While the
aviation/aerospace world seems to be all about technology and
gadgetry; it's the people (or groups of them) that populate this
business, that allow that technology to move around... or come to a
grinding halt.
This year we had a lot of both… and some truly heroic
efforts on the part of a number of persons and parties to keep
aviation moving as fast and as freely as possible. We also had our
share of troublemakers… people and organizations that forgot
what America stood for and used the current heightened state of
anxiety over future terrorist attacks to fuel their anti-aviation
hatred a little more. Herewith, the best (and worst) of both...
ASTM LSA Committee F37
The Sport Aviation
industry, well-known for decades of inability to work collectively,
has finally shaken off that curse. Over the course of the last few
years, the members of a technical standards committee, working
under the auspices of the ASTM, have worked tirelessly, effectively
and proactively to seek and write consensus standards for a new
generation of civil aircraft. Pretty much ready long before the FAA
was able to get the actual Sport Pilot regs published, the result
of this collaboration is a masterful and uncharacteristic example
of what happens when talented people leave their egos at the door
and start working for the good of all.
"ASTM" is ASTM International (formerly known as the American
Society for Testing and Materials), a not-for-profit organization
that provides "a global forum for the development and publication
of voluntary consensus standards for materials, products, systems,
and services." Several years ago, a large gathering of industry
luminaries selected ASTM to be the standard bearer for the mandated
"consensus standards" (that oversee the aircraft design criteria)
that FAA deems necessary for Sport Pilot to succeed.
Well... if the Sport Pilot program succeeds (the jury will be
out for a while on that one...), it can thank (in large part) the
amazing work done by ASTM Tech Committee F37 for Light Sport
Aircraft... they did an amazing job.
Marion Blakey
It's hard to note the most pressing figures in aviation without
including the FAA Administrator, and this year is no exception. An
excellent bureaucrat with solid Washington connections and
political savvy, Marion Blakey has handled her initial period with
the FAA, by all accounts, fairly well.
While she's got some personnel issues that have not made
her the most popular person in the world, Ms. Blakey has managed to
work effectively and aggressively on behalf of aviation... and in a
fairly equitable manner, in all but one area. It seems that the FAA
has all but given up in fighting for a seat at the National
Security table and while hundreds of decisions affecting aviators
all over the country (and the world) are made by agencies outside
the FAA, it seems that the FAA is doing little to make sure that
aviation's best interests are expertly represented by... actual
experts. So... while Ms. Blakey has done a fairly good job in
running the FAA, we find her mostly noteworthy what she hasn't done
this year... make the FAA an essential partner in EVERY
aero-security issue this country faces.
Boeing's 7E7 Team
It wasn't easy being
Boeing this year... the highs and lows experienced by this company
seem better suited to a yo-yo than the world's most prominent
airline manufacturer. Despite some foolish management issues, a
very-much negative downturn in airline fortunes, and the need to
compete with a foreign concern that is propped up by significant
government hand-outs, Boeing appears on their way to emerging, yet
again, as a winner -- despite their recent foul-ups.
By avoiding the temptation to go head to head with Airbus over
the next generation of jumbo-jumbo jets, Boeing looked into their
crystal ball and finally came up with the brilliant idea that
economic issues were going to matter, a LOT, to the future health
of the ailing, cash-poor airline industry. Who'da thought?
A new technology airplane with strong emphasis on economical
operation was promised after they got over their "Almost-SST"
project... and the industry is starting to vote heavily with their
hard-won future airplane dollars. So compelling is the concept that
Boeing has developed, with the 7E7, that Airbus has already
promised their own version of the bird, called the A350. How
they're going to do that while also building and developing the
gargantuan and still questionable A380 is a big question...
ultimately, they've validated the Boeing program in a way that
Boeing really couldn't do all by themselves. If Boeing quits
stepping on itself with the kind of dumb moves they've pulled in
the last year or so (especially the thoroughly mucked-up Air Force
tanker gig) and follows through with the 7E7 in the manner with
which they brought the 777 to market, Boeing may once again wind up
again at the top of the pyramid. It's going to be an interesting
year.
NBAA's Ed Bolen
GAMA's loss is NBAA's
gain... that was the first thought ANN had when we heard that the
highly-respected head of the General Aviation Manufacturer's
Association was taking on the top spot at the National Business
Aircraft Association... which had been through a pretty miserable
year and needed ALL the help it could get.
This was a good move... especially since Bolen's GAMA staff
comprises some of the best in the business and could fend for
themselves (especially the guy who's filing the seat right now, Ron
Swanda... and while he may not covet the permanent job, GAMA
could FAR worse than to let him keep this position).
Bolen is needed, desperately, by the BizAv community right
now... we have a few tough fights coming up and some
unique challenges looming. Bolen, who has excellent management
skills as well as a good touch for dealing with Capitol Hill has
hit the ground running and we fear his pace may not slow for quite
a while... With all manner of technical and political challenges on
the horizon, Bolen and a growing team of adept aero-professionals
are going to be busy keeping the BizAv community as mobile as they
want and NEED to be.
Phil Boyer and "Team AOPA"
It seems that we're
going to have to reserve a spot for Boyer and his team every
year on this list... but then again, they keep earning the right to
be here. "TEAM AOPA" kicked ass again in 2004. We've long lauded
the work AOPA has done on behalf of aviation… even to the
point of being worried about being tagged with a "suck-up"
label… but the plain and simple fact is this...
AOPA is THE 600 pound gorilla among aviation
associations/organizations.
They're not afraid to use that weight to work on behalf of
aviators everywhere. Better yet; when they do throw their weight
around, they seem to do so with precision and an uncannily
positive effect. No other GA organization can hold a candle to the
effort they expended this year and the positive effect that
resulted. Repeat after me (again)... no one... Nada. Zip.
Zilch.
Please note that (once again) we are not naming Phil Boyer,
individually… While he justifiably deserves to be honored,
it has become quite obvious that Phil works at the head of a very
well organized team that plays to win. To be fair to the immense
effort we've seen this year, we simply have to honor them as a
group, as "TEAM AOPA." As usual, they were amazing (and a special
welcome to Jeff Myers... who is working REALLY hard to keep AOPA at
the head of our good-guy list). Congrats to them all… Keep
this up... we need you.
CBS News
While far from the only
network to mangle an aviation story in 2004, one particular
cheap-shot example of poorly-researched and biased reporting
got the attention of the aviation community for all the wrong
reasons. When you want to do an internationally broadcast piece on
general aviation security, who do you put on your interview list?
Knowledgeable Experts... Right?
The potential list is huge... folks from AOPA, GAMA, TSA, DHS,
and so on... good experienced experts with solid credentials that
will have plenty to say and the expertise to back it up with solid
data and input. But... a real estate agent?
The cornerstone quote from a very negative anti-GA news piece,
aired on the not-maligned-enough CBS Evening News was a statement
from a Virginia Real Estate Salesperson who helped CBS' Bob Orr to
clobber the GA community as a serious national danger to domestic
security.
This was not a think piece on a potential security concern...
but a specific attempt at journalistic misdirection. CBS
contacted an aviation community under the guise of doing a story
about people who live on airports and turned it into a GA
hit-piece. It was a cheap shot... and not even a good one... and
another reason not to trust media entities that refuse to do their
homework.
ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.13.24)
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