EAA Sport Aviation

www.EAA.org

FAA Withdraws Repair Station NPRM

The FAA has withdrawn a controversial December 2006 notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that called for new repair station ratings classifications, capabilities lists, and quality systems. The rule would have also required the designation of a chief inspector and mandated permanent housing for facilities, equipment, materials, and personnel.

The FAA states it has withdrawn the proposed rule because it does not adequately address the current repair station environment and because of the significant issues raised. EAA’s Doug Macnair, vice president

of government relations, expressed relief in the decision, saying, “The cost of compliance would have been significant and would not have provided a commensurate improvement in safety or quality of maintenance. These costs would surely have been passed on to our members.”

The FAA plans to move forward with a new NPRM, and as it does that, EAA will work to ensure that the needs of all of general aviation, particularly vintage, amateur-built, warbird, and light-sport aircraft, are properly considered and accommodated.

N ew and Improved:

AirVenture Event Schedule

Create your own itinerary in advance

Each year EAA aims to provide the most accurate, up-to-date information about EAA AirVenture forums, workshops, presentations, and other scheduled events…and well in advance of the event to allow attendees to plan their week. This year we think we’ve created the most useful version yet.

Now available at www.AirVenture.org/forums, you can see the complete presentations schedule, allowing you to peruse every scheduled event (there are more than

1,000), create and print your own personal AirVenture itinerary, and stay abreast of schedule changes that can occur during the week.

If you have a web-enabled mobile phone (or a smartphone), you will have access to the complete AirVenture schedule of events wherever you have phone service.

“In response to member

requests and suggestions, we’ve been working hard on creating a new way to efficiently share and disseminate all the events information that AirVenture has to offer,” said Mark Forss, presentations coordinator who has shepherded the new system. “Our new ‘plan your schedule’ feature, coupled with the ability to look up information on a web-enabled mobile device, is what sets this new system apart from previous efforts. The new system also gathers previously disconnected information from numerous sources and puts it into one easy-to-find place on the web and on your phone. We anticipate these new tools being very popular among the attendees!”

Visit the AirVenture website and start planning your Oshkosh visit today!

K eeping Tabs on New
Climate Change Policy

E AA is closely monitoring a formal ruling issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in April that stated greenhouse gases, including avia-

tion emissions, threaten public health. The ruling could

mean that the agency might step in to regulate emis- sions from aircraft and other sources as public health

hazards, depending on congressional action on climate

change legislation.

EAA and 20 other organizations from the aerospace industry signed a joint letter that offered perspective and a constructive set of principles to frame the discussions of policy to address aviation and climate change. This letter, shared with the EPA, members of Congress, and international climate change forums, included princi- ples expressing the shared vision of the labor, manufac- turing, operator, and service sectors representing every kind of airplane, airport, service provider, and worker in the aviation industry.

EAA will continue to work with Congress and the EPA in an effort to minimize any future impact on general aviation. EAA members who are interested in learning m ore about this issue or would like to comment to the EPA may do so by visiting http://EPA.gov/climatechange.

H intsfor Homebuilders DVD
N ow Available

W ith more than 700,000 views since being introduced in March 2008, EAA’s online video series Hints for Homebuilders has been a roaring success.

Until now, the only place you could view them was online,

provided you had a broadband connection to the Internet.

With the launch of the new DVD, Hints for Homebuild- e rs - Sheet Metal - Volume 1, you can view 19 helpful hints from experienced builders anywhere—on a big-screen TV, at chapter meetings, or on a computer with a DVD drive. The DVD is available for a member’s special price of $9.95 through the EAA online store ( http://Shop.EAA.org) or by call- ing 800-564-6322.