I too am for anything that makes this endeavor safer.
Are you sure about that? I hear that a lot from people. "Safety is the most important thing". But I'm not totally sure everyone who says that means it.
This is just me spouting off my $.02, so take it with a grain of salt. But if safety is the only metric -- and I think that's where the NTSB comes from, if their mission statement is to be believed -- we could make it safer by forcing the E-AB airplanes to go through the same certification hurdles as those in the Normal category. I'm not being facetious. That would make it safer by adding additional levels of inspection, design review, and so on. They specifically mention fuel systems in their letter to the FAA, but if those have to be FAA-approved, can engines, props, and other components be far behind?
Outlaw automotive engines, non-certified wiring and avionics, and require the test period be flown off by an FAA-approved test pilot. Then require 20 hours of dual and a logbook endorsement from a CFI, as well as an annual flight review in the specific aircraft, again with an instructor. Those things will help the accident rate.
I'm betting we could get the accident rate down to where it is with the certificated aircraft. Of course, there would no longer be any experimental aviation (beyond a high-dollar factory, that is), but I don't think the NTSB is tasked with preserving freedoms or promoting aviation. Their mission is safety recommendations and accident investigation.
I'm not necessarily for anything that makes the endeavor safer. I'm for anything that allows pilots the freedom and responsibility to determine for themselves what risks they're okay taking on while minimizing the risk to uninvolved persons. I wouldn't feel comfortable building my own engine, PSRU, and so on. But for those who do? Thank goodness for them.
The road of more rules for experimentals is a slippery slope that can quite easily crush the amateur-built category faster than a foot stomping on a soda can. It can do this through sheer economics. Heck, I just saw a replacement window go into one of our Gulfstream IVs. A single window, mind you, for $80,000.
In my experience, regardless of certification status, regulations don't make pilots safer. A safety-minded attitude and quality decision-making -- those are the things that reduce accident rates. But more regulations? I'm not so sure that's the way to go.
Once a bit of our freedom is gone, it's not coming back -- ever. The years since 9/11 have taught me that much. Anyway, my point is simply this: as the old saying goes, be careful how much safety you ask for. You may get it.
In my opinion, it would be sad to leave general aviation to the next generation without the freedoms that the E-AB community currently enjoys.
--Ron