The World's
Easiest Way
to Help AOPA
Fight User Fees!

The AOPA Fly-in is slated for this weekend in Frederick, MD, and is one of the hottest (and maybe even the largest?) single-day aviation events in the country:

The 17th annual AOPA Open House will be held at AOPA Headquarters, Frederick Municipal Airport (FDK) this Saturday, June 2 from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Plan now to attend because this wonderful event is FREE to anyone interested in learning more about general aviation. Join AOPA for a full day of safety seminars, over 100 exhibits, and 40 aircraft on display! If you are flying into FDK, download the arrival procedures here.

While at the event, you can sign the AOPA petition against user fees, joining others who share your opposition:

There's no place for user fees in the world's largest, safest, most efficient air transportation system. Nearly 23,000 pilots at Sun 'n Fun in Lakeland, Florida, agreed when they signed AOPA's petition against general aviation user fees. And if you're coming to the AOPA Fly-In and Open House on June 2 in Frederick, Maryland, you, too, will have a chance to add your signature. But if you can't make it to our glorious event, you can sign our new online petition by clicking HERE.

Go right now and sign the online petition. Those are official orders from headquarters. And when AOPA speaks on our behalf, we had better listen. Until this fight is won, the only question the GA community needs to ask AOPA when they say jump...is HOW HIGH?

Can't Tell the
Players Without
a Program.

Each day it seems, we hear about yet another “air taxi service” that is dredging up financing to begin riding the wave of air charter excitement that is being fueled by the invention of the VLJ.

In fact, in my aviation advertising business, we have heard from a number of upstart air taxi companies, all with great intentions, all with a business model based on the Eclipse 500, but none with the mountain of cash to remain in business until new E500s start flying out of the factory several times a day. We have also heard from people basing their air taxi service on the Embraer Phenom 100, and others choosing Cirrus SR22 G3s as their platform.

As the air taxi horse race runs parallel to the VLJ horse race, it requires full-time work to keep up with the daily changes, news, announcements and rumors. So when I stumble across an air taxi company I had not heard of, it is news to me, but of course not to the world. I may be coming late to the party on this one, but I think Pogo Jet has one of the best chances of anyone at making their business model turn a profit. Maybe this is because a veteran of the airline wars is at the helm:

Heading up POGO is one of the aviation industry's most recognized innovators, Chairman and CEO Robert Crandall, former CEO of American Airlines. While at American Airlines, Bob led the development of the SABRE reservation system and implemented the industry's first frequent flyer program. Joining Bob is a talented team with experience at such innovative ventures as JetBlue, NetJets, and Southwest Airlines.experience in aviation, information technology, and finance.

After reading that, I went off to research Pogo on the Internets, to see what planes they will be flying. But a stop at their site proved quite nebulus, which piqued my interest as to why they weren't shouting their choice of planes from the rooftops:

POGO will fly an entirely new fleet of next-generation aircraft piloted and serviced by carefully and professionally trained crews. These exciting new planes will offer an unprecedented level of performance, safety, and value.

This gray area surrounding their choice of planes led me to believe it might be Eclipse they were thinking about, so I went to Eclipse's site for clues and found this from an April, 2007 release:

Pogo Jets is back on track to launch its point-to-point “air limo” service as early as June 2008 and expects to turn a profit by early 2010 as it works to ramp up its fleet of Very Light Jets. And Pogo CEO Robert Crandall says the Eclipse 500 VLJ just might suit Pogo’s business model. While Pogo hasn’t ordered Eclipse jets yet, Crandall said his business model would work with a plane like the Eclipse 500, adding that the aircraft “will be a pretty good airplane for a long time to come.” Crandall said Adam Aircraft is “some distance from certification” of its VLJ, and Cessna “isn’t interested in the fleet business.” Crandall didn’t mention the new Embraer VLJ aircraft, but said he “could see adding” the new HondaJet down the road for longer flights.

Confused? Well maybe this quote from Pogo Jets President Cameron Burr on the May 18th Avweb Podcast will clarify the issue:

“We are in what I would characterize as advanced discussions with Eclipse Aviation,” Burr said.

So maybe we'll see Pogo go with a mix of planes? The E500 for short hops, and the HondaJet for longer runs? Hmmm. While not the resident expert on this, I sure can't recall another air taxi company out there with a one-two punch featuring the low initial price and operating costs of the Eclipse with the sexy ramp appeal of the beautiful HondaJet.

A prediction: Five years from now, when the air taxi business shakes out the wannabes and only the serious companies with large marketing budgets are left standing, I expect Pogo Jet to be one of the strongest players still in the game.

What ARE they thinking?

Yesterday I ragged pretty hard on FAA for some tardy implementation of the systems required to ease expected airport delays this summer, and I always feel funny when I do so, because deep down, as an aviator, I like the FAA. Only with their marriage to the Bush White House on user fees and massive fuel tax increases, it seems the inner aviator in me is, well, just pissed at them, I guess.

So today when I opened AOPA.org and found this, I couldn't possibly stay on the sidelines:

FAA policy change restricts many IFR GPS receivers

Those older IFR-certified GPS receivers (and some brand-new ones) that you've been relying on for years may now be unapproved for flying many instrument procedures, thanks to some recent FAA policy changes outlined in Advisory Circular 90-100A. Only three GPS models — the Garmin 400-, 500-, and G1000-series — are legal, according to the FAA documents. Other models made by Garmin, including the new GNS 480 WAAS receiver, as well as receivers manufactured by Chelton, Honeywell, Northstar, and Trimble are listed as "noncompliant." See the avionics chart.

Many members have removed ADF and DME navigation equipment from their aircraft because of the 1996 policy, and they will no longer have access to conventional and precision approaches where the equipment is a required element. Complicating matters further, the older GPS boxes are prohibited from flying RNAV routes and terminal RNAV procedures.

As I am currently “in the market” looking for the Cherokee 235 of my dreams, I always look first at engine times, and second at what GPS it has installed. So this is all very interesting news to me, a VFR pilot who soon will join the ranks of IMC-bound flyers later this year, I hope.

I have just automatically assumed that any “approach-capable” GPS was cool with FAA, and maybe there is something I am missing. But this new item on aopa.org will certainly prompt more reading here, as now I must find out EXACTLY which GPS does what.

AOPA is opposed to this new AC, and for good reason:

The issue came about in March when the FAA updated avionics compliance tables in Advisory Circular 90-100A and made changes to the Aeronautical Information Manual. It means that up to 26,000 GPS users no longer comply with a 1998 FAA policy that allows GPS to be used in lieu of ADF or DME.

