lmars
Pre-Flight
I am reposting this from another forum. It may never make any difference but it might be worth a try to at least make some lawmakers aware that TFR's cost people money and business.
This is from a close family friend who with his dad and brother own a helicopter company. They do freight, charter, sports work, and lately Nick has flown some really intense stuff for big-time music videos and movies. Please read and follow through. It took me only a couple of minutes. Simple, and it is important to all of us. (p.s. If you like watching choppers do their stuff, click on the demo reals under his name.)
We're trying to get some support for our Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) petition from pilots like you. This is really important to ALL pilots and does not pertain just to our helicopter operations. We are all faced with increasing flight restrictions - most of which are without notice and without the knowledge of ATC. There are law enforcement agents that take their jobs way to seriously and are ready right now with their guns loaded just waiting for pilots to accidentally touch restricted airspace so they can go on a mission to save the world and take you down. All it takes to get violated is the President deciding to make a last minute visit to a place where you are flying, or a sporting event to reschedule. It has happened to thousands of pilots since 2003 and I personally know several of them. They went through all kinds of headaches for what was a simple, honest mistake.
From a business standpoint, our company alone has lost an estimated $1 million in revenue due to TFRs. We're probably low-balling that number by the way. This is because TFRs not only cancel work for us related to events like aerial photography of a sports stadium, but also totally UNRELATED work for events like car and boat races, which may fall inside of the TFR's geographic footprint.
I find it pathetic that we are forced to incorporate ESPN.com into our pre-flight actions, but maybe that doesn't bother some pilots. Those are the same guys that feel that the Presidential TFR is fine at it's current size of 2,800 square miles of airspace. AOPA and HAI feel this is a dead issue and they will not pursue a remedy. Our only option is to gather enough signatures on a petition that will open up a dialogue in Washington to discuss REAL change in the system that has been hurting us for almost 10 years now.
It's still a long shot. If you care to participate, here is the link: http://wh.gov/Vexj Click on "Create New Account". You only need to provide your Name and Email address (zip code is optional). They will send you a verification email with a link back to the page. Click on that link. The "Sign the Petition" button will be active now. Click the button and that's it. The whole process start to finish takes all of about 30 seconds depending on how fast you receive the email. Only your initials are displayed on the page.
Your support would be greatly appreciated! Any questions, feel free to give me a call or send me an email.
Thank you!
Nick McMahon
Director of Operations
1.800.752.8590 toll free
1.734.459.5980 direct
1.734.459.6315 fax
1.313.949.0004 cell
nick@mcmahonhelicopters.com
www.mcmahonhelicopters.com
Demo Reels: http://vimeo.com/channels/mcmahon
This is from a close family friend who with his dad and brother own a helicopter company. They do freight, charter, sports work, and lately Nick has flown some really intense stuff for big-time music videos and movies. Please read and follow through. It took me only a couple of minutes. Simple, and it is important to all of us. (p.s. If you like watching choppers do their stuff, click on the demo reals under his name.)
We're trying to get some support for our Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) petition from pilots like you. This is really important to ALL pilots and does not pertain just to our helicopter operations. We are all faced with increasing flight restrictions - most of which are without notice and without the knowledge of ATC. There are law enforcement agents that take their jobs way to seriously and are ready right now with their guns loaded just waiting for pilots to accidentally touch restricted airspace so they can go on a mission to save the world and take you down. All it takes to get violated is the President deciding to make a last minute visit to a place where you are flying, or a sporting event to reschedule. It has happened to thousands of pilots since 2003 and I personally know several of them. They went through all kinds of headaches for what was a simple, honest mistake.
From a business standpoint, our company alone has lost an estimated $1 million in revenue due to TFRs. We're probably low-balling that number by the way. This is because TFRs not only cancel work for us related to events like aerial photography of a sports stadium, but also totally UNRELATED work for events like car and boat races, which may fall inside of the TFR's geographic footprint.
I find it pathetic that we are forced to incorporate ESPN.com into our pre-flight actions, but maybe that doesn't bother some pilots. Those are the same guys that feel that the Presidential TFR is fine at it's current size of 2,800 square miles of airspace. AOPA and HAI feel this is a dead issue and they will not pursue a remedy. Our only option is to gather enough signatures on a petition that will open up a dialogue in Washington to discuss REAL change in the system that has been hurting us for almost 10 years now.
It's still a long shot. If you care to participate, here is the link: http://wh.gov/Vexj Click on "Create New Account". You only need to provide your Name and Email address (zip code is optional). They will send you a verification email with a link back to the page. Click on that link. The "Sign the Petition" button will be active now. Click the button and that's it. The whole process start to finish takes all of about 30 seconds depending on how fast you receive the email. Only your initials are displayed on the page.
Your support would be greatly appreciated! Any questions, feel free to give me a call or send me an email.
Thank you!
Nick McMahon
Director of Operations
1.800.752.8590 toll free
1.734.459.5980 direct
1.734.459.6315 fax
1.313.949.0004 cell
nick@mcmahonhelicopters.com
www.mcmahonhelicopters.com
Demo Reels: http://vimeo.com/channels/mcmahon
