No FAA Funding Crisis, Congressmen and Budget Office Say
User fee advocates in the FAA and the airlines must have been sorely disappointed in September. If they were hoping that "proof" of an FAA funding crisis would be offered to Congress, their hopes were squashed during a House aviation subcommittee hearing, conducted by Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) on September 27.
Citing Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections of a growing surplus in the aviation trust fund, subcommittee ranking member Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) said, "This new information raises questions about the administration's claims that there is a revenue crisis at the FAA."
The hearing was about financing the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NGATS), the latest version of FAA air traffic control system modernization.
But as both witnesses and members of the subcommittee pointed out, the FAA doesn't yet know exactly what NGATS will look like, or how much it will cost.
"This is putting the cart ahead of the horse when we don't know what we need," said Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), a pilot and AOPA member.
Right now, the FAA thinks NGATS might cost $15 billion over 15 years. The CBO says the money will be there.
Donald Marron, acting CBO director, testified that the aviation trust fund would have a surplus of "$2 billion at the end of 2006, increasing to $19 billion by the end of 2016." That's based on accepted, conservative government budgeting principles and assumptions.
"It appears that the preliminary $15 billion capital cost estimate for NGATS could be absorbed by the existing FAA financing structure with a general fund contribution that is consistent with or even smaller than recent general fund contributions," said Costello.
"Administrator [Marion] Blakey has said that there is a gap between revenue going into the trust fund and the FAA's costs," he said. "I disagree."
He and others also took issue with the FAA's assumption that the agency would no longer receive some funding from the general fund.
"There is a public interest in the aviation system, and that public interest should be supported by a contribution from the general fund because it is not only those who fly who benefit from the system," said Gerald Dillingham of the Government Accountability Office.
"The American people clearly receive a significant benefit from a safe and reliable air transportation system," said Costello. "Therefore, any discussion of financing the next-generation system must include a contribution from the general fund."
And although Mica suggested that user fees are one of the possibilities for funding the FAA, there was little support for that idea among the subcommittee members. "User fees are the wrong way to go," said Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-Mich.). "It makes it very cumbersome; it gets more expensive. We don't charge user fees to everyone who goes through an intersection with a traffic signal. It's a bit silly to get that specific about the cost."
Congress Funds Airport Watch
Congress has again recognized the importance of AOPA's Airport Watch as one of the multiple layers of protection guarding GA airports from terrorist use.
"The committee continues to support the Airport Watch program and expects TSA [Transportation Security Administration] to continue funding the toll-free number to reinforce security at the nation's 5,400 public-use general aviation airports," said members of the House Appropriations Committee in their report on funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in fiscal year 2007.
Congress appropriated $275,000 to promote Airport Watch and to continue funding the toll-free reporting hotline (866/GA SECUR[E], or 866/427-3287).
"This continuing appropriation shows that Congress believes that the proactive effort by GA pilots to protect airports is effective," said Andy Cebula, AOPA executive vice president of government affairs. "And that continued vigilance will help maintain our spotless record; no GA aircraft has ever been used in a terrorist attack anywhere."
AOPA's Airport Watch, established in 2003, is one layer of the security screens protecting GA airports. Since the program's inception, pilots have voluntarily "locked up and looked out" at their airports, securing their aircraft from unauthorized use and reporting suspicious activity to law enforcement and security officials. President Bush signed the DHS appropriations bill October 4.
Coast Guard Takes Over ADIZ Patrol
Pilots who bust the Washington, D.C., Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) will see a different aircraft off their wing-an orange Coast Guard HH-65C Dolphin instead of a Customs and Border Patrol Blackhawk.
The Coast Guard's air station in Atlantic City, New Jersey, has taken over responsibility for intercepting "low and slow" aircraft violating the ADIZ without the proper flight plan and clearance.
Another change: The Dolphins are equipped with civilian-frequency VHF radios plus electronic signboards so that they can communicate with pilots who might be having radio problems.
"Our concern about any change is that the enforcement agency understand general aviation," said Andy Cebula, AOPA executive vice president of government affairs. "We worked with the Department of Homeland Security as this transfer was contemplated, and we strongly expressed the need for Coast Guard pilots to have the training and experience to safely intercept GA aircraft that inadvertently violate the ADIZ and to escort them to an appropriate landing place."
With the increased emphasis on protecting the border between the United States and Mexico, Customs and Border Patrol aircraft are redeployed to the south.