AOPA told the FAA that all IFR-certified systems should still be approved for use in lieu of ADF and DME and for flying T routes and certain departure procedures where pilots manually enter the waypoints. Except for major metropolitan airports, the use of older boxes should not be restricted.

Download the PDF letter they sent to FAA here, and the AOPA chart of effected GPS units here.

Sounds like CYA to me.

The Internets and mainstream media are abuzz today with the “news” that FAA thinks there will be more then your average number of airline delays this summer due to WX. With NOAA predicting a powerful hurricane season, the release this week out of WDC tells us our FAA is (a) hedging their bets, or (b) playing a little game of CYA.

It is usually a pretty safe bet that the major hubs will be impacted during the stormy winter months, this we know. What we didn't really know is that FAA expects even MORE delays this summer, due to more then your usual number of thunderstorms. They must not have gotten the memo from the Bush White House that Global Warming – thought by legions of actual scientists to be at the source of these more powerful storms – is all horse crap.

The Feds' release shows that they have this completely under control:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is expanding an air traffic program that reduces flight delays during the peak summer season. The Airspace Flow Program, as it is known, gives airlines the option of either accepting delays for flights scheduled to fly through storms or flying longer routes to safely maneuver around them.

The agency successfully launched the program last year at seven locations in the Northeast. On bad weather days at major airports in the region, delays fell by 9 percent compared to the year before. Cost savings for the airlines and the flying public from the program are estimated to be $100 million annually.

“This is a much better way to handle summer traffic,” said FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey. “If your flight isn’t scheduled to fly through bad weather you don’t have to sit on the tarmac. If it is, your airline has the choice of taking a delay shared evenly by all the affected flights or flying around the storm.”

Before last year, severe storms often forced the FAA to ground flights at affected airports, penalizing flights not scheduled to fly through them. This program allows the FAA to manage traffic fairly and efficiently by identifying only those flights scheduled to fly through storms and giving them estimated departure times. In turn, the airlines have greater flexibility in planning schedules with less disruption for passengers.

This summer, the number of Airspace Flow Program locations — chosen for their combination of heavy traffic and frequent bad weather — will be expanded from seven to 18. The additional locations will ease delays for passengers flying through the South and Midwest, as well as those on transcontinental flights.

“Dynamic” programs will be introduced in other areas to target storms with surgical precision as they develop and move. Airspace Flow Programs will also be used in conditions not related to weather, such as severe congestion near major cities.

Airspace Flow Programs were conceived by the FAA two years ago and developed in close coordination with the airline industry. On bad weather days, agency and airline officials collaborate to decide where and when the programs should be put in place.

In another development, the agency rolled out a new software program that ensures airports impacted by bad weather receive the maximum number of flights that can safely fly to them. During storms, arrival slots often open up due to delayed or canceled flights. The new software program, called Adaptive Compression, automatically fills those slots with the next available flight. The software tool, which was launched in March, reduces delays, saving time and money for the airlines and passengers.

There you have it, “Plan A” from the FAA for fixing that nagging problem of forcing passengers to be held hostage in pressurized tubes on the tarmac for several hours. But this release begs me to ask this question: What took them so long? These “systems” they are implementing now should have been in place years ago.

But at least they are doing something to fix a major problem...so for that, the FAA gets kudos from me.

The Ultimate
“In Your Face”
Business Jets

Boeing's BBJ Business Jet Division recently announced a USD $153 million order from Hong Kong real estate tycoon Joseph Lau for a 787 Dreamliner VIP airplane that will be more of a flying palace then a travel machine. In VIP configuration, the 787-8 offers 2,404 square feet of cabin space, with the first BJ version of an -87 slated for delivery sometime after the first commercial Dreamliner is scheduled to roll out of the Everett, Wash., factory on July 8.

Boeing Media just released some artist's renderings of what the inside of a VIP Dreamliner might look like, and if these photos are close to accurate, they show some things that would certainly have to be considered to be “firsts” in business jet interiors:

The top photo in this post shows a giant hole cut into the floor of the cabin covered in a translucent blue material which the passengers would use to view the cargo hold below, which will house your Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari or other expensive car of your choice. How cool is THAT!

The middle picture [above] shows a Media Room area, with a major-league big screen plasma screen and some very cool contemporary furnishings. Hey, is that polished Teakwood flooring?

The bottom photo [above] gives us a look into another parlor of the VIP Dreamliner. There is a large row of very alive-looking greenery on one end, possibly marking the debut of actual live plants growing inside an aircraft cabin. To the right of the greens is a large rectangular device that might be the elevator going down to the cargo hold [which might also serve as the cigar parlor?], to show your buddies that awesome collector car you just bought at auction.

But let's just say you are REALLY dragging down the coin, and your cronies are ALL flying 787 Dreamliners. How dull, you think while sipping wildly expensive Scotch on the veranda. Aiming – as the rich always do – at one-upping your peers, you pick up the phone and call Boeing, ordering a business jet to put the others to shame:

Announced at Geneva yesterday: Boeing Business Jets today unveiled luxurious and forward-thinking design concepts for the 747-8 VIP airplane, which is based on the new, technologically advanced Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental. The 747 VIP provides a cabin with 5,667 square feet, which includes the new SkyLoft area located above the main cabin between the upper deck and tail. Skyloft provides a potential of 881 square feet of additional cabin space and gives owners the opportunity to create unique personal suites, private offices and recreational spaces.

Whoa...did they say...recreational spaces? With close to six thousand square feet between the wings, I'm guessing that might mean a bowling alley, maybe a putting green, a climbing wall, lap pool or my personal fave...Skeet shooting range!

Boeing Business Jets offers the BBJ, BBJ 2 and BBJ 3, all high-performance derivatives of the commercially successful Next-Generation 737 airplane family, and also BBJ versions of their widebodies, including the 777 and 767.

According to Boeing, there are nearly 300 of their BBJs in service in the worldwide VIP market.

Jeez, that's some seriously fat cats, dude.

Is 'Kerosene'
in Your Future?

They call it “Jet A” over here, and “Kerosene” across the pond in Europe, where a company called Thielert is setting sales records by making the trade's most popular diesel aircraft engines.

Avweb – and other sites on both sides of the Atlantic – are reporting that Thielert is smoking hot right now:

Even if you’re still not convinced that diesels are the piston engine of the future for light aircraft, enough people apparently are that you might want to consider adding Thielert to your stock portfolio. The company recorded an impressive 60-percent increase in sales in the first quarter over the same period last year, and that’s getting some attention in the financial journals in Europe. Of their total revenue of about $32 million in the quarter, about $19 million came from sales of its two and four-liter diesel aircraft engines and the rest came from its technology and prototyping division.

