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GAAC NEWS
Newsletter
incorporated into General Aviation
General Aviation magazine is now the official mouthpiece of the GAAC,
and this will help to spread the news about the Council. In the next issue
we intend to publish a detailed report on the planning aspects of the
Council's work, explaining why this is so important if General Aviation
is to have a long term future. The following is a reprint of the GAAC
News published in the December edition.
New
faces, AOPA continues to back administration
Since its inception more than eleven years ago, the GAAC has been administered
by AOPA; also, since the start, David Ogilvy and Jack Wells have been
Chairman and Secretary respectively, but both are well into their seventies
and wish to reduce their workloads. So this seemed to be an appropriate
time for another national association to come forward and take over the
support task.
Although
negotiations took place over several months, no one Organisation has been
able to take on the commitment. Various options were put to the Board
of the GAAC (an independent company limited by guarantee) and the final
vote came out in favour of the present system remaining: that AOPA would
continue to provide the required administrative back-up on behalf of the
entire GA movement.
This failed
to solve the more personal problem of who does what, but at a recent meeting
some changes were made: Charles Henry (Chairman of the Cabair Group) has
been appointed as Chairman and David Corbett (Flying Farmers Association)
is now Vice Chairman of the Board; John Pett (organiser of the AOPA Flight
Instructor Seminars) is now Secretary and John Stainer (Vintage Aircraft
Club) is extending his previous duties to become General Co-ordinator.
Mike Pearson (Stahlwille Tools) is Treasurer.
Anna Bloomfield's
position as professional Planning Co-ordinator and Philip Isbell (Popular
Flying Association) as Safeguarding Co-ordinator remain unchanged. David
Ogilvy will continue to chair the Council's Working Group for the foreseeable
future and Jack Wells will remain as Company Secretary and specialist
in political matters; both have been voted in as the Council's first Vice-Presidents.
The Board is pleased that Lord Rotherwick has agreed to continue as President.
The newly strengthened and broad-based team will ensure that GAAC is equipped
to tackle tasks for the years ahead.
28-day Rule Saved
Planning law permits the temporary use of any land for a range of purposes
for not more than 28 days in any calendar year. Many small flying sites
operate under this '28-day rule' and some larger operations began in this
very modest way. It is currently one of the main benefits of the system,
being a very valuable planning tool.
The suitability of small flying sites can be 'tested' without any need
to encounter the planning system. The option of operating for 28 days
per annum is vital to a wide range of operators.
Many of the smaller operations are undertaken solely under the 28-day
rule, especially given the weather-dependent nature of GA. However, for
others it is a vital stepping stone in establishing whether:
· the site will be suitable to meet their needs in practical and
operational terms;
· the operation is likely to result in any adverse impact upon
noise sensitive users in the vicinity.
This important benefit was under threat. As part of its far ranging review
of the entire planning system, Central Government sent out a consultation
paper in the Spring to assess whether or not this rule should be allowed
to continue.
Six options were set out, only one of which was to retain the current
situation. The other options would all have resulted in serious problems
for GA. The GAAC submitted responses to Government and urged it to retain
the current temporary use provisions.
We are pleased to report that, thankfully, common sense has prevailed
and this valuable benefit is being retained. The Government concluded
that proposals to change the rules would create too much red tape. It
also noted that responses revealed little evidence of widespread problems
with the system. It is good to report that, unlike many consultation exercises
where the views of consultees appear to carry little weight, the Government
has listened to these voices.- Anna Bloomfield.
Department for Transport: Consultation
The GAAC has responded to all seven of the Regional consultation papers
on which views were invited before the end of November. The following
is a synopsis of the GAAC submission. In replying we have emphasised that:
· one important section of the air transport infrastructure-namely
GA-appears to have been completely overlooked in formulating the airport
policy options for the future;
· GA has to be accommodated within the plans for the future if
civil aviation is to survive in the UK.
Although the consultation document focuses on the development of the major
airports and, implicitly, the need to accommodate the growth in commercial
transport, this growth will be accompanied by a growing volume of GA traffic,
for business, public services, flying training and leisure purposes. It
is essential therefore that in any plans to develop airports the need
to accommodate GA is not excluded.
Currently,
across the country where there is expansion of Commercial Air Transport
(CAT), GA is often being excluded by one means or another with no alternative
to which to relocate. This is particularly true in the case of flying
training on which the supply of pilots and hence the future health of
the airlines depends.
It must therefore be recognised in planning the future air transport infrastructure
that GA is an essential component of the aviation sector and that its
aerodromes and facilities form a key part of the national transport infrastructure.
For GA to function effectively and contribute to aviation development
in the UK and Europe, any new developments must take account of GAs needs.
It is essential therefore that:
· there should be provision for GA at all new and developed locations
to facilitate a coordinated air transport system for the country.
· Where for air traffic or other reasons GA has to be excluded
from operating from certain locations, Central Government must give its
backing to establishing alternative facilities. To date Central Government
has refused to become involved in these matters, leaving it to the relevant
local authority to rule on any planning issue concerned with GA aerodrome
development. Local authority jurisdiction is however far too narrow to
take into account national transport and planning considerations. The
Planning Policy Guidance notes relating to GA - specifically PPG 13 -
are inadequate for this purpose;
· No aerodrome should be closed without a public inquiry into the
implications of the proposed closure;
· Any airspace changes resulting from airport developments should
accommodate GA. Some of the proposals for airport development in the consultation
document would lead to serious reductions in uncontrolled airspace that
would adversely affect GA operations.
U.S. GA presents a United Front
The following item appeared on Avweb, under the headline 'GA honchos meet
all on the same page'. ‘Seeking uniformity and fairness on other fronts,
[the] General Aviation Coalition (GAC) - which according to the National
Business Aviation Association comprises 19 organizations including GA
businesses, pilot advocacy groups and the FAA - last week sat down with
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) boss Admiral James Loy to
"develop a positive working relationship" between the TSA and
GA. It was the GAC's first meeting with the TSA. The meeting covered TFRs,
identification, training restrictions, air charter and more. According
to Tom Poberezny, GAC chairman and president of EAA, Loy promised a shift
from “admittedly emotional responses prevalent in the post 9/11 environment."'
We
wont hold our breath.
Promoting GA on the web
AOPA US has a new web site that promotes GA very effectively:
http://www.gaservingamerica.org/index.htm
It is well worthwhile visiting, and makes a good read.
GAAC
December 2002
GAAC
British Light Aviation Centre
50a Cambridge Street
LONDON
SW1V 4QQ
25 October 2000
Press Inquiries to:: 020 7834 5631
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