|
United States Pilots Association |
This is another reminder of our annual members’ meeting and quarterly board meeting to be held in Branson, MO, May 15-18, in conjunction with the Missouri Pilots Association annual members’ meeting and monthly board meeting. THE HOTEL CUTOFF DATE IS APRIL 15! And after April 15 the registration fee goes up $10. SO MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS NOW! Register at www.uspilots.org
Also, please remember that if you cannot attend for any reason, after you registered, we will refund your money. However, if your cancellation is so late (within a couple of days of the event) that we had to pay the hotel, boat, or theater for you, we won’t be able to refund the portion that we paid in your behalf.
If you’ve ever planned an event, you understand how important and helpful early registration is. So please make your reservation now.
And remember that this is both the USPA and MPA annual membership meeting, as well as the board meeting for each organization. So as a member and/or board member, if you cannot attend, please send a proxy with someone who will be attending, or email it to me or another officer. (A simple statement is fine, or see the attached sample proxy.) We need quorums in order to conduct business. THANK YOU!
Jan Hoynacki, Executive Director
USPA
At the LIT meeting last week, members and officers were encouraged to contact Senator McCain about his position on general aviation user fees. USPA Great Lakes Regional VP Bob Frantz wrote on March 17, and a portion of his letter follows.
We should all follow Bob’s lead and query Senator McCain, as we know he was pro GA user fees before. Please copy me with any responses.
. . . . . . . . . .
I am a pilot with an Airline Transport Pilot certificate and a lifelong dedication to flying (sixty five years). As I see news clips of you flying about the country campaigning I can’t help but notice that you use, at least sometimes, charter air transport. These aircraft are operated in the segment of aviation which is GENERAL AVIATION. In the United States there are only three classifications of aviation, Airline, Military and General Aviation.
Your past position on supporting an attempt to load the General Aviation with USER FEES to support the Federal Aviation Administration is setting a dangerous precedent. There are other generally accepted proposals to provide taxes to fund the FAA, including an aviation fuel tax increase. The Airlines don’t pay user fees and I doubt that the Military pays user fees, per se. Yet General Aviation is proposed to be singled out to pay a user fee for virtually every service that is provided by the FAA that is critical to safe and regulated flying. The Airline Industry is attempting to gain control of the skies for their own use. They haven’t done an enviable job of controlling what is their own business so what could we expect of them in controlling Air Traffic Control. This must not happen!
. . . . . . . . . . .
User fees to finance the FAA could mean the diminishment or demise of a very necessary US transportation infrastructure and the many businesses that are supported by it.
I appeal to you in your coming campaign to include your commitment publicly of NO NEW TAXES to include NO USER FEES for General Aviation. You might be surprised how many votes you might garner with this position.
. . . . . . . . . .
Jan Hoynacki, Executive Director
USPA
This column represents my opinion; not that of USPA.
It is apparent here in the middle of March that John McCain will be the Republican nominee for President and either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama will represent the Democrats. Either option does not bode well for general aviation.
We know that Hillary and Barack want to provide health care for everybody, albeit at the expense of the working class. Taxes will be raised to pay to provide the monies to pay for health care. Both are flaming liberals of the tax and spend mentality. I will bet both would sign a bill instantly if it created a new division of government tasked to collect user fees.
Then we have John McCain. No one can tarnish his military record and all that went with it. However; Sen. McCain along with Sen. Trent Lott created the user fee bill attempting to assess user fees onto general aviation while giving the airlines a huge tax break. If this bill ever gets out of Congress, I am sure it will be the death knell for flying as we know it.
Sen. McCain has a lot of other baggage. Several years ago he authored a bill that cost Boeing a huge contract to build the next fleet of Air Force tankers. Boeing won the bid, only to lose it after Sen. McCain's bill voided the contract. Now the contract was rebid and our government awarded it to a French company along with Northrop Grumman. Can The American Air Force depend on French made planes? What about parts availability? What about the loss to our economy?
Finally there is the ever increasing cost and ever diminishing availability of avgas. Many friends of mine have reduced their charity flying for Angel Flight/Grace Flight due to fuel prices. The ever popular $100 hamburger has gone up so high we end up eating at Sonic or Wendy's.
I have come to the conclusion that a Democrat will probably win the White House in November. I can only hope and pray the damage he or she does over the next four years will result in a Conservative rising up to restore the country to fiscal stability in 2012. Hopefully, after whoever is elected this year destroys the economy, general aviation, and our military, common sense will prevail the next time around and these people will not remain in control of our lives.
Steve Uslan, President
United States Pilots Association, Inc
If you are on the USPA board and cannot attend the USPA board meeting in Little Rock, AR, March 13-16, please send a proxy to me (emails accepted) or to someone else who is attending in order that we may have a quorum to conduct business.
And regarding the May 15-18 USPA/MPA Annual Meeting in Branson, MO, some members have advised that they did not receive the attachment with the registration form. Therefore, I am attaching it herewith. It is also available at www.mopilots.org and at www.uspilots.org. As required by our Bylaws, may this serve notice of the USPA annual meeting to be held on May 17 at 9:00 a.m. at the Lodge of the Ozarks in Branson, MO.
One more thing. I would like to clarify the point of not cashing your check or processing your credit card for the registration and other activities until after the meeting. If you register and pay on line with PayPal, your payment is processed immediately. USPA has no say over that. However, should you be unable to attend, we would return your registration fee, less any money that USPA cannot have refunded to it, such as once money has been paid for the Gilley Show, boat lunch cruise, or the awards luncheon, and less any fee assessed by PayPal.
Again, if there are any questions about any of this, please contact me by email or phone (417 338-2225).
Jan Hoynacki, Executive Director
USPA
BRANSON USPA/MPA COMBINED ANNUAL MEETINGS, MAY 15-18
At www.uspilots.org you will find the information and registration form for the combined annual meetings of USPA and MPA which will be held in Branson, MO, May 15-18, 2008. This gathering should produce a great turnout, so be sure to make your room reservation NOW! The cut-off date for our special room rate is April 15, and when our block is gone, it’s gone.
Also, send in your registration form by snail mail or by email (you can pay with PayPal at www.uspilots.org). Your credit card will not be processed, nor will your check be cashed, until after the meeting. Any unused fees that are not expended by USPA in your behalf will be returned if you cannot attend.
Since the lunch boat cruise, Mickey Gilley Show, and awards luncheon (with Mickey as our guest speaker) require payment in advance, we implore you to register ASAP. Unless you’ve attempted to set up a meeting like this yourself, you just can’t imagine how helpful it is and how many grey hairs are saved when people let you know in plenty of time whether or not they’ll be attending and what they’ll be choosing to do with the group. PLEASE, REGISTER EARLY.
Zim and I have worked hard to put together a fun time for you in Branson. And the Ozarks Chapter of the Missouri Pilots Association has multiple committees operating to provide every possible detail to ensure you’re shown the finest Ozarks hospitality and entertainment. Your part is to COME and ENJOY! Our efforts are mute without your participation.
Call, write, or email me with any questions. We look forward to hosting you, your family and friends in the Ozarks in May.
Jan Hoynacki, Executive Director
USPA
USPA is proud to announce that former USPA VP Arv Schultz will be inducted into the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame on April 5 at 5:30 p.m. The ceremony will be held at the Pima Air and Space Museum “Spirit of Freedeom” hangar in Tucson.
For more information contact Naida Granmo at ngranmo@pimaaair.org.
Congratulations, Arv! Your USPA friends are very proud of you.
Jan Hoynacki, Executive Director
USPA