So one day last summer I remember walking out to my mailbox to grab the mail. I had received an Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association magazine that I'd normally just flip through, look at all the pictures and dump somewhere in my room. This particular issue however had red bold print on the front of it. "FAA TO INCLUDE GENERAL AVIATION USER FEES IN LONG TERM RE AUTHORIZATION BILL," the magazine stated. I couldn't believe it. I was already working 3 jobs to fund my passion, and now the Federal Aviation Administration wanted to me to grow up even faster and get another one.
              What are user fees you may ask? Basically, whenever you fly you have the option of calling what is known as a flight service station and filing a search in rescue flight plan. If you don't make it to your destination within 30 minutes of your expected arrival time, the station will take measures up to and including sending out search and rescue teams to find you in the event that you crashed somewhere along the route. This service has and always should be free, as it is an important safety measure. The FAA wanted to impose a charge, based on a number of factors, to file these search and rescue flight plans. Knowing that pilots had the option not to file them, the FAA also suggested raising taxes on aviation grade and jet fuel. After all, if you don't have fuel you're not going to get very far.                                     Today, the FAA finally released their long term re authorization bill. No user fees. No fuel tax hikes until at least 2015. What a relief. Flying general aviation aircraft obviously doesn't come cheap. Fuel prices have been high since the recession struck. Last weekend 1 gallon of aviation grade fuel was $6.72 at the University Park airport. Take into account the amount of money it takes to maintain an aircraft, pay taxes on it, and fork over more money for numerous federal inspections, and you're already deep in a hole unless you sleep on hundred dollar bills. Having to spend even more every time you fly would just make flying impractical. Charging for a search and rescue flight plan is also absurd. How could they charge for a service that saves lives? A plane could go down in the boonies and the proper authority might not know for hours, days, perhaps even weeks. By that time, there would be little to no chance of survival. The FAA doesn't even pay for search and rescue services (i.e. search aircraft, police, medical services). It is the financial responsibility of the downed pilot to pay for any services used. The FAA does not lose any money on these missions. Although pilots aren't quite out of this yet, we can breath easy for the next three or so years.
       Care to read more? Check this out:
http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120201long-term-faa-funding-flies-in-house-and-senate.html