New Senate legislation would expand medical exemption

[N918KT]

Hey Paul, I definitely support this legislation and I hope Art will support it too. But for some reason I have doubts that Art would support it. I remember talking to him last summer about the Icon A5 LSA weight exemption, and I think he was against the LSA weight increase for the A5 for safety reasons. That tells me that he may be competitive with other LSA and GA manufacturers or that he wants to keep the LSA industry as it is from dying if any major changes to GA like the medical exemption bill is approved, although I really do not know if he is for or against the medical exemption bill.

[Jack Tyler]

Let's take 5 mins out of our forums/email/et al. time and dedicate it to furthering the progress of the Pilot Protection Act. Yes, it might die in Committee. Yes, it might be watered down. Yes, it is over-reach in the eyes of some. But just last week in St. George, UT I had a conversation with Mark Baker who pointed out that this legislation is proving a helpful tool in AOPA's continuing advocacy re: their 3rd class medical exemption.

About half of us have a House Rep who is on the GA Caucus. But only (roughly) half of those Caucus members have chosen to co-sponsor this Bill. That means roughly 25% of us could directly appeal to ourHouse Rep (and to our Senators, most of whom are not sponsors) with a simple yet persuasive question: "If you are a GA Caucus Member, why haven't you chosen to co-sponsor a Bill that a large majority of GA pilots support?"

Which 25% of us should be making that call?
GA Caucus Members: https://www.aopa.org/Advocacy/GA-Caucus.aspx - just check the map if you don't know your Rep's name.
Co-Sponsors in the House & Senate: http://www.aopa.org/Advocacy/Legislativ ... n-act.aspx

Check list #1 for your 3 Rep/Senators, then check list #2 to see if they are co-sponsoring. For those of us with a little lobbying to do, surely a call to the local District office isn't too much to ask. Far better is to stop by and chat with one of the aides for 5 mins. You'll know far, far more about the issue than anyone in the office.

I learned a nice (and new to me) tactic when talking with Mark. I asked him what he recommended we use as logic to legitimize the PPA in the eyes of a legislator. (After all, he has far more experience doing this than we do). He had lots of suggestions: Stay top level, don't use jargon, think about your comment being an 'elevator speech' (30 secs or less) and only then be ready to talk details if asked. But one of his suggestions was to equate what we are asking for (no 3rd class medicals for recreational pilots flying recreational aircraft) with the RV world, something legislators are more familiar with. Granddad can climb into his Class A motorhome, weighing in at perhaps 30,000#, and roll down country roads at brisk speeds (where ~50% of motorhome accidents occur) without any medical requirement. Given their mass and inertia, am I really more of a safety risk in my 2400# aircraft? With my mandatory annual aircraft inspection of all safety-related systems and my bi-annual flight review?

[David Pavlich]

The latest tally is 108 sponsors. It's getting better! I've sent at least 2 emails to my House and Senate people.

David

[FrankR]

http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All- ... stone.aspxLegislation that would exempt thousands of general aviation pilots from the third class medical certification process has achieved a new milestone with 100 co-sponsors signing on to the House bill.