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United States Pilots Association |
For those in the Springfield, MO, area departing Thursday for the USPA flyin/meeting in San Antonio, please note there may be Presidential TFRs over Springfield from 9:00 p.m. local on Thursday through 11:10 a.m. local on Friday, plus other smaller GA no-fly zones. Affected are 3DW, SGF, MO2, 2K2, M17, 2H2, H58, H17, and 2MO.
Jan Hoynacki, Executive Director
United States Pilots Association
USPA President Steve Uslan has sent a letter to the city of Branson, MO, regarding their efforts to force Branson Aircraft Repair located at the M. Graham Clark/Taney County Airport to change its name because it is not physically located within the City of Branson. In looking through the Branson phone book, there are many other businesses not located in Branson using the Branson name.
If you have an opinion on this issue, please send it to the Branson City Council at 110 W. Maddux Street, Branson, MO 65616, with a copy to me (jan@uspilots.org) and Steve (airone@troychestnut.com).
"STEPHEN D. USLAN
President-United States Pilots Association
#2 Rocky Place
Odessa, TX 79762
432-556-0120
October 30, 2006
Branson City Council Members
City of Branson
110 W. Maddux Street
Branson, MO 65616
Re: Job Lawler DBA Branson Aircraft Repair
Gentlemen:
It has come to my attention and our ten thousand plus members all over the country that the City of Brason is attempting to force Mr. Lawler to change the name of his business.
First of all what you are attempting to do is confiscation without due payment; assuming you are correct in your endeavor and I am making no such assumption. Mr. Lawler has been in business at the Taney County Airport for many years and where does the City of Branson get off attempting to force a business not even within the City of Branson’s limits to change its name? Further, has the City Council threatened the Springfield-Branson Airport to change its name? I think not.
Mr. Lawler carries liability insurance indemnifying the County of Taney for any liability claims up to $1,000,000 and naming the County as Additional Insured. A waiver of subrogation in favor of tie county can be added at no expense. Perhaps, if the City of Branson thought they had a need to seek the same indemnity, and if the City of Branson were willing to pay Mr. Lawler the cost of the additional insurance, this matter could go away.
Please be advised this matter will not go away on its own volition nor will the USPA and our membership cease assisting Mr. Lawler in his defense against your absurd demands. You may be sure that if this matter proceeds any further, legal intervention will result, along with the further involvement of several other aviation organizations as well. A discussion with the FAA in Washington will take place which could cost Taney County many thousands of dollars if they are found to have violated any rules regarding the taking of monies for airport improvements, etc.
I personally will come to Branson and speak to your civic clubs and the Chamber of Commerce concerning your obvious anti business attitudes. USPA holds an annual meeting in Branson every two years and this will cease to happen if this matter continues."
Jan Hoynacki, Executive Director
United States Pilots Association
Assisting VP Meetings Arnold Zimmerman, USPA Secretary Ken Hermach suggests another great program in San Antonio during our flyin/meeting there this coming weekend, in case you don't already have a full schedule planned! You can check out the details by Googling Lackland AFB. Parking and admission are free.
Welcome
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE
The “Gateway to the Air Force” is proud to welcome you to AirFest 2006 which takes to the skies over San Antonio, Texas, Nov. 4-5. The event will be held at historic Kelly Field. It is free and open to the general public.
The electrifying Air Force aerial demonstration team The Thunderbirds and the ever-popular Army parachute-jumping demonstration team The Golden Knights will be the main headliners in a two-day event full of aerial antics, aircraft displays and more.
Other scheduled military aerial demonstrations featured include the Navy SEAL Leap Frogs, F-15 Eagle, A-10 Thunderbolt II and the F/A-18 Hornet. Several Warbirds will perform-- Tora, Tora, Tora is a re-enactment of Pearl Harbor with breathtaking smoke, fire and explosions from the pyrotechnics team; the B-25 and B-17, along with the Heritage P-51 Flight and many more. Commercial aircraft performances will include a family favorite OTTO, the performing helicopter, the amazing John Klatts (Staudacher S-300D) aerobatic performance and the United States Air Force Reserve Jet Car.
Almost 30 aircraft static displays will also be on hand allowing visitors an up close look at today’s U.S. military airpower. Aircraft lining the flightline will include the F-22, C-17 Globemaster III, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and UH-1 Huey among many others.
We hope you will join us Nov. 4-5 for the best AirFest yet!
Jan Hoynacki, Executive Director
United States Pilots Association
For a video of the fatal Cory Lidle flight on a simulator, go to
http://www.silive.com/news/advance/video/index.ssf?Simulator.
