AOPA Objects to Re-Registration Charge

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association said the re-registration requirement called for by FAA to bring the U.S. aircraft registry up to date, includes large fee increases from the current $5. The FAA would raise that to $130 for initial registration and $130 for each renewal. It is such fees that feed the...

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Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association said the re-registration requirement called for by FAA to bring the U.S. aircraft registry up to date, includes large fee increases from the current $5. The FAA would raise that to $130 for initial registration and $130 for each renewal. It is such fees that feed the public's, which pays for more than $5 for car registrations and renewals, erroneous stereotype about general aviation, however.
“While the FAA wants to bring the aircraft registry up to date for a number of reasons, including some security related, the move shouldn’t be linked to a dramatic increase in registration fees or the implementation of user fees,” said Andy Cebula, AOPA executive vice president of government affairs. “Aircraft owners also shouldn’t be expected to bear the burden of immediately correcting a system that has deteriorated over time.”
The organization estimates that one third of the 343,000 U.S. aircraft registrations are possibly invalid because of poor compliance with the 30-year-old triennial renewal requirement. It objects to the methodology the complex methodology FAA is proposing.
“If the proposal became a rule as is, and you purchased a Cessna 172 after it went into effect, you’d need to send in the bill of sale and aircraft registration, along with a fee,” explained AOPA. “Then you’d receive a registration certificate with an expiration date for 36 calendar months later. The FAA says that it would send you a renewal notice with a three-month window when it’s time for you to re-register the airplane. If your registration information did not change within those three years, you could simply renew it and pay the fee online.
“But,” AOPA continued, "the compliance process would change if you already owned an aircraft when the rule took effect. Let’s say you owned a Cirrus SR22 when the rule went into effect. The FAA would assign you a three-month window, based on your initial aircraft registration, in which you could re-register. But you couldn’t do it ahead of time, and if you did it late, you couldn’t fly your airplane until it was re-registered. After your first re-registration, the certificate would have a 36-calendar-month expiration limit.”
The organization also warned operators that access to the national air transportation system would be denied if the registration expires. It quoted the re-registration proposal as requiring an identification of all aircraft wanting access. If the aircraft is not properly registered or if the information provided is inconsistent with records, a pilot deviation could be issued and access denied.
Comments on the proposal close on May 28.