The debate over General Aviation user fees is over. The Senate did not have the votes to levy per-use fee on us. They are resorting instead to a twenty or so cent increase on our fuel taxes. I’m not sure I see a difference, but apparently it is easier for politicians to hide new charges in a fuel tax. After all, we can blame the increase in our fuel costs on the war in Iraq and those greedy oil companies, right?

          This would be a great time to own an aircraft that burns car gas.

          I know that almost all pilots are against the user fees but I’m trying to think of any other area of our government’s operation that is free of charge for its users. You have to shell-out money to visit a National Park – something we’ve already paid for.

          The highways we travel in our cars have been paid for, in part, by taxes added to our auto’s gas bill. You have to pay a fee to get a passport and there are literally thousand of other services the government will only do for us if we pony up some cash.

          For all of the chest-beating we do about the unfairness of user fees for aviation we certainly don’t mind using the services. We expect prompt service from ATC when we want a clearance or a deviation. We chafe at how long it takes to get our medical certification decision made. We gave up large chunks of our aviation freedom in exchange for increased safety and convenience.

          Nothing pays for itself and aviation is no different from paying a port fee for your boat or a toll to travel through Chicago. At least with a fuel tax we can fight back by using aircraft with better fuel use stats. Hey, maybe that would be a way to cut back on our imported oil use. Vote with your throttle!