I'm a huge believer in diesel power for GA aircraft. The last time I checked out Thielert, they had certified the Centurion 1.7 135 HP diesel, and were quickly hanging them on New Cessnas and retrofitting them to a number of planes. Great idea I told my self, and then I forgot about Thielert. Well friends, I guess I blinked, because in revisiting the Thielert story today, I was blown away:

Thielert's general aviation powerplants are categorized into three output classes - the Centurion 2.0 with 135 bhp, the Centurion 3.2 with 230 bhp and Centurion 4.0 with 350 bhp. The company aspires to gain new supplemental type certifications for the integration of its powerful Centurion 4.0 into several models built by Cessna. The conversion to the fuel-efficient jet fuel engine is being offered for the single-engine Cessna 206 and the twin engine Cessna 340, 414 and 421. “The Cessna 206, 414, 340 and 421 and widely-used workhorses in general aviation,” explains Frank Thielert. “We are catering to the request of numerous aviation companies of finally being able to refuel with standard aviation jet fuel/ kerosene. In conjunction with the low consumption, the direct running costs are also reduced by around 60 per cent.”

That last quote from Frank Thielert is the money quote from this post. While producing the same ponies that 100LL engines produce, Thielert's kerosene burners go through far fewer dead dinosaurs per air mile. You can already buy brand new 2007 172SPs through Van Bortel in Arlington, Texas, and I suspect that in the coming years, as the oil companies get pressured to eliminate good old blue hundred low-lead, we might all be flying behind diesel power someday.

And when that happens, as is always the case with aircraft engineers, they will come up with some wild designs that incorporate diesel engines into aircraft. Maybe one of the most “out there” is the HPA TT62 Alekto [shown in photo above], a composite diesel twin powered by two Thielert Centurion 4.0 diesel V8 engines that are housed in the rear fuselage, behind the pressurized cabin. The 310 HP engines run on Jet A and are designed to power the TT62 to cruise speeds of well over 200kt.

Hmmm, maybe that's not such an “out there” idea after all.

More Brilliance from
the Minds at LoPresti.

Way back in the last century, an engineer named RJ Siegel was living in the Silicon Valley of California, working hard for an upstart computer company named after a fruit. Computer lore tells us it was this team of highly motivated Macintosh developers which began the company's long-standing and highly profitable mantra to “think differently” and today, it is rare to see a twentysomething without an iPod attached to their body, and many of them – at least the creative ones – will be carrying Macbooks.

So what happens when you move the clock forward a couple of decades, and those same Mac engineers try to retire. If you think this bunch can just turn off the entrepreneurial spirit that thought up products like the iMac, you'd be mistaken.

We now join Siegel's new "retired" life, already in progress, and [this is a warning] you better fasten your seat belt, because this is going to be a WILD ride.

"I Hate Wires!" says Siegel, a pilot who is also VP of Operations for LoPresti, makers of the white-hot Fury. That seemingly mundane statement dissing cockpit wiring was the impetus for him to develop a new bluetooth-based wireless headset called ClearBlue, which LoPresti introduced recently. What was originally a component of a very high-tech avionics suite for the Fury has now taken on a life of it's own, and may well prove to be one of the most brilliant inventions in avionics since the GPS.

Aero News Network ran a very solid story here on what ClearBlue is, and how the system works. Maybe it is the simplicity of the headsets, or the innovation behind them, or maybe it's because deep down inside, we all really REALLY hate our wired headsets, but it seems the aviation community is just going freakin' nuts over ClearBlue:

From RJ Siegel: "I'm buried. I need two heads and six more arms. We tried to quietly test market the ClearBlue headset at Sun 'n Fun...that didn't exactly work. I got 1,136 emails! Every headset manufacturer you can name has called to see if they can work with us. The headset will be on display at Oshkosh, and we are going into production with Xmas as a delivery goal."

While never having met Siegel, or toured the LoPresti factory, my respect for the products they design and build grows daily. Take the Fury for instance...they have been smart in turning Siegel and his design team loose on the avionics of this personal fighter/flying sports car, and some of what they have thought up just blows my mind:

The ClearBlue™ headsets are part of (but not exclusive to) an avionics package designed for the Fury. The package is called "Intuition" and introduces some amazing technology to the GA cockpit, including a wing-mounted camera with a 5" cockpit display that provides forward visibilty, in climb and taxi. (ClearView™). There is also an iPod interface that not only provides entertainment, but also becomes a data recorder which can include the video stream from the wing camera. The entire flight (audio, navigation, engine instruments and video) can be recorded at 512 x 384 resolution and later replayed on your computer. With the ability to record over 500 hours of flight time, the iPod becomes the first truly portable, personal flight recorder with a huge recording capacity. The entire system completely replaces a manual pilots log.

Wow, that's some different thinking, my friends.

I think it's great when any aviation company's phone is ringing off the hook, or when their inbox is stuffed with people begging for their products. I hope Siegel and LoPresti sell truckloads of ClearBlue headsets, and quite a few Furys as well. I promise you a set of 'Blues is in my future, and if my "ship that is coming in" is carrying gold dubloons, maybe even a shiny new Fury will be based out at EUG someday.

Hey, you
wanna piece
of THIS?

I don't spend much time these days thinking about fighter jets, mainly because my day job is all about GA and business aircraft. But once in a while, a story catches my eye, and when I read about the kind of lethel flying machines my tax dollars are buying, it just blows my mind...in a good way. When you really look under the hood of the U.S. Navy's new EA-18G “Growler” Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA) Aircraft, it makes me very glad I am on the USA team and not the enemy's.

In researching Northrup Grumman/Boeing's Growler (gotta love that name, eh?), I came across a great article found here on military.com that really tells it like it is:

What happens when you take one of the U.S. Navy's fastest and most lethal strike aircraft and combine it with state-of-the-art electronic attack capabilities? Electronic warfare at supersonic speeds. The Growler's predecessor, the EA-6B Prowler, functioned as a protective umbrella, escorting fleet surface units and jamming any hostile radars or communications. The aging Prowler has been in service for 40 years, and is unable to keep up with newer strike aircraft. Chugging along at .72 Mach, it is significantly slower than the fleet aircraft it's meant to protect, like an elderly grandfather on Halloween escorting trick-or-treaters on a sugar high. The EA-18G is built off the existing F/A-18 Super Hornet airframe, and is capable of Mach 1.8, as fast as any contemporary strike aircraft.

