Airports: The Link Within the Western Hemisphere and Beyond

Bom dia a todos. Thank you for the warm introduction.  It is a pleasure to be here in Brazil.  This is my first time in your lovely country and my first time flying into Guarulhos. It’s very impressive, and I congratulate you on all of the recent improvements you’ve made, especially the opening of Terminal 3, the new passenger terminal.  

The United States and Brazil have long been leaders in civil aviation.  We honor the vision, passion, and perseverance of our aviation pioneers, Wilbur and Orville Wright, and Alberto Santos Dumont.  These talented men contributed greatly to our early knowledge of flight. 

Brazil and the United States have strong ties, including an agreement for cooperation in aviation that has been a highlight of our bilateral relationship and an example for other sectors of the economy.  This helps us maintain a productive relationship between our nations and provide aviation leadership jointly within the Western Hemisphere.  There’s good reason to do this.  We both have strong aviation manufacturing programs, large aviation sectors, and complex airspace systems. 

The increase in air traffic between the United States and Brazil is expected to grow at 6.5 percent per year between now and 2025.  And, it is no longer only tourist travel –it is also now business travelers.  This is a reflection of the growing interconnectedness of our economies.  The growth of traffic overall between the U.S. and Latin America will likely outpace the growth between the United States and other regions, even the fast-growing Asia Pacific region. 

Our Aviation Partnership gives us an opportunity to capitalize on this expansion, and to embrace the inherent link and the common heritage in our hemisphere.  In addition, we have a joint commitment to share safety data proactively through the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing program, and other mechanisms, and to the legal protection of such data. 

I have listened this morning with great interest to the discussion on Brazil’s airport study.  And, I applaud the forward thinking that you are doing here in Brazil on airport development.  Airports are the gateways to locations near and far.  It is in the airport where we experience all facets of our global village: vacationers, business travelers, students departing to study abroad, or people traveling to far off lands to visit family.  And airports are the place where all parts of aviation converge.  You saw this with the successful World Cup Games this June and July, and you will have the same experience when you host the Olympics here in 2016. 

My experience with the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City was similar.  Effective airport infrastructure was vital to the success of the Games.  Utah airports were the face of the Olympics.  Your airports will be the first and last impression that travelers will have when entering and leaving Brazil in 2016.  

And, it’s not just applicable to special events.  We all know the importance of aviation and airports to the global economy.  Airports big and small are part of this economic engine – they contribute to local, national, and global economies alike.  Aviation and airports fuel jobs and trade for millions of people. 

In the United States, airports are owned and operated by various sponsors – cities, states and regions.  My agency supports airports by providing grants to a variety of airports for development and improvement projects through the Airport Improvement Program.  This program, which is funded through ticket and fuel taxes, has allowed us to issue billions of dollars of grants to ensure that airport infrastructure in the United States remains state-of-the-art.  Because of these grants, airports throughout the country have successfully completed many development projects.  This has included refurbishing or extending runways, taxiways and aprons.   

Some U.S. airports have also received grants to enhance runway safety areas, to build and improve airport terminals, and to reduce environmental impacts.  These improvements are crucial to the enhanced safety and efficiency of U.S. airspace, and to meet the demands of a growing and changing airspace.  They are critical to preserving our airport infrastructure, and for helping expand the benefits of aviation modernization. 

Just as infrastructure on the ground is important, we cannot overlook investment in infrastructure in the air. A modernized air traffic system also creates more efficient and safer operations in and around airports.  For example, in the United States, we have improved infrastructure and built new capabilities at airports throughout the country to move more aircraft efficiently. 

The Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen, is our program for modernization, and it is about creating a more efficient, environmentally sound, and ultimately safer aviation system.  It is helping us evolve from the ground-based radar system of today to a satellite-based system of tomorrow.  So, while in certain areas where airport infrastructure expansion may be limited, we can continue to utilize more effective and efficient arrival and departure procedures to more precisely utilize the existing airspace, especially in busy metropolitan areas. 

Many technologies are making NextGen a reality.  Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast —or ADS-B – is one of the foundations of NextGen.  We have completed the installation of more than 630 ADS-B ground stations across the United States.  This surveillance capability is now available everywhere that radar is available, and in some places where radar cannot function, such as over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and in mountainous regions. 

ADS-B transmits the location of aircraft to controllers and other ADS-B equipped aircraft with a faster update rate than radar.  This infrastructure will improve the efficiency of our airports through better approaches and departures, and better routes in busy metropolitan areas.  Newer technologies are also used by air traffic controllers at airports to track surface movement of aircraft and vehicles.  These allow better and more efficient operations between aircraft and other vehicles on airport grounds, and help reduce the possibility of runway incursions. 

With NextGen, more precise departure and arrival paths will optimize routing and operations, especially for congested metropolitan areas, and improve access to locations previously challenged by land-based navigation.  My agency works with airports, airlines, air traffic controllers, and other federal agencies to improve air traffic flow around all of the airports in busy metropolitan areas with multiple airports.

These more efficient routes in turn lessen the environmental impact of aviation.  A more direct approach or departure will reduce emissions, a benefit to us all.  We must focus on aviation’s impact on the environment.  And, as we do this, we must ensure that our approach is balanced.  The agreement reached last year at the ICAO Assembly to pass a resolution to address environmental impact with market-based measures is a sound approach.  Our governments worked together closely on this solution, and it is one that we can be proud of as we move forward on a global level. 

We also see the need for alternative fuel solutions to address environmental and economic issues.  The FAA is actively involved with industry under the Continuous Lower Energy Emissions and Noise (CLEEN) program, to conduct tests to demonstrate the use of alternative fuels.  Brazil is a pioneer in alternative fuels for cars and increasingly for aircraft, and our governments have signed an agreement under which we cooperate in the development and certification of alternative fuels for aviation.  We must encourage other governments to take similar steps to ensure a solid, proactive way to address the need for more efficient fuel sources.  The steps you have taken with alternative fuels, not only in aviation, but in transportation in general, are to be commended.    

As aviation brings the far reaches of the globe closer and closer together, we have much to celebrate.  This is especially true within our own hemisphere.  We have experienced phenomenal growth over the decades, and airports continue to play a key role in this development.  As the famous saying goes, a mile of road takes you one mile.  A mile of runway can take you anywhere in the world.  We must never underestimate the value that airports bring to communities, nations, and to the global economy. 

Thank you, again, for your kind invitation.  Muito Obrigado.

Safety Through Partnership

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Thank you, Oscar [Derby], for that kind introduction, and thank you for doing an outstanding job as well.  And let me offer a special thank you as well to the professionals who are attending the series of meetings that bring us to Curacao.  The list is impressive.  The Pan American Aviation Safety Summit.  Your fifth summit.  The Regional Aviation Safety Group-Pan America.  Your seventh meeting.   

When you see groups like these coming together, it is a very, very good sign.  It’s a sign that we share common goals.  We believe that safety is the foundation for moving forward in this industry.  We believe that partnership is not only the best way to get there, but that it is the smartest business decision anyone of us can make.

