The flying weather has been great for the usual fly out for breakfast. It’s been cool and the airplane performance has been good, even if the flying skills have not been what we would prefer. Perhaps we should just go out a time or two, and do some sharpening up. In any event, let’s go flying!
The temperature has been going up, and we have been above the norm lately. I really hope this isn’t a harbinger of things to come. I don’t want to go through another summer like we had last year.
The fly in event season is in full swing. I hope you made it out to the AOPA fly-in at Buckeye recently. I think the attendance may have been down a bit. Perhaps some of the out of town flyers may have been dissuaded by a potential weather issue. The Arizona Pilots Assn. was there in the vendor tent as usual, and it was a true pleasure to have met and spoke with many of you. At the moment of this writing, we are looking forward to meeting many of you that may be at the Cactus fly-in at the Casa Grande Airport on Saturday March 8th. I hope the weather is cooperative. It does look like it should be good, and we’ll be looking forward to seeing you there. It promises to be another great show.
Along with the EAA and the AOPA, we will be continuing the fight to stop the practice of using ADS-B data transmitted from airplanes by companies for identifying aircraft that have landed at an airport or used airport services. We will attempt to make our state legislators aware of what is happening in the aviation community, the importance of maintaining a good condition of our infrastructure, the positive impact we make on the overall economic picture, and the positive impact we make on the state. We will continue to fight as hard as we can to make sure the state legislature doesn’t again “sweep” our aviation fund to finance their favored projects.
APA has many of tasks laid out for the coming year, and unfortunately our manpower is limited. If you think you can assist us, please contact our president This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
I hope you were one of the few that may have seen it, but one of the largest flying boats in the world landed at Lake Pleasant recently. The historic Philippine Mars left Vancouver Island for Arizona and landed for the last time at Lake Pleasant. The planes were built by Martin for the Navy in the late 1940s, and they were mostly used for shuttling cargo and personnel from San Francisco to Hawaii until they were retired in the 1950s. The flying boat will be hauled up on shore and partly disassembled and trucked to the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson.
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
FAA
Because the Federal Aviation (FAA) Administrator Michael Whitaker had resigned from his role, President Trump appointed Christopher Rocheleaun as acting administrator. Rocheleaun is a 22 year FAA veteran, and is highly respected within the agency. He was appointed by Trump shortly after the tragic aviation accident at the Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington. I hope this new appointment doesn’t impact the release of the MOSAIC Airplane program that’s scheduled to be released at AirVenture in Oshkosh this summer.
We have received word that there has been a recent change regarding the contract towers operating at some of our airports. These contract towers had been operated by SERCO, but now they will be operated by Midwest ATC who has won the present operating contract by the FAA. We should not expect to see any change in their operation, as they are being operated under the same rules as the present FAA towers.
Apparently, Elon Musk has pledged to have his “DOGE” cost-cutting squad look at the innards of our air traffic control system, promising to make “rapid safety upgrades.” We can only hope these “safety upgrades” don’t impact the basic operation of our system.
For pilots that are renewing a medical certificate, they will not be required to take the new computer-based color vision test. Only first-time medical certificate applicants, or previous medical certificate holders seeking to remove a color vision limitation, will need to find an aviation medical examiner equipped to administer one of the approved computer-based tests under a new FAA policy that took effect January 1.
Everything else seems to be quiet on the FAA front in the way of changes or proposals for changes to the regulations that might possibly impact our flying activity. APA will always be on the alert for any significant changes that may occur and will keep you informed.
AIRSPACE
As you may know, there is a significant amount of parachute activity throughout the state, and we hope you are being extra vigilant when flying near airports with known parachute activity. Be on the lookout for the parachute icon on the chart, indicating parachute activity. There may very likely be teams from foreign countries that could be training here. Be advised that that this training may be occurring at any of the parachute sites throughout the state. Please be aware that some of this activity could be high altitude jumping initiated at Flight Levels between FL130 and FL200, and occasionally above FL200.
Some may have a high-altitude parachute opening with parachutists descending through airspace far removed from the final landing site. Remember, the safest place to fly is downwind of the Drop Zone, and Parachutists land like an airplane: downwind, base, final.
Always be sure to check for NOTAMS for parachute activity or use Flight Following for your proposed route of flight. Also possibly monitor en-route facility frequencies for parachute activity.
I’ve heard there have been tests made equipping parachutists with an ADS-B out transmitter. If this is true, I think it could be a major step forward for safety.
SAFETY
The Accident/Incident report is a bit unusual this time. The number of Accidents is not very long, but the number of FAA reported incidents is rather long, so the overall result is that this report is a bit long, and the really bad news is that there have been some fatalities reported. In this February reporting period there have been 24 Accident/Incidents. This Accident information is taken from many sources up to February 28, but unfortunately a bit of the accident/incident information presented in this report is from FAA notes which run from January 11 through February 13.
