6-15-13 eaa agrees to pay faa for air traffic controllers

 The Experimental Aircraft Association has agreed to pay the Federal Aviation Administration $450,000 for air traffic control services during the upcoming AirVenture fly-in — but under protest.  EAA spokesman Dick Knapinski says the FAA held the organization hostage by demanding the fee or  causing it to cancel the popular air show.  "We agreed grudgingly and under protest to make a one time agreement with the FAA to pay $447,000 this year to cover the costs,"  Knapinski told AM 1170 WFDL's Between the Lines program.

 He says EAA agreed to pay the money because there was no other realistic choice to preserve aviation's largest annual gathering.  The FAA said it would bill the EAA for 87 air traffic controllers in order to meet mandatory federal budget cuts.  Knapinski says the EAA is a pawn in the larger sequestration political standoff.