USER FEES: GOOD
NEWS, BAD NEWS
THE POSSIBILITY OF GA USER FEES just
won’t go away, despite more than a
decade of congressional opposition from
both parties and overwhelming negative
responses from the aviation community.
Already in early 2012 we have heard good
news and bad news on the subject.
First the good news: The final language
in the first full FAA reauthorization
bill in five years passed both houses of
Congress in early February and was signed
by President Obama on February 14. It
contains no provision for user fees and no
increase in the aviation fuel tax, which is
GA’s fair contribution to FAA’s funding.
The reauthorization bill was a goal of
EAA’s advocacy efforts, as it stabilizes the
agency’s funding and planning through
2015 and allows major initiatives such as
NextGen and airport improvements to
move forward.
additional financial burdens for
GA and require new bureaucracy
to administer user fee collection. It
also opens the door to an eventual
expansion of user fees to other private
aircraft and GA operations.
EAA and fellow GA groups
responded immediately to the budget
proposal. The leadership of GA
First the good news: The final language in the first
full FAA reauthorization bill in five years passed
both houses of Congress in early February and was
signed by President Obama on February 14.
Now for the bad news: The Obama
administration’s proposed Fiscal Year
2013 budget includes a $100-per-flight
user fee for selected GA aircraft flying
within controlled airspace. While the
budget proposal would exempt all piston
aircraft, military aircraft, public aircraft,
air ambulances, aircraft operating outside
of controlled airspace, and Canada-to-
Canada flights, the plan would create
caucuses in the House and Senate have
been alerted to the need to again oppose
the user fee plan.
WHY A NEW APPROACH TO SMALL AIRCRAFT CERTIFICATION IS NEEDED
Sean Elliott, EAA Vice President, Industry & Regulatory Affairs
YOU KNOW
THAT SINKING
FEELING IN
YOUR STOMACH
when the
cost of a new
airplane part,
an overhaul, or
a factory-new
airplane is put
before your
eyes. It is often
accompanied by a gasp as the reality of
the number settles into your head. So have
you ever asked yourself, “Why does a new
wheelpant cost thousands of dollars?” or
“Why does a new four-place, entry-level
airplane cost hundreds of thousands of
dollars?” There are several answers to
these questions, but undoubtedly at the
top of the list is the cost of certification.
Our current system of certification
for small aircraft evolved over decades.
It is cumbersome and restrictive, and
above all else it does not encourage
innovation that is both cost-effective
and safety-enhancing. On the contrary, it
encourages and rewards thinking that is
“inside the box” and done “because we
have always done it this way.” It is time for
a new approach.
I am a participating member of the
recently formed aviation rulemaking
committee (ARC) for Part 23. The ARC’s
task is to rethink the aircraft certification
process to determine how it might be
structured to enhance the incorporation
of modern safety systems and reduce
the cost of certification. The ultimate
deliverable has been stated by John
Colomy, deputy director of the FAA
Small Airplane Directorate, as “an
increase of safety twofold and a reduction
in deliverable costs by 50 percent.” He
added, “This will be a revolution in
aircraft certification, with a clear, easy-
to-follow path that takes months, not
years.” The current time table is for the
ARC to finish its recommendations by
February 2013.