The Coast Guard is more experienced with the chain of command involved in the defense of the National Capital Region airspace. The North American Aerospace Defense Command is responsible for air defense of the nation, including the Washington area. This Department of Defense agency uses assets from a number of military and civilian agencies to carry out that role.
Although Customs and Border Patrol is primarily a law enforcement agency, the Coast Guard has both military and law enforcement responsibilities. The Coast Guard is one of seven uniformed military services, and during wartime, it becomes part of the Department of Defense. So it is "uniquely qualified for this mission," according to the Coast Guard press release.
The Coast Guard helicopters are based at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in the center of the Washington, D.C., ADIZ.
Senate Confirms New Transportation Secretary
The full Senate confirmed Mary Peters as the new secretary of transportation September 30.
"Mary Peters reached out to me before the Senate vote, and we began the dialogue on user fees and general aviation," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "I'm sure that will be just the first of our many frank discussions of issues important to AOPA members and GA pilots."
"I am pleased that the Senate swiftly confirmed Mary Peters as secretary of transportation," said President Bush. "Mary is an innovative thinker who will work with state and local leaders to confront challenges and solve problems. I look forward to working with her to reduce highway and aviation congestion, modernize our nation's infrastructure, and increase the efficiency of travel in our country."
Peters previously served as head of the Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration and as director of the Arizona Department of Transportation.
REGIONAL ACTION
Boyer Pitches Value of GA Airport to Chicago-Area Politicos
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley doesn't have a clue-or doesn't care-about the value of a general aviation airport. But two more enlightened communities to his north do. The city of Prospect Heights and the village of Wheeling, Illinois, jointly own Palwaukee Municipal Airport, a vibrant GA airport serving the greater Chicago area. In September, the airport board invited AOPA President Phil Boyer to speak to political leaders and municipal officials from both communities and the Palwaukee Airport Pilots Association about continuing to nurture the resource. Boyer's points included:
- Business and personal use of GA creates a $150 billion-a-year industry, employing more than 1.3 million people.
- Nearly 70 percent of all GA flights are for business purposes, and companies that use GA grow faster and earn almost twice as much as those that don't.
- Local airports mean good business for a community as well. A dollar spent on airport improvements generates $6.70 in off-airport economic gains.
The two communities are looking to position Palwaukee airport as a business gateway to the Chicago area. They've even petitioned the FAA to change the name to Chicago Executive Airport.
Although that's a smart idea, "keep your balance," Boyer cautioned. "Serving corporate aircraft is important, but so is maintaining the flight training and piston-engine flight activity at PWK [Palwaukee].
"Airports like Teterboro have discovered too late that favoring the 'heavy iron' to the exclusion of the rest of GA can lead to difficult problems with the surrounding community."
Boyer reminded the officials that many pilots use their aircraft for both personal and business travel, just as they use their family car. Personal flying is an important business for the airport.
The business of aviation is more than corporate jets, Boyer said. Many manufacturing firms intentionally locate themselves within 10 miles of a public-use airport so that they can exploit the speed and access provided by GA.
Community airports allow local businesses to reach new markets, work with suppliers from neighboring states, or ship time-critical parts and materials to their customers. Local businesses gain enduring competitive advantages when they use the nearby airport; at the same time, the surrounding community gains jobs.
MEMBERSHIP ACTION
AOPA's Online Medical Center Gets Facelift
Finding information about a medical condition, medication, or getting your medical back is easier than ever for AOPA members. AOPA's Medical Certification Center has been revamped so that you can find all the information you need about a medical condition on one page.
The redesigned Medical Certification Web page is divided into 15 sections by medical subject, with each section explaining medical standards, the medical certification special-issuance process, and aviation medical examiner-assisted special-issuance procedures.
It even tells you how and where to submit your paperwork to the FAA for recertification.
A simple navigation bar on the right includes a section for AOPA's TurboMedical interactive online form along with links to AOPA's searchable databases of aviation medical examiners and FAA-approved medications.
AOPA AIR SAFETY FOUNDATION
Cockpit Companions: Learn About Flying
Wish your significant other, family member, or friend could enjoy punching holes in the sky with you? Many pilots have cockpit companions who are nervous about flying in a general aviation aircraft, so the AOPA Air Safety Foundation has developed a new 60-minute online course, Pinch-Hitter , for these passengers to explain how flying an airplane works and to ease their fears.
