The Folks Who Made This Year So.... "Interesting" (Part Two, of
Four)
Each year ANN selects the person(s) who, for good or bad
reasons, made the most tangible impact on the aviation world in the
past year.
Once again, we tackle this task with a mixture of enthusiasm and
trepidation.
Presented in alphabetical order we present twelve of the most
prominent newsmakers (presented in alphabetical order) we covered
over the past year and why we think so…
The Federal Aviation Administration
It's been an
interesting and disappointing year for the FAA.
Decisions seemed to be long in coming, but
ultimately ineffectual, as they actually went into practice.
The long awaited Sport Pilot NPRM remained nothing more than 'long
awaited.' TFRs popped up with little warning - making little
sense, while the FAA still seemed more than willing to
abdicate its responsibilities as the agency responsible for all
things aeronautical to any security goon with a badge (or a flashy
title). RVSM issues are looking like a major mess. You get the
idea...
There are so many ways that the FAA could have stepped up to the
plate this year and lived up to its role as the Federal
AVIATION Administration… instead of
cowering in supplication to political and special interests.
It could have stood up far better to the Meigs
situation and taken Chicago to task for the ILLEGAL destruction of
an airport, without notice, and the endangerment of pilots who
could have been trying to use it even as the bull-dozers rolled.
It could have worked far better in enforcing Grant
Assurance provisions and making sure that airport protections and
agreements were adhered to and ENFORCED. It could
have gotten the Sport Pilot rule off the dime and helped an
industry desperately in need of financial CPR get a start on
recovery. It could have worked closer with
industry to make sure that regs and decisions were being made in a
way that truly enhanced safety, and offered a REALISTIC opportunity
for the industry to come into compliance (such ELTs, ADs and the
like).
Heck… it could have done a lot of things
that could have furthered the cause of aviation… but it
didn't. It meandered along, doing what little it had to, and
playing supplicant to the great God of Security while an industry
buckled under the weight of regs that harmed us all and protected
us little. It was not a good year for the FAA, who seems to have
taken on a gutless persona… but it was an even worse
year for aviation… who is desperately hoping that the FAA
gets some guts and seeks to SERVE aviation interests in the coming
year. It could have done so much.
It didn't.
We'll keep our fingers crossed for 2004…
Ken Hyde
While the much
ballyhooed Wright Flight recreation was, ultimately, NOT aviation's
greatest moment; it was not so for lack of effort or commitment.
The amazing trials of The Wright Experience's Ken Hyde were a joy
to all those who came to understand how incredibly difficult (and
miraculous, after a fashion) the first Wright flights truly
were… and by "failing" on December 17th, 2003, I doubt that
anyone could ever take for granted the genius of the brothers
Wright, again.
Some 10+ years ago, the Army Aviation Museum at Fort Rucker,
Alabama commissioned Ken Hyde to build a reproduction of the 1911
Wright Model B that came to serve as the Army's "first practical
airplane." Over the course of the project, Hyde learned that the
Wrights put very little of their work on paper and a new career was
begun. This led to his fascination (some say obsession) and desire
to fully document what the Wrights did and to recreate/celebrate
history in their image.
He worked, he researched, he flew, he crashed, he did things
much in the same way as did the brothers themselves, but ultimately
what Ken Hyde did was educate an entire world to what a few men of
infinite potential can do in a world of infinite possibilities.
Ken's greatest contribution was not aerodynamic or historic…
it was educational and inspirational… and no one who has
truly studied what Ken Hyde reproduced can possibly take the
Wright's achievements for granted, again-or but help to admire
those who are so committed to the dream and reality of flight.
Well done. Bravo. Damned good try…
Alan Klapmeier
Even just a few years
ago, it would be hard to imagine any company jumping to the level
of prominence and prosperity as that demonstrated by Cirrus Design.
Taking a strong leadership role in the GA manufacturing
sweepstakes, the number two (for now...) producer of light single
engine aircraft in these United States is easily and
verifiably the true leader in technological development and
innovation.
NO GA manufacturer yet offers a product line-up as capable and
as advanced as does Cirrus Design… and the best part of this
is that their efforts are spurring on others to even greater
efforts of their own… making the whole GA world the winner
in oh-so-many ways.
Alan's company, built with his brother Dale (to Alan's left in
the pic below), have more than exceeded the potential many would
have forecast for them… and continue to show strong
signs of going on farther than most would have dared to imagine.
They have literally set the bar for high-performance single engine
GA airplanes, they have built a dynamic new company, and they have
defined what the second century of general aviation needs to do to
measure up. General Aviation will never be the same because of what
Alan and Cirrus has done... and damned if that isn't a really great
thing, in and of itself.
Some one needed to shake the dust out of GA and they did
just that. It's been an extraordinary effort and we couldn't be
more pleased or proud of an old friend who never 'boasted' about
what he was about to do, but simply set a course, invited us all to
contribute what we might to the process, and then followed his
dream to the letter.
Extraordinary... really.
To Be Continued...
ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.20.24): Light Gun
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