Now for 'Average Joe' Cessna/Piper drivers, a “jammed” signal usually means some clown has a stuck mic and all the guys/gals out there chasing their $100 hamburgers will have to suffer through a few annoying moments on the CTAF. But when the Growler jams a signal, it stays jammed, baby:

The Growler will use an arsenal of state-of-the-art EW systems to jam your radars, suppress your defenses, and cause general disorientation and havoc. A triumvirate of electronic warfare systems have been integrated into the Growler, making it capable of jamming a large amount of radar threats. On top of this, enemy aircraft will have no idea where the attack is coming from. This is the sinister work of computer-controlled jamming pods, installed on five of the 11 external hardpoints of the EA-18G. These ALQ-99 pods, the Growler's primary EW weapons, are smart little suckers. They automatically detect and classify a radar's electronic energy, and determine the exact signal strength required to shut it down.

What I find completely amazing about fighter jets is that if this is the stuff the DoD puts out there for public consumption, you just have to know there is a bunch of really nasty things the Growler will do that is, um, classified. It'd be pretty one-sided if Iran's handful of “previously flown” F14 and Su-25s – at least the ones that are reported to be still airworthy – ever gets into it with the Growler, because it'll be like shooting ducks in a barrel. Once the EA-18 is locked on, the bogey won't be able to key his mic long enough to yell “HOLY SHIT” in his last few seconds before vaporization occurs.

The Growler, which is scheduled to enter service in 2008...is Air Superiority, redefined. Grrrrrrr....

Heroism is colorblind.

Barrington Irving is my hero today. And when he returns to Miami in the last week of May, the 23-year-old pilot will have set two world records: he will become the first African American and the youngest person ever to fly solo around the globe.

After being raised in inner-city Miami, Irving chose to make the world flight to inspire inner-city and minority youth to consider pursuing careers in aviation and aerospace. He named his plane "Inspiration," and has said, "I want my historic venture to be for young people. They can look at me and realize that if I can achieve my dream, they can too."

I look at young men like Barrington and my heart smiles. I have always been extremely proud of my personal beliefs that the true judge of a person is indeed their character, and not the color of their skin. So it is with great sadness when I watch PBS specials like “Frontline”, showing so many “inner city” young people of all colors taking their lives down a dangerous path littered with the corpses of those before them, victims of a 'gangsta' lifestyle that idolizes drugs, guns, hip-hop music, graffiti and the deplorable treatment of women.

As I watch these poor people in these ghetto neighborhoods try to get a foothold on life, I always wonder why they can't see that if they just go to school, get an education, move away, and become law-abiding citizens, they'll have a decent shot at living The American Dream. Yes, I know that sound simplistic, but Barrington Irving is PROOF that it can be done.

I make no claims to know what it's like to live with black skin in this country, but I do know something about motivation. And Barrington is giving us all a lesson in how to motivate ourselves to succeed in life. Just look at the way he obtained his Columbia for the world flight:

In 2003, Barrington began calling aircraft manufacturers with the unlikely request to borrow, lease, or donate a plane he could use to make aviation history. When no one said yes, he decided to ask manufacturers of the various components to donate just one of their individual products to him; he also asked Columbia, an aircraft manufacturer, whether they’d agree to assemble the plane if he could produce the parts. During the next year, with support and guidance from Miami Executive Aviation, he visited aviation trade shows throughout the country and secured more than $300,000 in donated components—the engine, tires, cockpit systems, seats, and so forth—and Columbia built him the world’s fastest single-engine piston airplane, ready to be modified with extended fuel tanks a few weeks before the global flight.

That is such an awesome story. You can learn about Barrington here, read his blog here, and track his flight here.

More than 4000 people are predicted to be waiting at Barrington's arrival ceremony in Miami, now scheduled for the last week of May. I can only hope that someone has invited the few remaining Tuskegee Airmen, because those wonderful senior pilots sure deserve to be a part of this great, great day.

Black, white, brown, yellow, purple. Makes no difference to Av8rdan what color your skin is...if you're a pilot or wannabe, you're always welcome in my sky, anytime!

Lost one battle,
but not the war.

I think I'll let my real president – AOPA's Phil Boyer – write this post for me:

My apologies for the e-mail exchanges we have been having this week, but I did want to thank you for your tremendous response to yesterday’s message asking for immediate action in contacting your senator to fight user fees. Let me assure you that your phone calls were very important in disrupting the airlines' attempt to have user fees pass unopposed by the Senate Commerce Committee. This committee is the first of nearly a dozen political bodies that will weigh in on the FAA financing issue.

We lost a close vote by a margin of 12 to 11 on the Nelson/Sununu amendment that would have struck the $25 air traffic modernization “surcharge" from the Senate FAA funding bill. By early evening last night, the after-hours Senate office voicemails were filled to capacity by many of the more than 135,000 AOPA members who heeded our call to action. Late yesterday afternoon, I was actually waiting to see a senator in his office and watching and listening while his administrative staff was answering your calls.

Eleven members of the Commerce Committee deserve special recognition from pilots for their tremendous work in supporting the fight against user fees. First of all, Sens. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and John Sununu (R-N.H.) did excellent work in stepping forward to sponsor the amendment. Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine), Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), John Ensign (R-Nev.), Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), and David Vitter (R-La.) all supported the amendment.

On the other side, there were 12 senators who supported user fees: Sens. John D. Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Trent Lott (R-Miss.), Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Claire C. McCaskill (D-Mo.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), and John Thune (R-S.D.).

Frankly, even this defeat sent a very strong message that AOPA members do not support user fees for any segment of aviation! This is important because we are still in the early stages. This bill will also need action by the Senate Finance Committee before it reaches a vote by the full Senate. Your hard work has been an impressive opening round, and we still have yet to see any action in the House of Representatives. By midday Thursday, May 17, you can access our full Web story here.

More importantly, for those of you who made contacts of any kind, this Web story will contain audio clips if your senator spoke on behalf of or in opposition to the amendment. This will not be the only time we call on you this year, but you have proven that our highly targeted method of AOPA member contact is effective.

Thanks so much,
Phil Boyer AOPA President

No, Phil, you have one thing wrong...we should be thanking YOU.

Mission Critical.

As this year progresses, I grow closer each day to owning a new (previously loved) airplane. This plane stands no chance of becoming my "Mistress" like some many planes do, because this will be a family plane, in every sense of the word. And when I say family, I mean “extended” family, which includes the aviator and nagivator (sic) under this roof, the son in Silver Lake (L.A.), the son and daughter in San Jose (soon to be Portland, OR.), their future offspring, and maybe even Sage, our beloved Keeshond:

The last 60 days or so have been fun for me, as I tried to hone in on exactly which make/model will best serve the family...and the family business. I know that before I can settle in on one make/model to shop for, I first need to create a “mission” that the plane will be asked to complete. This task has been fun because it allowed me to fine tune my wishlist down to one important requirement.

