Dialogue – by Dave Weiman
If you have ever questioned why you belong to the various aviation groups, such as the Experimental Aircraft Association, Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association, National Business Aviation Association, National Air Transportation Association, and state chapters and organizations such as the Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois Aviation Trade Associations, question no more! All of our aviation groups make up our front line defense in protecting our interests as pilots, aircraft owners, businesses and airports, and a lot of resources are spent on lobbying legislators and Congress for everything from airport development funding and limiting taxes on aviation, to protecting our airspace.
One of our big guns in Washington is the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), representing businesses that either own aircraft or support that industry. In the second quarter of 2010, NBAA reportedly spent $460,000 lobbying federal officials on issues such as “NextGen,” or the modernization of the air traffic control system to ensure that we get a system, which will benefit general aviation, if we are expected to pay our fair share.
Other issues being lobbied for by NBAA and others include funding of the Federal Aviation Administration, airport security, and taxes on aircraft sales and flight training.
Our aviation organizations lobby Congress and the White House; the Federal Aviation Administration; National Transportation Safety Board; Departments of Transportation, Treasury, Homeland Security and Commerce; Internal Revenue Service; Office of Budget & Management; and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
So the benefits of belonging to an aviation organization goes beyond the services we see, and the caps and shirts we proudly wear. The real benefit of being a member is often in what is happening behind the scenes.
