Experimenter is a magazine created by EAA for people who build airplanes. We will report on amateur-built aircraft as well as ultralights and other light aircraft.
Issue link: http://experimenter.epubxp.com/i/418587
2 Vol.3 No.11 / November 2014 TOWER FREQUENCY THE FUTURE OF THE third-class medical and a modifi ed FAA han- gar-use policy are being debated in Washington, and be assured that EAA is going all out to protect and promote your interests. And we will be calling on you to make your voice heard in more than one forum. The hangar policy and third-class medical issues are unusually complex and potentially among the most far-reaching we have faced. Changes in third-class medical standards for private fl ying are opposed by entrenched groups determined to maintain the sta- tus quo. And the hangar-use policy cuts both ways as protecting our interest, but if not properly written, it could possibly threaten valid aeronautical use of an airport hangar. The hangar issue is an FAA policy that requires hangars on air- ports receiving FAA funds to be used for aeronautical activities. In general, this is good because it prevents unscrupulous airport man- agement from simply auctioning of hangar space to the highest bidder to use for any purpose. The key is that some interpretations of "aeronautical use" do not include building an airplane, restoring an airplane, or even using a hangar for meetings of EAA chapters, the Civil Air Patrol, or the many other groups that work hard to promote aviation. The FAA can preserve hangar space exclusively for aviation activity by creating a policy statement that includes homebuilding, aircraft restoration and maintenance, aviation group meetings, and even storage of furniture or other items in the unused space around an airplane in the hangar. EAA has of cially insisted that be the new policy during the comment period that ended last month. Changing the third-class medical policy is both a safety issue and a cost issue. And allowing pilots to fl y for their own personal reasons using a driver's license as evidence of medical fi tness has broad support. It also has more than 10 years of proven safety in sport pilot fl ying. The improved safety would come from an aeromedical educa- tion requirement that EAA and AOPA support as part of third-class medical reform. Pilots who fl y for personal reasons must make an assessment of their fi tness to fl y before each take- of . But the third-class medical system doesn't give us any tools to make a safe and conservative decision. Through a required online training course that we support, pilots would learn how to con- sider a range of health issues that can impact fl ying safety, including use of over-the-counter medications that can degrade our piloting abilities. The FAA has agreed, at least in some fashion, with us and issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) just days before Oshkosh. But before that NPRM can be made public it must be approved by the federal Of ce of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Department of Transportation (DOT), the FAA's parent department in Washington. So far the NPRM has disappeared into the maw of OMB, or DOT, or both. We just don't know any details. But we do know that entrenched groups, particularly a few in the medical commu- nity, are determined to resist any change opposing reform claiming there would be degradation in safety. There is absolutely no evidence that the third-class medical reform we favor would make fl ying less safe, but there is powerful history that education can make improvements. In general the best route for aviation regulation reform is through the FAA, but it looks increasingly as though the FAA is handcuf ed by OMB and DOT, so only congressional action can force a change. A new third-class medical policy has broad sup- port in both the House and Senate, and bills to force a change have been introduced. Washington is always an unpredictable place, but with mid- term elections upon us, and a lame duck Congress in place for the rest of the year, it's impossible to know what can happen to move medical policy changes forward. But we must try. EAA maintains an online system that makes it quick and ef ective for you to contact your congressmen and senators. To contact your representative and senators, go to www.EAA.org/rallycongress , where you will be guided through the easy steps to send an ef ective comment. At this point the rulemaking system looks totally frozen, and no progress is being made. But if all of us in personal aviation join together, along with AOPA and other pilots groups, to make our voice heard loud and clear to our legislators, I'm convinced we will see action sooner than later. Medicals and Hangars Our most critical issues BY JACK J. PELTON