Steve Uslan, President
United States Pilots Association
I've been asked several times why the M. Graham Clark/Taney County Airport does not list their fuel prices at www.airnav.com. In conversation with airport manager Mark Parent today, he advises there is a charge for them to list their fuel prices on that website. Therefore, in keeping with their efforts to maintain the lowest fuel prices possible, they are not subscribing to this service.
However, Mark points out that they keep their current fuel prices listed on their own website at www.taneycountyairport.com. He further indicated they keep their fuel prices within the bottom 25% of area prices, and they appreciate our business.
Jan Hoynacki, Executive Director
United States Pilots Association
AvWeb on Wednesday October 25th put out an article titled: IS FAA STACKING THE DECK ON USER FEES? It appears there has been a high level resignation from within the FAA. A new replacement has come on board, and just try to guess where she came from. Would you believe Northwest Airlines? We know Marion Blakey, Administrator of the FAA, wants user fees. Now we have the proverbial fox (no pun intended or implied) loose in the henhouse. We also know that the airlines, with the President of Northwest Airlines leading the charge, wants user fees installed and assessed so that they, the airlines, can benefit from reduced costs to them. This at a time when all know and understand that the current method of ticket taxes and fuel taxes are doing just fine carrying the burden of financing the FAA. Megan Rosia in her new job with the FAA will be the agency's chief liason with the congress and industry groups during the coming fights over reauthorizing the FAA and finding ways to pay for all of its programs.
I say it is high time the FAA put an individual representing General Aviation into a similar position as liason to GA. This person would act as a buffer to keep the FAA NEUTRAL over the issue of user fees. I do not believe the FAA should be favoring one segment of aviation over another. It is high time we stop this nonsense and restore the FAA to what they do best: regulate the air traffic control system in an unbiased manner.
Unless and until we as GA pilots and owners do something, we are going to wake up one day and see Northwest Airlines or someone similar controlling the skies, charging exorbitant fees to subsidize the airlines, and generally making a huge mess out of a system that appears to be performing just fine as is. Someone a lot smarter than me said it a long time ago. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Steve Uslan, President
United States Pilots Association
It's been called to my attention that several USPA members who indicated they would attend the upcoming flyout in San Antonio have not yet registered for it. Please do that now. I know it's easy to have time slip up on you. I was one who hadn't registered yet! But I have now! We're looking to a fun time and an important meeting.
Also, if you're a USPA Board Member representing your affiliated state, or a USPA officer, and cannot attend the meeting, please send me a proxy or send it with someone else who will be attending, in order that we might have a quorum to conduct business. A proxy form follows for your convenience. Emailing it is fine.
The next meeting after San Antonio will be in Vicksburg, MS, March 15-18. Put that on your calendar now. I was down there to check it out, and there's plenty there to interest all. I have been advised that USPA will be conducting the first ever Safety Seminar at the Vicksburg/Tallulah Airport (KTVR).
See you in San Antonio!
Jan Hoynacki, Executive Director
USPA
In 2004 the NMPA and USPA attended some scoping meeting regarding the USAF NM Training Initiative Environmental Impact Study where the USAF proposed to increase the air space usage. Both NMPA and USPA argued for increased radio and radar coverage. Since I was not president of NMPA at that time I am not that familiar with the details. Carter DuBois was NMPA president, but the current USPA president Steve Uslan was then USPA president. For the results of that impact study go to www.cannon.af.mil.
Go to the right side, near the top and find NMTRI Environmental Impact Study 2006, and you can get the 800 page report. Ron Keller brought this to my attention.
The comments of NMPA and USPA are a part of the study. You don't need to read all 800 pages to get the gist of the results of the EIS. Check out the Executive Summary and some of the page thereafter. Go to the section which has the listing of all the comments and note the number asigned to NMPA and USPA's comments. Then track down in the list of commenters and the EIS responses.
Two things that are interesting about this study. When it began, it was to get air space for high speed jets to practice combat training needed in the middle east (mostly F 16s). But since BRAC is having the F 16 unit at Cannon leaving in FY 2008, the EIS states that there is a new mission at Cannon, the SO Wing moving in. Several other links, etc. on this Cannon website also address the movement to Cannon of the SO Wing.
Bob Worthington, President
New Mexico Pilots Association
and Vice President, USPA
This information regarding UAVs was sent by USPA President Bob Worthington.
NMPA member Richard Nichols sent me this website on UAVs. Go to www.flightglobal.com and click on UAVs on the left for info on the world of UAVs. I found only one positive article while most wrote about crashes, problems, and airspace management issues.
I contacted an FAA Air Traffic Management office and learned that the FAA does certify UAVs to fly about. Apparently an institution or agency who wants to test fly UAVs can get certification of authorization from the FAA to fly them. The authorization with the FAA specifies where it will be flown,how it will be flown, when, and what kind of visual contact must be maimtained. Each certification of authorization is different. I asked if the FAA has any regulations which describe what general information must be in any authorization but the office didn't know but would check it out and get back to me.