First, I looked at range. In the last year, I would have flown this plane to Seattle, Norcal and Socal, Northeastern Washington State, and Western Wyoming. So it needed to have LR tanks that could carry in excess of 70 gallons. Next, I thought about avionics. As I plan on earning my Instrument ticket this year, I need the new plane to be IFR certified, with two radios, an autopilot and (coupled?) GPS.

Next, it was on to aesthetics. I want a fixed gear plane to save on insurance and maintenance, and would prefer a low wing, for the ease of fueling as much as the flying qualities. Paint and interior is low on my list, those things do not make a plane safer, faster or more effecient, they only look better on the ramp.

And the last problem to solve was useful load, or to be more specific, full fuel payload. You see, this is going to be my family's plane as much as mine, we will use it as our magic carpet to transport us to each other's door, vastly improving quality of life. I wanted a four-seater, but knew that at times I would fill all four seats with adults, pack in a Samsonite for each of us, thrown in my camera and computer bags (which I cannot travel without), and maybe even a toddler, a stroller and all the "baby" stuff. The people/bags weight climbs to about 785 lbs....and when you add full fuel so the four of us can actually GO SOMEWHERE, the payload jumps up to 1,255 lbs.

North of twelve hundred pounds payload eliminates quite a few choices, such as the Skyhawk 172, the Cherokee 140/161/180 line, and a number of high performance low wing retractables. So I ran all the data through my pea brain, and came up with...the one:

Back in the day, I used to rent the cleanest Cherokee 180s you could find anywhere from Memley Aviation at Chandler Airport in Fresno. I loved the way the Cherokees flew, they were rock-solid stable, predictable, and made crosswind landings a non-event. So when I found out that the Cherokee 235 was basically a 180 on steroids and carried a useful load well north of 1,400 lbs, I knew I had found my choice.

So there it is. I have decided to set my personal goal-o-meter to buy a cherry late 60s to early 70s Cherokee 235. I see many in TAP and Controller in my price range of $50-60,000, and feel great knowing that while they might burn a few more dead dinosaurs per hour, they do it while hauling the load I want to haul, which, when you really get down to it, is everything.

Because it is just plain wrong to own a four-seat airplane and have to leave one member of your family standing on the ramp.

Urgent Call to Action!

AOPA has just issued a very urgent call for all members to immediately contact their Senators to ask for support of the Nelson/Sununu amendment, which strikes all user fees from the Senate FAA funding bill. The amendment may be offered during the Commerce Committee’s consideration of the Aviation Investment and Modernization Act of 2007 “S.1300,” and would eliminate the $25 per flight "Air Traffic Modernization Surcharge" from the bill.

This is huge. When AOPA asks, we MUST take action. This is an emergency request, this is scheduled to come up tomorrow, so DO THIS RIGHT NOW!!!

Go HERE and find your Senator, and then fax them the following letter (just copy/paste what is below, add your name and address and ratings to it, and please sign it):

URGENT FAX
Please forward to:
United States Senator [add your Senator's name here]

From:
your name
your address
your city, state and zip
your phone number

Dear Senator [name here]:
I am a [add your ratings here] pilot and am faxing to ask you to support the Nelson/Sununu amendment that strikes all user fees from the Senate FAA funding bill. This bill is scheduled for a vote by the Committee tomorrow, Wednesday, May 16 at 2:30 p.m. (EDT).

This amendment, if offered during the Commerce Committee’s consideration of the Aviation Investment and Modernization Act of 2007 “S.1300,” would eliminate the $25 per flight "Air Traffic Modernization Surcharge" from the bill.

I strongly urge you to considering opposing the Next Generation Air Transportation System Financing Reform Act of 2007. It is bad for America, and will hurt millions of people who depend on general aviation for their incomes.

Thank you for your time spent reading this fax, and thank you for helping us defeat user fees.

Best regards;

your signature here

Exciting times
at Boeing!

I remember long ago, in my former life, that among the possible cities competing for Boeing's new Dreamliner assembly plant was...FresNO. I guess you have to live there 45 stinking years like I did to realize how much of a joke that is.

It just makes perfect sense to see the coolest airliner on the planet is now coming together where else, but in Everett, Washington:

Three large composite fuselage sections arrived in Everett today for the all-new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The all-composite forward section known as section 41 was manufactured by Spirit AeroSystems at its facility in Wichita, Kan. Sections 47 and 48 are the two aft composite sections of fuselage for the Dreamliner and were manufactured and joined by Vought Aircraft Industries at its facility in Charleston, S.C. The sections were delivered to Boeing via the Dreamlifter, a specially modified 747-400 used to transport 787 major assemblies. The major assemblies were immediately unloaded and delivered to the 787 final assembly factory.

You just have to assume that in the life of an aerospace engineer, it can't really get any more exciting then to be on the team building the 787. And now that parts and pieces are actually being bolted together, can a test flight be that far away?

While FresNO didn't make the cut, it is very sweet that Boeing is spreading their love around in massive doses:

Parts of the Dreamliner will be built in Canada, Australia, Japan, France, Germany, Korea, Sweden, Italy and United States, including the states of Washington, Kansas, Oklahoma, Connecticut, Iowa, Arizona, North Carolina, Ohio, New York, California, New Jersey, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Alabama and Texas.

The airliner of tomorrow is proving quite popular, even before the first one breaks ground and actually flies:

The 787 Dreamliner is the fastest-selling airplane in aviation history, with firm orders for 567 airplanes from 44 airlines. Identified buyers with 10 or more positions include:

All Nippon Airways (ANA) - 50
Qantas - 45
JAL - 35
Air India - 27
Continental Airlines - 25
International Lease Finance Corp. - 22
Singapore Airlines - 20
Northwest Airlines - 18
Air China - 15
China Eastern Airlines - 15
Low-Cost Aircraft Leasing - 15
Air Canada - 14
ALAFCO - 12
First Choice - 12
Korean Air - 10
Ethiopian Airlines - 10
Jet Airways - 10
Avianca -10
China Southern Airlines - 10

With this much action on the Boeing sales floor even before the first bird is assembled, it just shows that I am not the only person out there who is madly in love with the 787. I thank the aviation Gods for giving this aviator the opportunity to be alive in the era when this wonderful airliner is unveiled.

Still Miles Away
From 'Star Trek'

I grew up in the “Star Trek” generation, and way back in 1966 when the original series premiered, it wasn't hard for wide-eyed 10-year-old boys like myself to imagine that in our lifetime, we'd be blasting through space at warp speeds, and “beaming” people around the universe.