One of a nonpilot's biggest fears about flying in a GA aircraft is pilot incapacitation. AOPA Air Safety Foundation research included in the course shows that only 0.55 percent of GA accidents were caused by pilot incapacitation from 2000 through 2004. Even though the chance of pilot incapacitation is extremely low, the Pinch-Hitter course walks flying companions through how to radio for help and fly the aircraft in such situations.
The instrument panel also can make a nonpilot companion feel uneasy. Instead of seeing valuable pitch, altitude, and navigational information, the passenger sees buttons, dials, and a bunch of gauges that make no sense. This course takes a typical instrument panel, names each instrument, and describes its function in simple terms. It also covers how to use the radio, tune in a transponder code, use basic navigation instruments, and play an active role in the cockpit by organizing charts and watching for traffic.
The foundation offers a Pinch-Hitter DVD and manual for $29.95 to complement the free course. To order the DVD and manual, visit the foundation's online store or call 800/SPORTYS (800/776-7897).
Please note that these materials are geared specifically toward the nonpilot. They are not intended to be used as a "learn to fly" course for student pilots.
Cockpit Connection
Are you connected? Datalink is the latest technology bringing digital weather and traffic information to general aviation cockpits. Learn how this new technology works-and how you can use it safely in the cockpit-with the AOPA Air Safety Foundation's 30-minute online minicourse Datalink .
Simply stated, datalink uses satellites and ground stations to send wireless signals to a receiver on properly equipped aircraft; the information from those signals can be displayed on a GPS screen, multifunction display, or personal digital assistant.
Datalink weather information includes radar, satellite, text, severe-weather warnings, and more. Traffic and airspace information, like temporary flight restrictions, also helps increase pilots' situational awareness in the cockpit.
In the future, datalink could be used to improve air traffic control communications by showing controllers' clearances and radio calls in text on a cockpit display.
Winter Weather
It's that time of year again-preheat the airplane, remove frost from aircraft surfaces, and watch for possible aircraft icing in the air.
Get up to speed on the special precautions wintertime flying requires with the AOPA Air Safety Foundation's free Winter Weather Safety Hot Spot. The Safety Hot Spot provides interactive online quizzes, videos about aircraft icing, and links to publications about braking action on snowy or icy runways, icing accidents, and more.
AOPA AIRPORT SUPPORT NETWORK
Public-use airports in the United States are closing at the rate of about one every two weeks. The AOPA Airport Support Network 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.
Gulf Coast Airport Volunteers Report Progress
Airport Support Network (ASN) volunteers throughout the Gulf Coast are beginning to report progress at their local general aviation fields more than one year after hurricanes Katrina and Rita damaged hundreds of airports in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.
Mario Feola, ASN volunteer at Diamondhead Airport in southern Mississippi, reports that repairs are in progress at the airport, which was hit by the eastern wall of Hurricane Katrina. Volunteer GA flights were able to land at the airport within 24 hours of the storm's departure, bringing much-needed supplies for emergencies. Feola says that the FBO is under repair and that GA is returning to the area slowly but surely.
At St. Tammany Regional Airport in Abita Springs, Louisiana, ASN volunteer Daniel Oppenheim has seen positive moves by the local government to further protect the airport in the wake of the hurricanes. Oppenheim reports that St. Tammany Parish is planning to expand the airport and eventually lengthen the runway to 4,000 feet. Environmental studies have been completed, and the parish is working on land acquisition to make expansion a reality. The self-service fuel pump also was scheduled to be repaired in October as this issue went to press.
Although there are many other stories of progress, there are equally as many where despair still lingers. The ASN staff expresses its gratitude to the ASN volunteers and AOPA members who have made a difference in their communities by supporting their local airports.
Action in the States
Washington. Shelton: The FAA is planning to decommission several nondirectional radio beacons in the coming years where another ground-based navaid already exists. AOPA notified members, asking that they submit comments as local NDB users. John Krause, the ASN volunteer at Sanderson Field, took on AOPA's call to action. He and a cadre of local pilots reviewed the proposed decommissioning and submitted a letter to the FAA pointing out specific reasons why the airport's NDB should be preserved. Krause received a letter from the agency noting that, based on the pilots' comments, it would maintain the IFP NDB at Sanderson Field for now.
