Tenth Annual Event Focuses Multiple Issues Relative To Sport Aviation

Two days of intense focus on major issues within recreational aviation kicked off Tuesday morning as EAA leadership and senior FAA officials gathered at the EAA Aviation Center for the annual Recreational Aviation Summit.

EAA Chairman Jack Pelton began the gathering, now in its 10th year, by reminding those in attendance to build on the relationship and tradition fostered by EAA's late founder, Paul Poberezny, for six decades. The annual winter summit in Oshkosh is the only specific meeting where FAA senior officials travel to an aviation organization's headquarters for discussions.
 
"We look with pride to the working relationship we have built with FAA, beginning with Paul and the heritage he established 60 years ago," Pelton said. "We get together to find solutions in a way that will benefit the entire GA community."
 
More than a dozen senior FAA officials were in Oshkosh for two days, representing areas from aircraft certification to safety. Tony Fazio, FAA's director of its office of accident investigation and prevention, said that the trip to Oshkosh is of particular importance to establishing the issues that need to be addressed and a path toward solutions. "I have experienced the commitment of EAA to recreational aviation and I feel that when I'm here at this meeting or during AirVenture," he said.
 
John Duncan, FAA Director of Flight Standards, noted that his own background in general aviation gives him particular motivation to preserve this segment of personal flight. "I want to see it continue for my grandchildren and their grandchildren," he said.
 
Agenda items for the two-day working session included aeromedical certification, accident prevention, Part 23 certification, and avgas, as well as issues within the homebuilt, vintage, warbird, aerobatic, and ultralight community.

(Image provided by EAA)

FMI: www.eaa.org, www.faa.gov