So if you are interested in UAVs check out the above website.
Bob Worthington, President
New Mexico Pilots Association
Jan Hoynacki, Executive Director
United States Pilots Association
A call from the San Antonio Radisson indicated very few rooms had been reserved for the USPA flyout/meeting to be held there November 2-5. The hotel reservation cutoff date is Monday, October 16. The caller indicated that with non-blocked bookings coming in the way they are for that time period, they won’t be able to hold our USPA block of rooms past October 16, and there simply may be no rooms left.
So RESERVE YOUR ROOM NOW! I know of several people who indicated they intend to go, but they haven’t booked their rooms or registered yet. Remember, you can now register and also pay your registration fee on line at www.uspilots.org.
See you in SAT.
Jan Hoynacki, Executive Director
United States Pilots Association
UAVs are unmanned aerial vehicles, the most common being the military "Predator" drone used in Iraq and Afghanistan. USPA has taken issue with the willy nilly operation of these aircraft in the Southwestern United States because there is no air traffic control facility monitoring or controlling their operations. The New Mexico Pilots Association is deeply concerned over the operations of these machines along the interstate 10 corridor, north of the Mexican border and into Arizona. There have been several crashes, at least one due to computer failure. This is a big issue now that the USAF is moving some 3,500 men and 90 aircraft into Cannon AFB in Eastern New Mexico. These things may well be flying around day and night (no lights at night) in areas regularly used by civilian aircraft. The Air Force has put this movement of men and aircraft on a fast track, and I have no doubt this will become another fight for airspace usage.
Now comes an even more disturbing development. Here comes the "invisible" drone. VeraTech, a Minnesota company, continues work on an aircraft that uses the principle of "persistence of vision" to make itself appear as nothing more than a blur against the sky. The physics of operation of this spinning vehicle are complicated, but there are models flying. VeraTech says cameras could be mounted on the drones and provide panoramic images, after decoding by computer. The Predators are the size of Cessna four-seat aircraft. You can see it during the day when it is flying. How do you see and identify a "Blur"? This information was extracted from the AvWeb Flash of Thursday October 5, 2006 issue.
On another subject dear to all of us the NBAA convention this year will host representatives from GAMA, AOPA, EAA, NATA, and NBAA in a seminar protesting the proposed imposition of user fees on general aviation. The discussion will center on the airline industry attempt to foist $2 billion of their costs onto GA, and to try to gain effective control of the National Airspace system as well. Of course the airlines, through their lobbying organization, The Air Transport Association (ATA) claim they are subsidizing you and me. Frankly, when the retiring President of America West Airlines walks away from his position with $49 million dollars, give or take a few, I say, “Airlines, clean your own houses before you come looking for somebody else to bail you out.”
I was pleased to see the appointment of Mary Peters as Secretary of Transportation. I feared that Marion Blakey might get the position which would not have boded well for GA. I found it interesting that Ms. Peters’ seat was not even warm when the President of AOPA dropped by for a "frank discussion" with her. One wonders whether Ms. Peters has found out the FAA is operating on a surplus of funds generated in no small part by the taxes we all pay on fuel purchases and that there is no foreseeable need for "user fees" to be imposed. I suggest that Ms. Peters call a meeting of all of the alphabet organizations representing general aviation, including USPA and the larger state associations, to give her a truer picture of what is really going on. The airlines should not be rewarded for shoddy management and antiquated thinking. Actually, I would like to see the airlines go back to government regulation, etc. where they all made money.
Steve Uslan, President
United States Pilots Association
Because of two similar emails I received, I mistakenly confused the dates of the Midland International Airport (MAF) airshow.
Please note that this event is taking place THIS WEEKEND, October 6-8.
I apologize for any problems I may have caused by mistakenly putting the dates of November 4-5 into President Steve’s article.
This weekend (10/6-8) is the Commemorative Air Force show at Midland International Airport (MAF). Aside from the WWII planes, both the Air Force F-15 demo team and the Navy F-18 demo team are flying both Saturday and Sunday from noon to
5:30PM. I don't know about NOTAMs and TFRs, but our skies will be busy. Heads up!
Regards,
Steve Uslan, President
USPA
Jan Hoynacki, Executive Director
United States Pilots Association
This weekend (11/4-5) is the Commemorative Air Force show at Midland International Airport (MAF). Aside from the WWII planes, both the Air Force F-15 demo team and the Navy F-18 demo team are flying both Saturday and Sunday from noon to
5:30PM. I don't know about NOTAMs and TFRs, but our skies will be busy. Heads up!
Regards,
Steve Uslan, President
USPA