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Rewriting Chapter 48 
by Bill Burgoyne

I recently spoke with Mr. Jeff Weller, the FAA's National Air Show Coordinator. Mr. Weller has been tasked by his superiors with rewriting the FAA policy and procedures for processing waiver applications for aerobatic practice and contest boxes. Mr. Weller is unable to say when he thinks this process will be complete or even what the projected or desired release date for the new guidelines is. Product development without schedule pressure. Sounds like good work if you can get it.

Our conversation came about because I had read that EAA and IAC were working together with FAA to rewrite Chapters 48 and 49 of FAA order 8700.1. I wrote to Marion Blakey requesting to be part of whatever team was doing the rewriting. The result was a call from Jeff.

EAA and IAC seemed quite pleased with themselves helping to guide FAA in this difficult task. Well, Mr. Weller says that just isn't so. He acknowledges the rewrite, but says that this is a closed activity and that it is not open for public review or comment. I know that I certainly have reservations about that, especially when it is clear that the pilots organizations have been given a look at what is being developed.

Mr. Weller states that this effort has been directed from high in the government as part of an effort to ensure that FAA finally starts to implement the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This is long overdue. I have reservations as to whether FAA, with its institutionalized corruption, can make this transition without major changes in personnel.

Mr. Weller states that two main areas to be addressed are to ensure that NEPA compliance becomes part of the waiver application review process, and to ensure that these processes are implemented uniformly across the country. These are two goals that STN has been advocating for years.

There is more to this than meets the eye. STN will continue to press FAA for inclusion in any rewrite of these procedures. Refusal by FAA can only be interpreted as a renewed show of contempt by FAA for the non-flying public.