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.

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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.

FMI: Aero-Tips