...And Here, Darn it, Are The Heartbreakers

Final Compilations/Analysis by ANN Editor-In-Chief/Corporate Insomniac, Jim Campbell

It is both the most "fun," and most difficult task, facing the ANN staff at the end of every year -- determining who, or what, did the most to promote the cause of aviation in the past 365 days... while also chastising those people or entities that did all they could to undermine the many successes the aerospace community has managed to accomplish.
 
Alas, 2009 saw more than its fair share of downers, aviation-wise. Sure, "stuff" happens... but a few folks, issues, or entities seemed to go out of their way to create problems for the world of aviation.

So... it is ANN's annual obligation to recognize Ten of our Aero-Heartbreakers for 2009... in something of an informal order, starting from the 10th to the 1st.

Let us know what you think of our selections... whom YOU would have liked be included, or omitted, from such a list. In the meantime, we hope those who had something to do with this year's selections think a little more positively about the welfare of this industry, so that future lists become harder and harder to catalog.

Be it ignorance, arrogance or just plain incompetence, these were the folks or topics that made our lot a whole lot more difficult and immeasurably injured the aviation world in the past year.

Shame on those issues, folks, or groups that made our lot so much tougher in 2009...

Aero-Heartbreaker #7: Airspace Restrictions

As previously mentioned, we spent a lot of time in American airspace in 2009. One of the things that became quite noticeable to us this year -- even more so than in years past -- was the fact that our airspace is becoming more and more limited by the day. It is becoming overtly difficult to not only keep track of TFRs, but the constant grab for special use airspace, and the fact that virtually the entire nation now features no uncontrolled airspace of any import, makes today's aviators tasks a difficult proposition indeed.

And when you look at what happened to Washington, DC, and what may indeed wind up happening elsewhere, it is obvious that the skies over America no longer belong to average Americans.

The skies over America now belong to the damnable bureaucrats.

The basic nature of American freedom and commerce have been subverted by bureaucrats and elected officials who think that their needs and concerns outweigh those of the average American. VIP TFRs jump up with ever increasing frequency, and worse, they're bigger and more restrictive than ever before. The recent holiday TFR that enveloped the entire island of Oahu with (first) a grotesquely restrictive 10 nautical mile ring and then an almost as restrictive 30 nautical mile ring was modeled on TFR's that were originally meant to protect an area of airspace over the Bush ranch in Texas where there was plenty of room to get around, and where 30 nautical mile rings really didn't disturb much more than the jack rabbits.

The fact that they can take an entire island out of play for two whole weeks and cause aviation businesses and concerns many tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage just so the president can do something that isn't critical to the nation (namely, take a vacation), shows that TFR priorities are out of whack. We're not saying that President Obama doesn't deserve a vacation (as a matter of fact we hope he gets all the rest and relaxation he can get because we have a sneaking suspicion that his 2010 is going to be a bear), but competent experts assure us that you can protect our President without shutting down an entire island's aviation infrastructure simply because the Secret Service, the TSA, the FAA, and other officials are too lazy or too myopic to build a protective system that works both for the President as well as the citizenry he was elected to protect and serve.

Such restrictive TFRs should be a last resort -- the Secret Service and the FAA have never worked on an equal footing with the General Aviation or Business Aviation community to build an adequate protection system when security concerns are in mind, but the sad part is that the folks that populate aviation are some of the most patriotic citizenry that you will find in this nation -- and often quite able to come up with cohesive, if not brilliant, ideas... I think we would all be very happy and very willing to be a part of the solution rather than the continual victims of a problem.

And finally, while I'm on the airspace tirade, I have to tell you that the solution that currently is in place over Washington, DC in regards to "protecting our nation's capital" is a Rube Goldberg machination of the highest order. Despite the fact that I have a great deal of time in the nation's airspace and have dealt with the most incredibly complex pieces of airspace (including regular operations out of some of the most frenetic airports in the nation), I avoid Washington airspace (and unfortunately, Washington area airports) like the plague. I am more than willing to land dozens of miles away from my destination to stay outside of the Washington Puzzle Palace and avoid the complexities as well as the hazards that come with flying through the Washington SFRA. I have heard amazing stories from highly experienced aviators who are getting busted for ops within that area... (aviators with solid evidence to prove that they were doing what they should have done) who have been violated haphazardly by the FAA for operations within this restrictive airspace. Despite the fact that they appeared to be well within the rules and regs... the fact of the matter is that when you run afoul of the Washington power brokers and their security paranoia, you cannot win. It is beyond difficult, and extraordinarily expensive, to prove you are in the right with a system that has judged one guilty long before the evidence is in -- so I simply find flying through Washington airspace to be a risk to be avoided at all cost -- such is the nature of the security solutions that the Secret Service and the FAA have forced upon the loyal citizenry that the General and Business Aviation world. It just plain sucks.

FMI: Comments/Criticism?