Sequestration and the FAA Considered
I believe that the media is overblowing the sequestration issues and budget cuts at the federal level when it comes to the Federal Aviation Administration and our local airports.
You see, when they noted that they were going to shut down the control towers at a number of smaller airports everyone thought that would be terrible for safety.
It isn't really like that, but most people don't understand how general aviation works.
You see, when there is no control tower the aircraft and their pilots talk to each other using common frequencies - Multi-com or Unicom frequencies; 122.
9 or 122.
8 for instance.
Most of the smaller commuter aircraft are flown by pilots just out of multi-engine flight school and under 2000-hours, so they don't have all that many hours, and they are quite used to using smaller airports that don't have control towers.
Yes, they have to look out a little bit more and watch for traffic and be a little more careful, but they are also flying aircraft that are going slower, smaller turboprops, not a lot of them are flying large passenger jets to these smaller airports.
They're flying commuter aircraft.
So it's not as dangerous as you might be led to believe by the media during this time of political bantering.
There was an interesting article in the Wichita Business Journal on March 22, 2013 titled; "FAA to close 149 airport control towers, five in Kansas," by Daniel McCoy which stated; "The Federal Aviation Administration announced it will close 149 airport control towers nationwide, beginning April 7, part of cuts triggered by federal budget sequestration.
" There was also an article in our local paper the Ventura County Star titled; "County Fights Airport Tower Losses," by Cheri Carlson.
These types of scare tactics are quite uncalled for, and they make passengers feel that aircraft are unsafe or that the FAA will not be doing their job.
The reality is that the Federal Aviation Administration has been so stringent and hard on small business people in the aviation sector that they've all but ruined general aviation.
It would actually be a blessing in disguise if the FAA packed up and left many of the smaller airports and let those airports run themselves with the local airport manager, and allowing the pilots to work amongst themselves.
Now there will be many people who disagree with this, but as a pilot I'm amazed at how the TSA, and the FAA have hurt all the little aviation companies out there, and made it tough for them to make a living.
Being able to fly is about the greatest freedom you can ever have, and we need more of that, not less of it.
Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.
You see, when they noted that they were going to shut down the control towers at a number of smaller airports everyone thought that would be terrible for safety.
It isn't really like that, but most people don't understand how general aviation works.
You see, when there is no control tower the aircraft and their pilots talk to each other using common frequencies - Multi-com or Unicom frequencies; 122.
9 or 122.
8 for instance.
Most of the smaller commuter aircraft are flown by pilots just out of multi-engine flight school and under 2000-hours, so they don't have all that many hours, and they are quite used to using smaller airports that don't have control towers.
Yes, they have to look out a little bit more and watch for traffic and be a little more careful, but they are also flying aircraft that are going slower, smaller turboprops, not a lot of them are flying large passenger jets to these smaller airports.
They're flying commuter aircraft.
So it's not as dangerous as you might be led to believe by the media during this time of political bantering.
There was an interesting article in the Wichita Business Journal on March 22, 2013 titled; "FAA to close 149 airport control towers, five in Kansas," by Daniel McCoy which stated; "The Federal Aviation Administration announced it will close 149 airport control towers nationwide, beginning April 7, part of cuts triggered by federal budget sequestration.
" There was also an article in our local paper the Ventura County Star titled; "County Fights Airport Tower Losses," by Cheri Carlson.
These types of scare tactics are quite uncalled for, and they make passengers feel that aircraft are unsafe or that the FAA will not be doing their job.
The reality is that the Federal Aviation Administration has been so stringent and hard on small business people in the aviation sector that they've all but ruined general aviation.
It would actually be a blessing in disguise if the FAA packed up and left many of the smaller airports and let those airports run themselves with the local airport manager, and allowing the pilots to work amongst themselves.
Now there will be many people who disagree with this, but as a pilot I'm amazed at how the TSA, and the FAA have hurt all the little aviation companies out there, and made it tough for them to make a living.
Being able to fly is about the greatest freedom you can ever have, and we need more of that, not less of it.
Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.
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