With a new administration preparing to take over in Washington next January, AOPA’s incoming president, Craig Fuller, met with members of the Department of Transportation transition team on Monday to press the case for GA. Fuller, along with AOPA Executive Vice President of Government Affairs Andy Cebula, met with Mortimer Downey, head of the DOT transition team; Duane Woerth, former president of the Air Line Pilots Association (and touted as the next FAA administrator); and Jane Garvey, former FAA administrator (and maybe the next Secretary of Transportation). Fuller told the team that priorities for general aviation pilots include quickly naming a well-qualified FAA administrator; investing in aviation infrastructure; addressing proposed regulations that target aviation gasoline, emissions, and noise; modernizing the Air Traffic Control system without placing undue burdens on GA aircraft owners; and ensuring that aviation taxes (not user fees) pay for the FAA.
Fuller also suggested that GA should be included in the new administration’s economic stimulus package. Many airport projects could be ready to go as soon as funding was received, he said. Fuller also recommended that the administration should delay the implementation of ADS-B until the aviation industry can develop an implementation plan that would benefit all users. He will take over Phil Boyer’s job at AOPA on Jan. 1.
