Posted for "Matt Hapgood" <matt.hapgood@alumni.duke.edu>:

 -- Instead of condemning people like Rick who push the technology,
 -- we should direct our efforts at making the law rational.
 
 Bill,
 
 I love it.
 
 I'm sure there are people who will pick holes in your argument, and who
 couldn't.  But that's not the point - as you've shown we could all pick
 holes in existing policies.  You are arguing for fast-paced progress and
 market based decisioning.  That will fly in the face of many in the industry
 who feel that we must have government save us.  Maybe it's that they count
 on government saving THEM.
 
 We (the US) need policies that encourage innovation and reward progress.  I
 promise you that the China's and India's of the world are doing just that.
 If we sit on the sidelines and park our butts in policies that have held us
 back for almost 50 years our industry will die (Columbia and Cirrus are
 surviving in spite of the regs, not because of the regs).  Piper, Raytheon
 and Cessna will die (or at least their GA business will), and that's okay.
 Let's just hope that their business is replaced by US based innovators and
 not A) foreign businesses (our balance of trade is bad enough already) or B)
 not replaced at all.
 
 Bill, your idea may not be perfect, but it's a whole lot closer to ideal
 than our current situation.  Let others pick holes, I'd rather move forward
 and trim a few layers of inefficient beauracracy.
 
 Matt
 
[ other posts along the same line   -Rob

 From: "Bill Hooker" <bhook@iswest.com>
 Pretty cogent!

 From: "Chatfield S. Daniel" <csdaniel@FNBSouth.com>
 I like the way you think.

 ]