But most of all, an audience of this size is a very clear indication that we plan to move forward together.  As I looked at the agenda for this week, I saw more than a dozen organizational and company logos from all over the world.  That is outstanding.  Aviation is an international business that by its very nature brings people together.  The success of this industry and this conference are rooted in partnership.  From what I have seen and heard so far, I can say with certainty that we are perfectly positioned to get there. 

Let me start out by congratulating the Regional Aviation Safety Group-Pan America—RASG-PA.  I know that there are many RASG-PA member states here right now.  I am excited by your work.  You are without question working hard at becoming world leaders in aviation safety.  And you are very committed to carrying this out at a regional level.  That’s a model for the rest of us to follow. 

I’m particularly impressed by the partnership you’ve established between the industry and the State regulators.  This is not happening in all parts of the world, but I think we all agree that it needs to.  In our experience, we have seen that it is key to have everyone at the table who has a role to play in the solution. 

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating:  Partnership is the heart of safety, but it does take a leader to help make it happen.  I want to recognize one of our key partners – the ICAO North American, Central American and Caribbean Regional Office and the Regional Director Loretta Martin for her leadership over the years in helping RASG-PA evolve.  Her commitment and professionalism at ICAO has enabled this regional safety group to become a model of improving safety around the world.  I’d be remiss not to acknowledge our other key regional partner, Franklin Hoyer from the ICAO  South America Regional office in Lima.  Your work makes a difference. 

What Loretta Martin will tell you firsthand – as will the successful operators – is that we must establish safety cultures.  That’s what safety management systems do for aviation.  When you instill a safety culture—a culture that’s based from top to bottom with safety as its focus—you get a safety record like the one we have in U.S. commercial aviation. 

By definition, a safety management system—SMS—is a process-oriented approach to managing safety throughout an organization.  That includes everything up to and including an organization-wide safety policy.  An SMS takes the guesswork out of safety assessments. 

An SMS has formal methods for identifying hazards, and then mitigating and controlling risk.  An SMS continually assesses risk and safety performance.  SMS is not just about compliance with technical standards.  An SMS emphasizes the overall safety performance of the organization. 

Through safety management systems, we can shape aviation’s future by continuing to drive down safety risk.  The frequency of commercial airline accidents is declining around the world.  Safety management feeds the safety culture of an organization, which in turn provides the safety information that gives us insight into precursors.  The information is based on data bases that are populated with input from operational information from flight data recorders, from radar and also from voluntary submissions made by safety professionals on the front line.

That type of safety record happens when everyone … everyone who touches the plane … everyone who touches something that touches the plane … when all the players have safety as their primary concern.  In aviation, we have very complex processes—manufacturing, maintenance and operations—things move very quickly.  With humans in the loop it’s easy to make a mistake.  We can’t afford that.  With safety, you must always be vigilant. 

In the U.S., we’ve achieved an 83 percent reduction in the commercial fatality -risk because we take a proactive approach to safety.  Safety management ensures that the outcomes of any activity incorporate safety considerations.  And it insists on a healthy safety culture. 

As we move forward in the safety information sharing that really gives these partnerships life, it’s important to remember that all of these efforts have been successful because this is not punitive.  FAA Administrator Michael Huerta has said on more than one occasion that secure data and information sharing among trusted professionals has the potential to be the single-greatest catalyst for aviation safety in the decades to come.  He is absolutely 100 percent right. 

He’s right because voluntary safety data adds a new dimension to what we can learn about what’s happening in the system.  I want to encourage everyone here to champion the implementation of these programs in the aviation community.

The simple fact of the matter is that providing protections for safety programs is vital.  That is the only way we can encourage members of the community to step forward with safety issues.  Data sharing is based entirely on trust, and all parties need to be able to trust one another. 

Information sharing needs to be part of any system that’s striving for safety.  Information sharing and international partnership go hand in hand.  Information sharing is pivotal if we as aviation safety professionals are to enhance safety worldwide. 

Our collaborative efforts in this region are well under way.  The Commercial Aviation Safety Team is an example that’s well known to you.  CAST signed an agreement with the RASG-PA to share U.S. operator experience at 22 Latin American and Caribbean airports.  This agreement lets CAST and RASG-PA share detailed safety information through systems like ASIAS to monitor risk and evaluate the effectiveness of deployed mitigations.  In addition to sharing CAST safety information based on U.S. experience flying into RASG-PA destinations, CAST has also shared its solutions to safety risks … and many of these have been adopted by RASG-PA.

In closing, it’s important that you know that your work makes a difference.  We look forward to building on our successes together to address safety risk in this region.  I know that regional aviation safety groups participate in the FAA’s Aviation Safety InfoShare meetings back in the United States.  That is one of our most important venues for safety.  I was delighted to hear CAST’s recent Airplane State Awareness study was already being evaluated by PA-RAST for its training-related safety enhancements.

When government and industry become partners, it’s not about the government telling everyone what to do.  It’s about individuals and their organizations and their businesses stepping up and sharing information.  Sharing best practices.  Making sure that all operators are safe.  That all maintenance facilities are safe.  That we all move forward with safety as our goal. 

This is where you’ll get the best results.  When we are looking at all of the available data together, it’s hard not to come to the same conclusion.  And that conclusion is that safety and partnership go hand in hand.  Safety and partnership must go hand-in-hand.  Thank you.

T.F. Green Runway

My background is in transportation, so obviously, I’m a huge fan of airports. And I have to tell you, this is a beautiful airport. We have a wonderful partnership here at T.F. Green Airport, and there is lots of potential to help Rhode Island grow economically.

As the Secretary will tell you, the airport grants that we’ve provided played a very, very significant role here. But all of that started here with a vision, a vision that the state of Rhode Island had, a plan for bigger and better, for growth for this airport. And we’re so proud to be partnering with you to leverage this airport and its role in this area. You’ve shown a strong commitment to the flying public as well as to the community.

The airfield improvement program here is going to make a big, big difference. Lengthening the airport’s primary runway will improve efficiency and will enhance safety for the airlines and the traveling public. It will also allow T.F. Green to handle longer haul flights. The new runway safety areas and arrestor beds on the other runways provide an extra margin of safety in the very unlikely event that a pilot needs to use them.

In fact, they’re called “EMAS” – Engineered Materials Arresting System – and what they do is actually slow an airplane to a complete stop if it overruns the main runway area – just as planned. And if you want to know what one looks like, there is an EMAS bed at the end of this runway right behind you. The EMAS at the end of Runway 34 will be done by the end of next year.

The sum total of all that brings us here today. Big things are in store for T.F. Green Airport. I am absolutely confident of that.

Now, it’s my pleasure to introduce the Secretary of Transportation. When the President nominated Anthony Foxx to be Secretary, he said, “He’s got the respect of his peers, mayors, and governors all across the country. He’s going to be extraordinarily effective.” That’s a nice thing to hear coming from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The Secretary is an unfailing supporter of aviation, and that’s what brings him here today. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Secretary Anthony Foxx.

Bigger, Better, Safer

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Good morning. Thank you for inviting me. I had the good fortune to be with Transportation Secretary Foxx, members of the Congressional delegation, Governor Chafee and Mayor Avedisian earlier today at T.F. Green. They’re putting the great state of Rhode Island into the position to do great things over at the airport – extending the runway, putting additional safety protections in place. T.F. Green already is a great airport, and now I think it’s going to be even better.

