WINGMAN SPONSORgonata.net/images/voice_july_2017.pdf · 2018-09-13 · by with a Mitchell B25, the P51 and a Vultee BT13. This was another great event for Nebraska with numerous GA

The NATA VOICE JULY 2017 Website: http://gonata.net

Nebraska’s Aviation Voice Published by the Nebraska Aviation Trades Association, Judy McDowell, Editor

192 W Lakeshore, Lincoln, NE 68528—Phone/Fax: 402-475-6282, Email: [email protected]

The 25th Annual State Fly in was held at Norfolk, NE Karl Stefan Memorial Airport on Saturday, June 24.

Over 1,800 people attended the event which began Friday afternoon with back seat rides (at $1,895 for 20 minutes) in a North American P51D, named “Gunfighter”. Tandem parachute jumps were also available for those daring enough to jump out of an aircraft at 10,000’.

Saturday was the big day with an air show which lasted two hours. There was a mock dogfight with a Tora, Tora, Tora look alike and a P51, then later a formation fly by with a Mitchell B25, the P51 and a Vultee BT13. This was another great event for Nebraska with numerous GA aircraft flying in with a full ramp. There was a static display of the American Flight Museum’s C-47, “Spooky”, and during the airshow Harry Barr landing a Piper J3 Cub on top of a Chevy Surburban, then racing a Nissan 370Z while upside down in a Hyperbype, fol-lowed by Doug Roth performing a fantastic aerobatic demonstration in a Staudacher aircraft. Three Nanchang CJ6 aircraft performed formation fly bys which were done by pilots from Columbus, NE. It was a fun day with temperatures in the mid 70’s and a scattered cloud layer. Ronnie Mitchell Director of Nebraska Department of Aeronautics

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Nebraska Aviation Trades Association 2 Page 2

AIRFEST PHOTOS BY BILL MAXEY


Prior to the air show the NE Dept. of Aeronautics had a display area with a special guest, “Air Bear” who was very popular with the younger crowd.

On the ramp, crew chiefs (dads) were warming up the tarmac with young “P51 and Christen Eagle” pilots who furiously pedaled their aircraft.


Nebraska Operation S.A.F.E. It is still about two weeks from the fungicide run here in Nebraska and I have several planes lined up to pattern test before that time arrives. I have remained busy this year and have already tested 44 planes in Nebraska with nearly 400 passes! Adding the fly-in’s I have conducted in other states this year, the total planes tested is 82 and over 600 passes over the string. I continue to see an improved pattern when 1 or two nozzles are added in the proper location to the right side of the fuselage. This is especially true when a crosswind is present. Filling the void under the fuselage as rap-idly as possible eliminates the decreased deposition problem in the center of the pattern during crosswind ap-plications. In addition, the nozzles just to the right of the fuselage (those affected by the propwash) should al-ways have zero deflection. Hopefully, we will be very busy pattern testing planes in Nebraska until about July 15. July 17 my son and I are leaving for Australia for 5 weeks to work with the Australian Association and pattern test planes all over the continent. We will be back August 21 and ready to continue testing planes prior to fall pasture work if needed. If you are interested in having your planes tested, please let me know. I would like to again thank BASF for their support of the program, and thank GarrCo Products for donating the dye. I hope to see a number of you yet this summer, and please save a SAFE spray season! Alan Corr NATA Education Director, Certified S.A.F.E. Analyst Web site: agrisprayconsulting.com


Jarrod Wehrman

Jason Schindler

Randy Prellwitz

Rob Keitzman


Casey Williams

Dale Bittner Luke Meyers

Nick Schindler


Ron Troyer

Ryan Lihs

Scott DeLong

Shane Donovan

Trey O’Daniel

Zack Dressman


House and Senate Committees Moving FAA Reauthorization Bills Covering UAV Safety, Tower Marking and ATC Privatization

