|
United States Pilots Association |
I am constantly asked, "Why should I join USPA? I already belong to AOPA or EAA or NBAA etc." Here is one good reason.
Recently USPA was asked to intercede with the FAA who was attempting to close the RNAV/GPS 29 approach to the single runway at M. Graham Clark Airport (PLK) in Branson, Missouri. Since our Executive Director lives in Branson and keeps her Mooney on that airport, and since USPA uses PLK for the airport of choice when we meet in Branson, the request to assist struck a sympathetic chord.
I promptly looked into the matter and determined that once again, economy was about to triumph over safety, at least from the FAA's point of view. A very direct letter was sent to Nicholas Sabbatini, the number two or three person in the FAA, and he forwarded it, along with numerous others to Thomas Accardi, Director of Aviation Standards in Oklahoma City.
A letter has been received from Mr. Accardi stating the following: The cancellation has now been deferred pending implementation of an RNAV approach for PLK.
Did USPA do this by ourselves? No; there was a lot of supporting help. The airport manager at PLK has been in constant discussions with the FAA right along. Users of the airport wrote in to complain as well. I feel that USPA was instrumental in helping PLK keep their existing approaches until new and better are put in. We don't win them all; but they know we are there.
We operate at the grass roots level in General Aviation. I like to think that nobody does it better than we do. Come to one of our fly out meetings. We hold a three hour business meeting and spend the remainder of a four day weekend at a safety meeting, touring places we probably would not ever get to see, shopping, and best of all; just talking airplanes and flying.
As the saying goes, "Try us, and you will like us," and you will learn reams of information about what is going on in General Aviation.
Steve Uslan, President
United States Pilots Association