Let me say what a pleasure it is to be back here once again with my colleagues at NASAO’s annual convention. This is a group that connects the dots, and I can tell you that aviation needs more groups that do that. You’re the people who make sure that the federal, state and local governments are talking. I know firsthand that that kind of thing doesn’t happen on its own.

For many years, you were fortunate to have one of the real masters of collaboration running things here at NASAO. I think it’s fair to say that aviation owes a debt of gratitude to Henry Ogrodzinski, for the work he did to put NASAO into the place where it became known for bringing groups together. What I particularly liked about Henry O. is the way he did it. He was direct, firm, and smooth. But also cordial, deferential, and kind. Through it all, you learned pretty quickly that his approach was to get the job done. In this business, you can’t go it alone. Henry O. knew that, which is why NASAO has the reputation it does.

Here was a man committed to improving the business of aviation, the system of aviation and more importantly, the people of aviation. That’s quite a legacy. But that was Henry O. I’ll miss him, and I know aviation will as well.

Shifting gears, I note with interest that today is the 67^th anniversary of “Skyway One” – a coast-to-coast highway in the sky stretching from D.C. to L.A. It was a couple of 40-mile wide flight paths to encourage cross-country travel. Just a year later came “Skyway Two,” which stretched from Seattle to Boston. Efficiency was a big deal. Even in 1947.

We’re still pushing the envelope for technology and procedures, reaffirming to passengers and businesses that aviation is the best way to go.

With that said, the need to modernize has never been clearer. 65 billion passengers flew in the first 100 years of commercial aviation. We’ll hit 65 billion passengers again in just the next 15. Those aren’t the only big numbers. Aviation employs nearly 12 million people in the United States and makes up 5.4 percent of our GDP. Civil aviation contributes $1.5 trillion to the U.S. economy. At any given moment, 5,000 flights are in our skies. We are modernizing because we have to. Modernization means greater safety. Modernization means greater efficiency. Modernization means saving fuel, being green and saving money at the same time. It’s not just the smart thing to do: it’s the right thing to do.

When you hear “modernization,” think NextGen. NextGen is happening now. We are completing the final pieces of the key foundation of NextGen.

And it’s not just happening at large airports. We are upgrading and standardizing the computer systems at more than 150 terminal facilities throughout the country. It’s happening at T.F. Green. Right here, the Providence control tower and radar room that's responsible for this airport and the surrounding area has state-of-the art equipment that works with satellite technology in concert with ground based radar. That helps traffic flow. In addition, we are raising the ground based radar antenna serving Providence to improve coverage in the area. We’re installing an information display system for controllers this year. In the tower, controllers have access to the ASDE-X surface surveillance system that provides clear airfield detection of planes and vehicles during low visibility weather.

In addition to improvements at airports, we’re improving our computer and automation system for en route air traffic. These are the facilities that handle the high-altitude traffic. To date, 16 en route facilities have fully deployed ERAM, the computer system that is the backbone of our NextGen airspace system. It processes flight radar data, and generates display data to controllers. By next spring, all 20 en route centers will be using ERAM continuously.

The work at the centers and terminal locations leads to a greater capacity for controllers in terms of handling aircraft in their sectors more effectively and efficiently. That translates directly to improved efficiency for the entire airspace system.

Beyond new equipment, software and automation platforms, let me update you on NextGen satellite-based procedures. We now have more satellite-based procedures than traditional radar-based procedures. NextGen ensures greater access to many airports when visibility to the runway is reduced because of fog, clouds, heavy rain or other conditions. Places like North Central and Block Island State airports that don’t have an instrument landing system. As we’ve discussed before, we have what we call WAAS-LPV approaches – the full term is Wide Area Augmentation, “Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance.” WAAS-LPV takes advantage of GPS signal enhancement technology and provides pilots with a landing path that they can see on their cockpit instrument panel. It’s beneficial for smaller aircraft—including biz jets, helicopters and rescue aircraft that need access to smaller and medium-sized airports that can’t afford expensive ground-based landing equipment. Nationwide, we’ve already published more than 3,400 WAAS-LPV procedures at more than 1,680 airports.

As you can see, we’re busy at advancing aviation. Just this morning, you heard that we’ve achieved another milestone toward finding an unleaded fuel for general aviation. We’re committed to finding a replacement fuel by 2018. That’s especially good news for your constituents.

As big and exciting as NextGen is, we’re also addressing another piece of technology that’s really captured the public eye: unmanned aircraft systems. This developing technology comes with great responsibility. That’s for the people who fly unmanned aircraft systems and for those who are charged with integrating them.

To say that this is uncharted territory may be the understatement of the year. Federal Air Regulations didn’t contemplate an empty cockpit. That’s about to change.

There is great potential for this technology. Agricultural, emergencies, surveying, environmental monitoring, traffic safety – the potential is tremendous, and new applications pop up all the time. Unmanned aircraft systems are the most dynamic growth sector in the aviation industry. One 10- year estimate says total spending worldwide will hit $90 billion. Any number followed by “billion” is a big number. Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 allows for authorization of specific, limited, low-risk commercial unmanned aircraft systems flights. Interest in section 333 has been robust, and we are in the process of reviewing more than 30 requests for commercial operations. These special rules will enable the FAA to slowly expand authorized commercial operations for limited applications in very controlled environments, like filming for movies or television on a closed set.

The FAA has the exclusive authority to regulate the airspace, from the ground up. We have a mandate to protect the safety of the American people in the air and on the ground. The public expects us to carry out this mission.

Our challenge at the FAA is to integrate unmanned aircraft into the same airspace used by commercial aviation, general aviation and other new entrants – like commercial space vehicles traveling faster than the speed of sound. That’s also in addition to balloonists. And skydivers. And model aircraft enthusiasts.

There’s a lot going on up there. Considering the complex mix of uses, the introduction of unmanned aircraft into America’s national airspace system will take place incrementally and with the interest of safety first.

We’re writing a rule right now for small unmanned aircraft, the area where we expect the most growth. It addresses vehicles that weigh 55 pounds or less. The proposal will be published later this year. Obviously, we’re working to get it done as expeditiously as possible.

The context for that rule is fairly simple: If you want to operate in the National Airspace System, you have to ensure that your operation doesn’t create an unacceptable risk to users or people and property on the ground. That applies to everyone who is using the system now. Logically, the same must be true for unmanned aircraft, both big and small. If you want to fly, you have to fly by the rules. That’s what makes our aviation system as safe as it is. Safety does not happen on its own. We know that, and that is specifically why we are the gold standard for safety.

We have six test sites nationwide to develop and lead unmanned aircraft system research and development. They’re going to study UAS integration issues from just about every angle: system safety and data gathering; aircraft certification; command and control linkage; control station layout and certification standards; ground and airborne sense-and-avoid technology; and the impact of the unmanned aircraft systems on the environment. The information we gather from these test sites will be useful as we develop the regulations that govern the safe integration of unmanned aircraft systems.

Just a few weeks ago, I was in Blacksburg for the launch of the Virginia Tech test site, which also has ranges in New Jersey and Maryland. They’ll study the successful integration of unmanned aircraft systems into our skies.

