Not worried about the user fee and fuel tax hike proposed in the FAA reauthorization bill? Maybe this will change your mind.
An AOPA official recently completed several flights in Europe, where user fees already exist. Here are a few of his sobering findings:
It costs nearly $20,000 to obtain a private pilot’s certificate in Germany, including about $1,800 in landing fees. An instrument rating will cost another $20,000.
If IMC conditions force an unplanned diversion, a pilot could face $1,000 in penalties and fees.
Want to practice touch and goes in the U.K.? It will cost $16 every time rubber meets runway, or $33 for each full stop.
That’s why AOPA and other alphabet groups are calling user fees the “camel’s nose under the tent.” It could be the start of pricing GA out of the skies, they say.
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