The goal of Smart Skies is to modernize the nation's 1950s-era ATC system and the system's 1960s-era funding arrangement with modernized versions of both. A modernized system will have tangential benefits to the general aviation community, including improved situational awareness from GPS-based tools like ADS-B, reduced controller-workload which allows for better GA services like VFR flight following, and further refinements to the way FAA operates - similar to the great success of FSS outsourcing to Lockheed-Martin.
As has been widely reported, the airlines support a funding mechanism for FAA that calibrates a user's contribution to upkeep and modernization of ATC to his use of the system. But what does that mean for the recreational flyer?
What Are Cost-Based Charges?
A cost-based charge creates a link between what it costs to provide a service and what a customer (or user) pays for that service.
For instance, a local flight school might rent a Cessna Skyhawk for $100 per hour. This cost is determined with two fundamental components in mind:
- The flight school's cost to provide the aircraft for rental (let's say $90) and;
- A modest mark-up to generate a profit (let's say $10)
Generally, each renter will pay the same rate regardless of whether he's flying in the traffic pattern, operating a cross-country flight, or training with an instructor. Essentially, the pilot pays the aircraft owner for the actual time (or service) he consumed.
By applying the same logic to the ATC system, each flight should pay for the services it consumes. The size of the aircraft, the mission, the weight, the number of people on board, or the amount of cargo in the hold have no relationship to FAA's cost to provide ATC services.
Who Should Pay Cost-Based Charges?
Virtually all of the ATC system's costs are associated with operation and maintenance of facilities necessary for IFR flight. As such, VFR operations impose little cost on the system and should not be subject to any new ATC pricing system. But since many aircraft fly according to both visual and instrument flight rules, a VFR / IFR distinction is difficult to make.
Therefore, it is easier to make the distinction based on certain types of aircraft; those which primarily use VFR should be exempt. Generally, those aircraft types are delineated by the type of engine in use. Piston-powered aircraft (those that use AvGas 100LL) should be exempt from user charges, while turbine-powered aircraft using Jet-A should not be exempt.