Earl Lawrence, EAA vice president of industry and regulatory affairs. Photo by Jim Koepnick

Amid all the airplanes and air shows, exhibits and forums, excitement and celebrations at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2007, there is another convention. It’s one that most visitors never see. But it’s an important part of AirVenture and a fundamental part of what EAA is and does for its members, indeed for all of general aviation. Throughout the week in offices, conference rooms, and other quiet corners of the EAA AirVenture grounds, key people will be getting together to talk, to listen, to engage in "a collaborative discourse," working on solutions to the challenges facing general aviation today and in the future.

Taking part in these gatherings are EAA directors and headquarters staff, EAA technical advisors and other volunteers, aircraft manufacturers, builders, plus mechanics, type club officers, airport managers, and a host of directors and staff from the FAA, including officials from its top ranks.

EAA has become the catalyst and AirVenture the place that brings all people and ideas together in the interest of aviation. A few of the many meetings this week:

• LSA (light-sport aircraft) manufacturers and mechanics, EAA technical staff, and FAA officials will meet to address critical questions about the certificating of LSA repair stations.

• Officials from EAA and the FAA will gather for a progress report on "the state of sport pilot/LSA."

• Officials from EAA and the FAA and civil aviation officials from Australia, Canada, and Israel will assemble to learn from each other and explore new policies and regulations promoting general aviation worldwide.

• Type club leaders will meet with EAA and FAA staff to work on key concerns facing members of their respective clubs, including aging aircraft, airworthiness directives, and other issues affecting specific aircraft types.

• EAA and FAA officials also will report to each other on "action items" from the EAA/FAA Recreational Aviation Summit held earlier this year. The annual summit is an important milestone in the ongoing collaboration between EAA and the FAA, and it covers a wide range of aviation issues.

EAA and AirVenture make it possible for all these groups and interests to meet and work together in one place to secure and build the future of sport and general aviation. It doesn’t happen like this anywhere else.

The FAA’s presence here is an important and positive feature of AirVenture.

"FAA officials tell us that they need to be here and that they enjoy coming here because of the collaborative atmosphere that has been created here," said Earl Lawrence, EAA vice president of industry and regulatory affairs.

"Over time, EAA has forged a strong working relationship with officials at every level of the FAA. Without that unique relationship, type clubs, for example, would not have the kind of access to FAA officials that they have here at AirVenture," Lawrence said. "EAA offers a unique forum where the aviation community and federal, state, and local aviation officials come to celebrate our passion for aviation and find solutions to the challenges we face." Conversations that began at AirVenture will continue throughout the year, he added, leading to new ideas and collaborative solutions.

EAA is a catalyst for change in aviation, and the SP/LSA regulations are the best example of that, said EAA President Tom Poberezny. The SP/LSA regulations exist because EAA led the push for it, he added. The SP/LSA concept was born at Oshkosh.

But making it happen required a true partnership between EAA and the FAA. People from both organizations worked hard to forge that partnership. The SP/LSA regulations are testimony to their success.

"As in any partnership, we don’t always agree," Poberezny added. "But we recognize that the best way to resolve our disagreements is by working together. And I’m confident that the unique partnership between EAA and FAA will continue to benefit aviation, especially sport aviation, for many years to come."