system and may help speed reforms. AOPA has been pushing for at least a decade to modernize that system.
AOPA has repeatedly pointed out that the current system is a relic of tele-type days that has failed to evolve with modern communications.
"All notams should be in a searchable database, accessible over the Internet," said AOPA president Phil Boyer. "That way pilots, briefers, and ATC personnel could easily get the flight safety information pertinent to their operations without wading through reams of extraneous data."
AOPA will continue its efforts to modernize the notam system.
New Prohibited Area Over Bush Texas Ranch
A new prohibited area has been established over President George W. Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, west of Waco.
The FAA commissioned P-49 on May 17 at the request of the U.S. Secret Service. It extends from the surface to 5,000 feet, with a 3-nautical-mile radius.
AOPA worked with both the FAA and the Secret Service to keep the new airspace to the minimum size necessary.
AOPA-Supported Backcountry Airstrips Legislation Reintroduced
Western lawmakers Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and representatives C.L. "Butch" Otter (R-Idaho) and AOPA member James Hansen (R-Utah) have reintroduced AOPA-supported bills that would stop federal agencies from arbitrarily restricting or prohibiting GA access to backcountry airstrips on federal land.
"In the rugged West where suitable emergency landing areas are few and far between, these airstrips are important to safety," said AOPA President Phil Boyer.
Boyer has testified before Congress on the importance of backcountry airstrips, including such uses as search-and-rescue operations, firefighting, and forest management and research.
In the House, 24 representatives have signed on as cosponsors, including pilot members Charles Bass (R-N.H.), Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa), John Cooksey (R-La.), Jim Gibbons (R-Nev.), and Robin Hayes (R-N.C.), as well as Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska) and aviation subcommittee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.).
Eight senators are cosponsoring the bill, including Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and AOPA member James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.).
MEMBERSHIP ACTION
AOPA Parade of Planes Slated for Expo 2001
For the first time in recent memory, an AOPA Parade of Planes along city streets will launch an AOPA Expo on the East Coast, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on November 7.
The planned aeronautical parade through city streets will precede AOPA Expo 2001 at the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center, November 8 through 10.
More than 50 aircraft, ranging from light single-engine trainers to business aircraft, are expected for the four-mile parade from the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport to the AOPA Expo site at Fort Lauderdale's convention center. The aircraft will remain on static display at the convention center throughout Expo.
Previous AOPA Parades of Planes have been staged at Expo sites in Las Vegas and Palm Springs, California.
This year's AOPA Expo in Fort Lauderdale will be the largest yet, with more than 500 exhibits; 90-plus safety, education, and entertainment seminars; dozens of product demonstrations; and the static aircraft display at the convention center.
For more information, call 888/GO2-EXPO or visit the Web site ( www.aopa.org/expo/).
AOPA Fly-In Arrival Procedures Available
Procedures for pilots of the expected 700 aircraft arriving for AOPA's eleventh annual Fly-In and Open House on Saturday, June 2, are now available.
The annual AOPA event at the Frederick, Maryland, Municipal Airport will run from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., with more than 100 exhibitors, a dozen aviation seminars, and special appearances by noted aviation humorist Rod Machado. A temporary FAA control tower will operate from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. For fly-in procedures and more information, visit the Web site ( www.aopa.org/special/fly-in/).
New AOPA Term Life Policies Feature Low Rates, Guaranteed Level Premiums
New AOPA Certified individual term life insurance products add a 20-year guaranteed level premium policy and a new 10-year term policy that reduces premiums by an average of 20 percent.
Both new policies are available with coverage from $250,000 to $10 million, with rate discounts starting at face values of $250,000 and $1 million. As true individual term life policies, they are personalized to meet specific personal needs, including favorable treatment of aviation activities. Both also offer competitive premium rates and may be converted to permanent, cash-value life insurance.
For AOPA members with different financial planning needs, AOPA Certified partner Minnesota Life also offers an AOPA Group Term Life Insurance Program with term life coverage of $10,000 to $500,000.
Minnesota Life has been an AOPA partner for more than 50 years and ranks among the most highly rated insurers in the country.
