May/June 2013 • Vol.11 No.3 [ FOCUSED on SUCCESS ] THE ADVOCATE FOR AVIATION LEADERS FAA MANAGERS ASSOCIATION, INC. 888 16TH Street NW, Suite 530 Washington, DC 20006-4103 Tel 202.741.9415 | www.faama.org MISSION We promote aviation safety and efficiency, advocate for our members’ interests, prepare the managers of today to be the leaders of tomorrow, and support the highest ideals of the Federal Government. OFFICERS THE ADVOCATE FOR AVIATION LEADERS President, David Conley Vice President, Stephen Smith May/June 2013 Vol. 11 No. 3 Secretary, Julie Fidler Treasurer, Tom Dury DIRECTORS Director of Administration, Andy Taylor Director of Communications, Anita Engelmann Director of Legislative Affairs, Tony Tisdall Director of Membership, David Chappuies Parliamentarian, Vacant Membership Education Committee Chair, Hal Albert Political Action Committee Chair, Dan Cunningham Corporate Relations Representative, Vacant Alaskan Region, Darla Gerlach 22 16 Central Region, Joyce Davis Eastern Region, Rich Baker Great Lakes Region, Theodore “Teddy” N. Thomas New England Region, Rick Winch Features Northwest Mountain Region, Dan Dohner Departments Southern Region, Billy Reed Southwest Region, Michael (Hitch) Combe Western Pacific Region, Phil Freed Leadership in Action: Washington Watch: 06 A Dialogue with Ron Beckerdite Where Have All the Leaders Gone? PUBLISHER 04 Kathleen Cummins Mifsud MANAGING EDITOR FOCUSED on Success: Opinion: Anita Engelmann 10 2013 Gathering of Eagles 05 Congress Holds ATC Hostage to STAFF EDITOR Budget Cuts Pam Adams Modernizing Standards CONTRIBUTORS Louis Dupart, Robert W. Poole, Jr., Sherry A. Butler, 16 Helps Improve the Money Talks: MITRE Corporation, Kelly Dodge, David Hughes, Glenn National Airspace 26 How Will the FAA Furloughs Livingston, Michael Livingston, Thomas Harris, and Theodore “Teddy” N. Thomas. System (NAS) Affect Your Retirement? ILLUSTRATION & PHOTOGRAPHY Illustrations pages 16-18 supplied by the MITRE Corporation; photos page 24 courtesy of Smithsonian Inside Technical Spotlight: National Air & Space Museum; and facsimile letters 19 Operations: 30 Theodore “Teddy” N. Thomas courtesy of Special Collections, University of Miami Kelly Dodge Libraries, Coral Gables, FL. DESIGN Sagetopia, 703.726.6400, www.sagetopia.com ADVERTISING Advertisers Lindbergh: Better Weather Marshall Boomer, Sales Representative 800.501.9571, [email protected] 22 Data Needed for Passenger 01 Long Term Care Partners, LLC Aircraft to Cross the North EDITORIAL & SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES www.LTCFEDS.com Atlantic Managing the Skies 1775 East Riviera Drive, Merritt Island, FL 32952 Telephone: 202.251.0386 32 FAAMA 2013 Convention Email: [email protected] Las Vegas, NV Minnesota En Route Chapter 27 2007 Hosts Annual FAAMA Managing the Skies is a benefit of membership in the FAA Managers Association, Inc. To become a member, Evening Out go to www.faama.org. For all others, the annual sub- scription rate is $49. Please address your inquiries to [email protected] and [email protected]. Achieving Communication Managing the Skies is published bi-monthly by the 28 Excellence (ACE) FAA Managers Association, Inc. The views expressed herein are solely those of the authors and should not be construed to be the opinion of the FAA Managers Association. Suggestions and opinions expressed in Managing the Skies are not necessarily endorsed by the FAA Managers Association. Nothing in these pages is intended to supersede operators’ or manufacturers’ policies, practices, or requirements, or to supersede government regulations. © 2013 FAA Managers Association, Inc. All rights reserved. MAY/JUNE 2013 | MANAGING THE SKIES 3 THE ADVOCATE FOR AVIATION LEADERS Washington Watch Where Have All the Leaders Gone? A message from the Executive Director ur great association is composed of men We now have had a month of sequestration and women who made the choice to and the sky has not fallen. Yet, it appears the O become leaders. Since November, I have White House and the Office of Management and repeatedly asked myself what happened to our Budget want to test the American people by failing national leaders. Why can’t we find solutions to to act in order to mitigate the impending furloughs our problems and intelligently work toward a at the FAA that will provoke flight delays that will compromise that will fix our aging infrastructure, ripple across the country. I am left asking myself, create real jobs, and address our national debt. where have all the leaders gone? As I pondered this, I remembered a 1960’s protest song by Pete Seeger, “Where Have All the Flowers FAAMA Acts to Soften Sequestration Gone?” Each verse ends with the phrase, “When Our Association did not sit idly by as this will they ever learn?” leadership vacuum unfolded. FAA Managers Association (FAAMA) President David Conley The Advocate Washington is Suffering and I met with Administrator Huerta on March for Aviation Leaders from a Leadership Crisis 11 to offer our support as managers and super- Louis Dupart The President won the election and spent more visors to