In short, we’re working together to move things forward: government, industry, academia.

Before closing, let me talk for a moment about reauthorization. We still remain in a difficult situation when it comes to long term planning and budgeting. I know that many of you are thinking about it, and you by no means are alone. Here’s where we are:

In December, Congress passed a two-year budget. That provides us with some degree of certainty. The two-year budget temporarily avoids the cuts we would have had to make under the sequester. Our current authorization will expire in one year. As we gear up for this, we’re asking ourselves some basic questions, some tough questions about our mission. What are our priorities? How can we use technology to reduce our costs? Where will we find the resources to replace our aging infrastructure and also modernize the system?

We have to prioritize our work. We cannot continue to provide all of the services we have in the past. The current budget environment won’t let us. We’re looking at what we can do differently or stop altogether.

In an aviation community as diverse as ours, this is obviously a much larger discussion. We want to build consensus on the direction we’re going. I believer that consensus around the future direction of the FAA is absolutely critical if we’re going to resolve our long-term funding challenges.

We are committed to supporting our aviation system’s infrastructure needs and ensuring that our system remains the safest and most efficient in the world. Even with all this, though, we must remember that our central mission does not change: A safe and efficient system 24/7/365. Accomplishing that in an era of tight budgets is not easy. The long and short of that story is that it’s awfully hard to run a business without stable funding.

We’ve covered a lot of ground today, but the good news is that the challenges we have are dynamic. We’re not maintaining the status quo. We’re talking about bigger and better, about safer and greener. The good news for me is that groups like this one can be counted on to speak up and let its voice be heard. I look forward to working with you as we face the future together.

Kim, great minds think alike. As I said before, signing an agreement with NASAO is good for you, good for us and good for aviation. It’s a smart business move. Unmanned Aircraft Systems are an exciting technology, and I’m happy that you’re willing to work with us to integrate then. I am pleased to sign this MOU.

UAS Virginia Test Site Announcement

Good afternoon and thank you all for coming out.

I am very pleased to announce that today the FAA has approved Virginia Tech to conduct research on unmanned aircraft systems here in Virginia.

We have given authorization for seven different types of operations using unmanned aircraft, including fixed wing and rotorcraft.

We look forward to the important contributions that Virginia Tech and their partners in New Jersey and Maryland will make to our body of knowledge about unmanned systems, and how to safely integrate them into our nation’s airspace.

We’ll see in just a few minutes Virginia Tech’s research in action. Today’s test focuses on highway safety and emergency response. The University will also use unmanned aircraft for a number of other purposes. For example, to inspect power lines and cell towers for damage and maintenance. This work is now done by employees who must climb poles or use a bucket truck, which can be dangerous work.

This test site will also use unmanned vehicles to detect the health of crops, take air quality samples and detect the presence of bacteria, weeds and bugs. Other vehicles will map out the typical landscape of a rural setting – the silos, barns, cattle and other terrain characteristics to create the best procedures for integrating these vehicles into agricultural settings.

The research here will lay out the challenges and the potential solutions for using unmanned aircraft to perform these types of applications.

The FAA’s number one priority is safety. We regulate the use of our nation’s airspace to protect the safety of all aircraft as well as people and property on the ground.

In moving forward, we recognize that the expanded use of unmanned aircraft presents great opportunities, but there are operational issues that we need to address. We need to make sure that unmanned aircraft sense and avoid other aircraft, and that they operate safely if they lose the link to their pilot. We also need to address pilot training. This is why developing more test data is so important.

In addition to the work here at Virginia Tech, members of the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership will conduct testing in New Jersey and Maryland as well. Future research will include other types of agricultural uses related to crop dusting, and developing procedures to integrate unmanned vehicles into airspace near airports with control towers.

We want to safely expand the use of unmanned aircraft, and the research here in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic, and other other sites across the country will help the evolution of our airspace. It will help to make sure that America remains a leader in aviation innovation.

Air Venture

Thank you, Jack (Pelton, Chairman of EAA and former CEO of Cessna). Good morning, everyone. It’s great to be back at Oshkosh this year and have the opportunity to meet with all of you. 

Events like this help us reconnect with the wonder of flight.

And for me, I think about how far aviation has come. Just think, it was fifty years ago that the Beech King Air flew its first flight. In 1964, the King Air became the first U.S. light twin-engine turboprop to be type-certified. It was the latest in business aviation.

Also fifty years ago this year, the founder of EAA, Paul Poberezny, moved the organization’s headquarters out of the basement of his home to a new building in Franklin, Wisconsin, which was the first home for the EAA. The interest in experimental and light sport aircraft was growing and the association needed to grow with it.

In the last 50 years, the entire aviation industry has matured and grown. Change is a constant. It’s part of that pioneering spirit of aviation – of wanting to explore and push limits.

To make GA safer and better, we need to work together and listen to each other. I value the chance to spend time with you, and to hear what’s on your mind. I’m interested in your opinions, and I am guessing that there is no shortage of them here!  I wouldn’t have it any other way. I look forward to working together with you and EAA and AOPA in a partnership, to address the needs of the general aviation community, and to help GA grow and mature. 

One of the important issues on everyone’s mind is the third class medical certificate. I have heard you loud and clear on this.

As everyone here knows, EAA and AOPA submitted a petition to exempt recreational pilots from needing a third class medical certificate. We asked for public comment on this and we’ve received more than 16,000 comments.  An exemption like this could impact approximately 39,000 pilots according to AOPA and EAA’s own estimates. 

Fundamentally what you’re trying to achieve is a long lasting policy change. A change that effects this many people is typically not done using the exemption route.

Exemptions are usually for very limited circumstances or for limited durations. We do major policy changes through rulemaking. Now, the downside of the rulemaking process is that it does take time. But that is how we get to the fundamental change you all are looking for. We haven’t ruled out the exemption as an interim step, but we don’t want to have it get in the way of expeditiously completing the rulemaking process. My leadership team at the FAA has worked very hard to draft a notice of proposed rulemaking. I have reviewed it and signed it last week. This notice will go through executive review, but our goal is to issue the notice of proposed rulemaking before the end of this year.

The proposed rule will lay out the parameters that define how a person could fly without a third class medical certificate. As you know, if you fly a glider or balloon today, you aren’t required to have a medical certificate at all. We are trying to take a reasonable approach to ensure we maintain the highest levels of safety in recreational flying.  

Everything in aviation changes and grows. Nothing is static. I was reminded of that when we visited the Innovation Pavilion this morning on the way over here.

We checked out the electric airplanes and other inventions. The rate of change in engine technology and navigation is exponential. Soon, what we saw this morning will be yesterday’s models.

At the FAA we are living that spirit of transformation by modernizing our nation’s airspace through NextGen. The changes we are making will allow all of us to take advantage of the benefits of new technology and make our airspace safer and more efficient.

As you may know, this year we finished one of the most crucial foundations of NextGen – the installation of the infrastructure for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B.We have installed more than 630 transceivers nationwide. This represents a key milestone in transitioning from a ground-based radar system to satellite-based GPS technology. 

ADS-B Out is one of the foundational elements of NextGen, and it allows us to bring you many benefits.

