AOPA News März 2004
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JOIN US IN TOULOUSE!
The IAOPA World Assembly will be held in Toulouse, France, 20-24 April 2004. The product of the World Agenda is designed to enable worldwide general aviation and aerial work interests to thrive and advance in the years to come. The agenda includes the following subjects:
Seminars, displays, demonstrations, and an airshow will be held at local airports on 24 and 25 April to help celebrate the event. Additionally, a full social program is planned for delegates and their spouses and friends.
Plan to join your fellow international AOPA members in Toulouse. See the web site at http://www.aopa-fr.org/htmltonuke.php?filnavn=./wa2004/iaopa.htm, or contact assembly personnel at WA2004@aopa-fr.org or +33 1 48 35 96 40.
IAOPA President Addresses Eurocontrol
IAOPA President Phil Boyer addressed the annual IAOPA/Eurocontrol Aviation Day meeting in Brussels, 27 February 2004. His basic message to Eurocontrol was, “Access is still the issue: access to airspace and airports are prime considerations for general aviation and aerial work interests in Europe and throughout the world. The rising costs of operation in terms of required equipment and fees restricts our ability to operate economically and freely.”
Boyer praised Eurocontrol for initiating a segmented cost-benefit analysis for all proposed projects. The EMOSIA technique will permit Eurocontrol to objectively evaluate the effects on all types of system users, including GA/AW.
Finally, Boyer targeted new equipment requirements and proposals, including Mode S, 8.33 kHz communications radios, PRNAV and ADS-B, stating, “Many of these devices do little for the more efficient or safe operation of our aircraft. These new devices seriously affect our members ability to continue to operate because of the heavy financial burden they impose and they seldom incorporate features that permit safer and more efficient operation for the user.”
Issues of interest presented at the meeting included:
Phil Boyer Meets with EASA Head On his recent trip to Brussels IAOPA President Boyer met with Patrick Goudou, Executive Director of the European Aviation Safety Agency. EASA is the recently established aviation safety regulator for all European Union countries. Individual countries will no longer set their own aviation standards. Instead, EASA's jurisdiction will include certification of aircraft, parts, and avionics as well as airman certification, licensing, and medicals throughout the EU. Unlike its predecessor, the Joint Aviation Authority (JAA), EASA has the power and authority to enforce its regulations across the EU. Boyer expressed his concern over proliferating regulations for the GA community in Europe, pointing out the high costs and restrictions to operations they bring. He pledged his cooperation with EASA, stating the uniform regulations would make GA flying more standardized and predictable. “If we work together on regulatory issues we can increase aviation safety while controlling the costs involved,” Boyer told Goudou. IAOPA Participates in ICAO Medical Certification Meeting
A review of ICAO Annex 1 medical requirement was undertaken by a working group of 14 state and industry representatives during January in Montreal, Canada; Frank Hofmann represented IAOPA. A number of important issues were discussed and recommendations made to change or retain existing standards. Of greatest significance is that the existing interval for Class 2 medical exams (for private pilots) may be extended to five years for persons under age 40, up from the existing two-year period of validity. This important move was fully supported and assisted by Mr. Hofmann, who commented, “There is little evidence to support retaining the shorter period of medical certification validity imposed on private pilots. There is little evidence that would indicate that pilot incapacitation is a problem.”
Other items of interest include the following recommendations:
Q The spoken word test for hearing evaluation will be retained instead of having to use expensive audiometry equipment. Q Insulin-dependent diabetes, cardiac interventions and arrhythmia, blood/lymphatic diseases and AIDS should continue to be disqualifying conditions.
These recommended changes must be reported to the Air Navigation Commission and ICAO Council before they can be incorporated into Annex 1 as either standards or recommended practices.
AOPA-Panama Fly-Out
Members of AOPA-Panama undertook a group fly-out to El Salvador to participate in the annual Ilopango Airshow. AOPA-Panama President Alfredo Fonseca-Mora, who participated in the event, reported that seven aircraft undertook the lengthy journey as a means of interacting with and meeting other general aviation organizations within the region. He said, “Because of the political instability in the area until recently, there were no contacts between the national aeroclubs in this region. We knew they existed but we did not have the names of their officials or their activities. Now that it is safe to fly in this region we wanted to meet the aviators from these countries.
“We were able to contact the presidents of the aeroclubs of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. I mentioned that the Aeroclub de Panama had recently joined IAOPA and spoke of its advantages. All of them showed interest in knowing more about IAOPA. I believe it will be of benefit for them, and for IAOPA, if more countries are represented.
“We also hope to learn from the Ilogpango experience so that we may hold a major air show in Panama in 2005.”
AOPA-Japan Activities
AOPA-Japan recently achieved the status of a non-profit organization, NPO, from the Cabinet Office. Previously the organization was considered only a private organization, neither controlled nor protected by law. This created a number of disadvantages during negotiations with both government and commercial organizations. The new status enables the association to be more effective in serving its members and the people of Japan.
Since major earthquakes occasionally occur in Japan, the use of a small airplane to assist with an emergency is expected by the government and general population. Recently 14 member airplanes gathered at Hokkaido airport and participated in a disaster prevention drill. Training was conducted that simulated the interruption of main transportation networks due to an earthquake. Coincidently, three weeks after the disaster drill training, a major earthquake occurred in nearby Tokachi. Fortunately existing public transportation networks were largely unaffected despite a major tsunami striking the coast.
A series of safety seminars were conducted jointly with the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau during the past year. The seminars featured the use of projected computer images from a flight simulator to realistically simulate unsafe pilot practices.
Plan to attend the IAOPA World Assembly in Toulouse, France 20-24 April 2004 |
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