The House and Senate this week are marking up drafts of FAA reauthorization bills introduced last week, through their respective committees of jurisdiction. The FAA is currently authorized until Sept. 30, 2017. The House’s FAA reauthorization bill passed its Transportation & Infrastructure Committee yesterday. The Senate marks up its version through the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee today. What follows are provisions included in both bills pertaining to the aerial application industry. The House bill, titled the “21st Century Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act,” was introduced by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA). The Senate bill is titled the “Federal Aviation Admini-stration Reauthorization Act of 2017,” and was introduced by Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans-portation Chairman John Thune (R-SD). ATC Privatization Chairman Shuster has led the charge (along with President Trump) to privatize Air Traffic Control (ATC), and even with intense opposition from House Appropriations Committee members and the general aviation community, Shus-ter again included ATC privatization in his FAA reauthorization bill, but he included changes from last year’s bill to win over detractors. NAAA was successful in seeing that the Shuster bill included an exemption for Part 137 opera-tors from user fees such as using public airports and from using air traffic control (ATC). That change was included, as was a full and complete exemption from all general aviation aircraft user fees regardless of whether the ag aircraft is piston or turbine propelled. Shuster’s bill would also create a nonprofit to manage ATC, beginning on Oct. 1, 2020, called the American Air Navi-gation Service Corporation. The corporation would have 13 board members: the CEO of the corporation, two direc-tors appointed by the Department of Transportation, one director nominated by passenger airlines, one director nominated by cargo air carriers, one director nominated by regional passenger air carriers, one director nominated by general aviation, one director nominated by business aviation, one director nominated by ATC union, one director nominated by airports, one director nominated by a commercial pilot union and two “at-large” directors. Directors would have a fiduciary duty to the corporation and may not be employees or agents of the organizations represented as stakeholders on the board. The makeup of this board is a big change from last year’s proposal, which allowed airlines to have a larger influence over the corporation. The Senate bill does not mention ATC privatization. Chairman Thune has taken a “wait and see” approach on ATC privatization, and he is likely to wait until the House votes on ATC privatization to take a position on it in the Senate. UAVs One of the bigger-ticket items both the House and Senate bills seek to resolve relates to requiring drones to be reg-istered. Relying on the statutory definition of a drone, last month a federal court ruled that they are “model aircraft” and don’t need to be registered. Both bills restore the FAA’s requirement that all drones be registered. The House bill also seeks to jumpstart the creation of an air traffic control system for low-altitude airspace. NASA is working with the FAA and industry to lay the groundwork for the system. The House bill would direct the FAA administrator to initiate a rulemaking within 18 months on airspace management below 400 feet and to establish expedited procedures under the final rule for low-risk areas. The Senate FAA bill would require DOT and NASA to come up with a similar implementation plan within one year. Both bills would require DOT to issue a rule authorizing and certifying small drone operators to make deliveries within a year.


But many of the big barriers to large-scale drone use go unaddressed in the bills. Both bills duck the issue of federal pre-emption of state and local laws, instead requiring studies by the GAO (Senate) or the DOT Inspector General’s office (House). Drone industry representatives had asked lawmakers to hold their fire, saying legislation on this topic was pre-mature and that lawmakers should wait for the final recommendations of the FAA’s Drone Advisory Committee (NAAA is a member of the DAC Subcommittee). Some believe drone operators risk a major backlash if they don’t allow states and localities to have some say over where, when and how drones operate in their neighborhoods. Forty states have passed laws and three have passed resolutions regulating drones, indicating a robust appetite at the state level to have a say. Some members in both chambers have also introduced bills recently related to the issue, such as a bill endorsed by NAAA introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). Feinstein is likely to introduce her amendment when the bill is considered on the Senate floor. A Senate committee aide said that given the lack of consensus on preemption, the study provisions keep the conversa-tion going and avoids battles over a thorny issue with the potential to derail the bill. The AIRR Act would make relatively few changes to UAV regulations, instead focusing on government studies to better understand UAV regulations. Studies include a UAV privacy review, an evaluation of aircraft registration for small UAS (sUAS), a study on the roles of govern-ments (Federal, State, local, and Tribal) regarding low-altitude operation of sUAS, and a study to help determine how UAS operators can be charged to fund the regulation and safety oversight of UAS. Towers Both the House bill and Senate bill would amend the tower marking law that NAAA worked to enact last year by exempt-ing from marking and database requirements all towers located within the right-of-way of a rail carrier, including the boundaries of a rail yard, that is used for a railroad purpose. This issue was pushed heavily by rail interests. As a reminder, NAAA’s success last year in pushing the enactment of tower marking laws resulted in mandating that all types of towers between 50 and 200 feet AGL with an above-ground base of 10 feet in diameter or less must be marked unless they meet specific exemptions. The House and Senate bills this year would amend the tower marking law to only require the marking and database-entry of meteorological evaluation towers (METs). The communications industry has opposed marking their towers that meet the description above; however, neither bill excluded them entirely. Rather, com-munication towers meeting the specifications above could determine whether to mark or log their towers into a database, rather than be required to do both. These provisions apply only to towers on land that is remote or rural and used for ag-ricultural purposes (or adjacent to such areas used for agricultural purposes). Exempt from the marking and database-entry requirements would be any tower adjacent to a building, within the curtilage of a farmstead, that supports electric utility transmission or distribution lines, is a wind-powered turbine with rotors at least six feet in radius, street lights, bill-boards, towers within 100 feet from the centerline of an in-use rail line, and towers designed to look like trees, and tow-ers with an FAA no-hazard determination. Pilots conducting low-altitude operations in remote or rural areas used for agricultural purposes will be required to con-sult the database before flying. NAAA is working with the House author of its marking provision, U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), to urge marking and database requirements for all qualifying towers erected after the implementation date, regardless of whether they are METs or communication towers. Aircraft Certification Reform The House and Senate bills would make great strides in improving aircraft certification, which can help to lower costs of aircraft and new aviation technologies that make aerial application more efficient and safe. First, the bill would require FAA to “establish performance objectives and apply and track metrics … relating to aircraft certification,” to ensure that progress is made in eliminating certification delays and improving cycle times, among other goals. Second, the Act would require FAA to establish an issue resolution process for type certification activities that will help to speed up the certification process even further. Finally, the bill would require FAA to implement a risk-based policy that “streamlines the installation of safety enhancing equipment and systems for small general aviation aircraft in a manner that reduces regulatory delays and significantly improves safety.” Each of these reforms will help aircraft manufacturers to spend less time and money getting aircraft certified, which can

