By Jim Timm
FEBRUARY 2013
I hope everyone made a New Year’s Resolution to do more flying this year. The weather recently has certainly been conducive for doing just that. I hope everyone has been able to take advantage of it.
Of 25 applicants, the FAA has finally announced the six test site locations for the development and testing of UAV/drone systems to permit their safe integration into the national airspace system and surprisingly Arizona was not on the list, however, some subcontract testing may be undertaken here. The test sites are in Alaska, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Texas and Virginia. These test sites will study the following;
• The University of Alaska - Work on monitoring, navigation and safety standards.
• The State of Nevada - Study standards for operators and certification requirements and also study how air-traffic control procedures will evolve to handle drones.
• New York’s Griffiss International Airport - Research how drones and passenger aircraft will sense and avoid each other to prevent collisions, particularly in the congested Northeast airspace.
• North Dakota Department of Commerce - Develop airworthiness data and validate the reliability of links between pilots and unmanned aircraft.
• Texas A&M University - Develop safety systems for drones.
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University - Test failure modes and technical risks for drones to ensure they land safely if they lose their connection with a pilot.
The FAA will work with the chosen groups to get at least one drone site operating within the next six months.
In the case of New York, research must be undertaken to determine how drones and ALL manned aircraft will sense and avoid each other, not just airliners. Two areas in Arizona where UAV flying/testing has been in operation, and likely to continue, is R-2310 near Florence and R-2303 at Sierra Vista. Use caution when flying in the vicinity of these restricted areas. Recently there has been an ever increasing interest in the use of UAVs’ ranging from law enforcement to companies wanting to use them to deliver packages. With this extremely wide range of possible uses, the major concern we have is that UAV deployment will not present an undue hazard to general aviation and that the airspace we fly in will remain safe without being required to install expensive extra equipment to avoid contact with a UAV.
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
A reminder, Luke AFB will be having their open house and air show on March 15 and 16. The Air Force’s Thunderbirds precision demonstration team will be performing and Luke’s latest aircraft, the F35 Lightening II is expected to be on static display along with a display of other military aircraft. Be sure you have the dates on your calendar.
Aviation safety needs to be a concern for all of us. From the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) records, there were four accidents occurring in Arizona that were reported in this last reporting period. One of the four accidents reported occurred last October, and is just now being reported by the NTSB. The other three accidents were more current in occurrence, however two of the reports were devoid of accident information.
Of this month’s two accidents with information, both of them were the result of loss of aircraft control during landing and none of them resulted in injuries. We need to take a careful look at what has happened in these accidents, take note, and do what we can to prevent something similar from happening to one of us. See my February Aviation Accident Report for the details of these accidents.
APA continues to work with airports around the state providing the general aviation user perspective in the process of updating their Airport Master Plans. We are presently working on the up dating of the Pinal Regional Airport, Bagdad Airport, Nogales International Airport, and the Gila Bend Municipal Airport Master plans.
NEW FLY IN BREAKFAST VENUE!
The second Saturday of the month, starting with February, Ryan Field (RYN) will have a fly in buffet breakfast available. The breakfast will be available in the building between Todd’s Cafe and the fuel pits. Breakfast will run from 8:00 am to noon from February thru April and restart in September and run thru November.
THINGS TO DO - PLACES TO GO FOR BREAKFAST:
The first Saturday of the month, is a fly in breakfast at Coolidge Municipal Airport (P08).
Time: 8:00 to 11:00 am.
The last Saturday of the month there is a fly in breakfast at Casa Grande Municipal Airport (CGZ)
(Both of these fly in breakfasts are put on by a service group in their respective communities to raise funds for community service projects.)
The third Saturday of the month there is a fly in breakfast at Benson (E95) @ Southwest Aviation
(Rumor has it that there may be special fuel prices for breakfast attendees.)
Check the APA Calendar for our Getaway Flights program for weekend places to fly.