Capital Comments

When the Senate decided to put the FAA long-term reauthorization on the floor for discussion this week after it finally passed out of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, it was hoped by many that this would be the time to give the agency some stability, but it was not to be. Since Sept. 30, […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Many pilots and aircraft owners breathed a huge sigh of relief when President Obama’s budget for 2011 did not contain user fees, but none of the groups working Washington have let their guards down. Not only do user fees remain an issue, but security has raised its ugly head in the wake […]

John Baker, president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association after long-time head “Doc” Hartranft, died Thursday morning in Angier, N.C,. where he lived with his wife Kathy. Baker was president of AOPA from 1977 to 1991, just the second person to fill that position. Before taking over the top leadership post at AOPA, he […]

A retired major general with 35 years experience in the intelligence community has been nominated by President Obama to head the Transportation Security Administration. He is Gen. Robert Harding, who retired in 2001 and, in 2003, founded Harding Security Associates, a company of more than 400 professionals providing security solutions to U.S. government agencies. At […]

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure has approved reauthorization of the National Transportation Safety Board, increasing funding each year over the next four, the reauthorization period. The bill now goes to the full House for approval. Funding starts at $117.4 million in fiscal year 2011 and increases to $124.2 million in 2014. These levels […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Vern Ehlers, Republican Congressman from Michigan’s third district and a strong supporter of general aviation, will not run for reelection this fall. He has served 16 years in the House of Representatives and often been in the forefront of supporting general aviation. Ehlers has expressed openly in Congressional hearings that he had […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — After several years of making forward steps in building public and government support for general aviation, a single act by a disturbed individual saw the industry lose some ground and, again, bring the alphabet groups into an all-hands-on-deck mode of damage control. The individual who deliberately crashed his Piper Cherokee into the […]

Aircraft shipments and billings were down in 2009 from the year before and, for the first time, more than half the business jets went to customers outside of North America, with export billings accounting for more than half all aircraft sales. This was reported at the annual industry review held today by the General Aviation […]

The FAA has announced changes to the Sport Pilot regulations, addressing issues the agency says have arisen since it first issued the rules for Light Sport Aircraft in 2004. The amendments, which become effective April 2, also will bring Sport Pilot ratings more in line with requirements for other ratings, according to FAA officials. The […]