help to lower costs and improve the speed at which our industry is able to innovate. NAAA


EPA Delays Certification and Training Rule The EPA has delayed the effective date for the “Certification of Pesticide Applicators” rule, also known as the certification and training rule, from June 5, 2017, to May 22, 2018. The rule generally sets baseline standards for state certification of pesticide applicators, mandates that states recertify applicators at least once every five years, and mandates that states have a certification category for aerial application that requires applicators to pass an exam, earn continuing edu-cation units or both. All state pesticide applicator certification plans must now be submitted to, and approved by, the EPA. The rule also sets the minimum age for commercial applicators at 18 years old, even if a person under 18 can pass all certification exams, wears proper protective equipment, and otherwise is able to safely handle or apply pesticides. The age requirement provision is a burden for some aerial application businesses that hire applicators or work with family members under the age of 18 to mix and load pesticides. NAAA will work to repeal this part of the rule in the coming year. NAAA

Trump Administration Continues to Try to Evaporate Obama Administration’s WOTUS Rule

The EPA announced this week that it is moving forward with a proposed rule to undo the Obama administration’s EPA water regulation that markedly expanded the definition of a Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS), as well as what waters are required to be regulated under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Under the previous administration’s rule, currently stayed by the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, dry water beds would have been regulated under the CWA. The proposed rule would reinstate the process that EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers used for nearly a decade to determine which waterways receive Clean Water Act protection in the wake of two Supreme Court decisions. The EPA announced Tuesday it had completed the proposal. A copy is still awaiting release. Last year the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals blocked implementation of the Obama rule, so Tuesday’s proposal would not trigger any immediate changes. Instead, the proposal is meant as a backstop by the Trump administration in case the original legal stay of WOTUS is lifted, which could occur when the Supreme Court decides whether the 6th Circuit has jurisdiction over the matter. The proposed rule is the first in a two-step process planned by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. The agency is already working on writing a new version of the rule that would include a narrower interpretation of which creeks, bogs and marshes and dry water beds are or are not protected under federal law. NAAA will be commenting on the rule and took real issue with the Obama administration’s marked expansion of what was defined as a WOTUS because it would have markedly expanded the regulatory reach as to which pesticide applications would have required an NPDES pesticide general permit—a burdensome and duplicative regulation. The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) requires that a pesticide meet water safety guidelines, but the NPDES PGP requires additional paperwork to apply for the permit and allows citizens the right to sue someone mak-ing an application regardless of grounds. NAAA


U.S. House Passes NPDES PGP Repeal Bill for 4th Time The House once again passed the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act, sponsored by Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH), as 25 Democrats joined 231 Republicans to pass H.R. 953 with a vote of 256 to 165. The bill would exempt pesticide applications from National Pollutant Discharge Elimina-tion System (NPDES) Pesticide General Permit (PGP) requirements. The environment, including waterways, are already protected from pesticide applications through the Fed-eral Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), making costly NPDES PGP re-quirements redundant. Last year, a modified version of this bill, called the Zika Vector Control Act, would have limited the exemption only to applications made before Sept. 30, 2018 and meant to kill mosquitos. The Zika Vector Control Act passed the House but was unable to pass in the Senate. This year, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act would apply to all pesticide applications, not just those meant to kill mosquitoes, and would not be limited to applications made be-fore a certain date. Congressman Gibbs did a fantastic job on the House floor combatting arguments that in-correctly claim this bill would harm the environment. Several Democrats, including the House Agriculture Committee’s ranking member, Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN), also spoke in favor of the bill along with House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA). Some members of Congress, like Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), continued to incorrectly claim that this bill would repeal regulations that prevent fish kills and that the paperwork and recordkeeping requirements aren’t costly. Thankfully, and in no small part thanks to NAAA, the House listened to the facts and voted to pass this vital piece of legislation. The bill now heads to the Senate where it will hopefully be attached to a larger piece of legislation and be enacted into law later in the 115th United States Congress. NAAA


Documents

WINGMAN SPONSORgonata.net/images/voice_july_2017.pdf · 2018-09-13 · by with a Mitchell B25, the P51 and a Vultee BT13. This was another great event for Nebraska with numerous GA