Re: Biden's FAA Nominee Absolutely Beclowns Himself When Asked Basic Aviation Questions

[Abrupt Stops]

On 13 Feb 2022, Lefty Lundquist <lefty_l...@ggmail.com> posted some
news:suc3nn$4ev$3...@dont-email.me:

> Biden is twice as bad as Jimmy Carter ever was.

Is it really too much to ask for someone being nominated to lead a major
government agency to have some basic knowledge about the agency they’d be
leading?

That’s the story after the president’s pick to lead the FAA absolutely
beclowned himself during a recent hearing. Phil Washington, whose
nomination is still pending, was unable to answer a single one of the
basic aviation questions asked by Sen. Ted Budd.

Just for fun, as a certified flight instructor and commercial pilot, I’m
going to go through these and see if I can do them from memory. I won’t
get all of them right, but I’m confident I’ll do better than going 0-7,
which was what Washington did.

You guys can go search and grade me when I’m done.

What airspace requires an ADSB transponder?

ADSB-out is required in Class A, B, C, and class E above 10,000ft (MSL).
There are also Mode-C veils around Class B airspace that require ADSB-out
to enter.

Now, given ADSB implementation has been the most important project the FAA
has had in the last decade, you’d think a guy who wants to lead the agency
would have some basic knowledge about what it is and when it’s required.
Washington appeared to be completely clueless, though.

What are the six types of special use airspace that protect this national
security that appear on FAA charts?

This is one that I’d forgive Washington for if he at least knew a few or
understood the basic premise of the question. The answer is restricted
areas, prohibited areas, alert areas, warning areas, and military
operating areas. Temporary flight restrictions are also SUAs, but they
aren’t on the chart as they are dynamic.

I’m missing one, but I won’t cheat, so you can ding me a point there.

What are the operational limitations of a pilot flying under BasicMed?

Like ADSB, BasicMed was another landmark project by the FAA over the last
decade and something anyone wanting to lead the FAA should have knowledge
of.

This question specifically pertains to what a pilot can do if he forgoes a
medical certificate and uses BasicMed, which is basically a sign-off from
a primary care doctor. Off the top of my head, they can’t fly faster than
250 knots, they can’t carry more than 5 passengers, can’t enter class A
airspace, and they can’t fly for compensation or hire.

There’s also a weight limit on the aircraft itself, but the exact number
escapes me. So ding me again on that one.

What causes an aircraft to spin or stall?

This is a common one non-pilots would miss, so I won’t be too hard on
Washington over it.

People think stalling is about the plane getting too slow, but the correct
answer is that an aircraft stalls when the wing reaches the critical angle
of attack. You can stall an aircraft at a high speed. Gaining speed in the
recovery of a stall is a secondary function of lowering the angle of
attack to regain smooth overflow over the airfoil of the wing.

As for a spin, it happens when you enter a deep stall and one wing is more
stalled than the other. When teaching how to avoid spins, staying
coordinated with the rudder is a big factor.

What are the three aircraft certifications the FAA requires as part of the
manufacturing process?

Now, this is one that I will hold against Washington because in his answer
he tries to obfuscate by saying he supports the “certification act.” Yet,
he doesn’t know a single certification requirement off the top of his
head. That’s ridiculous for someone who wants to lead the FAA.

The airworthiness certificate and the type certificate are two of the
three. The last is the production certificate, which Budd points out in
the video, but I’ll admit that I didn’t know from memory. That is not one
you teach to a student but is more of an FAA thing dealing directly with
manufacturers. In other words, it’s something an FAA head should know.

Can you tell me what the minimum separation distance is for landing and
departing airliners during the daytime?

This isn’t something you think about in the cockpit because ATC is
assigning the altitudes and providing separation, but it’s 1,000 feet of
vertical separation up to 28,999 feet. 29,000 and above, it goes to 2,000
feet. Lateral separation is three to five miles. That’s for IFR traffic,
which all airline traffic is. There are lesser minimums for VFR traffic.

Budd’s last question is about drones, and I’ll admit without any shame
that I have no idea what the answer is. I’m a real pilot after all.

Regardless, going through that was mostly for my own amusement, but when
the guy who wants to lead the FAA not only can’t answer a single question
about anything aviation related but doesn’t even seem to understand the
premise of the questions, that’s a problem is it not?

“But Washington isn’t a pilot, so he wouldn’t know the rules and
regulations,” many on the left will say in response to my critiques.
That’s exactly my point. Perhaps the head of the FAA should be a pilot? At
the very least, they should have a strong background in aviation and what
it entails. What the FAA shouldn’t be is another vehicle for the Biden
administration to push its obsession with diversity hiring at the expense
of safety. That’s all Washington’s nomination is. He’s not qualified for
the job. He’s just a political figure meant to serve a political purpose.
That Washington is also caught up in a corruption scandal only makes it
worse.

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/03/03/bidens-faa-nominee-absolutely-
beclowns-himself-when-asked-basic-aviation-questions-n711076