For the details of all the accidents/incidents in this past reporting period, see my accident report located in this newsletter.
Members, please continue to send accident information to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the date, location, aircraft make, if anyone got hurt, and with as much detail as possible. Thank you.
Unfortunately, in this past reporting period we had two Near Mid Air Collisions (NMAC) reported. The first one occurred on January 15th at Phoenix Deer Valley Airport (DVT), when a Bonanza failed to land on an assigned runway, but wound up aligning with the same runway as a Cessna 172 that was on a final to the same runway. Their closest proximity was 0.22 NM lateral, and 200 feet vertical.
The second Near Mid-Air Collision (NMAC) reported was at Mesa Falcon Field (FFZ) on February 2. In this case a Piper Cherokee failed to turn onto final for an assigned runway, but aligned with another runway that already had another Piper Cherokee on a final approach. No details were given on their closest proximity, only that they were close.
The best advice we can offer is that when flying, even in a traffic pattern, ALWAYS KEEP A WATCH OUT FOR OTHER AIRCRAFT IN YOUR AREA !
There were thirty-two pilot deviations reported by the FAA SDL FSDO for the period from January 11 through February 13, 2025. These deviations were committed by pilots with certificates ranging from Student Pilot through ATP Pilot, and there were eight Brashers issued.
Note: A controller will issue a Brasher notification to a pilot when further FAA action will be taken, and the controller is thus giving the airman the opportunity to make note of the occurrence, collect information, and their thoughts for their future interaction with FAA Flight Standards.
It’s obvious that pilots are often unaware of what type of airspace they are flying in, or maybe about to enter. Pilots must always listen carefully to ATC instructions, and follow them, and if they can’t comply, immediately tell the controller why they can’t comply. When flying in controlled airspace, pilots must always comply with ATC instructions and always advise ATC before you do anything that may differ from the instructions given. When on the ground, pay attention to all airport signs, and runway markings, and know what they mean, and always comply with them.
In summary, the general aviation deviations issued this reporting period are as follows:
5 IFR Deviations 2 Brashers
7 Class Bravo Airspace Deviations 2 Brashers
6 Class Delta Airspace Deviations 2 Brashers
7 Runway Incursions 1 Brasher
5 ATC Instructions 1 Brasher
1 Special Use Airspace Deviation No Brasher
1 Holding Pattern Deviation No Brasher
To see the details of these deviations, see a copy of my Pilot Deviation Report located elsewhere in this newsletter.
CONSTRUCTION
Tucson International Airport (TUS) has several long-term projects underway, one of which is the new 12-30 runway. Always check the NOTAMS for TUS before flying in!
Gateway Airport (IWA) is still undertaking construction projects which may require the closing, or partial closing, of one of their three runways from time to time.
Phoenix Deer Valley Airport (DVT) has a major hangar construction project underway which requires a change in the normal taxi routing. Be sure to get NOTAMS for airports before your arrival. Other airports around the state have numerous construction projects in progress or have projects starting soon. Unfortunately, we don’t have the specific details on all these projects, but we would urge you to always check for NOTAMS at your destination airport so you don’t have a surprise when you arrive.
APA is working with airports around the state assisting with the updating of their Airport Master Plans by providing the pilot, and aircraft owner’s perspective in the process.
The Airport Master Plan Update process usually requires about a year for completion.
THINGS TO DO - PLACES TO FLY FOR BREAKFAST
The fly-in breakfast at Coolidge Municipal Airport (P08) is on the first Saturday of the month.
On the second Saturday of the month, consider flying down to Ryan Field (RYN) near Tucson for breakfast or lunch at Ritchie’s Restaurant. They are open daily from 6 am to 2 pm to serve you.
Grapevine is open full time, and generally the third Saturday weekend camping and cookouts have restarted. Check the online calendar for a possible weekend change. The camp host will prepare the main course for dinner, and campers, please bring a side dish or dessert to share. Grapevine, which lies within a National Forest, is heavily used by the Forest Service for fighting wildfires, and the Military for Special Training.
On the last Saturday of the month a fly-in breakfast will be put on by the Runway 5 Cafe, a new cafe that just started business in the Casa Grande Airport terminal building. Runway 5 Cafe is open for business Tuesday through Saturday from 7:00 am to 2:00 pm.
When you fly to any of these venues, be sure to look for the Fly Arizona Passport Placard at the restaurant, and at the airport terminal. If you haven’t, use the FlyAZ app to scan the placard to get credit on the passport program for being there.
Check with the APA Getaway Flights program and online calendar for fun weekend places to fly.