He was survived by Hermione and Jim Watkinson, his sister and brother-in-law who live in Hailey, Idaho. A long-time career Corporate Pilot, Marcus spent many of his years flying in and around the Pacific Northwest and specifically the Seattle area. He has been based at Boeing Field (BFI) flying for Part 135 & 91 Operators. During his time at BFI he was a familiar fixture at the FBO in and out of uniform, always sharing stories, spreading smiles, and creating laughter.

“His passion was flying,” his sister said. “His father was an RAF pilot during the war and he got the flying bug from him.” Logging almost 10,000 flight hours in his career, Marcus has operated in many diverse and challenging flying environments. After spending several years flying domestically he had the opportunity in 2010 to take a pilot position in Nicaragua. Enjoying the challenges of international flying, he eventually took the position as a Co-Captain in a Gulfstream IV based in Bukavu, Africa flying local government dignitaries.

Although Marcus loved to fly, he had an equal passion to spend time at his Idaho home caring for his cats. His international flying kept him out-of-country quite often and he looked forward to getting home to family and friends in the Sun Valley area where he owned a home in Muldoon Canyon.

A devout cat-lover, he was well known as the “cat guy”, giving home to and caring for many cats. His dedication was recognized by an Author named Dave Shutts who wrote a novel about Marcus and his environs of the Sun Valley area, titled “Tales of the Cat Mummies.” The novel is in final draft and editing and will hopefully be available soon. Marcus also loved being home. Located in the Muldoon Canyon Valley, it was facing the approach and departure corridor of the nearby Sun Valley Airport. He was able to enjoy the sights and sounds of the air traffic, which satisfied his passion for flying when he was enjoying time on the ground.

Marcus was also a musician. He played with a local band called Ovio in the 1980s. His sister said “Marcus was self-taught on the organ and keyboard and basically played for fun.” Many of his friends knew he had a passion for music. If he had a choice, he would have been in the back of a corporate jet traveling as a Rock Star. He always said, “If you can’t be one, might as well join em”, and that he did. He’s had the opportunity to meet and fly several musicians, celebrities, and prominent public figures in his piloting career.

To his friends, family, and fellow Aviator’s, Marcus IS a Rock Star. He had a passion for life that was felt by everyone who was fortunate to meet and know him. He leaves behind many many people who cared so deeply about him, and enjoyed very much being in his presence.

The aviation industry has lost a true professional, a wonderful person, friend, and brother. He will always hold a special place in the hearts of his fellow pilots who were fortunate enough to log flying time and RON’s with him. He will truly be missed!

Jim and Hermione Watkinson, have planned Memorial Services on Sunday, March 4, 2012 at 4:00pm. The service will be held at the Emmanuel Church located at 101 2nd Ave S, Hailey, ID. 83333.

Click here to learn more and register.

Here is a tentative agenda for the December 13th event:

• At 3pm, the PNBAA Board will host an OPEN BOARD MEETING
• At 3:30pm, PNBAA will present checks of the proceeds from PNBAA’s 3rd Annual Charity Golf Event held this past September to Aviation High Schooland the Washington Wing Civil Air Patrol.

• At 4pm, PNBAA will host NBAA’s Mike Nichols – VP of Operations, Education, & Economics – and other industry experts for a discussion on Tax & Legislative Issues Affecting Business Aviation in WA State

• At 5pm, PNBAA will host a networking social with cocktails & hors d’oevres as a THANK YOU to PNBAA members for a wonderful year.

Washington, DC, December 2, 2011 – Three leading general aviation organizations today welcomed plans announced by government officials for lifting restrictions on a program that allows aircraft owners and operators to “opt out” from having their flight information broadcast over the internet.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced that, effective immediately, those wanting to enroll aircraft in the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program would no longer need to provide a “valid security concern” in order to be included in the program. Representatives with the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) welcomed the announcement.

The FAA moved to impose the restriction on August 2. Today’s announcement notes that the agency’s decision to lift the requirement has been made following the passage of a congressional appropriations bill (H.R. 2112), which includes language prohibiting the agency from imposing the “valid security concern” requirement, or any other requirement, as a prerequisite to participation in the BARR program.

“NBAA and its members thank the leaders in congress for taking action to address our industry’s long-standing concern that curtailment of the BARR program represents an invasion of privacy, a competitive threat to businesses, and a potential security risk,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “We commend the Administration for working with our industry to implement this change.”

“On behalf of our AOPA members, we thank those in congress and the Administration who recognize the importance of assuring a measure of privacy protection to individuals operating their own aircraft,” said AOPA President and CEO Craig Fuller. “We are pleased to have the BARR program back in operation.”

“We appreciate the efforts of those in congress who acted to preserve the privacy rights of aviators within the BARR program,” said EAA President and CEO Rod Hightower. “We also applaud the efforts of those within the aviation community who worked together on this important issue.”

