EAA/FAA Summit Points Toward Recreational Aviation Solutions

May 23, 2019 - Progress and consensus were the resultsas nearly 20 FAA officials joined EAA senior leaders, advocacy team members, and representatives from EAA membership over the two-day annual EAA/FAA Recreational Aviation Summit in Oshkosh, which ended Wednesday.

The annual meeting held at the EAA Aviation Center brings forward aviation policy matters for direct discussion within EAA’s longstanding advocacy philosophy of finding solutions. This year’s summit was rescheduled from February to May because of the partial federal government shutdown that affected all federal agencies.

"This summit is a unique, fruitful way to engage FAA policymakers on a focused agenda of matters that directly affect EAA members," said EAA CEO and Chairman of the Board Jack J. Pelton, who led the EAA senior leader group during the meeting. "The willingness of FAA to include representation from many of its business units in the summit, even with the many current demands and challenges to the agency, is a continuing indication of its value and results."

FAA officials were especially impressed with EAA’s work on aviation pathways to inspire and engage future pilots of all ages. FAA comments to the presentation made by Rick Larsen, EAA's vice president of communities and member programs, included interest in finding similar ways to invigorate pathways for other areas within aviation, as EAA is uniquely positioned to lead these efforts.

The EAA Flight Test Manual, released fall 2018, also received kudos from FAA officials. More than 2,000 of the manuals have already been obtained by pilots, setting a standard for safe, complete flight testing that can be used as a foundation for future projects.

Among the substantial dialogue on numerous other topics were discussions on living history flights, specialty aircraft examiners, and aerobatic flight issues including ADS-B support. There were also updates regarding the proposed MOSAIC (Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certificates) initiative.

"One of the best things about the annual EAA/FAA summit is that it sets a course for continued progress on issues that directly matter to EAA members," said Sean Elliott, EAA's vice president of advocacy and safety. "We took more than 20 action items from just these two days, and we'll review progress in just two months when FAA representatives are at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh."