"FAA Administrator Marion Blakey stood before hundreds of pilots at AOPA Expo last October and said, 'You need a good picture; you're going to get it,'" said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "But she was brand- new on the job then, and didn't know how long it would take to draw that picture."
AOPA had lobbied Congress for language directing the FAA to provide graphical TFRs and had raised the issue in meetings with Kenneth Mead, DOT inspector general.
AOPA felt so strongly about the need for graphical TFRs that the association has provided them on its Web site since November 2001. However, AOPA felt the issuance of graphical TFRs, like other notams, is a function that should be performed by the FAA. Not only does it have the resources to provide the widest dissemination, but as the issuing agency, the FAA is also the final authority as to the accuracy and content of any such graphic.
The FAA is working to correct the deficiency that prevents many automated flight service station (AFSS) personnel from seeing the same information now available to pilots. Having graphical TFRs available to all flight service stations will address a longstanding problem of disseminating TFR notams during preflight briefings.
SkySpotter: You can do something about the weather
If you've started your cross-country training, you undoubtedly received a standard briefing from a flight service station. Maybe the briefer said there were "no pireps." That's unfortunate.
Pireps, or pilot reports, are firsthand reports from pilots who are up there about what the weather's really like. And they're a "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" sort of thing. If more pilots file them, everyone will benefit from better information.
At first, it can seem overwhelming trying to remember all the information you need to pass along. But ASF's free online SkySpotter course walks you through the process and tells you what kinds of information that other pilots need from you. There is even a downloadable form that will help you to give pireps like a pro.
Anyone who completes the SkySpotter course with a passing grade can print out a certificate, which may be used for credit in the FAA Wings program. But more important, you'll have done something about the weather-you'll have told a fellow pilot what to expect.
New Jersey senate defers action on pilot background check bill
New Jersey student pilots and airmen won a summer-long reprieve from a proposed background-check law when state senators adjourned without considering the measure. They will not return until after the November elections. AOPA representatives in Trenton will use the intervening four months to convince senators that the bill is unnecessary and unconstitutional.
If passed and enacted, the bill would require anyone seeking any kind of flight instruction to get fingerprinted and undergo an identity check before taking a single lesson. And the person being investigated would have to pay for the fingerprinting and background check.
"In order for the national air transportation system to function effectively, there has to be one uniform set of pilot standards set at the federal level," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "If New Jersey were allowed to decide who can and cannot fly in that state, and Michigan, for instance, set another standard, there would be chaos in the skies.
"AOPA took Michigan to court over its pilot criminal background check law, and is fully prepared to do the same if New Jersey ultimately adopts this bill," Boyer said. At press time, the Michigan lawsuit was still pending in federal court.
ASF holiday cards now available
It may still be sweltering outside, but now is the time to order your holiday cards from the AOPA Air Safety Foundation card collection.
A portion of the proceeds from each box sold supports ASF's mission of researching, supporting, and improving general aviation safety.
For more information or to order, visit the Web site or call 800/308-4285.
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