AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2021 - 14

AOPA ACTION VIEW FROM CAPITOL HILL
A lofty privilege
General aviation in the U.S. must be protected
BY JIM COON
PILOTS ARE UNDOUBTEDLY some of the
most accomplished and skilled individuals
to be found anywhere in the world. This
unique experience of controlled flight is a
compliment to American ingenuity, perseverance,
and fortitude. Today, the United
States accounts for nearly 80 percent of the
world's general aviation pilot population.
What we have in this country is simply special
and we must never take it for granted.
If we want to continue to enjoy this
freedom of flight and pass it along to the
next generation of aviators, we all must
continue to be passionate about aviation
and serve as its strongest advocates. We
must do it together at all levels-local, state,
federal, and international.
Many often overlook advocacy until
they are directly impacted. But protecting
the freedom to fly is a core component
of AOPA's daily mission. It has defined our
collective efforts over the past 82 years.
In fact, AOPA was formed in 1939 for this
very reason. Continuing to serve members
and the general aviation community in the
nation's capital and in states and communities
across America is a necessity if we are
going to preserve, safeguard, and expand
this amazing gift of flight.
General aviation starts at the airport.
Your local airport. To support the more
than 210,000 active GA aircraft in the
United States-with more than 25 million
hours flown annually-we must ensure the
positive health of our 19,000 airports and
other landing facilities nationwide. These
include public and private airports, backcountry
strips, heliports, and seaplane bases.
The all-volunteer AOPA Airport Support
Network of nearly 2,000 dedicated members
serving at their local airports is one
of the most effective tools in helping our
airports thrive. These volunteers remain
essential to protecting and promoting general
aviation and, as important, educating
14 | AOPA PILOT July 2021
local decision-makers about the benefits
of GA. As you well know, our airports not
only serve private pilots for business and
pleasure, but also support vital medical
evacuations, search and rescue, disaster
relief, law enforcement, and the economic
well-being of local communities.
Many airport boards are filled with
well-intentioned active community leaders
but, unfortunately, all too often they
have little or no background in airports or
aviation. Our volunteers and our state and
local advocacy employees often guide and
assist them, but we all need to be part of
this education process. This needs to be
a continual effort as airport board members
and airport managers often turn over
every few years.
Let me point to one excellent example
of AOPA coming together with the community
to make a real difference. In Glenwood
Springs, Colorado, the city council voted
to shorten the municipal airport's (GWS)
runway by a vote of 6 to 1. Following the
vote, our ASN volunteer, Eric Strautman,
reached out to AOPA's airport advocacy
team. Together with several hundred
pilots of the Friends of Glenwood Springs
Airport, local citizens, and political advocates,
we educated the city council on the
impacts of its decision; ultimately, the council
voted to overturn its earlier decision by
a 4-to-3 vote. Many stories like this often
go unnoticed and while we don't prevail on
all of them, it proves that being active and
working together makes a difference. And,
it shows that teamwork with members,
volunteers, and the general aviation community
is a powerful force for good.
Our AOPA team engages in hundreds
of airport issues, small and large, each year.
We are there for a wide range of matters:
land-use, hangars, safety, the threat of closure
(such as Reid-Hillview in California,
Dillingham Airfield in Hawaii, and East
JIM COON
Senior Vice President
of Government Affairs
Hampton in New York), or a reduction in
GA ramp space and hangar space, respectively,
at Renton and Boeing Field in
Washington.
While airports are key to our advocacy
efforts, they are just one of the many
focal points on which your dedicated AOPA
advocacy team works in support of general
aviation. We continue to address needed
reforms to the FAA's medical process, especially
the special issuance process, FBO
pricing and fee transparency, pilot and
aircraft certification, drone integration,
STEM-based aviation programs, air traffic
control, taxes and fees, airport funding,
environmental issues, and needed reforms
to ensure designated pilot examiners are
more readily available. These are just a
few, but all are important to protecting and
growing general aviation.
We still have much work to do in all of
these areas and whether we are on offense
or defense, it is important for you to know
that as an AOPA member you have a dedicated
and experienced advocacy team that
is engaged. Whether in city council meetings,
state legislatures, Congress, or at the
international level, your advocacy team is
effectively working on your behalf.
While everything may look easy from a
distance, it is the collective interests, constructive
ideas, and passion that makes
advocacy work. From inspiring others
through your aviation experiences or getting
to know your airport manager or local
and federal elected officials, it all makes
a difference. Let's continue to do this
together!
AOPA
EMAIL jim.coon@aopa.org
JIM COON spent 25 years on Capitol
Hill in several senior staff positions,
including staff director for the U.S.
House of Representatives Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure.
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2021
