Rod Hightower
by Rod Hightower – President/CEO Experimental Aircraft Association
One item that has been a priority in my first year as President and CEO of EAA is continuing and expanding the united efforts of all aviation organizations in common issues that will benefit all of us. Just as I’m grateful for the warm reception of EAA members in the more than 25 Grassroots Pilot Tour presentations I’ve made since the beginning of 2011, I’ve also been encouraged by the openness and willingness to work together by the leaders of other GA organizations.
When we think of working together, you might instantly think of the “alphabet organizations,” such as EAA, AOPA, NBAA, GAMA and others with the voices in Washington, D.C. It’s more than those groups, however. Working together means aircraft type clubs, user groups, and others with a broad or narrow interest in the GA community.
Why is this important? One example that comes to mind is a quote from Benjamin Franklin at the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, although some people credit it to Thomas Paine: “Gentlemen, we must all hang together or assuredly we shall hang separately.” GA is a very diverse community, encompassing everything from ultralights to business jets. Regardless of those differences, we share a passion for flight. We also share the reality that each GA segment has unique aviation issues.
If you’re an aircraft builder, the world of biz jets may not seem as if it should matter to you. Warbird owners would probably ask why the worries of ultralight enthusiasts should be their concern. I’ll be very direct here: It should, and it must.
We at EAA work on many of the issues that specifically affect homebuilders, warbird operators, vintage aircraft owners and others at various times. Although the specifics of these issues may differ, there are a significant number of similarities. Among them are the freedom to pursue flight in the way you want to pursue it and the minimizing of the barriers that may keep you from doing so.
Many GA issues that focus on a distinct segment of aircraft often have ramifications that could impact all of us. For instance, when EAA supports the AOPA/NBAA legal challenge to dismantling the BARR program, primary designed for business aviation, we see the potential for the lessening of freedom and privacy for all pilots. Conversely, when EAA leads the effort in a homebuilt or vintage issue, we understand that the other GA groups will support EAA’s leadership as something that builds and maintains a thriving aviation community – a vital part of aviation’s future.
Along with the unified actions of the “big boys” in the aviation organization world, other groups such as type clubs play an essential role. Within individual type clubs are incredible bases of knowledge and expertise, the kind of technical depth that is available no place else. Type clubs and user groups are essential players in the growing number of joint committees and safety task groups that the FAA is using to define and address key issues.
We may sometimes disagree with FAA, DOT, DHS, and other rule- and policymaking bodies on a variety of issues. One thing that groups such as EAA can bring to the table in these debates, however, is access to the expertise of groups large and small that can bring real-world experience and wisdom on particular types of aircraft to them. In exchange, EAA’s connection to these groups will allow their voices to be heard in discussions that directly affect what and how they fly.
You cannot sit on the sidelines, either. Your involvement in groups such as EAA, AOPA or your local type club is important, but so is involvement in your local airport group. It’s of course much easier to sit in the hangar and talk about the woes of the day, then wonder what happened when something is taken away that impacts our ability to fly. But your involvement in conjunction with others is critical, just as the major alphabet groups such as EAA have learned by working together.
After all, we are aviators. Whether you fly a powered parachute or a Gulfstream jet, we share a passion for flight – a passion that must be protected by all of us, on every level.
