Jetwhine

Aviation buzz and bold opinion

General Aviation

GA Aircraft Owners, Make Your Voices Heard

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GA SurveyFor the 34th year, the FAA has reached out to aircraft owners and Part 135 operators to take the pulse of general aviation. What’s sad is that over the years, many of my friends lucky enough to own an airplane rarely took the time to complete the survey because, they whined, responding on paper and snail-mailing it was just too demanding. This year they have no excuse: aircraft owners and operators who received the postcard invitation or survey by mail can respond online. Do it now at www.aviationsurvey.org!

The survey is the only source of information on general aviation activities, from hours flown and the reason for flying to the type of aircraft flown and the flying conditions (day, night, VFR, IFR). The FAA is collecting data for 2011, so, said the FAA, “Owners who did not fly their aircraft in 2011, have sold it, or are awaiting repairs should also respond to the survey.” A N-number access scheme ensures non-owners and operators don’t skew the data. And the FAA emphasized that  the “information will be used only for statistical purposes and will not be published or released in any form that would reveal an individual participant.”

clip_image001Participation in the survey is voluntary, and with the online option removing that last little bit of hassle, why wouldn’t each of you not take a few minutes to help chart general aviation’s future? You see, after collating the data it uses this information to assess funding, infrastructure services, the affect of safety and regulatory changes, and to prepare safety stats and calculate GA accident rates. If we don’t care enough about general aviation to spend a few minutes filling out a survey, why should the FAA care any less than it does for the needs of GA? — Scott

Safety May be the Death of General Aviation

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In her opening statement at the June 19 convocation addressing General Aviation Safety—Climbing to the Next Level, NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said “in spite of improvements to the commercial and corporate aviation safety records, the GA accident rate has been stubbornly resistant to safety initiatives.”

She’ll get no argument that, “the status quo is not acceptable. We need to break through the plateau and bring the accident rate down significantly.” But there will be change, no improvement, if the NTSB works to this mindset: “GA pilots are not learning from the deadly mistakes made by their brethren – not learning from lessons learned in the hardest of ways. Recreational fliers are the chief pilot of an airline of one.”

If the NTSB somehow encourages legislators and the FAA to impose airline and corporate aviation requirements on general aviation, it will surely be the coup de grace.

[Read more…] about Safety May be the Death of General Aviation

No User Fees for GA … Yet

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I was trying to explain some of the subtleties behind the word altruism to my daughter this morning at breakfast, and it made me think about the fight against aviation user fees.

And yes, we have a few truly interesting family meals around our house. Those dine-ins are, in fact, a large part of what my wife and I see as our responsibility as parents, to sit down at least a couple of times each week to find out what’s happening with our family in general, especially our daughter. We don’t know for sure they help, but we believe in the process enough to make the effort.

Altruistic deed-doers make the effort because they believe it’s the right move for their family or their community. And they don’t expect a reward at the other end for their labors either. [Read more…] about No User Fees for GA … Yet

Signs of New Aviation Era are Unmistakable

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From aviation’s infancy, the US military has been a leading source of aerial innovations and educator of those who put those winged aviation innovations to work. With the end of each conflict, pilots, technicians, and engineers used  their training and experience in commercial endeavors.

This cyclical birth of new aviation eras is tied to the end of America’s conflicts. World War I gave life to commercial aviation. Barnstormers became air mail pilots who became airline pilots. The industry made a quantum leap after World War II, in both technology and personnel. This process is again at work, but this time the new technology is replacing the old.

Yes, I’m talking about unmanned aerial vehicles. Drones are in ascendancy, replacing manned aircraft with increasing speed. It is quite possible that the manned military fleet will never again see a new design.  Given the cuts facing the defense budget, and the delays and cost overruns that have plagued it, the F-35 joint strike fighter faces an uncertain future.

The signs of change are unmistakable: GlobalPost cites a Congressional report that says, “1 in 3 US Warplanes a drone.”  With a fleet of 7,494 UAVs of all types, the fleet has increased 40-fold since 2005. In 2011, reports National Defense, “For the first time in its history, the Air Force trained more UAV pilots than fighter and bomber pilots combined.”

In the same article, looking forward a short way, to 2020,  a former commander of the Naval Air System Command said, “The Air Force and Navy will always have [fighter and bomber] pilots, but you can debate whether future operators will be airborne.” Picking up the slack, a number of collegiate aviation program have created UAV programs.

If aviation stays true to its historical precedents, commercial operations will follow the military’s lead. In coming full circle, pilots who want to get old school and actually climb into the sky will do so for personal enjoyment in a GA aircraft. Most likely it’ll be a Cessna 172, which like the B-52, is an ageless and irreplaceable vet. — Scott Spangler

Mr. Babbitt Needs to Get in Shape

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Some functions come naturally to most humans, eating, sleeping, even defending ourselves … at least most of the time. But the message the House of Representatives just sent FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt with passage of the European Emissions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act of 2011 is pretty clear. Our administrator needs to find a sparing partner and get himself in shape for the scuffles ahead with Europe.

For years, the European Union has promoted its plan to reduce aviation’s carbon footprint anywhere in the group’s 21-nation states, despite the fact that research shows this industry contributes far less to global warming than just about any other segment such as automobiles — between two and three percent by most calculations.

No matter. It’s their union and they are free to make their own choices. Problem is that this new EU plan will significantly affect our industry here in the states because the EU intends to hold every country responsible for complying with their carbon trading scheme if they fly into EU airspace.

Most other countries are having a little heartburn with the plan, as is ICAO, the United Nations body focused on aviation that believes one country or one region setting it’s own standards – higher or lower than the rest of the world – is a rally bad idea, and one that will be enormously difficult to enforce. [Read more…] about Mr. Babbitt Needs to Get in Shape