An open letter to President Obama

I want to thank all who took the time to respond to my previous blog, “Couldn’t sign the user fee petition? Here’s help.” As promised, I sent your names and information to the White House as the attachment to the cover letter below. This response was sent both by email and the U.S. Postal Service.

We are still way below the needed 25,000 respondents on the petition. When I last checked the site we were up to less than 5,700. That’s more than when we started, but not even close to what we need. Remember, those who register their disapproval of aviation user fees do NOT have to be general aviators. They can be family members, friends, acquaintances, and so on. We have until May 16.

Again, thanks to all who have stood up to be counted on this important issue.

Fly safe and be secure!

Dear Mr. President,

On behalf of those listed in the attachment and myself, I respectfully request that you remove from the current budget proposal the user fees for access to the skies of America. The attachment contains the names of fellow Americans who were unable to log in and be counted electronically using the WhiteHouse.gov petition web page concerning the aviation user fees due to problems with the website. This letter is a means to redress the shortcomings of the website and let their voices be heard.

General aviation is the cornerstone of air commerce. Few attain the title Pilot-in-Command by any other means than general aviation. Our flight instructors produce the majority of pilots which eventually fly the airliners that people rely upon for rapid transportation. Our pilots fly the rescue helicopters which transport the critically injured for timely medical treatment. Our many aviator volunteers give of their time and substance by flying in support of charitable activities; we built a bridge across the sky to resupply and rebuild an earthquake-torn Haiti and paid for it ourselves. These are but a few of the many ways that general aviation gives back to America’s communities and the world.

The proposed user fee will have far reaching negative consequences, many of which, we are sure, are unintended. The existing tax on aviation fuel already recovers costs for the use of the U.S. National Airspace System in a fair and equitable manner.

Please remove from your budget proposal the aviation user fees.

Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.

Very respectfully,

David C. Hook

Dave Hook, an expert on general aviation security, is president of Planehook Aviation Services, LLC in San Antonio, Texas.

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