The flying season is officially open for business. With the 2023 SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo throwing open the gates to its parking lots, exhibitor buildings, taxiways, and ramps the last week of March, the flying public has gotten the message loud and clear: Let’s go flying.
Working major shows like SUN ‘n FUN and EAA AirVenture Oshkosh presents folks like me with a remarkable opportunity. There are thousands of us, of course. My Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) peers and I staff a tent filled with workspaces designed to serve the needs and wishes of members and non-members alike. Whatever the question, whatever the concern, we generally have someone on hand who can help.
Most visitors have traveled far. They deserve a high level of service. The vast majority of vendors strive to provide exactly that. Over, and over, and over again. They actually take pride in making the effort.
A great example of this, unseen by most of us, are air traffic controllers. Men and women who take on the responsibility of handling the flow of traffic in and out of the airport. Add to that the almost constant stream of demo flights happening all around the field, from multiple runways, and you’ve got quite a workload.
Yet these folks come from far and wide to take on the task. They revel in the opportunity to work the busiest airspace in the world for a week. Achieving an incredible level of safety despite what may appear to be mayhem in the sky is a point of pride.
You have to respect that dedication to duty. For aviation is a service industry for most of us. While the manufacturers of kits, and completed aircraft, headsets, educational resources, and so many other products exist and even thrive, the service providers provide critical services that make or break the event. In truth, those services are critical to the continued operations that we know as General Aviation. Should they ever fail to be available, the whole shebang would quickly come to a standstill.
And so, it is a head-scratcher for me to understand why so many of us are afraid to seek real help from the folks who have the greatest control over our future as active participants in the industry. Time and again I have been approached by an individual who has a question or a concern or a legitimate problem that relates directly to the FAA. I have no problem pointing out the metal building that stands directly across the taxiway from where my little yellow airplane is tied down.
“That’s an issue for the feds,” I might say. “You can walk right into the FAA building, right there, and get an answer to your question right now.”
I might even provide the name of a particularly helpful FAA employee I’ve worked with in the past. They do exist, you know.
That all seems straight forward enough. Yet, more often than not the person seeking help declines to take those few steps to the promised land. The heart of the FAA on the field. The base of operations for a staff that has intentionally come to the show with the specific goal of helping as many certificate holders and answering as many questions as possible.
Inside that building are the men and women of the Federal Aviation Administration. These folks literally determine if we can fly or not. They issue our certificates, our medicals, produce and enforce the testing databases and standards that we must master if we ever hope to climb into the pilot’s seat, or apply a wrench to a powerplant, or earn a dollar with that zippy cool drone we saved up for.
Yes, I will concede that the FAA is a bureaucratic organization that can be maddeningly difficult to work with. I get it. When I got started in this business it was possible to walk into a Flight Standards District office (FSDO) unannounced, hand over your hard-earned test results, and walk out with a temporary Ground Instructor Certificate. I did exactly that with no problem. Or, you could query the individual at the front desk about certification issues, ask for insight into STCs available for your aircraft, or the process of bringing a wreck with no logbooks back to life.
It doesn’t work that way anymore. The organization is decidedly more impersonal, staff is less available. The process of making arrangements to talk to someone face to face can take weeks, or longer.
It doesn’t have to be that way. There are exceptions that we could embrace for our own benefit.
I was fortunate enough to talk to more than one person this past week who stood tall, braced themselves for battle, and walked with purpose through that scary glass door on the front of the FAA building on the Lakeland Linder International Airport (KLAL), the home of SUN ‘n FUN.
Two who made a real impression on me had been attempting to obtain a special issuance medical for months. Things were not going their way. Their frustration was evident. Their flying opportunities had ground to a halt. Yet, minutes after entering the structure that too many of us see as a house of horrors, they walked out with paperwork in hand, smiles on their faces, and jubilation in their hearts.
They got the service they deserved and came away with the results they’d hoped for. It can happen. It does happen.
You can’t win if you don’t play. So, buck up, buttercup. When you’ve got an issue that requires something of the FAA, consider using its presence at the largest, best attended air shows in the nation to get the job done. That’s why they came to the show: To help you.
Just like the controllers in the tower, my peers at AOPA, and the staff at countless booths and tents throughout the grounds, employers tend to put their best on the front lines. That includes the FAA. You may find the administration to be excessively difficult to deal with, but you may also find the individuals who make up that organization are professional, dedicated to service, and truly doing the best they can to serve you.
Meet them halfway. Walk through the door and share your story. Like those happy folks who came away with the results they’d been dreaming of, you just might find there is a Fed across the counter who is absolutely committed to getting the job done on your behalf.
Jamie’s article fails to point out a signifiant variable–FAA staffers who go to airshows or work the ATC system are the ones who are motivated to do exactly what he’s talking about . They are honestly trying to help us be pilots and I love working with them. On the other hand, the FAA staffers who sit in offices and fill out forms and look for ways that the FARs can deny service are the ones that we are afraid of interacting with. Nothing good ever comes from them once they learn your name.
I visited the nice FAA air-conditioned offices looking for a few training aids on air space and runway signage for our flight school. I found half a dozen sullen civil servants staring at their computer screens not interested in help me. Got one to answer, “I think we cut those from our budget”. None were to found in the six unopened boxes of literature they bought to Sun-n-Fun.
Claire stole my thunder 😋
Having flown outside the US for many years, you can’t beat the FAA for service. One European pilot once told me he wished the FAA ran aviation around the world. Whether it’s medical, regulations or otherwise, the FAA is very accommodating and forgiving. Try flying in countries where you must be type rated in every aircraft even a 152, exhaustive medicals even for private, new registration and radio license every year, service bulletins treated as ADs, submission of your logbook to the authorities each year, and so much more.
Most newer pilots are familiar with the Pilot Bill of Rights. This is part of a newer initiative from the FAA called the “Compliance Program.” Pilots who inadvertently violate a regulation – “honest mistake” – are offered an “educational solution” rather than a violation. The pilot needs to display a “proactive attitude toward safety” and it helps to be part of the FAA WINGS program. I have counseled pilots who have taken off (or landed) without clearance at busy airports and even pilots who have run out of fuel and landed off-field. No violation, just retraining and “FAA forgiveness!” See: https://bit.ly/FAA-Compliance
Thanks Jamie for the FAA recognition. For those of us who worked SNF it was a pleasure to assist numerous airmen and provide oversight on the Airshow Operations. Our Inspectors have not forgotten where we came from — Military, Air Carrier, GA Operations, Controllers etc — With that rich background most of us will go out of our way to help any airmen. We are like any other organization – some of us have a stronger passion for aviation than others. Continue to reach out to our offices and establish a relationship with our Inspectors and Managers. Come out to a FAAST Meeting and start a connection with an Inspector.
Why has Government grown so afraid of its constituents? The FAA’s doors should be open.
It would be nice if they ever answered their phone.
“I’m form the government and I am here to help you.”
Famous punch line.