Now fast-forward 41 years to the present age, as we stand on the threshold of the commercial space travel age. When carriers like Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic start giving their thrill rides up to the edge of space and back, it will still light years away from "beaming people" up from a planet or shooting off on five year missions to explore distant galaxies. Yes, we have the ISS, but it is a far cry from NCC-1701.

If you really need in-your-face proof that the age of Star Trek is still just fantasy, you need to look no further then this Reuters story from the Arizona desert. It was back on April 29th that a Up Aerospace Spaceloft XL rocket carrying the ashes of James Doohan – who played Scotty on "Star Trek” – astronaut Gordon Cooper, and some 200 other people blasted off into “space”.

Upon reading today's headlines though, you might initially assume the company that launched the Doohan rocket flubbed their mission, because as of today those remains – and the rocket carrying them – are still lost in nearby mountains. But if you look at the Celestis website, the goal of the flight was not to deposit the remains in space, but simply to give them a few fleeting weightless moments above the official beginning of space, defined on their site as 62 miles up:

Our Earth-Return service – starting at $495 – affordably launches a symbolic portion of cremated remains to space, and after experiencing the zero gravity environment, returns the individual flight capsules and modules back to Earth. After a successful flight, the Earth-Return payload, including flown flight capsules and modules, is recovered, validated as having reached space, and the capsule or module is returned to the family or loved one as a keepsake.

Celestis does have ways of depositing remains in the deepest parts of space we can currently reach, but if this was the launch product used for the Doohan mission, they would not be looking for the rocket. To reach deep space, you can spend as little as $12,500 to heave one gram of grandpa skyward, or $67,495 to blast off seven grams each of grandpa AND grandma:

The Voyager Service launches Celestis flight capsules and modules on a voyage through deepest space, leaving the Earth-Moon system on a permanent celestial journey. The Voyager Service is expected to launch its first mission in 2009, perhaps aboard a spacecraft being developed by Space Services Inc. that will utilize a solar sail for propulsion.

Sorry, but north of sixty grand is way too spendy for my blood. Just dig a hole out under the Old Growth Doug Firs in my backyard and toss me in...'nuf said on that. No need to throw a shindig, hire a marching band or light up any rockets.

But a flyover by a bunch of my GA buddies in missing man formation might be pretty cool.

The best Cirrus
pick-up story
out there.

I make frequent references in WoF to three things I love: (1) Cirrus airplanes, (2) Macintosh computers and (3) X-Plane flight simulator. And if you like riddles, what do those three things have in common?

Austin Meyer

Now for X-plane (and Austin Meyer) afficinados, you will surely correct me about the Cirrus. Yes, I already know Austin traded his SR22 for a custom Lancair Columbia 400, so no need to flood my inbox with vehement correction emails.

But this post is not about that...it is about a absolutely perfect story Austin posted way back in 2003 about his personal experience picking up Cirrus 8141Q at the Cirrus factory in Duluth. If you've ever fantasized about doing the same thing, then this story wil be a masterpiece you will bookmark and save forever.

Austin has a way with words, much like he does with designing great flight simulators. Here is a taste:

I was pointed to the far end of the very lobby I was standing in: A large, clean, white hangar was built right into the building I was in, with tall glass windows at the far wall of this lobby looking right into it. Within this pristine white hangar sat a curvy, angular, tan, sleek machine, segments of it visible through each of the vertical slit windows, but each window was a bit too narrow to take in the whole airplane. The door to the hangar was labeled "Acceptance Hangar 1." I pressed my nose up against a window to se the tail number on the airplane: N8141Q. Only numbers, but with so much meaning... I opened the door and tiptoed into the operating-room-clean hangar, devoid of any detail or distraction other than the plane itself.

If you have never heard of Meyer and his flight sim, you can find out what you need here. X-Plane really is one great piece of software, worth many times the asking price. Here is an example of the highly technical content you will find on their site:

X-Plane reads in the geometric shape of any aircraft and then figures out how that aircraft will fly. It does this by an engineering process called "blade element theory", which involves breaking the aircraft down into many small elements and then finding the forces on each little element many times per second. These forces are then converted into accelerations which are then integrated to velocities and positions... of course, all of this technical theory is completely transparent to you... you just fly! X-Plane breaks the wing(s), horizontal stabilizer, vertical stabilizer(s), and propeller(s) (if equipped) down into a finite number of elements. The number of elements is decided by the user in Plane-Maker. Ten elements per side per wing or stabilizer is the maximum. The aircraft linear and angular velocities, along with the longitudinal, lateral, and vertical arms of each element are considered to find the velocity vector of each element. The airfoil data entered in Part-Maker is 2-dimensional, so X-Plane applies finite wing lift-slope reduction, finite-wing CLmax reduction, finite-wing induced drag, and finite-wing moment reduction appropriate to the aspect ratio, taper ratio, and sweep of the wing, horizontal stabilizer, vertical stabilizer, or propeller blade in question. Using the coefficients just determined, areas determined during step 1, and dynamic pressures (determined separately for each element based on aircraft speed, altitude, temperature, propwash and wing sweep), the forces are found and summed for the entire aircraft. Forces are then divided by the aircraft mass for linear accelerations, and moments of inertia for angular accelerations. Now do the whole thing at least 15 times per second. Aren't computers great?

Yes, Austin, computers are great. And I love the secret weapon he and his team uses. A visit to that page may forever settle the score that Macs are for artists and Windoze machines are the only PCs that can crunch numbers.

Terrafugia is
Red Hot!

There is a positive trend brewing over at Terrafugia, designers of the Transition, the drivable airplane that I believe represents the most exciting aviation project out there right now. The trend is that each time you visit their web site, you discover more good news.

I have nothing but admiration for the group of MIT graduate students who are designing the Transition and are bringing the plane/car to market. From the day I discovered this project and the people behind it, I have felt strongly they will succeed...big time. The concept of their roadable airplane is phenomenal, it's priced right, and as I have always said privately and publicly, with the proper marketing campaign, they will not be able to produce units fast enough because they'll be busy making continuous trips to the bank to deposit large sacks of cash.

Not wanting to say I told anyone so, it seems my predictions that the Transition will become the major-league aviation hit of this decade are proving to be true. From their website:

Terrafugia is pleased to announce that all of our anticipated delivery capability for 2009 has been reserved, and projected 2010 deliveries are beginning to be filled.

I should have jumped in when I had the chance last summer back in Oshkosh.

