ATC Fees: EAA Cuts Its Losses

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If theres an aviation version ofrealpolitik, we saw it on Friday when EAA announced its caving in to FAA demands that the association pay for air traffic services at AirVenture. This decision will be bitterly disappointing for many members, while others will just accept it as the cost of doing business and an inevitability. Its no secret that some of us in aviation think weshouldpay for such extended FAA services such as those at AirVenture and Sun n Fun.

Im not among them, so mark me down as disappointed. While Im not philosophically opposed in principle to special interests paying for what they use, what the FAA is doing at AirVenture (and Sun n Fun) is basically a protection racket and government malfeasance under the guise of being strapped by its own regulations. Heres why: Despite the fact that Oshkosh is a contract tower, the FAA has heretofore insisted that onlyitcan provide the overflow services that AirVenture requires. And since they do this the FAA way, that means about twice as many bodies as a private contractor would require to do the same work and hence EAA, and by extension, its members, get stuck with a bill of over $400,000. This has been described as paying for the same services twice and thats exactly what it appears to be for reasons Ill get to.

If theres any bright side to this sordid mess, its that EAA extracted from the FAA an understanding that if it can find a better deal in the future, it can pursue that with FAA support. Furthermore, the agreement stipulates that EAA will be involved in oversight and reviews to control costs related to ATC services. But is this a hollow victory? In the very next sentence in EAAs announcement, Jack Pelton said he doesnt see contracting the AirVenture ATC services as viable for the foreseeable future. Foreseeable is a long time or at least through 2022.

Now for therealpolitikpart. Its obvious from the detailedquestion sectionthat EAA provided that the good fight we thought EAA had engaged in with the FAA was evolving into a suicide mission. EAAs petition for relief in the U.S. Seventh District Appeals Court, regardless of its merit, placed AirVenture 2014 in jeopardy. And thats only four months away. In its statement, EAA essentially said it most needed stable, predictable services so it negotiated the best deal it could and got a long-term agreement. Honestly, I cant say Id have done any different. At some point, reality rules.

Many smaller airshows in the same circumstance were hoping EAAs larger resources would carry the day in their behalf. Not gonna happen. If any of those airports have towers now and need additional services for an event, theyll either have to pay the FAA or cancel the events. Some will do the latter. Those that dont have towers should just run like Copperstate does, with no FAA help and an advisory traffic service.

In the current poisonous political environment, the notion that one of governments jobs is to provide basic infrastructure for safety and economic growth has been lost. Air traffic control is basic infrastructure. Its completely misguided to say that at AirVenture, ATC is for the pleasure of a spoiled bunch of rich hobbyists flying their airplanes into an annual summer bash. For the Oshkosh area alone, the regional governments estimate an impact of more that $100 million a year which translates to jobs and economic growth.

And for hundreds of companies, at a time when the industry has been in the tank for almost six years, AirVenture represents a critical part of their marketing and outreach plans. More investment, more jobs, more growth. GA, as an industry, shouldnt have to apologize to anyone nor be overcharged for infrastructure the government is supposed to provide. Although we cant put numbers on it, its probably true that user fees have a far greater chilling effect in lost business-including taxes-than anything the government might hope to recover in levying them. For the dwindling few in GA, the psychological effect alone is enough for many to pull the plug.

What should have happened? First of all, I am skeptical of EAAs claim that a full-up contractor couldnt provide ATC services at AirVenture or couldnt do it more cheaply than the FAA. I dont have the numbers so I guess I have to give EAA the benefit of the doubt, but it doesnt pass the smell test. When I spoke to George Cline of AirBoss-a contract company-a year ago about this, he said his company could staff the show and do so economically. He reaffirmed that today. In the aviation press, weve fallen into the habit of writing isnt-that-amazing stories about all the pink-shirted controllers at OSH and perhaps the resulting hagiography implies that there has be scores of them to make it work. But times change.Insurance might be an issue, but events riskier than AirVenture get insurance, so Im not buying that as a showstopper.

What it would really take, then, is someone in the FAA with the will to make this work rather than the usual knee-jerk reaction to find ways that it wont. That would mean beginning from the premise that EAA would find its own contractor, determine its own level of services required, negotiate the price and have the FAA willingly standing by to provide assistance at every step, including issuing the temporary tower operator certs and other details.

Maybe thats where EAA sort of ended up with its current agreement. But to make it work in spirit, someone in the agency would have to own the AirVenture challenge and be its undying champion. Of course, idiotcracy in government doesnt work that way. They dont have rainmakers; they have bureaucrats who hand things off to other bureaucrats who just retired or transferred to the next big three-letter cash cow program.

What was so inspiring about EAAs decision to take this to court was the sheer, hell-for-leather audacity of it. Finally, here was an alphabet with a bone in its teeth.While I fully understand the decision EAA made and Ill remain a loyal member-and you should, too–it sure would have been nice for at least something in aviation to end with a roar rather than the way it always does, with a whimper.

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