The International Cessna^® 170 Association

Folks, I am like most of you, I am reading a lot about the proposed user fees and while I don't have any specific figures for what the fees would be for various services, I do have concerns for what this could mean to our kind of flying. I was just thinking that if a bunch of us sent an email or letter to a group of the folks we purchase parts, gadgets (headsets, GPS. etc.) from and encourage them to put some of their budget into lobbying their representatives to vote against the user fees if it would possibly have a positive effect. If user fees are initiated there are going to be a large number of current aircraft owners that are going to get out of general aviation and that will have a pretty big impact on future sales of these items from these supply sources. May not be the best way to get congress's attention, but we need to do something before its too late.

JOIN AOPA! Write your congressman and your senator.

gahorn wrote:JOIN AOPA! Write your congressman and your senator.

Amen! These are the guys than will make the final decision. A thoughtful letter to each of your congressmen is the way to go.
AOPA has a great history of going to bat for general aviation, so support them too.

For better of worse I have sent a letter, some time back, to my congressmen. Hope it does some good. And I am a AOPA member since the mid 1980's.

For what it's worth...I did not mean that in a personal way... but in a univeral one. I somehow expected 170C was already a member.

Also, for what it's worth....it was the CEO of Northwest AirLines that began this attack upon GA by making wildly, dishonest claim that GA does not "pay it's way" and should pay user fees. It's my personal reaction to tell NWA, and to remind NWA from time to time (like last week when I flew to CA on the airlines...I mailed my US AIR ticket stub to NWA corporate offices), why I choose to fly my own airplane and ANY OTHER AIRLINE except NWA to my destinations...until NWA changes it's position and it's propaganda.

After reading the AOPA words of encouragement to write our congressmen and take action, I did just that ! I fired off a letter to my Senator and Representative on Feb 26, and just received my replies this week.

My Senator was mediocre in his response, which surprised me since Alaska has a higher per-capita concentration of GA pilots/planes than anywhere else. The letter definitely sounded like it was written with a political mind...

My Representative was more pointed with his response, and assured me that he was totally against the proposals the Administration has made, and wants them to go back and sharpen their pencils, so to speak.

Granted, I’m sure both letters I received were form letters from aides, but still... I guess you have to at least try to affect change !

All this from a kid who doesn’t even have his ticket to fly yet, but I sure didn't tell them that !

Hasta ~

Bob K.
Anchorage, AK

BobK wrote:...All this from a kid who doesn’t even have his ticket to fly yet, but I sure didn't tell them that ! ...

Well...you're on TOP of everything at least! (BTW...if as you say, you're just learning... most of us, start out at least, right-side UP! (great avatar)

Yeah, since I dont yet have a 170 of my very own, (although I believe Im very close... Pre-Buy inspection is scheduled for tomorrow...) I did go for a thrill ride in that same Extra 300 that I have for my avatar.

I found the guy online in Boulder City, NV and stopped in during my last trip to Vegas. I HIGHLY recommend a ride like that !!! Ive always wanted to try a shoulder-roll in real life, and I can attest that they are just as exciting as imagined !!!

I could definately see myself with a lil Pitts at some point down the road...

Hasta ~

Bob K.
Anchorage, AK

I wrote my representative urging him NOT to allow the FAA to establish user fees on GA. I never said a word about the system "....must address current aviation capacity challenges and encourage the use of innovative technologies...." Those are his words, which indicates he intends to support the FAA User Fee scheme. He follows the lead of his party (R), of course.


============
May 2, 2007

George Horn
993 Flying X RD
Spicewood, TX 78669-0000

Dear Friend,

Thank you for contacting me regarding funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). I appreciate hearing from you.

On September 30, 2007, the current funding system for the FAA will expire. On February 14, 2007, the FAA released a new funding system proposal. The FAA proposal aims to improve air traffic control delivery by directly linking taxes and fees paid by users to their use of FAA resources.

We agree that any new FAA funding system must address current aviation capacity challenges and encourage the use of innovative technologies while taking into consideration the concerns of the general aviation community.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has oversight of FAA reauthorization legislation. While I am not a member of this committee, please be assured that I will continue to monitor this issue.

For more information about my work in Congress, or to send me an electronic message, please visit the 21st District’s website at http://lamarsmith.house.gov.


Sincerely,

Lamar Smith
Member of Congress

Confirmation# 1256646

DISCLAIMER
The integrity of the text of this email cannot be guaranteed if it was not sent to you directly from my Congressional Email Account: Tx21.LS@housemail.house.gov. If you have any questions about the validity of this message, call Congressman Lamar Smith's Washington, DC office at: 202-225-4236.

This mailbox is unattended. If you would like to contact me, please visit my Congressional website at http://lamarsmith.house.gov

I received the following from AOPA this afternoon. If your Senator serves on the Senate Commerce Committee they need to hear from you NOW! You can determine their committee assignments from their webpage. It wouldn't hurt for Kay Bailey to hear from non-Texans also! This is the first vote on user fees I have been aware of! Let the pressure begin !

STOP USER FEES: CONTACT YOUR SENATOR TODAY!

AOPA NEEDS YOU NOW!

