GA's "fair share"

As a GA aircraft owner and pilot I certainly don't need Towered
Airports. I can come in just fine to most Class D's without using the
tower. A LOT of ATC is PORK, PORK, PORK. They just put in a tower at
Front Range in Colorado. NOT NEEDED! Reason? To create jobs in Adams
County.

Most of Flight Watch and FSS could be eliminated also.

So far as I am concerned, ALL Class B expenses should be paid by the
airlines. They are the only ones that need all that rigamarole.

At the rate the govt is going now, might as well just eliminate ALL
taxes and run the Federal govt on the deficit. Pretty much what we are
doing now anyway.

"Newps" wrote in message
news


Skylune wrote:

Technological solutions already exist. Creative solutions are called
for. User fees need not be difficult to administer!

For example, the EZ pass electronic transponder system for autos could be
easily be extended to small planes. Aircraft owners would be required to
pay a small annual fee for the transponder, say $10,000. As you pass by
the OMNIs, charges to your credit card could be automatically posted.
During takeoffs and landings, the same transponder detection equipment
could be utilized to charge. Perhaps a first missed approach would be on
the house. For subsequent missed approaches, a 50% landing fee would be
charged. Your radios could also be equipped with electronic debiting
software, to
charge the card in the event you request flight following or need to
contact ATC. Newer planes could be factory equiped with instrumentation
(like the Hobbs) that would show how much you're racking up on the AMEX
card. If you reach your charge limit while aloft, a fuel shut off switch
could be automatically engaged, thereby encouraging timely payment of the
user fees. If you are at sufficient altitude, there should be time to
contact AMEX to get the credit limit lifted in order to accomplish an
runway landing.

You're making it a thousand times harder than it needs to be. User fees
will not be on a per use basis, you will pay a yearly fee most probably
based on the weight of your plane. Canada has user fees. Your typical
single engine spamcan pays less than $50 per year for his user fees.
That's Canadian money of course. So even if the average US owner got a
bill each year for $50 it is trivial to the cost of flying.

My objection to this idea goes back to the give an inch, take a mile
argument. Open the door and there's always the chance someone will run a
stampede through it...

Uh. No. I use 93 octane, unleaded, in my car.

Then you probably paid income tax on the money you used to buy gas. The
airlines don't, its a deductible expense. Nothing wrong with that but
the point is that its an extra tax revenue generated by GA pilots.

For example, the EZ pass electronic transponder system for autos could be
easily be extended to small planes.

That only tells you the aircraft, not the pilot. How are FBOs going to
gather up all of the previous month's pilots and send out a bill (after
figuring out who flew from 1-2 vs 2-3pm). Some of those pilots only
came to the U.S. for a month or so to fly. so the FBO is screwed.
The transponder would HAVE to ID the pilot, NOT the aircraft.

In article
outaviation.com,
"Skylune" wrote:

Not a good analogy. Private marinas handle virtually all recreational boat
traffic. They receive no government subsidy. Nor do they require
continous dredging. In fact, I know of two private marinas on eastern LI
that are paying for dredging and increasing dock fees.

They have the services of the Coast Guard -- search & rescue, safety
inspections, etc. For these they get a free ride, too.

Let us look at bicycles -- lots of Federal money for bike lanes, special
(mostly unused) bike access across bridges, etc.

Wilderness areas: backpackers get a HUGE free ride from the taxpayer for
the acquisition and maintenance of wilderness areas.

Steve Foley wrote:

All boaters are asked to pay the same for 'use of the harbor',

Where's that? Nowhere around the New York basin.

George Patterson
Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you quarrel with your neighbor.
It makes you shoot at your landlord. And it makes you miss him.

For example, the EZ pass electronic transponder system for autos could be
easily be extended to small planes.

That only tells you the aircraft, not the pilot. How are FBOs going to
gather up all of the previous month's pilots and send out a bill (after
figuring out who flew from 1-2 vs 2-3pm). Some of those pilots only
came to the U.S. for a month or so to fly. so the FBO is screwed.
The transponder would HAVE to ID the pilot, NOT the aircraft.

If user fees are initiated, I doubt the receiver of the fees cares where
the money comes from. It's the FBO's problem. The FBO may solve it by
charging an adminstrative fee, or raising the rates and absorbing the fees.

Jose
--
Money: what you need when you run out of brains.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
oups.com...
For example, the EZ pass electronic transponder system for autos could be
easily be extended to small planes.

That only tells you the aircraft, not the pilot. How are FBOs going to
gather up all of the previous month's pilots and send out a bill (after
figuring out who flew from 1-2 vs 2-3pm). Some of those pilots only
came to the U.S. for a month or so to fly. so the FBO is screwed.
The transponder would HAVE to ID the pilot, NOT the aircraft.

That's total crap!
As a foreign visitor there is no difficulty sorting out user fees. The
flying log says who was flying when and as we mostly pay by credit card then
the FBO would have the authority to debit our cards for the fees.

"Jose" wrote in message
...
Here in the UK the answer is yes to just about all those questions

In the UK they charge to have a television on.

Not quite, we charge for having premises with a device capable of receiving
television signals, so if a computer has a TV card, a licence is needed. So
in my house we have 3 TVs and two computers capable of receiving TV pictures
but the is only one charge. The fee pays for our public service broadcasting
(BBC)

Mind you our public service broadcasting is the best in the world and for
50cents a day is good value. Not having to watch commercials actually makes
watching TV pleasant. I just cannot get one with watching TV in the States.
Our commercial TV has a limited number of breaks in the hour, and when there
is a football match on then no interruptions for ads until half time.

Would you feel comfortable renting your aircraft to someone who is
going to leave the country in a month and possibly leave you with a big
"user fee" bill? FBOs like to have clean books and don't have huge
accounting offices. This is a MASSIVE paperwork problem. The fact that
the FBO doesn't know what to really charge the renter for a month or
more is just crap.