I know that many of you are concerned about the 2020 mandate to equip for ADS-B Out. There is still a five-and-a-half year window to get it done. But the date is firm. As a nation, we need to modernize our airspace and take advantage of superior GPS capabilities and the enhanced safety and efficiency these capabilities will bring to all of us. I encourage you to equip before the deadline to avoid delays at repair stations as the deadline draws closer.

I also want to remind you that equipage for ADS-B Out will only be required in certain airspace. That airspace is where we require transponders today, so controllers can see you. This of course includes the airspace around busy airports. If you fly in uncontrolled airspace – where no transponder is required today – you don’t need to equip.

We are doing what we can to facilitate low-cost alternatives for the general aviation community.  To meet the minimum requirements for ADS-B Out, you need three things:

• A rule-compliant GPS receiver
• A 1090 MHz extended squitter, or a 978 MHz universal access transceiver
• And an antenna

You can buy just these things, or you can integrate with other technologies and capabilities. We’ve done a lot of work to certify a range of products, and companies are responding.

Thousands of GA aircraft owners have already equipped with ADS-B Out, and I thank you for that. The experimental community is often at the forefront of adopting advanced technology, and you are helping us by flagging difficulties you may have encountered with equipage so far.

We are tracking the installations to date and we have encountered some problems with improper avionics installations and system software configurations.

We want to fix these problems immediately and we are providing a free service where we will verify ADS-B Out avionics performance for you. Just email us and ask us to check your equipment, and we’ll do it. We search a database of flight tracks kept at our Tech Center in Atlantic City, and we can see if you are transmitting correctly.

We have set up a dedicated email account, and last month, we checked 300 aircraft, and helped owners fix issues. Please visit the ADS-B booth in the FAA Safety Center. They have the email address and can help you out.

Equipping for ADS-B brings pilots many advantages. 

We now have ADS-B coverage in remote areas where radar coverage was limited before, such as the Gulf of Mexico, mountainous regions in Colorado, and low altitude airspace in Alaska. This makes flying safer.

Of course, we also have ADS-B coverage here in Wisconsin, the Dakotas, Minnesota and parts of the Northern Great Plains.

ADS-B enables us to determine an aircraft’s location with far greater accuracy than radar. This highly precise surveillance is improving our ability to perform life-saving search and rescue operations. Air traffic controllers have better information about an airplane’s last position, helping to take the “search” out of search and rescue. 

Now that we’ve completed the nationwide installation of the transceivers, ADS-B is bringing free weather and traffic updates to the cockpit from coast to coast. There’s no cost to subscribe. This service had been available in select areas before, but now we truly have nationwide coverage.

ADS-B delivers information about hazardous weather to the cockpit and brings important flight information, such as temporary flight restrictions and notices to airmen.  It also enables general aviation pilots – for the first time – to see much of what air traffic controllers see. Cockpit displays show the location of aircraft in the sky around you, creating an environment of shared situational awareness that enhances safety. When everyone is ADS-B compliant, it will truly be a different world.

Many GA pilots are already enjoying the benefits of GPS and specifically the advantages of WAAS-LPV.

If you are thinking of equipping for WAAS, vendors are selling rule compliant ADS-B Out equipment in a package with WAAS GPS receivers.

Already, more than 74,000 GA aircraft of all types are equipped to be able to use WAAS-LPV approaches. That includes nearly 70,000 recreational and sport GA aircraft (Part 23). This is a huge benefit that NextGen brings to the GA community. WAAS brings better and more reliable access to smaller airports that don’t have an instrument landing system, for example, Half Moon Bay Airport south of San Francisco.

WAAS also improves access to airports that do have an ILS but you can’t use it because the wind has changed and you need to come in from the other end of the runway. If you have to go to an opposite runway end, then WAAS-LPV can get you in. 

WAAS provides a vertically guided approach that allows you to fly into airports in poor weather conditions with minimums as low as 200 feet. It is very similar to a Category I ILS approach. With WAAS, the accuracy of the GPS signal is improved from 20 meters, to about 2 meters in both the horizontal and vertical dimensions.

• An advantage of using WAAS-LPV is that the signal is more stable.
• Also, you don’t have to watch out for the critical areas of the runway that protect the ILS.
• And it improves your ability to file for IFR to an airport with no ILS; or to designate the airport as an alternate.
• Also, for those airports that do have an ILS, sometimes it’s down, due to construction, but WAAS-LPV can get you in.

We have been steadily working for the last 10 years to bring you this NextGen benefit. These approaches are at 1,676 airports across the country, available for you right now, such as Fort Myers, Fla.; Martha’s Vineyard; and Fulton County Airport at Charlie Brown Field west of Atlanta. 

We have published more than 3,400 WAAS-LPV approaches to runway ends across the country. That’s more than two and a half times the number of ILS procedures (1,281) nationwide. And we’re not done. We intend to develop another 270 WAAS-LPV approaches in the next three years, including at Newcastle, Delaware; Muscatine, Iowa; and Conway, Arkansas.

This represents a significant improvement in safety and efficiency for GA pilots thanks to NextGen.

In addition to adding new procedures across the country, we have also worked very hard to streamline our certification process for GA safety equipment.

I want to share with you the efforts that the FAA has made to cut red tape and really improve the experience of GA pilots in several areas.

First, we have simplified the design approval process for angle of attack indicators, to make it easier for GA pilots to install this safety device in older aircraft.

What this means is that it’s less expensive for the manufacturers to make this important safety device. There’s less paperwork involved. A large percentage of the cost of an aircraft part is solely the cost of documenting the way the company made the part. We’ve streamlined that and brought down the price of the angle of attack indicator from about $6,000 to $1,500 or less.  This indicator can now be installed as a minor alteration, which makes it less costly.

I really encourage those of you with older model aircraft to install this life-saving device.  Just last week we issued an Information for Operators – an “InFO,” that highlights the advantages of using an angle of attack indicator. Loss of control, mainly stalls, accounted for 40 percent of fatal GA accidents over the last decade.

The angle of attack indicator tells you how much lift you have under your wings. It can help you discern if you’re about to stall. There are different kinds of indicators, but many of those for GA are simple, like the ones for the military – they show green, yellow and red. Green is good. You’ve got enough lift.

If we can save just one life by avoiding a loss of control accident, it will be worth it. Please consider adding this important safety equipment to your aircraft.

Second, I want to share with you a new draft advisory circular that encourages an additional qualified pilot to ride in amateur built aircraft for phase one flight testing.  The comment period for this circular ended a few days ago and we’ll be reviewing all of the comments.

The final advisory circular can significantly enhance the safety of experimental aircraft testing by having an expert ride with you. Many times the pilot who built the aircraft may not have prior experience flying that type of aircraft. It’s exactly during the testing phase when it makes sense to have a pilot who is more familiar with the aircraft accompany you. This best practice guidance is an example of the FAA and EAA really working together to make things better for the experimental aircraft community.

Third, we’re also improving the testing and training for airman certification.

The new “Airman Certification Standards” was developed by industry in partnership with the FAA and will improve airman testing and training in ways that benefit everybody. The basics are not changing. But the material is presented in a better way.  We’re integrating standards for aeronautical knowledge and risk management into the flight proficiency skills. The new standards will be the only necessary reference for both knowledge and skill.

