At the June 8 meeting of the San Jose City Council, my appointment to the SJ Int'l Airport Commission was among about 3 dozen appointments the council made to various city boards and commissions. Since then, some friends have asked a fair question, "What does this mean for you?"
Word has been increasingly getting around among pilots recently about a
nasty surprise in California state regulations.
Apparently this was a result of the bankruptcy of Silver State Helicopters,
which had required students to pay 100% up-front and then took the money
and ran. The correct response to that should be to treat it as a case
of fraud, which it was. (And probably advise people some common sense -
like don't take the risk of getting a loan to pay 100% up front for services
not yet rendered.)
Without consulting any aviation industry people, the legislature quietly
removed an exemption for flight schools and flight instructors from
private postsecondary school regulations.
We all found out about it months after it was signed into law.