Earlier this year, NBAA and AOPA filed a court challenge to the government’s curtailment of the program, and the EAA filed a friend of the court brief supporting the suit. It now appears, following a hearing this morning in which a government attorney conceded that the FAA would no longer defend its August policy, that the case will conclude to the satisfaction of the three associations.

“Our associations will keep members advised as we learn further details of these developments,” Bolen said. “In the meantime, we want to thank those in the industry who have supported our efforts.”

Sheryl Barden is the President & CEO of Aviation Personnel International and a voice for the people behind the planes.  She is a leading authority on HR issues for flight departments and is a frequent speaker at industry events. Based in San Francisco, she’s an active member of the National Business Aviation Association, Flight Safety Foundation, Women in Corporate Aviation, The Society of Human Resource Management and the International Women’s Forum. She earned an MBA from the Masagung School of Business at the University of San Francisco and a B.S. in Management with an emphasis in Personnel Management from Pennsylvania State University.

Craig Foster has served as a Regional and National Sales Director at Jet Professionals since joining the company in 2005.  He has 11 years of experience providing part-time and full-time staffing solutions to corporations based in the United States, Europe, Middle East, and the Pacific Rim.  Previously, he worked for the engineering company CDI Corporation in recruiting, account management, and business development roles.  Craig began flying at age 13 in gliders, soloed at 14, and became a licensed pilot on his 16th birthday.  He holds an FAA private pilot’s certificate for gliders, single-engine aircraft, and is IFR certified.  He flies out of Heritage Field (KPTW) in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.  Craig earned his B.A. in Political Science from Hobart College and earned his Graduate Gemologist degree from the Gemological Institute of America.

Katheryn Bradley represents private and public employers in workplace disputes, and has successfully litigated and resolved claims for wrongful discharge, discrimination, and violations of leave and wage and hour laws. She has defended employers in individual and class action lawsuits in trial and appellate courts throughout the Pacific Northwest, including Washington and Alaska.  In addition to her extensive employment litigation experience, Katheryn devotes a substantial part of her practice to counseling managers and human resource professionals in organizations of all sizes.  She advises clients on best practices to manage leave and navigate through the interactive process to accommodate disabled employees. She helps employers avoid employment claims by preparing effective workplace policies and counseling them through the process of carrying out reductions in force, separations and terminations. Katheryn prepares executive employment agreements, effective covenants not to compete and other agreements to protect trade secrets and intellectual property. She works closely with business executives to enforce non-competition agreements and respond to cease and desist letters. Katheryn also provides interactive EEO training to managers. She is a frequent speaker at employment law seminars.

Big thanks to our sponsors:

Duncan Aviation sponsored the event. Many thank for Duncan’s generosity to PNBAA, as they are a big supporter of PNBAA. Special thanks should go to Mr. Mike White, who set things up with our caterer to make the Lunchen possible. And as our industry goes, Mike had to repair an aircraft for most of the Luncheon but at least made it before it ended to be greeted with a healthy round of applause for buying lunch.

Our Featured Speaker was Mr. Gerardo Hueto, Chief Engineer, Aviation System Safety for Boeing Commercial Airplanes here in Seattle. He was outstanding, and he had a very interesting perspective on aviation safety since he works for such a large company with so many aircraft in service all over the world. Some of the statistics that he gave were staggering in comparison to the corporate aviation community. He worked for Alaska Airlines previously, where he started their SMS (Safety Management System) Program. His presentation is attached below in the attached link. We want to send a very special thanks to Gerardo for his time and for doing his presentation at our luncheon. Also, we should recognize the University of Southern California and their Aviation Safety Institute, as Gerardo is an instructor for them. They were the ones that put PNBAA in contact with Gerardo. Thanks Gerardo for doing such an excellent and data filled presentation.

Click here to download the Powerpoint Presentation (PPT format).

Additionally, individuals and companies that have relied on the BARR program should assume that at some point, their flights could appear on online flight-tracking displays, unless FAA officials have received and processed their requests for continued inclusion in the do-not-track list based on a “valid security concern.”

Going forward, aircraft owners and operators who believe they have a valid security concern, and want to continue to opt out of having their aviation movements tracked must send a request to the FAA do so. NBAA encourages operators who believe they meet the new, security-based requirements for inclusion in the opt-out list to apply. Successful applicants report that a submission typically requires four pieces of information:
First, applicants should provide the aircraft registration information and a stated request for inclusion in the program.
Second, the submission should note that the request is being made pursuant to Federal Register notice 76 FR 32258.
Third, applicants should acknowledge that they believe they meet the requirements for a valid security concern, or meet U.S. Treasury regulations for a business-oriented security concern set forth in the Federal Register notice.
Fourth, applicants should sign their name to the document.

NBAA’s website provides guidance on this process, and we’ve heard from operators who have successfully used the process to continue blocking their flights. Those who submit a request to preserve their ability to opt out of having their flights tracked should expect to receive an acknowledgment from the FAA indicating receipt of the submission and confirming that the request is being processed for inclusion in the opt-out list. FAA officials are continuing to process requests for continued flight blocking, in spite of the recent shutdown at the agency.

