In a letter to the editor Boyer responded, "By using such an inflammatory caption, you have chosen to begin the conversation by yelling 'Fire!' in a crowded movie house. You preclude any further rational discussion."
Boyer pointed out the physical improbability of a light GA aircraft causing any kind of significant damage to a hardened nuclear power plant. In addition, he directed Time's editors to an independent study commissioned by AOPA confirming that GA aircraft don't have the destructive potential to harm a nuclear power plant. That same week, an independent study by the Electric Power Research Institute concluded that not even a wide-body airliner at maximum gross takeoff weight could do enough damage to cause a release of radiation.
"AOPA welcomes a conversation about aviation security," Boyer told the magazine editors. "Our 389,000 members simply ask that if Time, Inc. would like to begin that discussion, you do so responsibly."
Member shares new use for Air Aid
Ask any AOPA member or employee how long the Air Aid has been around, and about the most precise answer you�ll get is "forever." It was the brainchild of Max Karant, founder and longtime editor of AOPA Pilot magazine.
The tool has lots of uses. But AOPA member Merrick Endres found a new one - instrument cover. Endres and an instructor were preparing to do some partial-panel practice, and he could not find his regular instrument covers. His Air Aid "fit perfectly," said Endres, "and I did indeed use it very successfully during that day's training flight." Endres has experienced vacuum failure in "soft" instrument conditions at night, so he appreciates the need to be able to fly by reference to only some of his instruments and to cover up the failed instruments.
"On the cover of every issue of AOPA Flight Training, we say 'A good pilot is always learning,'" said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "Well, a good pilot is also always thinking. Mr. Endres's ingenuity is an excellent example."
AOPA's Airport Watch video now available to airports, pilots' groups
Homeland Security Secretary-designate Tom Ridge took time out during the busy holiday season to take part in AOPA's Airport Watch videotape. Ridge praised the AOPA program, for which the Transportation Security Administration provided a nationwide toll-free hotline, as "a great example of government and the private sector working together to secure the homeland."
The videotape, now available to airport user groups and pilots' organizations, dramatizes a number of scenarios that could warrant a call to the hotline (866/GA-SECURE or 866/427-3287) or to local authorities.
Groups wishing to receive a copy of AOPA's Airport Watch videotape should visit AOPA Online.
Student pilot background check ordinance violates federal law, AOPA tells California county
In December, AOPA told the San Mateo County, California, Board of Supervisors that it had encroached federal authority by passing a pilot background check ordinance. The measure requires students and pilots to complete a "Flight School Applicant Security Questionnaire," which is turned over to the sheriff's office to verify the applicant's identity and criminal history.
In a letter to the county board members, AOPA Counsel Kathleen A. Yodice said, "a law imposing this type of local security verification process is a violation of federal law because it attempts to regulate in the aviation security field, a field already occupied by the federal government." Numerous court cases have upheld federal supremacy in areas of aviation regulation.
"We're talking about the nation's airspace," said AOPA Vice President of Airports Anne Esposito, "not San Mateo County's airspace or the state of California's airspace. AOPA is not opposed to reasonable efforts to improve aviation security, but we can't afford a patchwork of differing regulations all across the country. Aviation security measures must be the same for everyone, and only the federal government can do that."
AOPA-MBNA deal extends popular programs for six years
AOPA and MBNA America Bank, N.A. signed an agreement in December that will continue programs such as the FBO 5% Rebate and the Sporty's Pilot Shop Discount for another six years. Using the AOPA credit card at a flight school, for instance, could reduce the cost of flight training by 5 percent (up to $250 per year).
"AOPA and MBNA have been partners for 18 years," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "This relationship has allowed us to offer members programs that reduce the cost of flying, have kept our member dues at $39 for 13 years, and helped pay for AOPA programs like Project Pilot, Airport Watch, and the Airport Support Network.
"Just by using the credit card, for example, you are contributing directly to AOPA's programs to defend and promote general aviation," said Boyer. "It's a win-win for everyone."
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