Oshkosh, WI
Thank you JACK for that introduction. I am very pleased to be here with you all today.
Oshkosh and the annual AirVenture event are truly the heartbeat of General Aviation in North America. This is where old friends get together each year to share and nurture the ideas that breathe new life into this community.
I want to begin by acknowledging the men and women who take such pride every year in transforming Oshkosh into the worlds busiest airport. We have to thank everyone from the pink shirts in the Tower to the West Ramp Rats. Lets hear it for them.
Speaking of FAA staff, its not only the people in the Tower and Fisk Approach. We have with us several senior staff from Headquarters. They are here because General Aviation is a vital part of this countrys heritage and future and at the FAA, GA safety is one of our top priorities. Id like our team to stand and introduce themselves.
There are a few more people here at the front and this is one of the best parts of being Administrator I have the honor of recognizing them for their exceptional effort and exceptional dedication to the aviation industry. Id like everyone to meet the 2015 National General Aviation Award Winners.
First up is our Certified Flight Instructor of the Year, Mary Schu from Tualitin Oregon.
This years Aviation Maintenance Technician of the Year is Donald Streitenberger Junior from Cincinnati Ohio.
Your choice for Avionics Technician of the Year is Ricky Hestilow of Arlington, Texas.
Finally, the 2015 FAA Safety Team (FAAST) Representative of the Year is Christopher Hope of Kansas City, Missouri.
These talented individuals are part of a greater community a community including those who taught them, learned from them, or work with them. The proof is this: all of us have chosen to honor them for their ongoing efforts.
Whether you waggled your wings in a Cessna over the railroad tracks, or made an entrance in something slightly bigger such as FiFi or her descendant, the B-52, you are the people making aviation a success in the United States.
You are the people the FAA is here to serve and keep safe, though some of you may not have appreciated memorizing the 32-page AirVenture NOTAM prior to arrival.
This year AirVenture falls squarely between the 70th anniversaries of V-E day in May and V-J day in August, which marked the final day of World War Two. During the war years, our remarkable parents and grandparents built and flew some three hundred thousand aircraft. They kick started the GA community, and I am proud to see how this generation is looking after the living history of our War Birds. Nothing is ever the same after youve heard Packard Merlins and Pratt and Whitney Radials coming down the flight line.
Talking of the sound of classic engines, Washington D.C. was lucky enough to get a preview of Oshkosh when the country celebrated VE day with the war bird fly past down the Mall. Events like this can only happen with extensive cooperation between GA and the FAA... especially to fly over the Nations capitol.
During wartime, pilots put mission first. Today in the world of civil aviation, safety is first and foremost. The pilots who make it out to AirVenture are not casual about aviation; this is a passion. You have conversations with friends involving too many hand gestures; you have subscriptions to too many aviation magazines to ever read in a single month. So when we talk to you about aviation health and safety, you listen.
Medicine and aviation have had a very long relationship. In fact, physiologist Paul Bert performed the first medical tests on pilots back in 1862, 40 years before the Wright brothers. Two balloon pilots had gone up to 29,000 feet and as you might expect, caught a bad case of altitude sickness.
This is why we consider, and you believe, the Third Class Medical Certificate to be so important. We addressed the matter last year and although we are working on it, there is not yet a proposal to change the requirements.
I know this is frustrating to hear; it is frustrating to report. I know you all want to hear something definitive. But is important for you to know that we are working closely with Congress on this issue, and there is a lot of interest in Congress to provide us the authority to change the medical certification requirement. We want to make a lasting policy that will stand the test of time. We want a standard that will not require another re-think, or another process, for years to come.
The FAA is working continuously and diligently on the proposal. This isnt just a matter of ironing out obvious wrinkles, its trying to foresee where problems might occur and then define a way to forestall them. This is why we look to all interested parties, including Congress, and all stakeholders, to step forward and weigh in with their ideas and thoughts on this issue.
History keeps teaching, but we often fail to listen. Amelia Earhart said, Trouble in the Air is very rare. It is hitting the ground that causes it. Those words hold as true today as they did then.
Its because of words like these, and the far too many reports that cross the NTSBs desk, that earlier this summer we in cooperation with the EAA, and AOPA started our Fly Safe public awareness campaign. One focus of the campaign is Loss of Control. This is a catch-all phrase that sometimes seems inadequate to the task. LOC is the last in a series of actions or decisions leading to a point, often beyond recovery, and often leading to tragedy.
At the FAA, we compile the statistics, looking at numbers in black and white, but we never forget that each number also represents flesh and blood. We want to turn the numbers around, and no method, no percentage point is too small.
Throughout the year, the Loss of Control campaign will highlight particular causes that contribute to accidents, giving pilots a chance to learn from our experience and findings. In the coming months, we will cover topics as varied as Flight RiskAssessment to survival.
What it boils down to is you can never know enough. You should never miss an opportunity to learn, to increase situational awareness, or to find a new way to stay further ahead of the aircraft.
Aviation and equipment innovation have always gone hand in hand. During the First World War, the prevailing attitude was to not issue our pilots with parachutes. Nearly a century later, planes are being built or retrofitted with parachutes capable of supporting the entire aircraft.
