Backcountry Pilot • RAF accepting suggestions for Congressional GA caucus

RAF accepting suggestions for Congressional GA caucus

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RAF accepting suggestions for Congressional GA caucus

Be sure to full their inbox :)

What's on my mind?

1. Doing away with the Third class medical requirement for light private flights. (In support of the AOPA and EAA petition.)

2. Land use regulation consideration and airstrip preservation.


Since its inception, The U.S. House of Representatives GA Caucus has invited the Recreational Aviation Foundation to participate in an advisory capacity to the Caucus. Throughout the year, a select group of aviation experts including the RAF, AOPA, EAA and others, is called upon to provide research information and opinion on aviation related legislative matters.

The GA Caucus typically distinguishes itself as being one of the largest on Capitol Hill. As the 113th Congress prepares to assemble, your RAF has once again been asked to provide information for the caucus . As a first order of business we have been asked to submit a list of issues that we feel are significant and to rank those issues in order of importance.

Certainly there are those issues common to all in aviation; user fees, increased regulation, avgas etc. however, this is our opportunity to voice specific thoughts and opinions as the legislative year begins.

Please take a few moments to think about this as it relates to our shared passion for recreational aviation activities.

Email your thoughts and ideas to me at:

[email protected]

We'll consolidate those into a communication that we carry to the first meetings.

We look forward to hearing your thoughts and sharing those with Congress in the new session.


Tim Clifford, Director RAF

Recreational Aviation Foundation
1711 West College Street
Bozeman, MT 59715-4913
United States
406-582-1RAF (406-582-1723)
theraf.org

Zzz offline
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Re: RAF accepting suggestions for Congressional GA caucus

Zzz wrote:Be sure to full their inbox :)
What's on my mind?

1. Doing away with the Third class medical requirement for light private flights. (In support of the AOPA and EAA petition.)


The AOPA petition was a publicity stunt; opposed by their own internal medical advisory board. Hard to tell if the EAA was complicit or just dumb enough to jump on the bandwagon. The FAA will never agree to abolishing the 3rd Class. AOPA's medical board offered an alternate of substituting a CDL medical exam for 3rd Class, but AOPA sold out for the stunt instead.* My source(fairly highly placed individual in all three groups) says that the Flight Surgeon was open to the CDL option and may still be.

If you're suggesting options, that's one I'd offer...

*Please realize that AOPA has no financial interest in actually solving the problems that they were created to address!
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Re: RAF accepting suggestions for Congressional GA caucus

1. Doing away with the third class medical - period. There is no reason for the limitations placed on the proposal by the AOPA. The medical requirement should be abolished for all non-commercial operations, without limitation.

2. Eliminating the Washington DC area SFRA and FRZ which were implemented to make the DC area a veritable "no fly zone" for GA in response to the Sept. 11 2001 events, while continuing to permit air carrier operations into DCA. A brief history lesson - the aircraft involved in the Sept. 11 incident were air carrier aircraft, NOT GA. I know DC is a long way from the backcountry, but some of us wanna be backcountry types are stuck here because of our jobs!

3. A plan to ensure the continued availability of 100 LL avgas.

4. Removal of ethanol from automotive fuels. Putting this stuff in gasoline serves no one except possible the corn growers. Smarter folks than me has demonstrated that it costs more in terms of energy consumed to produce ethanol laden auto fuel and the purported savings. while not entire an aviation related issue, many of our recreational type aircraft can use ethanol free automotive fuels but outside of a few western states, such fuels are essentially unavailable.

Best,
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Re: RAF accepting suggestions for Congressional GA caucus

Papa Foxtrot wrote:
Zzz wrote:Be sure to full their inbox :)
What's on my mind?

1. Doing away with the Third class medical requirement for light private flights. (In support of the AOPA and EAA petition.)


The AOPA petition was a publicity stunt; opposed by their own internal medical advisory board. Hard to tell if the EAA was complicit or just dumb enough to jump on the bandwagon. The FAA will never agree to abolishing the 3rd Class. AOPA's medical board offered an alternate of substituting a CDL medical exam for 3rd Class, but AOPA sold out for the stunt instead.* My source(fairly highly placed individual in all three groups) says that the Flight Surgeon was open to the CDL option and may still be.

If you're suggesting options, that's one I'd offer...

*Please realize that AOPA has no financial interest in actually solving the problems that they were created to address!


It is specifically because the FAA will never agree to eliminating the third class medical that it will need to be dne by congressional decree.

Best,
O-2
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RAF accepting suggestions for Congressional GA caucus

Congressional pressure through certain subcommittees is one very important reason that the airman medical environment remains as strict as it is today. Why would Congress be interested in relaxing it, even with Oberstar gone?
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Re: RAF accepting suggestions for Congressional GA caucus

once&futr_alaskaflyer wrote:Congressional pressure through certain subcommittees is one very important reason that the airman medical environment remains as strict as it is today. Why would Congress be interested in relaxing it, even with Oberstar gone?


I don't have any current insight (my wife was an aviation lobbyist in the early 1980s) however, it would be helpful for us to know what subcommittees, and more importantly, who chairs them. While we are a small minority compared to other special interests and I have no illusions about our clout as a voting block, through targeted lobbying efforts, PACs, and the like...well, who knows. We'll have to organize behind some other group than AOPA in my opinion. Maybe EAA? Perhaps a new organization more focused on issues that matter to "private pilots?"

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Re: RAF accepting suggestions for Congressional GA caucus

Focus on Recreational issues by preserving and expanding access. Promote the idea that all public lands/roads not currently off limits to motorized vehicles should be also accessible by aircraft, that agencies must not restrict access to areas historically used for aviation recreation, and to include aviation in planning for any future access or existing motorized upgrades.

In return pilots are responsible for the safe operation of the aircraft in those areas and that it may be up to the aviation community to maintain certain places though access will not be restricted.
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Re: RAF accepting suggestions for Congressional GA caucus

It matters little what you post here, other than to discuss amongs ourselves... the RAF people are likely not reading this thread. Email them at the above address.
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