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Placing the blame

By General Aviation News Staff · December 10, 2004 ·

Cork Biemond makes a good point about the unfairness of the Sport Pilot driver’s license medical ruling excluding pilots who have previously been denied (Unelected bureaucrats pervert sport pilot) in the Oct 15 issue. He puts the blame on the wrong agency, however.

Remember that the FAA approved the rule as it was originally written a year before its final approval. It then had to be reviewed by DOT and OMB, who apparently amended it to include the denial exclusion.

I had the opportunity to listen to a number of forums by both FAA and EAA medical authorities at Oshkosh, and even to meet some FAA medical officials. I got the impression that the problems are not with FAA. They seem to be on our side in this matter, originally proposing that no medical requirement at all be included in the Sport Pilot regs.

If Mr. Biemond thinks that congressional representatives would be more sympathetic to our cause, he should read the letter that follows his, “They don’t know, they don’t care,” by Dr. Nolde. That title pretty much sums up the attitude of Congress.

Hubert C. “Skip” Smith
State College, Pa.

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