Mountain Pass VFR Waypoints Set to Debut; Safety Advantages Cited by AOPA
Passes through mountainous areas may soon be safer, thanks to an initiative by AOPA for VFR waypoints marking mountain pass routes on aeronautical charts. An FAA-industry Safer Skies working group supported the initiative.
The waypoints, which will be included in GPS receiver databases, are expected to appear on selected sectional charts in the first half of 2002. They will indicate the beginning and ends of mountain pass routes and will be marked for VFR use only. Similar VFR waypoints now appearing on terminal area VFR charts are helping pilots navigate accurately in congested airspace.
Identification of the correct mountain pass route can be critical, especially for pilots flying lower-powered, nonturbocharged piston aircraft in mountainous areas. High-density-altitude conditions (more likely in summer) can make it impossible for a nonturbocharged aircraft to climb above peaks or high ridgelines if the route selected turns out to be a blind canyon or has rapidly rising terrain.
The first new VFR mountain pass waypoints will be assigned to selected routes in mountainous areas of Alaska and Colorado.
AOPA has long offered mountain flying information and expertise for members. The 57-page AOPA "Guide to Mountain Flying" is currently available in both hard copy and on AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org/members/files/guides/mntfly.html).
AOPA AIRPORT SUPPORT NETWORK
Public-use airports in the United States are closing at the rate of more than one every two weeks. The AOPA Airport Support Network, launched in 1996, designates one volunteer per airport to watch for threats and encourage favorable public perception of general aviation. For more information on how you can help support your airport, visit AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org/asn/ ).
Action in the States
Alabama. Guntersville: AOPA ASN volunteer Bob Lock is working with local officials and the FAA to illuminate the windsock for Guntersville Airport. The airport is officially closed at night until the light for the windsock is repaired.
Indiana. Fort Wayne: AOPA ASN volunteer Kenneth Russell met in February with a consultant hired by the Fort Wayne-Allen County Airport Authority to help determine the fate of Smith Field. Traffic at the landlocked airport has decreased dramatically in recent years, and the airport authority has announced it will not consider new leases, construction, or businesses until a decision is made on the airport's future.
Maine. AOPA ASN volunteers are still needed for airports serving the communities of Augusta, Bangor, Bar Harbor, Biddeford, Fryeburg, Houlton, Norridgewock, Pittsfield, Portland, Sanford, and Waterville.
Maryland. Baltimore: The strategically located 2,200-foot Baltimore Airpark is expected to close in June, with an auction of hangars and equipment likely soon after. AOPA ASN volunteer Bill Peters reports that the owner of the privately owned, public-use airport is determined to sell the field, and efforts to retain the property as an airport have apparently failed.
Missouri. Osage Beach: AOPA ASN volunteer Jim Morris reports that Mayor Penny Lyons of Osage Beach is moving quickly to fulfill her campaign pledge to close the Grand Glaize-Osage Beach Airport. A city planning and zoning board meeting in March heard only from citizens who live near the airport. Following that hearing, the board recommended that city staff explore closing the airport.
New York. Albany: AOPA ASN volunteers Bernie Schmelz of Albany International Airport and Jeff Ronner of Schenectady Airport reminded Albany officials April 9 at an airport ceremony inaugurating direct airline service to Montreal that GA should not be forgotten. "Though airport management sees commercial aviation as their main mission, it's important not to forget the little guy," Schmelz said.
North Carolina. Indian Trail: AOPA ASN volunteer Bob Crosby reports that Goose Creek Airport has installed a self-serve auto gas pump to help GA pilots cope with soaring fuel costs. Winston-Salem: AOPA ASN volunteer Andrew Dale is helping to form the Winston-Salem Aviation Association, in part to build public support for Smith Reynolds Airport.
Pennsylvania. Pottstown: The once-endangered Pottstown Municipal Airport has new life, according to AOPA ASN volunteer Mark Santangelo, who operates a new FBO on the field. In addition to new businesses, nearly $1 million in grants will allow obstruction removal, new T-hangars, and ramp repaving.
Utah. Provo: AOPA ASN volunteer Greg Soter of Provo Municipal Airport worked with AOPA Regional Representative Stacy Howard to convince the state legislature to leave the Utah Aviation Protection Fund untouched.
