editorial/ cover story - Air World

From the desk of Editor/ COVER STORY
NBAA 2012- Flying High
The National Business Aviation
Association (NBAA) Annual
Meeting & Convention is the
world's most important business
aviation event. Moreover,
NBAA2012 represents the most
productive and efficient
opportunity for business – all in
one place, all at one time. There's
no other aviation event that can
match it - Key operators and
industry leaders - over 25,000
attendees - will meet in Orlando,
FL to conduct business, make
buying decisions and set the stage
for business aviation activity for
the year ahead.
Attendees, the decision makers in
the industry, will be spending time
on the Exhibit floor, meeting and
interacting with Exhibitors, and
playing a central role in the
purchase process for their
Companies.
NBAA2012 will feature Exhibits
at the Orange County Convention
Center, an on-site outdoor Static
Display at the Orange County
Convention Center and a Static
Display of Aircraft on Orlando
Executive Airport, over 100
Education Sessions and
Maintenance and Operations
Sessions (M&Os) and over
25,000 business aviation
professionals who are interested
in seeing and learning about all
that is new in the world of
business aviation.
According to recent press release,
the FAA Acting Administrator
Michael Huerta to Speak at
NBAA2012 where he will deliver
remarks during the Opening
General Session of the NBAA’s
65th Annual Meeting &
Convention (NBAA2012), which
is scheduled for Oct. 30 to Nov. 1
at the Orange County Convention
Center in Orlando, FL.
“NBAA is honored to include
Michael Huerta during the kickoff
event to this year’s Convention,”
said NBAA President and CEO
Ed Bolen. “His insights on a
variety of issues of importance to
the business aviation community
will be of great interest to all
Attendees.”
Huerta assumed the role of acting
administrator last December; he
had previously been FAA deputy
administrator.
The NBAA2012 Opening General
Session runs from 8:30 to 10 a.m.
on Tuesday, Oct. 30, and will
feature several presenters. Bolen
also will welcome Forbes
magazine publisher Rich
Karlgaard during the session.
About 25,000 business aviation
professionals are expected to
attend NBAA2012, which
represents a productive and
efficient opportunity for the
business aviation community to
meet, network and learn while
also viewing the latest product
and service offerings, all in one
convenient location. Key
operators and industry leaders
gather to conduct business, make
buying decisions and plan for
business aviation activity for
2013 and beyond.
Besides, Electronics Pioneer,
Business Aviator Bill Crutchfield
also to Speak at NBAA2012.
Bill Crutchfield will be one of the
featured speakers at the Opening
General Session for the National
Business Aviation Association’s
(NBAA’s) 65th Annual Meeting &
Convention (NBAA2012).
Crutchfield is the founder of
Crutchfield Corporation and an
avid business aviation proponent.
Crutchfield, who built his awardwinning
firm – one of the largest
and most recognized specialtydirect
retailers of consumer
electronics – through a fierce
dedication to customer service,
will discuss how business
aviation has been instrumental in
his company’s success.
A former U.S. Air Force officer,
Crutchfield was Ernst & Young’s
“1999 Master Entrepreneur of the
Year” for Virginia. Among his
numerous recognitions, he was
inducted into the Consumer
Electronics Association Hall of
Fame in 2007. Crutchfield has
been a pilot for over 50 years. He
has owned a wide range of
aircraft from a Cessna 150 to a
King Air C90B, the plane which
he has flown for the past 15 years.
Crutchfield has credited general
aviation for three key wins. First,
it has greatly improved his
efficiency and effectiveness as a
CEO. Second, Crutchfield
believes that his business
decision-making skills are
enhanced by maintaining a high
level of piloting proficiency.
Third, Crutchfield credits his
plane for improving the lives of a
large number of people living in a
remote, economically depressed
region of Virginia. Without it, he
could not have opened a satellite
call center there. His success led
to other businesses investing in
the area.
NBAA President and CEO Ed
Bolen said he looks forward to
hearing Crutchfield’s
perspectives at the Convention.
“Bill Crutchfield has first-hand
experience with the value
business aviation can provide in
helping a company succeed in his
fiercely competitive industry,”
Bolen said. “We look forward to
hearing his insights about how
flying has strengthened Bill’s
company and his own leadership
skills.”
Crutchfield will join Forbes
Publisher Rich Karlgaard and
FAA Acting Administrator
Michael Huerta as speakers at the
session, to be held on Oct. 30 at
the Orange County Convention
Center in Orlando, FL. Also at
the session, FedEx Express and
its founder, Frederick W. Smith,
will be honored with NBAA’s
2012 Al Ueltschi Award for
Humanitarian Leadership, for
serving as the leading aviation
sponsor of the ORBIS Flying Eye
Hospital, which brings together
dedicated eye care professionals
and aviators to give the gift of
sight to people in developing
countries around the world. The
following day's opening session
will feature political analysts
James Carville and Mary
Matalin.
The Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) has granted
a request from the National
Business Aviation Association
(NBAA) to extend Exemption
7897, more commonly known as
“NBAA’s Small Aircraft
Exemption,” which was set to
expire Sept. 30.
This latest extension, Exemption
7897E, expires March 31, 2013,
and is unchanged from previous
versions.
NBAA’s Small Aircraft Exemption
allows operators of pistonpowered
airplanes, small
airplanes and all helicopters to
utilize, among other provisions,
the limited options for cost
reimbursement permitted under
Part 91, Subpart F of the Federal
Aviation Regulations. This
exemption is only available to
NBAA Members.
“The FAA will be reviewing the
Small Aircraft Extension to
clarify some elements of the
additional maintenance flexibility
granted under the provisions of
the exemption,” said NBAA Vice
President for Safety, Security,
Operations & Regulation Doug
Carr. “NBAA does not expect that
the FAA's review will ultimately
alter the provisions of the
exemption in a way that would
affect any Members that currently
qualify for and utilize the
exemption.”
See you at the NBAA in Orlando,
FL...
Air World October 2012-4