Inside the Fence

April 18, 2007
On NATA, security funding, the new airports guy, and a bit of ATC perspective ...

As we go to press, we return from this year's Aviation Industry Expo. A key component of the Expo is the annual convention of the National Air Transportation Association. This year, NATA reformatted to offer an FBO Leadership Conference, splitting out Part 135s for their own Charter Summit, to be held June 27-29 in Leesburg, VA.

All indications are the move was a success — overall NATA attendance was up and sessions were more vibrant. In the 1970s, NATA had difficulty keeping Part 135s in the fold because the business by its nature follows a different model, and due to its inherent regulatory emphasis. The charter business today is a different animal, driven by fractionals. It may indeed make sense to break out the segment.

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Meanwhile, on the funding front, the good news is that Congress is finally getting serious about funding in-line explosives detection systems at U.S. airports. The bad news is that they've wrapped up the proposed $1 billion for EDS and related systems into the Iraq war funding bill, which President Bush has promised to veto.

This issue's cover story on Madison looks at the airport's terminal redevelopment. After 9/11, the airport was in the midst of redesigning its terminal. It immediately called back the architects and had them design an in-line EDS system as part of the renovation. Alas, TSA funding for the system never materialized. Sadly, it reflects the experience of many U.S. airports in the past six years.
Congress mandates, and fails to deliver.

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At FAA, there's a new cowboy in town: native Texan Kirk Shaffer takes over the helm as associate administrator for airports. Read his comments on page 30. First brush suggests that Shaffer is of the same ilk as recent popular holders of that position, Woodie Woodward and Kate Lang. For airports, that's good news.

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Finally, this issue's Business Profile features Flightstar, which has seen its flight operations transition from flight training to charter to aircraft management.

One of the hot issues related to system funding now taking place is the modernization of air traffic control. Chip Hussey at Flightstar wonders where the center of the debate needs to be. "They've always had modernization of ATC as a priority, since inception," he says of FAA.

"We fly all over the world, and we have the best air traffic control system in the world. Does that mean it's perfect? No. Could it use improvement? Yes. I'm sitting here thinking, we just put in a new radar system here — did we put in obsolete equipment or new stuff? Ever since we've had a Loran we've been flying direct. Now it's GPS; but when you get to Europe, it doesn't matter if you have GPS. You're flying an airway. Here, it's direct."

Thanks for reading.