The US Pilot's Association is (Justifiably) Perturbed...

Pilots nationwide are more than alarmed by CBS Evening News “Eye on America” Correspondent Bob Orr’s report last week, which described residential airpark communities and General Aviation airports as “an open invitation for terrorists.” In fact, according to Jan Hoynacki, executive director of the United States Pilots Association (USPA), aviation enthusiasts across America are themselves feeling terrorized by fear-driven security woes.

“We feel like General Aviation is under attack by a movement in this country to eliminate ‘little’ airplanes,” Hoynacki alleged. And in context of the barrage of regulatory restrictions, codicils and conventions which have been imposed upon and proposed for General Aviation since 9-11, coupled with what aviation advocates consider to be spurious fear-mongering hype by ratings-driven media, the facts supporting Hoynacki’s position certainly seem to add up.

Consider, for example, newly proposed changes to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations Part 91 which will, if adopted, so inhibit charity and sightseeing flights that, by the FAA’s own estimates, promulgation of the new protocols will put roughly 700 aviators out of work.

“I could understand better a regulatory change if it was due to a safety or accident prevention factor to those type of operations,” said Jim Collom, a commercial-rated pilot, airpark developer and president of USPA Chapter AR01. “Yet it appears that too often, and more so since 9-11, logical thinking has not been at work in the decision making process.”

Adding formidably to the indignation, according to the 400,000-member Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the FAA flat-out refuses to talk face-to-face with the pilots they are about to put out of business, preferring to conduct “virtual” meetings instead.

Another example of what pilots like Hoynacki and Collom see as condescending and abusive treatment of aviators, is an airspace takeover being forwarded by the United States Air Force. Given implementation, a new MOA (Military Operations Area) restriction would effectively block all non-military flight from Albuquerque through Roswell, down to Artesia and Carlsbad in New Mexico, creating 3,200 square miles of no-fly zone.

“USPA will speak against this egregious grab of more airspace at hearings being held later this month,” said USPA Vice President Steve Uslan, noting that the formal protest will be joined by the New Mexico Pilots Association and others.

“This is not a matter of patriotism,” said Hoynacki, “but rather a matter of proper access to the nation’s airspace, and specifically how this MOA will hamper General Aviation routes across the state.”

Supporting these assertions, the AOPA and the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), two of the largest member-based aviation organizations in the world, have adopted powerfully defensive positions.

Doug Mcnair, Vice President of Government Relations with EAA, publicly commented that “everyday, somewhere in the world, trucks and automobiles are used as a terrorist weapon, while general aviation aircraft have never to date been used in such a manner. Despite this, no one would contemplate draconian federal security standards on personal automobiles.”

Adding insult to injury, last week’s CBS report on airpark security, which alleged a dangerous lack thereof, has incensed aviators nationwide with repercussions reverberating on the EAA and AOPA websites, claiming that the CBS article was at best an irresponsible and sensationalistic piece which did nothing to inform viewers or resolve legitimate issues, and at worst was a slanted, incomplete, factually erroneous, and salaciously inflammatory attack.

“I was appalled by Bob Orr’s one-size-fits-all story about General Aviation Airport Security,” said Collom, whose 500-acre Holley Mountain airpark in North Central Arkansas, though not required to, has taken substantial measures to ensure that precautions taken by the residential aviation community are what they deserve to be.

“But still, the best security is what we call ‘our families caring for each other.’  Everyone knows everyone. We know when others are home, where they travel, and when they return. We know when our neighbors are ill, when they’re celebrating a birthday and if someone is in need of help. We are a family. And we understand the need for security in these times with all aspects of transportation, not just aviation, but Mr. Orr’s report might have been more accurate if he would have read it out of a crackerjack box.”

“I’m thoroughly ticked,” said Hoynacki. “CBS was wrong and misleading to the general public. There are many complex issues affecting the status of General Aviation in the United States today, and the need for a firm hand in constructive development is a given. But if the media or anyone else wants to know what’s going on in aviation, they should talk to pilots, airpark residents and aviation professionals, not real estate agents and hired help.”

FMI: www.uspilots.org