Virginia. Winchester: As more aircraft are finding their way to Winchester Regional Airport, located outside the Washington, D.C., Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), the airport's local government has gained a renewed interest in protecting the 5,500-foot-long runway. Airport Support Network volunteer for the airport Bruce Yost reports that the Board of Supervisors for Frederick County, Virginia, has been working with the regional airport authority to revise an ordinance passed 15 years ago to protect the airport with compatible zoning. Poor wording in the original ordinance allowed developers to slip in more than 500 homes adjacent to the airport, but Yost hopes the revitalized interest in the field will achieve the ironclad zoning language needed in a revised ordinance.
Wyoming. Green River: Green River Airport Support Network volunteer Dale Arey took advantage of a happenstance meeting during his lunch break to develop ways to promote the airport with local elected leaders. Arey met Green River City Councilman Randy Walker and talked to him about the airport and its value to the community. The councilman suggested they develop a workshop to bring the airport's value to the attention of the mayor and other council members.
Home-Field Advantage
Have you ever thought about what you would do if your airport closed? Unfortunately, too many pilots face that reality each year. The good news is that the trend is declining, but one airport lost is still one too many.
Since AOPA created the Airport Support Network in 1997, the number of public-use general aviation airports closed each year has declined significantly. For example, FAA data from 1994 indicates 67 public-use GA airports closed. In 2005, 14 were closed.
The best way to combat threats to your home field is to leverage your position as a voter and resident of your community. This is the premise of the ASN program — to have AOPA members at every public-use airport in the country promoting, protecting, and defending their local airports from the threats that populate the annual "closed airports" list.
The key to saving airports is local activism. AOPA can help you keep your airport safe from threats of closure. To sign up to be the ASN volunteer at your airport, visit the ASN Web page and click on "volunteer at your airport." You'll receive a starter kit and access to airport support staff expertise.
VLJs Not Likely to Overload System
The fears of very light jets (VLJs) darkening the skies apparently are overblown, at least according to testimony before the aviation subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee in September.
"One by one, credible sources from throughout the government and aviation industry are demolishing the airlines' and the FAA's rationalizations for user fees," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "The system is not headed for overload, and as verified in the House hearing, the existing tax system is perfectly capable of funding air traffic control modernization.
"We told you so more than a year ago."
One of the justifications that the FAA and the airlines are using for user fees is the supposed increased demands that VLJs (such as the Eclipse 500 or the Cessna Mustang) will put on the system. Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) calls them the "mosquito fleet" because of the "vastly increased numbers" they'll add to the air traffic control system.
But both FAA and industry experts told the subcommittee that the ATC system could handle the 5,000 VLJ aircraft that some forecasts say will eventually be added to the fleet.
"The system is in place today to accommodate the entry of new aircraft into the National Airspace System [NAS]," said Nicholas Sabatini, FAA associate administrator for aviation safety. "This is nothing new for the FAA. From when FAA's predecessor agency certified the Buhl Airster in 1927 to the introduction of the Boeing 707 and the dawning of the jet age in the late 1950s, the FAA has always been able to successfully assimilate new aircraft into the NAS."
Both Sabatini and Michael Cirillo, vice president, systems operation services for the FAA's Air Traffic Organization, explained to the subcommittee that VLJs would fly at different altitudes and use different airports than airlines. They assured Congress that the FAA could safely integrate additional VLJ traffic into existing traffic flows. Reliever and regional airports had plenty of capacity for the small jets.
And those smaller airports are exactly where the VLJs will go, according to Eclipse Chief Executive Officer Vern Raburn and Cessna President, Chairman, and CEO Jack Pelton.
"VLJs will neither require nor seek regular access to major hub airports," said Raburn. "VLJ passengers will be time sensitive and convenience minded, and they will use VLJs precisely to avoid the hassles associated with large hubs."
Pelton agreed. "VLJ operators have a powerful incentive to avoid the traffic congestion and delays found at these airports."
Pelton and Raburn disagreed on the number of VLJs likely to enter the system. Although the Eclipse business model depends on hundreds of VLJs being put into service as air taxis, Cessna takes a more conservative view of the market.
Pelton reminded the subcommittee that the Cessna Citation fleet-all models-is the largest jet fleet in the world, and yet it took some 35 years for the fleet to grow to 5,000 aircraft. He predicted a similar "linear, not exponential" growth in the number of VLJs. "There is simply no large parking lot full of VLJs poised to soar into America's skies in the coming days and weeks," said Pelton.
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