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Type: General Information Notice Date: August 6, 2009 Notice Number: NOTC1806 FAAST Blast This posting will be removed on September 4, 2009

FAAST Blast — August 05, 2009

Biweekly FAA Aviation News update — Special EAA AirVenture ^® Edition

 

Babbitt Receives Warm Welcome at AirVenture’s Meet the Administrator

FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt was welcomed by hundreds of GA pilots and aviation enthusiasts at the Meet the Administrator forum at this year’s EAA AirVenture Fly-in, the world’s largest GA event. Babbitt took pride in citing several accomplishments in the efforts to improve GA safety, but also made no reservations about the need for continued vigilance among the flying community. “We’ve got a safe system,” said Babbitt, “but we need to step up, individually and collectively.”

 

Following his speech, Babbitt fielded questions from the audience ranging in scope from pilot fatigue to field approvals. A question about TSA regulations elicited an excited response from the audience as Babbitt pledged to meet with the director of the TSA, once named, and bring the important GA issues to the table.

 

EAA Founder Paul Poberezny Awarded Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award

At the forum, Administrator Babbitt presented the coveted Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award to EAA founder and National Aviation Hall of Fame inductee Paul Poberezny. “It’s a privilege and an honor to be on stage with someone of such stature,” remarked Babbitt after citing Poberezny’s aviation accomplishments, including having piloted nearly 500 different types of aircraft. “Paul is on a very, very short list of people who’ve really changed the way we think about airplanes, aviation, and flying.”  The Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award recognizes outstanding pilots who have demonstrated professionalism, skill, and aviation expertise by maintaining safe operations for 50 or more years.

 

FAA Safety Center Sees Strong Attendance at AirVenture

Many predicted this year’s AirVenture attendance numbers would be way down. But those pessimistic prognosticators were wrong. Turnout far exceeded expectations hitting 578,000, a 12 percent increase over 2008. “You certainly wouldn’t know we’re in the midst of an industry downturn,” said FAASTeam Manager Rich Mileham, referring to strong attendance of FAA Safety Forums and the number of visitors to the SafetyCenter. “The hangar was packed and several of our forums were standing room only.”

 

The FAASafetyCenter opened its doors on July 27 to thousands of eager aviators, providing on-the-spot assistance and information on aerospace medicine, NextGen technology initiatives, and FAASafety.gov/WINGS Program support. FAA hosted nearly 40 safety forums, including three at the AirVenture Seaplane base. Another highpoint:  the light-sport aircraft theme issue of FAA Aviation News.  James Williams and Tom Hoffmann served as roving reporters during the week and made sure plenty of copies of the July/August 2009 FAA Aviation News were available.

 

Produced by the editors, FAA Aviation News , http://www.faa.gov/news/aviation_news/

Address questions or comments to:  AviationNews@faa.gov