For those of us who wearied of all the "Bravo-Sierra" that came our way from the airline side of the equation, it is a breath of fresh air to see a reasoned approach to the User Fee dilemma.Watching the AOPA crew, especially Phil Boyer, shoot down all the nonsense about various user fee arguments is a bit of art... simple, verifiable, straight-to-the-point, honest. And he uses facts and verifiable details, even!!Who'da thunk it?Boyer's "Reasonable Analysis" of the matter at the 2007 AOPA Expo just a few weeks ago is one of those presentations that must be seen... and despite the fact that we were short a camera crew, the right gear, and all, we went ahead and did our best to capture the gist of a GREAT presentation... see if you agree that AOPA's "Reasonable Analysis" is just what every flyer, pilot or passenger, needs to see and hear more of...AOPA President Phil Boyer spent the lion's share of Saturday's general session on the status of the user fees for General Aviation debate. Despite recent victories for GA, Boyer warned that the fight isn't over yet. "We're in the Terminal Area, we are within site of the airport, but there is some convective weather ahead, and that's probably the best way to describe where we are right now."After displaying several anti-GA advertisements currently found on airport terminal televisions, airline seatbacks, and newspapers throughout the country, Boyer shared counter-ads produced by the Alliance for Aviation Across America (AAAA) and funded by the AOPA and NBAA. These responses highlight DOT studies that claim most delays are caused by weather and the commercial airlines themselves. "The airlines would have you believe that General Aviation is the cause for all the delays at the major airports," explained Boyer. "In fact, we're only 4% of the traffic at the top 10 airports."Speaking about General Aviation's (then) most recent victory in the House of Representatives, Boyer said that "on that side of Capitol Hill, they passed the House bill that we support by 267 to 151." H.R. 2881, or the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2007, passed on September 20th with no mention of user fees, but instead includes a small tax increase on AvGas and a slightly larger tax increase on turbine fuel.The Senate Commerce Committee had previously passed its own bill which included user fees for turbine aircraft and a 100% increase on the turbine fuel tax and eliminated the only aviation tax paid by the airlines. "In effect, the Senate Finance Committee rejected their ideas, changed the taxes keeping the airline fuel tax ... and kept our GA taxes at a reasonable level."In its state as of AOPA Expo, however, the bill still contained a $25 user fee for turbine aircraft. "We hope to be able to take care of that in a different kind of way," said Boyer, who hopes for an amendment to remove the user fee during a full Senate vote. Afterwards, the Conference committee brings both bills together and sends the finalized bill to the White House to be vetoed or signed by the President...FMI: www.aopa.org, www.aero-news.netCopyright 2008, ALL Rights Reserved

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