AVmail: November 14, 2002

Blakey Fills Her CabinetIn today's AVweb news the article about Marion Blakey's top appointments was very misleading. The article makes it sound like the new administrator is making her selections for the top FAA slots from the commercial world, when in fact they may have once worked for hard money but are all actually swapping business cards from NTSB (where they used to support Ms. Blakey) to their new jobs at FAA. The top picks look like good people but let's be clear about where they are coming from. I was enthused by the thought of new and commercial industry experienced talent joining the FAA only to be let down by reading the official FAA press releases that gave the entire story. The FAA's job gets tougher every day. New organizational ideas, concepts and enthusiasm are mandatory for new top management.

B-29: Restore And RememberDo you have an address where we could send contributions for the B-29 restoration, or are they fully funded? My dad spent his days on one, and we saw the one in Manassas, Va. before my dad passed away.