Warbirds of America Meets with FAA Officials at 2007 FAA/EAA Recreational Aviation Summit
January 19, 2007 – EAA, EAA Warbirds of America, and FAA officials met this week for extensive discussions on a wide variety of aviation topics during the 2007 FAA/EAA Recreational Aviation Summit. More than a dozen senior FAA staff members, led by John Hickey, director of aircraft certification, and Jim Ballough, director of flight standards, were in Oshkosh meeting with EAA officials and representatives from several facets of the organization.
“This is really the roll-up-your-sleeves meeting where we determine what we need to work on,” Ballough said. “This is the way to get the issues on the table and chart the course.”
The purpose of the annual meeting is to identify and resolve specific issues that enhance affordability, reduce complexity, and protect precious freedoms for those pursuing their passion for recreational flight.
Representing EAA Warbirds of America at the meeting were President Rick Siegfried, Government Affairs Committee member Ray Dieckman, and Executive Director Bill Fischer.
EAA President Tom Poberezny said, “We highly value our working relationship with the FAA. EAA’s differentiated approach of proactive advocacy, not reactive, seeks to address issues before they become problems.”
The stability of FAA’s homebuilt regulations shows how effective the working relationship between EAA and FAA has been over the years. “In the five decades, we’ve seen no major changes, and that could not be possible were it not for our unique working relationship with the FAA,” Poberezny said.
Hickey added, “I truly value the relationship between EAA and FAA. With a nurtured relationship there is nothing we can’t accomplish working toward the same goal.” The meeting
yielded a 30-item action agenda covering numerous areas including sport pilot/light-sport aircraft; experimental/amateur-built aircraft; flight safety and flight training; warbirds; aerobatic practice and competition boxes; air show policies; vintage and aging aircraft issues; and air tour operations. The group also discussed arrangements for EAA Airventure Oshkosh 2007.
“Every year that we do this, it goes more smoothly,” Poberezny said. “It’s not that the issues have gotten any easier, but we come in better prepared and better able to address the issues. This has been a very positive, very constructive session-well worth the time and effort we’ve put into it.”
Siegfried explained that the EAA Warbirds of America in effect worked with FAA officials this week to set the 2007 agenda. “We’ll also be working with warbird industry representatives and the FAA to further define the FAA’s program plan for oversight of vintage and exhibition aircraft,” he said. “We’ll also address the topic of experimental aircraft operating limitations in early 2007. We look forward to working with the FAA and warbird industry groups and making significant progress on these issues.”
Look for more coverage of the 2007 FAA/EAA Recreational Aviation Summit in the coming days and weeks on EAA’s websites as well as in the March 2007 magazine editions.
