Letter of the Week:
The Privatization Trap
HR 4441 (ATC privatization) is a bear trap using austerity for bait. Don’t think for a moment that user fees will stay out of private aviation. Think revenue. Functional ADS-B infrastructure provides a precision billing platform to warm any number of Congressional hearts.
With growing Part 23 and 25 at the front of the line worldwide, the bug-smashers will have to go. Privatizing ATC means that air safety shares space with corporate goals. In other words: Who reviews the bottom line, an FAA inspector or an accounting firm? The FAA is not broken; don’t fix it.
Richard Herbst
The Money Principle
As much scorn as pilots heap on the FAA for being overbearing, rigid, averse to innovation, and, well, government, it’s curious that pilots are against free enterprise taking over the ATC system.
The reason, of course, is that privatization of ATC will probably cost pilots money in fees. Lots of people are against the Big Bad Government except when they get freebees from it (no fees). Pilots are no exception.
There’s an old saying: “If someone says that it’s not money but the principle of the thing, it’s the money.”
Rollin Olson
Drones in Parks
I’m getting tired of reading all about drones in GA publications, especially the weekly pro-drone diatribe on AVweb. You’re so far into the wrong side on the national park drone comments in today’s AVweb Insider that it’s getting ridiculous. National parks are a place of solitude and quiet. People are supposed to keep all noise down and do nothing to spoil the natural experience. It’s also why we have 2,000-foot AGL minimums over some parks that are even more strict at the Grand Canyon.
Drones have no place in national parks. When I go to Yellowstone, I want to see the moose, bear, buffalo, and many beautiful sights, not listen to someone’s weed-whacker annoying all 200 people staring at the beauty of Grand Prismatic Spring.
I own two drones, and I’d never consider it appropriate to fly them inside a national park.
Tim Olson
