Much has been said about sequestration and the negative effect it has had on not only aviation, but many public events. To be sure, elected representatives who serve inside the beltway seem to have gone out of their way to make sure recreational events are adversely affected, perhaps highlighting what the ruling elite consider to be “unnecessary activities.” Airshows and celebrations of our military services have been hit particularly hard, with the shutdown of military demonstration teams (like the Blue Angles and Thunderbirds), causing the cancellation of many aviation programs that have long and proud traditions. FAA political management follows the leadership of our politicians by implementing illegal service fees on programs that have used pre-paid FAA services in the past. Such fees, often running into hundreds of thousands of dollars, have caused many airshows to simply pack it in. Others fear potential liability issues (the predatory legal system), and do not proceed with an airshow in a non-towered environment. It is a disappointing trend.

Fortunately, aviation has a proud tradition of breaking trends, both in terms of technology and flight operations. It is these trend-breakers that created the remarkable aviation infrastructure America enjoys, unequaled in the world. This writer hopes the upcoming Copperstate Fly In will be recognized as the trend-breaker that demonstrated that major aviation activities can successfully take place, without the overriding control of “Big Brother.”