Congress upset over "pilot insecurity" rule; AOPA continues lobbying effort
AOPA President Phil Boyer met with House Transportation Committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska). As Boyer explained the rule, Young demanded of his staff, "Did you know about this?" The staff said that they were receiving "tons" of mail from Alaskan pilots.
Young subsequently sent a sent a strongly worded letter to TSA chief James M. Loy. "I am still very concerned that the rights of pilots may be adversely affected if the rule is implemented as currently written," said Young, warning that if the rules aren't changed, "I will have no alternative but to explore a legislative solution to this problem."
Young confirmed AOPA's position that the TSA rules went beyond congressional intent. He urged TSA to reconsider the rule and provide pilots a reasonable right to appeal.
New nuclear plant notam issued; "loitering" pilots warned of consequences
The FAA in February issued a new nuclear powerplant notam in response to concerns from security officials. Pilots who fly suspiciously around power plants can expect to be interviewed by law enforcement personnel. And if law enforcement isn�t convinced the pilot's flight activities were innocent, the pilot's name may be added to TSA's incident reporting system database.
The FAA issued this advisory notam rather than reinstating the 10-mile temporary flight restrictions around all nuclear facilities that were effective for just over a week in October 2001. Some security officials had been pushing to again close the airspace around some 90 nuclear facilities, affecting more than 700 public and private airports.
"The government must not use this advisory to take away pilot rights or to harass pilots who are conducting normal flight operations," said AOPA President Phil Boyer.
New federal budget includes AOPA-supported benefits for GA
The federal spending bill signed into law by President Bush in February includes items beneficial to general aviation. AOPA legislative affairs staff worked with appropriations committee members to secure funding.
The omnibus spending law (Public Law 108-7) pays for government programs for the remainder of the fiscal year (which ends September 30).
Besides allocating funds, the law also directs FAA to do certain things. For example, after AOPA explained the current problems pilots have in obtaining clear, accurate, and timely information on airspace restrictions, Congress told the FAA to "expand the use of graphics to not only flight service stations but also to provide pilots with advisory graphics of information contained in the notams including temporary flight restrictions."
Development of general aviation airports will continue to benefit from the $3.4 billion available through the Airport Improvement Program (AIP). The law includes the "GA entitlement program," supported by AOPA, that automatically allocates as much as $150,000 per GA airport in addition to regular AIP funding.
Flight Training Instructor Program helps students replace CFIs called for active duty
As the nation geared up for the possible conflict with Iraq, some student pilots encountered an unexpected consequence - their flight instructors were being called up for active duty. AOPA's free Flight Training Instructor Program maintains a public database online that can help any student find a replacement to continue training toward a private pilot certificate, an advanced certificate, or additional ratings.
An AOPA member living near Camp Pendleton, California, noted that student pilots near military facilities are especially affected by the loss of CFIs. The AOPA Online list includes about 6,500 instructors throughout the United States.
Complete details about the program, including information on how instructors can enroll, can be found on the Web. Participating instructors do not have to be AOPA members.
AOPA offers discount on renter's insurance to qualified members
When the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association was formed in 1939, one of its objectives was to keep general aviation affordable. Now, under a new agreement with AIG Aviation, qualified AOPA members can receive a 10-percent renewal discount on their renter's insurance
AOPA members who have a renter's policy through AIG Aviation and have been loss- and violation-free for the current policy year will be eligible for the 10-percent discount upon renewal. Also, the policy must be renewed within 30 days after policy expiration.
For more information, call 800/622-2672 or visit the AOPA Insurance Agency's Web site.
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