AOPA Action

Ever since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, pilots have been faced with a new challenge: security-related temporary flight restrictions (TFRs). The challenge is not just navigating around them, but knowing where they are in the first place.

After receiving numerous reports from members that flight service station (FSS) specialists were not passing along TFR notams, AOPA conducted a test and found the problem to be widespread. AOPA President Phil Boyer appealed directly to then-FAA Administrator Jane Garvey, demanding that the agency see to it that FSS specialists get the most up-to-date information and pass it on to pilots.

In August, Acting Administrator Monte Belger responded, promising in a letter to Boyer ( www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2002/020828letter.html ) to implement a "TFR Action Plan" to make sure pilots get proper information on TFRs.

"Ongoing security-related airspace restrictions and inadvertent incursions are some of the most pressing problems facing general aviation," said Andy Cebula, AOPA senior vice president for government and technical affairs. "It is critical that FSS personnel and pilots have the most current information."

Belger also committed to making available graphical depictions of TFRs, once a system being developed by Jeppesen is put online. In the meantime, AOPA encourages all pilots to ask specifically for any TFRs along their route during their preflight briefing.

Air Safety Foundation Expands Online Courses

Ask any instructor - that slip of paper the examiner handed you at the end of your checkride doesn't automatically confer wisdom. Experience and air safety are things pilots need to study and strive for constantly.

More than 170 times in the past year, the AOPA Air Safety Foundation has taken its show on the road, offering pilot safety seminars across the country. The seminars are a great way for new pilots and old hands alike to learn new skills and techniques, or to scrape the rust off of old, unused ones.

But pilots who can't make it to the seminars because of time or distance constraints don't have to miss out. ASF keeps expanding the number of engaging, interactive online courses that it offers on its most popular topics. "Operation Airspace" is a constantly updated course that reminds us all what our obligations are when flying in controlled airspace. The "Runway Safety Program" deals with what the FAA considers to be one of the most pressing safety problems in aviation today: runway incursions. "SkySpotter" teaches pilots to take a more active role in flight safety by making timely, accurate pilot reports on actual weather conditions.

The newest online course, "IFR Adventure: Rules to Live By," can help pilots who've decided to tackle their instrument rating, as well as instrument-rated pilots who need some brushing up. The course, funded by a grant from the William H. Donner Foundation, takes the pilot on a virtual flight in instrument conditions.

Successfully completing the Runway Safety Program or IFR Adventure allows pilots to print out a certificate that may be used to satisfy a portion of the FAA's Wings pilot proficiency program. The courses are available on AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org/asf/courses.html ).

AOPA Keeps A Wary Eye On FAA Study Of FSS Services

The FAA has begun an 18-month study of how best to provide weather briefings and other flight service station services to pilots. The evaluation will compare the costs of FAA-provided services versus the costs of contracting out those services to commercial companies.

AOPA is keeping a close eye on the survey to make sure that what emerges offers truly improved services and is free to users, regardless of whether the government or an outside organization is providing it. The association has already met with the FAA and union leadership representing FSS specialists, and is playing a key role in identifying GA requirements related to aviation weather services, notams, and other safety functions performed by FSSs.

The study is examining alternatives for providing modernized flight services with the government still retaining the ultimate responsibility. It will focus on 58 of the total 61 FSSs, excluding Alaska's FSS functions.

The use of outside resources for FSS functions is not unprecedented. In the 1980s, FAA implemented the DUAT service, with private contractors providing aviation weather services directly to pilots via personal computers.

Post 9/11 Fallout: AOPA Steps In To Counter State-Level Paranoia

The attacks of September 11, 2001, prompted many state legislatures to consider bills and resolutions that would impose security measures on pilots and flight schools, actions AOPA considers unconstitutional. The clamoring for legislation was compounded by the FAA's failure to require that pilots carry photo ID while operating an aircraft - despite an AOPA petition for a direct final rule by the FAA that would direct pilots to carry a government-issued photo ID.

AOPA continues to fight such state-level measures on many fronts. In Michigan, the association has filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the state is trying to usurp the federal government's authority. In New York and New Jersey, where similar measures were pending, AOPA asked members to contact their legislators about the proposals. The bills in both states have stalled, but not yet been killed.

At press time, South Dakota was preparing to implement a program to require new state-issued photo IDs for all pilots. Bills or resolutions calling for additional local restrictions or requirements had been introduced in at least 13 other states.

"It doesn't take much imagination to see how disruptive a quagmire of state laws regulating aviation would be," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "AOPA's lawsuit charging Michigan with usurping federal preeminence in aviation is a shot across the bow for all local lawmakers caught up in the post-9/11 paranoia."

A summary of state legislative actions is available on AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org/whatsnew/region/state.html ).