Originally published at: FAA Comment Period on Privacy Initiative Ends Tomorrow, June 4 - AVweb
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After nearly two decades of transparent personal airplane ownership and more than twice as many decades flying airplanes for hire which I did not own, I wonder what the problem is with transparent aircraft operation and ownership if there is nothing to hide? If company public relations are the issue, it’s on the company to be accountable to its stakeholders. If the need is to hide wealth and destinations while operating personal aircraft in public airspace using publicly funded infrastructure, we then have a problem with section 803 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 supporting plutocracy and oligarchy.
Have you ever filed a flight plan while flying alone? Assuming yes. And you’re fine with the entire planet knowing your travel plans. If so, good for you. But I don’t see why I need to be. Do you?
Yes Richard your assumption is correct. And no I don’t see why you should be concerned about it unless you have something to hide which I doubt that you do.
But I’m not really worried about you Richard. You’re probably the salt of the earth and as a honest as the day is long. My concern is with the .1 percenters who may not all be salt of the earth and honest as the day is long, using their wealth and power to unevenly influence the legislating class.
The problem is there are companies like Vector Aircraft Systems and others who use ADS-B data, correlate it with aircraft registration database and send you a bill for using an airport. It is a new way for municipalities to pry cash out of you. Do a touch and go? You get a bill. Stop in for a burger, and buy some fuel, you get a bill for patronizing the local merchants and FBO. These systems are like speed cameras they are simply money collectors without discretion or logic. If you look at these systems, they get put in place after campaign donations are made. Recently in the state of GA a bill to regulate speed cameras was quashed by the Lt. Governor after a large donations made by the industry to his 2026 campaign. Don’t know about you but I don’t want these voracious money machines on top of the taxes we pay for our aircraft and fuel. I will pay my fair share to the elected tax commissioners, I won’t pay an unelected corporate tax collector who bribes politicians to be in such position, that simply returns us to the time of ancient Rome.
If you think you have nothing to hide, you’re kidding yourself. I assure you there are plenty of ill-intentioned agents out there looking to take advantage of any information they can gain about you. Real time location information is really valuable. Why hand it over on a silver platter?
Or for another perspective, why is it everyone’s business to track your location? Why shouldn’t privacy be assumed until there’s a compelling reason to forfeit it?
I too live my life as an open book, but the personal information attached to our tail numbers is the safety issue. We just had a woman shooting at aircraft (Caller Claims to Have Fired at Aircraft Near Colo. Airport) and our local detractors look up the registration and go to our pilots homes to threaten the poor soul who answers the door. Lastly, it’s leveraging ADS-B to bill T&Gs, which goes against the intended purpose of ADS-B. I can note a license plate in traffic but I can’t use a free app to track down the owner’s name and address the way it can be done so easily with our aircraft, particularly our GA planes.
There should be a reasonable assumption of privacy when dealing with government funded systems, and it’s not about trying to hide embarrassing information. If you’re OK with a stranger linking your N number to your address, then you’re probably OK with someone linking your license plate to your address. How about tax records, health data? I don’t mean to expand the conversation, but some guardrails on a very public world is a good thing.
So, you are willing to expose my travel plans and other information because of some goal involving billionaires. No, thank you, just leave me out of it. Keep my info private.
Not just addresses. Which rural, unattended airfield you are planning to arrive at and when! Alone in some cases, or with my children.
Not okay.
Do a touch and go? You get a bill. Stop in for a burger, and buy some fuel, you get a bill…
Sounds like you’re bitching about fees that you may have been ignoring before.
I will pay my fair share to the elected tax commissioners…
And who determines how much is your ‘fair share’ - that is, which fees are fair? And does it really matter to you, financially, who is collecting the payment?
Yes it does matter because who collects the fees often determines the level of corruption within an elected office. If I don’t like the tax commissioners service, I can vote him out of office. I can’t do that with a corporation 1000 miles away who takes a 50% cut and bribes officials for its contract.
As for ignoring fees, I have never ignored fees but I do know when I am being scammed.
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