In the spirit of encouraging other innovative techniques, the EAA recently announced its Founders Prize, throwing down a substantial challenge to its membership. The mission is to find low cost solutions that recognize and warn pilots prior to the onset of LOC incidents. Fore warned is fore armed and even seconds can avert a tragedy.
Technology doesnt ensure safety, but it does usually enhance it. In 1931 Wiley Post flew around the world in his Lockheed Vega Winnie Mae. His Nav system, his backup, was the 150 odd pound navigator Harold Gatty who sat behind the fuel and the CG. Gatty communicated with Post by pulling notes back and forth on a string. In 1933 Post repeated the trip flying solo, this time using the very first Sperry auto pilot, the 75 pound Mechanical Mike.
Aviation thrives on these kinds of advances, and taking a lead in this for GA is the ADS-B mandate. Most of you here already know the benefits: your safety factor will increase with better positioning services very important for areas with limited radar coverage and free access to weather and traffic data on a real time basis.
One piece of very good news is that equipage costs have gone down dramatically since the mandate was introduced. Units with installation that were going for $8,000 only a couple years ago are now, in some cases, in the $2,000 range with five years still to go.
We hope the price drop will ease an estimated 100 thousand plane owners off the fence and into the shop with their planes. The present conversion rate indicates many are waiting until the last minute to install the equipment. If youre putting off equipping, Id like to urge you to reconsider so you and your plane arent stuck on the tarmac when the deadline hits. Finally, as I know many of you are wondering, the January 1, 2020 date is firm.
As all of you know, the FAAs responsibilities cover not only avionics, but the airframe itself. The very first airworthiness certificates in the United States were issued back in 1927 to manufacturers with legendary names such as Douglas, Waco and Fokker, but Im sure design parameters were slightly simpler in the 1920s.
Airworthiness certification is still an essential part of our job, and now we are looking forward to the advent of the new Part 23 aircraft certification. Over the years the original certification process became complicated and cumbersome. It also potentially restricted the possibility of finding innovative ways to a safer airframe.
With extensive feedback from industry and stakeholders we are drafting a rule incorporating safety innovation flexibility. The FAA will define safety and airworthiness parameters, thus giving designers a goal without telling them how to get there. As long as results meet the new Part 23 requirements, industry can make extensive use of the latest designs, materials, and technology.
Design used to begin with paper, then onto models. Weve been flying kites for 25 hundred years, and we started rudimentary control of unmanned vehicles with spark radios and balloons in the late 1800s. Today model aviation enthusiasts are some the FAAs finest partners and they continually amaze people with their ingenuity. This decade has seen the advent of commercially affordable and accessible UAS. The industry itself is growing exponentially with no sign of slowing down.
The FAA has spent 50 years taking new technology and incorporating it into the National Airspace System, and UAS is no different. One of the most pressing issues here is not the technology, but the influx of non-aviation professionals with little or no knowledge there is a national airspace system. A perfect example of this disconnect was last week during California wild fires. On several occasions multiple drones flying near the fires caused 30-minute suspensions of all airborne firefighting assets.
GA pilots know wild fires often initiate Temporary Flight Restrictions, but the drone operators either didnt know or ignored FAA regulations. We are continuously working to engage this community, and finding ways to help them integrate safely into the NAS.
One successful effort is the Know Before You Fly public information campaign. Developed in partnership with the modeling community and industry, we are working together to provide vital flight parameters for commercial and public drone operators. Several UAS manufacturers have even started to include Know Before You Fly literature in their packaging.
We also launched the No Drone Zone public outreach campaign at this years Super Bowl as a way to create awareness about drone free zones. Then in mid May, the FAA launched another outreach campaign for Washington, D.C., making sure everyone knew that the 15 miles around National Airport is a No Drone Zone.
We reinforced this message again prior to the July 4 holiday. Weve all seen news coverage of recreational drone users apprehended by law enforcement after flying quadcopters too close to the White House. This is exactly what were trying to prevent by giving people the information they need to fly safely before they leave their homes.
Here at Oshkosh, I am always amazed by the variety of flying machines, and there is always so much to do. But if you have the time, and you want more information on any of the topics Ive addressed, just east of the tower is the FAA Safety Center. There youll find more than 100 experts from more than 20 FAA departments eager to answer your questions.
AirVenture is the greatest of all possible aviation worlds. A time when the past sits with pride next to the present, and all around we see hints of the future. Yesterday was a busy day. We formally signed an MOU continuing the FAAs relationship with Women in Aviation International. We also got to visit KidVenture and met the next generation introduced to flight by the EAA Young Eagles. Watching these young people be as thrilled by P-51 as they are by an F22 shows me, and all of us, that the future is in good hands.
Ive mentioned a lot of changes, but one thing that doesnt change is the pilot. You are the best computer the plane will ever have, the best safety equipment the plane will ever have, and most of you, a steadier hand than the auto pilot. It all begins and ends with you. I hope you never lose that enthusiasm for the air and I look forward to your questions.
Have a wonderful, fun and safe AirVenture 2015.
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