To be clear:

• Standards are not changing.
• Check rides are not changing.
• The material is just presented better.

This effort represents a great partnership, and we deeply appreciate the industry’s strong commitment to this.

As always, the FAA’s number one mission is safety. It’s everyone’s job at the FAA, and we appreciate very much the professionalism that all of you display. It’s the dedication to detail, day in and day out, that makes the difference in safety.

This year we are asking pilots to think about the weather when thinking about safety.

Earlier this year we launched our “Got Weather?” campaign with our GA partners—EAA and AOPA along with NBAA, the NTSB, NOAA and others.  You can check it out at faa.gov/go/gotweather. 

We have a simple premise:  While terrain, model type and pilot experience may vary, the one thing that should unite all pilots is respect for the weather.  Nearly 75 percent of weather-related GA accidents are fatal, according to AOPA.

We are focusing on a new topic each month through the end of the year. In June, we focused on turbulence. This month we’re looking at Flying IFR:  knowing what you’re flying into.  And with summer flying, that means thunderstorms.

Next month, we’ll look at flying into Instrument Meteorological Conditions without meaning to – a common cause of accidents.

The fatal accident rate for GA has remained stagnant the last five years. I think we’d all agree that we’re still not where we want to be.  This year we are down below our not-to-exceed rate by about 10 accidents so far, but we cannot rest or be content with this. We all need to work together to constantly improve our skills and make sure that all of us will continue to enjoy the skies for many years to come.

Right now, I’d like to recognize some very important people we have in the audience today. They are experts in safety and serve as a role model to others. They are the winners of this year’s General Aviation Awards. These folks join a distinguished group of aviation professionals who have won the award over the years here at AirVenture. I would like to acknowledge them. There will be another ceremony later today where they will receive their awards, but I did want to flag these folks for you so that you recognize them as leaders in safety. Winners, please stand when I call your name.

The winner of the Certificated Flight Instructor of the Yearaward is Howard William Wolvington of Issaquah,Washington.

The Aviation Maintenance Technician of the year winner is Max Lloyd Burnette of Rockvale, Tennessee.

From Guilford, Connecticut, we have the winner of the Avionics Technician of the Year award – David Brian Kocak.

And last but not least, the FAA Safety Team Representative of the year is Richard Loren Stowell Jr. of McCall, Idaho.

Please join me in congratulating these outstanding aviation safety leaders.

I want to thank you for your attention this morning. AirVenture is all about reconnecting with the thrill of flight and the enjoyment we get from exploring the skies. I salute your commitment to improving your skills as pilots and to passing on your knowledge and wisdom to other pilots, and to young and old who are just starting to discover the field we know and love.

Thank you very much.

Jack, I know we’re going to questions now, but before we do, I’d like to introduce my FAA safety team that’s joining me today.  Would the FAA employees please stand up and face the audience? Please acknowledge when I call your name.

Pogue Award

Thank you, Ken [Quinn]. 

The Pogue Award recognizes individuals with a lifetime of achievement in aviation and a vision for where this industry is headed.

Back in the mid 1940s, Welch Pogue chaired the Civil Aeronautics Board before the FAA existed. He then worked to establish a legal framework of rules and treaties for international aviation that helped mold the system we have today.

To win the Pogue Award, you not only need insight, you have to lead people and make the vision a reality.

Peggy Gilligan has done just that.

What Peggy has done is the very challenging work of changing the philosophical underpinning of how we think about aviation safety. She has engineered a sea change in the very culture of safety.

Peggy recognized early on that we need to move away from the forensic study of accidents and instead attempt to anticipate what the next accident cause might be, and prevent it from happening.

We need to evolve past compliance based safety to data driven safety. We need to stop being retrospective and become prospective.

Peggy has worked with industry, starting with the Commercial Aviation Safety Team, or CAST, to expand the use of data sharing among airlines and the FAA.

Now, more than 40 airlines and the FAA share their data through the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing system.

This happened because Peggy is a known entity. She has worked at the FAA for more than 30 years.  She delivers as promised. Peggy lives and breathes aviation and she defends her community. She’s a lawyer after all. And she’s always prepared.

Peggy likes to joke that everyone comes to her when they want to remember what happened “the last time we did this.” She jokes that she is the doyenne of the FAA. But it’s no joke. So much has changed during Peggy’s watch that it takes a very smart person to synthesize it all and translate what it means. And that is so valuable. What Peggy offers is a rich institutional knowledge and also an open door.

When she first became Associate Administrator of Safety five years ago, she represented a change from the standard candidate. She was not a pilot or an air traffic controller. She was an attorney. But very quickly, any doubts about fitting in evaporated.

Her influence spreads across the lines of business at the FAA.  She heads one of our biggest cultural shifts—to risk-based decision making.  Through this initiative, we use data-driven tools to make smarter, risk-based decisions about safety and how we operate.  As an agency, we tap the wealth of data now available and conduct sophisticated analysis to identify the areas of highest risk.  The goal of this initiative is to get us to a point where we can redirect all of our efforts toward these higher risk areas. 

This will change how we do things in areas outside the Aviation Safety organization, such as the development of safety management systems and some of the work the Air Traffic Organization is doing to identify top safety hazards and target corrective activities.  This initiative will also position us to make risk-based decision making part of our operating philosophy across the entire agency.

Being data-driven helps us refine our safety oversight model that prioritizes safety inspection efforts.  It also will provide us with the tools to consider stopping certain oversight activities for known system operators that have strong safety management systems of their own.  This way, we can achieve compliance more efficiently.

That gives you an idea organizationally, but she also touches individual employees as well.  Peggy has been a mentor to many – young lawyers, women, safety professionals and more. People turn to her when they need a trusted source to explain the lay of the land.

Before I was Administrator of the FAA, I had the pleasure of working with Peg during the Clinton years when I was the chief of staff at DOT.  At the time, Peggy had a reputation for being tough but fair, someone who was going to hang in there as long as it took to make the point or underscore the need for action.

I learned then what I know now:  Peggy Gilligan really is the people’s representative for aviation safety.  She creates teams and energizes them, and makes sure they get the job done. 

The sum total of all this is that Peggy Gilligan makes a difference, and she makes a difference that will last.  The safety of the system that all of us enjoy is the direct result of her work and the team that she has built.  Hers is a legacy of vision, and of excellence, and it’s fair to say that like the previous Pogue Award winners, Peggy Gilligan has changed the face of aviation.  We are the better for it. 

Before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Subcommittee on Aviation concerning NextGen: A Review of Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Improving Aviation Safety and Efficiency

Thank you, Chairwoman Cantwell, Ranking Member Ayotte and members of the Subcommittee.  I am pleased to have the opportunity to be here today to highlight the progress the FAA and industry are making with NextGen. 

On June 3^rd – my one year anniversary as the agency’s Chief NextGen Officer – I delivered my first Annual Report to Congress, as required by the 2012 Reauthorization Act.  The Report discusses the significant progress we’ve made with NextGen foundational programs, and underscores the benefits NextGen is delivering now.