soften the worst effects of sequestra- Executive Director than three months telling everyone what they tion. The Administrator carefully explained FAA Managers already knew: that he had won the election. that his hands are tied by the sequestration Association, Inc. During those three months, November-January, bill, which does not give him authority to move money between major programs and accounts. Ldupart@ the President squandered an opportunity to find thenormandygrp.com common ground, to reach across the aisle, and Not willing to accept this, nine FAAMA 202.223.8950 most importantly, to act Presidential. members spent two days in Washington, DC, The Republicans are no better. Having lost in mid-March conducting over 22 meetings the fiscal cliff debate in December, they sulked with key Members of Congress and their staffs, through January. They spent their time trying to urging them to act and to pass legislation that figure out how to get even for having to swallow would provide the FAA Administrator with the higher taxes with no meaningful spending cuts necessary flexibility to mitigate the effects of or cost saving changes to federal programs, in sequestration on personnel, tower closures, and particular to the big three: Medicare, Medicaid other safety-related programs by moving money and Social Security. This did not augur well within FAA Accounts. for compromise or an adult conversation about sequestration. Our Message Has Been Heard We are being called upon to offer our sug- The “Budgetary Leg Irons gestions and recommendations of ways the system can be more efficient while focusing of Sequestration” on our number one mission – safety. We have On March 1, the unthinkable – sequestration – Democrats and Republicans soliciting our kicked in and managers and supervisors across advice. The most important point we make is the federal government have since been forced that the FAA is composed of talented men and to make due with less while tied up in budgetary women who want to achieve their mission. They knots. Barring a few exceptions such as defense, are prepared to work hard, to sacrifice, and to meat inspectors, prison guards, and similar, nei- give their best, but they must be given flexibility ther the Congress nor the President worked toward from the Administrator to the lowest supervisor relief from the budgetary leg irons of sequestra- to achieve this. tion that restricted the ability of each Federal Most importantly, we have told our friends Department and agency to use sound management that we need leaders to lead. When will they techniques to move money to meet priorities. ever learn? £ 4 MANAGING THE SKIES | WWW.FAAMA.ORG THE ADVOCATE FOR AVIATION LEADERS THE ADVOCATE FOR AVIATION LEADERS Opinion Congress Holds ATC Hostage to Budget Cuts Robert W. Poole, Jr. | Director of Transportation Studies, Reason Foundation Reprinted with espite bipartisan support for an amend- As I wrote here last month, the United States permission from the ment by Sen. Jerry Moran (R, KS) to ease the is the only developed country in which the ATC March 2013 issue of burden on the FAA, the Senate enacted its system could be subjected to such damaging ATC Reform News. D FY 2013 Continuing Resolution without the amend- budget cuts. This could not happen in Australia, ment – and the House quickly accepted and passed New Zealand, Canada, France, Germany, the U.K., the Senate measure. As a result, 149 contract towers or about 50 other countries. Their ATC operating will be closed from April through September. and capital budgets are not part of the national And of even greater impact to aviation, all government’s budget. FAA Operations personnel (including control- Over the past 25 years, about 60 governments lers) will be put on furlough one day per 80-hour have de-politicized their ATC systems, converting pay period. Since the five percent cut to the FAA them to self-funded ATC corporations (most of FY 2013 Operations budget must be achieved which are government corporations). Aviation over only six months, this means the cut in users pay fees directly to the corporation; the payroll must be 10 percent. And that could money never enters the government’s treasury, lead to serious cutbacks and delays in flights and their national legislative body has no say in nationwide between now and Sept. 30th. what the ATC budget is. How on earth did we get to this outcome? Way Instead, those ATC corporations are directly back in 1970, Congress created something called accountable to their aviation customers. The ATC the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (more com- companies are regulated at arm’s length by the monly known as the Aviation Trust Fund). Modeled government’s air safety regulator, and many are after the Highway Trust Fund created in 1956 to also subject to some form of economic regula- pay for construction of the Interstate Highway tion. But there is complete separation between System, it was and is the repository of all aviation the government budget and the ATC companies’ excise taxes – the taxes on passenger tickets, budget.