Thu, May 12, 2011
Last week was a most interesting week. After year's of
controversy and turmoil, the folks of SAFE proved that their
abdication from NAFI was on point and that they could, and did,
offer a refreshing and aggressive new attitude for an industry that
has victimized itself, from within, by refusing to adopt better,
safer, more modern practices. In doing so, they hope bring this
industry out of the doldrums that have clobbered us for
decades.
Surprisingly; the FAA was a big part of the action... and in a
most positive way. FAA AFS 800 manager Mel Cintron and AFS 600
manager Van Kerns were among other regulatory representatives who
attended the symposium from start to finish -- and added A LOT of
solid info to the mix. They didn't take over, they didn't play FAA
Overlord... they participated, discussed and learned from one of
the most expert assemblies of flight training advocates ever
gathered together.
This was in contrast to some noticeable no-shows. Both EAA and
NAFI failed to participate while GA Manufacturer Piper was a
no-show (quite a contrast to Cessna's aggressive participation) and
Cirrus' embattled CEO, Brent Wouters (originally on the sked),
apparently couldn't be bothered to show up either. And AOPA's Craig
Fuller wasn't there, either (though one of their more credible
flight training advocates was)... which was probably for the
best... because this was not about AOPA (or the attendant
self-promotion that follows them wherever they go... ad nauseum)...
but about problems that much of AOPA has been hiding for a while
now.
We've had a few folks ask us why we've given so much attention
and 'ink' or air-time to the Society of Aviation and Flight
Educators (SAFE)... and the results of the recently concluded Pilot
Training Reform Symposium should now be all the justification we'll
ever need for our decision to make sure that the efforts of this
organization were covered aggressively.
ANN is proud to be a part of the SAFE revolution and feel quite
strongly that more revolutions of this kind are not only likely,
but CRITICAL if aviation is to survive. Just wait 'til you see some
of the ideas we have on that front...
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