If GAAPA isn't law by the end of 2016, will you drop AOPA membership?

[AuntPeggy]

I saw this question on the Red Board and, since the same topic has shown up here many times, thought the same question could be posed here as well.

If GAAPA isn't law by the end of 2016, will you drop AOPA membership?

On Dec. 11, 2013, The General Aviation Pilot Protection Act (GAPPA) was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. This is the beginning of a long process that may take a number of possible directions. Through the process, the bill language may change. The AOPA/Experimental Aircraft Association medical exemption petition includes operational parameters which AOPA and EAA believed would give the petition the best chance of being accepted by FAA; yet the agency has given no response or timeline for a decision. The GAPPA bill goes well beyond the petition and was drafted by Reps. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.) and Sam Graves (R-Mo.). The bill will direct the FAA to revise regulations to allow pilots to fly certain aircraft without regard to any medical certification. The bill language would apply to aircraft up to 6,000 pounds instead of limited to 180 horsepower, as in the AOPA/EAA medical petition; not only VFR day but also VFR night flying; up to five passengers instead of one; and a maximum altitude of 14,000 feet msl rather than 10,000 feet msl.

http://www.aopa.org/Advocacy/Legislative-Affairs/General-Aviation-Pilot-Protection-Act-FAQs.aspx

The bill mentioned did not make it through the last Congress, and must now be reintroduced in this session to be passed. The old bill had over 163 sponsors in the House and 19 in the Senate.

 

[PPC1052]

No, I'll still be a member. But I may call my buddy Todd and ask him what gives.

(I went to college and grad school with Rokita. True story: He and I drove up to South Bend while in school to go to a classmate's wedding. We decided to stop off at a tractor auction along the way. Ok, not that interesting, but it is true.)

 

[JOhnH]

AOPA can't pass laws. But I will use this as one of the selection criteria when I decide which politician to vote for next election.

 

[docmirror]

I think AOPA has tied itself to a losing proposition. No member of the HR is strong enough to go out on the limb of GA pilots flying around without medicals that have been in place for > 50 years in some form or another. The fact the legislation was introduced in Dec just before the holiday break tells me the authors had no confidence in it to start with. Bills introduced in mid-Dec are called 'bill-mill' legislation to show the voters that their reps are actually 'doing' something. But - the bills have little or no chance of passing during the coming session, and are generally used as bargaining chips to sway votes on other issues.

See, here we are chatting about it on this forum, while the bill will not be voted on in the next 10 years. If you think like a non-GA-pilot for a second, and then consider how the HR member will think about sticking their neck in the lions mouth, it's never, ever gonna happen.