2004 Aero-NewsMakers and Heartbreakers (Part Uno) | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-10.28.24

Airborne-NextGen-10.29.24

Airborne-Unlimited-10.30.24

Airborne-Unlimited-10.24.24

Airborne-Unlimited-10.25.24

Sun, Jan 02, 2005

2004 Aero-NewsMakers and Heartbreakers (Part Uno)

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.

FMI: www.astm.org

 

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.

FMI: www.faa.gov
 
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.

FMI: www.boeing.com

 

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.

FMI: www.nbaa.org

 

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.

FMI: www.aopa.org
 
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.

FMI: www.cbsnews.com

Advertisement

More News

Senator Pushes FAA to Accelerate Rocket Launch Licensing

States That Current Process is Damaging National Aerospace Development US Senator Jerry Morgan is pushing the FAA to speed up the process for rocket launch licensing. He argues tha>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: RJ Gritter - Part of Aviation’s Bright New Future

From 2015 (YouTube Edition): Model Aviator Aims For Full-Scale Career While at the 2015 Indoor Electric RC Festival, referred to as eFest, ANN CEO and Editor-In-Chief, Jim Campbell>[...]

Aero-FAQ: Dave Juwel's Aviation Marketing Stories -- ITBOA BNITBOB

Dave Juwel's Aviation Marketing Stories ITBOA BNITBOB ... what does that mean? It's not gibberish, it's a lengthy acronym for "In The Business Of Aviation ... But Not In The Busine>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (10.27.24)

Aero Linx: Cardinal Flyers Online The Cardinal Flyers Online Web site was created and is maintained by me, Keith Peterson. My wife Debbie and I have owned a 1976 RG since 1985. Wit>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (10.27.24): Clearance Void If Not Off By (Time)

Clearance Void If Not Off By (Time) Used by ATC to advise an aircraft that the departure release is automatically canceled if takeoff is not made prior to a specified time. The exp>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2024 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC