Dear Fellow Oceanside Airport Association Member [or other aviation enthusiast],
The future of our ability to take a ride in a vintage aircraft is in jeopardy. The FAA wants to put new rules on operators of vintage aircraft under the guise of enhanced safety. It is my understanding that these new rules will have the effect of putting several hundred operators out of business–this would include the nice Ford Tri-Motor that attended the last OAA BBQ.
These vintage operators already have an excellent safety record. Why do we need more bureaucratic rules? If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. I urge you to read the attached write-up below, and make your comments NOW, and send them NOW to:
1. mailto:[email protected] (Tom Harnish of barnstorming.com will upload your comments into the FAA system for you if you wish)
2. Or, if you are able, you can enter them yourself (it’s a bit tricky), online at FAA NPRM 4521 Comments
The deadline for comments is this Friday. This affects all of us, pilot or not. Only 1500 comments have been made to date, this is not enough to change the ruling. The Oceanside Airport Association is against any changes to the current rules for air tour operators.
Send this to your non-OAA pilot friends so they can comment too.
Thank you for making a difference.
Alan Cruise OAA
URGENT, PLEASE MAKE YOUR OPPOSITION BE KNOWN TO THE FAA ABOUT THEIR “NPRM” TO MAKE VINTAGE AIRCRAFT RIDES
The FAA has proposed a new rule regarding sightseeing and air tours. This new rule will effectively eliminate the opportunity for Americans to purchase an airplane ride in vintage aircraft and warbirds. And that applies to charity flights and Young Eagles rides. The proposed rule is referred to as NPRM-4521 and we need your input to get it stopped.
While AOPA, EAA, NATA, other aviation organizations and individuals have requested open public meetings on this subject; the FAA rejected this request, instead conducting an experimental “On Line Public Meeting” over the Internet. This “on line meeting” is going on now right now and will end this Friday, March 5th.
We are asking that you participate in this meeting by going to the “public meeting” web site (details below) and posting your comments. This is a somewhat cumbersome process, but it is the only way the FAA is allowing public reaction.
The new proposed regulations will basically place operators offering airplane rides in the same category as commercial air carriers and air taxi (Part 135). This is being done under the theory that people selling rides in open-cockpit biplanes or Ford Tri-motors “to and from the same airport” and charity rides are really an airline! Preposterous as this sounds, this is exactly the FAA’s position.
Here is a direct quote from one FAA posting in the “FAA Response Section” on the “public meeting” web site:
This is a direct quote from the FAA: FAA: “WHY DO WE WANT TO REGULATE YOU. Because you look like an airline. A passenger decides to go on an airplane (why doesn’t matter). The airplane operator wants money (donations are money). The passenger is happy if part/all of that money goes to a good cause but wants to go on an airplane anyway. Airplane operator gives the passenger what the passenger paid for. What’s different about you?”.
Despite the fact that there are already regulations for Part 91 operators including commercial pilot qualifications, frequent aircraft inspections, pilot registration, etc., scenes like this could disappear from across America in a few short months. The folks from Waldo Wright’s Flying service who made so many people smile on the National Air Tour (shown above) have written some of the commentary found in this link about the FAA’s Notice of Proposed Rule Making found here:FAA’s Notice of Proposed Rule Making found here:
FAA NPRM 4521 Comments http://dms.dot.gov/search/searchResultsSimple.cfm?numberValue=4521&searchTy pe=docket.
