FAA & DOT heads to
visit AirVenture
By David Sakrison
FAA Chief Marion Blakey Arrives Wednesday
FAA Administrator Marion
Blakey will arrive at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh early Wednesday morning for
a two-day visit. Her full schedule includes the annual "Meet the
Administrator" Forum on Wednesday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. and
a ride in an open cockpit biplane. She will also present several awards
at EAA AirVenture, including the 2006 Jack J. Eggspuehler Award for
Certificated Flight Instructors.
Much of Blakey’s time
at AirVenture will be spent meeting with—and listening to—pilots,
general aviation community leaders, and light-sport aircraft (LSA)
manufacturers.
Blakey looks forward to
her annual trip to Oshkosh, she said at AirVenture 2005, because it’s
the best place to learn about aviation’s grassroots.
This spring, Blakey
offered special praise to EAA and EAA President Tom Poberezny for
efforts to promote and advance the growth of the LSA industry and sport
pilot community. Speaking at a forum at the Sun ’n Fun Fly-In at
Lakeland, Florida, Blakey thanked Poberezny and EAA for a decade of
determined effort to make the sport pilot certificate and LSA category a
reality. "Your efforts have been the driving force behind the
[sport pilot] rule and its implementation," Blakey told Poberezny.
"The buildup of the sport pilot infrastructure still has a way to
go," she said, "but we’re clearly off to a good start."
Between January 2005 and
April 2006, the FAA certificated more than 35 new LSA types, not
including so-called "fat" two-place ultralights, those
converted for operation under the LSA and sport pilot rules, or other
airframes qualifying for "special" LSA certification.
Blakey was appointed FAA
Administrator in September 2002; before that she was chairman of the
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Acting DOT Chief to
"Make the Pilgrimage"
Maria Cino, Acting
Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, will arrive at EAA
AirVenture Oshkosh late Thursday afternoon. At the annual Gathering of
Eagles reception and dinner Thursday evening, she’ll take the
opportunity to talk with and listen to general aviation manufacturers,
industry leaders and aviation enthusiasts. On Friday, Cino will tour
AirVenture and meet with EAA staff, tour the FAA Pavilion, and meet with
AirVenture exhibitors. She’ll return to Washington late Friday.
Cino was appointed Deputy
Secretary of Transportation (the department’s chief operating officer)
in May 2006. She took over as acting DOT chief following the resignation
of Secretary Norman Y. Mineta on July 7.
Mineta, 74, served in the
position for more than five years—longer than any other DOT secretary
in history. He left DOT to pursue "new challenges beyond public
service," said a DOT spokesperson.
He was, in the words of
EAA President Tom Poberezny, "a friend to EAA and to sport and
recreational aviation." It was on Mineta’s watch that the FAA
issued the long-awaited sport pilot/light-sport aircraft rules. As DOT
secretary, Mineta visited AirVenture several times and demonstrated a
continuing interest in general aviation.
"We thank him for his leadership as
secretary and wish him the best," Poberezny said.
