By Jim Timm 
July 2016
The weather has been so hot lately that you really have to get out almost at daybreak to be able to enjoy halfway decent flying temps. When you head out to the cooler high country, watch your density altitude so you don’t run into a problem. It seems like the aviation activity has almost come to a standstill, and so many people have taken off for other parts of the country. For those of you that are stuck here with me, when you go flying, be extra careful, take plenty of water with you, and stay hydrated while you are flying.
As the time grows closer to when we will be required to have ADS-B out equipment installed in our airplanes, it seems like many people are beginning to look more closely at what all ADS-B does or can do, and what benefits they may be able to derive from its implementation. Among many of the pilots I know in the busy Phoenix area, they are specifically looking at the features of ADS-B IN, TIS-B traffic. For those that do make longer cross country trips, they are obviously also interested in the features of the FIS-B weather, however, everyone seems to be intensely interested in the traffic in feature. While planning on eventually installing ADS-B out someday, many are obtaining portable devices now of various kinds that provide traffic that can be displayed on their android or iPad tablet, or smart phone. Some are in the form of inexpensive “do it yourself” kits to small portable manufactured receivers. It seems like some of the kit DIY units have been a bit problematic in their reliability, but all that are using these traffic in receivers are amazed in the amount of traffic that is close around them that they haven’t seen, and has helped them spot traffic that was hard to see. This added ability to identify possible traffic conflicts can certainly be a significant safety enhancement. However, while this “newly discovered feature” by many of us may be great in helping to identify possible traffic conflicts, I hope this doesn’t induce more pilots to fly around in the high density traffic areas with their heads buried in the cockpit, not looking around for that plane that may be out there but not transmitting the necessary signal. It’s always nice to meet other pilots, but not that way! This year it will be very interesting to see what the most efficient way to get ADS-B out will be for my airplane, and what is available now in a small and inexpensive receiver to reliably get traffic information in.
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
Once again, in the last reporting period we received notices of GPS Interference testing that could potentially impact us in Arizona. I am wondering if this testing is occurring all over the country, or is it only happening in areas like Alamogordo, New Mexico and the military test areas in southern California and Nevada? Although the FAA doesn’t go into detail, it seems the military is testing something that can disrupt GPS over a huge area, and the tests potentially knock out all GPS-reliant services including WAAS, GBAS and, notably, ADS-B. Apparently the FAA also doesn’t want a lot of radio chatter about the outages and is urging pilots to report them if they need help from ATC. It would seem that the military will have to call a halt to this type of testing when we reach the point we are supposed to be using ABS-B for air traffic control.
There is an issue brewing in the Tucson International Airport (TIA) area that is going to require careful scrutiny. A company called World View Enterprises wants to build a spaceport for the launching and recovery of high-altitude gas balloons from a facility which is planned to be less than 2 NM from the primary runway of TIA. Apparently they convinced the Pima County Supervisors to approve their plan without considering the real impact the operation would have on aviation safety and the operation of TIA. The company and its representatives are completely out of touch with reality when it comes to how our airspace is utilized. The company believes the location is best because Arizona has consistently good weather, making regular balloon flights more reliable, and apparently they also think “in-air traffic issues aren’t likely to be an issue because nearby military bases ensure that the airspace is well controlled.” The military may be a significant user of the airspace in Arizona, but they definitely do not control it. This issue is going to require a lot of careful attention and action.
The fight for pilot medical reform continues, and your help is needed now. The U.S. Senate has passed the Pilots Bill of Rights 2 language three times in the past six months. We must now focus our efforts on the House of Representatives and have everyone contact their Representatives in the House and urge them to take up and pass S.571, better known as the Pilots Bill of Rights 2. Please contact your Representative in Washington now.
Once again, remember that significant construction is still going on at Williams Gateway Airport (IWA) and the ILS may be down from time to time. When planning instrument training, be sure to check NOTAMS before taking off to check availability.
Be aware, there is a significant amount of airport construction activity going on at many of the airports in the Phoenix and Tucson areas, and also around the state this summer. Be sure to check for NOTAMs before taking off for another airport so you don’t have to deal with an unexpected problem when you arrive.
The July accident reporting period was unprecedented in that the NTSB had not issued any reported accidents! However, I did know there was an accident late in the reporting period that most likely was relatively minor in nature. Unfortunately, the year didn’t get off to a very good start with the number of accident fatalities that we had. With this extended period of very hot weather, I wonder if everyone has stopped flying or are they flying to cooler locations, and if they are, I hope we haven’t exported any accidents to other states. In this month’s accident summary there are details of four accidents that occurred in the previous three months. See my July accident summary for details.
APA is still working with various airports around the state, providing the pilot and aircraft owner’s perspective in the process of updating their Airport Master Plans. An update of the Sedona Airport (SED) and Grand Canyon Airport (GCN) master plans are currently in process.
