AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2021 - 12

AOPA ACTION

Headache for GA
AOPA, NBAA say stop jamming GPS
AOPA AND THE NATIONAL Business Aviation Association continue to state that the military's jamming of GPS to simulate outages for defense exercises creates headaches
for general aviation. This is three years after an industry study recommended ways to
minimize the effects.
As reliance on GPS has increased for national defense, intentional jamming events
have occurred " routinely " in the national airspace system. However, " The NAS has
become increasingly reliant on GPS as the primary source of navigation and aircraft
system functionality while reducing the ground based navigational backup infrastructure, " AOPA and NBAA wrote in a joint letter to the FAA and the U.S. Air Force.
Finding a solution to the conflict between civil aviation's growing dependence on
GPS and the proliferation of widespread jamming events is a top AOPA advocacy priority. AOPA is working to educate pilots on measures they can take while airborne if
a GPS jamming event interferes with navigation-including such measures as a " stop
buzzer " alert to air traffic control.
AOPA and NBAA noted that problems persisted even during the past year, calling
attention to recent industry concerns about reduced access to Friedman Memorial
Airport in Hailey, Idaho. The associations urged " further engagement " on how to mitigate the GPS jamming problem.

BAKER ON THE NEWS

" Especially in a time when GA
operations are on the rise, it's
vital that the FAA prioritize GPS
jamming issues. These events compromise the safety of civilian pilots
and negatively impact their ability
to access our nation's airports and
airspace. "

-AOPA President Mark Baker

aopa.org/pilot/gpsjamming

'Great strides' in DPE modernization, AOPA says
AOPA HAS LONG ADVOCATED upgrading the
DPE system and supports the measures the
FAA is taking to modernize the examination-administration process, which most
pilots depend on for practical tests.
In 2020, the association established
a six-member AOPA Designated Pilot
Examiner Advisory Board to guide AOPA's
evaluation of the recommendations on
which the system's overhaul will be based.
Christopher Cooper, AOPA senior director of regulatory affairs, chairs the panel,
whose other members include Catherine

12 | AOPA PILOT May 2021

Cavagnaro, an aerobatics instructor and
professor of mathematics at Sewanee: The
University of the South; David St. George,
a master flight instructor, working charter
pilot, and executive director of the Society
of Aviation and Flight Educators; Alan
Miller, an Airbus A320 pilot with Delta
Air Lines; Janeen Kochan, Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University adjunct assistant
professor, former Boeing 767 captain, and
human-factors instructor for a major U.S.
airline; and Doug Rozendaal, a veteran
warbird and aerobatic pilot.

The working group is responsible
for proposing ways to modernize the
FAA's management of its designated pilot
examiner network and plans to present its package of recommendations this
summer.
Cooper said that although progress on
the working group's agenda was slowed by
the impact of the coronavirus pandemic
throughout 2020, the panel nonetheless
" made great strides " working virtually
toward its 2021 completion.
aopa.org/pilot/DPEgroup

http://www.aopa.org/pilot/gpsjamming http://www.aopa.org/pilot/DPEgroup

AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2021

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