ATC Privitization

If you aren't subscribed to the EAA Green Dot podcast, you should - it's highly entertaining - and FREE (an important word for pilots). An emergency podcast was issued last week on OUR need to fight the privatization of ATC. Even if you fly from a private strip and rarely use ATC services you should be worried. I encourage you to listed to the podcast. Whether you listen to the podcast or not, write your legislators and let them know your support of the existing ATC system.


Time is short. Act now.

Many FAA towers are run on contract now. Is that working better, cheaper? FSS is on contract. Is that working better, cheaper? I took by first knowledge and practical tests at the Lincoln FSS with no out of pocket cost. Most airman certification testing today is done by contractors and designated examiners. Is that working better, cheaper? My first homebuilt was inspected by an FAA employee from the Lubbock FSDO with no out of pocket cost. Most EAB aircraft today are inspected by designated examiners. Is that working better, cheaper? I can see a path to ATC services being provided by contractors. If current contracting is actually working better, cheaper. What I can't see is a need for different user fees for ATC. Since we already have user fees. Fuel taxes are user fees. If privatization in any form, such as contracting, is actually going to be better, cheaper, more efficient - no new fees should be required and fuel taxes should go down. Why do we automatically think there will be higher costs?

Experience!

It's being somewhat difficult to guess what changes will occur from privatization, not only because of 'guessing' but the addition of hyperbole from many discussions. I recently wrote a pilot friend in New Zealand about this issue. He is high-time GA and heads up a flying club, so is involved and has seen the transition from public to private ATC. In addition to overall costs going up somewhat -- fees for flying through any controlled airspace, fees for each touch-and-go, etc. -- he mentioned something that I (amazingly) hadn't thought of. Like any private entity, the two companies that oversee ATC and aircraft inspections/airworthiness in New Zealand are not beholden to share information with the public. Their rule making, rule changing, fee structures, everything, is done without public input. Trouble is not reported to the public (including GA pilots) unless something bad enough happens that it's in the news and then they have to talk about it with whomever.

This doesn't sound like a Culture of Safety to me.