Washington. Renton: Airport users are developing a voluntary noise-abatement plan with help from AOPA ASN volunteer Dave Kotker. The resulting procedures will be coordinated with airport management, the FAA, and local pilots. Kotker used AOPA's Flying Friendly video as guidance. Seattle: AOPA ASN volunteer Jim Combs coordinated with AOPA within hours of the devastating earthquake that struck Boeing Field/King County International Airport in March, providing near-real-time photos and reports on damage at the field. Combs also discouraged antiairport sentiment during rebuilding of the airport by reminding citizens that the airport is responsible for $1 billion in benefits for the local community. Airport management had both runways back in operation within 15 days of the quake.
Volunteer of the Month
Like many airports, Barnstable Municipal Airport in Hyannis, Massachusetts, has neighbors who don't appreciate airplanes taking off and landing near their homes.
In February, the antiairport group, Citizens Committee on Aviation Impact, succeeded in convincing a Barnstable town council member to introduce a resolution calling for a voluntary ban on pre-7 a.m. departures. Such curfews are often the beginning of more stringent restrictions.
Using AOPA advice and resources, AOPA ASN volunteer Frank Gibson and the Friends of the Barnstable Municipal Airport went to work. Among other moves, the group met pre-7 a.m. commuters awaiting a flight at the airport terminal, handing out dozens of 4-by-8-inch "nonboarding passes" to help explain the proposed curfew.
When a public hearing on the resolution was held in town council chambers on March 1, a diverse group of citizens spoke out, helping to defeat the proposed curfew.
"The good news is that all this controversy has triggered awareness of the value of public support for the airport," said Gibson.
INTERNATIONAL ACTION
Boyer Reminds European Officials of GA Importance
In his role as president of the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations (IAOPA), AOPA President Phil Boyer has reminded European ATC officials that airliners aren't the only aircraft in the sky.
Eurocontrol coordinates ATC services for 30 European countries. An ambitious plan for improving services has largely concentrated on the needs of airlines.
In the keynote speech to the second annual IAOPA-Eurocontrol Aviation Day in Brussels, Belgium, Boyer told conferees that there are four times as many general aviation and aerial work (GA/AW) aircraft in Europe as airliners, and that they provide essential services such as agricultural application, air medical evacuation, law enforcement assistance, and executive transport. GA/AW also provides the training ground for new pilots, essential to avoiding an airline pilot shortage in coming years.
Boyer decried the high taxes and other costs that have already marginalized many GA/AW operators, and asked for consideration of their needs when new avionics and other equipment requirements are imposed.
Boyer and Alex Hendriks, head of Eurocontrol's airspace management and navigation unit, were the cochairmen of the conference. More than 150 people attended.
Air Safety Foundation
ASF 'Goes Walkabout,' Helps Refresh Australian CFIs
The AOPA Air Safety Foundation went "walkabout" in Australia in March. The foundation was called in to help reduce GA accidents in that country by providing ongoing education for Australian flight instructors.
In cooperation with Australian officials, ASF in March presented two modified Flight Instructor Refresher Clinics (FIRCs) for Australian instructors. Over the past quarter century, ASF FIRCs presented in the United States have helped tens of thousands of U.S. flight instructors revalidate their FAA teaching certificates.
The ASF FIRCs were conducted jointly with the Aviation Safety Foundation Australia (ASFA) and that country's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA — the Australian equivalent of the U.S. FAA). Some 60 Australian flight instructors attended the sessions.
Officials of the Australian Aviation Underwriters Pool (representing aviation insurance companies) had asked for ASF help after research showed that the Australian general aviation accident rate was some 45 percent higher than the U.S. rate, despite generally better Australian flying weather. Australia has one-tenth as many GA aircraft as the United States. The ASF programs in Australia were funded entirely by pool members.
ASF developed a FIRC curriculum for U.S.-based ASF instructor Bill Gunn to teach, including general subjects such as aerodynamics, flight maneuver analyses, and decision making. Local instructors taught Australian-specific topics such as regulations and licensing procedures.
ASF was established in 1950 to help improve GA safety through research and pilot training. Since then, the U.S. GA accident rate has declined by almost 90 percent. ASF activities in the United States are funded primarily by donations from individual pilots and companies interested in promoting GA safety.
