Fri, Apr 01, 2022
From April 1, 2009: FAA -- Somebody Needs To Teach These Guys How To Follow Rules...
ANN’s April 1 “April Fools” Special Edition Classic
The FAA has had enough.
A little-known addition to the 'bennies' afforded our elected representatives, established after 9/11, 'so that Congress might have a better understanding of aviation' is creating "immense workload issues for the FAA," according to the OMB.
As it turns out, there is a Congressional flying club and it's become a popular diversion for Congress critters looking to escape yet another roll-call. Unfortunately; there's not a lot of flight instruction going on. CFC CFI Roscoe Corrigan admits that the club has become a "Congressional carnival ride... these guys all start out by saying that they want to get more in touch with the needs of the aviation industry and learn to fly, when in fact, all these characters REALLY want to do is play 'Twelve O'Clock High' and try to scare the hell out of CBP Blackhawks. They don't care about the airspace, they don't give a damn about the SFRA, they could give a rat's hind-end about the FRZ and if they see an F-16 off their wings, I can barely keep them from flipping the guys off! Man, you wouldn't believe what I had to do to keep Barney Frank from picking a fight with an F-15. They do NOT pay me enough to deal with this (deleted)"
Recent FAA action was required to "counsel" CFC members from the continual buzzing of P-40, including low-level aerobatics that required over a dozen different emergency evacuations of Camp David. Corrigan admits that the FAA has a point, but that, "...since none of the regular regs and laws apply to members of Congress to begin with, they consider themselves to be above the FARs... in more ways than one. Trying to keep these guys under control is a bear... While John McCain a great stick and requires NO instruction from the likes of the CFC instructor staff, we're constantly having to tell him that our C-172Rs really weren't built for barrel rolls over the White House. Surprisingly, though, he pulls that off really well... he got all 9's from the Secret Service crew's scorecards on the White House roof last week and I gotta tell you, those guys are tough to impress!"
When pressed, the FAA admitted that they were seeking some relief and guidance from the White House in an effort to bring some sanity, and maybe some regulatory control, to the Congressional Flying Club. Still, such rule-making would require a Congressional sign-off and that "right now, that doesn't seem likely. Congress sure likes their toys."
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