Tuesday, December 18, 2012

A Superb Editorial from AOPA's John Yodice

Inside the November 2012 edition of AOPA Pilot, John Yodice offers up one of the best editorials you may have never read.  If you missed it, and you are an AOPA member, it was in the issue with the Piper Cub logo on the cover.  Go look for it and learn something.
If you've read NORDO News even once, you know the aviation community's willingness to relinquish our aviation freedoms has me perpetually dismayed.  After reading John Yodice's editorial, I've decided he knows how I feel.  Yet, he is also obviously much more skilled at the training of sheep.  Since pilots typically believe what they read in AOPA to be the truth, his abilities are therefore are a bonus.  So, with phrases like "it has become too accepted that the right is given to us by the government" vs my line of "What the hell are you people thinking", Mr. Yodice is able to pull even the most timid into the light, and hopefully into education.
His simple explanation of rights conveyed in The Federal Aviation Act of 1958, the subtle nuances of its language, and how these things affect our freedoms are all items with which every pilot and enthusiast should be familiar.  By regulation we do have rights, and we should not let them slip silently below the glideslope.  Find his editorial; read it; and take to heart his closing paragraph.
Here's to you Mr. Yodice.  I believe you are missing your calling.  If you think it will help, I'll loan you a Border Collie.

4 comments:

Rod said...

I would love to read the article, but I left AOPA (and EAA)

Flyingfish182 said...

Not sure where you come up with the generalization regarding "the aviation community's willingness to relinquish our aviation freedoms". Of all the pilots I know, not one fits that category. So, who exactly are you referring to when you make that statement? Do you know pilots who willingly relinquish their aviation freedoms? If so, then maybe you are right to continue your ranting. But, to those of us in the choir, the constant preaching wears a bit thin unless specific remedies are included.

Sean Harshey said...

I agree. A bit behind in my reading and just got around to reading this issue. His column was like a cold splash of water in the face. He's correct. As a pilot and an attorney myself, it came as a surprise to me to read that the U.S. Code (federal law) recognizes an original RIGHT of Americans to travel freely through America's skies. We've got our whole current view of aviation backwards. It's not some privilege from a benevolent government that they are so kind to grant us. It is a right that we have. And the government's role should be only what is minimally necessary to keep it orderly and safe. No more. We're so conditioned to accept the crumbs left over after they prohibit, restrict, enforce, charge and bureaucratize aviation to the point that it's decimated the pilot population in our nation.

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