FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt, who was just confirmed to the post in May, got a warm welcome Thursday morning on his first visit to AirVenture Oshkosh, where he gave a short talk and took questions from the audience in the Honda Forum Pavilion on Thursday morning. But before getting started, Babbitt honored EAA founder Paul Poberezny with a Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, “in recognition of a life of service to aviation [and] a life of service to your country … on behalf of a grateful nation.” Babbitt read a long list of Poberezny’s accomplishments, and ended, “This last one is the one that makes me stop. He’s piloted nearly 500 different types of aircraft, more than 170 of them amateur-built.” Babbitt then read his prepared speech (click here for the full text), noting that GA’s safety record is improving, serious runway incursions are down 70 percent in the last year, the LSA experiment is working out well, and NextGen will provide valuable services for GA without imposing undue costs. He wrapped up by urging all pilots to cultivate a professional attitude toward every flight to promote safety. Tom Poberezny then joined Babbitt on stage for the Q&A.
When asked what he would do about concerns that the TSA has become too heavy-handed with GA pilots and operators, Babbitt drew a cheer from the crowd when he answered: “I’ll just call the president and tell him I’m taking the TSA back.” (The TSA now is part of the Department of Homeland Security.) But he went on to say that part of the problem is that right now he has no counterpart at TSA to deal with, and until a new administrator is named, there is not much he can do. But he said he expects that to change soon, and when it does, “I am going to do what I can to get this issue resolved.” Babbitt drew warm cheers from the audience when one questioner noted that it’s good to have an FAA administrator with an aviation background — Babbitt started to fly at age 16 and was an airline pilot for over 20 years. On several questions, Babbitt deferred to senior staff who were more intimately familiar with issues. One questioner concerned about delays in field approvals was assured that new standardization initiatives are now in the works and should help to improve the situation soon. Another questioner was told that a new rule is being hashed out now to address pilot fatigue issues and flight duty rules. “An aviation rulemaking committee has been formed and they were told they have a 45-day deadline … look for a new rule by the end of this year,” Babbitt said. He also said he is not too concerned that user fees are going to become a reality. “I don’t see any great charge out there…. [of] anyone rushing in to impose user fees,” he said. The new administration is investigating all the options, he said, “But at the end of the day I think we will find a way to continue to support the great system we have [without user fees].” Babbitt’s speech is posted on the FAA Web site.
