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Final Decision on Northeastern States Case Released
CAB's final decision in the Northeastern States Area Investigation on December 15th completes a new and improved air-transport structure for New York State.
As a result of the decision, three New York State communities will have air carrier service for the first time. Oneonta and Olean will be served by Mohawk and Islip, Long Island by Allegheny. Oneonta must, however, provide an airport before service can be inaugurated. The CAB also authorized Mohawk to serve Jamestown, Poughkeepsie and White Plains and to extend its service to Cleveland.
The CAB decision is the final step in rounding out the air-commerce pattern for which the New York State Department of Commerce has worked actively since 1946. The Department has participated in 15 cases before the CAB. It has cooperated with public bodies and chambers of commerce in various New York State communities which have petitioned for new or additional service vital to their continued economic growth.
The Northeastern States Area Investigation - in process fro over three years - is the fifth in a series of nine regional air route cases in which the CAB is reappraising the local air service pattern of the United States. It implements CAB's policy under which new service will be certificated on a "use it or lose it" basis - a more liberal policy offering communities with marginal traffic potential a chance to demonstrate whether they can support local air service.

New York State has by far the greatest number of based air carrier aircraft in the United States, with 552 representing 29 percent of the total.

New Pilot License Ruling Clarified
Recently announced new FAA instrument flying requirements for commmercial and private pilot certificates have caused wide concern among pilots, flight schools and other sectors of general aviation.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association has endorsed the new regulation, however, and has clarified the following points:
1. The new regulation merely requires that all new private pilots who apply for certificates after March 16, 1960, be familiarized with the basic instruments that enable a pilot to keep his airplane under control in the event he loses visual contact with the horizon.
2. By no stretch of the imagination does the new provision require new pilots to "fly by instruments." To actually "fly by instruments," they point out, a pilot must undergo a detailed and elaborate special training course after he has completed his original pilot training. Once he completes that special training and passes a stringent flight test, he is issues an "instrument rating" as an adjunct to his basic pilot certificate. Only after he obtains this instrument rating can he legally fly "on instruments."
3. The new regulation in reality adopts the "AOPA 180 degree Rating," a special voluntary life-saving technique developed several years ago under a grant from the AOPA Safety Foundation. The Rating enables a pilot to learn just enough about the inherent stability of his plane and the function of the turn-and-bank indicator to enable him to save his life in the event that he accidentally runs into instrument weather. This technique, however, in no way qualifies him for "instrument flying" nor does it permit him to conduct deliberately an instrument flight of any kind. It is nothing more than a lifesaving technique, developed and adopted voluntarily by hundreds of AOPA members at their own expense.
4. The new ruling which becomes effective March 16, 1960, and which includes the instrument-familiarization phase, is not retroactive. Pilots already certified are not required to meet the new requirements. The vast majority of affected pilots are in the student category.
The new requirements are more stringent for commercial pilots, however, since they require a minimum of 10 hours of instrument flight instruction and a more stringent flight test. Commercial pilots, since they are certificated to fly for hire, have always been required to meet higher standards of proficiency and skill.

FAA's 60-Year Age Limit for Airline Pilots Becomes An Issue
The FAA has recently established 60 as the mandatory retirement age for commercial pilots. Besides grounding pilots over 60, the FAA would also bar those 55 and over from qualifying for jet pilot jobs in particular.
The agency has the support of air carriers and flight surgeons, but the action brought a quick protest from the Air Line Pilots Association that may even reach the U.S. Supreme Court. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and the National Business Aircraft Association joined ALPA in opposing the new ruling.

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