My Dad, a renowned research doctor, used to argue that the human gene pool has reached its zenith and is on the decline. He'd cite the recent efforts at promoting intelligent design, ignoring global warming, preventing stem-cell research and the disavowal of science in general. Maybe I'm a pessimist, but I'm beginning to wonder if general aviation, as we know and enjoy it, has also reached its zenith and whether it too is now on a decline.
At the General Aviation Manufacturers Association Annual Industry Review & 2006 Market Outlook Briefing, Jack Pelton, Cessna chairman, president and CEO and GAMA chairman, and Peter Bunce, GAMA president and CEO, likened the forces acting on general aviation to the four aerodynamic forces that impact an airplane in flight: lift, thrust, drag and weight. "Lift" and "thrust" were positive, while "drag" and "weight" were negative influences. It would be nice if we could "accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative," but I'm concerned that's not going to be easy to do.
The forces arrayed against general aviation are formidable and growing stronger. Perhaps the most serious threat is the potential for the implementation of user fees. Despite the common sense approach of continuing to employ the current method of using fuel taxes to collect funds, the FAA and the ATA (Air Transport Association) seem hellbent on imposing user fees. A chorus of general aviation associations have been vocal in disputing the FAA's premise that the Aviation Trust Fund is in trouble and questioning its estimate of thousands of very light jets soon joining the fleet and overwhelming the air traffic control system. The alphabet groups insist that general aviation already pays its fair share, but unfortunately, the arguments appear to be falling on ears deafened by politics.
But even without the implementation of user fees or an increase in fuel taxes, we're going to continue to get pummeled by the increasing costs for aviation fuel, parts and maintenance. Another potential "gotcha" is the burgeoning concern about aging aircraft. Initially directed at the airline fleets, attention is now being focused on our general aviation airplanes. The camel's nose under the tent may be the Airworthiness Directive that targeted the T6/SNJ airplanes and mandated that all of them-not just those used in mock dog fighting or aerobatic exhibitions-undergo immediate and repetitive inspections of the inboard and outboard, upper and lower wing attach angles of both wings for fatigue cracks.
In the name of protecting us from terrorists, there are efforts to proliferate and make permanent the temporary flight restriction areas that are designed more as window dressing, to imply that something is being done to keep us safe, than to really thwart any acts of terrorism. Despite proof that our small airplanes don't pose a credible threat, we haven't been successful in convincing those in charge. And we've seen what Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley was able to do in the name of Homeland Security.
In addition to the new threats, there are the perennial barbs and daggers aimed at general aviation by its detractors. Nimble