I get real pleasure out of watching this young, brilliant group meet all the required benchmarks as they work towards rollout of Transition. And now it appears the mainstream media is beginning to fall in love with Terrafugia too:

Back on February 26th, Terrafugia's Samuel Schweighart and Anna Mracek Dietrich were featured on the local Fox TV affiliate in Boston. The segment, found here, is one of the finest examples of aviation reporting from a mainstream outlet I have seen in years. The Fox reporter makes no cumbersome judgements and even more importantly, avoids factual mistakes.

Team Terrafugia is also not afraid to put their work out there for peer review either:

Terrafugia announced the successful completion of the full-vehicle prototype Preliminary Design Review, held at MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. In attendance were roughly twenty aviation and automotive experts, including certified A&P mechanics, Certified Flight Instructors (CFIs), MIT aerodynamicists and vehicle designers, composite construction experts, and other industry experts with experience at companies such as Lockwood Aviation, Raytheon and McDonnell Douglas. Holding this review is part of the effort of Terrafugia’s engineering team to ensure that the Transition is not being designed in a vacuum. No critical problems were identified during the review, and the hardware development process has been initiated.

Good for them. So while some aviation companies struggle to keep moving forward, Terrafugia has a different problem. With so much going for them, keeping egos in check and prevent spontaneous head explosions will be key. When I met this group back in Cheese Country last summer, I was impressed with their focus and determination. They oozed confidence, as if they knew their project would flourish and become a wild success. Turns out they may be right about that.

I want one. Bad.

Gimme One
Good Reason!

AOPA is out with their wonderful news that they have achieved a new membership record: 411,583 members! I cannot tell you how proud I am to be in that group.

But with FAA saying there were 629,539 licensed pilots in 2006, that means only sixty-five percent of licensed sticks are AOPA members. To the remaining thirty-five percent, I just have to ask...WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!!!

Had those thirty-five percenters read a flying magazine or spent any time on the Internets, they would have seen we are in a battle for our flying lives in Washington, DC. And for whatever reason it is you cannot – or will not – fork over the $39 for a year of AOPA membership, if flying means anything at all to you, you need to be AOPA right now:

"We're in the midst of critical turning point for GA — facing a declining pilot population and the threat of avgas tax hikes and user fees — that will take the voice of all pilots united as one to protect our industry," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "I'm proud that pilots are joining AOPA to help preserve GA as we know it today."

So what could possibly be the reason you aren't AOPA? Certainly it isn't the price...their wonderful magazine is the industry leader, making membership a value if you got nothing but AOPA Pilot for your $39. Certainly it isn't a lack of services, because a few seconds on aopa.org and you'll find they give you many reasons to join:

AOPA is the leading voice of general aviation, protecting your rights as a pilot, fighting airspace restrictions, fuel taxes, airport closings, and any issues that threaten your right to fly.

Talk to an aviation specialist for advice on buying and maintaining aircraft, flight training, or any other aviation-related question Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. AOPA's Pilot Information Center at 800/USA-AOPA

Free "members-only" Web access with AOPA Online, which brings you unlimited 24-hour access to AOPA's Real-Time Flight Planner, Aviation Weather from Meteorlogix, and AOPA's Airport Directory Online, which now includes current fuel prices for nearly 3,000 FBOs — you can save hundreds of dollars a year, online sectionals, text weather for airport locations, and graphical links to runway and taxiway diagrams.

AOPA Air Safety Foundation Courses and Seminars — Take advantage of a variety of free online safety courses or live in-person seminars and more, all sponsored by the AOPA Air Safety Foundation.

When you join or renew, you'll automatically be entered in AOPA's Catch-A-Cardinal Sweepstakes. And if you're the lucky grand prize winner, a fully refurbished Cessna Cardinal with the latest in avionics, engine, and airframe speed mods could be all yours!

The opportunity to join the AOPA Legal Services Plan. Only $29 a year gives you unlimited legal consultation privileges on covered aviation matters and access to over 600 attorneys specializing in aviation issues. Plus, annual reviews of key aviation documents.

The AOPA WorldPoints® Rewards credit card earns you one point for every dollar everywhere and DOUBLE POINTS for purchases made at more than 4,000 qualified FBOs, for select AOPA products and services, and at participating aviation merchants.

AOPA Aircraft Insurance Agency. The AOPA Insurance Agency is the only aircraft insurance agency qualified to carry the AOPA name. Coverage for owners, renters, and CFIs available. You can get a quote and purchase your aircraft insurance online, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at www.aopaia.com. And now, AOPA members may qualify for a 5% discount on owners insurance or a 10% renewal discount on renters insurance. Call 800/622-AOPA (2672) or visit www.aopaia.com for more information.

AOPA Aviation AD&D Insurance: Provides up to $200,000 of affordable coverage for all GA pilots — guaranteed. Premiums do not increase as you age, no health questions, no rating restrictions, and no limitations or minimums on flight hours.

O.K., if you can look at that long list of great things you receive as an AOPA member and STILL refuse to shell out a paltry $39, you are hereby one cheap skate. C'mon, people, we are a brotherhood here, and AOPA is our meeting place, our “go-to” guys/gals when the going gets weird like it is right now in WDC.

So click here and sign up now if you're in that guilty 35%. This is kind of like voting...if you refuse to join the organization that is fighting off user fees on YOUR behalf - and if they lose that battle - you'll have no right to bitch about it. So fork over the thirty nine clams and get behind our best chance at defeating Bush's crazy scheme.

Airplane Shopping is Hard Work.

Lately, my airplane shopping has been kicked up a notch. We are coming to the realization that this summer will finally be the time our family takes the financial plunge and buys an airplane of our very own.

Making that decision to move forward is the easy part, it's finding the bird that can be a process. And make no mistake, those hours I spend at the 'puter scouring Trade-a-Plane, Controller and ASO are valuable...to me. But to the spouse who watches from afar, it's called being “obsessed” about buying a plane.

Maybe the non-flyer just can't know what if feels like when husband and wife sit down and decide together that the time appears right to make a huge purchase like your very own plane. Hearing a loving spouse say “yes, it's time,” is like opening the flood gates of imagination for a pilot, because suddenly the possibility exists that the keys to a new (previously-loved) bird will soon be in your possession.

So with the determination that somewhere in the next 60 days, the stars will align and we'll get the plane, I went off to surf the Internets – all of them – and found out one big thing:

Shopping for airplanes online is highly addictive. Sites like Trade-a-plane should come with their own warning labels, because their endless pages displaying pretty pictures, engine times, lists of avionics and prices can grab a pilot and drag you down in an instant. One hour becomes two, and soon, the afternoon is gone. More pages, more airplanes, click here, bookmark this page, print out that one. More, more, more...I must have more.