For example, this year we completed one of the most crucial foundational elements of NextGen – the installation of the ground infrastructure for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B. This represents a key milestone in transitioning from a ground-based radar system to satellite-based GPS technology.  ADS-B enables us to determine an aircraft’s location and track with far greater accuracy than radar. This, in turn, allows more precise and efficient spacing of aircraft, which enables airlines to take advantage of fuel-saving NextGen procedures.

This technology is also improving our ability to perform life-saving search-and-rescue operations. Air traffic controllers have better information about an airplane’s last position, thus helping to take the “search” out of search-and-rescue. 

We are also close to completing another major foundational element of NextGen – the software and hardware upgrades to our nation’s high altitude air traffic centers.  The ERAM program will be complete next Spring, allowing us to decommission the legacy system. 

Similar system upgrades in our approach centers – the TRACONs – are also on track and will be completed in our major TRACONs by 2016. 

In all, we are on track and nearing completion of the foundational phase of NextGen – the technology upgrades that will enable future capabilities to more efficiently and safely manage existing traffic and incorporate new users in the national air space. 

This puts us well on track to having all the ADS-B foundational technology completed well before the 2020 mandate for industry to equip with ADS-B Out. Both the FAA and industry must be held accountable if NextGen is to succeed. We arefulfilling our part of the bargain. Airlines and general aviation pilots must do their part and equip by the deadline to use the system we have built.

Let me be very clear. The 2020 deadline is not going to change.  We are in a position to achieve this important milestone on time.  The cost of equipment has come down considerably. There is sufficient maintenance capacity to allow all equipage to occur – in fact, waiting to equip might cost more if aircraft owners crowd repair stations to get the work done on the eve of the deadline.      

In addition to the foundational work, we have also made significant strides in working with industry to deliver benefits now.

One of my first actions upon joining the agency was to task the NextGen Advisory Committee – or NAC – to provide industry consensus on capabilities that may be delivered in the next one to three years. The NAC responded with a list in September, and since then we have worked together to hone in on four NextGen areas that will be our priority: performance based navigation; surface operations; multiple runway operations and DataComm.  Each of these areas can bring benefits to users in the near term. We are working with industry to craft milestones, agree on metrics, and track our progress on these initiatives.

Much of this work has already been underway.  Just last week, Secretary Foxx and FAA Administrator Huerta announced the completion of the Houston Metroplex. The Obama Administration selected this project as one of 14 high-priority infrastructure projects ideal for expedited completion.

In 30 months, working with industry, we were able to transform Houston’s airspace, thanks to close collaboration with labor, environmental streamlining and concurrent reviews.We flipped the switch on 61 new procedures that take advantage of the precision of GPS technology to untangle the congested airspace shared by multiple airports. These new procedures are estimated to save airlines 3 million gallons of fuel per year while reducing carbon emissions by 31,000 metric tons. That’s the equivalent of removing more than 6,000 cars from the streets of Houston.

We plan to replicate or improve upon these benefits at more than a dozen other busy metropolitan areas across the country.

The FAA is focused on delivering benefits to airspace users today, while also completing the foundational programs of NextGen. As these foundational programs are complete over the next 24 months, we are also focusing on the years beyond – the deployment of surface DataCom through 2018, and full ADS-B equipage in 2020.  We are on track with NextGen, but it is important that we continue to work together – the FAA, industry and Congress – to keep NextGen funded and moving forward. By working together we have the ability to transform our nation’s airspace system for the benefit of generations to come.

Thank you again for the opportunity to be here today, and I’m pleased to answer any questions you might have.

Delivering Efficiency with NextGen

Thanks, Vicki (Cox). I’m delighted to be here at AIAA and to have the chance to thank you in person for the leadership you have shown over the years on NextGen – nurturing the program from the ground up.

I think that one basic fact many people do not think about is that NextGen was designed as a 20-year endeavor to completely modernize our Air Traffic Control system, and ultimately, to completely change the way we manage air traffic. It is difficult to convey the scale of the undertaking – changing out the hardware, software and procedures throughout the entire airspace of the United States … all while keeping it running, and running safely.

The Next Generation Air Transportation System is not a program that was meant to be done in three to five years. It has taken the work of many leaders and innovators, over many years, so thank you, Vicki for your legacy.

Laying the foundation for NextGen
We are seeing progress and results from our continued efforts on NextGen. We are finishing some important foundational portions of the program that will allow us to add new capabilities to the system. Those are the capabilities you think of when you think of NextGen: time based metering, DataComm and System Wide Information Management.

This spring we completed the ground infrastructure required for satellite-based surveillance, which is one of the foundations of NextGen. We installed more than 630 transceivers nationwide. The technical name is Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast. And because I’m speaking to a room full of engineers, I’ll simply refer to it as ADS-B from now on.

This is an extremely important milestone in our implementation of NextGen, and I’m proud of the work that has brought us to this point. We now have ADS-B coverage nearly everywhere there is radar coverage. And in some places where there isn’t radar coverage, such as the Gulf of Mexico, mountainous regions of Colorado and low altitude airspace in Alaska.

With ADS-B, controllers get an update of the aircraft position almost continuously, compared to five seconds, or much longer than five seconds, with radar. This improves the precision of our tracking and leads to enhanced safety and greater efficiency.

Transmitting data every second may not sound like a big deal, but it is when you’re talking about the exact location of more than 30,000 commercial flights a day. And it’s important in congested airspace to increase metering to reduce delays.

Right now, controllers at our en route center in Houston are using ADS-B to track air traffic over the Gulf of Mexico. We’ve opened up 250,000 square miles of positively controlled airspace thanks to ADS-B.

ADS-B is more accurate and improves our tools to create more efficiency. It ultimately results in a smoother flow of air traffic. More precise and efficient spacing of aircraft means airlines are in better position to take advantage of fuel-saving NextGen procedures.

The benefits that ADS-B brings are possible because we are close to finishing work on another foundational element of NextGen – upgrades to our air traffic control software at our en route centers and key TRACON facilities.

Our legacy system has been limited by its processing speed, and by the number of radar inputs it could accept. In the terminal environment, some facilities only receive a single input. 

With our new systems, we can process more data, more efficiently, from more sensors. This allows us to fuse radar and ADS-B in our facilities already.  Controllers at the majority of our en route centers now have the ability to see ADS-B targets on their computer screens. 

Houston
Let me turn to Houston for a minute, because this city is a great example of where we are seeing a number of NextGen improvements that are really changing our airspace.   

Yesterday, the Secretary of Transportation went to Houston, along with my boss, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta, to acknowledge the great work that’s been done with performance based navigation in the Houston metropolitan area.

This is one of our Metroplex projects, where we fast-track changes to the airspace and bring benefits now. We have flipped the switch on 61 new procedures in Houston and already, airlines are able to use fuel-saving optimized profile descents much more frequently.

These procedures allow aircraft to descend to the runway from cruise altitude with engines almost at idle. It saves a lot of fuel because it’s like sliding down the banister rather than walking down the stairway, one stair at a time. A traditional descent requires an aircraft to level off at each new altitude, burning up fuel at each new step. We’ve optimized the departure routes as well to make optimum climbs and shorter routes. These departures also save fuel.

