CAA: GA News, "Never being the same could turn out to be a good thing"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

October 31, 2001

Never being the same could turn out to be a good thing
GA News


WASHINGTON, DC - If you're looking for something positive about how our
industry has been affected by terrorism, consider that general aviation
might be enjoying a heightened sense of recognition by the news media,
government officials and the general public.

Emphasis, however, should be placed on "might."

Decision makers on Capitol Hill, at the Department of Transportation, in
other federal and state agencies, and in some news media are finally
becoming aware that something called general aviation exists.

If nothing else, the widespread efforts by general aviation
organizations to ease the restrictions on aviation have alerted people
to our slice of the world.

Congress especially seems to have taken notice.

At committee hearings in both houses, Transportation Secretary Norman
Mineta and FAA Administrator Jane Garvey urged congressional members to
get GA back in the air.

With an eye on the National Security Council, several senators and
representatives prepared bills or considered riders to other legislation
that would help pull general aviation from its post-Sept. 11 crisis.

During a hearing of the full Senate Science, Commerce and Transportation
Committee, Senator George Allen (R-Virginia) urged Mineta and Garvey to
continue work on restoring general aviation operations. He said small
markets in his state have been particularly hurt by the airspace
restrictions.

News media have carried items about general aviation - some negative -
but at least there was publicity about its value to the public good.

General aviation associations went to extraordinary lengths to keep
Congress and the media informed during the days following the attack. In
some cases it was a collective effort; in others it was individual
approaches.

The various associations are also doing a better job of working as a
team. Each one had to balance what it could tell its members about
behind-the-scenes lobbying and what it had to keep secret in the
interests of national security.

The alphabet groups - AOPA, EAA, GAMA, NBAA, NATA, NASAO - devoted
untold hours of work that will never be known by their members. They
experienced different problems, but they have come to realize that each
depends on the other.

Corporate flying, for example, needs airports, and those airports would
not exist were it not for a broad base of single- and multi-engine
airplanes that are used for personal travel or recreation.

NBAA President Jack Olcott and AOPA President Phil Boyer, sitting
side-by-side at a news conference, pointed out how important the entire
general aviation spectrum is to the nation. 

Problems remain. FAA Administrator Garvey told a Senate committee that
"Aviation has changed forever."

General aviation surely will not be the same, but we've been down this
road. After strong efforts by AOPA to "Keep 'Em ALL Flying," World War
II shined a spotlight on general aviation.

Post-WWII GA transitioned from small planes of limited value to
aircraft, engines and avionics that provided utility and practical
travel.

It could happen again. Flying will not be the same, but with confidence,
continued information campaigns, and some innovative products, general
aviation could see another growth period.

   Post your opinion on this story in the CAA General Aviation Forum
http://www.californiaaviation.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?conf=DCConfID2

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