FAA rule change for charity flights?

Thanks James, that is a well done letter.





"James M. Knox" wrote in message
...

I spoke to an active member of Angel Flight who said they were
concerned that they may get caught up in this ruling because it was so
badly written.

Do you know anything about that?

Here's the piece I just wrote for our Angel Flight South Central
members:

Angel Flight SC Volunteers:

Some of you have become aware of a new Notice of Proposed Rule Making
(NPRM) from the FAA entitled "National Air Tour Safety Standards NPRM."
This proposal has changes that impact not only pilots and organizations
that operate sightseeing flights, it also has major changes to what are
called "charitable fundraising" flights. Reasonably, many have inquired
as to how this might impact Angel Flight.

The short answer is, not directly at all. The flights discussed within
the body of the NRPM refer not to Angel Flight type operations, but
rather to flights where the proceeds of the flight go to charity.
Examples of these would be events where a non-profit raffles off a
flight, or where a siteseeing flight is donated a charity for auction.
While Angel Flight welcomes the donations of any money contributed by
any pilot wishing to personally perform such a flight, Angel Flight
itself does not currently utilize such a method to raise funds.

Clearly, our regular flight "missions" in support of medical and
humanitarian needs do not fall within the realm of this NPRM and we are
not directly affected.

Regardless, many pilots and pilot groups have come out opposed to the
NPRM in its present form, feeling that it unreasonably burdens small
siteseeing operations and charitable fundraising with substantial costs
and paperwork for little if any real improvement in safety. AOPA has
written several articles on the matter. An example can be viewed at

http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsite.../03-4-069.html

The FAA has invited comments through 20-January-2004 on this NPRM.
While Angel Flight does not, as an organization, involve itself in any
political process, you as a pilot may wish to view this NPRM and make
comments, pro or con. You can view the entire NRPM and comment on it
via links from the above AOPA web site article, or by means of the
Federal Document Management System:

http://dms.dot.gov/search/searchFormSimple.cfm

From there, just enter the number 4521. You will be able to view the
entire proposal, see comments made by other pilots and organizations,
and enter your own comments if you wish.

Again, this proposal in its present form does not impact Angel Flight
America or Angel Flight South Central. It does, unfortunately, show an
increasing tendency to regulate (some would say "over regulate")
charitable organizations involved with flying.

James M. Knox
Chairman - AFSC




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James M. Knox
TriSoft ph 512-385-0316
1109-A Shady Lane fax 512-366-4331
Austin, Tx 78721
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