Officials indicate that the agency will update enrollments in the program on a monthly basis.

We still have a number of questions that we’re posing to the FAA about the new program such as how long should you expect a new blocking request to take before blocking occurs, how do you remedy problems with blocked aircraft, etc. We’ll keep our BARR FAQ page (http://www.nbaa.org/ops/security/barr/faq/) up-to-date with the latest information we can get. We’re standing by to answer any questions you may have. Don’t hesitate to let us know if you see problems that we can communicate to the FAA.

As I’ve recently told NBAA Members, user fees are back, and our industry needs to act. The situation has only become more pressing, and I need you to take renewed action; here’s why.

As the stalemate in the negotiations over the debt ceiling between the White House and congress continues, and the deadline for finding a resolution looms ever closer, policymakers have continued to explore a host of proposals for raising revenues, including user fees. Discussions have included proposals for per-flight fees ranging from $25 to $100 and beyond.

Clearly, we need to raise the volume on this issue with congress. NBAA has established a toll-free Legislative Action hotline you can use to call upon your representatives to oppose user fees in any debt-ceiling legislation. The number to use is:

1-877-727-5074

Once you dial the number, you’ll receive confirmation that you have reached NBAA’s Legislative Action hotline. You’ll then be asked to enter your postal zip code, so that you can be matched with your Representative and two Senators. After that, some simple points you can make in your conversations with your legislators will be provided.

We need your help to stop user fees. We know they have greatly harmed general aviation in parts of the world where they are in place. We know they would create an enormous administrative burden for compliance with a new collection bureaucracy. We know that if they were implemented as part of the current debate in Washington, they would do nothing to strenghten our nation’s aviation system for the future.

NBAA Members have answered my previous alert over this issue by using the Association’s Contact Congress resource to flood lawmakers with messages opposing user fees. While we are thankful for such an impressive show of mobilization and support to date, it’s clear that now is not the time to rest on our laurels.

Like all Americans, the business aviation community understands that the nation’s debt and deficit are serious issues that must be addressed. But, user fees for general aviation would be devastating to an industry that directly generates much-needed jobs and economic acitivity. I know we can count on you to call your members of congress today, and ensure that they understand this message.

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Ed Bolen
President and CEO
National Business Aviation Association

About the Bar-B-Q

While PNBAA provides quarterly general meetings or events to its membership, such as our annual Safety Symposium and, in September, our annual charity golf tournament, the PNBAA Airport Bar-B-Q is open to all- PNBAA members and non-members alike- and, it is free of charge!

The Bar-B-Q is PNBAA’s way of saying “thank you” to all those in the industry, and to provide a forum to just have fun and network. There are no speakers and no formal program; just come out and enjoy the day while the food lasts and the grill is hot! PNBAA board members will be in attendance and will be available to answer questions about PNBAA, and upcoming events such as our golf tournament.

Time

Hosted on Thursday, August 4th, from 11:30am to 2:00pm in the midst of Seafair week, the Bar-B-Q is specifically timed over the two TFRs currently scheduled at the airport for the Blue Angels practice day!! Think about it: You’ll be able to enjoy a sunny day at the airport and watch the Blue Angels come and go with great food on your plate…

Location

The PNBAA Bar-B-Q will be hosted at Galvin Flying Services, next door to the Galvin Flight Training Department at 7001 Perimeter Road S, Seattle, WA 98108. Above is an image (photo credit Google Earth) of the location. See you there!

As Congress and the White House negotiate over the nation’s deficit and debt ceiling, the business aviation community has cause for alarm. I’m sending this message to explain the situation, and what steps our industry must take to confront it.

As the debate continues, some policymakers insist that any debt-ceiling deal must include new revenues, while others remain opposed to tax increases. What appears to be evident from this standstill is a growing emphasis around fees. We are very concerned that as a result of this situation, aviation user fees could re-emerge, despite the fact that our community has made a compelling case against them to Congress, and after thorough examination, both chambers of Congress have elected not to propose new aviation user fees, instead opting to build on the proven, efficient general aviation fuel tax for aviation system funding and modernization.

In order to reinforce our point that fuel taxes are a better mechanism than user fees, we need you to alert your representatives in Congress today. NBAA has developed a new message for the association’s online Contact Congress resource. This is the advocacy tool people and companies in our industry have effectively used to oppose user fees in the past; by using this resource now, you can help us remind Congress of our continued opposition to user fees.

Please take action on this issue today by sending using Contact Congress to alert your officials to this serious concern. Thank you for your advocacy on the industry’s behalf, and for your continued support for NBAA.

Sincerely,

Ed Bolen
President and CEO
National Business Aviation Association

Tell Congress to Oppose User Fees as Part of Debt Ceiling Negotiations