STOP
THE
NOISE
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Courts rule Nuisance is
a State Matter |
We Are Gaining Ground There are three good indicators that we are having an effect and that we are gaining ground in this fight. The first is that areas in which we have become active have noticed a reduction in the level of aerobatic and/or flight school activity. This means the pilots see us as a serious threat. They have moved some of their operations elsewhere. They hope desperately that those over whom they now fly will not join with us. This does not mean the problem is over, just that some of the smarter pilots have decided they will not make a stand. The second is that the aviation press and the pilots' message board communications clearly show they are afraid. Many actually recognize the validity of our claims and our objectives and admonish their comrades to do the same. Many bemoan the fact that FAA is no longer able to conduct 'nod and a wink', 'business as usual' transactions with the pilots because we are always watching and acting. Some examples are on our Pilot Talk page. The third is that FAA and the moneyed industry groups that run it are forming the planes in a circle. At first they dismissed us as just a few more complainers local to the northeast. The General Aviation Legal Defense Fund was formed to raise money for a legal defense against the legal actions of some irate property owners. The American Free Skies Association was formed to try to negotiate a peace between stunt and student pilots with no place to fly and property owners who don't want them around. Both are misleading and abound in misinformation. In addition, Marion Blakey, the FAA Administrator held a clandestine meeting with Steve Pennypacker, one of the defendants in a civil suit for nuisance currently in Massachusetts Superior Court. This meeting took place at the EAA AirVenture event in Oshkosh, WI in the summer of 2004. Not only is it not the mission of FAA to promote aviation anymore, a United States Federal Judge has ruled that the suit involving Pennypacker is not a federal matter. While Blakey's actions are certainly questionable, they indicate that even FAA considers us to be a serious threat to their tyrannical treatment of the American people. You can read about it in the IAC35 newsletter. We
now have a presence in 14 states. Our goal is to to be in all 50 states. As our numbers increase, so does our influence with Congress.
Congressmen in several states are now paying attention to our message. In trying
to get straight answers from FAA, they are getting the same passive-aggressive
responses that we have been getting. Some of these Congressmen are not amused.
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