Posted on 05/04/2007 2:08:00 PM PDT by Names Ash Housewares
To finance the nation's aviation system through 2017, the FAA is proposing swooping changes in its funding structure, including more than tripling taxes on fuel for small planes. The uproar among the general aviation community -- which includes all planes outside commercial and military use -- has been loud and constant, according to the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association, which represents more than 411,000 pilots.
"We surveyed our members before the FAA's proposal came out," said Chris Dancy, spokesman. "At the level the FAA is proposing, 88 percent said they would dramatically reduce or even cease flying." General aviation, which generates 16 percent of the cost of running the nation's air system, pays 3 percent of the costs in a funding formula subsidized heavily by taxes on passenger tickets, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
(Excerpt) Read more at commercialappeal.com ...
This is a bad call and hope the Bush Administration wakes up on this issue.
This is a TAX, and it will hurt the grassroots of aviation everywhere.
“Riding lawn mower Tax” is next.
FAA has historically considered General Aviation to be a pain in the backside. Their approach is that it’s easier to keep track of a few planes carrying thousands of people than to keep track of thousands of planes carrying a few people. It’s human nature, laziness really.
“At the level the FAA is proposing, 88 percent said they would dramatically reduce or even cease flying.”
I think that is the intention of the tax. ‘Too many’ private aircraft owners are fly VFR and not filing flight plans. Department of Homeland Security feels that the security of the nation is in danger due to this trend.
They can’t come out and say so because of their “Preserving our Freedoms” statements.
By Jane Roberts
May 3, 2007
To finance the nation’s aviation system through 2017, the FAA is proposing swooping changes in its funding structure, including more than tripling taxes on fuel for small planes.
Jane, what exactly are swooping changes?
However, with VLJ’s right around the corner, I suspect we are on the cusp of a big rise in air taxi and other services which will require an expansion of GA airports.
If that’s what the money is used for, then OK with me.
Not sure what they mean by tripling taxes though. How much per tankfull are we really talking about?
First liberals try to take your guns, then your mobility.
ping
What’s the average per-gallon price of AvGas right now?
ping
About $4.80 / gal.
WG,
I think all this hoopla is because of the VLJ to get them to “Pay the Vig”.
Go to opensecrets.com and see who Oberstar gets all his $ from.
The Union for the controllers lambasted Eclipse the other day. I do not want to be a conspiracy nut, but as they have been on the cusp of their production certificate they have had one curve ball after another in the last month or two.
The Eclipse is a paradigm changer, in my opinions the Airlines, and the Unions that support them are scared, big time.....
Taildragger
What I fear is where will our pilots come from?
What happens with the kid dreaming of flight?
Less and less airports too.
My father always told me I could learn to fly too when I was a kid. We watched the aircraft taking off from our local GA airport. He would take me to visit the aiport and see the planes up close.
And as a young man I did learn.
How many young people walk away when they see how much it costs to learn to fly today?
How many kids are even told they could learn to fly at all?
Lets not even get into how long it takes for someone to actually make a living at it.
The health of American aviation begins at the bottom with that kid dreaming at the local GA airport.
We should not betray that by making it even harder.
How many young people walk away when they see how much it costs to learn to fly today?
***Count me among them. I never had the wherewithal even though I always wanted to do it. My plan was to go & get an aeronautical engineering degree and then design my own airplane (have a lot of design parameters flushed out — based upon suction for boundary layer control) and then when I get my license, the expense would be tax deductible. But it never happened because the bottom dropped out of the aero industry and the aero majors I knew at Cal Poly SLO were not getting jobs — even guys with 3.8 GPAs. The handwriting was on the wall for me and I switched over to Electrical Engineering. It’s been a continued war of attrition for General Aviation ever since, with the result that airplanes became an Appreciating asset! Whoda thunk?
bookmark
That's what light planes do, sometimes.
The bigger issue on VLJs is going to be the handling they require. How many aircraft is the FAA going to be able to handle in the 180-280 block?
HF
Next your thoughts — with the thought crime bill just passed by the House.
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