by Jay Carpenter
On Friday, October 31, 2008, the Texas Aviation Association (TXAA) hosted an event at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Austin, Texas. Entitled the 2008 Texas General Aviation Summit, invitees included general aviation associations, general aviation (GA) related businesses, universities and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Co-sponsors included the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the Governor’s Aviation and Space Foundation of Texas, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and the Aviation Division of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).
The summit began with moderator Dan Sullivan, CEO of Image Trends, Inc., introducing each of the invitees to the rest of the audience. Sullivan then introduced David Fulton, director of TxDOT’s Aviation Division, who gave a brief history of the development of the division and the positive progress that airports throughout Texas have received. Fifteen years ago, most rural airports in Texas were in bad shape. Through the distribution of federal funds, TxDOT is able to build new runways, terminal buildings and weather reporting stations throughout the state. This development has resulted in a large boost in the economic development of local communities. Using data from Wilbur Smith Associates, Fulton said that over six billion dollars of total economic impact was delivered by airports to the state of Texas.
Former Texas State Senator Ken Armbrister delivered the keynote address. Armbrister informed the audience of the importance of communication with elected representatives both in the House and the Senate. “Although you initially might be dealing with staff, all reports and communications are delivered to the representative and given full consideration.”
During lunch, the audience was entertained by Jim Schwertner, chairman of the Texas Aviation Advisory Committee. Schwertner introduced his special guest, Mrs. Emma Browning, who gave an eloquent speech about airport development, the role of FBOs and what should be expected for GA in the future.
The afternoon began with a special panel session moderated by Dan Sullivan. The panel consisted of Larry Silvey, representing the Governor’s Office of Aerospace and Aviation, Shelly deZevallos of AOPA, Steve Hadley of NBAA, Mike Nicely of the FAA and David Fulton from TxDOT aviation. Each panelist gave an overview of the present situation and environment of GA in Texas, followed by a Q&A from the audience.
Following the panel discussion was a breakout session led by TXAA board member Gene Robinson. Each table was given booklets containing hot issues facing GA in Texas submitted weeks ago by the invitees. Each group addressed and finalized the top four issues of the long lists. A representative from each table gave a summary of their priority issues. The results of this poll and evaluation forms are being compiled by TXAA staff and will be published soon.
