EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORTJimTimm
BY JIM TIMM


I trust everyone is getting out there and taking advantage of the good flying weather. I fear it won’t last long enough, so lets go flying and take advantage of it while we still have it with us. But please fly safe!

Be sure to put Saturday May 18 On your calendar for the Annual APA Membership Meeting. This years meeting will be held at the Chandler Municipal Airport at Chandler Aviation. The program will start at 10:00 am and end at 12:00 with a lunch available on site after the meeting. The program this year will feature Arizona’s amazing aviation history and our keynote speaker will be Mr Ed. Beauvais, founder of America West Airlines. The program should be both entertaining and informative for all and we will look forward to seeing you there.

Well, the good news and the bad news, the FAA has backed off on closing some of our contract towers for the moment. They have now set the closing date at June 15, 2013 to give the local governing bodies enough time to take appropriate action if they wish to keep their towers open. I haven’t heard a time line, but it appears that this is only the start. There are indications that further down the road there will be two more tower closure waves. I have also heard comments that the FAA would like to terminate the contract tower program, so we shall see. The next closings may very likely start including some low activity FAA towers. Because of labor contracts, Closing an FAA tower could take up to a year lead time.


MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS

Aviation safety needs to be a concern for all of us. From the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reports, there were two aviation accidents reported in Arizona this last reporting period. One of them involved serious injuries and a fatality, the other accident did not involve any injuries. Neither of these accidents should have happened. See my May Aviation Accident Report for details.


I hope APA members have been taking advantage of the availability of the Luke AFB Aux Field 1 ILS for practice instrument approaches. It would appreciated it if you would drop us a note and let us know how it is working out for you and what your experience has been.

There are a number of airports around the state that have runway repair/upgrade projects scheduled for this spring and summer, so be sure to check for NOTAMS before you depart. You don’t need a surprise when you arrive at your destination.


We are continuing to work with airports around the state providing a general aviation user perspective in the process of updating their Airport Master Plans. We are presently working on the up dating of both the Gila Bend Municipal Airport and the Nogales International Airport Master plans and an update of the Phoenix Sky Harbor FAA Part 150 Noise Study.


THINGS TO DO - PLACES TO GO FOR BREAKFAST:


The first Saturday of the month there is a fly in breakfast at Coolidge Airport (P08).
Time: 8:00 to 11:00 am. (The May breakfast will be the last one until next fall)

The last Saturday of the month there is a Fly in breakfast at Casa Grande Airport (CGZ)
Time: 7:00 to 10:00 am. The Casa Grande breakfast will continue through the summer as it is held in the air conditioned airport terminal.

(Both of these fly in breakfasts are put on by a service group in their respective communities to raise funds for community service projects.)

The third Saturday of the month there is a fly in breakfast at Benson (E95) @ Southwest Aviation
(Rumor has it that there may be special fuel prices for breakfast attendees.)

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