• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
General Aviation News

General Aviation News

Because flying is cool

  • Pictures of the Day
    • Submit Picture of the Day
  • Stories
    • News
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Products
    • NTSB Accidents
    • ASRS Reports
  • Comments
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ad
  • Events
  • Digital Archives
  • Subscribe
  • Show Search
Hide Search

ADS-B deadline won’t change, FAA administrator tells Oshkosh crowds

By General Aviation News Staff · August 3, 2017 ·

Speaking before a spirited general aviation audience at EAA AirVenture 2017 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said GA needs to “step up” to help ensure a thriving future for general aviation in America.

Huerta outlined a future with a thriving general aviation industry in America, emphasizing the importance of government and industry partnerships to bolster safety and efficiency.

“Some day in the not too distant future, your planes will still be sharing airspace with jumbo jets and helicopters — but also commercial space rockets, package delivery drones, aerial taxis, and other technologies that haven’t even been dreamed up yet,” said Huerta. “One thing is for certain, the decisions we make today are going to shape that future.”

Huerta said the FAA is working to become a more efficient and nimble organization and that success comes down to a simple idea: Partnership.

He told the Oshkosh crowds that the agency has shifted its approach to how it certifies aircraft and equipment.

He said the FAA is “defining the safety goals and giving the GA industry the freedom to come up with innovative solutions.”

“The industry needs a regulator that’s equally invested in that spirit of innovation and the FAA is committed to being that partner,” he said, noting, “technology can help breathe new life into an aircraft.

“The FAA is streamlining its processes so you can benefit from upgraded equipment, lower costs, and higher levels of safety,” Huerta said.

He also pointed out that partnership is a two-way street.

“If we’re going to succeed in securing general aviation’s future, we all have to step up,” he said. “This is especially true of the Jan. 1, 2020, deadline for pilots to equip with ADS-B.”

He told the Oshkosh crowd the FAA still has $500 rebates available to help eligible aircraft owners offset the cost of installing ADS-B. Deadline for applying for those rebates is Sept. 18, 2017.

“The deadline hasn’t — and won’t — change,” he stressed.

He also said the FAA has changed how it thinks about medical certification.

BasicMed allows general aviation pilots to get an exam with their doctor and take an online medical education course to get qualified, instead of requiring them to see an Aviation Medical Examiner and obtain a third-class medical certificate.

Huerta also encouraged pilots with health issues to seek guidance from the agency’s Aerospace Medicine office.

“There’s this misperception out there that dealing with our medical team is the first step toward losing your license,” he said. “Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, we approve the majority of the requests we receive for special issuance medical certificates. We’re not adversaries. We want you to be able to keep flying. We just want to work with you to figure out a way to do it safely.”

You can read Huerta’s entire speech at FAA.gov

Reader Interactions

Share this story

  • Share on Twitter Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook Share on Facebook
  • Share on LinkedIn Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit Share on Reddit
  • Share via Email Share via Email

Become better informed pilot.

Join 110,000 readers each month and get the latest news and entertainment from the world of general aviation direct to your inbox, daily.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Curious to know what fellow pilots think on random stories on the General Aviation News website? Click on our Recent Comments page to find out. Read our Comment Policy here.

Comments

  1. James A Mitchell says

    August 9, 2017 at 8:20 am

    Mr. Huerta is not living in the same world as me. Sure the avionics business is doing good,this applies to the jets. I’m still trying to scrape up enough money to buy eight spark plugs. When a little piece of plastic about 4″x6″ one sixteenth of inch thick for the air intake of a C172 costs $600 you know GA is dying. The lawyers have stabbed us in the back. It’s just a matter of time that all planes will be on ground either in the hangar or tied down out side. Then the FAA can claim a 100% safety record.Congress needs to investigate the goings on at the FAA.The CAA was created to promote aviation, the FAA is out to destroy it.

  2. Zoomie says

    August 4, 2017 at 8:57 am

    But when will the FAA stop using morse code ?

    And those weather abrieviations are real cutting edge … definetly the spirit of the FAA.

  3. Zoomie says

    August 4, 2017 at 8:55 am

    But when will the FAA stop using morse code ?

© 2025 Flyer Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Writer’s Guidelines
  • Photographer’s Guidelines