Change is afoot at the GA Caucus

Jamie Beckett | Politics for Pilots | November 16, 2010

Jamie Beckett is a CFI and A&P mechanic who stepped into the political arena in an effort to promote and protect GA at his local airport.

In all the hubbub that filled our televisions and newspapers following Election Day, there was very little said about the General Aviation Caucus. That’s no surprise really. Most Americans aren’t aware there is a General Aviation Caucus. In fact, most aviation enthusiasts aren’t aware there is a General Aviation Caucus. But there is. In fact, it’s quite large, including members from more than 40 states.

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Service with a smile

Jamie Beckett | Politics for Pilots | November 10, 2010

Jamie Beckett is a CFI and A&P mechanic who stepped into the political arena in an effort to promote and protect GA at his local airport.

It’s a simple concept. Be kind and courteous to your customers, and they’ll remain your customers for a good long time. Even better, they’ll be inclined to tell their friends and neighbors what a satisfying experience it is to be your customer – which essentially turns your customers into a volunteer arm of your marketing team.

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Going aggressive vs. being assertive

Jamie Beckett | Politics for Pilots | November 1, 2010

Jamie Beckett is a CFI and A&P mechanic who stepped into the political arena in an effort to promote and protect GA at his local airport.

One of the big lessons to come from this year’s political battles has hardly been noticed in the press, but it’s such an important aspect of conflict resolution that I think it deserves a public airing, right here, right now. We’ve heard enough chest-thumping, seen enough fist-pumping, and have no need for another talking head blowing off steam with vigor – even if they never find themselves even briefly in the neighborhood of answering the question they were asked.

It’s time that we reviewed the difference between being aggressive and being assertive. One is meant to intimidate an opponent, while the other is used to advocate a position. Put another way, the former is dangerously close to belligerence, although the latter might be reasonably described as emphatically explaining a particular perspective. Continue Reading »

It’s all about potential

Jamie Beckett | Politics for Pilots | October 26, 2010

Jamie Beckett is a CFI and A&P mechanic who stepped into the political arena in an effort to promote and protect GA at his local airport. You can reach him at Jamie@GeneralAviationNews.com.

Aviation enthusiasts, perhaps more than any other group, have a unique insight into the potential of the private sector and personal ingenuity. A good case can be made to include the medical community having that same insight. But the general public can verify the significant advances in aviation by doing nothing more complex than looking up to follow the sound of an aircraft passing overhead. It’s considerably more difficult to personally witness advancements in cancer detection or thoracic surgery. Aviation is somewhat less icky, too. Continue Reading »

Change is constant, progress is not

Jamie Beckett | Politics for Pilots | October 19, 2010

Jamie Beckett is a CFI and A&P mechanic who stepped into the political arena in an effort to promote and protect GA at his local airport. You can reach him at Jamie@GeneralAviationNews.com.

The suggestion that aviation has changed over the past several decades will surprise no one. It obviously has. However, the disparity between the positive change, and the debatable change, is worthy of public discussion. So why not get the ball rolling here? Continue Reading »

Speaking of politics and pilots

Jamie Beckett | Politics for Pilots | October 4, 2010

Jamie Beckett is a CFI and A&P mechanic who stepped into the political arena in an effort to promote and protect GA at his local airport.

It was my great pleasure to meet one of the gubernatorial candidates running in Florida, a few weeks ago. His name is Rick Scott. He’s been in the news a fair amount down my way. Perhaps you are familiar with him?

I thought I was reasonably familiar with him, too. But it was still a real kick to have the opportunity to attend a get-together where I would have the chance to actually meet and speak with him for a moment while he campaigned through the central part of the state. So I went to meet a potential governor of Florida, with an open mind, a cheery smile, and a sense of real optimism. For all it’s weaknesses and flaws, I am an enormous fan of the American system of government. We routinely see peaceful transitions of power from one party to another. In fact the social change that has occurred in my half-century on the planet has been nothing short of mind-boggling. Continue Reading »

Building a winning team

Jamie Beckett | Politics for Pilots | September 29, 2010

Jamie Beckett is a CFI and A&P mechanic who stepped into the political arena in an effort to promote and protect GA at his local airport.

Powerful allies can pop up out of the blue, if you’re open to recognizing the opportunity. Since my basic rules of advocacy lean in the direction of the more the merrier, I am always on the lookout for either new converts, or old stalwarts, who are willing to join the campaign to make general aviation more readily accepted, and better understood.

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Mogas for the masses — if you dare

Jamie Beckett | Politics for Pilots | September 22, 2010

Jamie Beckett is a CFI and A&P mechanic who stepped into the political arena in an effort to promote and protect GA at his local airport.

Prepare yourself for a blatant plug. I’m going to suggest you click on a link that will take you to a General Aviation News blog post on the topic of GA Fuels. You can find the post that I was drawn into here:  Legislative confusion in Maine over ethanol and Mogas.

Now you may not be a chemist by trade, and you may not even care about the debate that rages in the aviation community about 100LL and the search for a suitable replacement. But I’m willing to bet that you’re spectacularly interested in your wallet, and your personal safety. Continue Reading »

Persistence pays off

Jamie Beckett | Politics for Pilots | September 16, 2010

Like so many GA airports, mine faced a problem that was brought into sharp focus by the recent capture in Santa Barbara of those two wily desperados, John and Martha King. If nothing else the incident made it clear that emergency response workers (including police, fire and EMT crews) do not necessarily have a clear view of how aviation works on a day-to-day basis. Certainly the differences between VFR and IFR operations were not well understood on the law enforcement side of the equation.

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Airport security: It’s in your court now

Jamie Beckett | Politics for Pilots | September 6, 2010

The news is bad. When two of the nicest, friendliest, most competent people on the planet (and yes, I speak of John and Martha King) find themselves victimized by law enforcement based on sloppy investigative practices, you have no choice but to ask, “Who is safe from this sort of short-sighted, narrow-minded, over-zealous security that has so obviously run amok?” Sadly, the obvious answer is, nobody. But that’s not the burning question at this point. The real issue is, what are you gonna do about it?

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