Politics And Your Right To Fly, Part II

By Bob Littlefield

In 2003 I wrote an article in America’s Flyways describing how pilots need to be involved in local politics to combat anti-airport activists who want to restrict or even close General Aviation (GA) airports. Now I want to again urge GA pilots to be involved in local politics to combat another threat to their ability to fly freely and safely: bureaucracy.

Pilots often fancy themselves as free-spirited individualists who are above the petty concerns of politics. But the truth is that we have one of the most government-regulated hobbies or professions that exists in this country. On the federal level our ability to become and remain a pilot is subject to constant monitoring dictated by volumes of rules and regulations. And the facilities that we fly from are all either municipally owned and controlled or, in the few cases where they are privately owned, subject to the land use whims of local governments.

Most pilots recognize the problem at the federal level – that is why we join and support organizations such as AOPA and EAA to represent our interests with the FAA and other federal agencies. But few pilots seem to be aware of the impact that the policies of local governments have on their flying.

The bottom line is that unless you are fortunate enough to own your own 40+acre property in the wilderness where you can build your own airstrip, you are either directly or indirectly a tenant of an airport run by some local government. That makes local government very important to GA pilots because without an airport to fly from at an affordable cost, your airplane is just a giant, expensive paperweight.

That is why anti-airport activists are a threat to GA; if local governments perceive that airports are politically unpopular with their voters they will be unwilling to expand aviation facilities or build new ones. They may attempt to impose curfews or otherwise restrict operations at their airports or, as in the case of Meigs Field, even close them.

But good old everyday bureaucracy can also make life tough for GA pilots. High fees, complex rules and onerous security policies can make flying prohibitively expensive and procedurally difficult. And municipalities around the country, in response to complaints from anti-aviation voters, are buying flight-tracking systems in order to monitor your movements in the air and turn you in to the FAA if they do not like what they see you do!

I have a unique perspective on this situation because I am not only an active GA pilot and flight instructor but I am also a city councilman in Scottsdale, Arizona, which is home to Scottsdale Airport. As a public official I recognize that we have a duty to impose rules and policies that protect taxpayer assets and that meet the security challenges of the post 9/11 world. But the GA airports that we manage are a vital part of the national transportation system so we also have a responsibility to promote the free flow of aviation activity by keeping our rules and policies reasonable.

So what can GA types do to make sure that the rules and policies at their local airport are prudent and reasonable? First, join and support your state and local pilots associations. The Arizona Pilots Association (APA) represent GA’s interests with state and local governments.

You must also keep an eye on what is happening at your local airport. Few city councils and other local government bodies have members who are GA literate, so they typically leave decisions about airport rules and policies to an airport commission made up of appointed citizen volunteers, and to airport managers and their staff who are municipal employees. Get to know the members of your airport commission and your airport manager and staff so you know what is going on. Watch the agendas of the airport commission meetings (usually posted in advance on the city’s web site) and subscribe to any email lists related to the airport so that you know about potential problems in advance.

If you do see a problem on the horizon, take action immediately. Make sure that your pilot association is aware of the problem and enlist their aid. Communicate your concerns to your airport commissioners and your airport manager. And organize your fellow airport users to do the same.

I will be happy to share what I have learned in fighting these battles. You can contact me via email at bob@flightskills.com.

Whether the threat is anti-airport activists or overzealous bureaucrats, the lesson that I have learned is that pilots and aircraft owners, like it or not, have no choice but to be involved in local politics if we want to continue flying. Don’t wait for a threat to materialize. Get involved now to protect your right to fly in the future.

Bob Littlefield is the Vice Mayor of Scottsdale, Ariz., and is a member of the Arizona Governor's Advisory Council on Aviation.