THINGS TO DO - PLACES TO GO FOR BREAKFAST:
- The fly in breakfast at Coolidge Municipal Airport (P08) on the first Saturday of the month has stopped, and will restart the first Saturday in October.
- The second Saturday of the month, Ryan Field (RYN) fly in breakfast is available at the restaurant next door.
- The Falcon Field EAA Warbirds Squadron fly in breakfast and car show on the third Saturday has ceased operation for the summer and will restart next October.
- The third Saturday of the month there is a fly in breakfast at Benson (E95) at Southwest Aviation. (There are special fuel prices for breakfast attendees.)
- Also on the third Saturday, the monthly fly in to Grapevine Airstrip, next to Roosevelt Lake, has ceased operation for the summer and will resume on the third Saturday of September.
- The last Saturday of the month there is still a fly in breakfast at Casa Grande Municipal Airport (CGZ). The Airport’s restaurant, Foxtrot Cafe, operating in the Terminal Building, is open 6:30am to 2:00pm Monday thru Saturday. On the last Saturday of the month they have a “Fly in Breakfast Special” available on the menu; the price for adults is $7 and kids $5.
Check with the APA Getaway Flights program and the online calendar for fun weekend places to fly.
I hope everyone has been able to get some safe flying time in last month. As for me, like many of you, my flying seems to get limited to the weekends, and we sure have been encountering a lot of windy weekends lately. Anyway, it seems like I’ve gained a lot of crosswind landing experience lately. Flying a light taildragger, some of that experience has been a bit challenging and exciting at times, but what the heck, it’s all been fun, exciting or not. However, from a safety standpoint, we have been encountering a lot of accidents lately, and some of them were pretty bad accidents. Please make certain your aircraft is in good operating condition and fly safely!
First off, I want to thank those that made the annual APA meeting in May. It was good to reconnect with some of you once again. Because there were no nominations put forth, the directors whose terms were expiring consented to running for office again and were reelected. The directors will be meeting in June to elect the officers for 2016-17, and the president elect will start the appointment of chairpersons for the various standing committees.
As time grows shorter for when we will be required to have ADS-B out equipment installed in our airplanes, there continues to be new information released regarding both programs and equipment. It’s pretty apparent there won’t be any slippage in the mandated implementation date, but there continues to be new information on equipment and compliance. Initially, there were a lot of questions on required equipment and how each installation would have to be accomplished, inspected, and certified. In what I thought was a major breakthrough by the FAA in making implementation much easier and cheaper for us, the FAA announced a new policy that simplifies ADS-B Out installations.
The FAA released a policy memo (AFS-360-2016-03-02) on March 2 that updates guidance on installation of ADS-B out systems, essentially allowing avionics shops to install ADS-B equipment on aircraft not covered by a supplemental type certificate (STC) and without having to obtain a new STC. The installer does have to obtain permission from the original STC holder. Earlier in the ADS-B upgrade process, the FAA was requiring that each aircraft model have its own STC. The FAA was concerned and wanted to ensure, as new equipment hit the market, that it worked correctly, so the original policy stated that it could only be installed via STC. They believed this would maintain a high level of their involvement and ensure that aircraft entering airspace (where ADS-B is required) are operating as intended and not creating chaos.
Now the FAA has issued the new policy, and it basically states, if the installation is a major alteration, it will still need field approval. This may be the case where a new antenna needs to be installed on a pressurized airplane, for example. A simple ADS-B out installation in a non-pressurized airplane will be a minor alteration and can be signed off by an A&P mechanic holding an Inspection Authorization, or by a Part 145 repair station, and doesn’t require direct FAA involvement. Basically, it’s a simple radio installation. With this change, the much feared bottleneck of getting last minute certified installations accomplished has been averted, and with a significant savings for many of us. (You can read the entire FAA March 2 Memo AFS-360-2016-03-02 here…)
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
The FAA is in the process of publishing a list of perhaps over 300 VORs they plan to decommission across the country. They will evaluate the impact of each VOR on approaches, departures, enroute, etc, and hopefully, they will also look to local users for comment. As soon as we obtain a list of those VORs on the decommissioning list that are in Arizona, we will advise you and the APA will be submitting the appropriate commentary to the FAA.
In a move to ensure that the Third-Class Medical Reform gets through the U.S. legislature, I noticed that it got attached to a defense funding bill that passed through the Senate’s Armed Services Committee. Passing with a 23-3 in favor vote, the bill, which would authorize $602 billion for the Department of Defense and other national security programs, also includes the pilot medical changes in the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2. This action is in addition to the same thing that is attached to the FAA funding bill presently in process. I guess we now have to wait and see what comes out of the House of Representatives and finally goes to the President.
Two new instrument procedures will be published for Cottonwood Airport (P52) on May 26: RNAV (GPS) Runway 32, and MINGY One Departure (RNAV).
