AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2021 - 14

AOPA ACTION
TOP STOR IES /
Are you kidding?
AOPA challenges ridiculous $1,000 landing fee in Massachusetts
AOPA HAS CAL LED on members in Massachusetts to contact the sponsor of a bill that would
charge a $1,000 " climate mitigation " landing fee on GA aircraft and insist that he withdraw
the broadly panned measure from consideration. The bill, submitted by state Sen. Julian Cyr
(D-Truro), " would have an immediate and devastating impact on general aviation and each
of the state's 39 public-use airports, " said AOPA Eastern Regional Manager Sean Collins.
Passage of the bill could create uncertainty for almost 200,000 aviation industry
employees and jeopardize $24.7 billion
in aviation-supported economic
activity. In contrast to Cyr's punitive approach, NASA
has selected Massachusetts as one of five locations
to develop and implement an Advanced Air Mobility
(AAM) system " that is equitable, sustainable, and integrated
with other transportation systems " and includes
green, cutting-edge technological solutions.
" Senator Cyr should be focused on supporting
change through positive ideas, not costly negative
ideas with huge collateral damage to the residents he
purports to be helping, " Collins said. aopa.org/pilot/
massachusetts
Aviation groups seek to
participate in real-time SUA
notification implementation
IN A LETTER sent to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Secretary
of Defense Lloyd Austin, AOPA and other stakeholders explained that the aviation
industry is in the best position to help implement real-time special-use
airspace notifications. The National Defense Authorization Act, signed on
January 1, requires that real-time status of SUA and military operations areas
be sent to pilots' cockpits. AOPA, other aviation organizations, and companies
such as Garmin and ForeFlight would be key to a successful implementation
of the long-desired and much-needed advancement. The AOPA-championed
effort to provide aviators with real-time status of MOAs and restricted areas
pushed directly into the cockpit will result in enormous savings and environmental
benefits for operators of private, commercial, and military aircraft.
aopa.org/pilot/SUA
Support for NCAA /
The proposed National Center for the
Advancement of Aviation Act, backed by
AOPA and more than 180 organizations,
would create an independent center to foster
collaboration among commercial, general, and
military aviation sectors to address a host of
issues including looming talent shortages.
Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Tammy
Duckworth (D-Ill.), both GA pilots, introduced
the legislation (S.1752) in the Senate along
with Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ron Wyden
(D-Ore.), and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.). A
bipartisan companion bill was introduced in
the House. The center would allow the FAA
to focus on its core priorities of getting more
designated pilot examiners in the field, fixing
the special issuance medical process, ensuring
that our airports remain safe and vibrant, and
continuing to modernize our air traffic system.
aopa.org/pilot/ncaalegislation
14
AOPA PILOT / August 2021

http://www.aopa.org/pilot/massachusetts http://www.aopa.org/pilot/massachusetts http://www.aopa.org/pilot/SUA http://www.aopa.org/pilot/ncaalegislation

AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2021

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