Balloonists Oppose User Fees, Too!

Add yet another high-flying organization opposed to general aviation pilots being burdened by user fees. The Balloon Federation of America announced Wednesday it has joined The Alliance for Aviation Across America, and its fight against proposed user fees in the FAA's reauthorization plan.

The BFA has acted to join the Alliance on behalf of its almost 3,000 lighter-than-air pilots and enthusiast members.

"While some portions of the user fee proposal will have minimal impact on balloonists given that our operations are typically outside the traditional airport arena, that is not true across the board," said BFA spokesman Glen Moyer.

"Fees associated with weather services, licensing, aircraft registrations, inspections and more will have a debilitating effect on our sport. This impact will be felt not only directly through the pocketbook, but as evidenced by the varied membership of the Alliance, indirectly through its effects on small GA airports and on the tens of thousands of farmers and ranchers and rural landowners who depend on general aviation and whose open spaces balloons require for safe takeoffs, flight and landings," he added.

Members of the Alliance for Aviation Across America also include: the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, whose membership is comprised of 412,000 members nationwide, the National Business Aviation Association, whose membership includes 8,000 members, the National Farmers Union, the League of Rural Voters, the National Association of State Aviation Officials, the National Grange, the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, the American Corn Growers Association, the Independent Cattlemen of Texas, the Texas Farm Bureau, Air Care Alliance, the National Agricultural Aviation Association, Helicopter Association International, and over 1200 small and medium-size businesses, charitable organizations, and groups and associations from across the nation.

The BFA encourages its members to visit the Alliance website, and to write to their Congressional delegates and express their concerns.

FMI: www.aviationacrossamerica.org, www.bfa.net