One of the changes on the Phoenix Sectional and TAC charts on May 28 will be the deletion of several abandoned airports. What the identifiers were or their locations was not given. Better check to see that your favorite airport is not one of them.
If you fly into Ak Chin Regional Airport (A39), be advised they now have an AWOS in service on 126.90.
Significant construction is going on at Gateway Airport (IWA) and the ILS will be down from time to time. If you are doing instrument training, be sure to check NOTAMS before taking off to check on availability.
Be aware, there is a significant amount of airport construction activity going on many of the airports in the Phoenix and Tucson areas, and also around the state. Be sure to check for NOTAMs before taking off for another airport so you don’t encounter a nasty surprise when you get there.
The June accident reporting period was certainly not very good. During this reporting period there were six accidents reported with two of them being fatal, involving three fatalities. Three of the accidents reported this period were devoid of information and it would be safe to assume they were not serious from a personal injury standpoint. See my June accident summary for details, and please make certain the airplane you are flying is airworthy and fly carefully. We don’t want to continue at this present rate.
APA is still working with various airports around the state, providing the pilot and aircraft owner perspective in the process of updating their Airport Master Plans. An update of the Sedona Airport (SED) and Grand Canyon Airport (GCN) master plans are currently in process.
THINGS TO DO - PLACES TO GO FOR BREAKFAST:
The fly in breakfast at Coolidge Municipal Airport (P08) on the first Saturday of the month has stopped and will restart the first Saturday in October.
The second Saturday of the month, Ryan Field (RYN) fly in breakfast is available at the restaurant next door.
The Falcon Field EAA Warbirds Squadron fly in breakfast and car show on the third Saturday has ceased operation for the summer and will restart in October.
The third Saturday of the month there is a fly in breakfast at Benson (E95) at Southwest Aviation. (There are special fuel prices for breakfast attendees.)
The monthly fly in to Grapevine Airstrip, next to Roosevelt Lake, will stop for the summer, but will resume on the third Saturday of September.
The last Saturday of the month there is still a fly in breakfast at Casa Grande Municipal Airport (CGZ). The Airport’s restaurant, Foxtrot Cafe, operating in the Terminal Building, is open 6:30am to 2:00pm Monday thru Saturday. On the last Saturday of the month they have a “Fly in Breakfast Special” available on the menu; the price for adults is $7 and kids $5.
Check with the APA Getaway Flights program and
the online calendar for fun weekend places to fly.
thru this restricted area at any time. The restricted area isn’t very large, and I don’t think the UAV student pilots using the area are any better than our student pilots, and I would consider giving the area a wide berth. Be aware, and avoid a serious problem.
Be aware, there is going to be a significant amount of airport construction activity still going on in the Phoenix and Tucson areas, and around the state. Be sure to check for NOTAMs before taking off for another airport so you don’t encounter a nasty surprise when you get there. Also, be sure to add TFRs to your preflight checklist.
The past aviation accident reporting period was relatively good with only one accident being reported by the NTSB. The bad news, however, was that it did involve four serious injuries. Perhaps the efforts put forth by the Wings Safety Teams with all the safety briefings has begun to pay off. Based on the low accident/injury rate in 2015, I hope we can get the pilots in Arizona to continue this trend and have a safe flying year in 2016. For more details go to my February Aviation Accident Summary report. By next month, enough of the 2015 NTSB accident information should be available to permit preparation of an accurate year end summary and comparison to previous years.
APA is still working with various airports around the state, providing the pilot and aircraft owner perspective in the process of updating their Airport Master Plans. An update of the Sedona Airport (SED), Deer Valley Airport (DVT), and Grand Canyon Airport (GCN) master plans are currently in process.
THINGS TO DO - PLACES TO GO FOR BREAKFAST:
·The firstSaturdayof the month fly in breakfast is at Coolidge Municipal Airport (P08).
·The secondSaturdayof the month, Ryan Field (RYN) fly in buffet breakfast should have restarted. However, breakfast is available at the restaurant next door.
·The Falcon Field EAA Warbirds Squadron fly in breakfast and car show is on the thirdSaturday.
·The thirdSaturdayof the month there is a fly in breakfast at Benson (E95) at Southwest Aviation. (There are special fuel prices for breakfast attendees.)
·Also on the third Saturday, around noon, a donation lunch is served by the APA at the USFS Grapevine Airstrip over at Roosevelt Lake.
·The last Saturday of the month there is still a fly in breakfast at Casa Grande Municipal Airport (CGZ). The Airport’s restaurant, Foxtrot Cafe, operating in the Terminal Building, is open 6:30am to 2:00pmMondaythruSaturday. On the last Saturday of the month they have a “Fly in Breakfast Special” available on the menu; the price for adults is $7 and kids $5.
Check with the
APA Getaway Flights
program and online calendar
for fun weekend places to fly.