Having exhausted all lists of 182s and 210s on TAP, I move on to Controller, which lists 904 Cessnas for sale, 311 being wonderful Skylanes and Centurions begging me to buy them NOW. Click here, do it TODAY!!! Use our handy Loan Calculator and then APPLY ONLINE!

See, the non-pilot can't understand what it's like to shop online for airplanes. When I say “but this one has GPSS, only 123 TSOH, a KAP 140 Two-Axis Autopilot with Altitude Preselect and an EICAS system,” I get blank stares back from across the room. I look worn down, for good reason:

Shopping via computer can be frustrating, because you will inevitably find the pristine airplane of your dreams, with McCauley three-blade prop, a complete custom panel housing a Garmin 430 AND S-tec 50 autopilot, priced right in your range. But then you read on to find it has 2,245 hours total on airframe and engine, so the damn thing has to be about ready to puke oil and very important engine parts out the side of the crankcase any time. Or you find a cream puffer with 10/10 paint and interior, only to find out it has missing logbooks and way too much damage history.

Obsession – when it comes to airplane shopping – is defined as sitting at the computer, drooling for hours over endless pictures of 30+ year-old planes. But reality always wins, and soon I must go on with life, coming up for air long enough to eat, poop and lay my weary aviator bones down to sleep where I'll dream of – you guessed it – airplanes.

This whole obsession deal will end, I promise my lovely wife...when I land our new plane back at EUG. That is...if I can ever FIND IT!!!!

Misinformed Rhetoric?

The FAA has released a “fact sheet” that aims at clearing up what they call a “significant amount of misinformed rhetoric” about the potential impact of the proposal on the U.S. general aviation (GA) community.

The entire fact sheet, found here, is quite interesting, especially when you read between the lines. When the same administration who has done a “heckuva job” on Katrina, Iraq, price fixing by Big Oil and the outsourcing of millions of U.S. jobs tries to do likewise with FAA funding reauthorization, is it any surprise there are holes in this fact sheet big enough to fly an A380 through?

First of all, in the intro, they really REALLY want you to believe you've been in the loop helping The Decider decide what is the best way to fund FAA:

The FAA strongly believes it is in the national interest to have a strong GA community. In developing our cost-based financing proposal, we balanced numerous interests, including feedback from the GA community, in an attempt to avoid overly burdening any one segment of the industry.

Hello? Everyone from AOPA to NBAA to AAAA are shouting loudly, but are we supposed to believe FAA is actually listening? Has anyone you know been contacted by this administration to ask how they feel about Bush's user fee/tax scheme?

Didn't think so.

Now if this administration had any kind of track record doing anything right, I might be willing to listen to the Decider's gibberish on FAA funding. But they screw up anything they touch, and when they get caught in each scandal du jour, they lie about who know what and when they knew it, fire a few key people, and rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic. So when they SAY we won't have to pay a dime to fly a GA plane through Class Bravo airspace, do they actually expect us to believe them?

And if you really need to take another hit between the eyes, there's this, from the fact sheet:

The proposal would reduce the tax burden on airlines and the passengers who fly them. This is less a tax break for the airlines than the elimination of a subsidy to general aviation. Under the current system, a portion of the taxes that a middle-class family pays to go on summer vacation or to visit the relatives for the holidays is subsidizing the use of the system by corporate jets and private individuals who are wealthy enough to own their own aircraft.

Oh, so Average Joe and Jane and their 1.9 kids have been paying my way when I fly? Damn, all along I foolishly thought it was ME who was subsidizing my flying. Silly pilot.

You really owe it to yourself to go read the entire FAA Fact Sheet here. It is a long and winding road through la la land, friends, a document that creates more questions then it answers.

NBAA Front
and Center in
User Fee Battle

I write quite a bit about how AOPA is duking it out on 'The Hill' for us GA pilots, but we should not forget that NBAA is also working overtime on our behalf in this cage match we are currently fighting against FAA and The Bush White House.

NBAA's Online Advocacy Center is a treasure chest of valuable information that we all should be using to become experts on this topic. To help us out, NBAA has published a list of “Talking Points” that we all ought to be able to recite from memory. Here is a taste:

• A new FAA funding proposal pushed by the big airlines would abandon the current, ultra-efficient funding system for one based on new user fees and massive tax hikes. The current funding mechanism will allow the already occurring transformation of the nation’s aviation system not just to continue, but to accelerate.

• The government can efficiently collect fuel taxes. Fuel taxes have always been directly remitted to the federal government by fuel companies, eliminating the need for a large bureaucracy to collect the taxes from hundreds of thousands of individual pilots and aircraft operators. Taxes are collected without the administrative costs required to support a large and expensive bureaucracy of collectors, administrators, auditors and accountants. The process for paying fuel taxes is simple, and it is nearly impossible to avoid paying the tax.

• Fuel taxes are assigned fairly, based on an operator’s use of the air traffic system. There is no simpler and more accurate way to distinguish between heavy and light users of the system than to measure the amount of fuel burned. Small aircraft use less fuel and pay lower taxes; large aircraft use more fuel and pay higher taxes.

• Fuel taxes help decrease noise and congestion. A tax on fuel use provides an incentive for general aviation users to purchase newer, cleaner, quieter and more fuel-efficient aircraft. Additionally, fuel taxes by their nature penalize operators that use congested airports which require more fuel use for increased taxi and air time.

• User fees are costly for governments to administer. They require a large bureaucracy of billing and collection agents, auditors and dispute resolution personnel. Money can also be lost when companies move or close.

• User fees are a costly administrative burden for operators. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has reported that it costs IATA members anywhere from $85 to $125 to process a single invoice. Costs will likely be even higher for companies that are not in the business of providing transportation for compensation or hire. User fees can be a disincentive for efficiency. There are numerous examples in Europe, Canada and elsewhere of airplanes being given longer, more circuitous routes to drive up user fees.

On the NBAA Online Advocacy Center, they ask one question that is super important:

Do you have a personal relationship with one or more of your Members of Congress? Do you have Memberships in community organizations that might be interested in this issue? Are you willing to speak out against the FAA's proposal with the news media? If so, let NBAA know by contacting NBAA's Claudia Blanton at cblanton@nbaa.org.

I say we all learn these talking points, and then get out there and talk it up to anyone who will listen. Because if we don't and they win, we'll be forced to fly in a third world system that punishes individual pilots while reaping massive profits on Big Airlines. And like Big Tobacco, Big Pharmaceuticals, Big Oil, Big Health Care and Big Insurance...when Bush and his buddies win, we lose.