AOPA and ATC Privatization

"David Megginson" wrote in message
...
(Rick Durden) writes:

It is a serious safety issue. When pilots have to pay for ATC
services there is a tendency for them not to file IFR in marginal
weather and scud run, therefore increases the risk of an accident.

That's not applicable in Canada. Up here, small aircraft owners pay
a flat fee (about USD 46.00/year for a private light aircraft),
whether they use ATS or not. In that case, the incentive works the
other way -- you've paid for the services anyway, so you might as well
get your money's worth.

Just curious David. Do Canadian pilots flying VFR largely have to use ATC
service, or can you guys just do the squawk VFR thing and fly willy nilly
around Canada without talking to ATC?



If you do get a fully privatized system in the U.S., it would be a
good idea to model it on the Canadian flat-fee system rather than the
European pay-per-use system, to avoid the problem you mentioned.

It's already screwed general aviation in Europe, the Canadian fees
have shot up, so why is our country so quiveringly anxious to
replace a working system with one that has demonstrated its
antipathy to general aviation in other countries?

Just to put that in context, our fees have shot up by about CAD 5.00
(USD 3.50) for next year. As I mentioned before, it's a different
situation for the airlines, but it's hard to argue that the fees have
any effect on G.A.

But when (not if) GA user fees in Canada go up again, what can the Canadian
GA pilot do about it? Down here in USA, the airlines are *actively*
attempting to seize total control of the ATC system because they accuse the
government of affecting their corporate bottom line with ATC delays. Never
mind the fact that the American taxpayer has just bailed the airlines out
*twice* to the tune of around 18 Billion US Dollars since 9-11 for non-ATC
related problems. If we privatize ATC down here, the corporations that are
going to be running the show will *not* care a whit about GA or BA. They
will cater to the airlines. There is a good chance they will even be
controlled by the airlines depending on exactly who wins the contract (ala
NATS in Britain). Like the US Post Office and the continually rising price
of American postage stamps, there won't be a thing the average GA pilot can
do down here to stop user fees once their government gets out of the ATC
service business.

Chip, ZTL