Please immediately call your U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison at 202/224-5922 who is a member of the Commerce Committee urging her support of the Nelson/Sununu amendment that strikes all user fees from the Senate FAA funding bill. Time is of the essence since this bill is scheduled for a vote by the Committee tomorrow, Wednesday, May 16 at 2:30 p.m. (EDT). This amendment, if offered during the Commerce Committee’s consideration of the Aviation Investment and Modernization Act of 2007 “S.1300,” would eliminate the $25 per flight "Air Traffic Modernization Surcharge" from the bill.

Based on experiences around the world, this $25 user fee will escalate and expand to all segments of GA—this is a chance to win now! AOPA has worked Capitol Hill on your behalf to secure this amendment. Even though piston engine aircraft are exempted from this user fee, AOPA is adamantly opposed because once a user fee or surcharge is imposed it is only a matter of time before it applies to all aircraft.

Please call the Senator’s Washington, D.C., office at 202/224-5922. If you have difficulty getting through use the general Capitol Hill switchboard number 202/224-3121.

Urge your Senator to support the Nelson/Sununu amendment if offered during tomorrow’s Senate Commerce Committee mark-up.

Received a follow-up email from AOPA this afternoon and thought I would post it for those who are not AOPA members or not on their e-mail list. I was glad to see that my senator, Kay Bailey Hutchison voted for the amendment and surprised that Senator Stevens from Alaska voted against the amendment. Pay particular attention to those who support user fees, I suspect they will want your vote in the future for something and remember them at that time! Paul

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Special Notice from AOPA President Phil Boyer May 16, 2007
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==> ATTENTION PILOTS <==

ROUND ONE OVER--NO MORE SENATE CONTACT NEEDED, FOR NOW

My apologies for the e-mail exchanges we have been having this week,
but I did want to thank you for your tremendous response to yesterday?s
message asking for immediate action in contacting your senator to fight
user fees. Let me assure you that your phone calls were very important
in disrupting the airlines' attempt to have user fees pass unopposed
by the Senate Commerce Committee. This committee is the first of nearly
a dozen political bodies that will weigh in on the FAA financing issue.

We lost a close vote by a margin of 12 to 11 on the Nelson/Sununu
amendment that would have struck the $25 air traffic modernization
?surcharge" from the Senate FAA funding bill. By early evening last
night, the after-hours Senate office voicemails were filled to capacity
by many of the more than 135,000 AOPA members who heeded our call to
action. Late yesterday afternoon, I was actually waiting to see a senator
in his office and watching and listening while his administrative staff
was answering your calls.

Eleven members of the Commerce Committee deserve special recognition from
pilots for their tremendous work in supporting the fight against user fees.
First of all, Sens. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and John Sununu (R-N.H.) did
excellent work in stepping forward to sponsor the amendment. Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine), Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), John Ensign (R-Nev.), Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), and David Vitter (R-La.)
all supported the amendment.

On the other side, there were 12 senators who supported user fees:
Sens. John D. Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Trent Lott (R-Miss.), Ted Stevens
(R-Alaska), Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), John F. Kerry (D-Mass.),
Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Frank R. Lautenberg
(D-N.J.), Claire C. McCaskill (D-Mo.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.),
John McCain (R-Ariz.), and John Thune (R-S.D.).

Frankly, even this defeat sent a very strong message that AOPA members
do not support user fees for any segment of aviation! This is important
because we are still in the early stages. This bill will also need action
by the Senate Finance Committee before it reaches a vote by the full Senate.
Your hard work has been an impressive opening round, and we still have yet
to see any action in the House of Representatives.

By midday Thursday, May 17, you can access our full Web story
( http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/ ... dment.html ).
More importantly, for those of you who made contacts of any kind, this
Web story will contain audio clips if your senator spoke on behalf of or
in opposition to the amendment.

This will not be the only time we call on you this year, but you have proven
that our highly targeted method of AOPA member contact is effective.

Thanks so much,


Phil Boyer
AOPA President

Yeah, I about flipped when I saw Uncle Teddy voting FOR user-fees... I sent him a letter a couple months ago when this thread all began, and got a mild response. After reading how he voted, he just received a lil nasty-gram email from me...

Makes you wonder who really runs the country when a Senator from Alaska, a state with the highest per-capita number of private pilots, votes against his constituents..... Its CRAP !!!

Hasta ~

Bob K.
Anchorage, AK

Ted was one of the leaders of the de-regulation of airlines also. That was such a great success wasn't it?
I think all the illegal immigrants should be driven back over the river in Ted's schoolbus.

BobK wrote:Yeah, I about flipped when I saw Uncle Teddy voting FOR user-fees... I sent him a letter a couple months ago when this thread all began, and got a mild response. After reading how he voted, he just received a lil nasty-gram email from me...

Makes you wonder who really runs the country when a Senator from Alaska, a state with the highest per-capita number of private pilots, votes against his constituents..... Its CRAP !!!

Hasta ~

Bob K.
Anchorage, AK

\

It appears that he got an exemption for Alaska. However I think he still screwed up!

I read that exemption for Alaska as well, but from the sounds of it wont we still have to pay the $25 for every flight in Anchorage or Fairbanks ?