FAA

Well, carrier Captains don´t like pilot fly-bys... 🙄

Negative, the pattern is full. 😀

There is alot of good stuff about the FAA, but then their is alot of not good stuff. One thing that I've noticed is that they are NEVER very helpful. I've e-mail them with simple questions reguarding the FARs (Federal Aviation Regulations), and it took them about 1.5 months to reply to me, and when I did get a reply it was, "Please contact your local FSDO office.", or something like that.
The FAA also banned Position and Hold at towered airports which made stuff kind of inconvenient for pilots.

Sam,

The ban is only If you can't proove your airport needs Position and Hold. 99.99% of all the airports in the US got the exemption.

From a GA pilots perspective, the FAA is absolutely terrible. The ADIZ, user fees, restrictions, etc all really put the FAA in a bad light. They are a terribly ran bureacracy and have nothing more than a bunch of lying politicians running it.

The airlines are a little more happy with them due to the part of their lobbying power. The airlines just need to throw a few bucks at the FAA, and remarkably any problem they have is sovled.

The people with the worth relation though is the air traffic controllers. ATC facilities in the US are understaffed and are putting us at a great risk. On top of that, the FAA is about to throw out the controllers contract and give them a HUGE paycut. This as air traffic continues to grow.

A great example of how bad the FAA's policies are is at Las Vegas. In 2004, Las Vegas had 0 runway incursions. In 2005, the FAA got rid of many employees in the control tower and runway incursions went up to 16 in that year. Instead of putting more people back in the tower, the FAA decided to cut more jobs. It wont be long now before another disatrous crash happens because of the FAA"s unwilligness to fly us safely.

Matt773 Wrote: "From a GA pilots perspective, the FAA is absolutely terrible. The ADIZ, user fees, restrictions, etc all really put the FAA in a bad light. They are a terribly ran bureacracy and have nothing more than a bunch of lying politicians running it."

I'm sorry but that has not been my experience. I have been a rated pilot since 1973 and hold commercial munti-engine, and instrument ratings. In my experience, the FAA operations in ATC and in the local district offices have been manned by people experienced and very well versed in aviation. They also want to be helpful to general aviation while still accomplishing their missions of aviation safety and enforcement of the laws, rules, and regulations governing aviation.

I, at times, have disagreed with positions taken by FAA but I have never had reason to question thier honesty or integrity. They do a damn difficult job fairly well. Do they make mistakes? Of course they do. Please name me one human activity where mistakes are not made, especially one as complex as aviation.

I am not sure what your concern with the ADIZ is. One of the essential roles of government is to ensure the safety of the nation and ADIZ is a major component in that safety. ADIZ got its start as a buffer protecting the nation's airspace from hostile aircraft from the Soviet Union. I'd say that was a fairly worthy goal. Now that it is no longer a factor, ADIZ still remains a buffer to drug and illegal entry flights. It is also fairly easy to navigate, assuming you understand and comply with the rules.

I'm not sure which user fees you might be referring to. The USA general aviation arena is almost completely free of federally imposed user fees. Ask some of our European members about the costs of aviation in the USA compared to thier home countries. Good weather is not the only reason many foreign pilots train in the USA.

I'm also not sure which restrictions you are concerned with. I and all the other pilots in the country depend on FAA and ATC to provide a relatively risk free environment when we fly. When you mix low speed with high speed aircraft, professional pilots with rank amatuers, and conflicting aviation missions, there are many necessary restrictions in the system to ensure safety. Which in particular do you find objectionable?

I've never been a part of FAA in any way so I have no ulterior motives in defending them. I have had experience with the aviation environments in several other countries, including Canada and Mexico, and, IMO, FAA is by far the best and least restrictive aviation authority in the world.

Sam,

The ban is only If you can't proove your airport needs Position and Hold. 99.99% of all the airports in the US got the exemption.

Didn't know that, thanks. 😀

But I guess I have to agree with Don Wood on most of this, espesially(sp?) about the FAA being the one of the lest restrictive Aviation Authoritys, I agree.
I hang around the AOPA forums alot, and from what I've heard some members say there, the FAA does sound a little tough on GA; but it sure is good that we have them because things wouldn't run too smoothly without them. 😉