Aero-Tips!
A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you
heard this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no
truer statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception
of "there are no old, bold pilots.")
Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner,
master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us
-- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators. Some of them, you
may have heard before... but for each of us, there will also be
something we might never have considered before, or something that
didn't "stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized
it for the practical test.
Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to
you through the Aero-News Network.
Aero-Tips 07.20.06
A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(NPRM) calls for mandatory training to operate within
100 nautical miles of the Washington DC VOR.
(Note: FAA will accept the public's comments
on the NPRM through September 5, 2006). I've just completed
the FAA's free on-line training course on
ADIZ procedures. Here are the high points, and some of the more
interesting trivia about already existing Washington Air Defense
Identification Zone (ADIZ) procedures:
There are three requirements for operating in the Washington DC
ADIZ:
- A flight plan
-
- IFR airplanes follow standard IFR procedures without
change
- VFR airplanes must file and activate a "DC ADIZ Flight
Plan"
-
- This is different from the standard VFR flight plan
- You must activate the DC ADIZ Flight Plan before entering the
ADIZ
- Surprise... flying on an activated DC ADIZ Flight Plan does
not:
-
- Provide clearance into the DC-area Class B airspace
- Include Flight Following or traffic/terrain alert services
- Trigger search and rescue operations if you do not close the
flight plan
- So IN ADDITION TO activating your DC ADIZ Flight Plan you need
to:
-
- Get additional Class B or D clearance to enter those
airspaces…sometimes contacting multiple ATC facilities
- Ask specifically for Flight Following if you want traffic and
terrain alerts
- File and activate a separate VFR flight plan to expect search
and rescue if out go overdue
- Maintain two-way radio communications, usually with Potomac
TRACON
- Obtain and squawk a discrete transponder code before entering
the ADIZ, and maintain that squawk code at all times... squawking
1200 is never permitted in the Washington DC ADIZ.
Note: Beware of transponders with a "VFR"
button that flips it quickly to "1200". More than one pilot has
been violated because of a simple flip of the switch when handed
off to the advisory frequency -- procedure exactly opposite the
rule outside the DC ADIZ.
There's a lot more to the on-line training, including procedures
for specific airports, staying in the traffic pattern at fields
within the ADIZ, the laser warning system and a review of Temporary
Flight Restrictions (TFRs) and Special Use Airspace. There is a downloadable
checklist for VFR operations in the ADIZ.
Training ends with a 25-question, multiple choice quiz. Miss a
question and you'll review the missed portion, then quizzed again.
When you're done, you can print a certificate that includes a small
card you can carry in your wallet in case you're ramp-checked
within (or near) the Washington DC ADIZ.
The entire program, including the test, took me about half an
hour to complete (I aced the test on the first try), and it
qualifies as ground training under FAA WINGS.
Aero-tip of the day: Whether the NPRM becomes
law or not, if you're going to fly anywhere near the Washington DC
ADIZ it's in your best interest to complete the FAA's on-line
training on DC ADIZ procedures.