We estimate these procedures will save airlines 3 million gallons of fuel each year and $9.2 million dollars. We also estimate that 31,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide won’t enter our atmosphere.  That’s like taking 6,000 cars off the streets of Houston. NextGen improves efficiency and makes aviation greener.

This project takes into consideration the flight paths into not only the large commercial airports – Intercontinental and Hobby – but also Ellington, David Wayne Hooks Memorial and Sugar Land Regional, and other satellite airports, to make the entire system work better.

We are creating new airways that will relieve bottlenecks, improve safety and foster the flow of commerce. These improvements are happening at more than a dozen major metropolitan areas across the country, not just Houston.

But the great thing about Houston is that this project was on the President’s infrastructure dashboard. We were able to cut through red tape and fast-track permits and environmental reviews to accomplish the work in just two and a half years. And that was notwithstanding the sequester and the government shutdown in October. If we had been able to operate without those restrictions, we would have finished this project in just two years.

The spirit of cooperation is what really moved this NextGen project along. Everyone came to the table and worked together – airlines, pilots, air traffic controllers, airports, and the local community. Everyone had a say. Because of this collaboration, we were able to bring benefits to users in record time.

Workforce
I’d like to close with some thoughts for the students in the room and for those starting out their careers about what to expect in the next 25 years in the aviation industry.

This is a tricky topic for someone of my generation, because by any measure the last 25-30 years in the aviation business have been anything but smooth! 

I had joined the airline business at the worst possible moment in history, which was 1991, just after Eastern shut down, just as PanAm was shutting down, and I had the foresight to join TWA…..right before its first bankruptcy.

But maybe 1991 wasn’t the low point.  Maybe it was 1981. I was a college student at the time hitch-hiking around Europe – until I got stuck at Heathrow for a week after the President of the United States fired the air traffic controllers. 

Aviation and our country suffered its lowest point after the terrorist attacks of September 11^th.  Seven years later, the financial collapse and recession of 2008 slowed growth, and aviation went into a holding pattern, and now a period of consolidation. While the country mostly has recovered from the recession, the federal government is facing sequestration,  budget battles and it went through a complete government shutdown!

Bottom line: it has been a very rocky ride. There are no guarantees in this business.

And like most of you here, I wouldn’t trade a career in aviation for anything!

But this leads me to two observations.

One – and maybe all of us in the aviation business are optimist by nature – but the worst may be behind us.  There are several factors that suggest the next 25 years will be much better than the last 25 years.

Two – in a very real sense, we are at a pivotal moment in the industry that feels very much like a generational handoff.  As Administrator Huerta has said, the choices we make today – here in the United States and around the globe – will shape aviation for the decades to come.

I would like to talk briefly about these two things: why I think the next 25 years will be so interesting – interesting in a good way! – and why this is such a pivotal moment.

THE NEXT 25 YEARS
What will the next 25 years look like? Well, it looks like it will be a good time to be an air traffic controller, or to work for the FAA generally.  This generational handoff shows up in the age of our workforce.  Because many controllers were hired in the ‘80s, there is a wave of retirements coming up.  We plan to bring on approximately 6000 controllers over the next five years. Agency-wide, in fact, there will be a lot of retirements: a third of our workforce will be eligible to retire in the next several years.

The next 25 years also promise to be interesting because of new technologies and users being introduced into the system. Unmanned aircraft – UAS – will have many commercial uses: agriculture, pipeline inspections, construction, media.  Each of these vehicles will have an operator – a pilot – and there will be many jobs created in the design, manufacture, sale and maintenance of these aircraft.

For us, the challenge will be to ensure these operations are conducted safely, and to equitably balance the use of airspace with current users.  We’re working to develop the regulations to accommodate these users.  

Another opportunity – and challenge for us – is the integration of commercial space operations into the system.  The rate of commercial space launches increased six-fold last year over the previous year.  And the last technological challenges are being conquered to allow commercial passenger flights into space.  We are also working on how to integrate these vertical operators into our horizontal system.

So the next 25 years offers a lot of promise, but it also presents us with a lot of challenges. The aviation industry is moving into a new period with lots of change and great opportunities.  Let’s continue to work together – government and industry – in the areas of safety … modernization … and integrating new vehicles.  As we do that, we’ll shape the future of aviation for decades to come, here and around the world.

Houston Metroplex

Thank you, for that introduction Mr. Secretary. It’s great to be here in Houston to celebrate this important milestone.

Houston Center has a long history. This facility was built when President Johnson was in office, and Lady Bird Johnson’s influence can still be felt here today.  She insisted that the facility have an open courtyard, and to this day, employees can enjoy a break outdoors at tables with umbrellas near a fountain.

In the early 1960s, The Houston Post reported that the city planned to build Houston Intercontinental 22 miles northwest of downtown, to accommodate “super jets” and the future of aviation. At the time, the city predicted that William P. Hobby would become a general aviation airport. The amount of growth that would come to Houston was hard to imagine.

Back in the mid 1960s, Houston Center handled roughly 500,000 operations per year. Today, this center handles 2 million operations – mostly high altitude aircraft from Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and the Gulf of Mexico – aircraft that are coming to and from Houston, or just passing by.

The Houston Airport System now handles about 780,000 operations per year – nearly double the load in the 1970s. And 51 million commercial passengers travel through these airports.

NextGen is delivering significant benefits to the complex airspace around Houston right now. We are creating new airways that will relieve bottlenecks, improve safety, and foster the flow of commerce. And these improvements are coming to more than a dozen major metropolitan areas across the country.

We have flipped the switch on 61 new NextGen procedures in Houston. We estimate these procedures could save airlines $9.2 million dollars in fuel each year. These procedures allow aircraft to descend to the runway from cruise altitude with engines almost at idle. It saves a lot of fuel because it’s like sliding down the banister rather than walking down the stairway, one stair at a time. A traditional descent requires an aircraft to level off at each new altitude, burning up fuel at each new step. We’ve optimized the departure routes as well, to make optimum climbs and shorter routes. These departures also save fuel.

These new routes also save track miles. We estimate airliners will fly 648,000 fewer nautical miles each year in Houston, based on flight plans.

Together, these new procedures and routes could save 3 million gallons of fuel each year. And we estimate they could save 31,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering our atmosphere.  That’s like taking 6,000 cars off the streets of Houston. NextGen improves efficiency and makes aviation greener.

This project takes into consideration the flight paths into not only the large commercial airports – Intercontinental and Hobby – but also Ellington, David Wayne Hooks Memorial and Sugar Land Regional – and other satellite airports – to make the entire system work better.

I want to reiterate what the Secretary said, and I want to thank the many people who worked so hard to modernize Houston’s airspace. It took teamwork from all areas – controllers, pilots, environmental specialists, managers, airlines and airports, to achieve such a great outcome in such a short time.

Back in the 60s, President Johnson and leaders in Houston had a vision to create a better air transportation system for future generations. We are carrying that commitment forward, with the Houston Metroplex and the new Houston Tracon, which has state-of-the art NextGen equipment.  

I want to thank everyone involved for the work you have done to help us lay the groundwork for a modern air transportation system that will benefit generations to come.