If you’re shopping on Amazon, going to Smile will donate a portion of Amazon’s proceeds to EAA1541. You’ll need to start each session at: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/46-1152420.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Thursday night narrowly approved HR 4441, the Aviation Innovation, Reform and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act of 2016, sending it to the full House. As EAA has maintained since the notion of ATC privatization first emerged last summer, your organization is committed to fighting this legislation that would be ominous for grassroots aviation and a power grab by the nation’s airlines.

EAA members will soon be asked to raise their voices to their elected representatives when Congress returns on Feb. 22 from a weeklong recess. Although the possibility of ATC privatization legislation had been anticipated for several months, it is only possible to directly react when specific legislation is introduced. That occurred last week. The contents of the bill were withheld by its sponsor, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pennsylvania), until just before the hearing and committee markup sessions that occurred this week. That left little opportunity for anyone to review or comment on the bill’s contents. In the coming days, you’ll find out exactly how YOU can make a difference in this debate.

“As one congressman said this week, this would be the biggest divestment of taxpayer property to private interests in world history, so why have the bill’s authors been so secretive about its contents prior to introduction and now so determined to hurriedly ramrod it through Congress?” asked EAA CEO/chairman Jack Pelton. “ATC privatization will put the big squeeze on general aviation in a way that threatens the individual freedom of flight and hands control of America’s airspace to commercial and airline interests.”

As EAA wrote in our statement for the record to a House hearing earlier this week, their opposition is due to several factors:

• A privatized ATC system would take services away from federal oversight and place them in the hands of a board controlled by those with the greatest financial resources;
• Threats to access and services for general aviation and rural airports without commercial service;
• An ATC board weighted toward airlines and commercial aviation, creating conflicts of interest;
• Loss of FAA control over safety oversight, while creating a large parallel bureaucracy;
• Creation of a congressionally mandated monopoly managed by private interests;
• Unlimited civil and tort liability for a new ATC corporation, which could financially cripple such a system.

“While some amendments were introduced to the bill in an attempt to buy off general aviation, the notion of ATC privatization is a non-starter on all levels,” Pelton said. “Such a shift will not save the government any money or reduce any bureaucracy. We have been tirelessly letting lawmakers know this in the halls of Congress. Shortly, we will be calling upon EAA members to let their lawmakers know that we see through this charade.”

The new Wings and Words is here.

We’ve also put the January and February editions on the web page, so you can look for specific articles.

John at TGH Aviation has pointed out that in January 2016 the price to upgrade an older Garmin 430 to a WAAS unit will go up significantly, so if you’re thinking about a WAAS upgrade, now might be the time.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced a streamlined and user-friendly web-based aircraft registration process for owners of small unmanned aircraft (UAS) weighing more than 0.55 pounds (250 grams) and less than 55 pounds (approx. 25 kilograms) including payloads such as on-board cameras.

The Registration Task Force delivered recommendations to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta and Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx on November 21. The rule incorporates many of the task force recommendations.

“Make no mistake: unmanned aircraft enthusiast are aviators, and with that title comes a great deal of responsibility,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Registration gives us an opportunity to work with these users to operate their unmanned aircraft safely. I’m excited to welcome these new aviators into the culture of safety and responsibility that defines American innovation.”

Registration is a statutory requirement that applies to all aircraft. Under this rule, any owner of a small UAS who has previously operated an unmanned aircraft exclusively as a model aircraft prior to December 21, 2015, must register no later than February 19, 2016. Owners of any other UAS purchased for use as a model aircraft after December 21, 2015 must register before the first flight outdoors. Owners may use either the paper-based process or the new streamlined, web-based system. Owners using the new streamlined web-based system must be at least 13 years old to register.

Owners may register through a web-based system at: www.faa.gov/uas/registration

Registrants will need to provide their name, home address and e-mail address. Upon completion of the registration process, the web application will generate a Certificate of Aircraft Registration/Proof of Ownership that will include a unique identification number for the UAS owner, which must be marked on the aircraft.

Owners using the model aircraft for hobby or recreation will only have to register once and may use the same identification number for all of their model UAS. The registration is valid for three years.

The normal registration fee is $5, but in an effort to encourage as many people as possible to register quickly, the FAA is waiving this fee for the first 30 days (from Dec. 21, 2015 to Jan 20, 2016).

“We expect hundreds of thousands of model unmanned aircraft will be purchased this holiday season,” said FAA Administrator Huerta. “Registration gives us the opportunity to educate these new airspace users before they fly so they know the airspace rules and understand they are accountable to the public for flying responsibly.”

The online registration system does not yet support registration of small UAS used for any purpose other than hobby or recreation – for example, using an unmanned aircraft in connection with a business. The FAA is developing enhancements that will allow such online registrations by spring of 2016.

The full rule can be viewed here: www.faa.gov/news/updates/media/20151213_IFR.pdf

Bruce announced at the Xmas meeting that we’re going to have a monthly newsletter, and we need a name for it. Richard Pearl’s wife, Penny, suggested “Wings and Words”. Any other suggestions, or comments on “Wings and Words” can be directed to Bruce.

Beginning September 24, 2015, EFAS, known as “Flight Watch” in air-to-ground communications will be available on the Flight Service Common Frequency 122.2 and all Remote Communication Outlet (RCO) frequencies. Realigning EFAS to the Inflight position is part of an effort by Flight Service to provide increased benefit to the flying public and streamline its service delivery. With this transition, pilots will have access to all flight services with one call simplifying his or her ability to obtain critical safety of flight information and to take advantage of flight planning services. This change includes discontinuing service over Flight Service Common Frequency 122.0 and the EFAS high altitude discrete frequencies. During a six month transition period, Lockheed Martin Flight Service (LMFS) will monitor current EFAS frequencies and will provide an RCO frequency to use in order to receive enroute [AE1] weather and advisories, allowing pilots time to adjust to the new procedures. For more information, click here.

Keep in mind that we will have many openings for the board, including Treasurer, President, Vice president and Secretary. So, if you have ANY interest in running for these please let us know ASAP! Voting will be at the November meeting so time is short. Remember this chapter runs on volunteers and needs your support!

The EAA are asking us to reach out to California’s Senators on the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 (PBOR2) and strongly ask them to co-sponsor the bill. This potential legislation needs only an additional 3 co-sponsors to reach a 60 vote majority. If this can be achieved over the next two days, there is a high likelihood that it will be taken directly to the Senate floor for a vote this week. Time is of the essence as the Senate will recess for the summer at the end of the week.

Please call Senator Dianne Feinstein at (202) 224-3841 and Senator Barbara Boxer at (202) 224-3553 and tell them why they should co-sponsor the PBOR2 and what its importance is to aviation in this country. It is always best to attempt to talk directly to your Senator and not just a staff person in the office. This is an urgent matter! A set of talking points is available here. Passing this bill has never been this close before, and with our help it is possible it can clear a major hurdle in the Senate.

The EAA are asking pilots to talk to their elected representatives to help pass the bill to reform the third-class medical.