HAI/ROBB COHEN PHOTOGRAPHY
got some other things I’m focused on right now, but I do plan to get qualified on the FAA’s aircraft. It’s always been important to me to lead by example. One way the FAA is different from some other transpor-
tation authorities is that it has an operational mission. I think it’s important for the people at the FAA to see that their leader is out there with them and seeing the operation from the same perspective that they are. I’m looking forward to rounding out my experience with
GA [general aviation]. It actually has some similarities to military flying, where you’re kind of dispatching yourself, doing your own flight planning, and checking your own weather. With the pace of operations in a commercial airline environment, that’s all being done by the ops center.
What are your priorities as FAA administrator?
I came into the agency with a 90-day plan that I laid out on the first day for Secretary Chao, which of course falls closely in line with her overall transportation strategy. Te agency is in the process of developing our five-year strategic plan, and I’ve got five strategy pillars. Te first and most important one, not surprisingly,
is safety. And that’s safety as both a regulator and an operator of the airspace. We have to be able to do both. Te second pillar is global leadership. Te United States
has a responsibility to lead in safety and operations and in all aspects of commercial aviation around the world. In my observation, even before I arrived at the agency, when the FAA shows up somewhere, stakeholders really listen to what the FAA has to say. Tat’s not always true with other regu-
latory authorities, even fairly mature ones. Over the years, the FAA has done more than any other
regulatory authority to promote aviation safety around the world. But we do it through openness. With the United States being an open society and an open people in general, we’re very inclusive and collaborative by nature. Developing authorities around the world have really benefited from the mentoring and support the FAA has provided over the years, sometimes through ICAO [the International Civil Aviation Organization], other times through bilateral relationships, and other times through regional relationships. Tere’s an important mentoring role we can play. Te third pillar is operational excellence. Tis is really
about operationalizing NextGen. We must make sure that we continue to invest in our infrastructure and do the needed physical modifications and modernization of the system—but we also need to make sure we’re getting operational benefits out of these investments. Te fourth pillar is innovation. Tis is where our
approach to airspace integration is so important. Look at the commercial space sector. I had no idea, when I came into the agency, how involved the FAA is in licensing commercial space operations. We have 11 space ports around the country. A decade ago, we would have three or four commercial launches a year. Tis year, we’re close to 50 launches. Te FAA can’t continue to block off large swaths of airspace
for these launches as we’ve done historically, so we’re devel- oping technology to manage airspace more surgically, more dynamically. We’re developing systems so we can actually ingest the trajectory data and the predictive data off of the
FAA Administrator Steve Dickson (third from right) helps James Viola and the rest of the HAI Board of Directors open the HAI HELI-EXPO 2020 exhibit floor.
2020 Q2 ROTOR 47
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