An affable Marion Blakey greeted several hundred Oshkosh visitors Wednesday for EAA's annual "Meet The Administrator" session. An unprecedented security presence that included a police dog and handler as well as some two dozen security personnel from various agencies, however, struck a discordant note as the event got underway. No reason was given for the heightened security presence at this year's event, but the aviation community's dissatisfaction with the FAA's position on future  funding issues may have made Blakey's security handlers a mite nervous.

A rare opportunity for the Administrator to speak to the grass roots of aviation, the session usually begins with what used to be a short statement from the admin to set the tone and concludes with a number of opportunities for attendees to question the FAA's boss directly.

These sessions have, though, lately been dominated by long statements from the Administrator that often used half the time allotted for the session -- this time was no exception. Blakey seemed pleased with progress in both the LSA and VLJ industries and often seemed more than willing to credit their presence and growth on FAA and EAA efforts and cooperation.

It wasn't all just crowing, though. Blakey announced that a proposal was under consideration to allow most pilots to use their medical certificates for a longer period than authorized in the past. First Class medicals may receive an extension to a full year and for those pilots who have avoided hitting age 40, their third class certificates may soon be good for as much as five years.

Blakey alluded to the better safety record she had seen in a number of GA and Sport Aviation indices and once again credited the lesser accident rate to the FAA and EAA.

The questions this year were a mite mild, until one of the last. Questions covered the gamut of topics from the Age 60 rule, to the ADIZ, to airspace issues, to sport pilot, to, finally, User Fees. THAT's when the tone of the event took a turn for the serious when Aero-News Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Jim Campbell asked the only "hard" question about the FAA's lobbying campaign for user fees, and their apparent promise to keep GA from suffering the brunt of the cost that may be imposed on the aero-industry.

Campbell questioned Blakey's attempt to minimize the potential of User Fees impact on GA by noting that biz-av is still a part of GA (in apparent reference to a number of suspicions that the primary target for civilian user fees may be laid upon the business aviation community) and that rumors of additional certification costs have been floated by various sources close to the FAA.

Campbell then asked about the seemingly cozy relationship between the FAA and the ATA, while recalling that a senior FAA official who had worked on the campaign had just jumped ship to the Air Transport Association. The ATA's members are the airlines who stand to benefit from the proposal. Campbell asked as to whether GA might be able to get a fair shake from the FAA as this process reached a decision point.

Blakey denied any undue "coziness" between the FAA and any other organization, for that matter, and said that former FAA staffers could go to work for whom they pleased... noting that a number of former FAA staffers were now working for the EAA... while neglecting to note the various federal guidelines in place for government employees who transition to the civilian sector in those circumstances where their new employment may have a relationship to their former efforts for Uncle Sam. She did not, however, answer the question.

All in all, it was a fairly friendly affair, even though little news was made. Blakey's upcoming last year of her current term is sure to be one that offers opportunities for aviation progress. For the time being, the FAA seems content to hint at user fees in prepared leaks and between the lines of official speeches. But at some point the Administration will have to move the whole process into the light of open disclosure. As always, ANN looks forward to the fair and open discourse that should result.

FMI: www.faa.gov